The Burning Crusades

Here are some useful tips to help you in Outland. This is written mostly from a Horde perspective, but much of it also applies to Alliance.

Blood Elves

If you have an existing character and want to get to the Blood Elf starting territory, go to Undercity. Just as you enter the outer courtyard, use the steps to your right, and then go all the way to the back of that area. There's a portal, and it takes you directly into Silvermoon City, the Blood Elf capital.

New characters start out on an island, that's basically northwest of the Plaguelands area. The starter NPC is located nearby, just as in the other starter areas. The quests are similar to what you already know; delivery, gathering, killing specific characters, and finding singles of specific items. If you read the quest carefully, every single quest is easy to figure out, and none are hard. You don't need to group for any of them.

About level 6 you will be ready to move on to the next beginner area. You're directed to go find an NPC who is located down the road to the west. Doing so starts you on the road to Silvermoon City. That NPC directs you further on, and by the time you reach the next objective you'll see the city ahead.

Once you do all the quests in the ruins of Silvermoon City, you move to the next area, which is Ghostlands. The quests here will take you up to level 25 or so, depending on whether you group for any of them, or do the first instances.

Outland

Outland is reached via the Dark Portal in The Blasted Lands. Fly to Swamp of Sorrows, follow the road, and ride down into the crater. The elite Doomguards that are currently there will be gone when the Portal opens. Hop off of your mount and talk to the NPC with the gold ! over his head, then go through the Portal. You're now in the Horde safe drop outpost. Look around and you'll immediately see the guy you need to turn in your first quest, Arrival In Outland, to. He will give you another quest, which takes you to the local Windrider. From there, head out, and you will land in Thrallmar. You've earned 2200 xp for getting there via the WR.

Thrallmar is basically a large outpost, and under seige. The largest building has some quests in it, and there are a few others scattered around among the other towers. There are also trainers for the various professions, as well as a blacksmith area. There are no class trainers, however, so you will have to return to the mainland at each level, to train your new skills.

Old quests: If you have old quests that haven't been turned in, turn them in before heading to Outland for the first time. You'll get a few hundred xp from each, and every little bit helps. It's just over 500K xp to get from 61 to 61, and climbs from there.

Head out the gate and you will find the siege area. Some of the first quests include gathering quests (get 8 scraps of wood, and 8 scraps of metal which are laying around) so you can begin earning xp immediately. I didn't group for any of these quests. With my combo of Tier 1 and 2 gear none of them were difficult. One thing I will corroborate that you may already have read: If you're currently raiding in anything but Naxxramus, the gear you're getting will be replaced in the first 2 levels. Tailors can already make gear comparable to my combo of Felheart/Nemesis gear, and the cloth they needed to make it was on the level 58-61 NPCs I killed in my first 20 minutes. They weren't kidding when they said money you make now will be more important than any gear you get. Stock up on that gold! I've already spent 50 gold just in training up Alchemy and I'm still level 60.

Tradeskills

Here is a great link to the new tradeskills found in TBC.

Here are a few tips to make Outland a little easier.

What items should I be saving before TBC comes out?

• 100-120 Runecloth, so you can get your First Aid to 330
• Various Potions, to get you started
• Clear your bags when you go to Outlands. Remember, there are no Auction Houses in Outlands so you want every available slot.

If I play Alliance and am based in Ironforge, should I move elsewhere?

Many people prefer to be based in Ironforge due to its proximity to everything (it is closer to most high level content than Stormwind). However with TBC, I would suggest moving to Stormwind, due to being closer to Blasted Lands than Ironforge. I expand on this below in the Hearthstone question.

How do I get to Outlands?

Getting to Outlands is easy and requires you to go to the Blasted Lands and then simply walk through the Dark Portal into Outlands. The level requirement on the portal itself is level 55 and you must have the expansion activated on your account.

Where will I be when I get to Outlands and what should I do first?

When you enter Outlands the first zone you will be is called Hellfire Peninsula and this zone is intended for level 60-63 players and is one of, if not the largest zone, in all of World of Warcraft.

After going through the portal, you will find Windriders that will take you to the major Horde or Alliance towns in Hellfire Peninsula.

Are Mobs harder in Outlands?

A 60 Mob in Outlands is pretty much identical to a 60 Mob in Azeroth. That said, yes there are harder mobs in Outlands. They are higher level than what you are normally accustomed to seeing in Azeroth, and that's how you will be leveling to 70!

Any tips for Hellfire Peninsula?

Explore every square inch of this zone because there are half a dozen quest hubs in it, and some are easy to miss if you don't explore it fully. In addition to the quest hubs, there are numerous flight paths here and multiple outposts for both factions.

Here's a link to some great Outland Maps.

Where is the Auction House?

There is no Auction House in Outlands at all. You must go back to a main city in Azeroth.

Where are the Profession Trainers?

There are various skill trainers in Outlands, many of which can be found in Honor Hold or Thrallmar, and others that can be found in Shattrath (the main Outlands city which is found between Nagrand and Terokkar Forrest and is a neutral city inhabited by both factions).

Where are the Class Trainers?

There are no class trainers in Outlands. You will have to go back to a main city in Azeroth.

Where can I learn Master First Aid?

Alliance players can ride to the Temple of Telhamut in Hellfire Peninsula and purchase the [Master First Aid - Doctor in the House] book off a vendor here. You can also purchase [Manual: Netherweave Bandage] (FA-330) and [Manual: Heavy Netherweave Bandage] (FA-360) books off this NPC (don't worry, they are cheap). Horde players need to go to Falcon Watch.

You then need to grind out 30 skill points by making Heavy Runecloth Bandages and this will use up anywhere from 80 to 120 Runecloth. Once you've gained 30 points, you can make Netherweave Bandages.

Where should I be Hearthstoned at if I'm going to spend all my time in Outlands?

Since there are no Auction Houses in Outlands, you will definitly be making trips back to a Main City in Azeroth. Where you are Hearthed is personal preference, but for most players, Shattrath City makes the most sense. It has portals to all the capitals for both factions, making it easy to return to Azeroth.

How does World PVP work and is it worth doing?

I won't go fully into World PVP other than to do a quick summary. When you kill somebody OR recover a World PVP Objective you get a Token (Mark of Honor Hold for Hellfire Peninsula and Zangarmarsh or Halaa Battle Token or Halaa Research Token for Nagrand) that is specific to the zone you are in. These tokens can then be turned in at their respective PVP vendors in the zone you are in and redeemed for some nice equipment rewards.

Is it worth doing?

If you enjoy PvP, then yes. There are some nice rewards, which makes gearing up easier. If you dislike PvP, then I'd avoid it.

Are the Reputation Rewards any good in Outlands?

Yes, unlike WoW Retail, the reputation rewards are actually pretty decent for the most part. There are so many factions that you need to spend some times looking at the various reputation guides, in order to make the best choices.

Here are some of the various factions:

Outlands:
The Consortium
Cenarion Expedition
Honor Hold
Kurenai
Sporeggar


Shattrath:
Lower City
The Aldor
The Scryers
The Sha'tar

I hear I have to choose between two factions in Shattrath City, what is this and what should I do?

For a change of pace, Blizzard added two competing factions in Shattrath City and you can only join one of them. They are called The Aldor and The Scryers and the choice you make will affect the reputation rewards you can purchase and some of the quests you can do. Check out the reputation guides to make an informed choice.

Make your decision based on the Reputation Rewards available for how you play the game while taking into account all the recipes/formulas they are selling, but just realize that this is an important decision to make and shouldn't be made lightly.

Should I bother with Instances or just go level up via quests?

Instances have great equipment, quest rewards, and are also really good XP plus they can be fun to do, so I would never advise people to skip them. As well, Blizzard has also realized that we don't want to be doing 14 hour instance runs so they are much shorter than many of the instances in Azeroth.

For a list of instances and loot, see this thread here.

How long will it take me to level up?

As long as you want it too. It can be done in as few as 4 of 5 days. Those who prefer to take their time will take considerably longer. Some people who started on opening day have taken as much as two months or more to reach 70.

Do you think Socketed Items will have an impact?

The value of Socketed items comes down to one question: Do you currently find Enchantments to be of value to your character?

If you don't bother enchanting your equipment today, then Socketed Items will be of dubious value to you, because as a whole, Gems boost your stats the same way that Enchantments do.

Are there any other links to maps and such available?

Blizzard's Outland Map Blizzplanet Maps

How much money will I make by level 70?

You should be able to make at least 1000+ gold by level 70, which should make it easy for you to get your Regular Winged Mount at 70. This said, if you spend a lot on armor, weapons, recipes, or other high value items, you may fall short.

What do the new Mounts cost?

Flying Mounts can only be learned in Wildhammer Stronghold (for Alliance), or at Shadowmoon Village (for Horde), in Shadowmoon Valley. You must have both the first and second riding skills for land based mounts before you can buy the Expert Riding Skill. You must buy that skill before you can purchase Artisan Riding Skill. There is no faction discount available for the Expert and Artisan Riding Skills.

Skill

Journeyman Riding Skill (Epic Horses-100% Speed) is 600 Gold
Expert Riding Skill (Regular Flying Mount-60% Flying Speed) is 800 Gold
Artisan Riding Skill (Epic Flying Mount-280% Flying Speed) is 5000 Gold

Mount

Regular Flying Mount is 100 Gold
Epic Flying Mount is 200 Gold

Are flying mounts worth it? How about the Epic Flying Mount?

This is a personal choice, but for most people, the answer will be yes. Gathering herbs and mining are both much easier with a flying mount, and there are areas in the game that are only accessible with a flying mount. Tempest Keep instances can only be reached this way (you cannot be summoned to them, as you can to most other instances). As for the Epic Flying Mount, it is incredibly fast, and while expensive, will be worth the cost for many people.

How do Heroic Instances work?

Heroic Instances are supposed to be the equivalent of 5 Man Raids, so people should not expect them to be level 70 versions of a lower level instance. They are actually harder. ALL current 5 Man Instances in Outlands can be done in Heroic mode and you must be of Exalted Status in the corresponding Reputation Faction to be able to do an instance in Heroic Mode.

The last "wing" for most instance's also require a Key to enter and all the keys are updated for Heroic Mode, requiring you to get new keys.

Bosses in Heroic Mode drop tokens that can be redeemed in Shattrath for epic quality items

Should I group up with people?

You will earn less XP per kill when grouping, but in many cases, you will kill faster. There are some quests in Outlands that simply cannot be soloed. If a quest is recommended as a group quest, it will say so in the quest log. You do not always need help on these, or need the number of people recommended, but often you do.

I have PVP, Tier 1, 2 or 3 armor. Is there anything worth while out there for me?

If you have Tier 3 armor you are probably going to be set until level 70 for the most part (there are some exceptions). If you have gear under that level, it really depends on how many instances you do and your own personal luck. You can theoretically replace all your Tier 1 by level 63. Tier 2 can be replaced by 65-66 but again, are you going to get lucky and get the drops you need? That's hard to say. Many people were still wearing all or part of their Tier 1 armor when they hit 70.

Weapons work the same way. When all is said and done, how fast you replace equipment will depend entirely on your own personal luck and the way you do instances.