Leveling 101

What is leveling? This is in mention to both leveling from 1 - 80, which is the Xp grind of dungeons and Questing, and BGs, but also the Leveling of armor from level 80 upwards to top teir. Leveling doesn't stop at 80, you end up level 1 all over again with your gear, everyone will out power you. Its a different Level of the game, just like starting over. Leveling gear for an 80 is the same and if not worse leveling a 1 up to level 80. Read on.....

 Leveling, what is it? Well it is where you get a point reward for things you have accomplished. The BEST way to level in the NEW system WOW has changed to is by running Random Dungeons, and doing Daily PvP Battlegrounds (BG). Both pay very well, the next in line I think would be "Same Level Questing", and "Uber Runs" and "Uber Questing". These are explained in more detail below:

First know the terms being used for: PvP & PvE
 The very first thing to understand is that one refers to attacking living player targets, and the other is when you are MAINLY fighting NPC's. This will be explained in better detail in a moment. Lets just break down the two aspects of the game better for you. Running around and doing QUESTS and running Random Dungeons are generally considered PvE as you only fight NPC's. PvP is in any situation that you are facing off against another player that has become "FLAGGED". Flagged players name plate will be GREEN (For your Faction) and RED (For Enemy Factions) they also have a SHIELD next to their Nameplate. This states if you attack them you are then engaging in PvP combat. The FLAG will be on and it will automatically go away after 5 minutes without PvP combat. Read on...

PvP: Is Players vs Players, meaning you are in combat with other players to dominate a zone or area inside the Wow universe. These are commonly found in city defense where players arrive and generally "FLAG" themselves on purpose to defend a city from attack, or in going into BG, (Battlegrounds). Battlegrounds are "mini games" with in wow, where the Alliance players face off against Horde Players to win a chunk of land and or spoils of war. These are Battlegrounds (BG).

Battlegrounds in General: (PvP)

Wins and losses are rewarded with Marks or a type of BG currency that allows you to buy special PvP grade armor from the Battle Master Vendors. The major Vendor for Horde PvP is located across the bridge from the Flight Point (FP) in Orgrimar. The first building to the left once you cross the rope bridge, in there is all the PvP Level 30-80 stuff and even PvP battle mounts can be found there as well. PvP Gear can be used against any player that is attacking you and is flagged, your PvP gear and Armor and weapons will help you more against any Player vs Player situation.

PvE: Is Player vs Everything, Meaning made to handle not just enemy players but MAINLY non-player types such as monsters and Bosses, or as many call simply NPC's for Non Player Characters. Basically targets that are controlled by the game environment and NOT other players.

Now the gear made for this type of combat will be considerably weaker typed gear than PvP Gear in actual combat against other players. The reason for this, is that other players have a natural advantage over the NPC's - so if you are going to attack another living player, you better bring the good stuff (Which would be your best PvP Gear).

In regular dungeons, the stat bonuses from your PvP gear won't help you much, you literally want to have a whole separate suit of armor and weapons JUST for running Dungeons and Quests. This would be your best gear to face off against NPC's, or Non Player Characters you run into in the wilderness, around the country side, in Quests, and in Dungeons. "UNFLAGABLE" (My Made up word -lol) - characters you encounter in the game.

There ARE NPC's that can FLAG and go into PvP mode, however these are still considered NPC's they are also PvP FLAGGED, and if they hit you, you also Immediately become FLAGGED as well. These NPC's generally guard the gates to enemy areas or city's and zones. These are not what we are talking about with PvE armor and weapons. You want gear that will be POOR against other players, but excellent against these Dungeon, and Quests monsters and Bosses. A whole different type of armor and separate stats and bonuses. What bonuses is where it gets tricky, this varies by class and race for everyone and the spec class you are working with. Whats good for some is not for others, you will need advice for this.

In the descriptions below I Have put a * as to a footnote in reference to comparing what you'll be worried about once you hit level 80. The game starts all over when you hit 80, yes you are a god in Azeroth, but you will be a NEWB all over again amongst the other 80's in Northrend. The * will be a note to think about once you hit 80, as then you can compare how being 80 doesn't END the game.

Random Dungeons/ PvE:

This is the BEST way to get XP in the Wow game. You have the IDEAL, which is SAME level players of all the correct classes running a FULL dungeon with a BOSS, or BOSSES. Great Loot, great Xp, awesome training on KNOWING your class.

* In higher levels 50+ dungeon groups EXPECT you to know your job, if you don't they will MOCK you and kick you from dungeons, and they will share your STUPIDITY to their friends who will also EXILE you, it is good to know your class. Secondly at 80, the only way you can get the points you need to buy the higher gear and avoid being that "80 NEWB", is through running Random Dungeons EVERYDAY over and over again, and the same rules apply. Know your Class and your Job AND get the best gear, because you'll get kicked from dungeons for having crappy gear. Believe me being 80 sucks - a lot. TANK and HEALING classes always dominate the Random Dungeons, know this DPS classes wait FOREVER for a group. Waiting for a Dungeon Group on a Random as a DPS class can take forever, and at 80 the Dungeons never end. Get used to it now.

Daily BG/ PvP:

These are zones or areas under compromise and the Horde and Alliance fight to the death for Land grabs and the like. These even incorporate siege vehicles and other bizarre weapons to help attack or defend castles and strongholds. The marks of honor you get from these are spent at the PvP Battle masters to buy your PvP gear and weapons. These items will slay our over powered live player enemies in the BG and in the lands outside those places whenever a PvP situation arises. Such as those that would attack our cities, and outposts, this gear will kill them in the streets or in the fields. PvP is whenever enemy players are FLAGGED.

Since the latest updates this is also a VERY good way to level yourself and get the gear needed to help defend the BG's and Horde city's. It is better to save your points for later in the game for when you are higher level, as once you have spent your points on an item and upgrade, your previous PvP item is non-sell-able. Meaning you will loose what you have invested, it is wise to hold out as long as you can on buying the PvP gear until level 50+.

* Without proper gear you will find PvP unbearable at level 50+ , at 80 if you are under-geared, there is no hope to get proper kills in a regular BG. You will need to run more cooperative BG's like Wintergrasp (WG), Isle of Conquest (IOC), and Strand of the Ancients (STRAND). The reason is, in these BG's everyone's RAID kills count in your favor, and there are vehicles and weapons to counter balance you weak armor.

Same Level Questing:

This is stepping it down but also allowing you to GRIND through your Xp. In a group of 3 - 5, you run a ZONE or an AREA until all the quests are done. Go in a big circle knocking out each quest, and then turn in and get the second chain to the quest lines and then do a big circle again. Until the zone does not have any more quests to hand out. Being in a SAME level group allows more Xp on kills and makes RED quests easy and killing mobs that get in the way less of a chore. A good group can knock out several zones in a few hours gaining 3-4 levels. This is a great way to get things done, gain Xp and items, make some money and increase your Reputation with the local area, which eventually effects your access in the future to special items and mounts. Something to always be aware of is that every zone beaten effects your rep somewhere.

* At 80 you NEED Rep with certain factions to get special armor, bonuses, mounts and even enchantments to increase your gear stats. Be on the lookout for these things starting around level 70, or you'll be upset having to backtrack and do a bunch of NEWB stuff to catch up with the BIG dogs.

Uber Runs:

What is an Uber? Well they are a Bad Ass. But let it be known, even Bad Asses are only Bad in some places, and wussies in others.
An Uber Run is where a higher level character takes lower level players through Dungeons. This only benefits really in several ways. Loot, and achievements, and Xp ONLY if you have Quests attached to the run. If you have no Quests for the run your Xp will not be the Best and should not be the reason for running it. Mainly for loot and the Achievements, or to get Quests finished that you could not complete in a normal group or on your own.
* At any level 5 or more higher than the Dungeon you are running as the "UBER" you get absolutely NOTHING for running it. The gear drops are crap, and the achievements were your eons ago, the quests are done dead or no longer available. As an UBER doing a RUN for lower levels, know there is no reward other than the pleasure of helping out a fellow guildie.

Uber Questing:

This is better in Xp than Runs. This is where a higher level character is running any number of lower levels through a ZONE or an AREA. Knocking out the quests for the turn in rewards. There is little to no Xp during the Questing phase, but on the turn ins the reward is greater and you can clear several zones in a very short time. However, it will take double the effort in this method, rather than running them normally in a group of the SAME level as explained in Same level Questing above.

* Again at any level 5 or more higher than the quests you are running as the "UBER" you get absolutely NOTHING for running them. Unless they are running through a zone that you have not done the quests in, if this is the case take the quests, which will at minimum give a little Xp, and increase your Rep with the Faction that controls that Zone. Again the gear drops are crap, the quests may be done already or dead or no longer available. As an UBER doing this for lower levels, know there is no reward other than the pleasure of helping out a fellow guildie.You should always support them doing a SAME LEVEL runs and you should offer to log into a character that's their level (and SAME level RUN with them), before burning the oil knocking out zones with a high powered character for them. It is not very beneficial, unless they have been running SOLO and have gotten stuck. Don't hold hands, but help along.

AT level 80, you are a GOD in Azeroth, and a DEMI GOD in Outland, but you'll be a NEWB in Northrend until you get your gear up enough to get into proper dungeons. As all 80's should know, when you hit 80, your level now is based on your Armor scores and character stats.Nothing more 80 means 0. Like in Call of Duty when you prestige, all is wiped to zero. Your bad ass against NEWBS, thats about it.

To check where you are and what you can do right now by the gear you have on, which for dungeons would be PvE gear, go to (WOW Heroes Click Here) and type in your name and Server, find your character by checking the Guild name. Where your green bar is tells you what dungeons people wont kick you from if you play. Get gear in those dungeons and then move on up the chain.

Another way for 80's to get better gear is to run one random Heroic a day to get your 2 frost points bonus, at 95 of these, you can buy one top end game piece from the vendor. Yes, that's at 2 frosts a day IF you run a Heroic. Yeah NOT fun. So get used to running RANDOM dungeons NOW and learn your Class!Your high end PvE gear can be bought outside TOC or on the first landing in Dalaran before you go up to the portal to WG. The different Vendors sell separate gear based on your points from your Dungeon runs. Heroic run reward mainly 7 Triumphs per finished run. Most of the Triumph gear runs 75 points. Much easier method of moving your gear up the ladder. Buy them and watch your green bar grow, and add gems and enchants to boost this rating even further.

Other leveling is in reference to Professions, these are your main source of income in the future. The best form to use for making  money is herbalism which is best used by races that have swimming or powers to run on water as expensive herbs are found in the water. This would be DK (Death Knights) with frost and Druids with Water form. The second for farming would be mining ores as they sell for a lot at higher levels. The best tricks for leveling these is to simply follow the instructions on the link to the right. It is Wow Professions.com. It is what I use.
believe me- it is better to lvl your profs WHILE you lvl to reap GREATER rewards! Because AS you level the Locks and items drops and farmed goods are going to be better in dungeons if you CAN pick them or mine them etc. There are alot of dungeons I have run and couldn't harvest the herbs or mine the ores. You don't want this to EVER happen! You want to be able to gain 100% loot from the dungeon, this includes materials (i.e. Herbs, skinning, mining, and LOCKPICKING).