Druid 101 .... Level 20, Cat Form

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Location: Crossroads
Level: 20
Latest Achievements: "Level 20" + "100 Quests Complete"
Total Quests Completed: 107

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I was expecting to have a quest for my cat form, but I guess not. The level 18 training did not have much in the way of interesting spells or acess to new items, and neither does level 20. The single exception is Cat form.

Cat form is powerful. I took it out for a spin to get the hang of things and found it took down the low level stalkers around Thunder Bluff within seconds. So fast, in fact, that I had little time to pull out a secondary attack. Very nice. DPS is important when you're soloing. I thought I'd play in bear a lot; They carry all the defense. The trade here with Cat is a simple one - take more damage, but drop down the enemy faster.

At level 30 we get travel form, but I hear there is no quest. After that there is not another form until flight form at level 60 or so. Making the most of what we have now will be the name of the game.

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Alternate Blogs

I have been out reading the blogs on WoW.com. They are very informative and, best of all, are knowledgeable about the topics they are writing about. There is one in particular that is all about Druids, which has recently begun a leveling guide as I have done here. You can visit it here. In fact, I would recommend their advice. Wether I keep up with this blog after I see how their blog goes, that remains to be seen.

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Party Experiences - Levels 16-17

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Location: Thunder Bluff
Level: 18
Latest Achievements: "Journeyman fisherman" + "50 fish"
Total Quests Completed: 81

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Crossroads and area seemed to be a very busy place while I was leveling up the next two skill levels. That came to be a good thing and a bad thing; and left me wanting to write about parties again. This time, on the do's and don'ts of good parties.

Do - Ask someone to party before you party invite.

Don't - Randomly invite everyone who's walking down the path.

Do - Communicate with your party.

Don't - Ignore every tell you receive.

I was returning to Crossroads to turn in a few quests and was party-invited by a warrior a few levels lower than me. I clicked accept and saw there were now 3 people in the party, myself included. I stopped to say hi and ask what quest we were working on. Chances are I had already finished it, but I like to help out and it gives me a chance to practice tanking a fight.

No one, neither party member, answered my question. They did not even stop running. Then, to my surprise, they invited another, who came in, did the same as me (Hi guy's what are we up to?) and then left group. I quickly followed.

I would have been more than happy to ignore the rude invite if they had said "Hey, we're off to try .... and need a few extra hands." Problem solved.

Do - Ask a player to party if you are attempting the same quest at the same time.

Don't - Scoop another players loot when it's clear they are fighting their way in to get it.

I was trying to pick up some loot from a well guarded area and noticed another druid there. A quick "Working on....?" whisper told me we were after the same loot, so I asked "party?" and we worked together to fight our way in. It was pretty seamless after that and worked well.

The same situation happened later that day where another player asked me for party on a similar situation.

Do - Pull your own weight.

Don't - Let your team mates take all the damage.

Do - Share loot evenly

Don't - Loot while your team mates are still in combat

Do - Know your job and what you're best at.

Unlike the previous two quests, my last experience was not good. As bad news/stories always stick longer in your mind, I have a story to tell you now. The party left me with a bad feeling and a player who now chooses to ask me "what are you working on" ever afternoon. Learn from my bad experience and take it with you.

I had a collection quest in a dangerous area and asked on the general chat line if anyone else was working on the quest. No one was, but someone said they'd run it with me. They were a level above me, so I thought it would work out well for both, and shared the quest.

When we started the fight, it became clear I was not parting with someone who understood her role. I know that there are new players to the game, but by nearly level 20, one should know if you are a melee player, a ranged player or a spell caster, and how to best use your weapons.

We began to enter the area and I, as the self designated tank, began to agro the nearest monster. In bear form, I have learned how to control the hate and keep it on me, so my teammate, as a ranged player, would be free to stand back and do her damage. Except that, when I looked to see why the damage was not dropping, she was off picking one of the quest flowers.

Odd, I thought. But I healed up (the fight had taken me down to half health because these creatures really should have been 2 of us against one of them), waited for her to return and continued to the next monster. Again I tanked, this time she came right up next to me and started melee fighting, her pet just standing beside her.

Odd, I thought, but maybe she does not have arrows and forgot to purchase them before she set off. We finished that monster and continued on to the next where, low and behold, she stood back and started shooting and set her pet to attack as well. The monster dropped in a matter of seconds. Excellent, we're learning, until she went to pick up the next quest flower.

Odd, I thought. I haven't picked one yet, but too late now. We continued to fight, rounded the bend and picked up another monster. I am a tank bear, doing my job, but again I notice the health bar is not dropping and the pet is no where to be seen. Then I see my teammate, standing away from me, doing nothing. Not healing (her health is full and I have a heal ability), not picking a flower, but simply standing there not fighting. Unfortunately for me, we ending up with 3 monsters on me, a single player and I wiped, which caused all the agro to transfer to her, and she quickly followed me to the graveyard. This had to have happened at least twice more, resulting in a repair bill for me of a few silver (not huge, but I'm still wearing cloth).

If you're in a party, do your part to help bring the monsters down before you start looting the area around you. If you're a melee damage dealer, you better be in the fight. If your ranged, take your place and start firing. There is no reason for one player to suffer all the damage while the other's sit back and gather the experience points. If you're unsure of your place, ask.

Don't - Leave a party before you're job is done, unless you have a good reason.

In the above example, I very much wanted to hearth away and set that particular player to ignore. I had a quest to finish, however, and needed the little help she was providing. I also believe in 'what goes around, comes around' and would not like to find myself suddenly alone in a dangerous place.

I hope all of your parties go as smoothly as my first few. I wish you all better luck in your parties than my last.

Side note, my Leveling has slowed right down. It tends to go that way as you grow in the ranks. I will be making a weekly post from this point out, except for extras like introductions to and tour guides etc.

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Introduction to .... Banks, Vendors and selling at the auction house

If you're like me, you've run out of money once or twice and have taken to selling found items for cash to train.

Now that I've advanced a few levels in crafts and skill, I have a new way to make money, Auction House.

I've been lucky enough to advance from Linen Cloth to Wool Cloth for my first aid needs. However, some of the recent monsters I've been fighting have been dropping linen cloth. As always, I pick up everything. Money is money right?

Keep an eye on your items. If it's gray, chances are you wont make much money for it and should sell it at the vendor. If it's soulbound, it's also going to be sold at the vendor - soulbound items cannot be auctioned.

Where auction houses come into play are items that are hard to find... especially things people will be need to level a craft. There are many players who don't consider leveling cooking or first aid until they are well past the areas where they can naturally gather the items as they go. Linen is especially popular, it can be used for early level first air or tailoring.

If you've found your local bank, you can hold items here until you are ready to try and sell it. Each bank you visit will give you all of your items, in the same way that any bank teller of a live bank will give you access to your account.

Items sell best when they are in their largest stack. Linen, for example, stacks in piles of 20, while stringy wolf meat (for level one cooking) stacks in piles of 10.

Here is my formula for sale.

First, check your item. Is it possible or suggested to sell at the auction house? If it is, go back to a vendor and find out how much you could sell it for and make a mental note. Then go to the auction house and search for that item. Are they selling higher or lower for the item in question.

If it's lower, you might as well sell it at the vendor and make some extra cash.

If it's higher, make a note of what the auction rate range is and make an auction for that price or slightly lower/higher. It takes practice to know, but some items will sell even if the same item is already selling for lower. This is mostly true with crafting items because people trying to level will buy several stacks at once.

You are given the option to add a buy out rate. Often, this is what I'll go by when I set my price, especially for craft items. People who are buying craft items usually don't want to wait (hence the buy instead of farm for the items), so they will often use the buy out. Keep that price in mind as you create auctions.

A final note about auction items before I give a live example. If you try and auction it once and it doesn't sell, check the market before you try it again. Sometimes the prices have come down drastically, leaving your item too high for buyers to consider. Also look at the deposit amount. Is it worth putting up that deposit again, and possibly loosing it again, or would you be better to sell at the vendor and make your cash back.

Now, a few live example.

A stack of 20 linen cloth today would sell at 2 silver 60 bronze at a local vendor.

Checking the auction house, the lowest sell rate is a buy out of 55 silver, and as high as 20 gold (why someone thought they could sell for 20 gold when there are at least 15 auctions at a lower rate, I don't know)

In this case it is WELL worth my investment to sell at the auction house, as I could easily make 50 silver more than I would at a vendor. I think I'll make my auction for the lowest rate of 55 silver. The market seems a bit flooded and I don't want to be left at the high end of the market place.

An example of how things change quickly: Yesterday I created an auction for 20 linen and the market price was 1 gold. As I check my auction at the moment there are no bids for this stack, most likely because the market has dropped to half of that rate.

You can cancel an auction and reduce it's auction price, but you will loose your deposit. It's on a case by case bases if its worth it. In this case, it might have been OK to continue on the auction, hoping that someone would buy it, but I will make better money loosing the auction fee and starting again.

A second example are a pair of mystic slippers I found while hunting. The auction house will attempt to sell them for 2 silver, or buy out for 3, but I could sell them, guaranteed to the vendor for 3 silver. As there is already a set of these boots on the auction block, and the chances of two people wanting to buy the same boots are slim, I'll sell them at the vendor and make the guaranteed cash.

My third example is for legs in the monkey family. I mentioned families of armor in my attributes post. Knowing you get an attribute boost if you collect all of a families set, I wonder if someone is looking for these legs of monkey. When I check my vendor, they would buy them for 1 silver 19 bronze but there is no current auction house rate. When I created the auction, I was told the auction deposit (which is non refundable) is 30 bronze, so I figured that into my price, and put them up for auction at 1 silver 70, with a buy out at about 2 silver. If someone wants them, I'll still make a little money, if not, well, then I loose 30 bronze in the transaction.

Knowing your items is key. I had several other green armor items that I sold directly at vendor, knowing that if there is already an auction to compare them with, it is unlikely that two people are looking for the same item.

Bottom line, Auction house is a great place to sell items in demand (like jewels, rocks, minerals, herbs and skins for crafting) and items that are hard to find, but check your profit and loss before you post... sometimes its better just to sell to a vendor.

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Druid 101 .... Level 16, Sea Form

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Location: Thunder Bluff
Level: 16
Latest Achievements: "Ragefire Chasm" + "Journeyman in First Aid"
Total Quests Completed: 71

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Again our Druid Trainer has sent us into Moonglade. I spoke to the trainer there and he sent me into the lake to search for a bobble. Anyone who knows me, knows I hate to swim. I use a laptop with no mouse and have only just recently figured out how to swim down. Also, I was reading and found that 'x' lets you swim down. Now it's not so bad.

So I found the bobble and handed in that piece of the quest. The second half was much more tricky. I ran everywhere looking for the people I had to talk to and finally had to use Thottbot to find out who to talk to. The funny thing was, I totally discounted the two people, never thinking they would be the residents. I talked to all the vendors, but walked right by.

Incase readers are trying not to use helper websites, I wont tell you who they are. Once you find out, it's a long trek to get the two pieces of the charm you need. It's not tricky or terribly deadly, but it is a long run. I'm really glad I choose to take the level 12 quest to return a trinket to a grave in Silverpine forest. I had a flight path that brought me most of the way from Undercity to the second half of the trinket. All in all, it took me about an hour.

Your reward, the ability to turn into sea lion while swimming. Not as important as turning to a bear, but helpful if you're doing under water quests. I also heard that some lakes have chests at the bottom.

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Ragefire Chasm and a Bit more 14-16

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Location: Crossroads
Level: 16
Latest Achievements: "Ragefire Chasm" + "Journeyman in First Aid"
Total Quests Completed: 68

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In my previous post, I told you how to find Ragefire Chasm and what to expect from the instance in general, but Ragefire Chasm was where I achieved most of my experience in this block, so now I'll tell you how the fight went down.

Ragefire has toggs, they are humanoid animals, and another humanoid that I cannot remember. If you go in with enough people, take on one at a time and kill as you go, you should be fine. It's a big maze. We went left first, then right (I believe the quest item was on the right) and then down the center. To the right, before you reach the quest item, is the togg boss. Down the center is where you find the main boss, and a harder bunch of folks.

You should get enough experience for at least one level here. I ran the instance with someone in End Game I know from my guild (my guild on 'hunter') and still got a level's worth. You should get much more.

I wasn't leveled to 16 yet, so I ran a few more quests in crossroads. I got lucky and found a couple of quests that stacked well so I could do two at once. One was 'fungus samples'. When I handed it in I was given a timed quest back to Thunder Bluff. If you remember on our guided tour of Thunder Bluff I mentioned spending a very long time looking for Pools of Vision, the cave under Spirit Rise. I'm glad I knew where it was.

This post isn't too informative or entertaining. Sorry.

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Introduction to .... Dungeons

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Location: Orgrimmar

Level: 15
Latest Achievements: "Ragefire Chasm" + "Journeyman in First Aid" + "Professional Journeyman"
Total Quests Completed: 55

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*New to WoW?*: heavy post.

As noted before, I picked up a few quests that were 15D for Ragefire Chasm. If you ever pick up a quest with (dungeon) bracketed beside the quest name, you know it's a harder quest than usual.

Dungeon quests usually require 3-5 or more people of the level suggested. If you have one such quest and wish to accept it's challenge while still at the suggested level, the best thing to do is select the "looking for group" button from your task bar or write in the /general chat log, explaining what you need.

Sometimes this works. Sometimes you might get an offer from a high level player who will walk you through it for a tip (they want $$) or sometimes you don't get any response. Important to note... the experience you gain is directly related to the level difference between you and the level of the most experience player. You will get more experience if you run an instance with people of your own level.

Once you get a pick up party you need to decide a couple of things before you set off.

Here is the Blizzard Official page on Parties for more information.

First, how do you want the loot to run.

There are several choices here.

Free for All: Anyone can loot any body, it all depends on who gets there first. Fair if you are running an instance with a high level player and all of the loot is going to you.

Round Robin: The kills rotate, giving each member of the team a chance to loot before the first player gets a second go. Fair for even level parties.

Master Looter: Only the group leader can loot - A good idea if there may be disputes about the fairness of the drops.

Group Loot: Same as Round Robin, but when you find an Uncommon (green) or rare (blue) item you have the option of roll a need or a greed for it or skip it. If your a Druid, for example :) and an uncommon staff comes up you can roll need (if it's an upgrade for you). It's the practice of most, unless you really do need it, to roll greed rather than skip. Need will always win out over greed so if no one in your party does truly need it, the highest greed roll wins the item. - Best for low level parties.

Need before Greed: Same as Group Loot, but only players who can use the item are given the chance to role. For example, if an uncommon Gun came up and you were untrained in gun combat, you cannot role for it. - Good for very high level parties where there are many people participating.

Consider an item before you role Need. Some items, mostly blue, are soul bound to you the moment you put it into your pack. If that is the case and you rolled need in error, you cannot remedy the situation by a simple trade back. You will always be given a notice of a soul bound item before you accept to loot it.

The second thing you need to consider is who will be playing which role during the party run. This is not such a problem if you, a Druid, are running a party with a Hunter (Ranged attacks) and a Warrior or Paladin (Melee Combat). In that case you can easily play the healer role, no one in your party can help the others in that regard.

It would then be your job to focus on keeping your other party members healthy. If you are healing, your main focus will be the member playing the melee role. They always take the most damage.

But consider the example: You are running with a Priest and a Hunter. The priest is also a healer, but your party does not have a melee player. You may help your party best in bear form as a damage dealer.

In that case, you are the primary damage dealer and it is your sole job to kick butt. Unless your healer is dead, it is not your responsibility to swap out to Druid casting form to heal yourself. It is your job to keep your enemy focused on you.

Of course, once the fight is over, if your healer needs a hand, you can help that way.

Talk about it with your group and find out who's doing what before you start.

If you are are ready to go, here's what to expect.

A dungeon, or instance as it is more often called, is just that. When a party enters through the swirling gate, they enter into an instance of that area. Only your party members can enter that instance and only you will be permitted to snag the loot that drops.

In a dungeon, 3 or more players are suggested because of the Elite status of the monsters found inside. The goodies dropped are better than normal status, many greens and some blues, but the enemy become harder to bring down.

Communication is key. Talk about who you are targeting before you move forward. Monsters in instances take a much (much) longer time to regenerate so if you clear as you go, you have very little to worry about from behind (though there are some walkers who you need to keep an eye out for)

Make sure you make your way through the whole instance as well. Often times you will find a quest to pick up or hand in. In almost all cases, killing the final boss gives you a great drop (I got a pair of wrist bracers with +2 Intelligence and +2 Spirit, for a Druid that's great). I also completed both of my quests, had enough experience to level into 15 and got an achievement for killing all of the required bosses in Ragefire Chasm.

*My Notes*: Empty your packs out of all but exactly what you'll need to fight. If you're healing, bring along extra water and dump everything else in the bank.... You'll be getting a lot of good stuff and you don't want to see "inventory full" just as you're ready to loot your awesome new armor piece.

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Welcome to .... Orgrimmar

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Location: Crossroads

Level: 14
Latest Achievements: "Journeyman in First Aid" + "Professional Journeyman" + "Complete 50 quests"
Total Quests Completed: 53

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Before leaving Thunder Bluff, I picked up two quests that requested me to go into Ragefire Chasm, which is in Orgrimmar. The quests were level 15D so I decided to get some help and run them before they moved into green experience.

But before I ran the dungeon, I had to get myself to Orgrimmar.

Leaving from Crossroads (Don't forget to set your hearthstone), you travel north along the path, taking a right when the path allows. You come to a bridge into Durotar. Continue east until you come to Razor Hill. From there, turn left and continue north until to come to the gates.

Welcome to Orgrimmar and your guided tour.

Orgrimmar is much more spread out than Thunder Bluff. It is also much more of a maze. Before we enter, take a moment to notice that to the left and right of the gates there are paths. If you were to take the path traveling east, you would come to the Zeppelin tower for travel to Tristfall Glades: Undercity, and Stranglethorn Vale: Grom'gol, both in the Eastern Kingdom. If you were to take the path traveling west, you would come to the Zeppelin tower for travel to Borean Tundra: Warsong Hold in Northrend.... though that Zeppelin isn't something we'll need to use until at least level 68.

Like Thunder Bluff, Orgrimmar has two entrances. We are at the main gate and enter into the area known as Valley of Strength. Here we find, in the center, the bank and flight path tower. Around the outside ring we find the Auction House, The Inn, the guild master and vendors for different armor and weapons.

Head to the east, our right when standing at the entrance, and you come to a path leading into the area known as the drag. The drag has more vendors, and trainers for cooking, leatherworks, skinning, Herbalism, Inscription, and alchemy.

For this tour, continue to our right and find the Valley of Honor. To the far east is the Hall of the Brave, where the battlemasters are located and the Ring of Valor, where the arena is found. Valley of Honor also has many vendors, and trainers for mining, engineering, blacksmith and fishing. The weapons trainer is here as well.

We have to leave Valley of Honor the way we came, so go out into the Drag, hang a right, and then your first left and immediate right. You'll find cleft of shadows. There are a few vendors in the Cleft of Shadows, but for a Druid, the only real point of interest is the entrance to Ragefire Chasm. It is at the bottom of the ramps past what looks like a swirling field.

Take the west ramp out of the Cleft and re-enter the Valley of Strength. Have a turn right and walk into the Valley of Wisdom. There is only one vendor house here in the Valley of Wisdom, and no trainers. What is here is the seat of the war chief. If you're looking for the head of the Orc race, and pretty much of all of the Horde, he's here.

Rather than continue into the Drag, turn around and make your way back to the entrance of the Cleft. From here, the path continues to the Valley of Spirits. Soon, on your left, there is a rope bridge, it goes across to the Flight Master and down into the Valley of Strength. We'll keep going into Spirit where we find the Hall of Legends, a quartermaster set up (again, more end game). There are a few class trainers here, but other than First Aid, nothing much for a druid. If we were to continue down, there is a long path and the second entrance to Orgrimmar. Nothing much else though.

Head back the way you came, cross the rope bridge and don't forget to talk to the flight master.

As you can see, Orgrimmar is a tricky place to navigate. There are little nooks and crannies everywhere. Take a look around and find the places that are important to you, for your training and weapon and armor needs. If you are ever lost, stop and ask one of the guards, They will know where you need to go.

Druid readers... if you're like me, you're always looking for your trainer. Guess what, No Druid Trainers exist in Orgrimmar. That's because only Tauren can be Druids and this is an Orc capital. We have to get ourselves back to Thunder Bluff for our training. I have yet to explore Undercity and Silvermoon for a Druid Trainer. No matter where in the world you are though, you can always orb to Moonglade and then fly back to Thunder Bluff. That would sure beat waiting for the Zeppelin. ;)

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Introduction to .... Armor Attributes

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Location: Crossroads

Level: 14
Latest Achievements: "Journeyman in First Aid" + "Professional Journeyman" + "Complete 50 quests"
Total Quests Completed: 53

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I thought it would take a lot longer for me to find a green (uncommon) or blue (rare) weapon or piece of armor. It did not. I've never been good with Attributes - I'm still guessing with 'hunter' - so I had to research it for the blog. (Then again most of the readers (readers.. are there any) already know about these attributes).

Attributes change as you develop in the game. What I need for soloing levels is not going to be the same as what I need when I want to specialize in healing or combat for end game raids.

For us early Druids, I believe a good mix is best. I'll be looking for the following (in the following order, I believe):

Intellect - Which increases our mana points and the chance we will score a critical hit.

It also, and I did not realize this, increases the speed at which we learn weapon skills.

Spirit - Which increases our health (except in combat) and mana regeneration.

Spell Power - To, well, increase spell power.

Strength - Which adds to our melee damage when we are in Animal Form.

Also good to know, Strength provides twice the attack power of Agility while in Cat form.

Agility - Which adds to our armor and our melee damage when we are in Cat form. This is kinda nuked by Strength as a single strength point gives twice the attack power as a single agility point, though, still good if you're looking at it for the armor.

Stamina - Adds to our health meter.

Also, and I didn't know this so copied directly from WoW Wiki

Heart of the Wild (Feral, tier 6) provides a +4% bonus to stamina in bear form per talent point, max 5.

In Dire Bear Form and feral specked, gain the following percentages to stamina: 25% (bear form), 20%, and 6% (Survival of the Fittest), for a total of 15.9 health per stamina. With Blessing of Kings, it jumps to 17.49 health per point of stamina.

Interesting, no?.. meaning, if you choose mostly talents from the Feral Combat talent tree, it is less likely you will need Stamina attributes if you decide to learn the talent 'survival of the fittest' and 'blessing of the kings', unless you plan to talent up for an end game attack dealer, then health will be your best friend and you can use everything you can get.

A good mix at the lower levels will be most beneficial, but if you want to specialize in spells or attack power, you can of course, lean heavy on the magic or the melee side of things. WOW is nothing if not diverse.

Also, if you are looking at attributes, sometimes your attributes will out rank your armor. Say, for example, I had a pair of boots that were 'armor 8' (very low level, I know) and found a replacement pair that are 'armor 7 +intellect 2', I would take the armor 7.

I read somewhere, appologies, I forget where, if you find an entire set of a family of armor, you get a boost. If you're searching for them, Druids should look for armor that is in the "of the Falcon" family, for Intellect and Agility, or "of the Gorilla" family for Strength, Intellect. I personally pick Gorilla, but there are so many other families out there.

Here is the official blizzard page for attributes.

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Druid 101 .... Level 14 - Poison

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Location: Crossroads
Level: 14
Latest Achievements: "Journeyman in First Aid" + "Professional Journeyman" + "Complete 50 quests"
Total Quests Completed: 53

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I noticed a piece of mail from the Druid Trainer requesting me to visit him again at level 14. Of course, I was going to anyways, but didn't think he'd be sending me to Moonglade so quickly.

This session involves curring poison.... and looks like they wait till level 14 because they 1) assume you'll be in crossroads by then and 2) you need that skill level to complete the quest. It's a hard bunch of quests when your as squishy as me.

Things I learned in this training: the flight path from moonglade is only to Thunder Bluff; that it is possible to climb a mountain so high that it's foggy; Herbs are impossible to find even when you are a herbalist. (Hint: the ones you need are usually on the sides of hills).

This quest takes a heck of a lot more time than the other one. I played for nearly 2 hours before I finished, died twice, and nearly leveled while trying to complete it, but the off-hand 'bag' you get at the end of the quest line is beauty ... and has some added stats to boot. Too bad my staff is my best tool and it's two hand. I might start favoring my mace.

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The Unexpected - Level 11-13

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Location: Crossroads
Level: 14
Latest Achievements: "50 Quests Completed" + "Journeyman Herbalism" + "Explore Mulgore" + "25 Fish"
Total Quests Completed: 53

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I thought I would finish up the quests here in Thunder Bluff and Mulgore before I moved off into Crossroads. I also planned on leveling my staff and mace again (as I had achieved a level and needed to cap again), but my unexpected quest decided to change all that.

While I was leveling my inscription, I saw a '!' walking around in the Pools of Vision. She wanted me to deliver a token to the grave of someone. I accepted and searched my map for the place to deliver. Low and behold, it is far far away on the other continent.

So rather than level, I set off to deliver. I thought I might as well grab that quest while it's red, and good experience. Luck for me I know the world from previous play. I guess if you didn't, a little research or chatting up the other players would help you find it.

It was a hell of a run; first to Orgrimmar, then wait for the zeppelin to Tristfal Glade, and then run down to the Silverpine Forest. The run itself did not take long, 30 minutes tops, and the experience you get is minimal (500), but the areas were safe for level 12 and it was my first chance experience into other areas.

I passed up a lot of '!' along the way. The only thing I stopped for was flight paths.

After I returned, via hearthstone, I set about finishing the last few quests for Mulgore. According to Thottbot, there were 3 left that I hadn't yet completed, Two of which were started with items dropped. The wolf was a little tricky to find, but it was not too bad.

Thought I'd get an achievement for finishing all the Mulgore quests.... nope. Maybe I'm missing something, but I could swear I have them all. (Edit later to add that apparently, unlike the new kingdoms from Burning Crusade and Northrend, there is no achievement for completing quests.)

Time to set off to Crossroads (I can fly there now) and start some more tricky quests.

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Druid 101 .... Level 10

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Location: Thunder Bluff
Level: 12
Latest Achievements: "Explore Moonglade" +"Journeyman Cook"
Total Quests Completed: 39

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I was really excited to start on the Druid training. I've heard and seen fun things in my play as 'hunter'. I picked up the first true Druid quest at level 10 from the Druid Trainer in Bloodhoof Village, though I suppose if you chose to visit Thunder Bluff before I did, any Druid Trainer there would give you the same quest. He tells you to speak with Turak Runetotem in Thunder Bluff. When I arrived, Turak asks you to speak with Dendrit Starblaze in an area of the world called Nighthaven, Moonglade, which I have never heard of. If you're curious, like me, it's in the north of Kalimdor.

You are given an ability to orb there and receive an achievement just for making the journey.

This is much more interesting than the Hunters training. Hunters, as a class, have a small training bit at level 10 as well, but it required you to kill animals in your local area. Not exactly fun. Orbing to a new area.... Much more interesting.

The quest is simple. Follow the instructions. I'm new to Druid, but it sounds to me like you can keep the orb in ability for the rest of the game. Even so, explore now, while you can. This is a non hostile area, so feel free to look around. There are trainers and vendors.

There is a flight master in the south west corner of the city. I spoke with him, as I am in the habit of speaking to every one. He asks if I would like to fly to Thunder Bluff. I don't know if this is because that is the only flight path I have or if it is because that is the exit point for this area, but I believe the former.

At the end of your quest you are told to go back to Thunder Bluff. FLY.. Don't even try to run. My BF and leveling partner on 'hunter' tried to run to a new area once before he realized there was an orb. Exploring Moonglade paid off with a free flight.

It was tricky to find the place to go. You have to go right into Souther Barrens and then go up the hill to your right. There is a Tent type building and behind that is a very small unassuming stone. Cast your dust on it and then fight the level 12 Druid that appears. When it dies, don't just walk away. You have to talk to it, similar to the bear, to complete the quest.

*My Notes*: We ran all the way past Bloodhoof Village, following the path to the east. It's a long way, but I happen to know that in Taurajo, the first village when you enter the Barrens, there is a flight master. This will save the run back.

After you return to Turak Runetotem, complete the quest and then speak with him again to do your training. If you've reached level 12 by this point, as I have, then you have your regular training plus your bear training. It cost a pretty penny. I am glad I took up cooking and had some extra stuff to sell in my pack.

So, when I trained, I learned a new healing spell. Even though I still think the healing touch is the best, I guess this would come in handy if you wanted to continue to heal very slowly as you fight. We're also taught a revive spell. I'll have to check this one out to see if you can revive yourself. That would be most handy!!

As for your bear training. We learn roar, maul, growl and enrage. Took me a second to figure out I was meant to switch into bear form - a paw print icon above your action bar - and then open your spell book to drop those options, in which ever order you like, into your action bar.

Far as I can tell it does not cost mana to transform into bear.

*Current stats was way too much to update every day.... plus it changes depending on what weapon I'm using, so I'll only update on the side rather than each post.*

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Introduction to .... Addons, Quest Helpers and Thottbot

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Location: Thunder Bluff
Level: 11
Latest Achievements: "Journeyman Cook" + "Achievement Level 10"
Total Quests Completed: 35

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When I first started out in WoW with my first character (also a hunter, but not my 'hunter') I was puzzled by how players found the location they were going so easily. Reading the quest log book ('L') was not always helpful.

Then I was introduced to the world of Quest Helpers. There are many around and they are easily found if you google. I have heard a lot of praise for one titled (funny enough) "quest helper", but the one I was suggested to use is "Carbonite" from Carbonite.Com.

Carbonite, for example, displays on the world map where to find items required for your quest. Locations show as a transparent color block over areas where the monsters or items can be found. It also provides an on screen list of all the quests you have accepted and what level can safely complete said quest. Unlike our blizzard quest logs, which only display a color code system, Carbonite, for example, gives a number.

It is very customizable. I have mine set to show on screen the quests in the order of closeness to me as well as only quests in the zone I am in. I also still require my blizzard quest log to read exactly what I need to do and what items to use to complete the quest. (Like the level 5-10 water cleanse quests)

What ever you choose, Quest helpers are a wonderful tool in the game if you choose to use them. They are in no way manditory. Have a look at what is available and make that choice for yourself.

Quests Helpers come as Addons. There are also many other addons you could choose to help you and customize your screen. Anything from craft helpers to hate ratings.

One final note here is for helper websites. My favorite is Thottbot, but there is also a WOW Wiki for every occasion as well. Again, websites like this are great helps if you are totally stuck. I live from them, but you can make that choice yourself.

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Current Statistics: *unchanged from previous

Defence : 55

Mace: 55*
Staves: 55
Unarmed skill: 54 *
Cooking: 62/150
First Aid: 39/75*

Strength: 34
Agility: 22
Stamina: 31
Intellect: 29
Spirit: 38
Armor: 296

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Welcome to .... Thunder Bluff

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Location: Thunder Bluff
Level: 11
Latest Achievements: "Journeyman Cook"
Total Quests Completed: 35

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Our first capital city of the game is Thunder Bluff, Home to our brother and sister Tauren and a resting place for any other Horde race in the game. This is the first place in the game to find almost anything you could need.

More experienced players, notice this is a *New to WoW?*: heavy post. In fact, it's a first timer's visit and guided tour.

Thunder Bluff is divided into several different areas. You have 'lower rise', 'middle rise' and 'higher rise' (I believe) which are all found in the center and accessible via the round totem stair case at the center of town or by ramped paths that circle the entire area. Around the outsides you have 'Hunter's Rise', 'Spirit's Rise' and 'Elder Rise', accessible via bridge from the main area.

I'll be giving a guided tour ;) so hand or pick up any quests you see along the way.

When you first arrive in Thunder Bluff as level 10, you are standing in Lower Rise. On this level you will find the Guild Master (not something you need to worry about at the moment), as well as different vendors, trainers and the bank and auction house.

If you are planning to be a blacksmith or miner your trainer is here on this level. The weapons master is also on this level if, in the future, you wish to train in using something other than your staff and Mace.

While standing at the elevator, you will see an inn to your distant right. Inside is the inn keeper. I've set my home point here. I don't anticipate the need to return to Bloodhoof Village and, if I do, I'll walk from here.

The bridge to hunter's rise is inside this inn. Hunter's Rise is where all the battle masters are located. This is far from our minds right now... Battles are for end game players, not level 10's, but it's nice to know where to find it if you need. There are other class trainers here, but not ours, and no craft trainer, so I don't believe we'll be seeing a lot of Hunter's Rise.

From the Bridge we arrived on, follow the left path to the next. Once across, we find ourselves in Upper Rise. Upper Rise has more vendors, and a Cooking Trainer. There is also a Fishing Trainer. Fishing is one of the open skills you can learn. If you're interested, pick up your first training and then speak to the Fishing Supply vendor to buy a fishing rod.... you need one if you want to fish.

From the Inn Building that brought us into Upper Rise, We see the Totem Stairs to our distant Left and another Inn Building to our right. After you've taken a look around take the Inn Bridge into Elder Rise.

Elder Rise is Druid Home! Our trainer is located inside the round building to our distant right. I am going to look around some more before I set off on that adventure. Take the last bridge into Middle Rise.

Have you found the pattern yet? Most Capital Cities have a very well laid out patter.

Middle Rise has a back entrance to Thunder Bluff to your close right, the bridge to Spirit Rise to your far right and the Totem Stairs to your far left. We also find the trainer for herbalism, alchemy, enchanting, skinning, tailoring and leather work as well as independent vendors and vendors devoted to the crafts. You might have noticed that most trainers have their vendors nearby for simplicity.

Take the bridge over to Spirit Rise but stop half way across the bridge and look down to your left. Tunnel! You would not believe how long it took me to find that tunnel. Just thought I'd point that out. My first time here I did not have a good look around.... it ended up costing me lots of time.

Spirit Rise, the top part, has a first aid trainer and a shaman trainer. If we take the path down to the tunnels into what they call the "Pools of Vision" we find the Inscription trainer, priest trainer and Mage trainer. Aside from the First Aid, we will not be spending a lot of time in Spirit Rise either.

Exit the tunnel and take the bridge, which brings you right back into Lower rise.

There is one last thing we need to see before we've completed the tour, so find the totem stairs and climb as high as you can. The man standing at the top is your Thunder Bluff Flight Master. To Orcs, Trolls, Blood Elves and Undead, this NPC would have a '!' above his head. For Tauren, because he is our capital's Flight Master, we already have this flight path location. In many of the villages you visit you will see a fellow with the '!' and speaking to them will unlock another flight location. At the moment we only have one, but should we speak to another NPC flight master elsewhere, we could then fly to know locations. It's not free, but it's a heck of a lot better than walking.

Thus concludes our guided tour of Thunder Bluff. Now go explore!

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Current Statistics:

Stave, Mace and Defence skill: 55 each (max)
Unarmed skill: 54 (that elusive last point was killing me)
Cooking: 59/150
First Aid: 39/75

Strength: 31
Agility: 20
Stamina: 28
Intellect: 26
Spirit: 35
Armor: 214

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An Introduction to .... Talent Points

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Location: Thunder Bluff
Level: 11
Latest Achievements: "Journeyman Cook" + "Achievement Level 10"
Total Quests Completed: 35

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Before I branch out into Thunder Bluff and take the first Druid training, I think now would be a good time to introduce you to your Talent Tree, a selection of additions to your spell base you can access only after you reach level 10. Talents are a further way to diversify your character from everyone else in the game. They are a personal choice based on how you would like you play the game. Your talent tree is accessible through your menu or by pressing 'n'. (I don't know why 'n', it just is)

As a Druid, our talents are divided into three branches.

Balance, Feral Combat and Restoration.

Have a look through each of the different skills you can learn through each tree. You will notice they are divided. I am far from an expert in talent trees, but we'll learn together.

Some people I speak with say its best to limit yourself to one speciality. If you want to improve your damage through magic, stick with Balance, to increase your damage through your different images (Bear, Cat etc) pick Feral Combat, or if you want to boost your healing, go for Restoration. Personally, and talents should be a personal choice, I am going to branch out and choose talents from any tree I choose, based on what looks best at the time.

There are two things I can tell you about Talent Trees.

1) They are not written in stone. If you want to unlearn a talent, you can, but it will cost you. Each time you choose to un-learn, you will need to pay an increased fee.

2) Each branch is stacked. You need to have learned the lowest branches on the pole before you can stretch to the highest. You'll notice that when you mouse over a talent, it will give you a description as well as the requirements you need before you can learn that talent.

You receive 1 talent point for each level you achieve after and including level 10. When I stacked 'hunter's' talent points, I chose to stay in one single branch and to this point, though I have reached level 75, I have yet to reach enough to complete a single tree. Not knowing about Druid trees, this may be the case here as well, though the tree looks a lot smaller than 'hunter's'.

So, if you've reached level 10, have a click into your talents and see what looks best to you. For me, I chose Starlight Wrath from the Balance category (to reduce cast time of my Wrath spell) and 'Improve Mark of the Wild' from the Restoration category (to increase the effect of that spell). They looked the best from the choices I was given, based on the way I personally play the game.

A few notes: I just noticed that on Blogger you have the ability to make a post but not publish it until a set date. Rather than flood my blog as I did with my day one (levels 1-10) adventures, I may, in the future, decide to use this to slow the posts. That will be based on who is following the blog and how much people want to read at a single time. Leave me a comment with your opinion.

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Current Statistics:

Stave, Mace and Defence skill: 55 each (max)
Unarmed skill: 54 (that elusive last point was killing me)
Cooking: 59/150
First Aid: 39/75

Strength: 31
Agility: 20
Stamina: 28
Intellect: 26
Spirit: 35
Armor: 214

Read more!

Continue to Thunder Bluff - Level 5-10

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Location: Thunder Bluff
Level: 10
Latest Achievements: "Journeyman Cook" + "Achievement Level 10"
Total Quests Completed: 35

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On the way to the next village, Bloodhoof Village, you should find someone on the road giving a quest. Conveniently, it is to deliver something to the inn keeper ofBloodhoof Village. When you get there, don't forget to set your hearthstone.

*New to WoW?*: A hearthstone is an item you start out with. If you speak to inn keepers and set your home at their inn, when you trigger your stone you automatically transport to that inn. Its important also, that you log out of the game while inside the inn or in a major city. You'll know you're in the right place because your level number will turn to 'zzz'. This will give you 'rested experience' and each kill you make while in this state will give you more experience points than normal.

Want to hear something funny. I had no idea about how to tell I was in rested experience mode until about level 60. My friend, and experienced leveling buddy, just always had me log out in the inn. Not until level 60 when I started to play alone did I notice my experience bar change from Blue to Purple. If you're blue, your rested, if you're Purple you're not.

This area is much the same as the opening stage, but the quests start to get harder. Pick up all your quests and take a moment to look around.

*My Notes*: Haven't thought about what profession you want? Haven't considered picking up the secondary professions of Cooking, First Aid and Fishing? You Should! I cannot tell you how much time I lost on 'hunter' having to go backwards to kill mobs 20 levels below me in order to skill up my skinning and leather. This is especially true of Cooking, First Aid and, if you choose, Leather Working and Skinning. You can train for all of those professions, and others, here in Bloodhoof Village and, in the case of Leather and Skinning, much of the low level skinning you'll be required to do to start off, can be completed just by skinning the mobs you are required to kill for your quests. I cannot speak for blacksmith or mining, but I feel confident in saying starting early is a good rule of thumb.

Which profession you choose is totally up to you, but train early. I cannot stress that enough. For information's sake, I have a Grand Master Skinner and a Master Leather Worker in 'hunter' so I chose herbalism and Inscription for Milyssa. Leather and Skinning would also work for a Druid. So would Alchemy. Do a bit of reading on Blizzard's WoW Professions Pages to find out what you are most interested in. Also note that Tauren get a natural Herbalism boost as part of their given abilities, so that might be something to consider.

Nothing too informative to tell you about the quests that come up at Bloodhoof Village. Watch the level of the beast you are trying to attack and continue completing the quests you are given. Some are easy (follow a spirit dog) some are more tricky (kill a level 12 humanoid). They WILL have you running all over Mulgore

At levels 4, 6, and 8, you can visit your Druid trainer (in the large circular tent) for more spells and talents.

*My Notes*: Don't worry about buying food, but do buy drink! As a Druid, if you have enough mana you can easily heal yourself to full life, but if you're out of mana, you could be toast. If you choose to skill up cooking, you can easily turn the wolf meat you pick up into food... for free! You could then sell that food, or keep it for yourself. Before I hit level 10 I hit the achievement "Journeyman Cook" just by picking up meat and eggs off of kills I had to make anyways.

Also, don't worry about buying armor at this stage in the game. You will be given better clothes and weapons through the quests you do. At this stage also you wont have to worry about the added bonus' given with some pieces of armor, so I'll explain that when it first comes up for me.

*New to WoW?*: Many quests are given in a chain. You need to complete the first in a chain before you are given the second. You will find several chains that have 4 or more quests linked. Often times, the 'prize a the end' is better than a normal drop.

At some point you will be given a quest that takes you into Thunder Bluff. It is very important that you reach level 10 and speak to your Druid Trainer before considering the travel to Thunder Bluff. My suggestion: Finish all the quests set to return to Bloodhoof Village before you head off to Thunder Bluff.

Especially complete the 'Rite of Vision', 'Rite of Wisdom' trek. The NPC 'Ancestral Spirit' gives you a continuation of the quest 'Journey to Thunder Bluff' which continues on in a chain with a level 14 quest you are given when you arrive.

The well cleansing quests, ending with Wildmane Cleansing is also worth completing. I know its a long run. Wildmane is located north of Thunder Bluff and you have to return the quest to Bloodhoof Village in the south. Hearthstone can be your best friend. Either way you do it, completing Wildmane Cleansing gives you a 'dreamwatch staff', which is far superior to any weapon you currently carry.

*New to WoW?*: Completing quests in any province will also give your Reputation a boost with the capital city. Example: by completing all of the quests in Red Cloud Mesa and Bloodhoof Village I reached the Honored status in my Thunder Bluff Reputation. Higher Reputation status receive discounts at the vendors. To see your reputations, click the reputation tab in your character screen.

Once I completed all of my Bloodhoof Village quests, I continued to Thunder Bluff and was ready to call it a day (yes, I did all that in one day, but it was a marathon 8 hour day). Remember to watch for the ZZZ in the corner to make sure you're getting your rested experience before logging out.

Next time: We begin to explore Thunder Bluff and embark on our first *BIG* druid training experience.

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Current Statistics:

Stave, Mace and Defence skill: 55 each (max)

Unarmed skill: 54 (that elusive last point was killing me)

Cooking: 59/150

First Aid: 39/75

Observant among the experienced players will note this article is called level 5-10 but my skill level max at what would be level 11. Correct! Point for you, but it's easier to blog in round numbers, and since 10 is where you get your first major Druid training, that's where I'd like to start.

Strength: 31

Agility: 20

Stamina: 28

Intellect: 26

Spirit: 35

Armor: 214

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Starting out Druid - Level 1-5

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Location: Bloodhoof Village, Mulgore
Level: 4
Latest Achievements:
Total Quests Completed: Uncounted (continued to level 10)

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This week marks my first steps into the role of Tauren Druid.

As I said in the opening of this blog, I want to catalogue my journey as a Druid, but I also hope to help new comers to the game. For you more experienced players, don't laugh too hard at the *New to WoW?*: comments. I'm sure many of them are covered in the manual, but who actually reads that? The comments under *My Notes*: are just that. Things I've found helpful. Not a requirement to play the game, but things to consider.

A Tauren starts out much the same as any other melee (hand to hand) combat character. As Tauren, we begin in 'Red Cloud Mesa', with many of the same opening quests as other classes.

*New to WoW?*: Talk to anyone with a '!' above their head. When you complete the quest they have given, the'!' turns to '?'. A '!' means you are too low of a level to accept their quest (wont see them for a while) and '?' means you have accepted, but not completed the given task.

*My Notes* :Take a tour of the small village and get acquainted with where your vendors and trainers are. This is true of this village as well as all to come. Also, I find it helpful to collect all open quests in the village before setting off.

Personally, being used to ranged 'hunter-style' fighting, quickly learned I was not required to chase down each animal. Wrath took care of my pull and then I was free to combat as I expected. I also quickly learned my healing touch button.

*My Notes*: Pick up EVERYTHING. I know the packs are small, but pick up as much as you can [don't accidentally throw out a quest item though, I've done that :) ] and invest in a larger one as soon as your cash flow allows it. In my travels, kills dropped enough small 6 slot bags to fill my open spots. Bag space is very important when you get to the next village and at all times after.

Completing the opening quests was nothing too challenging. (Watch out for the Hogmen of Brambleblade Ravine though, they agro in mobs) After the first few quests you should be experienced to level 2. Don't forget to visit your Druid trainer to receive Mark of the Wild and what ever else she teaches. (even writing about it the day after, I have already forgotten). If you don't have enough cash yet to train, go kill some more beasts and sell what they drop. You can always train at the next village, but keeping up to date is, in my opinion, better.

*New to WoW?* : Just continue running quests for people until you no longer see the '!' Above their heads. At some point a quest giver will send you on a run that involves speaking with a person at the next stop. Finish up what you have going here, then go see that person.

Druids are automatically trained in Staff and Club. While I was in Red Cloud Mesa, I purchased a cheep club from the vendor and, before leaving the area of level 1 and 2, leveled up my Staff, Club and Unarmed skills to their max. This way, later in the game, if a wonderful Club drops off a kill, I will have the skill level up high enough to make using it worth-while.

*New to WoW?*: To skill up your 'unarmed', open your character screen and drag your staff or club into your pack. To re-arm, preform actions in reverse. To see how skilled you are, open the Skills tab found in your character menu. Unarmed will come in handy if you're ever out in the middle of no where and your staff or club breaks to red.

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Introduction to .... This Blog

Welcome to Mulgore and Beyond. A weekly (and possibly more) blog about WoW and more specifically a Tauren Druid.

I'll get right to it, but first, a little background on me and why I decided to blog about my Druid Life.

I started playing WoW, my first RPG, in May 2009, when I created a Blood Elf Hunter. In the following two months, I leveled 'hunter' to near end-game (at this point I'm 74). Soon after I reached the area of Burning Crusade I got the feeling I had missed a lot in my quest to reach 80, which became 100% clear when I set off to find particular dungeons and found there were whole areas I had skipped over.

I love playing 'hunter' and have since gone back and leveled things like crafts and cooking, but have also decided to make myself an alternate character, Milyssa, my Druid, where I will move through areas, reading and experiencing everything as if I've never played.

In writing 'Mulgore and Beyond' I hope to record my Druid Life from the start. I welcome readers: anyone who is new to WoW looking for guidance or experienced WoW players who want to read about Druid experiences and/or laugh at the many mistakes I am sure to make along the way.

I am in no way an expert, but its possible that in reading my blog, you may save yourself the back tracking that I am now doing with 'hunter'. You may also learn something with me along the way. I've decided to play this character, Milyssa, only 1-2 times a week, so not to totally neglect 'hunter'. I will be writing about what I've accomplished on those days. Some times it might be a quest day, some days craft. Some days both. Remember: I am moving at the speed of snail, gaining the most out of every area before I move on. I am also far from an experienced gamer. Please be kind when leaving comments, but comments are welcome!

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