I want to start off by saying this is my perspective, and we all have our own. I will try to cue fact more than opinion, but of course some of these areas will still boil down to a person’s perspective.
So lets begin on why I believe the 49 bracket is the best bracket to twink. There are many brackets to choose from and many differences between each. We have the 19s, 29s, 39s, 49s, 59s, and 60s to choose from. All are great brackets in their own right, but don’t have what the 49s do! So here we will focus on the unique differences the 49 bracket brings to the table.
Balance. Classes are much more complete at this level opening up class balance to a degree that no lower bracket or even higher bracket reaches. There isn’t a single spec that cannot perform in this bracket, and all have their own strong niche. Due to unique gear, spec diversity, and abilities the bracket gives players the option to play any spec and class they choose. No one will be pigeon-holed into a specific class in order to be competitive. To those that will chime in and say if 49 why not just 59? 59s start to have the bracket imbalances between classes all the same as the 60s. Although I would still argue 59 is better off than the lower brackets.
Completed Talent Tree. This is a huge benefit due to the further complete feeling of a spec, and opening the crucial last talent of most trees. The game play gets closer to matching a lvl 60 with out the imbalance and grind 60 has. It also gives diversity and customization creating so many different builds that you will not see anywhere else.
Gear Choices. At 49 there are actually challenging choices one must make when gearing. Do I want more spell power or more over all stats? Should I sacrifice 6 stamina for 28 more attack power? It has much more customization due to gear having more competing pieces rather than just the landslide choices of some of the lower brackets. Who would honestly use a sword spec for Warrior over PoD in 39s? I wouldn’t. In the 49s; however, you can without loss. In addition, there are so many options a person could twink to the min-max level or just grab some easy dungeon gear plus a few BoEs and be competitive. One could go full glass cannon if they so choose.
Mounts. Mounts are more than just a quality of life change. Which I consider to be a huge quality of life change. A person gains the ability to join up with world pvp groups, and chase invaders more easily. Also, mounts change the dynamic of battlegrounds. They change the response time for groups from node to node, and balance the separation between classes that do not have travel forms from those that do.
Skill Level Disparity. The 49 bracket has more abilities, playing styles, and capabilities than the lesser brackets. Genuinely speaking the bracket will show player skill level separation far more. More abilities to utilize for countering, or more abilities to maximize on opportunities. It all just really gives those with a high skill set to capitalize on a higher skill cap.
Level Competitiveness. The 49s are actually close enough to level 60 that a 49 can beat a level 60. This will of course begin to separate when better raid tier comes, but it gives a unique edge, and its own unique opening for fun world pvp/ dueling shenanigans.
Gearing Once. The completion of BiS gear will allow the player a less time consuming enjoyment to pvp rather than the hamster wheel of lvl 60. Someone wouldn’t need to chase every raid release to accumulate better gear to stay relevant.
No AV. This helps improve que times. Imagine how just a few AVs going at once can greatly increase all other que times. Each AV pulls 80 players out of the pool of bgs. Not to mention most 60s will just spam AV; because lets be honest it is the most efficient form of gaining honor, but who really wants to play AV? Not I, not I.
In conclusion, I wrote this by request and with the shared hope to bring more people into what we believe to be the best bracket. I landed on the 49s from early days bg’ing through the brackets. It truly struck me as one of the richest brackets to pvp in, and always held a special place within my memories of vanilla. I played the 49s all the way to MoP and am excited to once again get back into it. I would love to hear some of yall’s input and stories of the 49s, and if any one is on the fence…(As Shila Buff would say) JUST DO IT!!!
Link to the post of Guides I have made for each class and spec. This is a useful source, but I always encourage one to do their own research.
xpoff. com/threads/twink-guides-horde-side-focused.91738/
For those interested we have a Guild on US Benediction [Horde side] called . Hit me up! Discord : spyKgcK
The twink effect is lower by 40. In fact I would argue the disparity between casual levelers and twinks in the 40-49 bracket is lower than the disparity between players at level 60 where newer players or PvE’ers get instagibbed.
Mounts are necessary for WSG so that mages and druids can’t kite the flag perpetually due to nobody being able to keep up with them.
The downside of pre-60 brackets is that “twinks” are usually the most garbage of all garbage players. They are usually only interested in farming killing blows midfield (although not always)
There is a guild on my serve called Forty-Niners that is doing the 49 PVP thing. I had a great time on my hunter and made it up to Knight-Captain in that bracket. Unfortunately I would have to level and gear another toon which is not in the cards till the summer. I agree its a great bracket.
In the mornings on the weekends I get between 1-15 minutes. In the evenings I have been lucky and staying between 1-8 minutes. However, I have never que’d during a weekday morning due to my schedule for work. So not sure on that one.
I’ll have (11) Level 29s before my first Level 60.
I would make/have (11) Level 49s, but the time investment is massive, and without Behsten/Slahtz, I wouldnt be able to do everything I want with my Level 49 characters (e.g. run instances).
Level 49 is the best bracket, but the biggest time investment required (duh).
Eventually, I’ll have a Level 49 Rogue on each faction – but that wont be until 2021.
What I meant was, make Level 49 twinks not just level 49 Battlegrounds (and tradeskills), I like to use the characters to run instances (i.e. running ZF as a Level 49 Protection Paladin when a group needs a tank). Eventually that’s gotta stop because there is no /xpoff in Classic.
And I’m Sulfuras4… well, until/unless I gotta transfer to a TBC server eventually.
Yeah I completely understand. The ability to turn xp off was one of the best times for twinks. I actually enjoyed doing content with a group, and rather than just getting carried for gear we would run as a group for it.
While it isn’t necessary to be in true BiS, if you want to be in actual BiS then 49 can be the nastiest bracket to gear for. Sunken temple items are awful to farm.
One positive of 49 (and 59) that I rarely ever see people mention is that it can actually gain pvp ranks to a useful level (rank 9?). This makes it so that if, for whatever reason, you decide that you want to take that character to 60 then you already have a great foundation set up for yourself.
Sunken Temple and BRD arena are both a huge pain. I farmed up my Atali chest, shoulders, and ring from brd. Honestly, I don’t think I have it in me to do it again. However, there are so many competitive options, and really going after those isn’t close to necessary to be competitive. Someone could get all of the bear/monkey/eagle greens and compete quite well.
Yeah 49 is the weird bracket where the absolute best items often aren’t that much better than the next couple of items below it which are much more obtainable. A lot of people who twink strive to be in absolute BiS though.
The real dream with twink ranking is to be a 59 and get rank 11 so you can have an epic mount before 60.
Each twink bracket brings its own flavour. I never did play 49 back in the day… I was mostly playing 29 (and a few 19 and 39). Eventually, I’ll play in every bracket… looking forward to all of them, including 49.
Anyone that’s 60 and not playing lower brackets on alternate toons… you’re honestly missing out on fun PvP where it is not about rank grinding.
Am I really though? I enjoy earning my ranks and getting to reap the rewards. Having my full toolkit, talents, and strong gear that I earned, and clapping other 60s is fun.
I’ve made twinks on private servers, and yeah, its mildly amusing at first to dab on people in your bracket who are underlevelled and have crap gear, but its incredibly gimmicky and gets boring.
Funny enough whenever I ask a twink if they PvP on their 60, they always have some excuse as to why they don’t like 60 pvp, and exclusively twink. Gonna go out on a limb here and say that a decent portion of people who twink are most likely trash at end game pvp.
