This is my first real alt that i intend to see through to 120 besides my 2 mains. Just hit the low 80s and to my surprise it gives me the option to go to the most wondrous land of Pandaria.
Seriously I LOVE Pandaria, and as a Zandalari, it gives me perverse pleasure to finally walk those hallowed grounds my ancient ancestors so desperately fought to conquer and have those dumb pandas have no choice but to worship my shoeless feet.
ANYWAY, can I have your feedback pls GD? Should I go Cataclysm or Pandaland? Will I miss anything (XP, loots, etc) if I skip Cata?
You won’t really miss anything other then transmog really.
But imo Pandaria is the superior choice, the Jade Forest alone (w/ heirlooms) can carry you nearly all the way to 90 if you do the Loremaster achievement, and it’s gorgeous to look at.
But it’s personal preference, each has its own merits.
During levelling it doesn’t really matter, it’s more time efficient to go back at a higher level (when you can stomp enemies) and do professions. And as for anything of worth on the AH none of the professions offer anything of noteworthiness that you can sell on the AH while levelling.
I guess you could gather mats for later, but that’s about it.
Lore is a subjective thing, do you like a more global story of pushing back elemental forces, or a more personal one about exploring a unknown land?
No dungeons at locked behind levelling at this time, for ether area, and anything you can get from them you can farm much easier at max level.
An alternate path that you can use to supplement leveling (though not gearing) are daily pet battles. They give half a bubble to three quarters of a bubble experience, per pet battle.
There are a LOT of Battle Pet trainers sprinkled around the various continents and if you get a “circuit” committed to memory, you can knock out almost a level a day (or more) doing nothing but pet battles.
I find it faster personally and it has the jousting quest. I got to 87 before I went to pandaria and i didn’t even complete the zone. If you do do it I’d go tell a few quests after you unlock the firelands dailies place.
The linearity of Hyjal quest line makes it a breeze to level through. Jade Forest is mostly linear but allows some tangents. Both are fairly quick and will take you a solid chunk towards 90. I think Jade Forest has a bit more character. But Hyjal has Thisalee Crow. Vashj’ir is gorgeous but feels like a slog.
While i do like the Cata zones, I haven’t done them on any recent alts since I love Panda land. I usually head straight to the farm after doing intro and then do Tiller quests. And I stay until farm is fully open and Dog has been saved But any zone there works.
Most of my newer alts are dual gatherers so professions haven’t been an issue for me. But you can always go and do professions separately since they’re by expansion now. If there are any recipes you want that require specific reps you may want to take that into consideration.
I hated leveling in Pandaria. I can not stand any of the zones, especially Jade Forest (Hozen are stupid) and Valley of the Four Winds (the rabbits are stupid.)
However, the storylines in Cata are funny and entertaining to me. The zones are beautiful.
Cataclysm. I hate Pandaria. The landscape, the races, the quests, all of them are horrible. I just can’t stand pandas, pandas in real life are cool but WoW’s pandas suck and are ugly.
Plus I find Cataclysm zones level me way faster and are easier to do than Pandaria’s.
But any zone there works.