So I’m only level 48 frost mage so I have a bit of time before I have to worry about this but what level should I start farming the pre raid BIS gear. Obviously I would still do quests but just want a gauge when I should start.
when you get to the min level req for the instance, you should start - BRD is 49, strat/scholo (is 55, I think?), etc. If you join a guild, they will probably have some players who will come and help you farm some of the instances from time to time. BRD is harder because 60 warriors/rogues/paladins usually just want to get to kill the boss next to arena for hand of justice, or go to arena for savage gladiator chain. The good news is there’s really good robe that drops from emperor at the very end of BRD… MC attunement happens in BRD but it’s just killing the fire boss and then dropping down into the lava and running across a bridge… But that’s just BRD. Strat is good for the orbs, people usually always want to run that for a chance at orbs - well there are way better ways to farm gold than orbs, but you could at least convince some 60s in your guild to go just for helping out and also to get orbs. Also, there are lots of people who need their pre raid BiS from those instances as well. Baron Rivendare for example drops a great cape for melee/hunters. He also drops an epic mount so you might be able to pick some people up just for a chance at that mount.
All in all, I say that you should quest and /join lookingforgroup, as well as /join lfg, and advertise constantly to start a group up, while you quest. You have to be 100% ok with dropping everything that you’re doing to go do the instance. So you might log in, fly to ungoro, get 15 minutes into a quest, and have to drop everything that you’re doing and fly to a boat, wait for a boat, and then fly/run all of the way to EPL and get dazed by mobs and/or killed, for a strat/scholo group. If you wind up spending too much time questing (more than 2 hours without finding a group), then you should try to ramp up your advertising. This is because if you quest too much and get to the mid 50’s with no experience running those pre-bis dungeons, no pre-bis gear in your bags, then you’re going to end up stuck at level 60 running those dungeons and not even gaining exp for it. Which would be REALLY BORING… So try to avoid that.
I do hyper targeted advertising because my server (Whitemane) is locked and when I was leveling this guy to 60 last month, sometimes LFG and lookingforgroup channels were not enough to find people to do these dungeons.
/who 55-60
^^this command for example will pull all 55s and 60s (/who only pulls 50 at a time)
/who priest 49-54
^^will find all priests between level 49 and 54
etc etc
start whispering everybody that pops up when you use the /who command.
Whatever you do, start nailing down your pre-bis gear ASAP because if you lose a roll at level 53, you’re still X bars further towards 60. If you lose a roll at 60, you didn’t exactly waste your time but you could have been farming gold or doing pretty much anything else.
TLDR version:
Start farming instances for prebis ASAP. Join the LFG and lookingforgroup channels. Use the /who command. Build groups using characters that won’t compete with you on rolls, if possible.
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Are you hoping to raid? What sort of raid group do you want to go with? PuG, Raid group 3, casual, hardcore, speedruns?
If you decide to raid with say a Raid Group 3, they probably won’t have any requirements other than (maybe) show up. They already know the raid, and are mostly alts (might be a good starting point).
Going to raid pugs and with my guild. Just want to be decent enough to get into the raid.
I mean, as a mage, you’re depending a little on how you’re specc’ed, (but you’re probably specc’ed to do the most damage with Frost Bolt), you aren’t super gear dependent, and will do better dmg than some other classes, even in whatever gear you happen to be in.
I wouldn’t worry too much about it, but have a look at some pre-BiS lists, like https://classic.wowhead.com/guides/wow-classic-mage-dps-pre-raid-best-in-slot-gear
It’s arguably better if you can get a sense for yourself as to the stats that are helpful for you, rather than just the gear, but it’s also easy to just follow a shopping list, so you do you.
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If you get green frost damage gear from the AH you can hold up decently in most ZG groups, and gear up very quickly.
Getting Pre Raid BiS is a fun process though, and around 50 you can start aiming for prices. But over all it isn’t as required because even in most PUGs everyone is geared and looking for rep or specific items.
Personally I’d say wait till 52 or 53. You could start as early as 50, but you could be leveling faster.
At 54 you can kill a majority of the bosses in BRD. The last boss is 59 unless you are the lowest level, I wouldnt go for emp runs until 56.
At 56-58, depending on the group you could get into both LBRS and UBRS. It’s easier to get carried in UBRS, especially if you have a friend.
At 58 or 59 is when I’d think about strat or scholo. Those dungeons take a little longer and most people generally dont want to clear every pack just to clear the dungeon.
If you want to level in a timely pace and pick up pieces before 60, I think 55 is a smart time. If you farm brd at 55 for all the pieces you need you’ll probably be 56 or 57 depending on your luck, and ready to move onto LBRS. If you farm LBRS you could potentionally be 58-60, again depending on gear drops.
Much easier and faster at 60 to farm UBRS, strat, scholo and DM:E/W/N
Totally agree with this - only hit BRD with other lower level players if you’re content with doing it just for exp and possibly getting an hour in and having the group fall apart. It’s a very challenging dungeon to fully clear if you don’t have a 60 tank or healer. Preferably a 60 tank. This is why it’s really important to try to get into a good guild with level 60s who are down to jump into some of these dungeons. A pre-BWL guild that is working on their core raiding team would most likely be a good starting point. In a guild like this, you will have individuals who are willing to carry you through BRD/strat/scholo, and help you get attunement out of the way.
You can start with brd farming in your early 50s, my friend just dinged 60 and picked up 5-6 prebis items while leveling
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Farm gold - buy bloodvine 3 piece and go to ZG. Pre-raid bis isn’t really required for anything anymore.