Hey forum!
I’m currently leveling a character from 1-120 by questing, I’m having a blast. What do I need to know or focus on in the future levels? Anything I can get a head start on? If I will learn everything from the quests, then sweet, but just want to know anything I can to help me out.
Thank you guys!
Before 110, there’s not really that much special that will give you any advantage at 120. So, just keep on questing.
Once you get into BfA content, you might want to consider swapping to a new zone once you hit friendly with the current zone’s faction. You’ll need friendly with all 3 factions from the leveling zones to unlock world quests, which is required to access a lot of the end game content and story.
Similarly, you can do the 3 foothold quests for the War Campaign as you level to 120. (I think the first one opens up at 112, then 114, then 118. There’s a tutorial quest for Island Expeditions you’ll get at 115 or 116 that is required for the last foothold.) Each one is 15-30 minutes for questing, and you’ll need all 3 to unlock world quests. The quest log will have a section at the top telling you the next part you need for the War Campaign and where to pick it up, so it’s not a bad idea to keep an eye on it while leveling up.
You don’t have to move on at friendly if you like questing and will want to see the BfA leveling story before dealing with end-game stuff. But, if you’re one of those people who hit 120 and want to start gearing up and heading into the content everyone else is at ASAP, it can save you some questing if you bail on a zone as soon as you hit friendly. (Just as a quick warning, the faction for Drustvar is a bit of an oddball as you don’t get any rep for the first part of the zone and then part way into the story “BOOM” big rep jump. So, it’s about the same amount of questing to friendly as other zones, but it can feel like you aren’t making progress when you are.)
It should also be noted that you will need to complete all of 3 zones as one of the criteria for unlocking flying, so you’ll probably end up finishing them at some point.
I think warriors should periodically tank a few dungeons and quest a bit in Prot spec while leveling just to get a feel for it. You may well find a need in the future to pinch hit as either the main or secondary tank.
It helps to understand a little of the basics of mob management and situational awareness ahead of time instead of trying to acquire those skills as they apply to tanks in your first emergency tanking experience.
Prot is also a decent leveling spec. It kills thing slower than Fury or Arms but can deal with more mobs at a time. It’s also useful when, while questing, you run across that heavy hitting rare mob with a zillion health who may also spawn adds but drops the sweet loot.
Wow! Thank you very much for the in-depth breakdown. My plan is to do finish every chapter for each zone so I’ll surely be getting all 3 of those factions done when I get to BFA content. I have written down the 3 foothold quests, and making sure I attain Friendly with the factions. Thank you again.