Kaet: Forced Playtime
When we last left Kaet I was slowly, oh so slowly, picking up the scattered threads of her life again. Since then, I’ve power-leveled her to level 50, more or less against my will.
Wait a second!, you exclaim. How can you level against your will? Well, as I mentioned in my last Kaet post, I am not shy about taking breaks from active playing if I’m just not into it. And I never force myself to play … well, not unless I have a very good reason. *grin*
See, I have this bank alt who picked up tailoring. (She’s also my wind serpent hunter, and a more fiery and fey Draenei you may never hope to meet.) But regardless of the character, I am an inveterate collector. And so I could not let the Lunar Festival pass me by without obtaining the two tailoring recipes to be had: Pattern: Festival Dress and Pattern: Festival Suit.
Unfortunately, while the patterns themselves were within my tailor’s capabilities, you must be level 50 to complete the quest that gives you the patterns — and she’s not. (Thankfully the patterns are not Bind on Pickup.) In fact, the closest Alliance character I had to level 50 was — you guessed it — Kaet! So Kaet took one for the collective well-being and went out adventuring, even though I wasn’t really in the mood.
And it wasn’t so bad. I only needed five levels or so, and the Lunar Festival is a nice long event, so I didn’t have to push myself hard. I even did some romancing in the middle and won a Lovely Black Dress (which also went to the tailor bank alt, since Kaet looks silly in it). In fact, I met my goal with a day to spare. Moreover, the playtime seems to have reinvigorated my urge to play: Kaet is almost 52 now!
I started by finishing up the Badlands quests, then hit (in no particular order) the Hinterlands, Searing Gorge, and the Blasted Lands. This is the only other character besides Mania that has reached these levels, and Mania came through here more than two years ago. So I really had forgotten what leveling through these areas is like … and how much I dislike it.
It’s not that any particular area is terrible, it’s that … well, everything is so scattered. A couple quests here, a couple quests there — I spend most of my time running back and forth checking to see if anything new has opened up, looking for something to do. (And I know I made things harder on myself by choosing to level as much as possible only in the Eastern Kingdoms. But still.)
In addition, the ruined landscape is really getting me down. Okay, I get it, the war did terrible things to the world and now everything is fire and smoke and barren rock. I tell you, it makes me positively homesick for Elwynn Forest! And while I’m looking forward to Outland — for the first time it doesn’t feel 100 years away — I’m really not all that excited to see the barren red fields of Hellfire Peninsula anytime soon. (Maybe I’ll skip HFP and head straight to Zangarmarsh … )
Zone annoyances aside, my crabs and I are still doing fine. My biggest problem continues to be the level difference between myself and the crabs that I built up during the early stages of Patch 2.3 — a difference I didn’t help any by pushing to level 50 as fast as possible.
I want to emphasize, though, that my difficulties are strictly because the crabs are lower level than I, not because they are crabs. My little gems are darned tough to kill, and with a little thought to my shot selection they can hold aggro on creatures 4-5 levels above themselves. (Less than that doesn’t require any attention on my part.) If I wasn’t so stubborn about leveling all three at once, I’d have one (or two) caught up with me now and be massacring well above my level.
At any rate, I feel quite confident in saying that crabs are a perfectly valid pet choice for solo leveling, at least to level 50. And if you don’t agree, I’ll have them pinch you to death!
Table of Contents for Series: Kaet
- Introducing: Kaet
- Kaet: Northshire Valley
- Kaet: Goldshire
- Kaet: Level 10!
- Kaet: Taming the Crabs
- Kaet: Finishing Up Elwynn
- Kaet: Westfall
- Kaet: Redridge
- Kaet: Westfall Interlude
- Kaet: Finishing Up Westfall (Mostly)
- Kaet: Back to Redridge
- Kaet: Getting Disgusted
- Kaet: Duskwood
- Kaet: Where the heck am I?
- Kaet: The Post-Brewfest Blues
- Kaet: Eight Levels Later
- Kaet Gets a Pony!
- Kaet: On Hold
- Kaet: Where was I again?
- Kaet: Forced Playtime
- Kaet: Level 60!
- Kaet: Kill Command
- Kaet: A Quick Note From Nagrand
- Kaet: Level 70!
25 Comments
ironic, I’ve been pressing myself to get my orc hunter up, partly because my only +60 lvl folks are alliance and I want to see the horde side of things (thinking that there are enough new quests to keep me from going insane), and partly because I want to have access to both horde and alliance in Outlands.
I just hit 46 on the hunter, and decided at 39 to concentrate him, against my normal course, on leveling the ghost saber instead of my favored ravagers. This felt odd at first, but at 45 (once the saber got within a level, it’s normal now) the saber holds his own and does very well at it. took some tactical adjustments to counteract the lack of agro for a very low level pet, but now that the levels overlap or are within 1, it’s just like anything else.
And now, on a burn from 39 to 46, I’m tired. I log in, stare a bit and log out. even looked back at my lvl 22 undead rogue for a bit, but that even wasn’t much incentive.
As you say, some of the questing is far ranged (Strangle thorn that takes me to hinterlands and back…now THAT is a bit much). bah.
maybe if I give it a rest a while I can get back into it :) encouraging to hear you are hitting the same walls and pushing through.
I know the feeling of not wanting to play. I haven’t been able to face playing for about a month now, I’ve been concentrating on improving my digital art skills and trying to learn 3d art. After leveling 4 characters to 70, I’m not in the mood to level anymore even though I have many more to level. I spent a bit of time trying out PvP but even that has lost it’s appeal so now I’m waiting for the expansion.
I should really log in because I’m a guild master for 2 very small guilds but I’m struggling finding the motivation. Oh well, maybe soon I’ll get back into the WoW mood again.
I would absolutely hat to be in your position mania, I have a level 48 alt and ever since that patch that made mid levels go by faster I really feel like I’m missing out on some of the best levels of the game. It has been a while since I did the 40-58 on any char and I feel like it is zooming by. It must really suck to have to get Kaet up so fast without time to enjoy those levels.
-Spleeny
Ooops, i said ‘hat’ instead of hate.
No real insightful comments from me: I’m just happy that you’re enjoying your little gems :)
Woot!! A lady Dwarf hunter! All of my ally hunters are lady dwarves.
And, by the way, the lovely black dress looks just fine on the dwarves!
By the way, although I chuckle at having more than one crab, my Orc loves hers.
Stand back everyone… Mania has crabs! X-D
And I’m not afraid to use them!
LOL @ Mania - Crabs may be good, but I love my piggy way too much to try anything else.
Heh, you can level with pretty much any pet, Mania. I leveled with a wolf for most of my mains levels. Another hunter is leveling with a spider. Another a bear. Heck, I have a draeni hunter leveling with a dragon hawk from Silvermoon, and he still does fine! One day I’ll really have to experiment with a spore bat, just to see if they can hold aggro, even without bite or claw…..
Oh gosh, Messyah, your comment reminds me of something that happened at work the other day– I work at a pet store and somebody was buying some crabs. And they were talking to somebody on their cell phone and kept saying stuff like “They have crabs… I’m going to get crabs… yes, I’m going to come home with crabs!” =P
Mania, I’m sort of going through zone annoyances too, with my level 49 tauren hunter. Mostly because I want to hit a bunch of zones with her but she’s leveling too fast to keep up with them all. She spent a lot of time in Hinterlands– I really love that zone for some reason– but I’m finding myself sad that she had to skip a lot of Feralas and Tanaris and Searing Gorge because there are a surprisingly large number of horde quests in Hinterlands, far more than I remember there being with my Alliance character.
And I’m trying my best to keep this character entirely un-rested, too– mostly because it makes simultaneously leveling two pets easier. =P I haven’t logged her out in an inn or city in forever. But I suppose the increased leveling speed is making itself known now and making you have to skip zones you would have once considered essential.
I do think that Hellfire Peninusula is not that fun of a zone. I left that place and headed to Zangarmarsh as soon as I could. To this day I have a bunch of unfinished quests in Hellfire.
I hate leveling low level pets! At 47 I nearly pounded myself for getting attatched to Araga, and going on a 4-5 day hunt for her, not leveling at all..
Then I got her, and I am now 51, still leveling her to 50.
BTW, sit back and relaxe, Mania! Leveling fast is an annoying physical illness and must be treated by hanging out with a crab in a happy bright zone ^.^
As for zones, be happy you arent heading to Western Plaguelands yet.. I dread that time…
Crabs ftw =D
one of my troll hunters got a tiny red crab as her first pet.named it pinchpinch.i REFUSE to replace it.its to damn cute and pinchy.i saw someone with a level 70 red once.thing was HUGE…
I feel for ya! (and the crabs!).. my pet is a crab.. a red one in fact - my first tame, and will be my loyal companion up to level 70, and beyond. :3
Nice to see you have kept your crabs , but with 3 what are you going to do about skills for them as the highest one has only claw 6 i believe ?…
I must admit i should try a crab on one of my hunters again , now i have 4 horde hunters i am trying to get 2 different pets on each , a semi ? tank and a dps pet , So far i have my orc with Humar , dam that one has a slow spawn rate i spent about 6 hours killing and skinning those cats around the tree before he showed and the other a boar which will end up with a skin from razorfen , my troll has the blue raptor from the wailing caverns and at the moment another boar not quite sure what she will end up with instead of a boar , my tauren has the pink tallstrider and a Durator tiger called marmalade , so my tauren has her end game pets already , my orc will soon have hers , my troll has another to find though , my BE hunter well she so far has an ashenvale wolf and a boar , not quite sure with her as to what pets she will have , Something pretty and something effective though , as all are between 20 and 26 now and all have trades to learn it will take me some time to level them and that gives me time to decide , but so far i am gaining at least a level or two a day so going well , and i have a ud priest as well so i have each race , i find with 5 characters i can get the drops i need for the others trades , my hardest thing to find is silver bars and ore , but i guess now my levels are better i will find more in chests as well as veins , the priest is enchanting the hunters gear so she is doing ok with her being my banker as well , so she gets all the drops to sell at auction , i am disenchanting anything that does not sell the first time unless it is a blue which of course should get me decent gold and now i have my characters over 20 i am getting far better drops to sell or disenchant , all in all it has reset my interest in the game again…
Just found Petopia - Totally amazing! Holy Toledo, and various other exclamations of astonishment! Thank you so much, it’s a terrific website. Although I nearly sobbed when I saw moths in the untamable list. They’re so darn pretty I’d take one even if it had caster stats.
And… love the crabs. Possibly just because I had some real ones for a pet when I was a kid.
I want a ravager, is there any way a horde can get one at the -50 mark??? How can i get to bloodmyst… via ghost running???
Sad little Tauren Hunter
Crab goes good with a little Old Bay seasoning
Cook well since they eat just about anything
>:D
My orc and blood elf hunter both made the trip with only one death, no ghost walking required. The only iffish areas are just upon entering Ashenvale, and having to go around Astranaar. After that, head to Auberdine, and swim out around the guards, to under where the boat docks, and drown yourself. Rez on the boat, and make sure to avoid the Exodar, and viola, you have yourself a ravager!
darkdude:
as Palladiamorsdeus pointed out, I’ve done all my hunters that way, only I jump the ship before it docks at Exodar, swim around the point and up under the bridge - go around the point after the bridge and there they are. Or, you can swim/run to bloodmyst and get one of the enraged (green) ones. Use sticky glue and freeze trap and they won’t touch you (they have knockdown that cancels the tame). they are 16/17 so be ready for a LONG session of training up.
the next available I think is 61? in Outlands.
Ones in outland are best. They have age and experience on their side lol. Have to deal with poaching for their meat, fel reavers, Burning legion, Gnomes with guns……….
Any pet can be used to level, just like any spec can be used to level. You could effectively level a hunter as 0/0/0 without a whole lot of difficulty.
However, that doesn’t make a crab a good pet, nor does it make any old spec a good spec.
Crabs are viable in that any pet is viable just for questing. They’re not viable if you ever want to perform to the best of your abilities.
The horrors of level 55! Good quests are far and few between and you’ve done them all! Now they are all extremely boring and all of them take forever! Outland is three levels away but can you keep playing that long? Don’t use your alts!
I hear you Mania, My main NEhunter Amewen is a lv63, and I am having a heck of time getting her to level, I don’t care for the outlands so far that I have seen. I did find my perfect pet, the frostpride Watcher, I call him Roxo.
I play with my hubby, and have a blast questing together. we both have hunters at 63, have both stalled there.
I started a second hunter who is at a lv 23, and a warlock who just hit 30, I have been having a blast with her and all the specialty quests that go with it. She hangs out with my hubbys Mage who is a 34, he really likes the mage.
Oh man. I feel you, Mania. I have a 26 Warlock and a 14 Shaman (Allies), and a 70 Dwarf Hunter who I’m on 99.9999999% of the time. =/ I’ve been trying to level my ‘Lock as much as possible, but, being on a PvP server, I can’t seem to do ANYTHING in Duskwood. I’m definitely going over to Desolace once I hit 30-31, ’cause no one goes there on my server. =P But yeah, GL once you get Kaet to 55… Terrible in the 55-58 bracket. =/
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