Fresh 60 in Phase 4 - What to Prioritize

Let's break out the clipboards, people!

Hey dudes, Silvite Soltis here; back with another guide post for you.

As I'm sure you all know, phase 4 was just released and with it, scores of great new items, enchants, and the like. If you saw my most recent post about phase 4, I'm sure you have an idea about some of the things I'm most excited about in this new era of Classic. And as I mentioned in that post, the biggest reason I'm excited for phase 4 and Zul'Gurub is the simple fact that I now have a reason to finish leveling my alts.

Well, thinking about that got me to realize that there's probably a lot of people in a similar situation. And since there's now such a plethora of content that fresh 60s can engage in, I thought it might make sense to provide you all with a bit of a priority list in order to get your capped character - be it your first or your twelfth - geared up as fast as possible. (Note that many of these activities can be started before capping, so make it a point to start preparing as early as you can!)

So, without further ado, let's get right into it...

Priority #1 - Find a Guild that Suits Your Needs

No matter what your goals are at endgame, your absolute first priority should most definitely be to find a guild that suits your needs. After all, if you want to get your character fully decked out in tier 2, it only makes sense that you move on from your casual leveling guild that only has 3 level 60s in it, right?

To do this, clarify what it is you want at endgame, what your play schedule will look like, and how much effort you really want to put into your soon-to-be 60. Then, keep an eye out on the forums, in LookingForGroup and Trade chat channels, and even in the groups you run with toward endgame. Definitely shop around!

Look, guilds in Classic are absolutely mandatory for anyone with a desire to progress at endgame. They provide a social network of other like-minded individuals with similar play schedules. So find one that works for you! Obviously, you should do what you can to contribute to them in turn, but if you end up in a guild that doesn't provide you with any incentives to play, you'll get bored really fast.

Priority #2 - Run ZG As Often As Possible

WANTED: Hakkar the Soulflayer

Assuming you've reached level 60, your 2nd priority after finding a suitable guild should 100% be to run Zul'Gurub as often as possible. Now that ZG is out, you've got a shot at some of the best loot in the game every three days - with quality basically sitting somewhere between tier 1 and tier 2 loot. Moreover, ZG is also a 20-man raid, meaning there will be much less competition for the amazing items within. But in case those two facts aren't reason enough for you, the reputation associated with Zul'Gurub also offers amazing rewards, including epic enchantments and trade recipes, which will no doubt help your character even more. But more than your character, these rewards will be enticing MANY already geared raiders to run this troll raid over and over as well, even though they don't need any of the gear drops!

It's basically free loot! Get in there NOW!

Priority #3 - Get Attuned for the Big Raids (and run them, if possible)

Onyxia's Lair is still relevant!

Before you reach 60, or when you're already saved to ZG for a couple more days, your next priority should be to get attuned for the big raids - Molten Core, Onyxia's Lair, and Blackwing Lair. Even though these raids aren't as efficient in gearing your fresh 60 up as ZG is, the fact of the matter is that there are still amazing items in there. Plus, through running the dungeons to complete theses attunements, you're bound to pick up a few nice pieces of loot too. Be sure to pick up other relevant dungeon quests while you work on those portions of the attunement chains too though!

Once attuned, make an attempt to get into the raids weekly for a shot at some loot. This is where having a suitable raiding guild will be handy - especially if this is your first 60! But if you don't have the time to commit to these big raids every week, or if you just can't seem to find a guild that matches your needs, there are still a couple other ways you can get decently geared up.

Priority #4 - Complete Relevant Quests (depending on what slots you need)

Though often overlooked, there are some amazing quest rewards that every character should aim to grab while leveling up. If you got to level 60 by purely dungeon farming, however, you might have missed out on some great items. So, do a bit of research over on Classic WoWHead and see what sort of quest rewards you could pick up for any missing slots you may have.

I've listed a lot of quests in my guides previously, but here are a few highlights:

General Drakkisath's Demise [A] awards great trinkets for all classes. The Horde equivalent is part of their Onyxia attunement, so it should already be done by this point. You need to complete LBRS to start this chain, though.

In Dreams offers amazing rewards for all classes and requires players to run Strat Live. Since you're guaranteed a choice of a melee neck, healer ring, tank chest, and more, you really should knock this one out as you approach level 60.

Order Must Be Restored [A] / The Scarlet Oracle, Demetria [H] is the final quest in a long chain which awards a decent wand, bow, or intellect shield to adventurers who go the distance and complete it.

The Battle of Darrowshire is a long chain completed out in the open world that you can easily work on while still leveling. Though it sometimes takes a while to find a group to complete the final battle, the tank ring and caster/healer necklace it awards are excellent items to start your fresh 60 off right.

It's Dangerous to Go Alone is the finale to Linken's quest chain (which starts in Un'Goro Crater) and it awards an okay melee main hand weapon or an amazing caster/healer offhand, as well as a boomerang trinket.

Job Opening: Guard Captain of Revantusk Village, is a must-do for Horde melee dps, tanks, and hunters as it awards an amazing hit+ap trinket that you definitely won't replace for a long time.

Priority #5 - Spam Dungeons and/or Visit the Auction House

Finally, your LAST resort for gearing up fast at endgame from phase 4 onward should be the traditional dungeon spamming method. Though you may want to farm reputation or collect some recipes for certain tradeskills, the fact of the matter is that the RNG of dungeon drops makes this method super tedious at this point in Classic's life cycle. If you're aiming for a specific quest reward, then by all means run the dungeon to work toward that and maybe pick up something along the way. But don't bash your head against the wall 200 times trying to get that Savage Gladiator Chain to drop.

Oh, the auction house...

Likewise, unless you're sitting on an absolute mountain of gold, it's not really worth it to spend a bunch of gold on BoE items in the auction house either at this point. With ZG out, we now have 4 raids to collect gear in several times each week. Since many of the BoE items you can pick up will likely be replaced in a few weeks of running ZG, it really doesn't make a lot of sense to spend all of your gold so early on.

However, if you 100% don't plan on raiding at endgame, dungeons and the auction house can definitely be a great way to get some good gear. Just keep in mind that there are more effective methods out there to gear up fast...

Final Thoughts

So, there you have it - the top 5 priorities that you should have in preparing your fresh level 60 for PVE content from phase 4 onward in WoW Classic. I should also mention that there are other roads you could take to get gear, such as professions and PVP, so again, explore whatever options appeal to you. The priorities I listed here are pretty loose and really you should feel free to do anything you like in the game - it's your subscription, after all.

That being said, ZG and phase 4 in general has brought a lot to Classic, and it's really about time. Until now, we've basically all had to grind dungeons non-stop until we were fully decked out, but that's really no longer the case. Now, with just a team of 15 geared raiders and 5 fresh scrubs, we can smash through the troll city and collect phat lewtz to use in our attunement questing if we want. And that feels pretty good.

Anyway, that's it for today. If you found this priority list useful or interesting, let me know by leaving a comment down below. I'd love to hear your thoughts. And if you'd like to see more content like this in the future, consider adding yourself to my mailing list, or follow me on Twitter for updates when new content is released! Also, check out my videos over on YouTube if you enjoy video content as well. Thanks for reading, good luck gearing up your fresh 60, and as always...

Take it easy!

Gear Your DPS Warrior FAST - A simplified gearing guide for raging berserkers in WoW Classic!

Smashy Smashy!

Hey dudes! Silvite Soltis here and today I'm happy to present to you my next WoW Classic "Get Geared Fast" guide! Today, we're going to shine up out battle axes and smash some faces. Right after we eat up from our grind to 60... Yep, it's time to gear up our DPS warriors!

Let's get right into it!


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Step 1 - Run BRD a bunch while leveling, then more at 60.

First off, you're going to want to run Blackrock Depths as early as possible. There are over 30 items that drop here that dps warriors can make use of. Granted, they're not all spectacular, but many of them are pre-raid best in slot, so you really should have this on your list...

You can start doing this dungeon in the early 50s, so make sure to find groups as early as possible. In particular, you'll want to do back-to-back Arena runs as much as possible, as 4 out of the 6 arena bosses drop appropriate gear for dps warriors - including the Savage Gladiator items, Girdle of Beastial Fury, and Grizzle's Skinner. Furthermore, the mobs leading up to the arena will still give exp in your early 50s, so it's definitely a good way to grind out a few levels and gear up along the way.

At 55, start doing full runs for the BRD (and, if Alliance,  Onyxia) attunements. There are some amazing items later on in the dungeon (such as Warstrife Leggings and Hand of Justice), but you likely won't be able to find a group willing to attempt a full clear with you until you're level 55 or higher. Plus, this is when you can start the attunements anyway, so it really just makes sense to do this from here. You can also continue doing Arena farms as needed, but hopefully you'll grab most of the items before this point.

Step 2 - Do These Quests

Hit+AP=Great dps item!

Now that you're quickly approaching level 60, there's a few quests you should make sure you complete. First and foremost, complete the quest Job Opening: Guard Captain of Revantusk Village if you're playing Horde in order to obtain an amazing DPS trinket, Rune of the Guard Captain. Since trinkets are a bit hard to come by, this will go a long way for your warrior.

Next up, do the chain to get Blackhand's Breadth, which involves running LBRS. This is the Onyxia attunement quest chain for Horde players, but for Alliance you'll get the item to start this chain from the final boss of LBRS, Overlord Wyrmthalak. These quests will take you through LBRS and UBRS, giving you a shot at some decent gear along the way. While you run LBRS, keep an eye out for great items such as Blackcrow from Shadow Hunter Vosh'gajin, as well as any other potentially useful gear. And, or course, the same goes for the UBRS runs. After all, each of these dungeons contains around 20 useful drops for dps warriors, so you're likely to fill some slots along the way...

Finally, head over to the Plaguelands to do the quest chain In Dreams for your pre-raid BiS neck, Mark of Fordring, as well as the quest chain ending in The Scarlet Oracle Demetria [H] or Order Must Be Restored [A] for the decent Gorewood Bow, assuming you didn't get one from Blackrock Spire. Wrap up these quests, then move on to the next step...

Step 3 - Run UBRS

Hit is SOOOOOOO good for warriors...

After you've run BRD into the ground and wrapped up the few lucrative quests for your warrior, it's time to head over to UBRS.  This dungeon is one of the best for warriors in terms of quality items - with around 20 of the BEST dps warrior items - including Truestrike Shoulders, Battleborn Armbraces, and Blademaster Leggings (for those of you NOT getting Devilsaur gear). There's a lot more loot to be had, though, so make friends with a key-holder and head on in!

If you decide to go as a tank just to secure a spot, make sure to be clear that you're going for DPS gear from the outset to avoid accusations of ninjaing, as there's likely to be a lot of competition for loot while you're there. Also, make sure to take a screenshot when you state it, in case your group is full of drama queens.

Good luck in the Spire!

Step 4 - Fill in gaps (with AH gear and other dungeon quests)

Always feel free to use the auction house!!!

When you've run enough dungeons and have only a few empty slots left to round out, head over to the auction house to buy some cheap blues or high AP green items. Alternatively, you could explore different dungeons as well - especially dungeons with quests that award gear like the Kirtonos the Herald questline in Scholomance which awards Mirah's Song, a wonderful sword. But, by this point you should be geared pretty well, so if you just want to smash things in MC and Ony, you should be good to go! Just make sure you wrapped up all of your attunements!

Final Thoughts

Congratulations on getting to level 60 and good luck getting your smashy warrior all geared up! Honestly, the hardest part of gearing your warrior will be getting groups that don't expect you to tank, but if you manage to get a solid group and make sure to announce what you're going for as you run the dungeons, you should be fine. As a final note, you probably noticed that I didn't mention anything about Dire Maul in this guide, despite it being available. The reason for this is that while much of the gear IS very good, there simply isn't enough of it for DPS warriors to make it a viable option for fast gearing. However, if you plan to do tribute runs for the buffs before heading into MC and/or Ony once you are geared, you should keep an eye out for potential upgrades.

But anyway, that's it for today. If you liked this guide or found it useful, let me know by leaving a comment down below. Follow me on Facebook and Twitter for updates on future content releases, streaming, and more. Also, if you prefer video guides, check out my YouTube channel where I turn all of these guides into videos eventually. Finally, if you'd like to support my endeavors, consider becoming one of my Patrons over on Patreon. I really appreciate your support - whether it's a donation or just from you sharing this post with someone who might find it useful. But yeah, that's all for now. Thanks again for reading. And as always...

Take it easy!


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A special thanks to wowhead.com and the Atlasloot addon for making this guide possible, as well as to all of my YouTube subscribers who voted in the poll that inspired me to write this guide in the first place. Thank you all for your support!