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!