Instances - the non-gamer and me

My non-gamer friend and I are working our way through 2-manning instances as we level (currently at level 56). Mainly the instances are green when we do them. This means we get XP and some gear upgrades from them, although they are also supported by Tailoring, Blacksmithing and Engineering (no heirlooms though). We also make good use of Elixirs and buff foods enchants etc. So far we have cleared all the instances up to Black Rock Depths with the exception of RFC (we have never grouped through LFG) and SFK (last boss stopped us at the appropriate level). We have also done all the bosses except Willey Hopebreaker (Stratholme – the Horde), damage races will remain a problem when two manning content. We haven’t one shotted all the content though, Dire Maul – Grodok Commons in particular was a stiff challenge with us even wiping on trash at times.
She won’t play female characters, I balance this by making all my tanks female – although we have done all the instances on my warrior so far. And won’t play Horde, they are too ugly.

The non-gamer has gone from struggling with moving and fighting their way around the start zone (1-5) to suggesting boss strategies and playing the auction house. Crafting professions however still remain something they don’t have any interest in, they tried enchanting but didn’t really get it. On the other hand I have come to dread them calling “Oh! Herbs!” Especially in instances. They have at various points cornered the low level leather market (up to heavy leather). They even feel comfortable with the gamer terminology used in game. Far from just being a healer to my tank they suggest strategies, some of which work.
We try to attempt instances 1-2 levels below the top level and there is a degree of imbalance from one instance to the rest, Dire Maul was a speed bump (due to being not completely downgraded) but after that it was business as usual. We are trying to see how far we can go with two manning the instances but there may come the day when we will invite an outsider in, both of us are un-guilded. That time has not yet come but when it does it will be someone from the same realm as us EU-Mazrigos.

Two manning instances allows you to really see how the boss mechanics work and forces you to plan out the fights. In fact we now are at a point where we have to take a raider approach, stocking up on supplies and reading boss strategies (well okay I do that stuff and they listen). Stocking up means elixirs, food and as an engineer (bombs). I learned goblin engineering and the Bigger One is proving very useful in some situations – big radius plus 3 second stun. They have a discipline priest and usually account for around 25% of the total damage. Currently I have almost the full imperial plate set, enough for the set bonus anyway.
Neither of us are expert players, but we have found the right level of challenge.

Twitter added

While I am not a huge fan of twitter I have added a twitter link and will be adding a few tips there between the main content.

You can find me at the_greygamer

I am currently 'tweeting' my in-game activities

Gold per Hour - Update

I am still working on the mining component for this guide. I will publish some of my findings on this blog but the complete figures are probably best put in a separate document.

Rather than just publish a list of what zones are best for each type of ore I have expanded my research to eventually cover all the zones with accurate data for all. I think this can be useful for those who have to farm at busy times where a less productive zone can be more productive due to less competition.

To this end I have run Darkshore 14 times so far, for a grand total of almost seven hours on a level 42-44 Druid with a 60% mount and the bountiful bags bonus. If you eliminate the bountiful bags bonus (+15%) I have collected 82 stacks of copper ore or about 242 copper ore per hour. Just check what the current selling price is on your realm to see the gold per hour and this is what you should expect for a level 20 character.

I have also made a start on the best Tin and Iron zones. Unfortunately I have limited time for this research at the moment so it is slow progress. The figures for copper are starting to look quite consistent though and it is becoming clear that there are different 'best' routes for the different factions. These are based around making good use of the flightmasters in each zone.

In Darkshore for example, I have a route that starts at Grove of the Ancients and finishes at Lor'Danel, Such an approach allows some zones to be broken into shorter routes that can be tailored to the time available.

I should be able to put up a post on copper ore for the Alliance soon and I will be covering selling the ore as well. The only problem I can see is that copper and tin should be covered together because they combine to make bronze. This combination can unlock a lot more profit from mining than just copper alone.

I have started a couple of Horde gatherers on another realm to cover that faction, and as a side project made a druid and a paladin to see which is best. I will start on these once they reach level 20.