Classic leveling

[Nheme]

The world record for 1-60 in /played-time is 4 days, 20 hours and 52 minutes, and it's important to remember that this run might be including logging off and resting your character in the Inns' around the world (as /played-time only counts when your character is logged in) so it might not be the fastest 1-60 real-time run.

Let's say that you would be able to do max with a /played-time of 5 days and 21 hours (giving you 24 hours and 8 minutes extra). How long would it take you in real-time if you leveled every day?

2 hours a day of gaming: 70 days and 12 hours.
4 hours a day of gaming: 35 days and 6 hours.
8 hours a day of gaming: 17 days and 15 hours.
12 hours a day of gaming: 11 days and 18 hours.
16 hours a day of gaming: 8 days, 19 hours and 30 minutes.

No wonder it took over a month real-time for most players to max out.

[Deleted]

The world record for 1-60 in /played-time is 4 days, 20 hours and 52 minutes, and it's important to remember that this run might be including logging off and resting your character in the Inns' around the world (as /played-time only counts when your character is logged in) so it might not be the fastest 1-60 real-time run.

Let's say that you would be able to do max with a /played-time of 5 days and 21 hours (giving you 24 hours and 8 minutes extra). How long would it take you in real-time if you leveled every day?

2 hours a day of gaming: 70 days and 12 hours.
4 hours a day of gaming: 35 days and 6 hours.
8 hours a day of gaming: 17 days and 15 hours.
12 hours a day of gaming: 11 days and 18 hours.
16 hours a day of gaming: 8 days, 19 hours and 30 minutes.

No wonder it took over a month real-time for most players to max out.

Yeah especially considering it's probably gonna take more than 6 days /played since quests like defias traitor are going to be camped to hell and back while the other half goes to darkshore because they follow joanas guide and crash every boat on their way there only to arrive to a barren wasteland with no alive mobs. It's not like Blizzard can just freely up the mob respawn times either since most classes get dicked if there's more than one mob aggroed to them. So then people think "I'll just skip this one" which is a fucking terrible mistake because once you get left behind in XP it's hard as fuck to come back, especially since vanilla quest-chains are redonculously long and span for over 10 levels

It'll be great, can't wait

[Deleted]

Yeah especially considering it's probably gonna take more than 6 days /played since quests like defias traitor are going to be camped to hell and back while the other half goes to darkshore because they follow joanas guide and crash every boat on their way there only to arrive to a barren wasteland with no alive mobs. It's not like Blizzard can just freely up the mob respawn times either since most classes get dicked if there's more than one mob aggroed to them. So then people think "I'll just skip this one" which is a fucking terrible mistake because once you get left behind in XP it's hard as fuck to come back, especially since vanilla quest-chains are redonculously long and span for over 10 levels

It'll be great, can't wait

It is not even going to be close to 6 days /played IMHO. There are so many practical problems that interfere.

[nomorepriest]

This is fastest way to level


http://www.joanasworld.com/azeroth.htm

[irdsyd]

First toon I levelled was 11 days /played. Soon after that was 60 the first oceania designated server was announced (new servers were a big thing back then) so I rerolled and the 2nd toon took 8 days /played to get to 60. I never got an epic mount in Vanilla - the money involved took way too long to earn (which is why gold sellers were a thing) and if you raided repair costs ate into savings. Doing attunement runs for onyxia in UBRS were a hassle... I remember when I got all greens (what a concept)... and blues were unusual. There was a few epic world drops. We used to do 10 person runs (UBRS, LBRS and stratholme)- often after a particular blue item. Fire resistance gear was a thing for the first two raids - and nature resistance for the third raid (tier 2.5). We had only killed 4 bosses in tier 3 (naxx) before the next expansion.

[Anguirel]

My first char was probably around 3 months, that said, it wwas a warrior and I didn't even know about stances or anything

I'd almost forgotten about that story -- we had a Warrior in my first guild that came along to tank something for us -- ST, or BRD, I think. Either way, he was a level 60 in slightly lower level but still dangerous content. I was healing, and having a lot of trouble keeping up with the damage being taken, and I finally asked if he could switch to Defensive Stance to help me out. He literally had no idea what I was talking about -- he had missed the quest to get it entirely.

[Afrospinach]

It took about 4 days played to hit sixty in vanilla if you went for it which is curiously similar to what it is today if you go out questing in heirlooms.
People ended up grinding because it was faster than questing, not because there were no quests. Something something normally no epic mount. In the time it takes you to run to get your quests you could have killed many times the xp you get from it. It was about 10 mobs worth of xp per quest hand in, which is a lot less than what it is today. They really don't want you to grind for some reason.

I have several server firsts so I was not slow or anything.

[iDielord]

It took about 4 days played to hit sixty in vanilla if you went for it which is curiously similar to what it is today if you go out questing in heirlooms.

About 5 days if you're world record material doing multiple speed runs over a course of entire Vanilla on one of the best leveling classes , you mean?


Also - if Classic will not have sharding technology, most people will not be able to replicate anything close to this time, cause mobs will be contested HEAVILY, and it isn't current WoW, mob respawns are slower, and many quests will be bottlenecked by killing "one named NPC that is on a 1-3 minutes respawn timer" and you can't tag share it with another 30 ppl waiting for it too.
P.S. God, i still remember how i was sitting in queue to tame my Broken Tooth on a 8 hr respawn timer, sweet sweet 1.0 attack speed xD

[BSwitch]

I think the other important thing to keep in mind going into Classic is that the leveling experience was as much of the game as the endgame was, if not more. It had a completely different play philosophy than each xpac since because there were honestly as many things to do while leveling as while capped.

This - This - So much this. Yes, end game is still a thing, but it's different from today. In Classic, the journey and the destination are important, but in the current game, there's basically ONLY the end game. Questing is fun, but honestly after the first time you just want to rush through it asap and you stop reading. In Classic, there are so many different things you can focus on day to day that hitting cap asap isn't necessarily the most important thing. To some, yes, but ESPECIALLY if you've never played Classic, understand that things will take longer, and enjoy that. You'll get to see and quest through full zones that you maybe have never set foot in.

For me, it took about 3-4 months to get to cap originally. Every level was a milestone. Back in the day, guild chat would be full of people saying *DING!* when they levelled (not capped, but went from 34-35, or 46-47). It's a long journey. Some will rush, but I'd encourage everyone to have fun - whatever you do, no matter how fast or slow you go. You're not missing anything - you're playing the game!

[Sparklelord]

See you nerds on Thottbot

[Afrospinach]

About 5 days if you're world record material doing multiple speed runs over a course of entire Vanilla on one of the best leveling classes , you mean?

No I mean literally anyone who doesn't have ADHD and just plows the zones will get less than 5 days played on virtually any class. Judging by your screen shot that was early, early vanilla or a private server by how people and sending congrats and whatnot. I don't know how much they changed things over the course. I am talking about knowing what you are doing, where to go etc.

Obviously my first character took forever just like everyone else, melee hunter FTW.(I was still faster than most, lol).

[Kelathos]

My experience was gear kept character strength at minimal level, making questing a challenge. You'd often want and/or need a buddy to quest with you just to have the strength to do it smoothly and not have to eat AND drink to full between pulls.

[Sondrakk]

I hear so much about how different a game vanilla was the how horribly long the leveling grind was but I'd like to know how bad was it Actually? Are we talking 72 hours to hit 60? 240 hours to hit sixty? also was the mob difficulty anything like how they are now, post 7.3.5. Also how long did it take you to farm enough gold for your first and epic mounts?I'm excited to give classic a shot. And if you gonna start with your elitist pro vanilla your a scrub I'm the best since I played vanilla then gtfo here no one want to hear your bullshit.

Hey man,

First of all, the thing to keep in mind is that vanilla's game philosophy and design is completely different from today's wow.

The game today is old and has had several patches and expansions. As such, it ended up fragmented in two big parts : the current expansion content, and the pre-expansion content (right now, of course, pre-legion content; legion soon joining the rest of the zones to be part of the pre-bfa content that nobody will care about ). Because everytime a new expansion launches the game focuses almost exclusively on that latest expansion content, all the stuff that was relevant before is made obsolete and near irrevelant.

That is why we all just want to rush through the so called "leveling content" as fast as possible. The largest portion of that content is not interesting nor relevant for your progression and is only a pre-requisite to start playing the current game. Even Blizzard now accepts this fact completely and has embraced this design by giving us a character boost every new expansion so we can immediately enjoy the last xpac.

In my very humble opinion, I think most people that played vanilla remember the leveling as a horrible grind and a tedious chore because they are now used to today's game philosophy, which has been effective for several years now : "the last expansion content is the only relevant content". I used to remember vanilla leveling that way as well.

But, a little while ago, I had the opportunity to play vanilla wow again in a certain private server, and I was completely amazed by how the game was not only totally different but - more importantly - incredibly fun and addicting.

So, when approaching vanilla, you might first have to "unlearn what you have learned" because vanilla is definitely NOT about rushing through some supposedly "boring" leveling to "finally start playing the real game" at 60.

Vanilla being the first version of the game without any expansion pack, you must consider it as one whole, non-fragmented, complete and coherent game with a beginning and an end (?). That end, of course, is to be debated since everyone can have his own goals with the game but let's just say that, pve content-wise - and for simplicity's sake - the game starts at level 1 and ends at level 60 when you kill Kel'Thuzad in Naxxramas.

And here is the important part : everything is relevant. Wiping on Nefarian in BWL? You are playing vanilla. Making your way through those damn goblin engineers in the deadmines? You are playing vanilla. Killing kobolds around Northshire Abbey at level 1? You are playing vanilla. And none of these different pieces of content are more or less relevant than the other. You start playing the "real game" as soon as you start your adventure at level 1.

So, to answer your question, here is what you can expect from vanilla wow :

1) The leveling is not "horribly long" nor "bad". The leveling is a fundamental part of the game; as important and relevant as the end-game. Also, you will come across many people during leveling. Many quests are "elite" and require a group to be completed, and you'll always find people looking for group in general chat, etc. Even if not elite, it will very often feel better to quest with other people. It's an adventure that you will share with others! As for the time, if you play without trying to rush or following the most efficient routes, the leveling time is definitely 200+ hours from 1 to 60 (counting /afk time). The last time I hit 60 on a blizzlike vanilla server, I had roughly 13 days /played. Keep in mind I reaaaally took my time, upped my professions along the way, had sometimes long /afk times, etc. I just enjoyed the ride. It can definitely be way shorter than that. It will be more than 72 hours though, that at least I can say.

2) The mobs difficulty is higher than what we have now post 7.3.5. But your experience will be very different depending on your class and spec. You will be slow as a warrior but faster and more efficient as a warlock. Generally speaking, I'd say it takes roughly the same amount of time to kill a mob in vanilla compared to 7.3.5 without heirlooms. The main difference is that you take much more damage from mobs. This means that, most of the time, you won't be able to kill more than 2 or 3 mobs at a time, assuming they are of your level. A fight vs 3 mobs implies using cc, cds and potion. If you survive, expect having to eat/drink, bandage. The smoothest way will always be to kill one mob at a time. Again, the game really encourages you to group with other people and you'll often be doing this stuff in a group.

3) Regarding the time to farm the gold for the first mount : usually you will have the amount required when you hit lvl 40, or you won't be too far from it. (Getting from 1 to 40 is a few days /played, maybe 5? Don't quote me on that. ) That's assuming you have at least one gathering profession, and that you loot everything from every mob, vendor all the greys and sell on the AH every non-grey item. Trust me, everything sells ! (Be sure to get an AH add-on). As for the epic mount, I cannot say exactly since I've never done it in Vanilla. Takes a little while for sure and it's a nice accomplishment.

I'm excited for classic too man ! I'm sure you'll enjoy it !

TL;DR :

1) 200+ hours average from 1 to 60 if you take your time and don't try to rush/be the most efficient. Definitely more than 72 hours.

2) Mobs are more difficult than post 7.3.5. Takes roughly the same time to kill them (assuming no heirlooms on live) but you take more damage. This means you won't be able to deal with more than 3 mobs at a time (most of the time). This depends greatly on your class and spec though.

3) You should have the gold required - or be close - for the first mount when you hit lvl 40 (more or less 5 days /played to get to 40?) assuming you have at least one gathering prof and you vendor all the greys and sell everything on the AH ! Can't tell exactly for the epic mount.

[Deficineiron]

I don't think saying five days of in game time really illustrates how long that is.
To start, nobody actually plays that long in one sitting, I'm not sure that's even physically possible.

Let's say you play for three hours a day.
That'd be ninety hours after a thirty day month, ten more days for the other thirty hours to rack up a full ten days.
But lets be realistic here, your average player isn't hardcore speed running from 1-60, we're not robots after all, and new players are gonna take even longer.
Also, for the average person to play three hours every single day from the day you start to cap when it takes well over a month (maybe even two or three) to reach the 60 cap seems preeeeetty unlikely to me, gonna burn yourself out hard.

So if you're a working adult you probably can't reasonably expect any less than a month minimum.

worth also throwing in - 3 hours a day is a LOT to most blizzard customers. I bet most wow customers over time don't average 7 hours/week.

if you are playing 90 hours a month like you suggest as example - that is as many or more hours as a part-time job, monthly. (20-hour week avg).

for most customers, classic was a leveling game, period. throw in dungeons, pvp, etc., and it was plenty of content for almost everyone.

I have noted that I worry they will tinker with the tuning and time investment in leveling for this reason.

[iDielord]

No I mean literally anyone who doesn't have ADHD and just plows the zones will get less than 5 days played on virtually any class. Judging by your screen shot that was early, early vanilla or a private server by how people and sending congrats and whatnot. I don't know how much they changed things over the course. I am talking about knowing what you are doing, where to go etc.

Obviously my first character took forever just like everyone else, melee hunter FTW.(I was still faster than most, lol).

This was an author of best Horde 1-60 leveling guide in Vanilla. That screenshot is also World Record on Live servers, people are sending congrats to him, because he were doing this speed runs on freshly opened servers,and was getting server first 60. He also made total of 6 speed runs on newly opened servers -
https://www.furiouspaul.com/wow/speed-runs.html.

That 4d 20hr run is all frapsed, and is still available on YouTube if you want to check it. Also getting in sub 6days played was mostly impossible on non pet classes. Ofc i'm talking about actively playing. You can certainly achieve faster time by generating Rested exp each time it ends.

[Afrospinach]

You can certainly achieve faster time by generating Rested exp each time it ends.

This is my only explanation. Obviously I never did this in one sitting what with these characters being alts and whatnot. I have zero recollection of how much rested xp any of my characters would have ever accrued, but 50-60 was usually very little.

[Schattenlied]

The last character I leveled 1-60 in vanilla (granted, on a private server, I didn't keep track of my /played to 60 back in the day but it felt the same and all my leveling paths took me where they should have when they should have), took 227 hours played, or 9.458 days of play time.

[iDielord]

This is my only explanation. Obviously I never did this in one sitting what with these characters being alts and whatnot. I have zero recollection of how much rested xp any of my characters would have ever accrued, but 50-60 was usually very little.

Alts have an easier time to level too, since you can afford at least some Rare items that may help you leveling from AH, and you most likely supplied them with a mount by lvl 40. In his video since its fresh server he only got gold to learn riding + buying his 60% mount near lvl 46.
So its mostly about leveling as a first character when knowing what to do. If we consider leveling an alt, that will recieve at least weapon upgrades( for weapon based characters at least, casters suffer greatly from this, since you mostly can't help them with gear) and get a mount at lvl 40, you will have much easier time leveling.

[Deleted]

I think the other important thing to keep in mind going into Classic is that the leveling experience was as much of the game as the endgame was, if not more. It had a completely different play philosophy than each xpac since because there were honestly as many things to do while leveling as while capped.

This is still the case, people just chose to ignore it, as will most veterans who return to vanilla.

The only real difference is the changes to professions, back then you have to move through each material tier where as now you can just use the highest level stuff.

[Makatafinger]

My first char was a warrior. It was already hard to level a warrior and as my first char it was absolutely horrible. And I had no idea about thottbot so I was reading every single quest text to understand what I was supposed to do.

I believe it took me 1-2 months to get to lvl 60. I also did so much pvp after I got my class weapon (whirlwind axe?) I was around rank 5 or 6 before I dinged 60.