Maximum Catchup Mechanics when?

[Dreen]

Just wanted to ask when maximum Artifact knowledge kicks in, cant really find any information on it. Im planning on coming back and prepare some characters for shadowlands but id rather wait untill the maximum efficiency kicks in as im not pressured for time.
thanks if some1 knows

[Nikkaszal]

Just wanted to ask when maximum Artifact knowledge kicks in, cant really find any information on it. Im planning on coming back and prepare some characters for shadowlands but id rather wait untill the maximum efficiency kicks in as im not pressured for time.
thanks if some1 knows

You're fine now. I HIGHLY doubt anything Heart Of Azeroth related is going to be relevant for Shadowlands release (Heart levels, essences, Azerite traits etc) but if you want to, now is fine.

Naz'jatar intro instantly boosts your Heart to 50, and it's 1000AP per level (the lowest it goes) for quite a long way. I levelled an alt recently who still had an ilvl 200-something blue ring by the time he hit Heart level 75 to unlock the last minor essence

Regardless, the most telling thing for Shadowlands will be your gear level and that you should definitely start now. World bosses once per week drop a decent piece, as well as the weekly Major Assaults, so get on those. Horrific Visions also drop gear once per week. As your ilvl rises you get better stuff from WQ and Emmisaries (aforementioned alt gets ilvl 440 Azerite from Emmisaries) so there's really no reason to delay as this will be the last gear for the expac.

When you hit 120, immediately go to Naz'jatar for 370 weapon and your 50 Heart and Essence slots. Struggle through the intro with your shit gear and you'll be rewarded with a bunch of Manapearls you can turn into 375 gear for 5 each (You will easily buy a full set of gear minus rings/trinks within half an hour or so). Stick around a bit and you can upgrade the lot to 400 quickly, if you want, or just go straight to 8.3 stuff

[Throwme]

Just wanted to ask when maximum Artifact knowledge kicks in, cant really find any information on it.

I believe we're already at max. With 8.3 we got a bump up, I think it was 6 ranks, but haven't noticed anything since then. So come back now or later, it won't make that big a difference.

What will make a difference is your new orange cloak. You'll be a bit behind there, even WITH the Ketchup Mechanic, if you delay too long.

[Powerogue]

Definitely what Nikk said, pushing into Nazjatar (it'll be some ambiguous quest about Nathanos sending you on a mission/being sent to hunt said Nathanos down, available on dinging 120) getting those manapearls for 385 catch up gear will make a huge difference. From there, the ilevel you get from world quests rockets up and you can pad yourself to at least 400 within like a day between that and warfronts. Getting enough azerite power for 75 isn't too bad, I got it on a character I had left for 2 patches just yesterday, the hard part is getting the essences. Rank 1 isn't hard, but the upper ranks get grindy still.

Also warfront tokens can be spend on 10% xp potions, and we have no idea what the max level on using those will be after the level squish, but probably 60?

tl;dr Now is fine. Much like legion artifacts if you're just worried about Shadowlands consider that everything related to azerite power will probably depower around level 125 65.

[Throwme]

everything related to azerite power will probably depower around level 125 65.

More like 55. We get reduced to level 50 and can level to 60, so 55 max.

[Raven]

Isnt it like max level is 80 and after that you can keep upgrading it if you really want but dont really gain anything from going past level 80, so no more slots, extra stamina or stuff like that past level 80.

[Marrilaife]

They already said the moment you step into shadowlands zone "your connection to Azeroth will be weakened" and all heart of azeroth powers will deactivate. So really no point grinding AP for alts "as shadowlands prep".

Get the leggo cloak because that's ilvl and stats, get some decent ilvl (emissaries scale up to 445), no idea about corruptions, they could work up to 55 or they could be deactivated on prepatch who the heck knows, Blizz themselves probably haven't decided yet. But 100% we won't keep them through Shadowlands.

Azerite traits again questionable, if neck is insta deactivated when you step into Shadowlands, then probably azerite traits too because they're reliant on neck levels.

Trinkets probably worth getting but expect the good ones to deactivate at 55, I had lots of m+ trinkets in legion and they all lasted only 5 levels.

[Relapses]

Naz'jatar intro instantly boosts your Heart to 50, and it's 1000AP per level (the lowest it goes) for quite a long way. I levelled an alt recently who still had an ilvl 200-something blue ring by the time he hit Heart level 75 to unlock the last minor essence

I play about 2 hours a day and I can't subject myself to grind AP so I still don't have the third slot on either of my toons. I applaud your tolerance for God awful terrible fucking content.

[Barzotti]

I play about 2 hours a day and I can't subject myself to grind AP so I still don't have the third slot on either of my toons. I applaud your tolerance for God awful terrible fucking content.

You don't need to grind AP at all to have the third slot unlocked. I have three chars at 77 and I only do emissaries and weekly islands cap (zero raid, zero pvp, one M+ a week).

[MrLachyG]

Just wanted to ask when maximum Artifact knowledge kicks in, cant really find any information on it. Im planning on coming back and prepare some characters for shadowlands but id rather wait untill the maximum efficiency kicks in as im not pressured for time.
thanks if some1 knows

https://www.wowhead.com/news=305230/...fact-knowledge

[Barzotti]

https://www.wowhead.com/news=305230/...fact-knowledge

So we are at AK week 4 and there's a last AK level reduction next reset. Thanks for sharing the link.

[Relapses]

You don't need to grind AP at all to have the third slot unlocked. I have three chars at 77 and I only do emissaries and weekly islands cap (zero raid, zero pvp, one M+ a week).

Cool. Here's my problem: I don't do any of that shit because I burnt myself out of WQs in Legion so much that the idea of doing an emissary actually triggers a minor form of PTSD. I'm also really fucking lazy. And even though I like the game, I simply cannot find it within myself to give enough fucks to do any more the absolute bare minimum. (Okay, you got me: I don't even do that.) I don't even do the dailies when I'm grinding my weekly Assaults for the free Vision. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Marrilaife]

I play about 2 hours a day and I can't subject myself to grind AP so I still don't have the third slot on either of my toons. I applaud your tolerance for God awful terrible fucking content.

Tbh if your main goal is to be ready for shadowlands, AP grind is very pointless.

If you play content now, having one of the good corruptions is worth more than extra essence slot in most cases. Sadly while getting good corruption on an alt can be massive, it's very rng whether you'll get it or not. I wouldn't be surprised if some altoholics decide which alt to play and which one to shelve until shadowlands depending on which was lucky with corruption, similar how in legion people stuck to the alts that rolled best leggos.

Some of these corruptions feel like playing with a cheat code. I'm really wondering if they will let us keep them past 9.0 because if they let us keep them until lvl 55 it's gonna be a shitshow while levelling (esp. in warmode).

[Relapses]

Tbh if your main goal is to be ready for shadowlands, AP grind is very pointless.

If you play content now, having one of the good corruptions is worth more than extra essence slot in most cases. Sadly while getting good corruption on an alt can be massive, it's very rng whether you'll get it or not. I wouldn't be surprised if some altoholics decide which alt to play and which one to shelve until shadowlands depending on which was lucky with corruption, similar how in legion people stuck to the alts that rolled best leggos.

Some of these corruptions feel like playing with a cheat code. I'm really wondering if they will let us keep them past 9.0 because if they let us keep them until lvl 55 it's gonna be a shitshow while levelling (esp. in warmode).

I've completely given up on raiding right now because I have no real desire to do progression raiding again. So I'm just logging in to do M+ dungeons with my small group of friends and occasionally I'll PuG a Heroic Nya'lotha for the lulz. I'm not taking the game very seriously at all but I am, for what it's worth, making the most of my $15/mo. I won't pretend that the way I play the game is shared by the majority of players but that's the cruel beauty of the monstrosity of multi-layered systems which currently make up WoW: I don't have to.

[kaminaris]

Cool. Here's my problem: I don't do any of that shit because I burnt myself out of WQs in Legion so much that the idea of doing an emissary actually triggers a minor form of PTSD. I'm also really fucking lazy. And even though I like the game, I simply cannot find it within myself to give enough fucks to do any more the absolute bare minimum. (Okay, you got me: I don't even do that.) I don't even do the dailies when I'm grinding my weekly Assaults for the free Vision. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I don't do that as well and Im at 77 now. Secret? 3xM islands a week. Couple of M+ with friends and well, I'ma mythic raider so raid also gives me some AP.
Can't remember when last time I did full set of emissaries lol.

I admit I was doing daily quests in vale and uldum but I'm about to stop dat shit.
My alt is at 74 now and I only do M+ and lesser vision daily + big invasions when they came up (the one that gives 1.5k coalescing visions)

WQ lol NOOOPE.

[Nikkaszal]

Cool. Here's my problem: I don't do any of that shit because I burnt myself out of WQs in Legion so much that the idea of doing an emissary actually triggers a minor form of PTSD. I'm also really fucking lazy. And even though I like the game, I simply cannot find it within myself to give enough fucks to do any more the absolute bare minimum. (Okay, you got me: I don't even do that.) I don't even do the dailies when I'm grinding my weekly Assaults for the free Vision. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Just do the War Campaign. Takes, what two hours start to finish if you blitz through it?

Each step awards basically a levels worth of Azerite