The other day I started an experiment: to see how well geared experienced a "World of Warcraft Starter Account character" could get. I'm an experienced player and I've not played for about 6 months. I have several level 90 players across several realms and a full account of assorted other levels. I absolutely love levelling characters, but I thought it would be nice to start from scratch, and what better way is there than to use a starter account. We are permitted and essentially given a starter account we can activate any time.
Starter Account characters have a level limit of level 20, cannot communicate except to people who have them on their friends list, and cannot use trade, auction house or the mail system. Also because they are on a separate account to our main accounts, they cannot benefit from BOA items (Account bound items which give an xp boost as well as a significant boost to stats). They have no race restriction but they cannot be monks. They can be death knights but have a level limit of 58, which is the level one has reached by the end of the zone. There is also a limit of 10 gold per character.
These Starter characters can however learn professions to level 100. They can use items they collect along the way. They can PVP from level 10, and do Dungeons (via Dungeon finder) from level 15.
So I wondered how geared, I could get, also how far I could quest, when there wasnt a temptation to turn on XP (as there usually is when levelling normal characters, turning xp off around level 20). There's no guild chat to distract. Just the occasional conversations taking place around you in general/zone chats.
After 2 days I have a level 12 Pandaren Hunter named Shiluan, on the Zangarmarsh server. Normally when trying to level through as quickly as possible, I'll be off the wandering isle by this level, but as I've been taking it slow, I've just gotten to meeting the Alliance NPCs near the crash site.
One of the ideas I'm playing with is working out which order to collect skills in. Since Starter Accounts cannot trade or use the auction house, they have to construct their own items, jewelry, weapons, enchants, etc.
So I have a hunter. I wont need to work on Blacksmithing at all. Also since I dont use Offhands, and wont be reaching level 25, I cannot use glyphs so theres no point to levelling Inscription at all.
I started out with Herbalism and Mining, both of which have xp bonuses for each item collected. This also gave me some stock to bank when I get to a city.
I have 30 each of Peacebloom, Silverleaf, and Earthroot.
Also had about 100 copper bars by the time I was done smelting it.
I switched my herbalism skill out to Jewelcrafting, and I have crafted 1 heavy copper ring which i have equipped, as well as a Tigerseye band, and Malachite Pendant (both for level 13), as well as an Ornate Tigersye Necklace (for level 15)
I'll keep stockpiling some gems and such and will likely stick with Jewelcrafting until after I leave the Wandering Isle.
The plan now is to make a couple more items to use at later levels (such as Inlaid Malachite Ring, to use at level 15), but the rest of the items I'll be able to make, I dont have access to the materials for, such as Tin to make bronze bars, or silver for another ring.
Once I've finished making these items i'll be looking at a different profession. Since Engineering is the only one which requires it to be active inorder to use some items (head items for example), and it requires some leather to make items, it will be the last one I level.
The possible order for learning professions is:
Herbalism & Mining
Jewelcrafting
Stockpile 100 copper + 100 tin + 100 bronze bars (for about 200 bronze bars total)
Replace Jewelcrafting with Leatherworking, and mining with Skinning.
Level LW to 100, and craft every item I need, to level 20. Stockpile 100 Light and Medium Leathers, green items crafted, for later.
Stockpile 20 Light, and 20 Medium Leather (for engineering), craft extra greens for DE
Replace Skinning with Enchanting, and Disenchant everything not used.
When all surplus leather (minus the 20 Light and Medium) is used then replace Leatherworking with Alchemy. Craft any decent enchantments needed with available materials.
Replace Enchanting with Herbalism to ensure that Alchemy can be trained to 100, and any needed potions crafted.
Lastly, Replace Herbalism and Alchemy with Mining and Engineering.
This should essentially mean that the character, at level 20, will have access not only to level 20 appropriate gear from dungeons, but also enchants, jewelry, weapons (from engineering for a hunter), a helm (from engineering), potions, and anything else i have forgotten.
Trev.
