There’s less than 24 hours to go until we all get to head to the Dragon Isles and head into what is being called “era 3 of Warcraft”. If you’re anything like me, you’re beyond excited about the adventures in store and the hopes for a great expansion.
But these final few hours are vital. Whether you want to blast through the content or take your time at a leisurely stroll, ensuring that you’re prepared for the expedition to come can have a massive effect on your enjoyment of the next ten levels.
So with under a day to go, here’s what you should do to prepare!
Decide Your Main
Time is up. Decide what character you are going to play this expansion. For some of us who have had a clear main since Wrath, that decision is simple. But for those looking to join raid teams and have been playing with different classes to get a feel which might be best for the next raid, the time is up!
Yes, this expansion is supposed to be more alt friendly, but that comes after leveling the first character to 70. And whilst Blizzard have effectively made this first week of Dragonflight 8-9 days, you don’t want to be blasting through the campaign worrying that you leveled the wrong character and need to get it done so you can level the one you want.
It’s not the end of the world if you change your mind, but don’t do that mid-leveling
Clear Your Bags
I’ve been slowly doing this for the last few weeks, making several passes to create as much bag space as I can.
I’ve been funnelling stuff between alts so that all my old herbs are in one place, all my ore in another. And with giving all my characters their own personal guild banks, it’s made it even easier, but I still have a load of items to collect from mailboxes and place in Guild bank tabs.
Dragonflight is going to be very heavy on crafting reagents, with each having their own quality. I’ve gone into expansions with 5 bag slots free and then found I can’t pick up quest items because I have no space.
So after moving all the crafting reagents around, I’ve looked to store all my old legendries, delete those items like augment runes on provis wax that just serve no purpose other than to take bag space and by shuffling between personal bank, guild bank, alt’s guild banks and vendors, I’ve got items stacked, crap vendored, and old items put away so that I now have a whopping 130 bag space.
Upgrade Your Bags
Are all your bags 32 slot? If not, now could be a good time to get that extra space… particularly if you have a tailor. Mine had a ton of materials and so kitting out all my alts was quick and simple.
Also, remember your personal bank. I found Doomcow’s personal bank had a few 28 and 26 slot bags that I replaced and in doing so, got myself a little more room to file away those things I intend to keep.
Clear Your Quests
This is another obvious one. Turn in what quests you can. Last thing you need is to reach a quest hub and then find you can’t pick up all the quests because you’re already at 25.
I’ve spent the evening doing pet battles, turning in quests, deleting raid skips where I’m only on ¼ and making as much room as I can.
Finish The Invasions
The current invasions give you 252 gear, which is likely to be quickly replaced as you level. I think I saw that at 70 you should get 320 ilevel. So there’s an argument to be had that farming the pre-patch invasions is a waste of time.
But remember, a 252 ilevel alt is going to have an easier time of it that a 225, particularly if they are squishy.
There’s also the fact that the drops are transmog to collect. I think it takes around 1500 Primeval Essences to afford everything, but it often works out a lot less than that due to drops you get as you farm.
There’s also the toy and reagent bag (which I’ve got on every character), as well as the met-hidden achievement for killing all the bosses.
Last but not least, there’s the heirloom that you get from the drops from all the different bosses. The drop rate seems around 1 in 3 to me, so if you’ve not started I would not hang around.
Also, keep in mind that the invasions may end several hours before launch. Don’t leave it too late, otherwise those items might be lost to you forever.
Sandsworn Relics
Following on from that, I’ve been using a combination of Primeval Essences and Sandsworn Relics to gear my characters up beyond ilevel 220. I do one character, take what’s left over, send it to the next and so on until I run out.
I’ve saved things like Korthia Armaments and Benthic Gear in the past thinking I might need it for an alt, but I’ve learnt there’s always a new catch up mechanic, and I’m best off using them if only for transmog.
Clear Your Mailbox
If you are like me, I shuffle a LOT of items around.
I make a point of having one day a month where I clear down my alts mail so it doesn;t get lost or returned to sender, but with all the focus on Dragonflight it’ll be easy to forget, so do youself a favour and get all your alts mail cleared down, in case you don;t log into them for a couple of months
Park Your Characters
It’s time to move all your alts to Ogrimmar or Stormwind ready for their journey to the Dragon Isles. Those you don;t intend to play in the first few weeks are best parked somewhere they can get rested XP (but you may need to briefly log into them after launch to start it accumulating)
Gather Leveling Items
Some players like to gather a stack of goblin gliders or bear tartare ahead of levelling but I’ve never seen the point. If you get your dragon early, I doubt goblin gliders will save you any time.
I’ve rarely gone into a new expansion with health and strength potions, but some like to do so. And given I hate downtime, perhaps I’m the bigger fool here. If you’re particularly squishy then perhaps some health potions might be helpful for the first hour or so. After that, I suspect you’ll get new drops to restore health that are betetr suited.
Get Plenty Of Rest
The next few days are going to be gruelling, and you want to enjoy them. It’s no fun falling asleep at your computer and not taking in the game. I’ve been there and done that.
If like me, you intend to play through the night, stay up late tonight and sleep in as late as you can so your body clock adjusts.
And if you can get the in-game stuff done as quickly as possible so you can have some time away from the computer, that might be good as well.
Which leads me to…
Get Some Exercise
No, I’m not suggesting you start at a gym just before Dragonflight launches, but tomorrow, go out and get some fresh air. You’re going to be staring at a computer screen for hours on end for the next few days, so take the time now to get some fresh air and stretch.
You’ll want to take some break while playing as well, but a decent sized break away from the computer tomorrow could set you up right for the marathon that is to come
Get In Food And Snacks
Once you start playing, you’re not going to want to have to take huge breaks to prepare food. It’s tempting to eat badly, but that will not help your energy levels.
See if you can prepare food, and if not, see if there’s something you can just slam into the Microwave
As well as a few treats, try to get some healthy snacks as well. Eating healthy will help your energy levels and stop you feeling so tired during your marathon game sessions.
Do Your Chores
Got laundry to do? Do it tomorrow ahead of release.
Need to run some errands this week? Do them before launch.
There’s nothing worse than getting into a game and then having to jump out just when you are getting into it, because real life calls.
Try to spend as much of tomorrow as possible clearing your slate. Those things you can’t put off for a week need to be done (on part or preferably in full) so you can maximise your enjoyment.
And if disruptions such as work and school can’t be avoided, use them as healthy away time from the game (and a time to plot your next move)
Bookmark Research
I don’t want to be spoiled. I’ve watched very little of beta and largely know very little about the story (except for the massive spoiler Bellular dropped in the middle of a video!!!)
I’ve watched videos on mechanics such as the new crafting system, but even then I’ve been careful. Instead, I’ve been bookmarking all the videos to watch once I’m level 70. Yes, I’ll probably need help when I get to hunting down dragonriding glyphs, but I’ll watch that when I need it.
Things will also make more sense when I’m there actually playing with them… plus I run a less risk of spoilers.
Remember To Enjoy it
I remember in Pandaria where I tried to power level through the night. I was so tired eight levels in, I couldn’t tell you what the story was.
For the last few expansions, I have done my “Badly Acted Quest Text” where I act out the quests text and take my time to enjoy the nuance and detail. Sure, I take longer to level but after such a detailed playthrough, I have zero guilt about then skipping everything with alts when I come to replaying.
There are apparently no dailies you’ll be missing out on if you don’t get levelled in a day. I know what Warcraft can be like when you missing a quest and are a day behind on rep. This expansion is different in that everything is more weekly based, with the first week extended, so you have even more time to level without risking getting behind.
Sure, I intend to play a lot of hours to level a bunch of characters, but that doesn’t mean I’ll be racing.
Play at your pace. If you’re not looking to raid or get into crafting, you can take as long as you like. Expansions come along only every two years and launch is always a special time.
Just make sure you take the time to enjoy it.
