level twinking ftw
I'll take a whack at the original question.
I level twink and I enjoy it. It is totally a viable option and in fact one of my favorite parts of the game now.
I twinked at 29 for a while pre-3.1 and loved it, which is why I started reading Drayner's blog. When 3.1 came along, I transferred my priest to reckoning and played some games there. It was really fun and different for me to play all-twink battles and I learned a lot. However, that ended up sucking because I was just never able to get games after a while. It seemed like my two twinking options were to go 19 bracket or level twink. I chose level twinking because my wife and siblings like to do it with me and they would not have fun getting their asses kicked in in the xp-off brackets because they aren't the types who, say, read this website.
Level twinking is not just about griefing lowbies, though there is inevitably some of that toward the end of each bracket. To keep the challenge level up (and to keep the gear acquisition time more reasonable), I usually only get the best twink gear (like items that require level 18 or 19) once I ding to the next bracket. For instance, I'll pick up inferno robe at 20, not 19. Let's not forget too that when most readers of this site got in to twinking, lowbie-smashing was part of the game for them too and they probably occasionally even enjoyed it *gasp*.
For an individual twink, the amount of time getting gear is actually pretty reasonable. I, and I imagine most other twinks, tend to enjoy that part of it too, so it's not a downside. Because I was always rolling new twinks for the fun of it before 3.1, I spent a lot of time then too grinding gear, planning gear etc. So for me, that part of it is not that different. Another nice thing about level twinking is that you don't have to be perfect...e.g., crescent staff from 10-29 is totally sufficient.
The planning part is also quite challenging and different because you have to factor in item acquisition efficiency and it's useful lifespan as well as it's overall power. For example, robes of arugal is a mint item because you get it at 20 and keep it into the early 30's whereas Tree Bark Jacket is useless because it is supplanted by robes one level after you can wear it. Deadman's Hand rocks, but it's such a bitch to get, it's not worth it for a few levels of use. Also, BOE's are often unobtainable because you are moving through and they may not be on the AH when you need them, so you have to dig into other possibilities which is fun.
BoA's are obviously useful for level twinking and will save you gear grinding time. I don't have any because I don't have an 80, but I actually get on fine without them. I have seen a lot of "BoA leveling twinks" in the xp-on BG's, and frankly, it is fun to have them there on the other team because that makes it more challenging too.
All in all, the gear planning is a good challenge, playing in the lower parts of the bracket is a good challenge, and working for cool achievements and such toward the higher end of the bracket is fun too. Honestly, the only time I was bored was at level 19 when winning warsong was too easy. Moving through brackets and gaining new abilities is fun too. For example, I've never played in the 30's before so I'm looking forward to having my twinks reach that. Oh and let's not forget that actually getting bg pops at any time in any battlegroup is pretty handy.
Level twinking is viable and fun and I recommend it. I even think it would be rad if Drayner opened a forum for level twinking. I think we might be surprised by how many people are doing and enjoying it.
Ok dudes, /restart flame war
