New to f2p twinking

[Timur]

Kia ora! I'm Timur, joining you from Aotearoa New Zealand. I play on US servers and I'm allergic to FOTM. The mere suggestion that priests are overpowered in this bracket made me abandon my original planned twink.

Although I'm new to f2p thinking I've been playing WoW for a pretty long time. I'm hoping to dive into the scene with just one or two twinks to begin with as I have sharply limited playtime. Currently I'm interested in running a monk for the sheer diversity of playstyles (and because I got shanked by one who looked like he was having a blast in a levelling BG): switching between healing, dpsing and soloing PVE achievements with brewmaster sounds great!

I've done my best to read through the baseline guides, but I have a few questions for the team if people don't mind jumping in to help me out:

1. While I understand race is largely a cosmetic choice ("play what you think looks cool") I'm also conscious that at lvl 20 the utility from racials is much more significant than at max level. @Chops's warrior racial guide was very useful in this regard but obviously weighted toward warriors. With the above in mind, does anyone have a view on the best-ish Alliance race for windwalker monk at 20? I am thinking night elf for the movement speed, target drop, +6 agility and even the 1% dodge chance but I'm definitely open to being swayed. Gnomish root clear sounds quite nice, as does the panda extra interrupt and double food buff (does that boost 10% stam food to 20% stam? Because that would be really something for FCing, right?)
2. Now that (I am given to understand) ilvl 28 greens are grandfathered for F2P twinks, has the calculus changed around best in slot gear? My best understanding is that F2P can no longer farm greens better than ilvl 25, meaning Burning Crusade socketed gear is likely to make up most of our BIS. Is that correct? Where do rings and capes fit into this? Can I/should I be farming ilvl 25(?) green rings, necks and capes with sockets somewhere?
3. Does dodge rating work for all specs or just tanks? A lot of BC gear has dodge on it, and I'm wondering about the meme-fun viability of a full dodge set... But if dodge rating doesn't even work for windwalker that idea won't so much as get out of the gate.
4. Do I correctly understand that most US people here play on Blackwing Lair? Given the extreme limitations on F2P interaction, is there any benefit to playing on the same realm as others, or should I just play on a random realm where I can get cool names?
5. Finally, does anyone have advice regarding the fastest route for an F2P going 1-20? I understand that the Cudgel of Naralex is liable to be BIS for my monk (or at least competitive—I'm still working on understanding the minutiae of how weapon speed and enchants and things work), so I'm anticipating a large number of rerolls trying to get it procced blue or purple. My first 1-20 experience took a good six hours, which makes rerolling look... Not so good.

One final I wonder—I've seen a number of twink ret paladins running around with the Runeblade of Baron Rivendare, which I'm pretty sure is a circa 1% drop chance weapon. At least two of them assured me (corroborated by their mounts and achievements) that they're fully F2P twinks. How are people pulling that off? Are they literally soloing Stratholme 100+ times on level 20 paladins? I really want a paladin with the Runeblade but—hot damn?

Thanks for having me and I look forward to getting whomped by you guys in the BGs.

 

[Ivo]

Before anything else, are you sure you want a f2p twink? It really isn't a good way to make a twink unless you're looking for the challenge and/or try to complete as much content as a trial account as possible.

If your goal is to pvp - just roll a vet account on bleeding hollow.

Also wowhead drop chance is wrong on every item. Runeblade is easy to get.

 

[Timur]

Before anything else, are you sure you want a f2p twink?

Positive! The challenge (and feeling like I did it myself rather than played instance-queue-simulator) is what I’m here for. Also my main account quit in, oh, TBC and has about 70 gold on it. Veteran would be very much the same as F2P in my case. Hence picking a class that can solo some stuff.

Very good to know regarding the Runeblade.

 

[Ivo]

I recommend making a linked trial account unless you're going to farm achievemnts on it. This means creating a new wow account in your main bnet where your big account is. This will give you access to the same mounts, heirlooms, toys and titles. But most of all it gives you access to chromie time which will obviously make everything easier.


1. As you said, at 20 races have a bigger impact. Panda, gnome and human are the best races on alliance with DID being close as well.
Panda's food buff is pretty big as it affects the pvp food that gives 10% HP resulting in a 20% increase. The incap is also very useful.
Gnome has root removal on 1 min cd which is amazing considering you don't have a slow and are easily kiteable.
Human for the stun removal although there aren't many stuns in the bracket. Paladin, rogue, dh, monk and demo lock are the ones to look out for but 3 of those are pretty rare at least on EU.
Dark iron dwarf is also nice but as a pure f2p you won't have access to it unless you link the account to your main.

2. Cloaks and wrists come from BFA dungeons. Rings from bfa dungeons and 1 time drop rares hoping for a socket proc. Other from that legion, mop and classic dungeons also drop good rings.

3. Dodge is useless.

4. I'm from EU but I know BH is the top us realm due to the amount of twinks and AH. Some f2ps play on Jaedenar but it's not due to the realm being good or anything. Just go for a cool name.

5. There was a similar thread recently so find that. Basically enchanting is easy just make a few of each enchant so you don't have to do it again. Pandaria engineering is easy to level up, making a dragonling with cogs not so much. Jewelcrafting is the biggest time waste as the only one doable as f2p is northrend and you either make 1 a day or you have to farm gold for rng icy prisms. Classic alchemy to 300 for the flask is also mandatory. In the end what you're gonna use for pvp is alchemy and engineering for flask and glider, belt tinker.
There's also +3 agi gems from the honor vendor but they're not great on a f2p monk. Use the +1 gems in shattrath until you make the good ones.

 

[stickyo]

Hey Timur, welcome aboard! I'll try to answer all your questions to the best of my knowledge, but take the answers with a grain of salt as I'm not really a heavyweigt twink.
1. I'm a sucker for dwarf characters, my monk is panda, but for me, looks>tech, NE is definitely a solid choice, arguably even the best one.
2. You are right, i28s are no available for pure f2ps, and TBC gem slot gear is bis in most cases. As for capes/rings, I'd go for BFA rares and dungeon loot, their loot has a chance to proc terts and/or socket. Actually, Ivo's signature has a link containing every worthwhile possibility regarding these slots.
3. I don't think so, as far as i remember, dodge and parry only works for tanks, but definitely not 100% sure.
4. Given said f2p interaction limits, I'd choose a populated server, so at least you can add ppl to your friend list and at least whisper to them freely (if you are on their list too). I'm EU, so I have (yet again) limited knowledge on the issue at hand, but i think Bleeding Hollow is THE twink server, although if you are alliance, i think Kel'thuzad has people as well (texting Teldrassil Firefighters, y'all there?) Also, @icehawk may be able to suggest an OCE server as well.
5. I'd go Exile Reach -> dungeon finder, i think 1-20 supposed to be like 1,5-2 hours max, 6 hours seems way too much.

As for Runeblade, it's probably easier to get than 1%, and while Strat is soloable on a 20 pally, it takes mine ~1,5 hours, so i doubt they soloed (props if they though). They probably farmed it in a group or got carried by a high level. Also, while on the topic of soloing, i don't know specificly what kind of content you want to experience, but BM monks aren't on the strong side when it comes to soloing dungeons, I'd go with paladin/druid for that purpose (and they are also able to fill all roles).

 

[Timur]

use for pvp is alchemy and engineering for flask and glider, belt tinker.

Thanks, this is something I’ve been wondering. Given monk is so kiteable and lacks a slow I was thinking about sticking with tailoring/alch in the end for free action pots and tailoring nets. Nets require 1 tailoring to make and use so I could cycle with herbalism as necessary. Maybe a bad idea?

As for capes/rings, I'd go for BFA rares and dungeon loot, their loot has a chance to proc terts and/or socket. Actually, Ivo's signature has a link containing every worthwhile possibility regarding these slots.

Fantastic! I’m on mobile so can’t see sigs right now but I’ll get on it.
Good to know regarding brewmaster and soloing. I’m still messing around with a few character ideas trying to make sure whatever I pick has a good range of options. Shaman seems like the most flexible but paradoxically also feels like the most-gimped by lacking 99% of its toolkit at 20, don’t know if that’s a fair assessment or not. I’m not completely set on monk, anyhow. Paladin seems like a fun and diverse option too although I see holy damage has been nerfed hard.

Content wise I mainly intend to just see how much of the game I can experience as a 20 twink. Get on the F2P leaderboard. And do lots of random BGs, but more than likely I’ll do it mostly solo.

 

[Ivo]

Tailoring and aclhemy is a good combo. I still recommend making some golbin gliders (they can be made as a consumable toom not just cloak tinker).

https://twinkdb.github.io/ - items
[doublepost=1650777946,1650777820][/doublepost]https://www.wowhead.com/item=109076/goblin-glider-kit there might be an easy way to make those in the garrison, you'll have to research that

 

[stickyo]

https://www.wowhead.com/item=109076/goblin-glider-kit there might be an easy way to make those in the garrison, you'll have to research that

There is, you can make these in a lvl 1 engi hut in garrison. I’d still go with engineering though, way too much stuff to give up imo.

 

[Dragpz]

1. Nelf is definitely BiS for Shadowmeld alone, Panda is also really nice, because yes, they get double flask and food buff
2. Just get some BC gear, if you really want to farm for Harmonious greens, they will be ilvl 22
3. The general consensus is that dodge either doesnt work or has poor scaling for non-tanking classes
4. Bleeding Hollow is twink home, the most overall popular realms are Stormrage/MoonGuard (A), Area 52/Illidan (H)
5. Fastest leveling route will be Exile's Reach -> Warlords of Draenor leveling, should hit level 20 in under 2 hours or so.

As Ivo said earlier, playing on a Vet will give you access to more content. It should give you access to Chromie Timewalking/Instance queuing, but also the ability to talk in cross realm Communities. As F2P, you only have newcomer chat and that is very hit or miss. Also, on a F2P, your exp will be banked, meaning if you ever do decide to go vet, you may lose your character if you aren't careful

 

[icehawk]

@icehawk may be able to suggest an OCE server as well.

Timur is on the wrong side of the Tasman..... as long as he admits the Wallabies are better than the All Blacks we'll be fine.... joking joking
There's some activity and a few guilds now on Jubei'Thos, but that won't help if you're going to remain F2P.
Ping will be a lot better on Oce servers though.
However, if you did go Vet, you won't find much on the AH on most Oce servers for 20's. Bleeding Hollow (US) is probably the best for that, though, you sound a little like me.... no gold...... you have to literally donate a kidney to afford the twink gear on BH.

And with Runeblade, it will take an awfully long time to get solo. A lot of classes won't even be able to solo it. Most people that have it have had help - either groups or Legacy high level help.

And I can't recommend enough to link your F2P (Starter) account to your old main account so you can access Chromie time. So much easier to run dungeons via Finder than to solo them.

Most importantly, have fun!

 

[Goesid]

1. If you go night elf its for shadowmeld.
   2. Yes greens are grandfathered, youd have to farm legion epics or use bfa rares/dungeons.
   3. Dodge works its just shit, you get very little per point.
   4. Bleeding Hollow is by far the largest server. Kelthuzad alliance and Blackwing Lair Horde have 1 guild on them that is their main draw, bleeding hollow is more divided and has free roaming twinks.
   5. Yes Cudgel + Truncheon is the way to go. The difference between green and blue is pretty big, the difference between blue and purple is not as big.

 

[Timur]

If you go night elf its for shadowmeld.

Do you have a view on what racial would be better? I’m by no means an expert and I can see myself getting very limited value from shadowmeld, possibly night elf isn’t worth it if the speed/agility bonuses aren’t very good.

 

[Goesid]

Do you have a view on what racial would be better? I’m by no means an expert and I can see myself getting very limited value from shadowmeld, possibly night elf isn’t worth it if the speed/agility bonuses aren’t very good.

considering how strong destro and mm hunter is, its pretty easy to get good value out of shadowmeld. I wouldnt worry above the offensive parts, what makes racials strong is their defensive play.

 

[Chops]

Ahoy!

Everyones pretty much gotten everything out of way, so I'm just chiming in to say if you're going to go F2P, go all the way. None of these half measures of vet or linked F2P. Its gonna take you a while, but its worth it. And given that you said your main accounts sub ended in TBC, its possible you may not get access to chromie time anyway. So there's that.

Also, don't agonize too much over racials. Yes, theyre a choice but there's a good argument for a lot of them on a monk. Youre a melee class and are going to get kited, gnome and dwarf are good. Youre a strong class, so youre going to get targeted. Night Elf is good. You have leg sweep and following it up with an incap into a silence is huge. Panda is good. etc etc etc.

Welcome aboard! Lemme know when you get that F2P up and running and we'll get you on the leaderboard!

 

[krose338]

I'd 100% recommend Bleeding Hollow, biggest AH for twink gear and everything else you'll need. If you decide to do a vet account over a f2p account let me know. I have all of my 60's on BH and I sell alot of stuff for this community and I could hook you up with pretty much everything you'd need. The only issue is that I'm Horde on the server and you're looking to play Alliance. If you're interested lmk and we can work something out for sure!!

 

[Timur]

And with Runeblade, it will take an awfully long time to get solo. A lot of classes won't even be able to solo it. Most people that have it have had help - either groups or Legacy high level help.

Can confirm, after 13 solo runs taking a couple of hours each Baron Rivendare dropped his runeblade. Worth it? I’m not sure. Now to farm an enchant for the damn thing, and then to start soloing BC dungeons…

 

[icehawk]

Can confirm, after 13 solo runs taking a couple of hours each Baron Rivendare dropped his runeblade. Worth it? I’m not sure. Now to farm an enchant for the damn thing, and then to start soloing BC dungeons…

Gratz on the drop.
What class did you solo on? It's not an easy dungeon to solo.
I've tried a few times on my DK, but can't get past Ram. It does take a while to solo the dungeon. I had to sneak my Monk in to heal me to get through it. Though I was able to work out the trick with the Banshee boss solo. There's a few handy threads on soloing on this website.
But would like to know what class you used to solo. Was it the monk in MW or BM spec?

 

[Timur]

Hey, sorry if this is a stupid question but could someone post a tooltip of a blue/epic Cudgel of Naralex? Mine didn’t proc anything on my shaman (mainly resto, thinking enhance would be a nice other option) and it’d be good to know how much difference the proc makes. The one on Wowhead doesn’t scale properly to ilvl 25 so no help there…

 

[Goesid]

Hey, sorry if this is a stupid question but could someone post a tooltip of a blue/epic Cudgel of Naralex? Mine didn’t proc anything on my shaman (mainly resto, thinking enhance would be a nice other option) and it’d be good to know how much difference the proc makes. The one on Wowhead doesn’t scale properly to ilvl 25 so no help there…

The difference between green and blue is more noticable than between blue and epic.
as horde theres also https://www.wowhead.com/item=156999/mokmorokks-headcracker for agi classes.

 

[Timur]

Thanks. I found this link, which gives me an ilvl 25 cudgel tooltip, but the scales with level - rare and epic options all have the same stats. So now I don’t know what to think!