Comparatorium

Despite having played WoW for so long, there are lots of things I haven't tried out yet.  There are also lots of things I wonder about.  There exist a multitude of blogs and websites detailing virtually everything one would wish to know about WoW, but there are still holes in the knowledge. 

One of the things I would like to know is exactly what differences exist between Loremaster levelling and normal levelling (then going back and doing Loremaster) in terms of /played and in terms of gold earned.  The xp to gold ratio was nerfed long ago and I've never seen a satisfactory explanation of the new formula.

Since my overriding meta-goal is one of every race/class combo I have lots of room for experimentation.  I can level toons however I fancy, so I've decided to devote Sundays to this little side project.

I want to keep all other things equal so I've chosen two races that have access to precisely the same quests, Human and Dwarf.  I've also settled on the Monk class since I haven't really played a Monk much at all and apparently Windwalker is quick to level.

I present the test subjects:

Hiroad the Swift

Hiroad will level as quickly as possible and then go back to the beginning and work on Loremaster.

Loroad the Pokey

Loroad will Loremaster level, one zone group at a time until he's finished.

Inveniam is currently level 13, so both characters, once guilded, will have the 10% boost to xp gains.  In order to ensure maximum equality both characters will use the heirloom gear I currently have available to them, chest, shoulders and back.  This gives them both a 35% total boost to xp gains. 

Once they reach level 20, both will use the daily monk quest for xp boost.  Since Hiroad is to cap as quickly as possible, he will quest only until rested xp is consumed, then rest in an inn.  Loroad has no such limitation, although once I reach a certain point with him rested xp will be moot since I will outlevel the mobs I am dealing with therefore gaining no kill xp and not consuming rested xp.

Both will be provided with 4 Netherweave Bags and 5g.  Trade materials, recipes and lockboxes will be mailed to my banker.  All other loot will be vendored, with the sole exception of any world drop epics or pets I may be lucky enough to find (fingers crossed).

To avoid unnecessary time expenditure, no professions will be taken.  No daily quests will be done with the exception of the class quest.  No holiday quests will be done.  No dungeons or grouping will occur.  This is just about straight questing. 

I'll play these toons on Sundays only.  Sunday is rather a quiet day round these parts, and it will be nice to have this project to look forward to.  The project will be complete only when the last quest is turned in.  Progress reports will be provided every Monday.  So, away we go!

Cheers,
E