the
GRINDING
guide

Hi Guys and Gals, this is my first guide of hopefully many more,(I know the info here might be of no use to you whatsoever, but hey if u find it not worth your time to find out this info…Dont read it!)and its on grinding for newer-semi veteran players. My hopes are that you get a general idea of how grinding works in wow, and maybe some new places that you might never have thought of to grind…

Grinding has been one of the most effective, and most hated ways to level since the beginning of the MMO franchise. Grinding is simply leveling off of experience gained by killing a certain mob repeatedly. Heres my theory of grinding for noobs/semi-noobs:

Tips::
-Stock up on the highest water/food you can get…you will spend hours grinding..no use if u die alot…keep your health/mana up!

-Resupply your arrows/knives/bullets and fix your equipment…

-For Hunters: A useful tool that i have found is a macro that lets you autotarget the nearest enemy and cast Hunter's Mark.
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/script TargetNearestEnemy();
/cast Hunter's Mark(Rank #)
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(*where # is you fill in your highest rank HM)

-Effective grinding comes in three parts:

1) Knowing the mob you are killing and learning its(their) average stats. Know the mob type, whether it is a land, sea, air or combo creature, the average damage it does, if it has high or low resistances, and is it a spellcaster/healer. These stats will determine a good grinding mob from a bad one.

2) Know your stats/role. This is important in any aspect of this game, KNOW WHAT YOU ARE. If you are a hunter dont be a brave one and try to melee your way, or if you're a rogue dont try to throw knives at distance. Know your strenghts and use them for your advantage, thats why they are strenghts. In case you dont know what you should do here's a quick list of what each class is good at(*Doesn't mean they are best at it, just good enough to grind with):

########CLASS ROLES###################
Mage-Long Range DPS, you are a Bad A$$ DPS at long range…Short Range or Melee almost always weakens your full potential. Keep a distance (15-20 ft) and you will kill fast and effectively.

Hunter- Long Range DPS, Pretty good at grinding, got a number of tools to expend at your will…use them, also a key point to effective hunter grinding is button setup, you need something that works for quick shot acess and melee(For the times you aggro instead of your pet)

Rogue-Melee DPS, you put out what is commonly known as High Burst DPS. This means you are super efficient at killing at very close range, but when you get out of range you are vulnerable. Stay Close, Stealth, and Control your Aggro.

Paladin-Gah Pallies…I only know a few good ones…What they have in common is the ability to manage their blessings, melee and healing while not running out of mana…BROKEN CLASS FOR NOW…I wouldn't suggesting grinding with pallies unless you got a pretty good and fast wep…

Shaman-JOAT-MON (Jack of All Trades-Master of None) Shammys are special in that they can do just about everything in the book…With amazing close range dps, long range spells, insta-cast shocks, healing, totems, and mail (After 40) Shamans are a resilient class that can take a beating and keep on steaming through mobs…Use your long range to get the mobs life down initially, then finish it off with up close punishment, mixing up your shocks in between swings, keep yourself alive by dropping totems…Very effective class to grind with, but somewhat boring…

Warrior- What can I say? Charge, Rend, Sunder, hit until dead…not much to say just keep your health up, and it would be good to stay in zerker stance to kill faster. You really dont have to worry about Big Damage mobs, so you can just kill and eat/drink/bandage yourself. Also very boring I find.

Druid- You are a JOAT-MON as well, but IMHO not as powerfully crafted as the Shammy…Still you can do a few things, cast long range spells, debuff, and spam MF or melee, or you could Transform into a different form and kill that way…Still your best bet is to stick with what you have been doin to kill the past 30 lvls for effectiveness…

Priest- Gah…another funny class that is hard to grind let alone solo with…best bet is to get a place where mobs are green but not too low and grind there, or better yet get off your arse and spam chat for a party and go quest…Priests really only excel in group management, they are a support class, using debuffs/fear/and healing to keep their party thriving through the worst that the wow has to offer…
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(These are basic functions of each class, I would love for anyone who has another way to effectively grind with each class to post it on my thread…)

3. Know when to hold and when to fold. This means to know when to stay for the grind or get out and quest, But also means to know when to switch grind spots…Grinding is not always the most effective way of leveling, but it can be in some cases (i.e. When you dont have a party, and the quests you have are a little tough to do solo; When you feel like taking a break from questing [not very often]). In the cases where the grind is good, go for it, but know what, where, who, and why you are grinding.

BASICALLY:
Grinding is an alternate way aside questing to get xp at a fast rate. If you grind I suggest that you get a comfortable chair, get some good music/tv shows/movies, Find your spot, and work away. you only get out what you put in, so dont sit around waiting for a heavenly signal to start grinding…Get out there and do it.

My List of Places I went to Grind (*NOTE: I didn't start grinding until 23-24 as up until then questing is much more efficient than any mob you can kill at your level, because of this I wouldn't suggest grinding until you are at least 20):

*XP-Experience *XPR-Experience when Rested *GPH-gold per hour(Fluxuates depending on mob droprate)

23-25:
Ashenvale
Mobs:Bears and Spiders
Note: The spiders of Ashenvale are some of the most effective means of getting loot at low lvl while grinding, the bears have good xp and are fairly easily handled.
XP: 120-220
XPR: 230-345
GPH: high-2g low-30s avg-1.34g

26-27:
Wetlands
Mobs: Crocolisk Family, Raptors, oozes(With a Partner)
Note: Crocs have a quest chain that is fairly simple to complete, Raptors drop good and are good for skinning, Oozes drop green items fairly often
XP: 160-230
XPR:300-360
GPH: high-3.4g low-1g avg-2.8g

28-30:
Darkshire
Mobs:Worgen and Ogres
Note: Worgen are skinnable, Ogres drop 1-2s a piece sometimes and a fair amount of greens.
XP: 190-240
XPR: 320-400
GPH: high-3.6g low-1.3g avg-2.4g

31-36
Stranglethorn Vale
Mobs: Tigers,Panthers,Raptors
Note: Do the Chain Quests given by the NPC's at Nessingwary's Expedition, Do the Kurzen Mystery chain up to going into the Kurzen Cave, Once 33 you can run through the Kurzen Camp slowly and get some relatively sellable loot. You can also switch between Panthers and Tigers w/o having to run too far(Killing one while other spawns). This is a goldmine if you get the Whiskers that the cats drop and the teeth that the raptors drop.
XP:200-270
XPR:350-420
GPH: high-4g low-2.1g avg-2.9g

36-43
Dreadmurk Shore(Theramore)
Mobs: Turtle family
Note: wow this is where I currently am, im getting great xp and loot, raking in close to 4g avg this is the ultimate grind spot, a friend of mine told me this is where the Pay for Play Powerlevelers go for levels 36-39, but I have been told that the loot is still good well after 40.
XP: 230-300
XPR: 400-445
GPH: high-4.4g low-2.6g avg-3.7g

This is it so far…When I get higher level I will test for more places to grind. The gold Per Hour Numbers are from me and a few other friends that have grinded in each of these places.

Oh BTW this is my first guide…I know you can probably find the same information posted already on the web or in this site, but I felt that if you skipped over the other ones you might find mine…So enjoi! Hunters FTW!!!

EDIT: Mages are good at AE spamming…This is a viable and efficient way to grind to date…But, who knows when blizz will pass the oh so important Nurf-Bat on to a new class…