A guide to a production altFollow

I've had this idea for a long time, and as I am almost finished with it, I figure I might as well share.

This guide will (hopefully) be:
A guide to cheaply leveling a character to 35 (Alliance side; sorry Hordies, not enough experience)
A guide to get alchemy to 275 (in order to make Arcanite)
A guide to get Tailoring to 250 (in order to make Mooncloth)

The aim of this guide is to get you rich, AND to help a growing WOW economy. So here's my salespitch. Imagine a radio advertising type of voice.

Tired of all that difficult grinding to make the moo-lah? Frustrated at the lottery that is rare-item farming? Angered by price variations that make your rare find worth hundreds of gold less than when you started?

Well friend, here is the guide for you! Imagine... a constant income. A guaranteed average of at least 5 gold a day for (get this!) less than 5 minutes of work. Yes, it is possible; and 5 gold is the low-end estimate!

With Locke's guide to a production alt, you'll be the life of the party! Every 2 days, you can transmute arcanite: this little baby goes for 5 gold; just for a transmute! Every 4 days, you'll be able to make Mooncloth: this goes for 15 gold average (allakhazam price). That means 25 gold every 4 days; an average of over 5 gold a day! All for 5 minutes of work!

Well, 5 gold doesn't sound like much, does it? But think about it; if it takes you 4 weeks to level a new character to level 40, you might need to spend another week grinding money the old, boring way for a mount. BUT! If you have a production alt character, you can make money the entire time your new character is skilling up; effectively your own bank, with MAJOR interest! In those 28 days, you'll have made 140 gold; more than enough to pay for your mount and a new armor change at level 40!

Besides that, you have a benefit of having your own pocket alchemist/tailor! Imagine: you can make bags whenever you need them. You can make protection potions, save money by creating your own rocket fuel, or make stat boosts for PvP! Not to mention all the profit possibilities that having those professions bring!

So, if you're interested, read on! For here is my guide to making YOU easy money. Once it's set up; it requires but 5 minutes a day. And if that isn't motivation enough, just think: you're providing a service for the economy and the other players of World of Warcraft!

A Production alt: By this, I mean an alt devoted to level 35 for making these transmuted items. An alt devoted solely for one purpose: making you money for free. It takes a while to set up, and it isn't for everyone; but once you get it going, life is easy street. Once you have one, you can tweak it to make it easier for more. With 3 such alts, not a tough task by half, you can make 15 gold average a day. Ready to start?

The leveling guide: Getting to 35 for cheap.
Not only does leveling this kind of alt make you self-sufficient, it gets you involved in quests. Anyone who has played a RTS or a survival knows that making yourself powerful, solo, is some of the most fun you can have. Think Resident Evil: is it nearly as fun going back with the end-game guns after winning, or trying to survive by yourself. For me, it is survival. You have two goals here:
1. Level to 35 without buying any gear from the AH.
2. Sell everything you gather to make money to cover the expenses of a production alt (at level 35). Or, save up items for then.

The first thing you need to do is to pick a job. I am good at playing a mage, so I have my production alt as a mage. Other good jobs: Druids, Hunters, Warlocks. Why? Because they stay at distance. Unlike rogues and Warriors, gear does not make or break with class. Unlike Priests and Paladins, they do not level slowly. You need very little impressive gear to still level effectively.

I'm going to go along the lines of a Warlock/Mage, because that is the easiest for me to remember. A Druid or Hunter may be better at level 35 for one reason: movement boosts between the mail and the AH :-P.

Starting out: the beginning quests.
For your first ten or so levels, you'll play like any other class. You use the grey gear you find to equip yourself. You have no money, so why bother with the AH? Starting in Dun Morough is the same as Elwynn Forest, really. The beginning quest rewards don't warrant picking one place over another.

At level 5, you get to choose your trade skills. This can be important, as tradeskills will get you money. By trade skills, however, I mean gathering skills. You're not going with crafting yet (I did that before; big mistake). You have two real choices here: herbalism or mining. Let us see the value of each.

Mining: Easier to get money with at the beginning. Copper always sells decently, and it is easy to find (Gol'Bolar Quarry, anyone? Or the mines in Elwynn?). It isn't a huge seller, but it is a good amount; a stack sells from 30s-1g+. It is very unusual to be under or above this price range.

Herbalism: The beginning herbs do not sell nearly as well. Peacebloom, Silverleaf... these are everywhere. Earthroot sells a little better, but not by much. But once you hit the mageroyal/briarthorn/swiftthistle stage... you start to get the dough. Also, you can save up the herbs for later, or take up alchemy in order to not have to go back and level it after hitting 35.

Once you pick your skill... great! I have no recommendations for a second skill, although herbalism/alchemy is nice for saving time later (and for easier leveling; stat boosts are nice). If you're mining, you might as well grab skinning too; every little bit helps!

Back to leveling:
What you need to watch for is quests with good gear. For example, "Wanted: Hogger" in Elwynn gets you a staff with some intellect on it early on for free. Protecting the Herd gets you some cloth pants for free.

Get my drift? Free is good! Therefore, I recommend doing quests instead of grinding. Grinding gets old FAST. Believe me. I grinded crabs in Westfall for 3-4 levels. It was hell. Although I found unique green items... anyway, questing is good. So, I will type the zones, and the quests you should aim for, and why. Keep in mind, this is a cloth-caster type of guide, BUT most quests have items for other classes as well. The ones above have a leather reward (both of them; one for legs, one for chest), a mail reward (Hogger), and a two-handed mace (Herd).

Westfall (levels 11-17):
Poor Old Blancy has a 4-slot bag for a reward. If you're really hurting for bag space, it's a good idea.

Thunderbrew Lager is relatively easy to do. Hops drop off of mechanical harvest guys. Turn them in (repeatable quest) for more boose. It gives you three stamina; a cheap stat boost for 15 minutes.

Red Leather Bandanas drop off of Defias in Westfall. The reward is worthless, but you can choose between a green cape with agility (woo-hoo) or green cloth pants with strength and spirit (even more worthless really).

Killing Fields ends up with a decent robe: stamina and spirit. Beware, Warlocks: mechanical reapers are immune to taunts, like the one from VW. VW is worthless in these fights.

Keeper of the Flame is an EASY quest, and has decent rewards. It is basically free experience. Just save up 5 flasks of oil off the harvest reaper mechs, and turn them in. You get some scrolls (free stat boosts!) and either health or mana potions (anything is better than nothing!)

The People's Militia is a three-part chain involving killing certain types of Defias. After the last one, you get green rewards. The wand is decent, but as you'll soon see, there's a better one...

The Coastal Menace is a nice easy quest. You need to kill a level 20 named Murloc who patrols the coast of Westfall. He walks right by the lighthouse. Note: you can usually recruit some upper-level help in the area for this. The quest gets you a good wand.


The Deadmines (level 19+ OPTIONAL):
While I will not talk about the Deadmines, I suggest running them. It's free loot if you get a good group. Make sure to do the Westfall chain so you get the staff for winning; you're guaranteed to get an item that way. While in there; SAVE ALL YOUR WOOL. Wool is super expensive, so saving now is a good idea.

Loch Modan (level 12-18):
In Defense of the Kings' Lands is a chain for killing troggs in southern Loch Modan. You get healing potions for one part of it, and good pants (better than the on in Westfall) for the last part (although it is a level 17 quest).

Filthy Paws is a quest around level 15 that involves getting mining gear from boxes in the Silver Stream mine. It isn't too hard, and you get a good robe (+4 stamina).

Excavation Progress Report starts a chain that ends up in an escort quest. The finish of that quest gets you a decent green belt with stamina and spirit.

There are other items for greens in Loch Modan, but honestly, the rewards for them are not worth mentioning.


Red Ridge (level 15-25ish):
Red Ridge is a bit lower level to start with than Duskwood or the Wetlands, so I suggest coming here when Loch Modan and Westfall dry up. Some of the quests are much higher level than the beginning ones, but I'll mention them and their levels anyway. Lots of elite quess here means good rewards if you get a group.

Dry Times sends you all over to pick up booze (including the Thunderbrew from Westfall). The reward is a cape with spirit; more useful than the one with agility... maybe... well, at least you also get a bulging coin purse for your trouble!

The Lost Toolsnets you two Armor kits. +16 armor isn't too shabby... then again, it isn't too good... but I am a firm believe in "every little bit helps!"

The Everstill Bridge is a around level 20, so beware. However, it does have a semi-decent glove reward for cloth-wearers (agility on cloth! So useless! Argh!).

Howling in the Hills (25) is great because you get a ring reward! Yay! Alas, it is very high, as is the next (and final) quest for gear in Red Ridge.

Morganth (elite, 27) gets you good cloth shoulders. But, yeah, it goes without saying that you need to be a higher level :-P

Wetlands (21-31):
The item rewards start a little lower here than in Duskwood, and there are fewer elite quests to start with. Let's see what we have!

Search for Incendicite (mining 65) is available for miners, and has some cloth gloves at the end. Of course, the stats are horrible... 3 Int, and 3 Strength. I don't even ask at these point placements.

Diing Through the Ooze is a good one if you want a 10-slot bag for free. Alas, it is a random drop off any slime in the zone. You can get it on your first or your fiftieth kill.

Blisters on the Land is the last quest in a series starting in Menethil called "The Greenwarden." After killing Fen Creepers, yo can choosea robe with (amazing! :-P) 9 spirit.

Apprentice's Duties is the end of a chain involving slaughtering crocolisks. You get a decent cloak with 5 stamina.

Uncovering the Past is great once you find Prospector Whelgar in the excavation camp. The reward is good too; a nice mantle with intellect and spirit.

Ormer's Revenge is the end of a series by the same name. This 29 level quest is to kill a named raptor, and you get a pretty good wand from it; a very nice upgrade from the Westfall one.

The Thandol Span series eventually leads to a great quest reward of pants with stamina and intellect.

A Grim Task (34 elite) has a ring reward, but it isn't as good as other rings available: heavy on spirit, light on stamina. Gross.


Duskwood (level 23-32):
The good rewards come from the higher level and elite quests here, and there are plenty of long chains to go around! If you get some high level help, you can breeze through this place and get a bunch of good equipment!


More reserved for later. I still need to include other locations: Duskwood, Wetlands, the Highlands, Hillsbrad/Alterac... much more, so stay tuned!

Edited, Mon Apr 24 16:38:28 2006 by LockeColeMA

This is reserved for my other profession guide, and/or closing comments/additions.

What a good idea! I use alts for mules but this seems... well just great! I wish I'd been doing this from the start it seems like such an obvious thing to do if you're organised and money minded.

It'll be nice to see your calculations on how long it'll take to pay back the investment leveling up alchemy and tailoring to the required levels.

I look forward to the updates to this soon-to-be-stickied post.

Afterthought:
Just wondered if you'd take up disenchanting as the alt's leveling 2ndry proffession? At least you get some gold back on your soulbound greens/blues from equipped items and quest reward trash.

Edit - Added Afterthought

Edited, Mon Apr 24 14:37:52 2006 by Flomo

Alchemy guide I found!

http://guides.worldofwar.net/strategy.php?id=43

In summary

Minor Healing Potion 1-40
Minor Rejevenation Potion 40-65
Lesser Healing Potion 65-90
Elixir of Wisdom 90-115
Healing Potion 115-130
Elixir of Defense 130-155
Greater Healing Potion 155-185
Elixir of Agility 185-215
Superior Healing Potion 215-235
Elixir of Greater Intellect 235-250
Elixir of Greater Agility 250-265
Superior Mana Potion 265-280
Major Healing Potion 280-300