wow Patch 7.2.5 Alts & Returning Players

[Stan 5,240]

A guide for alts and returning players updated with latest changes for Patch 7.2.5.

Artifact Knowledge Catch-Up

• A recent hotfix reduced the research time to 3 hours and 35 minutes (per AK Level) and reaching the current Artifact Knowledge Level 40 cap should be faster than ever
• If you reached AK 40 on your main, you can buy Artifact Research Compendium: Volumes I-VII for 1,000 Order Resources and mail them to your alt for instant AK Level 40
• If you're at Artifact Knowledge 25, you'll have to complete the Broken Shore Scenario and Seeking Lost Knowledge, before you're able to continue your research

Class Guides

• All our Class Guides have been updated for Patch 7.2.5 and we also have a leveling up guides to help you pick the best Talents on your way to 110

Flying

• If you haven't unlocked flying yet, it's highly recommended you do that
• Once completed, you'll have account-wide access to Legion flying (Broken Isles Pathfinder, Part Two)
• Our friends over at MMO-Champion have a great tool to track your progress

Gearing

• Obliterum now upgrades crafted gear up to 900.
• When the Nether Disruptor is up in your region, don't forget to kill Broken Shore World Bosses for 900+ loot
• Relinquished items remain at item level 880
• Base item level of World Quest rewards hasn't increased, but they can Titanforge at a higher cap

Legendary Items

• Patch 7.2.5 added almost 50 new Legendary items
• You can acquire them right now at item level 940 and once the Tomb of Sargeras opens on June 20, the new default item level for Legendary items will be raised to 970 and existing Legendaries can be upgraded through a quest using Stabilized Titan Essence

Leveling

• The fastest way to level your alts are invasions
• Even though you won't be able to complete the Scenario until 110, the quests will give you roughly a level without heirlooms
  • I strongly recommend downloading the World Quest Group Finder addon to find groups and save time
• Visit this website to learn more about when the next invasion's up in your region
• It's a good idea to cycle through all your alts to get a level during invasion uptime
• Heirlooms now scale up to level 110 (Weathered Heirloom Armor Casing) and they can be purchased for 
  • 1,000 Timewarped Badges from Timewalking Vendors during Timewalking Bonus Events
  • 5,000 Gold
    • Alliance: Krom Stoutarm (Ironforge - 74,10) 
    • Horde: Estelle Gendry (Undercity - 78, 76)
• The same vendors also sell flight paths for 15,000 Gold each
  • Alliance
    • Surviving Kalimdor
    • To Modernize the Provisioning of Azeroth
  • Horde
    • The Azeroth Campaign
    • Walking Kalimdor with the Earthmother

[demonardvark 556]

i appreciate the "invasion can typically get you one level" (slightly paraphrased) part. I'm typically a raging altaholic but I can't bring myself to level this time around. I think its the whole nature of the world quests, you are literally doing the story quests 1000 times but when doing it on an alt you just can't blow up half of the map and be on your way. it takes more time.

so hopefully this knowledge will help me tend to my neglected alts XD.  

[InfernoRFU 125]

Having invasion leveled 3 characters now one important thing to note is that mobs scale with level but your gear is staying the same which gets....painful on non pet classes after a while.

[PatrickHenry 293]

12 hours ago, Stan said:

Patch 7.2.5 added almost 50 new Legendary items

"Legendary" - It's beginning to look more like a item icon color change than a rarity identifier.

 

[Smash 16]

There is something that might be confusing on the order of your post without clarification.

For your first character surpassing 25, you have to do the Quest line to unlock 26-40.  On any other Alt, you can just skip straight to 40.

Have done this myself on some of my Alts, but the ordering of how to deal with AK for Returning/Alts does not clarify this fact for others.

[DeathsDesign 92]

I'm not sure about invasions being the fastest way to level.  I mean sure it gets you about a level every time, however, in the course of a day I can get from 100 to 110 without invasions, having 9 110's trust me... I've done it both ways, with invasions, without, invasions only, and only leveling in spare time.  To me the truly fastest way is just to put on some music put your head down and just grind through it invasions or not.  Although, the extra nethershards are nice for when you hit 110.

So after doing some math if you don't sleep and click the button to start your next AK level it will take you approximately 53 hours and 42 minutes (my minute to decimal conversion is probably terribly off please feel free to correct me)  That's clicking straight through, without sleep, being at the AK trainer at exactly the moment you can start the next one.  So I'd say it'll take the average player to get from 26-40 in approximately 4 to 5 days, maybe even a week for the more casual returning players.  I still personally disagree with this, however, you can see my disagreements in a different post.

For returning players taking advantage of the reduced AK research time I would very STRONGLY suggest using the Legion Companion App.  Just set a clock timer for 3 hours and 35 minutes while you're not logged in and just hop in the app grab the AK start the next one.

I get that Blizzard currently doesn't want us wearing more than two legendaries because of the power spike it can cause, however, with the amount of legendaries in this expansion and the fact that they are just random drops from chests, bosses, and other things it's kind of taking the fun/achievement from obtaining them.  I mean you go from "OMGOMGOMOGMGOMGOMGOMGOMG LEGENDARIEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSS YAYAY I FINALLY DID IT."  to "oh cool another legendary I wonder where it ranks compared to my others."

I'm a bit concerned that they went over the top on some things trying to compensate for past low points.  All in all they are doing quite a job preparing for returning players and alts.

[DeathsDesign 92]

17 minutes ago, Smash said:

There is something that might be confusing on the order of your post without clarification.

For your first character surpassing 25, you have to do the Quest line to unlock 26-40.  On any other Alt, you can just skip straight to 40.

Have done this myself on some of my Alts, but the ordering of how to deal with AK for Returning/Alts does not clarify this fact for others.

 

18 hours ago, Stan said:

If you reached AK 40 on your main, you can buy Artifact Research Compendium: Volumes I-VII for 1,000 Order Resources and mail them to your alt for instant AK Level 40

I thought this explained it pretty well.  The way you worded it about skipping straight to 40 on an alt is a bit confusing and misleading if people don't understand that it requires what Stan said of reaching AK 40 on your main first.

[Janz 9]

On 16/6/2017 at 2:54 PM, PatrickHenry said:

"Legendary" - It's beginning to look more like a item icon color change than a rarity identifier.

 

Exactly... IMO it went down hill from MoP and on.... They should have made "ancient epics" or whatever, and i would have been so much happier... Last legit legendary was the rogue daggers from dragon soul.

[Usul420 0]

so as they have added

If you reached AK 40 on your main, you can buy Artifact Research Compendium: Volumes I-VII for 1,000 Order Resources and mail them to your alt for instant AK Level 40

if you run invasions until 110 then upgrade AK to 40, you can go back through all the zones and get maximized AP from all the zone quests and have you weapon maxed in no time.

i did this with a recent 100-110 booted and maxed AP within a few hours of getting to 110. so make sure to do the broken shores quest line to open up the new AP weapon system

Edited June 22, 2017 by Usul420
wrong color text