As the WoW Cataclysm Classic pre-patch is set to launch on April 30th, I've put together a brief guide on swiftly acquiring gear for returning players on freshly boosted characters or those starting anew. It's surprisingly simple to reach an average item level of 260, more than sufficient to expedite your leveling journey when WoW Cataclysm launches.

Prepare Honor Points

Before the pre-patches launch, it's important to prepare the currency that you need to get this gear, and that's honor points. Make sure you cap on honor points before the pre-patch launches. In the WoW Cataclysm, the currency is totally revamped. The cap on honor is now 4K.

Which is why the best strategy right now is to prepare the Stone Keeper's Shards to turn them into Wintergrasp Marks of Honor. Wintergrasp Marks of Honor can be used after the pre-patch to grant you a lot more honor. Remember, these are actually account-wide, so if you have Stone Keeper's Shards lying around on your alt, get a load of these marks and get them hoarded up.

We're going to be purchasing the Wrathful PvP gear with Wintergrasp Marks of Honor. Although PvP gear isn't ideal for PvE, it's the biggest power creep you can achieve from this little time and this can leapfrog you into Gamma Dungeons and raids.

Although it's not confirmed yet that this gear will be purchasable with honor, it's how it did work at the end of WoW Classic and how it did in the WoW Cataclysm Classic. If for whatever reason it doesn't work, you can still get the Relentless gear. There might be an arena rating restriction on the weapon, but there's a simple solution to that. There might be an arena rating restriction on the weapon, but there's a simple solution to that.

Dungeon Raids

So, now you're decked out in PvP gear, then you're going to obtain is the weapon. The item level of the gear is so bad on the boosted gear that you may actually struggle to get yourself into Gamma Dungeons as it does now have an item level requirement.

So, you want to queue yourself into Forge of Souls, Pit of Saron, and Halls of Reflection to get yourself a weapon. These reward 232 gear. If you don't get anything from those dungeons, queue Trial of the Crusader.

We will just be able to purchase the Wrathful weapons with honor and therefore the best thing to do is just mindlessly grind Battlegrounds and Wintergrasp, making sure to do all of the quests in Wintergrasp. These reward honors but also reward you Wintergrasp Marks of Honor, which can be turned into commendations, which obviously can also be turned into even more honor.

For returning players, you can queue Gamma Dungeons now in the Dungeon Finder, which are more difficult versions of the original Heroic dungeons. However, we want to farm the Scourgestones, particularly for the trinkets, because that will be the best trinket that you can get.

A currency vendor for these is where all the others are in Dalaran. You'll be able to get excellent weapons and trinket upgrades, and the trinkets will be even better than the PvP ones. You can also downgrade the Scourgestones into Celestial Essences if there's something better on that vendor.

Final Thought

You can do raids to get Heroic gear, but your time would be better making WoW Cataclysm Classic Gold and leveling up your professions. Particularly for a returning player, professions provide a big DPS boost, and you can easily do gold flips on the Auction House in order to afford all of your weekly raid consumes.

Feel free to do some raids. You don't need to deck a character out in full 25-man Heroic gear unless you're going to be doing the World First race to Level 85. Bear in mind that by the time you hit Uldum and the Stonecore, the quests will start rewarding item Level 312 gear.

Unlocking reputation and rewards in WoW Cataclysm Classic may appear simple at first, but there's actually a lot to consider. To maximize efficiency, it’s essential for players to understand the most effective methods for gaining reputation. In this guide, we'll explore the pros and cons of questing and dungeon grinding, and discuss which reputations you should prioritize based on your character.

Complete Quests

Completing quests is the primary method for increasing reputation among certain factions. However, it's not essential to finish every quest in every zone. At Level 85, running Heroics can also greatly enhance your reputation. In zones with low reputation gains, prioritize by wearing the faction's tabard. Now, let's delve into these factions to ascertain the optimal approach.

Guardians Of Hyjal

Associated with Hyjal questing, this zone will be amazing for reputation gain per hour. Going through the entire zone should not take you more than 2 hours if you’re going at an efficient rate, bringing you all the way into Revered with the faction. This means you’ll be able to pick up 333 and 346 item level gear right at Level 85, while also having access to Intellect and great Head Enchants at the gate.

Earthen Ring

This is one of those reputations that I would not actively pursue through questing, as it grants a pitiful amount of reputation and is a terrible questing experience. You get enough reputation to be close enough to Honored through Deepholm, so I recommend focusing on this reputation through the tabard once you get to Friendly.

Ramkahen

Questing in Uldum provides several thousand reputation points towards Honored status, which is decent but not exceptional. While it's efficient for leveling and gaining reputation simultaneously, it's not advisable to return solely for reputation grinding at Level 85. Uldum offers two daily quests for reputation, but it's not worth visiting just for the reputation gain.

Dragonmaw Clan (Horde) / Wildhammer Clan (Alliance)

In Twilight Highlands, you’ll have just over 20 quests, which will bring you into honored reputation and unlock 5 daily quests after getting to honored. You can focus on getting this reputation through the tabard, but if you no longer need Heroic gear and you’re done with your Valor Point cap for the week, then knocking out 1,350 reputation through 5 quick dailies is not a bad idea.

Tabards

When it comes to the tabards, you can pick up the Guardians of Hyjal, Dragonmaw Clan, Ramkahen, and the Earthen Ring. You don’t need to do any questing in Vashj'ir to unlock it. Equipping a tabard will make you gain reputation towards that specific faction through running Heroic dungeons, but you’ll also gain reputation at a reduced rate from the normal versions of Lost City of the Tol’vir, Grim Batol, and Halls of Origination.

Run Heroic Dungeon

Each run of a Heroic dungeon will grant you around 1.5 to 2.5k reputation per run depending on the instance and how heavily you focus on Trash. However, getting as many boss kills per hour as possible will yield you the most amount of gear and Justice Points while still granting solid reputation. In addition, it is also a good idea to carry some WOW Cataclysm Classic Gold with you.

Tol Barad

Tol Barad is the only zone that you cannot gain reputation from through a tabard. You’ll have to head to the island of Tol Barad, do dailies, and PvP battles to earn reputation and commendations to purchase gear and mounts. Every serious raider should aim to have this reputation at Exalted before the release of the first raid tier.

Therazane Faction

For the Therazane faction, you’ll have to finish up pretty much every single quest in Deepholm before you get access to the faction. Doing the quest will put you a decent chunk into Honored, which will allow you to pick up the lesser version of the Shoulder Enchant.

Going to Revered will give you a 346 item level ring, and going to be at Exalted will grant you the greater version of the Shoulder Enchant. This is the reputation that everyone should work towards completing before the release of the raid tier.

Conclusion

All in all, you can gain reputation by equipping a tabard while running Heroic dungeons. There will also be several dailies you can do to gain reputation, but just like with the Dragonmaw Clan, only do them if you no longer need Heroic gear and you’re already done with your Valor Point cap.