As a follow-up to my previous article, today we’ll be talking about the best mobs to grind and spots for efficient AoE grinding as you level. We’ll be taking into account how different types of mobs behave (melee vs caster, for example), the density of mobs in a specific location for ease of gathering up large packs at a time, and the loot mobs drop as well in an attempt to maximize your profits as you grind.
Types of Mobs
First, it’s important to know what types of mobs are ideal for AoE grinding. Whenever possible, you’ll want to focus on packs of humanoids. Typically humanoids will provide the best loot (coins, in addition to cloths and other items), humanoids are often more closely clumped together, and “runners” will actually make your job easier — they’ll pull in more mobs for you so you don’t have to run around as much. You can grind on other types of mobs and depending on your professions (for example, if you’re a skinner) you may find it more profitable to grind on other types of mobs such as beasts, but humanoids are recommended for most.
The thing to keep in mind when grinding on humanoids is the type of humanoid you’re dealing with in a specific area. How do the mobs you’re looking at behave? Are they:
- Melee?
- Ranged Physical?
- Ranged Caster?
- Healer?
These are things you’ll need to be aware of. Any type of ranged mob can present a problem for you, so you’ll need to pay close attention to what you’re pulling. Casters in particular can be a real pain in the butt, especially if you’re dealing with more than one at a time. Casters typically deal higher amounts of damage to you (because magic damage ignores armor) and it’s more difficult to position them inside the range of your AoE, so be wary of them. If there are casters in your grinding spot, try to avoid areas where a single pull would snag you more than one caster at a time. If you can manage one caster per pull, you can drag the other (melee) mobs to the caster and burn them down there, making your job much easier.
At later levels, Avenger’s Shield will make dealing with multiple casters a bit easier, but keep in mind that casters will always present a bit of a challenge for you as you grind, so avoid them if you can. Also, if you find yourself dealing with multiple casters, try to use the nearby terrain to your advantage whenever possible and try to line-of-sight them.
That said, let’s take a look at some good grinding spots! Keep in mind: you can generally safely grind on mobs 2 to 3 levels higher than you are, so if you think the zone you’re in might be a little bit too high for you, chances are it’s actually just right. Higher level mobs (mobs that appear orange to you) will net more experience per kill which is ideal, especially if you’re not rested.
The 30s
Because AoE grinding before level 30 is extremely difficult, I’ll be starting at level 30 for this guide. Questing your way to level 30 is relatively easy, so it shouldn’t be too hard to get yourself to this point on your own. (If you still need some guidance, you may want to check out The Azeroth Advisor for additional help as you level.)
Duskwood
There are a few good places in Duskwood to get your start. Duskwood is notorious for large, dense packs of mobs that are great for AoE grinding. The highlighted sections on the map shown above correspond to large packs of worgen found in Duskwood. These mobs are especially good grinding if you’re a skinner; despite the fact that these mobs are technically humanoids, you can skin them for added profit, making them ideal.
You’ll want to be on the look out for:
- Nightbane Dark Runners
- Nightbane Shadow Weavers
- Nightbane Tainted Ones
- Nightbane Worgen
- Nightbane Vile Fangs
Now, keep in mind, there are several casters in these groups that you’ll need to be aware of, so pull carefully. These mobs are ideal for players level 28 to 30. These mobs are a little lower than what we really want to look for, but will serve as a good introduction to AoE grinding. Alternatively, you can also grind on the undead mobs at Raven Hill, however, many of those mobs are also lower than what we really want to look for, so they may not provide very efficient experience.
Hillsbrad Foothills
Another good spot for the early 30s can be found in the Hillsbrad Foothills. There’s a cave of Yetis just north of Southshore that are fairly easy to pull in large packs for quick kills. There are no casters in these groups, so you should be able to just run through the caves (and the area outside the cave) to pull as many as you like without much hindrance. You’ll want to look for Cave Yetis and Ferocious Yetis. These mobs are appropriate for players level 30 to 32.
Arathi Highlands
Yet another alternative for players in the early 30s are the Syndicate Highwaymen and Syndicate Mercenaries found in Northeastern Arathi Highlands. These mobs are appropriate for players level 30 to 33.
Scarlet Monastery
It’s worth pointing out at this point that you should be able to solo most, if not all, of the wings of Scarlet Monastery fairly easily once you reach the mid-30s. The nice thing about grinding these instances is that you have a whole lot of potential loot available to you, and an unlimited number of mobs (via instance resets). If you’re new to soloing instances, start slow with the Graveyard and Library and then work your way up to the Armory and Cathedral. Pull smaller packs of trash at first to get a feel for how much damage you’ll be taking. (Remember: you’re dealing with elites that are roughly your level now!)
These instances will provide the most efficient and profitable grinding spots for you in the mid-30s, so you’ll definitely want to give them a try. Don’t forget to periodically empty your bags so you don’t have to leave any loot behind! You should be able to farm these instances for at least two or three levels in the mid-30s, maybe more if you’re rested.
Dustwallow Marsh
If farming instances isn’t your cup of tea, an alternative for the mid-30s is Dustwallow Marsh. In the northern coastal region of the zone, you’ll find a number of Murlocs that should provide solid grinding. Be on the look out for: Mirefin Coastrunners, Mirefin Muckdwellers, Mirefin Murlocs, Mirefin Oracles, Mirefin Puddlejumpers and Mirefin Warriors. These mobs are appropriate for players level 33 to 36.
Swamp of Sorrows
On the coast of this zone, in the Southwest, you’ll find a decent number of Murlocs to get you started. This is the location I used when I first started AoE grinding and it served me well as an introduction to the process. You’ll be looking for the Marsh Murlocs.
Start at the southern-most section of the highlighted portion of the map shown above (near the water’s edge, you’ll see some crocolisks swimming around nearby) and pull 4 or 5 Murlocs to get a feel for how much incoming damage you’ll see and how much healing you need to do. As you get more comfortable, you can run around the coast a bit more, pulling more mobs at a time. These mobs are appropriate for players level 37 to 41.
Recap
Having covered a few different spots that should see you through the 30s, let’s do a quick recap of the zones you’ll want to focus on through these levels:
-
Duskwood (28 to 30)
-
Hillsbrad Foothills (30 to 32)
-
Arathi Highlands (30 to 33)
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Scarlet Monastery (34 to 37)
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Dustwallow Marsh (33 to 36)
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Swamp of Sorrows (37 to 41)
The next part of this guide will continue where we’re leaving off today with grinding spots for the 40s. If you’ve found a favorite grinding spot in the 30s that I’ve missed, feel free to share it in the comments!
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Awesome guide, thanks a lot.
Quick question – do you think aoe grinding alone is faster than questing? Or is it best to mix them both together for maximum exp?
.-= We Fly Spitfires´s last blog ..Why Do You Play MMORPGs? =-.
I found that AoE grinding when I was rested and questing when I wasn’t worked out the best.
I would certainly never suggest giving up on questing. What I would suggest is paying attention to what quests you actually take which you don’t. If you have a quest that wants you to kill X mobs, then that’s perfect for an AoE build.
If you have a quest that wants you to deliver an item to another person somewhere else, then look where it’s at and see if you are going to grind anywhere either on your way to the destination or around the destination itself. If you are, then go ahead and take it, but if not then don’t bother.
If you have Rested bonus stored up, then I would focus more on grinding than on questing, because quests give you spikes of exp where grinding gives you a steady flow. Quests don’t eat away your rested bonus, so there’s nothing lost if you’re questing while you’re grinding, but you will actually level up faster if you utilize what you have.
I prefer grinding to finish off my levels, and quests to give me a boost at the beginning of a level. So I grind to finish of my current level, saving all the quests that I’ve completed up to that point, and then as soon as I level I go back and turn in all of my quests. I then go back to the field and grinding the mobs down while questing to get that level, then turn in the quests, etc.
Multiple times I’ve turned in 13+ quests at once just because I’ve been focused on my grinding for my experience and not bothering to turn in quests. I’ve gained 3 levels in about a 30 minute span from grinding to level, turning in half a quest log worth of quests for a almost 2 levels worth, and then grinding again to hit the third level. And that was in my low 40’s.
The best blend, in my opinion, will always be a combination of the two rather than focusing solely on one.
.-= Psynister´s last blog ..Patch 3.2: Full Notes Revealed =-.
I found AoE grinding was much faster than exping. I was getting 45-50k / hour at level 31-33 in highlands, with breaks since mobs didn’t spawn fast enough (this was with full heirlooms, shield from gnomeregan, and rest just bought from AH).
Types of Mobs
This is another thing subject to opinion. While humanoids generally do have the better drops, they also have their downsides. They have more casters than any other type of mob, and they are the only mobs in the game that run away from you when their health drops.
Casters are going to eat your Prot Pally, that’s just the way it is. You can certainly kill them, but they are the only mobs that should ever give you trouble save for the ones 6+ levels higher than you.
Mobs that run when their health is low can be both good and bad. It’s good in that you don’t have to bother with an other pull, but it’s bad in that you run the risk of running out of mana or taking on more mobs than you can actually handle. I generally hate mobs running away from me. I do like it in some locations, but generally more for when I’m farming than when I’m grinding for levels.
For the sake of grinding for experience, Yetis and Ogres are some of the best mobs available for their enrage abilities that they use when their health is low. While it means they are going to hit harder, it also means that they are going to hit faster. The faster they hit you, the more reflective damage they take, which means they die faster, and the more Blessing of Sanctuary procs you get which means more mana. If you get one of these mobs to enrage, switch your target to a different mob with more health and let the low ones kill themselves for you. Each time one enrages, jump to another one that hasn’t yet.
Another excellent choice for mob types to grind is beasts. People hate grinding for meat to level their cooking. If you do it for them, then you stand a chance at making a ton of gold on the AH by selling the meat once you’ve leveled your own cooking profession. I started focusing on meat in my 30s with the turtles in Hillbrad and got 50g just from meat, not to mention the gold I got from various pearls that they drop as well.
Buzzards in Badlands brought in significant gold, as did the bears in Felwood. All of the beasts in Northrend provide excellent gold as well since so much of it is used in buff food for raiding or by people who need to level their cooking skills for the sake of being able to make good buff foods, and for the Daily Cooking Quests as well.
.-= Psynister´s last blog ..Patch 3.2: Full Notes Revealed =-.
Runners are actually preferable, particularly when you’re working in a densely populated area. Runners will bring more mobs to you, rather than your having to continuously go get more. I’ve never found a situation where a runner was a “bad” thing in all the time I’ve spent leveling.
Once you’re familiar with grinding, you become aware of how many mobs you can safely pull at a time. Additionally, because of the talents and buffs you’re using, you’re regenerating health and mana at an amount that is proportionate to the number of mobs you’re dealing with. The more mobs you’re dealing with, the less likely you are to run out of mana. Also, let’s not forget: we’re pallies! If you get into a spot of trouble with a runner, safety is a Divine Shield and/or Lay on Hands away.
I’ve found runners to be a bad thing on several occasions during my leveling.
More often than not they are an annoyance more than they are a threat, but the point I’m making is that they aren’t always the best mobs to grind on because they can lead to over-pulling. You like them for their loot, I hate them for their annoyance and potential for problems.
Our mileage obviously varies on this, and that’s why I bring up the other side of what you’re saying. In your experience runners are good and preferable, in mine they are unnecessary and can lead to overpulling.
Rather than relying on runners to keep myself from having to re-pull often, I include my pulling spells as part of my rotation. That way I stay in control of which mobs come at me, when they come at me, and whether or not they come in the first place. Rather than risk a runner going off to agro a group of casters I use pulling and kiting to stay in control of what I’m doing.
Generally speaking, the only time runners generate an actual threat is when I’m soloing instances or when I am in areas that have casters as well as melee.
SM:Cath and SM:Lib are both good examples of places that runners can get you killed because of the high population of casters.
Paladins are like cats, we’ve got multiple lives. You’ve got to kill us three times over before we actually die. But two of those lives have cooldowns.
.-= Psynister´s last blog ..Twinkies: The Kind That Kill You =-.
You mentioned in Part 1 that this part would discuss rotations – what are your thoughts on this? Thanks for a great guide.
So I did! And I forgot! Shame on me!
Generally, there is no rotation that’s set in stone. You’re mostly just using damaging abilities as they come off cooldown. You can easily follow a Ret Pally’s “rotation” (excluding talented abilities) and do just fine: Judgement, Consecration, Exorcism and Holy Wrath. Remember to weave in Holy Shield as your first priority each time it comes off cooldown. And, once you’ve got the talent, add Hammer of the Righteous to your rotation and you’re all set.
You can (and sometimes should) add Avenger’s Shield to the top of the rotation to help you pull mobs, especially when you’re dealing with casters, but be mindful of your mana when doing so.
How do you solo SM? Could I see a list of suggested gear, because I can only just solo GY and Im lvl 35. I have a Scorpion’s Sting as my weapon, with fiery on it, and Skullance Shield with a mithril spike.
started right back into aoe grinding when my new pally hit 30.. been quite a long time for me
I would suggest the dabyrie farmstead as a much better alternative to the syndicate area in arathi highlands, or if you are an ally the orc area south of hammerfall. All the mobs are melee 30-33, with a few named from 34-36 and all non elite. this is area is tightly packed and is by far the best area to aoe grind ever
30-34 or 35 will fly by, though i though xp was getting a bit slow so i went to the murloc area in dustwallow that i saw on your guide and went too when i leveled my last pally aoe style. i would have to disagree on when to go here, since most of the murlocs are 36-37 you will miss like a champ and it will take forever to down a group. might want to change it to 35+ instead of 33 as listed
just my thoughts~