The proliferation of leveling guides in World of Warcraft has led me to ask, are players just grinding it out to reach level 80 or are they smelling the flowers and enjoying the journey?

I started playing a little before Burning Crusade came out. I was a level 1 Shaman overly eager to reach level 70 so I could step into the gates of the Black Temple and ring a doorbell to Illidan’s quarters. I purchased Joana’s leveling guide at that time and just followed the quests step by step.

I was enjoying every bit of it. Getting stronger and leveling way faster than the average joe- uhhh Orc. I wanted so badly to reach level 70 that WoW became like a job – doing tasks as they’re laid out by Joana and not really enjoying every bit of the leveling and learning process. When I dinged 70, I was totally burned out.

I purchased Wrath of the Lich King after over a year in hiatus from playing. I must tell you that the place looks amazing. I’m still leveling in the Howling Fjord area after touring the Borean Tundra and I just have to congratulate Blizzard for a job well done in designing the place.

I’m a casual player right now vs. before where I could spend a good 10 hours of my day just playing World of Warcraft. Now this was a result of me burning out and the fact that I have a day job to attend to (a.k.a the saddest part ever).

So now I’m taking my time and enjoying leveling in Northrend and so far it has been a blast. I’ve been keeping tabs on my progress through my blog at http://www.wowfreetrial.info and my Path of a Hero page at http://www.pathofahero.com/us/korgath/kapau/ . You should get an account over there!

I am still using a leveling guide now but I do read the quest line and enjoy the story. Try it, WoW will have a more engaging experience for you if you stop and smell the flowers in Azeroth, Outlands, and Northrend.

Finally, I guess I’ll leave you with 3 steps you could take to have a more enjoyable leveling experience:

• Read the Quest Description – You know reading quests might take a bit more of your time but it’s actually healthy and fun too. Instead of viewing quests as kill this and gather that…. you’ll read it as, “Oh I have to kill these bastards who are ruining the hunting grounds for the Tuskar” or “okay I’ll help this poor Tauren out because some bastard killed her grandson”
• Take shots of the environment – I was riding this ship-like trolley towards Kamagua and the scenery was just breath taking. So much work was put into creating the environment for this game. Learn to appreciate it by taking screenshots (just press print screen!) or just by looking at it and appreciating where you are. I actually think that Northrend scenery is much much better than in the Outlands where everything looked Sci-fi.
• Socialize with People – Sometimes it’s fun to hang out in towns other than your main city. So when you’re turning in your quests in towns and you see fellow Horde or Alliance, do not hesitate to say hi and do a quick chat. Just ask how they are…you’ll never know you may be on the same quest line so you can group up and quest much faster.

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