MOP Starting Guide.
Now that Warmane have released MOP for everyone, it's going to be a big change for everyone, the whole point of this guide is so you don't have to go around searching for everything in order to find what you are looking for.
Each larger section will be in a spoiler neatly to keep this from being a GIANT wall of text.
1: Classes
-- New Talent System
-- Glyphs
-- Changes to the way Hit and Expertise
2: Leveling
3: Gear
-- Item Upgrades
-- Changes to Gems
-- Gear Optimization
4: Raids
-- Tier 14
-- Tier 15
-- Tier 16
5: Currencies
-- Using these
6: Player vs Player
-- PvP Power
-- Battle Fatigue
-- New Battlegrounds
-- New Arena
-- Changes to Arenas
-- Racials within PvP
1: Classes
MOP changed the way many classes are actually played, new talent tree systems, new glyphs, whole new spells and mechanics. In each section you will find a rough overview of each class and spec along with a stat priority applicable for 5.4.2 and a link to a Icy-Veins guide. I want to make sure you remember something now: NEVER USE NOXXIC. The whole point of Noxxic was to fool the Simcraft into whatever was the best DPS, not actual boss mechanics or encounters. It is the worst place to ever go looking for anything. Either use Icy-Veins or Elitist Jerks. If you are a PvPer check out Arena Junkies or SkillCapped.
Spoiler:Show
New Talent System.
With MOP came a new Talent System, rather than having trees, where in most cases a cookie cutter spec was normally chosen, most of the old talents are now passives or have been added to each spec as standard,
The whole point of the new system was to allow everyone to adapt to each situation differently, you no longer have to go to a Class Trainer to respec, instead you simply carry around Tomes in your bag to change if and when you need to.
You open a new tier every 15 levels starting at 15. So 15, 30, 45 and so on.
Of course there are the talents which are a must for your spec, take Holy and Prot Paladins, Eternal Flame from the 2nd Tier is a no-brainer over the other two options. The new system is both good and bad, good that it allows you to adapt as you need to, for example for a Disc Priest, on a stacking fight they would be better off to pick Divine Star from T7. Or if the fight is more spread out Halo would be the better option. There are some bad ones where you kind of need both from your Tier. Like an Enhance Shaman needing both Frozen Power and Windwalk Totem in PvP.
Get used to what your talents do and when to change them out for another.
Glyphs.
Prime Glyphs were removed from MOP, and now all we have are Major and Minor. Major glyphs tend to change the way a skill works, much similar to the way Prime Glyphs worked in Cata. Minor glyphs are normally cosmetic, such as changing the way your spell looks, or a little roleplay gimmick. Just like the old system these can be changed out simply with a Tome of Clear Mind. Soo keep come handy in your bags.
Changes to the way Hit Rating and Expertise Rating work.
In MOP both Hit and Expertise rating was changed. All Strength and Agility classes use Expertise and Hit, yes including Hunters. Your shots can be dodged. The ratings were changed from 8% Hit in Cata to 7.5% Hit in MOP, and expertise was changed from 26 Expertise (Cata) to 7.5% Expertise (Soft cap) in MOP.
Intellect users now use Hit rating (inc Spirit for Hybrids) and Expertise. Expertise in MOP translates over to Spell Hit rating, allowing those Races with a weapon specialisation to make use of it, like a Human with an intellect Sword, or a Gnome with a Dagger. 1% Expertise = 1% Hit. Also it allows casters to be more flexible with their gemming and enchanting, So they can now use Red/Orange Expertise gems in their gear should they be sort of hit cap.
2: Leveling
You will level 1-85 just like you did on Cata, but after 85 you enter Pandaria and follow the history that is Pandaria through the next 5 levels and onwards into End Game content.
Upon hitting 85 you will receive an automatic quest to visit your faction leader in SW/Org. After a really nice cinematic (I highly recommend you watch, all of the Pandaren lore is simply amazing) You will phase back into your city and be sent on your way to Pandaria.
If you are Horde your Quests start aboard your flying Boat (Similar to the ones in Icecrown), it's to the North East of Orgrimmar, just south of the bay of Azshara/Durotar.
Once aboard you'll be taken to Honeydew Village in the north of Jade Forest.
If you are Alliance your quests start aboard your flying ship (Similar to the ones in Icecrown), it's to the North of Stormwind Harbour. Once aboard you'll be taken to Paw'Don Village in the south of Jade Forest.
From then on as a general guide:
85 > 86 in Jade Forest
86 > 86 ?¢ in Valley of the Four Winds
86 ?¢ > 87 in Krasarang Wilds
87 > 88 in Kun'Lai Summit
88 > 89 ?¢ in Towlong Steps
89 ?¢ > 90 in Dread Wastes.
Each Zone has a very easy to follow quest chain, so you shouldn't get too lost in what you are doing.
3. Gear
Once you hit 90 you will might be a little confused at what you should do.
The best thing to do would be to start doing RDF HCs, which in turn will give you the opportunity to get 463 Gear. Not to mention Justice Points (which I will explain later what to do with).
There are multiple Factions, all of which give a great array of Epic gear. Each specific for your class.
- Klaxxi - 489 Rings, Legs, Belts, 463 Weapons
- August Celestials - 489 Bracers, Boots
- Golden Lotus - 489 Rings, Shoulders, Chests
- Shado-Pan - 489 Trinkets, Helms
You should find out which items you need as priority, or which items are better than LFR/RDF HC gear and get these items first.
The first raids that are open are for Tier 14 gear, these start with Mogu'shan Vaults, Heart of Fear and Terrace of Endless Springs. With end game T14 boss being Sha of Fear.
If Molten release LFR this it will make gearing a little simpler as LFR is 476 Ilvl gear.
Item Upgrades.
As you may notice all MOP item from Instances (Dungeons and Raids) have the option to Upgrade them. This essentially adds extra stat numbers to your item, along with increasing it's Item level.
Blue items can be upgraded once, and this costs Justice Points, and it's a great way to spend your JP.
Epic items can be upgraded twice, and this costs Valor Points. You should Prioritise your BIS items when it comes to spending your Valor, since you still have a 1k weekly cap.
Changes to Gems.
Gemming for your pure mainstat might no longer be helpful depending on which class and spec you play. This is more for the Min-Max'ers and theorycrafters out there who like to make sure their gear is perfectly optimised.
Main Stat gems (Agility, Intellect and Strength) have 160 points in a gem.
Secondary Stat gems (Mastery/Crit/Haste/Hit/Dodge/Expertise/Parry) have 320 points in a gem.
For Hybrid Gems (Orange, Green, Purple) the gem point weight is 1:2 of Primary:Secondary. So a Strength + Mastery gem will have 80 Strength + 160 Mastery on.
Some classes prefer using Hybrid gems and even Secondary Stat gems over Main Stat gems. Take a Frost Mage as example. A Frost Mage gains better DPS from Haste gemming over Intellect gemming and as such would use Int+Haste gems in a Red Socket and a Haste gem in a Yellow socket, and a Haste+Hit gem in a Blue Socket. However a class like Survival Hunter would take Agility gems in a Red Socket and Agi+Crit gem in a Yellow Socket, and Agi+Hit in a Blue Socket.
Gear Optimization.
As usual reforging is the same as in Cata, where 40% of one stat is converted into another of your choosing.
Again for the min-maxers out there its generally ideal that would optimise your gear and do thorough testing on which stats were to have the best output DPS/Heals. The stat prios I listed above are just a basic guide for the people who don't care about what they have, but still need a rough guide on doing it right. Some classes actually prefer better using Gems and Enchants different to what is listed above. And there is plenty of resources out there for each class including very indepth damage formulas.
4. Raids
MOP brings some fantastic Raids to the game. Some new mechanics which are great to play with and personally I loved raiding in Mists, especially SoO. Each Boss in the Raid list will link have a Link to the Tactics Video provided by Fatboss and a Kill Video from Method (or equal quality).
Tier 14:
Mogu'shan Vaults (MSV)
Spoiler:Show
Heart of Fear (HoF)
Spoiler:Show
Terrace of Endless Springs (ToES)
Spoiler:Show
Tier 15:
Throne of Thunder. (ToT)
Spoiler:Show
Tier 16:
Siege of Orgrimmar (SoO)
Spoiler:Show
5. Currencies.
You will notice that as you progress throughout Pandaria after 90 you will come across new currencies.
Below is a list of each currency and how to spend them
Mote of Harmony: These drops of any mob in Pandaria and you might have come across them as early as level 85. Collect these up! Once you have 10 you can create a Spirit of Harmony, and these are used for Professions, from trading them in at one of the vendors in your Shrine, or for using to discover a new recipe within your profession tab. Some can even be used to make items.
Lesser Charm of Fortune: These were added in 5.0, however since the Molten are releasing 5.4 the Weekly Quest to turn these into Elder Charms of Fortune might not be scripted or released since the quest is updated to whatever the highest currency is at the time, however for Siege of Orgrimmar (5.4), there is a weekly quest which allows you to turn in 50 of these for 3 Warforged Seals. I'll write more about what Warforged Seals do later on, but since Siege of Orgrimmar is not released and nor will be for sometime, just pick these up and they'll be kept safe in your currency tab ready for when it does open.
Elder Seals of Fortune: These are what Lesser Charms of Fortune used to turn into in 5.0. It is unknown at this time what will happen to these on Molten. What their main use was you would do a weekly quest and turn in 90 Lesser Charms for 3 Elder Charms. Elder Charms could be spent inside raids (Tier 14 raids/World bosses) after bosses to gain the chance at additional loot.
Mogu Runes of Fate: These still exist and are used in 5.4, however as stated above it is unknown what Molten are doing regarding these and the quest associated with it. These Runes are used in Throne of Thunder (Including Nalak the world boss outside of ToT) just like the Elder Seals, in the chance of getting more loot.
Warforged Seals: Again as above concerning Molten. These are used in Siege of Orgrimmar for the chance to win bonus Loot.
Using these Coins.
Each time you do a boss in a Raid, and you have one of the above in your currency tab, you have the chance to do a Bonus Roll. This will either give you an item or just Gold. This can happen in any difficulty raid, and will roll for gear of that difficulty. Since these are limited due to the amount you can gain each week it's wise to only gamble them on bosses which you really need. And you can only roll once on each difficulty, so you cannot go into LFR twice and roll on the same boss.
6. Player vs Player
Player vs Player got an overhaul in MOP, with the introduction to baseline Resilience and PvP Power. Resilience has been removed from PvP gear and replaced with PvP Power. Resilience can now only be gained through Gemming and having a PvP trinket 2x Set-Bonus.
This means that in PvP environments, PvP gear is what needs to be worn, with there being no benefit to running around with PvE trinkets or Weapons, along with this all PvE set Tier Set-Bonuses are inactive in PvP.
This balances out the playing field a lot, you will no longer find HC geared people running around in BGs oneshotting people, infact they will be doing less damage than a full PvP geared player. Since they lack PvP Power.
PvP Power.
PvP power is the anti-Resilience. The more PvP power you own, the more damage you will do. Not just damage this also affects Healing. Healers with more PvP power will heal more than a PvE geared healer in a PvP environment. Hybrid classes will have 60% of their PvP Damage turned into PvP Healing power. This stops them from being truly overpowered.
Battle Fatigue.
Battle Fatigue effects how much all classes heal, yes that includes classes with minor heals like a Warlock, Mage, DK, Warrior, Hunter etc. In 5.4 it is 65% Healing Reduction in PvP. So your 100k Heal will turn into a 45% Heal. it might sound bad but once you experience PvP you will understand why it was done. Healers would be unkillable without this added to the game.
New Battlegrounds.
MOP brought in 3 new BGs.
Temple of Kotmogu - Powerball game (10v10), if you're a Halo fan think of the Oddball game. You gain points by holding balls, there are 4 active within the large arena. Those holding the Ball gain a stacking debuff, which increases damage taken per stack, but also increase damage done too. Eventually with enough stack this player can be one shot by a well timed CD use. The longer your team holds a ball the more points you gain. The closer you at to the middle of the arena the more points you gain also. Winner is first to 1600 Points.
Silvershard Mines - Domination/Capture game (10v10). This BG works on moving Mine Carts, there are 3 active on the map at once, all going in different directions, the aim of this game is to capture a cart (same style as EotS bases are capped) and it ending in a shaft at the end. Each time a cart is captured a new one will spawn in the middle of the BG. Winner is to 1600 Points.
Deepwind Gorge - Domination/Capture game (15v15). This BG has 3 Mine Points and each base as a Mine Cart. The objective is to hold Mine Points and to try and capture the enemy's Mine Carts. There normally involves a huge skirmish in the middle in the opening 5 minutes of the game to capture the middle Mine Point. Winner is to 1600 Points.
New Arena.
Tiger's Peak arena was introduced in 5.3 and it's layout is a refreshing change. At the start each team is blocked by two pillars before it opens up to a middle skirmish. Either side of the mid are two raised decks. This arena is a great place for a caster, who can have free view of the map while being able to LOS with ease.
Changes to Arenas.
Within the Prep Room you will be able to see the comp you will be facing, you are given time to change your talents to best handle what you are facing. (another reason to always keep a few stacks of Tomes in your bags at all times).
While you are fighting after 5 minutes a debuff will be applied, Dampening, which reduce the healing done/received by 1% every 10s. This is to stop arenas lasting longer than about 12-15 minutes.
Racials within PvP.
Thanks to the introduction of PvP power and PvP gear being the only option in competitive PvP, it is no longer an advantage to be a Human. Other Racials have their use in PvP, like Night Elves Shadowmeld can avoid a lot of trouble and is also great for classes such as Warriors, DKs, Hunters, Feral Druids and Rogues. (Also the use of Shadowmeld for Rogue and Feral allow you to re-open on your target). Worgens 1% Crit is great for Mages, Boomkins, Disc Priests and Hunters. The PvP Medallion gives either Stamina, Spirit or Crit Rating which can be reforged into any other stat (minus the Stamina one). Allowing more flexibility on your secondary stats. PvP DPS trinkets give PvP Power instead of a Secondary Stat.
If you have felt as if anything was missed, or you would like me to answer a question, I will add it to this guide. If I get enough Questions I will add a Q&A of the most asked and important questions.
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General Guide to MOP
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