We have recaps from last week after the break and personalized leveling advice. But first, here is the schedule for the rest of the week:

• Elizabeth Harper as Faience, the troll shaman, and Robin Torres as Robinemia, the undead mage: Wednesday, 11 p.m. to midnight EDT
• Michael Gray as Grayfields, the tauren hunter, will be making appearances as he can this week.
• Amy Schley as Patent, the troll rogue will also be making appearances as she can.
• Matthew Rossi as Andrenorton, his new troll mage: some time Saturday.
• Adam Holisky as Adammentat, the tauren druid, will be making appearances as he can.
• Fox Van Allen as Foxlight, the blood elf paladin: Friday, 8 p.m. EDT.

Week 4 recaps
Our adventurers tell their stories.


Amy Schley as Patent, the troll rogue

Greetings to ya, mon. Da Patent troll be back in rare form dis week. Wednesday I decided ta work on my mining and engineerin', so I went to da pretty elf area and mined all da copper I could find, den I took dose hundred bars or so and turned dem into ammo for Grayfields and parts for makin' more engineerin' stuff. T'ink I need ta visit da cowmons an' learn how ta shoot wit' dese t'ings myself.

T'ursday, I started out workin' in da Barrens. Da luck of da loas was wit' me mon! I found four zhevra hooves afta only killing fifteen zhevras! So afta doin' all dat, it be time ta group up wit' dat lovely zombie ice queen Robinemia and go t'rough da Ragefire Chasm. We got sent on lotsa quests to go pick up dis dead cowmon's backpack, collect some books, and kill da evil demons in dere. So we found a pretty-boy paladin and a druid and a zombie priest. (Just between you and me, mon -- what be up wit' a zombie priest? Da time for last rites be gone by now!)

Anyway, da pallymon would round up big groups of dese trogg t'ings and I got ta do lots of killin'. And it turned out dat I be doin' lots of damage, like t'irty percent of everyt'ing! Maybe I not be so bad at dis rogue t'ing afta all. One annoyin' t'ing did happen dough. We was stealin' da stuff off da demon's corpse, and da demon had dis cloak on him. Da priest said he needed it and took it. Dat not be a cape for priests, you stupid zombie! Don't make me gets out my voodoo! I gots him anyway -- in my bag I got dis cloak o' da monkey, so it be even betta' dan dat one he took. You can't beat da Patent, mon!

As for next week, I don't know if I be dere next T'ursday. Da Patent, she be havin' some patent stuff ta study for some tests. But I promise ya mon, I be back as soon as I can.

Robin Torres as Robinemia, the undead mage

It was so nice to return to the cool lands of my people and I thank you all for allowing us to do so. I am very fond of The Sepulcher. I find its crypt/inn very restful and the graveyard is very peaceful. It has such a homey feel to it that I inquired about possible retirement options at the boutique there. Though Andrea's buyout price seems steep now, I will most likely be able to afford it easily after I cease my adventures.

I spent quite a bit of my time last week making and acquiring new garments, along with my adventuring. I explored Ragefire Chasm with Patent and some hired mercenaries or whatever they were. And there was much killing of spiders, among other things, in Silverpine Forest. I also returned to the Barrens to finish up some quests there. But then I did a very bad thing. I moonlighted in the Ghostlands. I know this was against orders, but I was obsessed with gaining knowledge and experience. By the end of the week, I was not only stylish, but riding a pony made of stars. I promise to be more obedient this week.

Matt Rossi as Andrenorton, the troll mage

Well, on the up side I made it to level 12, learning how to freeze lynxes and other threats in place so that I could blast them to death from a safe distance like the horrible, horrible coward that I am. Being a horrible coward, I also spent some time learning how to set things on fire more immediately, and how to use the cosmic mysteries of the arcane to made bread.

As for my actual adventures, I've spent a great deal of time cleaning up after blood elves who mistakenly summon things, or get addicted to arcane magic and become wretched. I also helped blood elves wantonly kill their own former allies and burn down their own forests.

Are we sure Zul'jin didn't have the right idea?

Elizabeth Harper as Faience, the troll shaman

I am starting to suspect that most or all of my CMA write-ups will follow a similar pattern that involves heavy complaining about old world drop rates. This past week, I did the quest to collect the Cats Eye Emerald for a goblin in Ratchet. Some 40 kills (and no small number of deaths, what with my targets running off and returning with help) and I've got my prize -- though whether it was worth the time and effort is a question I'm just not going to think about very hard. And, yep, most of the week seemed to go this way: long grinds that beg the question, "Why don't all of these worgs have hearts?"

Shaman-wise, game play seems ... well, I'll just say "awkward." I suspect the hybrid nature of the shaman just means it's like this at low levels, when there hasn't been a chance to specialize and decide if we're really a caster or a meleer or a healer. Right now I do a bit of all three, but even though I'm specced enhancement, I don't feel that any one is particularly stronger than the rest. I open with lighting, melee when in range and throw totems down when I think I'll be standing still long enough to make use of them. Oh, the thrilling life of a newbie!

Read on for personalized leveling advice from our class columnists.




Our class experts gave the adventurers leveling advice.

In general, it's really more about how you play, not what you talent at low, low levels. Healing in dungeons early on involves one spell: Lesser Heal, Heal or Greater Heal (respective to whatever level you are.) You can use Renew on the tank, but if it's used too liberally, you will go OOM. He should expect to be drinking between at least every other pull. Sad, but such is the life of priesting.

Advice for Faience from Rich Maloy, Totem Talk

Your kill strategy doesn't change much from what you've been doing (LB, FS, then melee and ES until dead), but you will notice your weapons are doing more damage thanks to Thundering Strikes, Elemental Weapons and finally Flurry! Those should be the only places you're spending points to get down the enhance tree as quickly as possible. At level 30, however, the fun really begins with Windfury. It's the quintessential enhance shaman spell. Put that on your weapon and when those procs kick, the mobs will be begging for mercy in a blink of an eye. For the full 21-30 rundown, check out this recent post.

Advice for Robinemia from Christian Belt, Arcane Brilliance

The 20-30 level range for frost mages is all about two talents: Icy Veins at 20, your first and best DPS cooldown spell, and Shatter at 24, which (when combined with Frostbite, Ice Shards and Frost Nova) will make you into a devastating crit machine. Shatter combos are simply splendid. Once you've got your hands on all three points of Shatter, start investing in Precision for the lowered mana cost (and of course, the mandatory hit rating, but that's more important later) and then all three points of Piercing Ice, because more damage is, well, more damage. If AoE grinding is part of your leveling strategy, hold off on Precision and snag Improved Blizzard. God love you, you've got more patience than I do. Even if you aren't going to be rounding up hordes of mobs and slaughtering them methodically very often, a point in Improved Blizzard isn't a bad idea, simply for the extra control option against multiple mobs that it offers. Your talent spec at 30 should look something like this.

As far as glyphs go, do yourself a favor and grab Glyph of Evocation as your first major glyph. I'm not even kidding. Glyph of Evocate is a leveling mage's wet dream made real. Over a short eight seconds every four minutes, you can basically reset your mana and health to full. Your downtime will reduce drastically and you'll have a non-potion/bandage means of emergency healing yourself in combat. Just sheep or Frost Nova (or both; who doesn't like frozen sheep?) and get some distance so you don't get interrupted. None of the minor glyphs for mages are of much practical use, but I do enjoy Glyph of Slow Fall while leveling because it frees up a precious inventory space (no more stupid Light Feathers to carry around) and makes using Slow Fall a consequence-free decision. It's hard to fully understand how useful this is until you have the glyph, at which point you'll find yourself slow falling as a mode of transportation all the damn time. At level 30, frost mages don't have a whole lot of good options available for that second major glyph slot, but you can do worse than Glyph of Frost Nova. More control for longer is nice. You could also glyph your armor with Glyph of Ice Armor, giving you less squishiness.


Advice for Patent from Chase Christian, Encrypted Text

Levels 20-30 are where rogues pick up the majority of their signature techniques. Vanish will be your best friend while leveling up (bind it to an easy-to-use key); use it any time that it will save you a repair bill. If you accidentally pull more than you can chew, you can work down one mob and then vanish before you get turned into mud. You'll also be gaining Cheap Shot at level 24, which will drastically change the way you approach an enemy. Prior to having CS available, you can just walk up to mobs and just start smacking them in the face. Once you have the ability to open with a potent stun and an extra two combo points, you might find yourself stealthing around more often, and it definitely gives you an edge against tougher mobs. To supplement your DPS in this range, I suggest using the Glyph of Eviscerate and Glyph of Sinister Strike, as these will yield very tangible results; they're the only two damaging attacks you'll be using, anyway -- well, that is until you pick up Riposte, which is so great that you should use it every time it's active. Your DPS will be increasing significantly with each passing level, as the top tier of the combat tree hosts quite a few potent talents. Don't forget to regularly update your poisons as well. There are only two ranks of Instant Poison from 20-30, but you will want to get in the habit of buying and refreshing your poison stocks.

Advice for Grayfields from Brian Wood, Scattered Shots

You already have all of the key hunter tools in your toolbox; anything new you get at this point is just gravy (or useless) for leveling. You have a pet and Mend Pet for all your tanking needs, and you have Concussive Shot and Wing Clip for your kiting needs. You and your pet are already a leveling army. It's time to take your fledgling hunter skills to the next level. Never pull just one mob -- always take multiples at a time. Have your pet tank a few, toss up a Mend Pet, then go kite another one or two to death. Keep pushing things to find your limits, then push those limits. If you prefer dungeon finder leveling, find another four hunter friends to run the instances with -- other classes just hold you back from your true potential. Also remember, hit rating is your friend! Your hit rating means your pet will hit more, be dodged and parried less, have growl resisted less and hold aggro better. At the end of this stage of leveling, you officially become a real hunter and are bestowed with Feign Death.

Advice for Annephora from Matthew Rossi, The Care and Feeding of Warriors.

The problem is, there's not really much to say between 10 and 20 for any warrior. And frankly, I don't find prot to be terribly useful for a low level warrior. But assuming she's forced to level prot, her first task is to get a good solid 1h and shield pronto and keep them up to date as best she can. Warriors need to keep their gear current more than any other class. (This may or may not be fixed in Cataclysm.)

Secondly, I'd go with full Shield Spec and Incite off the bat. Incite will be very helpful when trying to actually do any damage when not in an instance and is useful for threat when tanking, while Shield Spec will help with rage gen while blocking hits with that shield. For real tanking, Anticipation is key, but I don't know that it's worth losing Imp Bloodrage, Imp TC or even Imp Revenge (which you can have a point in by level 20.)

Don't worry about stats like defense at this level. Just get strength, stamina and agility for now.