Ye want a wee rampage through them Scarlet buggers in their fancy-pants big hoose again? They never seem tae give up, do they? Ach aw right, as suppose we can go an smite evil an’ all that stuff - ust make sure ye stay at mah back, ok?

“Hey guys, someone fancy giving me a boost in SM?” It’s become pretty commonplace to see this sort of request in guild chat (well, in my guilds chat anyway) and I’ve seen some debate concerning the issue in guild chat and in general. I had a think about it and decided I’d write those thoughts down here on the blog (it’s what it’s for afterall, right?)

So, what is a boost? I’m sure most people are familiar with the term but for those who are not: It is when a high level character groups with a low level character(s) and they complete an instance or quests for the purpose of the lower one gaining xp and / or items generally more quickly than if they had done so on their own / with a group their own level.

Why Boosting is Bad

• People don’t get the chance to learn their class in a group setting
• People don’t ‘work’ themselves for themselves
• Cultivates lazyness
• Annoys people when others always ask
• Less xp

Why Boosting is Good

• Faster runs
• More xp
• A chance to get good loot without having to worry about rolls
• You’ll actually see the instance instead of just levelling past it..
• You can do a bunch of instance quests quickly

Now some of these might seem contradictory - do you get more xp or less? Well you will gain less XP by having a level 70 in your party - annoyingly I cannot find an ‘official’ link with the exact numbers - Ghosthoof has provided me with a link! But your xp per mob at, for example, level 25 will go down considerably when partied with a level 36 (more than ten levels) or higher player i.e. when the mobs become grey to that person. However! You’ll be able to complete Scarlet Monastery Cathedral in about 30 minutes or so as compared to over an hour in a level-equivalent group - so your xp / hour is a lot higher. If, in the time you would have taken to do the instance with a full group at your level, you could get three boost runs then you’ll have gotten much more xp. This is due to the fact, also, that your xp gain is reduced in a party of same levels dependant on the number of them.

The biggest outcry, though, that I’ve heard against boosting and levelling changes is that people don’t learn their class. This seems a valid point - less experience = less class knowledge. However, how many holy priests do you meet when levelling? Or prot warriors? Sure, there are some, but the majority of people would actually be learning how to tank, heal or dps in a way they will no be doing at 70. Yes, even dps-ing is different at 70 than when levelling! So, those people could be hitting 70 without having gotten used to the quirks of their ‘main spec’ anyway.

In addition to this, many of the powerful class spells or abilities are not available until level 60+ - Heroism/Bloodlust, Lifebloom, Spellsteal, Seed of Corruption and mass dispel being some of the ones I could think of which would not be in that persons arsenal even if they were specced as far as they could be into their preferred raiding / high level partying spec.

The lazyness issue is one which flip-flops in my mind - some people are lazy and do spam chat all day asking for a boost when they could be out levelling - but others ask only when they want a boost past a particularly hated area or want a specific item. Not all players who want boosts are being lazy. This also ties in with people getting annoyed about being asked for boosts - those who are lazy are usually those who won’t even bother being thankful and / or will ask over and over again until someone is sick of boosting them or hearing about them asking for a boost. This means that someone else asking for a more ‘legitimate’ reason may be shot down too, sadly. Of course, there is also the fact that people want to kick back and relax and their idea of that is not running someone through RFD three times.

Now, personally, I like giving boosts but only to specific instances. In fact I sometimes actively ask people if they want a run through SFK or SM for instance as I love those instances and can do them pretty quickly. I don’t mind doing DM once in a while but I don’t like running it repeatedly as it gets a bit boring. I love one-shotting things and seeing how much I can pull without killing myself (or my charge). I will often say no, however, to anyone asking for gnomer as I hate it. If someone bugs me for a run or whines at me then they go nowhere! hehe.

I know what it’s like to level alts, I have sympathy for people who just want a little xp boost now and then or wish to complete quests and get specific items but I will not tolerate lazy arses who just want their work done for them. Luckily I have not encountered many of these people. In fact, when I boost people it’s usually those I enjoy to hang out with anyway and is as much fun as running with them to any instance on their mains.

Old Skool

A quick look at the other side of things shows why boosting is so valuable to those lowbies and also why, on the other hand, it might be fun to go back and kick butt old style! Old skool style, in this context, I am using to refer to doing an instance at its preferred level with a group of people who’re also at that level.

Why Doin’ it Old Skool Style is Bad

• Hard to find people
• Even harder to find competent people
• Takes a long time to do some pre-tbc instances
• Loot doesn’t seem ‘worth it’
• No tanks / healers

Why Doin’ it Old Skool Style is Good

• Learning your new class’ early ‘oh shit’ buttons
• Can be more fun
• A challenge for you and your guildies
• A break from grinding / questing

Getting a group can be hard these days - sure everyone and their aunt has an alt but they’reall spread across the board levels wise and, unless you want to go to one of the ‘favoured’ instances then you’re not likely to get a group. However! Going back to an old instance and doing it with a bunch of people can be awesome fun.

I recently have been doing this with a friend in the guild whose priest is about the same level as my druid. We’ve been to Scarlet Monastery - Armory a couple of times and are planning on a possible trip to Razorfen Downs. At level 30-31 I was tanking it with him healing. He’s shadow but has some very nice healing gear and experience as a healer pre-tbc. We’ve five-manned the place with three pug members and four-manned it with a level 37 prot pala (a little easymode ahem) and a mage guildie. It’s possible to two man it, even, at this level, but it does end up going a little slower. There really is much more of a sense of achievement doing this but it does suck up a lot more time - I could level faster with quests but they’re not always as much fun.

Balance

Really, what it takes is balance - especially when it comes to having fun when levelling. If it’s your second, third, fourth or even fifth plus character you don’t want to put up with pugs and waiting and idiocy etc and may want to level as fast as possible boosts allow you to get a whole bunch of xp and equipment fast. However, that can become pretty soulless and, if you want to learn your new class a little better, or at least train your reflexes to it’s earlier panic buttons (OMG BEARFORM *Poof*) then it might be worth hitting up an old instance with some guildies of your level.

There’s also the fact that it feels very different to go back to an instance you can easily smash our way through and have a hard time, have to think about the pulls and generally take in the atmosphere more.

Happy low-level instancing however you, personally, decide to experience it!