Cata Kitty Reputations

Finally found some time to sit down and write. Today I’d like to talk about faction reputations and how to best utilize them as kitty kats. Reputations are a fantastic quick way to gear up fast in preparation for heroics and raiding. However the rewards that each faction provides are not all equal and there are some that are significantly superior than others so its important to know which reps you work on first. This post naturally will be addressing Alliance but if you’re Horde just swap the appropriate faction.

There are a total of six factions, lets break them down one by one.

1. Baradin’s Warden Reputation Sources: Dailies & Argaloth
   Vendor: Quartermaster Brazie located in Tol Barad
   Kitty Items of Interest: Unsolvable Riddle (Trinket, ilv 359, Exalted), Spear of Trailing Shadows (Weapon, ilv 346, Revered)

   This is the new Wintergrasp which requires you to have control to maximize your full Tol Barad rep gain. If you don’t have control of Tol Barad you will be limited to dailies in the Peninsula, whereas if you have control you will gain access to Baradin Hold Dailies. The dailies at Baradin Hold change every 3 hours if you retain/gain control so you actually theoretically have the possibility to do up to 24 dailies per day. Above and beyond that there is also the TB boss Argaloth & a TB Win weekly that grants rep as well.

2. Guardians of Hyjal Reputation Sources: Quests & Tabard
   Vendor: Provisioner Whitecloud located in Mount Hyjal
   Kitty Items of Interest: Acorn of the Daughter Tree (Neck, ilv 246, Revered), Sly Fox Jerkin (Chest, ilv 333, Revered)

   This reputation only provides a 346 neck but a neck can also be obtained through Justice Points. There are no dailies for this faction and your only source of reputation is via the quests in Hyjal followed by the rep grinding through dungeons.

3. RamkahenReputation Sources: Quests, Tabard & Daily
   Vendor: Blacksmith Abasi located in Uldum
   Kitty Items of Interest: Arcanum of Ramkahen (Head Enchant, Revered), Quicksand Belt (Belt, ilv 346, Revered)

   This rep is important only up to Revered as it will grant the belt as well as the Head Enchant. There is only one daily which grants 250 rep per day so really your only source of reputation is via the quests in Uldum followed by rep grinding through dungeons.

4. Therazane Reputation Sources: Quests, Tabard & Dailies
   Vendor: D’lom the Collector located in Deepholm
   Kitty Items of Interest: Greater Inscription of Shattered Crystal (Shoulder Enchant),  Terrath’s Signet of Balance (Ring, ilv 346, Revered)

   This is the new Son’s of Hodir which grants Shoulder enchants as Exalted. There are many dailies which are rotated per day so that there are 7 available. I believe you start off with less but as your reputation gets higher (friendly -> honored -> revered) you unlock further dailies to boost your rep faster. Rep is also granted from quests and can be supplemented by a rep grinding in dungeons.

5. Wildhammer ClanReputation Sources: Quests, Tabard & Dailies
   Vendor: Craw McGraw located in Twilight Highlands
   Kitty Items of Interest: Stormbolt Gloves (Gloves, ilv 359, xalted), Swiftflight Leggings (Leggings, ilv 333, Revered)

   This is the first of 2 factions that grant an epic 359 item. There are 5 dailies that are the same everyday. Above and beyond this there are quests that grant rep and you can be supplemented by rep grinding in dungeons.

6. Earthen RingReputation Sources: Quests & Tabard
   Vendor: Provisioner Arok located in Vashj’ir
   Kitty Items of Interest: Signet of the Elder Council (Ring, ilv 359, Exalted), Softwind Cape (Cloak, ilv 346, Revered)

   This is the second of 2 factions that grant an epic 359 item. There are 5 dailies that are the same everyday. Above and beyond this there are quests that grant rep and you can be supplemented by rep grinding in dungeons.

So, now that we’ve gone over all the different factions, their sources for rep & rewards, what is the best approach? Naturally we want to get exalted with all of the factions (because we’re all achievement whores right?). First and foremost, I like to think of the long run. Yes its very easy to just tunnel one rep and get it to exalted fast but then you’re going to pay for it in the long run because your other reputations will take longer. For example, if you push Therazane to exalted for the shoulder enchants, you miss out on getting rep from other factions while you slowly rep up through the dailies. So this is the route I’ve taken and I would suggest you all consider as well. You may not get the shiney epics as fast as possible but in the long run it saves time.

First, the priorities to me are Therazane, Wildhammer Clan, Earthen Ring, Baradin Warden (to Exalted) and Ramkahen (to Revered). Ramkahen is to revered only for Head Enchant, all others to Exalted for epics & shoulder enchants.

For all these factions, you should make sure that you complete all the quests related to them. The easiest way to do that is to finish all the quests in their related zones. Takes a lot of time but its free rep and there is not daily restriction so it is very worthwhile. Next, you should do the dailies (if applicable everyday to ensure that you maximize your rep gain outside of grinding rep). Finally, pick a rep to focus on (depending on what you feel is most important and start wearing that tabard. Technically the best move would be to do Earthen Ring rep grinding because there are no dailies but I personally choose Wildhammer First.

So to summarize:

1. Complete all quests in each zone to obtain maximum rep pre daily/rep grinding
2. Do dailies for respective factions each day to maximum daily rep gain
3. Pick a reputation to push (ideal would be Wildhammer due to lack of dailies)

I’ll be returning home shortly so expect my posting frequency to increase again soon, until then hope you all enjoy whats left of the holiday season as we enter 2011!

Holiday Update

It’s been 2 weeks since I posted and I apologize for the lack of posting over the past few weeks. Its not something that I do very often and I try very hard to keep the posts coming at a constant pace. That being said, there is a reason for the lack of updates recently and that is because I am actually on vacation with the family and have had limited to non existent internet at times. Unfortunately this is going to have to remain a short post due to time constraints but I just wanted to give everyone an update on whats been going on as well as a taste of what I have in the works coming to a blog near you (in no particular order):

– Realm First! Level 85 Druid
– Worgen or Night Elf, Troll or Tauren, how to make a choice
– Progression path of reputation grinding for kitties
– Feral PVP: The New Frontier

Remember to take time away from the game to spend with family, friends and loved ones as I am sure they have all been neglected over the past few weeks!

ps. Yes I went Worgen, and its awesome!

Are you Prepared?

As I write this, we have approximately 10 hours to go till Cataclysm is finally here.

I’ve been spending a lot of time outside of WoW the past week or so prepping RL and in game for today and I think I’m finally ready to go.

It’s been one hell of a wait so I hope everyone is ready for the big push. For those who are planning to go hard and push to 85 ASAP I wish you all the best of luck.

Free XP!

 

See you all in Cataclysm!