Four Hours Left!

The end of the era of Cataclysm is nigh. In Europe, Mists is already live. Tonight, I'm heading out to pick up my copy (I still get physical copies. I'm old-fashioned that way.)

In these last few hours, there's not a whole lot you can do to prepare. I recommend trying to get all your add ons updated (if you can) and for the toon you plan on taking to Pandaria first, clear out their bags (including profession bags) and park yourself near profession trainers (especially gathering professions, if you have them. I count Enchanting here.)

The next couple days are going to be kind of hellish for questing, whether you're going to Pandaria or starting a Pandaren character (if you're making a non-Pandaren Monk, you might be able to get off ok.) While I know there's a lot of pressure to get to 90 and start gearing up as quickly as you can, I highly recommend you take your time and stop to smell the roses. You're going to have (if the pattern holds) nearly two years to chill at level 90. Sure, it might be hard to see other players rocking epics while you're in a mix of crap quest greens and mismatched dungeon blues, but I cannot stress this enough:

You will have time.

I can't say for everyone, but I also recommend that you don't do any of the leveling dungeons more than once. Queue for them specifically, and take the time to get excited about the specific places you're going. You're going to be grinding these things for a long time, so take them as simple, casual pleasures on your way to the level cap.

When you do hit the cap, heroics will already be open to you (you'll probably have to do a bit of questing to get the gear requirements.) As Cataclysm was with Dungeon Finder, this is the first expansion to have Raid Finder implemented from the get-go. The step of "do the max level dungeons" before getting into heroics has been cut, but you should take the time to get to know your class at 90. While some classes are going to have roughly the same rotation, others will gain serious cooldowns and rotational abilities. Try to figure these out before you step into the raids.

If you have a maxed or near-maxed tailor and you don't desperately need bandages, send all your cloth to that toon. Likewise, if you get enchanting materials or randomized crappy green gear, send those down to any Enchanters that can handle them as well. My Horde Mage and Alliance Warlock are both Tailors/Enchanters, and both can get a serious leg up on profession leveling by getting all the passed-down materials.

Different people quest at different paces. While it's great if you can quest with a buddy, don't forget that with the less linear quest progression of Mists, you can always meet up later and start another quest chain together.

Help your guildies out, especially for those leveling dungeon runs. You can help the guild get the achievements for them and build a sense of excitement (that 9 months of 4.3 might have drained from you.)

Also, don't be afraid to step away now and again. I know I'm going to find this particular piece of advice hard to take, but all of this is going to be there when you get back, and in fact, the slowpokes will probably have to deal with less kill-stealing than the people raging their way to 90 (so good to have a multiple of 10 again. 85 was the weirdest level cap. Then again, expect the next expansion to take us to 95.)

Alliance: Enjoy the opportunity to kick some Horde ass, finally. Remember Theramore!

Horde: Get this revolution going! Down with Hellscream! For the Horde!