There have always been low levels in AO3 trying to level faster but with the introduction of Balefort Sewers, this is getting to be a serious problem, and it's something that is in danger of ruining the game for me. My main is a Mage, have 3 50+ but play my (currently 55) pally/Mage most often.
If you are a lower level desperate to get to 55/56 and reading this, hopefully I can explain to you why running Balefort Sewers isn't the best way to go.
1: Levelling and questing is, in many ways, the best part of the game. If you miss playing in all the level specific areas, you miss out on hours of great content.
2: As you level, you make friends who will stay with you later on. These relationships develop best as you help each other and work together to achieve higher levels.
3: You will not only save money, but make money. If you quest in level specific areas, you will get drops applicable to your needs. Any drops you get that you don't need you can either give to other classes you have made friends with while levelling or you can sell them in the Balefort keep auction house.
4: Contrary to what you may think, you are not levelling faster. In the time it takes you to find a group that won't kick you, you could have gained far more experience in your level specific area. Even if you find a high level player willing to boost you, the gain in xp is not as high as one may think.
5: It's no fun. Surely it's much more fun to be part of a team who have worked together than to have to stay out the way in case you get killed. Even if you do join in, you are not having any useful impact.
6: This may not matter to you but I feel proud when I gain a new level because I've worked towards it. What is the satisfaction in gaining a level when you did none of the work? Do the work yourself - you will really feel good.
7: You are taking up a spot that could be filled by someone level specific. Lots of BS groups are doing the long 55-56 slog and there is no way to cheat that. All we can do is use level pots. To get our money's worth we want to slice our way through as many mobs as possible. A full 50+ group is the only way to be efficient.
8: As a Mage doing aforementioned 55-56 slog, I am sick of constantly running back to low level players taken out by the grates who lie there screaming res and offer no word of thanks. In the mean time the rest of the group has moved miles ahead. I have just lost out on shed loads of xp and wasted another xp pot.
9: Just because you have already got a high level character doesn't mean it's OK to power level. All classes need to be played to be learned, but this is particularly true for mages and bears. In my opinion the new swathe of bears who don't know when not to stomp and mages who don't know when not to use lightening is almost a direct result of power levellers. No matter how much you read or how many MMORPGs you've played, you need to learn your class. The only way to do that....level properly, as part of a group.
10: 45-50 (ideally 52) is fastest achieved by running Crush the Keeper. The xp is better there. Until you have level 50 gear, you cannot survive the sewers, and parts of the new area I wouldn't attempt til 53. If you do, just remember you are holding the Mage up who has to come back to res you so be polite.
11: Tactics. Now this is a tough one cos lots of higher levels don't know the tactics. Often though a high level leaves before boss without checking if the rest of the group are going to run it (very rude imo but that's another topic). This leaves space for a lowbie to sneak in. If we are already on boss the leader often won't bother to kick you. Twice yesterday I was in Balefort Hideout on Goldie and a low level (in the 20s) managed to make it past the grates. Unfortunately they didn't realise that they had caught his disease and just stood there passing it on to everyone and wiped out 3 people. This happened repeatedly and they just stood their oblivious to the fact that they should run from group if diseased. In the end one by one the high levels bailed mid fight (again rude but off topic).
12. This is becoming such a problem that even high level groups are sometimes checking other players quest logs as it's a pretty good indication of what sort of player you will be. If you haven't done many quests you have probably power levelled, and as a result won't know your class.
I really hope that by reading all this some of you will understand that not only can you level just as fast, if not faster, by levelling properly but you will make friends and have fun while not ruining the game for others.
