The class of Cataclysm

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of 2010.

If I could offer you only one tip for the future, this thread would be it. The long term benefits of this thread have been proved by raiders whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience...

I will dispense this advice now:

Enjoy the power and beauty of levelling; oh nevermind; you will not understand the power and beauty of levelling until you've dinged. But trust me, in 20 levels you'll look back at screenshots of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how naive you were ....

You're not as Leet as you imagine.

Don't worry about the next boss; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve a DPS check by drinking noggenfogger. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you in the fourth hour of raid night.  

Do one thing everyday that causes you a repair bill.

Sing.

Don't ninja, don't put up with people who ninja.

Use flasks..

Don't waste your time on loot-envy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind...the race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself.

Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, tell me how.

Keep your RP items, throw away your epics.

/Flex.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your character...the most interesting people I know didn't know at level 60 what they wanted to do with their levels, some of the most interesting level 80s I know still don't.

Get plenty of buffs.

Be kind to your healers, you'll miss them when they're gone.

Maybe you'll kill the LK, maybe you won't, maybe you'll down Halion,maybe you won't, maybe you'll /gquit at 40, maybe you'll dance the trolldance on your 85th level...what ever you do, don't congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either - your choices are half chance, so are everybody else's.

Enjoy your toon, use it every way you can...don't be afraid of it, or what other people think of it, it's the greatest instrument you'll ever own..

Dance...even if you have nowhere to do it but on top of the auction house.

Read the strats, even if you don't follow them.

Do NOT use Gearscore, it will only make you feel ugly.

Get to know your alts, you never know when they'll be gone for good. Be nice to your guildmates; they are the best link to your past and the people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that guilds come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the higher you level you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were a noob.

Level in Wrath once, but leave before it makes you forget how to CC; level in BC once, but leave before the CC drives you mad.

Travel.

Accept certain inalienable truths: AH prices will rise, gnomes will philander, you too will get rickrolled, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young prices were cheap, elves were noble and scrubs respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you'll have heirlooms, maybe you have a wealthy alt; but you never know when either one might run out.

Don't mess too much with your talents, or by the time you're lvl 40, you'll want to spec beastmaster.

Be careful whose blogs you read, but, be patient with those who post them. Blogs are a form of nostalgia, writing them is a way of fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the ugly parts and recycling it for more than it's worth.

But trust me on this post ...