I’m doing the IronMan Challenge! I’ve created a page with all of my IronMan related posts for anyone who wants to keep track of my progress. You can find it here: https://cindersays.net/ironman

So the official rules that I am following are available on the WoW Challenges site, and are pretty straight forward. But it does take some planning and thinking about how to actually approach this challenge. There are also some grey areas that require you to make a decision about how you’re actually going to participate in the challenge.

Gold

Ok so the biggest issue I’ve faced both times with doing this is gold. I have made the decision (and I’m sticking to it!) that I will not be sending my toons any gold or bags or anything that has been bought with gold from another toon. Which makes Cindermori broke to say the least. This is a challenge in itself! It’s really important to make sure you loot everything and vendor anything you don’t need. It will start to add up, especially as you get to higher levels. You’ll also have all the gear/weapons that you get from quest rewards that you can’t use that you can vendor and make some gold with too.

The other thing I’ve done to help out with the gold situation is to have another toon solely dedicated to auctioning the BoE greens/blues that drop while levelling. I even have a story it! Her name is Shadowrella, and I imagined the two met randomly in Exodar one day (Shadowrella (she’s human) out to see a bit more of the world). They fall in love, but are completely broke. Cindermori takes on the IronMan challenge to earn them both some gold so that they can set up their own home when Cindermori returns. So Shadowrella has taken up temporary residence in the big city of Stormwind, where she waits each day for mail from Cindermori, containing the materials they need to help save for their future. Any gold made from the items that sell in the auction house is sent back to Cindermori to support her on her adventures, with a little tucked away in savings.

It’s silly, I know, but I think it’s sweet. And it means potentially some extra cash to help buy Cindermori some more gear to make her more survivable.

Mounts

Ok this one I’m a little more lenient on. The only rule about mounts is to not use the heirloom mount. Not having this, this isn’t an issue for me (but I wouldn’t have used it anyway!) Other than that, nothing else is said on the matter. Some people believe you should have to buy the mounts again, even if you already have them, to replicate the gold sink of purchasing them. I’m not doing this. There aren’t any mounts (other then the heirloom mount) that give a player any sort of advantage, so I see no reason why she can’t use any of the mounts available. They’re all slowed down to the speed Cindermori is able to travel at, and she still needs to purchase the ability to ride them, so I think that’s plenty. That and I have some really pretty mounts!

General gameplay

So in terms of gameplay, I’m winging it and playing with only Elvui as an addon. Nothing else. I normally have a levelling guide when I’m levelling old content, but not for this. I don’t even have any rare spawn trackers either (which nearly killed me earlier!! Ran right in to a stealthed rare mob!).

I’m running around a lot, and generally killing everything I see, for two reasons:

1. Loot
   This is the only way you’re going to get gear, other than buying it from vendors. And given how little gold I have, I can’t do this often. So I kill everything I can. Today was particularly lucrative, with a new pair of boots, gloves and legs all dropping for me just this afternoon.
2. Extra experience
   Because your gear is lower than what it would be if you were wearing the greens/blues used for questing, you’re a lot squishier and it takes longer to kill things. So stay in zones as long as you can. (though once you stop gaining XP from kills, of course movie on).

I’m not eating food. The rules are clear that you can’t use pots or flasks or get food buffs, but I’m a bit unsure as to whether or not I can eat food for just general health regen. So rather than risk it, I’m just not having any.

One thing I am uncertain about is external buffs. The rules state that external buffs are not permitted, and I did have to wonder if that meant buffs from other players. E.g. if I’m out killing things in the world and a lovely mage happens to wander by, and in an act of kindness, casts Arcane Brilliance on me. Will I be disqualified for that? I’m hoping not, because something like that is completely out of my hands (and is also not out of the realm of possibility – people do this all the time to help out the levellers!).

Tips

• Know your class!
  I can’t stress this enough. I would still be going on my first attempt if I had have been more knowledgable of the hunter class. I was chased down by an elite level 85 NPC. I ran for it hoping he’d leash, but he didn’t. He caught up with me, sneezed on me (ok probably actually hit me, but anyway) and I died. If I had have thought it about it properly, I should have run away, disengaged even further away so I was out of range and smashed my Shadowmeld immediately to drop the threat. My pet would have died, but I probably wouldn’t have. So yeah – know your class!
• Buy some extra bags when you can.
  You need to kill everything and loot everything. Your bags are going to get full very quickly, so do yourself a favour and get some extra bags when you can. (even the little ones will help!)
• Be patient
  You are far weaker than you realise. Take your time, and think about what mobs are around you before charging in. Hunter tracking is amazing for this, and will help you immensely. Try and get your mobs away from others so you don’t pull too many at once.
• Be alert
  Number one rule is that you can’t die. So it makes sense that you are completely alert while you’re doing this. If you’re half asleep, you’re going to miss the mob around the corner who is going to bring its friends with it, and they’re going to kill you, and you’re going to fail. So take my word for it – do this when you’re able to pay attention. It may mean you only play for an hour at a time, but so be it. Better than than failing because you got distracted.
• Have fun!
  This, above all else, is supposed to be fun. It’s a challenge, yes, but it shouldn’t be a chore. This is a whole other level of gameplay in World of Warcraft. It’s designed to challenge you. But I tell you what, you get a lot more small victories doing this than you probably ever have levelling normally.

This is just how I’m doing things – might not work for everyone, but it’s a start.

So that’s about it. I hope this helps a couple of people. If there’s something else you’re curious about that I didn’t cover in here, drop me an ask and I’ll be happy to help.