Life Begins at 60

I remember thinking about what it would be like to be 60.

When you're L25, grinding your way through Stonetalon or Duskwood, it's hard to imagine how life could be any different.
For a start, there were all the questions:

• are there quests when you hit 60?
• what happens to EXP when you can't level any more?
• do you have to spend all your time in long raids?
• how do you get all that cool gear?

And then there was the 'L45 slump' that seemed to glue you in place for an eternity, making that elusive L60 seem even more distant.
But fortunately, and before you know it, you realise you've got to L55 and things are getting exciting.

What I wish I'd had at that stage, was some insight into exactly what happens once you've come of age. And with that in mind, I hope what follows is of some use to you as you near the golden age.

What happens to my Experience Bar when I hit L60?
Simply put - it disappears! That's right - NO MORE XP yay!
While this may sound quite obvious, it's an amazing feeling to be able to wander around wherever you like not worrying about whether or not you will get XP for the activity you are doing, and not having to log out at an inn or city.
It really does transform your entire attitude to playing the game. With that pressure gone, one is free to simply do whatever one wants to, wherever one want to, at no 'cost'.

So, there's no XP - that means there's no quests right?
Wrong. In fact there seem to be so many quests I was never sure where to start when I hit 60. The biggest difference is that now your quests will pay you in gold, rather than XP.
That means mo'money :D (Although you're gonna need every penny of it..)

The biggest difference is, though, that the majority of these quests are now aligned to either increasing your reputation with a faction, or are aimed towards gaining great items.

Wait - before you go any further - I want to know if I have to spend all my time in Raids..?
Well the good news is: a resounding NOPE.
This was one of the great unknowns for me before I hit L60, and I'm pleased to be able to report that, after many weeks of being 60, I have yet to participate in a Raid. Trust me, whilst you may decide to investigate the benefits and requirements of raiding at a later date, there is plenty to do without ever setting foot into the Raid arena.

Cool. So yeh - tell me about this whole 'reputation' thingo - what's the deal?
Ok. A great way to think of reputation is as a replacement for XP.
Essentially, by hitting your 'U' key ingame you will see a list of all the factions within the game you have aligned yourself with over the course of your character's history, whether that alignment be good or bad.
As you will see, you will have a standing with each faction listed, depending upon whether you have performed tasks for that faction or not, and whether or not you have battled that faction.
(Note: you can 'show Rep as XP bar' in the options on this page, which is handy, as it tracks your reputation where your XP bar used to be.)

In ascending order, the reputation standings you can have with a faction are as follows:

Hated - Kill on Sight, all opposing team factions are set permanently to this level
Hostile - Kill on Sight
Unfriendly - Cannot buy, sell, or interact
Neutral - Standard reputation level for factions not on a player's team that are not KOS
Friendly - Standard reputation level for factions on a player's team
Honored - 10% discount on bought items from vendors
Revered - Special reputation level reserved for special heroes
Exalted - Highest level of accolade attainable with a faction

But why? Who cares if I'm honored with Stormwind or hated by the Bloodsails?
Great question. And the simple answer is - rewards.
Once you hit L60, you will want to start increasing your standing with the Argent Dawn. This is because when you become friendly (or greater) with them, you will have access to some great and unique gear that's not available anywhere else in the game.
Same deal with the Stormpike Guard in Alterac Valley - their quartermaster will make more trinkets, armour and items available to you the higher your reputation with them climbs.
Also, you will get a further 10% discount at most of your home faction's cities (on top of your existing 10% discount if you are honored with your home faction).

Ok - but what about PvP rank? How is that different to reputation?
PvP rank is a separate ranking system that is centered totally around player vs player activity. On a PvE server (such as Thrall) the only way to really gain this rank is through your activities in the Battlegrounds.
These ranks are named as follows (lowest to highest):

Rank 1: Private
Rank 2: Corporal
Rank 3: Sergeant
Rank 4: Master Sergeant
Rank 5: Sergeant Major
Rank 6: Knight
Rank 7: Knight-Lieutenant
Rank 8: Knight-Captain
Rank 9: Knight-ChampionRank 10: Lieutenant Commander
Rank 11: Commander
Rank 12: Marshal
Rank 13: Field Marshal
Rank 14: Grand Marshal

The system used to calculate how much you rank up each week is called an 'honor system' and is relatively complex (so not only do I not completely understand how it works, but also I will not go into it here). When you achieve goals or slay enemies on the PvP battlefields, you gain 'honor'. Additionally, your team can gain you honor.
It's safe to say though, that if you play more, you will rank faster. A detailed page of information from Blizzard is here.

There are a ton of details that I could go into about the finer points of your rep and rank, but I will probably bore the socks off you. A couple of tips tho:

• When grinding Argent Dawn rep, don't turn in any Scourgestones or Valor Tokens until after you are Honored (at least). This is because after gaining Honored, non-elite mobs will no longer gain you rep, and you also stop gaining rep for elite kills once you hit Revered (except for Boss mobs).
• PvP rank slowly decays if you don't play in battlegrounds for a while. However, you will not lose any items you got at (say) Sargent, should your rank decay to Private in the future.
• You are only eligible to enter the Officers Quarters in Stormwind (and therefore begin to purchase the amazing gear on offer) once you hit Rank 6 (Knight).

And finally then, what's all this about Tier 0/1/2 armour sets?
One of the primary things you will do after reaching L60, is to begin collecting your Tier0 armour set. Here's why, and how it works:

When you hit L52-ish, you will notice that you can start to buy pieces of your class's Tier 0 (also called 'Dungeon set 1') armour set.
For a Warlock this is called the Dreadmist Raiment. For a Mage it's the Magister's Regalia, Lightforge Armor for a Paladin, and Wildheart Raiment for a Druid.
See here for your class/race specific set.

The items available on the Auction House are Bracers, Gloves, and Belt, and can be purchased because they are 'Bind On Equip' only. All of the other items must be looted off instance bosses.

So to get the remaining pieces of your set, you need to go to the high level instances within the game (note: these Tier0 sets do not require raids).
Different class set items drop off varying bosses within a range of instances. Generally you will need to be making runs in Stratholme, Scholomance, and Blackrock Spire. The following tables show you exactly where you will need to go to get your remaining pieces, which boss drops them, and what level you have to be to wear them:

• Warlock (Dreadmist Raiment)
• Mage (Magister's Regalia)
  
• Druid (Wildheart Raiment)
  
• Paladin (Lightforge Armor)
• Priest (Vestments of the Devout)
• Rogue (Shadowcraft Armor)
• Warrior (Battlegear of Valor)
• Hunter (Beaststalker Armor)
• Shaman (The Elements)

Once you have collected your full Tier0 (Dungeon set 1) set, you can then upgrade each piece to a Tier0.5 (or Dungeon Set 2) set through a series of quests beginning at Ironforge, the first of which is named "An Earnest Proposition" from the human NPC named Deliana just inside the Ironforge throne room.
As you can see here, the quest chain is long.

From there, you enter Raid territory. The next three sets available are:

• Tier 1
• Tier 2
• Tier 3

These sets are true Superior and Epic items, and are available only off bosses from the Raid instances within the game (such as Molten Core, Naxxramas, Blackwing Lair, Onyxia's Lair).

So in summary, you should begin to start collecting your Tier0 set as soon as you hit L52, and then once you hit the late 50's start running through Blackrock Spire, Scholomance, and Stratholme in the hope that a piece of your set will drop off the bosses.

And there you have it!
I haven't mentioned anything about your chosen professions, but of course L60 is a great time to begin rounding them out without the major worry of money or XP.
There are also a couple of world PvP zones that can keep you busy (namely Silithus and Eastern Plaguelands), but mainly you should be gaining rep with a number of factions, as well as running the Battlegrounds and higher level instances.

And of course most importantly, you should be thoroughly enjoying the slower pace, larger income, and greater freedom available to you now you are L60.

I hope this helps to give you some things to focus upon in your life after 60..
=)