And...Here We Are

Its been about a week since Cata launched and I have been quite wrapped up in it. I have taken a few days off work to be immersed in my favorite subject and these are my impressions.
Initial install and day 1 play was relatively smooth. I had no problems logging in on launch morning and was up and running fairly quickly. I am always very shy about heading into new content. I tend to kinda linger. I take my time reading quests and try to let the initial onslaught of players wing by me so I can go at my own pace. It looks like the leveling is extremely quick. Not at all what I expected. When they said these 5 levels should take as long as the last 10 they lied. Even my slow pace has left me sitting on the cusp of 84 not 9 days from launch. Usually it takes me a good 1-4 months to level through, and I enjoy that pace. For me leveling is part of the fun of the game and I get bored easily once I hit cap. I enjoy raiding but it's not my only reason for playing. Someone in my guild hit Loremaster of Cataclysm last night. Now she doesn't know what to do with herself. If I hit that point this soon I'll end up quitting. That's ridiculous, and that's half the game Blizz. Do you really want people blasting through the content that fast then being bored out of their minds? That is a sure fire way to lose your customer base in 6 months.
For me it's all been rather surreal. I have made it through half of Hyjal, all of Vash'jir and I am about 2/3's of the way through Deepholm. I have been mostly impressed with the quest chains, very impressed with the artwork and left kinda wondering with the lore. There are minor quest bugs all over the place but they are few and far between. The questing has been fast and well centralized. Rarely do you have to wonder where you're going next. On this note it is very quick. If you don't enjoy questing then this is definitely for you. I haven't felt like an area is particularly overwhelmed by other players either. I see them around, but for the most part we aren't ganking each others mobs and I feel relatively left alone which has been nice. Though I look around and wonder where everyone else is every once in a while. The only time I ran into a mob of people was in Hyjal the very first day and even then after about a dozen quests the oodles of questers seemed to break up quite a bit. I attribute that to if you want to go fast you can, and you pretty much will zoom by others in the area and then you never see them again. You won't continue to run into the same people unless you're questing at the same pace.

WoW and Addiction

This is a topic that people have written copious amounts on. I would like to briefly touch on it, perhaps circling back around further down the line. We have all heard the stories or had an experience where ourself or a guildie was given an ultimatum to quit the game or lose a spouse. Or when someone comes to the realization that they play to much, or is spending to much time in-game and not enough time in real life (RL). I myself recently lost a guildie to the first. His wife finally said its WoW or the marriage. He was a smart man and said goodbye to us, if even for a period of time. We haven't seen him in about 3 months. I wish him well, and hope he's able to return some time down the road. The podcast The Instance recently covered this briefly in Episode 210 regarding a caller that was looking for suggestions on how to get his wife into playing WoW before it destroyed their relationship. They didn't spend a great deal of time on the topic but they brought up some great points around the subject of balancing game and RL. I'd suggest a listen if you have the time.

Before I go any further, I am not a licensed psychologist. I have not treated anyone, and I do not claim to have the answers. I am simply delving into a topic I find interesting and presenting my own hypotheses and opinions. If you find any of this "rings true" with you, or you feel you need to talk with someone or need help, please contact a professional.

Leveling in the New World...of Warcraft - What are the new zone levels?

I, along with several guildies, have been caught in a strange predicament. If you were leveling anywhere in Azeroth (1-60) prior to 4.0.3a you are probably in the same situation. Where should you now be questing?

I took a little trip over to Wowhead and found a leveling map and guide. Found here.

I couldn't find just a list of where to go at what level so I have put that map and area guide into a handy dandy list of leveling ranges by zone. I thought I'd share it with everyone.
I think I got every thing. If you see something missing in the level 1-60 areas please let me know.