Fresh 120’s Guide to Rep Farming

World of Warcraft is daunting when first hitting level cap for new and returning players alike. In Battle for Azeroth’s 8.3 patch, a clear-cut path to the newest content allows fresh 120’s to quickly acquire item level 400 gear, though killing mobs in the new zones with fresh 120 gear will be a slog. After acquiring a decent item level, players can go back and farm reputations, rewarding them with mounts, tabards, pets, gear, pathfinder, and allied races.

Why Farm Reps?

Many players gear their character as fast as possible for raiding and skip farming older rep as there’s little relevance; even  8.2’s Exalted rep gear is outdated. However, reps reward more than just armor. Players reaching Exalted receive access to mounts, pets, tabards, and profession recipes. Reaching Revered with all BfA reps (minus the current 8.3 reps) and exploring each zone completely, awards pathfinder—an account-wide achievement granting the ability to fly in BfA zones.

Near the end of Legion, Blizzard introduced allied races. The Nightborne and Highmountain Tauren allied with the Horde while the Void Elves and Lightforged Draenei joined the Alliance. These subraces used existing models but were unique in their own right, adding four new playable races. They were unlocked by reaching Exalted with each race’s respective faction in Legion content. Throughout the course of BfA, six more Allied Races were added—all attainable by reaching Exalted reputation status with the appropriate factions.

Those wanting to play an allied race must farm reputation from Legion zones or BfA zones depending on the desired race. Pathfinder drastically increases how quickly world quests and other content can be completed. Legion and BfA each have their own separate Pathfinder achievements. The achievements require Revered reputation with various factions along with  complete zone exploration for that expansion. Note: 8.3 content takes place in Uldum (Cataclysm) and Vale of Eternal Blossoms (Mists of Pandaria) zones, allowing players to fly without having pathfinder unlocked.

This guide details the most efficient paths to farming BfA rep from the perspective of a new player on a fresh level 120 main character. A new 120 has no access to world quests, flying, flight master whistle, or BoA (bind on account) 380 or 400 gear. This is the biggest hurdle, as anyone playing an Alt (character other than main) has instant access to all the above upon reaching level cap assuming the main character has unlocked them.

Where to Begin

Boosted 120 characters start end-game with advantages over those leveled to 120. They start at friendly reputation with all pre 8.2 factions, and can complete all zone-story quests for additional rep, netting more than a leveled character could. Boosts also begin with world quests, warfronts, and island expeditions unlocked, as well as the flight master’s whistle. A fresh 120 will have to reach friendly with each pre 8.2 faction (this happens simply by leveling) to unlock world quests, which will be the main source of reputation.

Upon reaching friendly rank with their faction’s three zone reputations, players must complete the quests The Warchief’s Order (Horde) or The Wolf’s Offensive (Alliance) to unlock Nazjatar and establish the Newhome / Mezzamere base. After finishing A Way Home, Magni appears with a quest leading to 8.3 (current) content. It’s imperative to obtain the 400 ilvl catch-up gear from 8.3 zones as soon as possible. The boost in power makes everything, including farming world quests, faster and easier.

8.3 is a slog at best and impossible at worst for fresh 120’s. Don’t waste time dying and have a friend help out. If playing solo, head back to Nazjatar to get 385 gear until the current content is manageable. Nazjatar rep is required for pathfinder regardless, and it’s better to work on that than waste time undergeared in a zone. If Nazjatar seems too difficult, farm world quests on the main islands for better gear. The beginning is slow but as ilvl improves, farming efficiency increases.

After finishing the intro to Nazjatar, the Mechagon breadcrumb quests–Rumors of Mechagon (Horde) / Fame Waits for Gnome One (Alliance)— appear in Newhome / Mezzamere. Another option is The Legend of Mechagon which can be picked up in Dazar’Alor / Boralus Harbor from Gazlowe / Tinkmaster Overspark near the flight master. Begin with Mechagon  as it takes longest to reach Revered with, having only a few dailies and two world quests a day (one of which is a pet battle). Wowhead has a comprehensive Mechagon guide.

The Contained Grind

Complete any remaining war campaign quests to unlock world quests on Kul Tiras for Horde and Zandalar for Alliance. War campaign main quests and world quests give Honorbound and 7th Legion rep. If playing a boosted character, don’t forget to complete each faction’s zone storyline, as these reward large amounts of rep. Leveled players will have completed most zones, but should make sure to finish any missed quests. For Horde, these zones are Zuldazar, Voldun, and Nazmir, whereas Alliance has Tiragarde Sound, Drustvar, and Stormsong Valley.

Emissary quests provide 1,500 reputation for the associated faction and should be completed whenever possible; emissaries also provide rewards based on players’ item levels. There may occasionally be two or three emissaries in quick succession for the desired faction, resulting in a nice rep boost. If working on Pathfinder, finish any emissary quest that appears regardless of faction until reaching at least revered status. Upon hitting Revered, completing that faction’s emissaries becomes unnecessary unless going for Exalted or that quest’s reward.

World quests reward 75 rep for their zone (Zuldazar quests give Zandalari rep), with occasional rep-reward world quests appearing. Those award 250 reputation in addition to the 75 and should always be completed for desired factions. Always observe the in-game calendar to determine whether it’s a world quest bonus or Darkmoon fair week. The bonus week gives 50% extra rep per world quest while Darkmoon fair provides a 10% rep bonus across the board (including emissary and normal zone quests). Darkmoon week is the best time to work on the factions’ zone quests.

Contracts for each faction can be purchased at the auction house, but only one may be active at a time, lasting seven real-time days. Since contracts reward 10 rep per world quest, it’s possible to farm extra rep by doing all available world quests every day. However, this soon turns into a chore. It’s better to do only emissaries and the desired faction’s zone. For example, if farming Zandalari rep, obtain a Contract: Zandalari Empire, and finish all world quests in Zuldazar daily, as well as any needed emissaries.

Island expeditions reward doubloons that can be used to purchase 250 rep tokens for any pre 8.2 faction. Feel free to spend spare doubloons, but note that the amount of time required to amass the 100 necessary for one token is beyond anything that could be called efficient. The only reason to farm rep this way is if someone genuinely enjoys the island expedition content.

At a Steady Rate

The reputation grind seems endless at first, however, there’s no need to exhaust oneself. The main goal is obtaining pathfinder to accelerate the process of farming world quests. Emissaries are a great way to make steady progress and require little time investment weekly, especially at 400 ilvl. If focused on specific factions for their allied race, mount, etc, make sure to do their world quests. Always do Mechagon dailies, and if possible, pet battles; Mechagon rep is the biggest barrier to pathfinder as it doesn’t offer emissary quests.

Casual players with limited time can easily knock out one emissary a day, and they stack up to three before expiring, meaning it’s possible to skip two days of emissaries and do all three on the third. The emissaries consist of four world quests which don’t take long, and many will be rep-reward world quests. BfA rep farming has very notable diminishing returns and while doing the minimum may slow progress by a week or two, it saves hours of grinding.

It’s possible, but unnecessary to do every zone’s world quests every day for the maximum amount of rep. As players progress, certain reps will reach Revered or Exalted status. Completing their world quests will no longer be fruitful, freeing up time to farm others. The biggest hurdle is reaching Revered with all necessary reps for pathfinder. Once flying is unlocked, farming for Exalted reputations is a breeze.

Battle for Azeroth rep farming is mostly a timegate. Most reps will be acquired through the act of playing the game. Unfortunately, there’s no way to speed up the process other than emissaries and world quests, as well as by always having a contract, and taking advantage of reputation buff weeks. However, there are ways to make the experience more enjoyable. Don’t forget WoW is an MMO and there are plenty of casual friendly guilds with members willing to help out new players.