Garrison Planning

I got the quest to open my Fishing Shack and decided to give Prot leveling a try. It wasn't bad, but I could tell it was slower than Ret so I switched back.

Out of all the zones I've seen so far in Warlords, Talador is the most similar to its Burning Crusade look and feel. It appears this area was the least affected when the original Draenor broke apart.

It turned out the flight to Talador didn't take me to Shattrah. Instead I found myself in the Talador Outpost and facing a decision on what to build. There really didn't seem to be much difference between the Arsenal or the Arcane Sanctum. In the end, I went with the Arsenal. While Honors uses spells, he's much more a warrior than a spell slinger.

When I finished Gorgrond, I was awarded Outpost Building Assembly notes and was told to take them to Ashran. A goblin there offered to trade them for various Level 2 blueprints. I really want to spend this well, so it's high time I come up with a plan on what I'm doing with my Garrison.

In the end, I'll have 3 small building, 2 medium buildings, and 2 large buildings. I've already built a Lumber Mill (Medium) and a Barracks (Large). It is disappointing that the game basically forces you to build a Barracks that takes up your only Large building plot. You must tear it down later if you want a different building.

One of the advantages of being a little behind the curve is that you can learn from the experiences of others. I've already heard how some players are struggling for Garrison resources once they replaced the Lumber Mill.

Medium building options are the Barn, Inn, Lumber Mill, Gladiator's Sanctum and Trading Post.

Gladiator's Sanctum seems to be aimed at PVPers.

The Barn is the only way to get Savage Blood which I assume I'll need later for crafting. It also seems to tie into cooking and is the way to make the best feasts. I'm sure Guilds will have dedicated feast makers but it is something else I can do to contribute.

The Inn has daily quests for gear and Apexis Crystals (the 'Valor Points' of Warlords). It also lets you really customize your followers and has several pet and toy rewards.

The Trading Post gives more crafting materials and has a transmog which doesn't appeal to me.

The Lumber Mill is a great way to harvest resources but already in Talador I'm running into trees that need a Level 3 Mill to harvest.

I think the Barn and the Inn are the two I want, but I'll need the Mill for a while. I don't know that it makes much sense to upgrade the Mill when I plan on tearing it down. My next Medium plot that opens up I'll build an Inn and then once I'm Level 100, I can tear down the Mill for a Barn.

Large Building options are the Barracks, the War Mill, Mage Tower, Stables, and the Goblin Workshop.

War Mill increases Followers item level and gives you more missions. I like missions. It also gives a free Bonus roll for Raiding and some transmog.

Barracks lets you change the orcs in your base to your race, in my case, Tauren. Oddly, that is very appealing to me. It allows more Followers and more Follower experience and gives you a Bodyguard which I really don't need. Barracks also has the not negligible benefit of already being built.

Mage Tower - Quick travel all over Draenor with Waygates. Nice, but not a contender compared to the other options.

Stables is great for mount collecting and lets you gather while mounted in addition to increasing your mounted speed. I really loved Crusader Aura back in the day. This would be a small way to have it back.

Goblin Workshop gives me my very own Siege Engine to drive around the open world. That is very appealing.

I really like the Stables, and I'm torn between the War Mill, and Barracks. I don't need a bodyguard, at least not yet, but I do like the racial guards and the patrol missions, but the Tempered Seal and item upgrades from War Mill is tempting as well.

For Small buildings I have the Gem Boutique and the Enchanter's Study. My next one is going to be a Forge to help make me some gear.

My final Garrison looks like it will be Gem Boutique, Enchanter's Study, Forge, Barn, Inn,  and Stables.

Here's my final plan in the WoWHead Garrison Calculator with everything maxxed out.

http://www.wowhead.com/garrison-calc#GwsoIQMBKEE3YBR-FiQBccGEMBmFOz8D-JQ4cFGo

What do you think?