...might have to say goodbye to Lurkers on Tich :(

[Phoenix]

Getting a mount made a huge difference in how often I was ganked. Getting jumped while fighting a monster still happens, but getting ganked while traveling is cut down, as it's just too much work to run someone down and dismount them, even with carrot and spurs. And hell, you could get spurs for about 50s and a carrot isn't too tough to get, there's hardly any reason not to carry them with you.

I still need a rank 245 blacksmith to apply it, and I need them to do it everytime I change my boots. And carrot is tough enough, I need to be able to kill Gahz'rilla, something my level 45 rogue can't do just like that. *snaps fingers* At least for me, a mount hasn't made any difference at all.

Alliance get 3 20-30 zones that are effectively uncontested, no Horde flight points. Horde gets Thousand Needles, but the 30-35 area (shimmering flats) is highly contested due to the presence of Gadgezan nearby. And the 20-25 content for the barrens is pretty sparse, horde characters have pretty much no choice but to go to Stonetalon, Ashenvale, or (god forbid) Hillsbrad for these levels, all zones that at least have alliance flight points. Even Stonetalon, which has only a minor alliance outpost is pretty well contested, especially in the charred vale, and Sun Rock is a favorite locale for Alliance raids on Tich.

There's nothing uncontested about Wetlands, Duskwood or Redridge, considering how often Horde goes there to gank. And even if 20-25 on Barrens is sparse, at least you have something. Once Alliance reaches 20 it's Gank City time. Redridge isn't 20-30 by the way, it's 15-25.

Hillsbrad. And Duskwood, Wetlands, and Redridge are far away from major Alliance cities? You could have fooled me. I don't think ease of finding ganking targets is any sort of issue. It's super easy for both sides, and reinforcements are always close by.

Horde in Hillsbrad aren't as low level as Alliance in Redridge or even the early Duskwood quests. I spent more time getting ganked in Hillsbrad than I did fighting lower-level Horde, due to the constant raiding back-and-forth nature there. Duskwood, Wetlands and Redridge are all far away from Ironforge, which is the main Alliance city. Two gryphon rides might not be all that far, and I admit that I have no idea how far Stonetalen and Ashenvale are from Orgrimmar, but at least it's hard to get Alliance people to bother when it's two gryphon rides away.

I'd say that WC and Deadmines cancel each other out, and while Stockades might not be very impressive, neither is RFC. And since RFC is so low level any gear you get out of it will basically be replaced with a day or two.

The Stockade shouldn't be compared to RFC it should be compared to Shadowfang Keep. And SFK outclasses The Stockade in terms of coolness, at least. :)

I'm not one to say that Alliance = Easy Mode. But I don't think Horde have significant advantages in the ways you suggest either. The grass may always be greener on the other side, but I think that having 3 20-30 zones with no Horde outposts and not having to endure the Hillsbrad experience gives the Alliance a slight advantage in ease of leveling.

I don't think Horde has significant advantages either, but I do think they have a much easier time to avoid being ganked in the early 20s up to 30s (especially if they avoid Hillsbrad). They have more/cooler instances too, which is a subjective thing of course (the cooler thing).