✦ Wrath of the Lich King 3.3.5a ✦ 306 in the world
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Leveling 1-80: a zone-by-zone route

Which zones to quest in at each level for the Alliance and the Horde, and how individual progression shapes the trip.

On HoneyWoW experience from kills, quests and exploration is multiplied by 3, and rested experience builds up faster than usual. You will out-level zones quickly, so don't feel obliged to finish every quest: when the quests in a zone turn grey or green, move on.

How progression changes leveling

The realm uses individual progression, so leveling happens in three acts:

  • 1-60, Vanilla. Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. At 60 experience stops until you complete the Vanilla stage (its raids, which you can run with bots).
  • 60-70, The Burning Crusade. The Dark Portal opens for your character and Outland becomes your playground. Experience stops at 70 until you complete TBC.
  • 70-80, Wrath of the Lich King. Northrend opens.

See Gameplay for the details. Zone levels are approximate; you can check each zone's quests in Zones.

Alliance, 1-60

LevelsZones
1-10Your starting zone: Elwynn Forest, Dun Morogh or Teldrassil
10-20Westfall, Loch Modan or Darkshore
20-30Redridge Mountains, Duskwood, Wetlands, Ashenvale
30-40Hillsbrad Foothills, Arathi Highlands, Stranglethorn Vale, Desolace, Dustwallow Marsh
40-50Tanaris, Feralas, The Hinterlands, Searing Gorge
50-60Un'Goro Crater, Felwood, Burning Steppes, Western and Eastern Plaguelands, Winterspring, Silithus

Horde, 1-60

LevelsZones
1-10Your starting zone: Durotar, Mulgore or Tirisfal Glades
10-20The Barrens or Silverpine Forest
20-30Stonetalon Mountains, Ashenvale, Hillsbrad Foothills, Thousand Needles
30-40Arathi Highlands, Stranglethorn Vale, Desolace, Dustwallow Marsh, Badlands
40-50Tanaris, Feralas, The Hinterlands, Azshara
50-60Un'Goro Crater, Felwood, Burning Steppes, Western and Eastern Plaguelands, Winterspring, Silithus

Draenei and Blood Elves start in Azuremyst Isle and Eversong Woods, then go on to Bloodmyst Isle and the Ghostlands (10-20) before joining the routes above.

Outland, 60-70 (both factions)

LevelsZones
60-63Hellfire Peninsula
62-65Zangarmarsh, Terokkar Forest
64-67Nagrand
66-68Blade's Edge Mountains
67-70Netherstorm, Shadowmoon Valley

Northrend, 70-80 (both factions)

LevelsZones
70-72Borean Tundra or Howling Fjord
71-74Dragonblight
73-75Grizzly Hills
74-77Zul'Drak
76-78Sholazar Basin
77-80The Storm Peaks, Icecrown

Tips to level faster

  • Rested experience: log out in an inn or a capital city. Here it accumulates faster than in the original game, so a short break gives a good bonus.
  • Group with bots: a healer or tank bot turns elite quests and group areas into easy experience. See the playerbots guide.
  • Dungeons: the dungeon finder is active and random bots join it, so queues are short. Check Dungeons by level.
  • Train every few levels: new ranks of your spells make a huge difference. Plan your build in the talent calculator.
  • Use Questie: the addon pack includes it and shows quest givers and objectives on the map.
  • Upgrade your gear: a couple of blue items from the auction house (stocked by bots) are worth more than an hour of grinding. Search them in Items.

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Icons and tooltips by Wowhead. Data from the realm's own database.