What is the best leveling path right now?

[BicycleMafioso]

I tried method 0 on Strat but you I see that you have to divide the bosses in half and log/relog/kill around the middle of the instance and get the latter at the end. It is about 12k per clear. Felt slow that's why I'm asking if it's worth it to burn a pot.
level 1-60 just seems slooooooow.

Are you sure you did it correctly? I seem to recall that I was getting ~48k alone from the end bonus/last boss kill whilst letting my second account 90 dk (highest char on that account) do all the killing whilst my leveling char stood near the entrance. 48k on lv37 is half a level for 4-5 minutes work (since 90s can't use bear tartare). And that is only the end bonus exp, not counting all the bonus rares and whatnot.
Might it be that having a max level is slowing the exp due to the last hotfix and I am getting more exp because mine is only 90? I don't know. It might be a reason enough to use 101s to clear, then, since they can use bear tartare and starting a dh and getting to 101 doesn't take forever, in contrast to draenor flying which is impossibly boring.

[schwarzkopf]

1->60 is damn fast no matter where you go, spending time on plotting a path all over probably wastes the advantages of just going somewhere close.
60->80 Northrend 3-4 zones (I went for the west side) - again, try to avoid hopping around
80->90 Pandaland

[SirCowdog]

1->60 is damn fast no matter where you go, spending time on plotting a path all over probably wastes the advantages of just going somewhere close.
60->80 Northrend 3-4 zones (I went for the west side) - again, try to avoid hopping around
80->90 Pandaland

Thanks for trying to help, but please read the thread. Some zones are better than others. Some methods are better than others as well.

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Might it be that having a max level is slowing the exp due to the last hotfix and I am getting more exp because mine is only 90? I don't know. It might be a reason enough to use 101s to clear, then, since they can use bear tartare and starting a dh and getting to 101 doesn't take forever, in contrast to draenor flying which is impossibly boring.

Did we ever get confirmation that using a lower level character resulted in less of a penalty for method 0?

[schwarzkopf]

Thanks for trying to help, but please read the thread. Some zones are better than others.

Thanks for trying to respond, but please read my answer. Yes - some zones are better - but you can lose out all up by going all over the place compared to doing close together zones. The absolute biggest limiting factor 1-60 is travel - if you move from one 'perfect' zone to another 'perfect' zone - you have to take into account how long it takes you to keep moving around.

[SirCowdog]

Thanks for trying to respond, but please read my answer. Yes - some zones are better - but you can lose out all up by going all over the place compared to doing close together zones. The absolute biggest limiting factor 1-60 is travel - if you move from one 'perfect' zone to another 'perfect' zone - you have to take into account how long it takes you to keep moving around.

Plan ahead. Know where to go and when. Use your hearth. Get a summon. Some classes can even port themselves.

I'm sorry, but whatever tiny amount of time you spend on a flight path to a more optimal zone will more than be made up for with the speed and efficiency of that zone.

Or just do whatever the hell you want. It's not like we tested this or anything.... :/ But go ahead, prove us wrong. Post up your SS of time played to 58, and again to 90, then 100. The entire point of this thread is to find the fastest methods and share them, so if you've got a better way, let us know. But we need facts, not vague statements.

[schwarzkopf]

Plan ahead. Know where to go and when. Use your hearth. Get a summon. Some classes can even port themselves.

Yeah - if you want low efficiency - wander all over the place.

Just saying - that given the speed is damned fast every where, doing it all in one place is far better.

[SirCowdog]

Yeah - if you want low efficiency - wander all over the place.

Just saying - that given the speed is damned fast every where, doing it all in one place is far better.

Sigh...look Schwarzkopf, I don't want to turn this thread into a stupid fight. The point of it is to help people get the fastest proven method.

We've TESTED these methods. We KNOW they work. We have screenshots as proof. No one is "wandering all over the place" in a stupid, inefficient, aimless manner. The speed is not "damned fast every where". Some zones outright suck! Other zones have good parts that you do, then leave(STV for example).

I would LOVE it if you could show us data about a faster method than the ones listed earlier in the thread. Bring us some screenshots, and detail the paths and zones you used. Help us make the guide better.

I'll just leave it at that.

[Hellravager]

You can do ZG heroic all the way to 93 before it stops being effective afterwards all elites only give 433 exp besides for bosses which is only 3k

[monchwow]

Just want to give an update.

I got tired of doing RFC Method-0 so I just went ahead and “dual-boxed”. I added another license and sub (with gold).

Ran two instances of wow. One screen the booster (lvl 110 DH) and other the boostee (Highmountain Druid).

I installed the SavedInstances addon to keep track of the lockout limit.

I then made a group and ran RFC till about 35.

When I hit the lockout limit, I would do regular questing using Zygor. (Do not pick STV, it’s too populated and spawn times are slooow, the kill hidden panthers etc are terrible. I moved to Hillsbrad and it’s a better zone). You don’t get much experience when your 110 is one-shotting mobs but the quest turn-ins are still the same exp rewarded. I could clear out huge chunks of quest like this very fast. My 110 would kill, then my boostee would collect. I used a 2man mount such as the Obsidian Nightwing to transport my low level around. Very fast! Only issue with this sometimes is when your high level gets phased out on some quests but completing them on your low level should be no problem.

AFter my lockout limit reset, I would resume parking my low level at the entrance of the dungeon and killing all bosses in the dungeon. Trash mobs are low exp but the bonus and completion exp is still good.

At around upper 30’s, Strat is really good. There’s many bosses and you get maybe 30-40% of a level per instance clear.

Anyways, method-0 is cool but dualboxing is better. I would go this route if it’s financially feasible.

I hate leveling and my intent is to unlock the heritage armor for all allied races so far. I already have 100-110 of each class.

[Vrothgar]

Optimizing leveling? Really?

What about just questing in the zones you like most?

You know, to have fun with the game.

There is always this F*** guy. If you don't know the answer you could just you know don't answer? If he wants to speed level he is obviously a guy not interested in story and wannabe 110 asap/guy who did all the zones and wanna do level 110 asap/this his last toon not level 110.

[SirCowdog]

You can do ZG heroic all the way to 93 before it stops being effective afterwards all elites only give 433 exp besides for bosses which is only 3k

The question I have to ask, though: Is it better exp than WoD Treasures/Bonus objectives?

Still, I suppose some people dont have flying, or don't want to go to WoD right at 90. Might be useful for them.

[Micronetic]

The following guide assumes you have both WoD and Legion flying, as well as heirloom gear for bonus experience. If you don't have them your speed will be significantly impacted and you may have to clear additional zones or grind additional trash runs. Conversely, having enchants, food, flasks, and heirloom flight paths can speed up your runs significantly over the long term.

20-58:

ALLIANCE: Loch Modan, Westfall, Redridge, Darkshore, and Bloodmyst Isle
HORDE: Azshara, Ghostlands, Silverpine, Hillsbrad, Dustwallow Marsh
BOTH: Shared zones such as WPL, STV, Blasted Lands, Searing Gorge, etc, are potentially very good, but often suffer from overpopulation. I would only go here during off hours, or if you need a little extra to push you to 60.

NOTE1: It appears that as of the recent buff to random queue exp, it's actually VERY worthwhile to do random dungeons while questing. I would still bail on longer dungeons like Diremaul, Wailing Caverns, and Uldaman. But that may just be my own personal preference.

NOTE2: Get an addon to track rare mobs! Each rare kill is worth ~50% of a normal quest turn-in during the 1-60 range, and makes tagging these guys along the way a very good bonus. Be aware that world scaling does weird things, and some rares may be super-difficult/

58-73:

Northrend quests while queuing for Utgarde Keep, Ramparts, and Blood Furnace. TBC quests, despite seeming nostalgic, are literally twice as slow as Northrend.

Alternatively, stay in "Vanilla" zones until 62. Flying and outleveling enemies will speed up your questing significantly, and more than offset the penalty for outleveling the content. This is especially good for people who despise TBC/Northrend.

74-81:

Set your dungeon difficulty to heroic and proceed to solo every TBC dungeon. Alternatively, Karazhan trash clears(Kill all beast boss, Morose, Maiden trash, exit, reset. DO NOT KILL ANY BOSSES) serve the same purpose.

NOTE: Some people are saying it's possible to start kara trash as early as level 70. YMMV depending on class, spec, enchants, and such. If you can manage it, I'd recommend it. That trash is crazy exp/h.

81-82:

You could potentially continue doing Kara trash clears til 82, but you might be better off doing Serpentshrine trash clears instead.

82-84:

Set dungeon difficulty back to normal and solo ramparts. Some classes can start at 82, others at 83. YMMV

83-87:

Back to questing/queuing for dungeons. Pick Cata or MoP, whichever you're most familiar with. Speed will rely greatly on how focused you are. MoP has the advantage of treasures which can be grabbed along the way for a little boost. Personally I'd stick with questing, since the speed is based entirely on you, whereas a group is random, and you could suffer a lot of wasted time if you get a bad group.

88-90:

Heroic Zul'Gurub. You can clear all the trash(and I do mean ALL the trash, including the fish and gators in the water) for a LOT of experience. Kill the sub-bosses, but do not kill any main bosses. Again, you might struggle a bit right at 88. A lot depends on familiarity and persistence.

90-98:

Use the Timeless Isle portal to Gorgrond to skip the WoD intro scenario. Fly to your garrison and do the quests to set it up(if you don't have WoD flight your speed leveling ends here. Slog through the Dark Portal scenario). Buy exp pots and start doing bonus objectives and treasures. Potentially buy a 630 weapon from the AH if it's available and not too expensive. This will be more powerful than your heirlooms. At level 96 go to Spires and set up the Inn for another 20% experience.

Note: Some people have expressed difficulty with WoD right at level 90 due to scaling and heirlooms not leveling up correctly. If this is a problem, grab some free gear from Timeless Isle, or simply wait to start WoD until 91.

98-102:

Go get your artifact weapon. Some classes will have an easier time passing the required quests. Go back to WoD and continue clearing treasures and bonus objectives on EZ mode because your weapon is OP.

100-110:

Quest, queue for dungeons. Again, go to whatever zone you're most familiar with. Flying will help immensely. Invasions are technically the fastest, if you can do them.


This has all been tested pretty extensively by many people. There are ways to cheese the leveling process using something called "Method zero", but it's questionable whether or not it's against the ToS. Google it and do it at your own risk, and I expect Blizzard to nerf it somehow soon.

For those who are wondering, despite the nerf to exp from having a high-level character in the group, Method-0 is still very good exp/h. At around level 20 you'll be getting ~30% of a level per run of Stockades/Ragefire. This drops each level until around 58 when you'll only be getting ~14% of a level. The same thing happens in Ramparts, starting at ~25% of a level per run, and dropping to ~15% by level 80. I have not tested Method-0 past that, since it seems faster to just play normally at that point.

Thank you sir, I am leveling a Nightborne for the heritage armor and this comes quite handy, you're the man!

[Softbottom]

buying a boost.

[Dudas]

Went to kara did the farm on another alt. It was nerfed to the ground it doesn't work anymore...

[SirCowdog]

Went to kara did the farm on another alt. It was nerfed to the ground it doesn't work anymore...

I just went in with a level 74 character. Experience for enemies were 2k a pop(4k with rested). Progress was just the same as before. What level were you at when you tried to farm it?

[Dudas]

I just went in with a level 74 character. Experience for enemies were 2k a pop(4k with rested). Progress was just the same as before. What level were you at when you tried to farm it?

72 towards 73 non rested 50% heirlooms with a friend that helped me. Was having the 300% xp gain for 1 hour. Did 10 runs in 50 mins with full clear of thrash from horse to moroes and run out reset. was getting 300 xp from elites/ 75 xp from normals (ballroom in front of moroes). Tried to solo the trash but couldn't(that's why I called for a friend) mobs killed me with 5 hits and was hitting them for like nothing(legion neck enchant included).

In 1h of farm with him speeding the process greatly made 1 level and 30% or something. with xp potion. Turning the amount of quests I could've done in 1h I think would've rewarded the same if not more.

If I'm doing it wrong/ pulling the wrong mobs when trying to solo let me know. But the trash from the horse was beating the crap out of me. Went as frost mage cause I need to kite them so frost nova and perma slow helps.

And is it really worth it at 2k a pop considering normal mobs award 600/700 xp around that level and quests give you 16k xp+ ? Like killing 10 kara mobs awards 20k. Killing 10 mobs + turning in quest gives 22k. And it is faster to kill mobs and to do quests. Maybe with rested/xp potion and being able to solo and regen/heal yourself you might get ahead but not that much I imagine...

I'll try again at 75 when I get the new talent and see how it goes. Maybe it doesn't work at 72 or when boosted?

Based on this updated in february 26 http://www.wowhead.com/mage-leveling-guide

[SirCowdog]

72 towards 73 non rested 50% heirlooms with a friend that helped me. Was having the 300% xp gain for 1 hour. Did 10 runs in 50 mins with full clear of thrash from horse to moroes and run out reset. was getting 300 xp from elites/ 75 xp from normals (ballroom in front of moroes). Tried to solo the trash but couldn't(that's why I called for a friend) mobs killed me with 5 hits and was hitting them for like nothing(legion neck enchant included).

In 1h of farm with him speeding the process greatly made 1 level and 30% or something. with xp potion. Turning the amount of quests I could've done in 1h I think would've rewarded the same if not more.

If I'm doing it wrong/ pulling the wrong mobs when trying to solo let me know. But the trash from the horse was beating the crap out of me. Went as frost mage cause I need to kite them so frost nova and perma slow helps.

And is it really worth it at 2k a pop considering normal mobs award 600/700 xp around that level and quests give you 16k xp+ ? Like killing 10 kara mobs awards 20k. Killing 10 mobs + turning in quest gives 22k. And it is faster to kill mobs and to do quests. Maybe with rested/xp potion and being able to solo and regen/heal yourself you might get ahead but not that much I imagine...

Based on this updated in february 26 http://www.wowhead.com/mage-leveling-guide

Was the friend that was helping you higher level than you? I've only ever gone in solo, so I don't know how the dynamic works for shared experience in a group. It may not be worth it to do those runs in a group.

And yes, chain pulling packs of 3-6 enemies for 2k a mob is definitely better exp per hour than normal mobs+questing. That's between 6k-12k a pull, which takes maybe 10-20 seconds to AOE down. There's virtually no travel involved. And once you get your path down, it's REALLY fast. Basically each pull is like it's own individual quest turn-in. VERY few quest chains are going to be able to keep up with that level of efficiency.

[Mayia]

Leveling is a COMPLETE pain, those who say "oh it isn't as bad" didn't really spend much time leveling before these changes.
I've got 38 110s, and 45 100+ and since the leveling change 64 is as high as i could bother getting my rogue as well as other allied races stopped at 20-21.

I feel if you can manage chain dungeon it would be fastest if you *can* get run through or find a good group who aren't silly and you can do a good amount of levels but leveling quest wise feels so much slower.

[Micronetic]

82-84:

Set dungeon difficulty back to normal and solo ramparts. Some classes can start at 82, others at 83. YMMV

Got a question here, do you really mean Ramparts or is it rather Blackrock Caverns?

Leveling is a COMPLETE pain, those who say "oh it isn't as bad" didn't really spend much time leveling before these changes.
I've got 38 110s, and 45 100+ and since the leveling change 64 is as high as i could bother getting my rogue as well as other allied races stopped at 20-21.

I feel if you can manage chain dungeon it would be fastest if you *can* get run through or find a good group who aren't silly and you can do a good amount of levels but leveling quest wise feels so much slower.

Am leveling a Nightborne atm: /played is 1 day, 19 hours 41 minutes - i am level 82 now.

I think I had the same /played before those leveling changes.

[SirCowdog]

Leveling is a COMPLETE pain, those who say "oh it isn't as bad" didn't really spend much time leveling before these changes.
I've got 38 110s, and 45 100+ and since the leveling change 64 is as high as i could bother getting my rogue as well as other allied races stopped at 20-21.

I feel if you can manage chain dungeon it would be fastest if you *can* get run through or find a good group who aren't silly and you can do a good amount of levels but leveling quest wise feels so much slower.

I have to admit, once I resubbed and started doing a speed run as a druid tank, I've noticed a LOT of idiots and terrible players in dungeons. If I was not the tank and pulling the rest of the party behind me by setting the pace, it might be better to JUST quest, since your speed only relies on yourself.

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Got a question here, do you really mean Ramparts or is it rather Blackrock Caverns?

Hellfire Ramparts, the TBC 5-man dungeon.

Am leveling a Nightborne atm: /played is 1 day, 19 hours 41 minutes - i am level 82 now.

I think I had the same /played before those leveling changes.

Did you follow the guide for this character?