The second Classic expansion Wrath of the Lich King is underway allowing players to venture off into Northrend to defeat the Lich King but it is not possible until players hit the max level (80) with the selected race and faction. Wrath of the Lich King Classics takes a decent amount of time to level up for all of the available races due to more levels than the previous expansion, Burning Crusade Classic (70 level-cap), and the amount of gaining experience with certain races.
If you are looking forward to seeing the final epic showdown by defeating Lich King but haven’t reached the maximum level, then this guide is for you. This guide will provide you the information on the best locations to farm XP for certain levels and some tips and tricks that will help you in your general leveling throughout the adventure.
Best 3 Races for Fast Leveling in Wotlk Classic
Races play a crucial role in earning more experience due to their play style. As you will be gaining most of the experience by eliminating mobs, the best option for you is to go for a DPS race to eliminate enemies quickly along with saving time. It will help you gain more experience in less time than other races like Priest with low mobility and survivability.
- Death Knight
- Hunter
- Warlock
All 3 of the races mentioned above are high DPS races that will allow you to eliminate mobs efficiently and even the best races for clearing dungeons as completing dungeons is the fastest way to gain end-game levels (70-80).
Best Leveling Zones (1 – 80) for Alliance and Horde
Starting your adventure to Northrend with a selected race will also require you to select one of two factions, Alliance and Horde. Both of the factions do not have any significant advantages but only resemble the side you are on. Alliance is the good side whereas, the Horde is more of a bad/dark side. However, leveling for both of the factions can be different as there are certain zones from where these factions can get more experience rather than running around in random zones and eliminating mobs.
The following table shows the best leveling zones for 1 – 80 levels for Alliance and Horde with any selected race.
| Alliance | Horde | ||
| Levels | Locations | Levels | Locations |
| 1-12 | Race Starting Locations | 1-12 | Race Starting Locations |
| 12-19 | Westfall | 12-19 | Ghostlands |
| 20-24 | Redridge | 20-24 | The Barrens |
| 25-29 | Duskwood | 25-29 | Stonetalone Mountains |
| 30-34 | Southshore | 30-34 | Thousand Needles |
| 35-39 | Stranglethorn Vale | 35-39 | Stranglethorn Vale |
| 40-44 | Dustwallow Marsh | 40-44 | Dustwallow Marsh |
| 45-49 | Swamp of Sorrows | 45-49 | Stranglethorn Vale |
| 50-54 | Searing Gorge | 50-54 | Hinterlands |
| 55-58 | Un’goro Crater | 55-58 | Un’goro Crater |
| 58-61 | Hellfire Peninsula | 58-61 | Hellfire Peninsula |
| 62-63 | Zangarmarsh | 62-63 | Zangarmarsh |
| 64-65 | Terokkar Forest | 64-65 | Terokkar Forest |
| 66-67 | Nagrand | 66-67 | Nagrand |
| 68-70 | Blade’s Edge, Netherstorm | 68-70 | Blade’s Edge, Netherstorm |
| 70-71 | Borean Tundra | 70-71 | Borean Tundra |
| 71-72 | Howling Fjord | 71-72 | Howling Fjord |
| 73-74 | Dragonblight | 73-74 | Dragonblight |
| 75-76 | Grizzly Hills | 75-76 | Grizzly Hills |
| 76-77 | Zul’dark | 76-77 | Zul’dark |
| 78 | Sholazar Basin | 78 | Sholazar Basin |
| 79-80 | Storm Peaks | 79-80 | Storm Peaks |
End-Game Dungeon Leveling (69 – 80)
Earning experience in the end-game is the most time-consuming and the best way to gain a certain amount of experience is by completing the dungeons. Dungeons are one of the difficult challenges to overcome and that is why you must have a group of 5 that are willing to come along with you on the journey to farm experience for end-game levels. All the dungeons in the game require a certain level and if you are on a Heroic difficulty then the dungeons will require a certain item level of your gear as well. Make sure to have the required level and item level of gear to enter the dungeon with your party as you will be repeating each dungeon until you have acquired the level for the next dungeon.
The following table shows the best dungeon locations to farm in the end-game.
| Levels | Dungeon |
| 69-72 | Utgarde Keep |
| 69-73 | Nexus |
| 72-74 | Ajzol-Nerub |
| 73-75 | Ahn’Kahet, The Old Kingdom |
| 74-76 | Drak’tharon Keep |
| 75-77 | Violet Hold |
| 76-78 | Gundrak |
| 77-79 | Halls of Stone |
| 78-80 | Halls of Lightning |
| 78-80 | The Culling of Stratholme |
| 79-80 | The Oculus |
| 79-80 | Utgarde Pinnacle |
General Methods and Tips & Tricks for Leveling in Wotlk Classic
General Methods
There are 3 main methods for leveling in Wotlk Classic, Questing, Dungeons, and Grinding. Questing is the basic method for leveling as each quest will reward you with a certain amount of XP and gear items. As you progress through the questlines and unlock distant lands, the XP reward for questlines will also increase making it a valuable method for both early and mid-game leveling.
Dungeons and Grinding methods come into late/end-game play. As mentioned earlier, dungeons require a certain level and item level (Heroic difficulty), you must grind the dungeon until you reach the required level for the next dungeon. The best way to speed it even further is by completing any dungeon quest if available. Almost every end-game dungeon has a dungeon quest that you can complete the first time you enter the dungeon to get certain gear items as a reward and extra XP.
After completing the dungeon quest and dungeon content itself, you can grind the dungeon by farming it until you move on to the next dungeon. It is a time-consuming process as each dungeon can take about 2 – 3 hours of grinding to gain a required level for the next dungeon.
Tips & Tricks
- Visit Auction House: Visit the Auction House from time to time to buy Healing Pots and Consumables to increase your chances of survival throughout leveling. Alternatively, you can use Auction House to your advantage by selling items you make after selecting a certain profession. Engineer Profession happens to be the best profession as you can sell junk to vendors to earn money and make items like Rocket Boots to increase movement speed.
- Get Mount ASAP: Having a mount significantly reduces the traveling time across the lands as well as is needed for various questlines. Make your way to K3 to complete goblin quests to earn yourself a mount.
- Do the Early/Mid-Game Leveling SOLO: Playing solo will give you 100% XP for every activity, quest, and eliminating mobs. Playing in a party will significantly reduce the XP by dividing it among all players in the party and making it longer for you to level up. Complete all the early quests SOLO and only complete the ones in a party that requires you to be with other players.
That is all related to Wrath of the Lich King Classic Leveling Guide.