Levelling 1-60 (Horde, PvP ruleset)

How XP works now

• XP needed per level is unchanged from Classic (Wowhead retracted a datamine after Blizzard clarified) Live
• Mobs at your level give Classic XP; lower-level (green) mobs give less, more as the gap grows (beta reports: 4-26% less per kill) ! player-measured
• Blizzard's designer called the green-mob cut intended, to offset the new XP buffs such as food Beta
• New Crafted food: beta tooltips add +5% kill XP to Well Fed; eat for 10 s to get it Beta
• New A Leatherworker's Camp Tent tops rested XP up to 5% of a level (no effect if you already have more) Live
• Camp buffs need you to sit (or kneel, lie down, craft) at the campsite for 1 min Live
• A normal mob takes about 10-15 s to kill solo, so pulls matter Live
• Riding training gives you the mount, no separate mount to buy Live

Dungeons vs questing

• Dungeon quests: bonus XP beyond normal quest XP cut 50% (1 Oct) Beta
• Dungeon kills: XP up about 20% (8 Oct) Beta
• Blizzard expects that and the party XP fix to "dramatically increase" dungeon XP for most players Beta
• But Blizzard's Aggrend (8 Oct): dungeon XP is "not going to be what it was" in Classic, and dungeon cleaving to 60 must not be the best way to level Beta
• No summoning stones: you walk to every dungeon, so stack dungeon quests and go once Live
• New Legacy points for the final boss of every dungeon in a bracket (15-25, 26-45, 46-60) Live. The 15-25 set includes The Deadmines, so budget one trip to Westfall; Ragefire covers the Ragefire-or-Hall-of-Thanes slot Beta
• Every dungeon drop was re-examined and unique boss drops are blue: levelling gear is worth the run Live

Legacy and alts

• Legacy opens with your first point: usually your first character at 25, OR 150 in a non-gathering primary profession, OR exploring the whole world map Live
• So a crafter can open Legacy before 25; a new alt spends account points from level 1 Live
• Speed perks: Well Rested (faster rested XP, higher cap) and Talented (talent points up to 5 levels early) Live
• Details and pick order: see Legacy system

Duo levelling

• Party XP is judged on each member's own level again (Classic Era rule), not the highest member's Beta
• If one member is far above the mob, NOBODY in the party gets XP: no power-levelling a partner Beta
• Form the party before you travel to meet: party changes shift world copies (a beta fix stopped moving the leader) Beta
• Keep levels close: the Group Finder dungeon list checks every member's level Beta

World PvP (PvP ruleset)

• Blizzard: on PvP you are "almost always at risk of being attacked by opposing players" Live
• One faction per PvP ruleset: every alt we make there is Horde Live
• Killing players gives Honor (spent on gear); Rank Points come from battlegrounds and PvP quests Live
• Only Durotar, Mulgore, Tirisfal, Silverpine and The Barrens are Horde territory; every other levelling zone is contested (Wowhead database) Beta
• Hall of Thanes sits under Ironforge and Blizzard says Horde must travel into Alliance territory. Ragefire fills the same Legacy slot, so skip it Live
• City of Dalaran: Horde are attacked on sight in the open city; the dungeon is still open to us Beta
• Zones below marked "no Horde flight point" are the deepest enemy ground
• No zone-by-zone world-PvP data for Forever yet; recheck after launch

New zones New

• Zephras Isle 1-12: Skyborne start zone Live
• Riverglades: Blizzard says 150+ quests across the mid-30s to mid-40s (Wowhead: 35-45) Live
  • Between Redridge and the Burning Steppes Beta; Icy Veins: go north in Redridge and turn right before the Steppes !
  • Horde flight point: Rog'mar Beta
• Shen'dralas: between Mulgore and Desolace, tied to the Shen'dralar of Dire Maul (Blizzard) Live. Level not published; beta mobs 37-45 !
• Mount Hyjal 60: endgame zone through Darkwhisper Gorge, south of Winterspring Beta
  • Flight points: Summit of Eternity, Tainted Foothills (both factions) Beta

Horde 1-22 (RestedXP Forever route)

! One source (RestedXP's Forever guide, checked 29 Oct). Its picks, not our testing.

• Orc / Troll: Durotar 1-10 (Valley of Trials, Razor Hill, Sen'jin Village)
  • Hunter, Shaman: Durotar to 12, then The Barrens
  • Others: Tirisfal 10-12, Silverpine 12-14 (The Sepulcher), then The Barrens
• Undead: Tirisfal 1-12 (Deathknell, Brill), Silverpine 12-14, then The Barrens
• Tauren: Mulgore 1-12 (Camp Narache, Bloodhoof Village, Thunder Bluff), then The Barrens
• Skyborne: Zephras Isle 1-12; Hunters to The Barrens, others Silverpine 12-14
• All: The Barrens 12-17 (Crossroads, Ratchet, Camp Taurajo)
• Then Stonetalon / Barrens / Ashenvale 17-22 (Sun Rock Retreat, Zoram'gar, Splintertree Post)
• Its next section is Hillsbrad 22-24 (not released yet)
• Dungeon version: Barrens 12-16, Ragefire Chasm 16-17, Ruins of Lordaeron 17-18, Barrens 18-21, Wailing Caverns 21-22

22-60: zones by level

! No verified Forever route past 22: the beta stopped at 30. Levels are Wowhead's database ranges (beta NPC levels). Brackets: flight points Horde can use (beta client). All contested except The Barrens.

• 20s: Hillsbrad 20-31 (Tarren Mill) · Ashenvale 19-30 (Splintertree, Zoram'gar) · Stonetalon 15-25 (Sun Rock) · The Barrens 10-33 (Crossroads, Taurajo, Ratchet)
  • No Horde flight point: Wetlands 20-30 · Redridge 15-25 · Duskwood 10-30
• 30s: Arathi 30-40 (Hammerfall) · Desolace 30-39 (Shadowprey) · Thousand Needles 6-35 (Freewind Post) · Stranglethorn 30-50 (Grom'gol, Booty Bay) · Swamp of Sorrows 36-43 (Stonard) · Badlands 36-45 (Kargath) · Dustwallow 36-61 (Brackenwall)
  • New Riverglades mid-30s to mid-40s (Rog'mar) · New Shen'dralas ! about 37-45
  • No Horde flight point: Alterac 27-39

• 40s: Tanaris 40-50 (Gadgetzan) · Feralas 41-60 (Camp Mojache) · Hinterlands 41-56 (Revantusk) · Azshara 42-55 (Valormok) · Searing Gorge 43-56 (Thorium Point)
• 50s: Felwood 47-54 (Bloodvenom) · Un'Goro 48-55 (Marshal's Refuge) · Burning Steppes 50-59 (Flame Crest) · Eastern Plaguelands 54-59 (Light's Hope) · Winterspring 55-60 (Everlook) · Silithus 55-59 (Cenarion Hold)
  • No Horde flight point: Western Plaguelands 46-57 · Blasted Lands 46-63 · Deadwind 50-60
• New Mount Hyjal 60
• Dungeons for each bracket: see Dungeons

Gear while you level

• Pick your class, spec and level: the best item per slot from dungeons, quests, crafting and vendors (Horde only), or the upgrades coming in the next few levels. Forever by default, Classic Era to compare.
• The full finder, with a level-by-level path and gear per dungeon: Gear. Each class's Levelling tab has the same box for its specs.

Sources Blizzard dev notes · Blizzard launch · Blizzard Deep Dive · Blizzard rulesets · Blizzard PvP · Blizzard dungeons · Aggrend via PC Gamer · Wowhead zones · Icy Veins zones · RestedXP