WoW Classic 20th Anniversary Leveling Guide

Here we go again, Heroes of Azeroth! Welcome to the WoW Classic 20th Anniversary leveling guide; if it sounds like you’ve read this before, that’s because this is the second time WoW Classic has been released since its original launch in 2019. That means that in case you missed the original hype and massive lines of characters in front of quest-givers in starter zones back in 2019, here’s your chance to experience that.

In this guide, we’re going to help you with the leveling process. There’s going to be a 3-week period from the Classic launch until the Molten Core release, which is enough time to get from level 1 to level 60. This guide will make sure that there’s enough time for you to reach that max level, whether you’re playing on PvE, PvP, or hardcore realms with Self-Found on or not. But, just in case you need extra help, you can buy WoW Classic leveling at Skycoach. This is a service that will boost your character to any desired level with the help of our WoW veterans. Each order is completed by hand, so you never have to worry about any risks. With that said, let us move on with the guide.

Read our other guides:

• Gold Farming Guide

How to Level Up Fast in WoW Classic 20th Anniversary Edition?

So, you’ve created a fresh character. What do you do now? The first thing you’ll end up doing are the starter quests. Depending on your starting location, which is based on the race you’ve picked, you’ll have 2-3 quests available to you immediately. If you follow the quest markers, they’ll take you as far as level 10. But you need a solid plan if you want to get to level 60 efficiently. So, the first thing we’re going to do in this WoW classic fresh leveling guide is breakdown all known leveling methods.

Leveling Through Questing

Questing is the to-go method of leveling in the WoW Classic era and is one of the most popular for lots of players, both new and old. It involves accepting and completing quests in various WoW Classic 20th Anniversary leveling zones to receive experience points (XP), gold, and other valuable items.

• Pros:
  
  • Great for immersion and lore, as you experience the world through its quests and storylines.
  • Often provides useful items and gear, plus gold to support your journey.
  • You get to explore multiple zones and interact with NPCs.
• Cons:
  
  • It can be slower if you’re not efficient, especially if you’re in a densely populated area with lots of other players doing the same quests.
  • Some quests can be very grindy or difficult to complete, especially elite quests or ones that require you to find hard-to-reach locations.

And let’s not forget that quest objectives are often obscure. Classic quests are nothing like retail quests, where you don’t have to think about where to go or what to do. As basic a method as it is, sometimes it can make inexperienced players get stuck. Nevertheless, it’s still the best option, provided you know the most optimal questing route.

Leveling Through Grinding (Mob Farming)

Grinding, or mob farming, is when you focus on killing NPC mobs repeatedly for XP. Players pick areas or WoW Classic 20th Anniversary level zones with dense mob spawns and kill these enemies in a repetitive cycle. This method can be done solo or with a group, depending on the difficulty of the area.

• Pros:
  
  • Less reliance on quest chains and allows you to grind through mobs at your own pace.
  • Some mobs drop valuable items and materials that can be sold for gold.
  • It can be more efficient in specific high-density areas.
• Cons:
  
  • Extremely repetitive and can feel boring after a while.
  • No quest rewards, so you may not get much gear or items to enhance your character.

You might encounter player competition for spawn points in high-traffic areas.
The grinding method also heavily depends on the chosen class. Some classes are notoriously better at leveling through farming mobs, while others are infamously bad at it. On top of that, mob farming is a kind of skill-intence leveling method. If you do it right, you’re going to get a lot of levels very quickly, but if you’re bad at it if you overextend too much and pull too many mobs, you’ll be left with less XP and a lot of time wasted.

Leveling Through Dungeons (Dungeon Runs)

Running dungeons is one of the best leveling methods WoW Classic 20th Anniversary, especially in the mid-levels. Many players group up to tackle dungeons, as they offer substantial XP, gear, and sometimes even rare items.

• Pros:
  
  • Dungeons provide substantial XP, especially in the early to mid-levels.
  • They offer great gear upgrades for your character, particularly rare drops and gear from bosses.
  • They can be fun and social, allowing you to team up with others.
• Cons:
  
  • Grouping up can sometimes be time-consuming, especially if there’s a long queue or if your group isn’t efficient.
  • Can be difficult for certain classes to solo (especially early in the game) and may require patience with inexperienced players.
  • Some dungeons can be long and tedious, especially with wipes or poor group coordination.

Dungeon leveling requires a group. So, either you have a constant party to farm dungeons with, or you’re stuck using the LFG and doing it with randoms, which almost always ends up in a disaster. On the other hand, you’d be getting way more XP and much better loot than what you would’ve gotten from trash mob farming or questing. Although this WoW Classic 20th Anniversary leveling guide 1-60 will not focus on dungeon leveling specifically, all you need to know about it is farming in one dungeon until you’re high enough level to farm the next dungeon. That’s about it.

Power Leveling – Grinding with a Partner

This method involves partnering up with a higher-level player (or sometimes vice versa), where one player supports the other through mob grinding or dungeon runs. This can make grinding much faster and more efficient, particularly when the higher-level player provides damage and tanking abilities.

• Pros:
  
  • Faster than solo grinding, as high-level players can clear out mobs much more quickly.
  • You can build up your gear, XP, and experience much faster with a helping hand.
• Cons:
  
  • Requires coordination with a higher-level player who is available to help.
  • It could slow down if the high-level player gets distracted or has other priorities.
  • Depending on the relationship with the power-leveling partner, it might not be as enjoyable as other methods.

Imagine you skipped the initial launch and the three-week window given for leveling. Now, you’re looking for a fresh WoW Classic leveling guide, not knowing what to do. If that’s the case and most players have already hit level 60, you could ask any of them to power-level you. This is going to involve you going into a high-level zone.

Efficient Leveling Guide

If you decide to go with leveling, there are a few things you should know. If you’re leveling solo, you need to make sure you have some things worked out. You need to be self-sustained, which means the survival of your character depends on you and only you.

You’ll have plenty of time to learn your class, but pretty soon, you’re going to get overwhelmed with the amount of abilities you need to manage. Make sure you’re using the most optimal rotation. The combat system is something you need to think about and consider in this game. Here’s why. Below, you’ll see three core principles of leveling conveyed in the best WoW Classic 20th Anniversary leveling guide you’ll ever find out there.

Combat Time

Combat time refers to the amount of time you spend fighting enemies to complete your quests. It’s one of the core components of questing, as defeating mobs is necessary for gathering quest items, experience, and loot.

• Efficiency in combat can be achieved by upgrading your gear, learning new abilities, and adapting to the best strategies for defeating your enemies. Gear that boosts your primary stats, such as Strength, Agility, Intellect, or Stamina, will make fights faster and more manageable. Additionally, spell upgrades at certain level milestones will greatly reduce the amount of time it takes to down enemies.
• Understanding your class abilities and rotations also plays a significant role in speeding up combat. Some classes, like Hunters or Warlocks, can engage in ranged combat and kite enemies, reducing the amount of time spent tanking damage. Meanwhile, casters like Mages and Priests can use crowd control and AoE (Area of Effect) spells to efficiently clear groups of enemies, cutting down on time spent on each quest.
• Learning mob mechanics and avoiding unnecessary deaths also saves a considerable amount of time. When you’re able to take out enemies effectively while minimizing downtime, you can keep your questing momentum going without wasting time in dangerous situations.

To be more efficient at solo leveling, whether through questing or mob farming, it is recommended to use ranged classes like Hunter or Mage. If this is your first rodeo, these classes can kill mobs before they reach the melee range and hurt you. That’s something to consider.

Recovery Time

Unlike in Retail WoW, where you can chain pulls and keep fighting enemies with minimal downtime, WoW Classic requires you to manage your resources carefully. Recovery time refers to the period of time you spend regenerating your health and mana (or energy, depending on your class) between fights. In WoW Classic, you can’t just rush through killing mobs back-to-back, as your resources will deplete quickly, and you’ll need time to regenerate them. This is all to teach you about how to level up fast WoW Classic 20th Anniversary by using recovery time efficiently. BLOG20

• Gear that supports recovery, such as items with Spirit (for faster health regeneration), is crucial for minimizing recovery time. The higher your Spirit stat, the faster you’ll regenerate health, reducing the downtime between encounters. Consumables, like food and drink, become your best friends, as they allow you to quickly restore mana and health to prepare for the next battle.
• First Aid is another essential skill to level up, as it provides you with bandages that can be used in emergencies to heal yourself during or after combat. These bandages are particularly helpful for avoiding long waits for regeneration and can save you from having to return to a city or inn for healing.
• Managing your combat style can also impact recovery time. Classes that have efficient ways to regenerate mana or health—such as Mages with Evocation or Rogues with Energy regeneration—can spend less time recovering and more time fighting, making your leveling pace faster overall.

A typical combat loop (regardless of chosen class) would consist of you dealing with one or multiple enemies (a pack) and then spending around 10-20 seconds recovering your health and the secondary resource, whether it’s mana, energy, etc. Usually, you’ll be able to deal with several regular mobs (at least in early levels) without making a stop, but if it is anything like an elite monster or a pack of 2-3 monsters – get ready to sit down and consume whatever restorative consumables you have with you. More often than not, quest rewards will include various types of food. You should not throw it away – always have one or more on your hot bar ready to be used to restore your character back to full health. This is especially crucial on Hardcore – if you start the next fight with less than full health, the chance is you’re going to lose your character. On a regular realm, it’s going to cost you some time to run back to where you died and some XP penalty. Long story short – never underestimate the recovery time.

Travel Time

Travel time refers to the time spent running, flying, or riding between quest objectives and zones. In WoW Classic, this is one of the slowest aspects of questing, particularly before you get your mount at level 40 when you’re forced to run everywhere. The longer the travel time between quests, the slower your overall WoW 20th Anniversary leveling process will be.

• The best way to manage travel time is to optimize your routes. Plan ahead by picking up multiple quests in the same area so you’re not running back and forth unnecessarily. If you’re doing quests in multiple zones, try to select areas that are close to each other, minimizing travel time.
• Questing addons like Questie or ClassicCodex can help significantly by showing you exactly where your quest objectives are located on the map and highlighting the most efficient routes. These tools can also help you track quest progress more easily and avoid the time spent manually searching for quest locations.
• Having a mount at level 40 is a game-changer. The increased mobility allows you to move between quests and zones much faster, allowing you to complete quests more efficiently. However, before you have your mount, using Flight Paths and Hearthstones (set to nearby inns or cities) strategically can help you minimize wasted travel time. Make sure to optimize your path as you level to save valuable minutes.

Let’s be honest – running around this gigantic world is going to suck, so you better know for sure where you’re going and why. Even with the travel points (which you will need to unlock in the first place), Azeroth is still huge and running between the quest giver and the quest objective is going to eat a lot of your time.

Alliance Zone Progression

Whether you choose to level up through questing or through mob farming, you’ll be progressing through the same zones in the same (more or less) order. The following table is massive, but it gives you a general idea of where to level WoW Classic 20th Anniversary based on your faction and the level range your character is currently in. It also contains some other useful information, such as Flight Points, mob density, important quest rewards, dungeons, etc. So, take this table as your ultimate handbook if you plan to play on the Alliance side.

This table now contains information about all starting zones, whether you choose to play as Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, or Gnome. BLOG20

Horde Zone Progression

The horde players also have their own zone progression, which is to be expected. What’s interesting is that they have way more Contested zones where the PvP is enabled. Please make sure to take note of contested zones. Normally, you start going there later on in your leveling journey, starting from level 40 or so, but there are some exceptions. So, be careful when questing there, as you might get ganked by the enemy faction. Once again, if you’re a Horde player and you want to know how to level up quickly in WoW Classic 20th Anniversary, just bookmark this table, as it covers the entire progression from 1 to 60.

Leveling on the Horde side of Classic WoW can be a highly rewarding experience, especially for players who enjoy lore, world PvP, and the rich environments offered by the Horde’s unique zones. Whether you prefer questing, mob farming, or completing dungeons, there are a variety of paths to take in your journey toward level 60. Don’t forget to take in the story of your faction, immerse yourself in the lore, and enjoy the challenges that come with traversing the dangerous world of Azeroth.

WoW Classic 20th Anniversary Leveling Tips

Now, let’s dive into the specific WoW Classic 20th Anniversary leveling tips for each of the classes. As you might expect, each class has a unique gameplay style, and you better learn what makes your class special, especially if you’re playing on a Hardcore server. Even if not, these tips will help you level up faster.

• Warrior: Focus on Weapon Skill and Gear Upgrades – As a Warrior, maintaining high weapon skills is crucial for consistent damage output. Prioritize upgrading your weapons at every opportunity, as it significantly impacts your effectiveness in both solo combat and group content. Additionally, invest in gear that boosts your survivability and damage potential, as Warriors have a higher need for strength and stamina to both deal damage and tank efficiently.
• Paladin: Use Your Auras and Seal Rotation – Paladins are versatile, and their Auras and Seals can help you balance offense and defense during leveling. Use a combination of Seals for damage and Auras for defense, depending on the situation. For example, Seal of Command will increase your damage, while Seal of Righteousness is a great option when you need consistent hits. Don’t forget to use Blessings to increase your stats for more power.
• Hunter: Use Your Pet Effectively – Hunters thrive with pets, and having the right pet is essential for efficient leveling. Opt for a pet with high survivability (like a bear or boar) to tank mobs while you deal damage from range. Keep your pet loyal by feeding it regularly and ensuring that it is high level. Be sure to train your pet's abilities and take advantage of its tanking role to minimize downtime.
• Rogue: Maximize Stealth and Ambush – Rogues excel at controlling fights with stealth. Use Stealth to avoid unnecessary battles and pick off enemies one by one. When you do engage, use Ambush for a powerful opener and burst damage. Focus on keeping your energy high and managing your cooldowns efficiently. Don’t forget to use poisons on your weapons for extra damage and utility.
• Priest: Use Shadowform and Mind Blast for Speed – As a Priest, leveling in Shadow specialization is the fastest route due to its strong damage abilities. Use Shadowform to increase your damage output and reduce damage taken. Pair it with Mind Blast and other damage-over-time spells like Vampiric Touch and Shadow Word: Pain to quickly dispatch enemies. Healing is still useful but focus on optimizing your damage for faster leveling. BLOG20
• Mage: Control Your Mana with Frost – Mages excel at dealing with multiple mobs by controlling them with crowd control and frost spells. Frost is the best leveling spec, as it allows you to freeze enemies, slow them down, and kite them efficiently. Frostbolt and Cone of Cold are key to controlling packs of mobs while conserving mana. Keep your mana pool in check by utilizing your Evocation and managing your cooldowns.
• Warlock: Summon a Pet and Use Damage Over Time Spells – Warlocks rely heavily on their pets to tank mobs while they focus on dealing damage. Summon a tanky pet (like an Imp or Voidwalker) to absorb damage while you cast Damage Over Time (DoT) spells like Corruption, Curse of Agony, and Immolate. Keep your pet’s health up with healthstones and use Life Tap to convert health into mana, ensuring you can continue casting.
• Druid: Use Travel Form for Mobility – Druids are incredibly mobile, and using Travel Form is key to leveling quickly. This form allows you to move faster between quest objectives, reducing downtime. Balance your leveling by switching between Cat Form for damage and Bear Form for tanking. Don’t forget to use your Healing Touch when needed, especially in tough fights.
• Shaman: Use Totems for Utility – Shamans are a powerful support class with versatile totems that offer huge utility in combat. Use Stoneclaw Totem for threat generation, Mana Spring Totem for mana regeneration, and Wrath Totem for increased damage. Incorporate your elemental powers for offense (especially in the Elemental spec), and remember to manage your totems effectively to increase your damage output and survivability during leveling.
• Death Knight: Optimize Your Runes and Glyphs – As a Death Knight, your power revolves around Rune management. Use your Runes efficiently to deal damage, tank, and support yourself. Keep your Runes in sync with abilities like Death Strike for healing and Obliterate for damage. Choosing the right Glyphs can also help maximize your DPS, survivability, and utility while leveling.

General Leveling Tips for WoW Classic 20th Anniversary Edition

Here is our top-5 most useful leveling tips for any class or race. They might not be as unique as class-specific tips, but do yourself a favor and skim through them as well, especially if its your first time playing the game.

1. Use SkyCoach services to level up faster: Leveling in WoW Classic can be a long and tedious process, and sometimes, you might want to take a break without losing valuable time. If you’re looking to speed up the process or take a break from the grind, consider using SkyCoach’s power leveling services. With professionals handling your leveling, you can enjoy the game’s content at your own pace, skip the repetitive grind, and still progress toward your goals. This way, you can focus on enjoying the game and completing fun activities while SkyCoach takes care of the leveling for you. It’s a great option for those with limited playtime or anyone wanting to fast-track their journey to level 60.
2. Gear and Consumables: Tailor your gear to your class. Melee classes should prioritize upgrading their weapons, while casters should look for wands to conserve mana. Consumables like food and drinks are essential for managing health and mana regeneration between fights. If you're a Mage, befriend one to get free food and water, but remember to tip! Bandages from First Aid are also a great alternative for quick health regeneration and can be made easily with cloth obtained while leveling.
3. Class and Weapon Trainers: Visit a Class Trainer at every couple of levels to purchase new spells and abilities. These are vital for progressing efficiently. Additionally, Weapon Masters in major cities can teach you new weapon skills if you're looking to expand your combat abilities. It’s especially important to learn new weapon skills for classes that use multiple weapon types.
4. Gathering Rested Experience: Log off at an inn or a resting area to accumulate rested experience, which gives you double XP from monster kills. Rested experience builds up faster in these areas and is an excellent way to speed up leveling when you're not actively playing.
5. Upgrading Your Bags: Having enough bag space is crucial for efficient leveling. You’ll need room to collect quest items, vendor loot, and valuables for the Auction House. Start with a 16-slot bag and aim to upgrade to larger bags as soon as possible. More bag space means fewer trips to the vendor and more efficient questing.

By applying these tips, you can streamline your leveling process in WoW Classic and make your journey toward level 60 more enjoyable and efficient.

Conclusion

Leveling in WoW Classic is a unique experience by the modern MMORPG standards. If you’ve enjoyed it before, you already know what we’re talking about. But if this is your first time, you will have a chance to see what made WoW so iconic in the first place. These first steps are the most difficult ones in the journey of a new character. But it's the leveling struggles that veteran WoW players remember most fondly.

Even all these years later, Classic WoW brings fans together to relive that feeling of exploring a massive world for the first time. And despite all the ears, the journey has not become easier or simpler, which is part of the appeal.

This guide will help you get to level 60 in this re-release of Classic WoW, and may your bounty be plentiful!

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