How do we level? Let us count the ways
by Jennie Lees 
Sep 14th 2006 at 12:00PM
From reader Luclan comes a very important question: what, in our experience, is the best or fastest way of levelling up quickly?First off, I believe levelling quickly in the "power-levelling" sense, and levelling well, are two different things. Getting a level 60 friend to run you through all the lower dungeons for loot won't help you learn how to play your class in groups; spending five levels grinding in one spot doesn't equip you to deal with a wide variety of situations. The journey through each level should, in my opinion, be savoured and learnt from -- after all, when you end up at level 60, knowing as much as possible about your class is a great start.
There are arguments for and against levelling through questing, levelling through grouping and levelling through grinding. I find that questing solo gives the most XP; after all, you get the XP for killing monsters plus a huge chunk when you turn the quest in. However, it helps to stack quests; that is, work on multiple quests in the same area at the same time. Running backwards and forwards to quest areas and NPCs takes up a tremendous amount of time, so if you can minimise it then you will find you level faster.
Jame's Alliance levelling guide, which starts at level 30, is a masterpiece of quest stacking and maximum efficiency. You can follow the guide from start to finish, or read it for tips on which quests may complement the ones you are currently on.
Grouping up for instances or elite quests is a great way to get them done early, maximising XP and the use you will get out of any items dropped. Instancing also makes a nice change from soloing, and helps you prepare for the endgame; it's not as efficient XP/hour wise as questing or grinding, but it can break up some monotonous levels.
Plain old grinding -- setting yourself down in a spot and killing anything that wanders past -- is what some people swear by for maximum XP/hour. By not running to and fro, you can kill extremely efficiently and get a lot of XP. You can also choose mobs that are easy for you to kill with minimum downtime; a couple of levels lower than you works well, and humanoid mobs tend to drop cloth and money which will help you get rich too. I personally don't like the monotony of grinding, but when I'm close to levelling I have been known to grind the last few thousand XP rather than spend a while flying to hand in a quest.
A couple of things that have helped my current character level quickly, and the time fly:
- Other players. By keeping track of a number of similarly-levelled players, I could group up for a lot of difficult tasks, making the XP pour in.
- Rested XP. I try to keep at least some rested on all my characters, and rotate amongst my alts to use it up; even a little bit helps.
- Equipment. By researching equipment on sites like wow-loot.com, I was able to prepare and gear myself well early on, meaning a more powerful character and thus faster levelling.
Filed under: Analysis / Opinion, How-tos, Quests
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Swiftlydead Sep 14th 2006 1:47PM
Don't level alliance -- do your server a favor and even the ratio: level horde!!
(plus, who the heck wants to be a human/rogue/dwarf anyway??)
Lance Sep 14th 2006 1:58PM
In the lower half (1-30) I've noticed that co-grinding with two people, two levels lower than yourself seems to be the most efficient for me. That way, you (selfishly) eat a bit more xp than the others, you kill extremely fast on grind-mobs your own level (or 1-2+), plus you get the group bonus. Just a thought. ;)
Luclan Sep 14th 2006 2:47PM
Wow I cant believe you actually took my message into consideration let alone post it :o!!
Thank you wow insider.
Sideshow Sep 14th 2006 2:55PM
There is also the Horde Leveling Guide online here: http://www.mrfixitonline.com/wowguide
Felnor Sep 14th 2006 3:11PM
What's up with these long winded posts about pointless crap.
Here's my version.
From reader Luclan comes a very important question: what, in our experience, is the best or fastest way of levelling up quickly?
Questions like these are the quickest way to getting slapped upside the head by me. Get back to doing quests and killing things. Don't even stop to pick flowers. JUST DO IT.
Felnor
Unkle Sep 14th 2006 3:13PM
I find that grinding on Mobs just a couple levels lower than yourself goes very fast. You obviously kill them pretty fast, and will have minimal downtime. If you take on something around the same level or higher, you will get chewed up faster, and therefore have much more down time, for virtually no more xp/kill.
I've really only played Horde (ftw) and at the lower levels, it is all about grinding in spots where you can do multiple quests. Once you get to 10, run straight for the crossroads, and hang there until around 18 or so, and then move along to the progressive areas to the south. Ashenvale has a few good quests for the lower 20's as well, so its worth a short stay, but I find the southern areas to be better overall.
Green items drop left and right at lower levels too, so just stock up on those, and dump them all at the auction house, and cash should never be an issue.
I'm less experienced at the higher levels, having only 1 high level toon, but make sure to take breaks here and there to get alts, so you can get that blue bar built up. The 200% xp makes such a huge difference, especially when you can get a full level of it built up in a week at the higher end.
Still at the higher end though, pick good places to grind that have plenty of quest rewards, and then hit the mobs just a few levels lower than you for max efficiency.
Dayglow Sep 14th 2006 3:35PM
Good thing no one cares what Felnor thinks.
I find times when there is nothing to do but grind...all my quests are elite or Red and there is no one around to group with so I just grind out a lvl or 2. I don't see much sense in group lvling. You get way less xp and in those lower lvls you need all you can get. Plus, who wants to fight over a lvl 15 green anyway? Honestly the best way to keep getting good xp is to join a guild...especially a good one. One where if you are stuck a lvl 50+ comes to help and lets you get the first strike not just killing everything for you.
What Jennie Lees said about grind out a few thousand xp to finish a lvl is a good idea as well, that way all the xp you are about to get from the quests you are turning in goes to your brand spanking new lvl.
I am fairly new to WOW but those are some tips I have come across. Hope they help out a bit.
Clementure Sep 14th 2006 3:41PM
How do we level? Me and my tapeworms pretty much like to enjoy the game. Level 60 is a whole other game, and for the first time you are almost entirely dependant on a guild to make any progress.
So why rush it? Getting to 60 was, IMHO, more fun than being 60. I’m hoping the 60-70 game will bring back some of the earlier fun.
Felnor Sep 14th 2006 5:28PM
Nice post #7. You're probably one of those players that hop on, fiddle around with mining for an hour or two, and maybe, just maybe get a level. Oh wasn't that an exciting day today. Maybe I'll see level 35 by the end of the week. Yup, probably see Molten Core by the end of the year.
Felnor
Sylythn Sep 14th 2006 9:24PM
Hey, that sounds like me! :) I average a level every 1-3 days (31 on one char, 38 on the other), and I only play 2-4 days a week. 200% XP is what does it for me...when I run out of blue on one of my characters, I switch to the other (yeah, I only really play 2). I just make sure I get all the non-elite quests in whatever new region I'm in and go to it. Gosh...imagine that, a casual player who doesn't mind taking his time going through game content. Go back to grinding Felnor, I'm here to ENJOY the process.
Sylythn Sep 14th 2006 9:25PM
Hey, that sounds like me! :) I average a level every 1-3 days (31 on one char, 38 on the other), and I only play 2-4 days a week. 200% XP is what does it for me...when I run out of blue on one of my characters, I switch to the other (yeah, I only really play 2). I just make sure I get all the non-elite quests in whatever new region I'm in and go to it. Gosh...imagine that, a casual player who doesn't mind taking his time going through game content. Go back to grinding Felnor, I'm here to ENJOY the process.
John Martin Sep 14th 2006 11:01PM
I get board around lvl 25-30. I must've leveled two orthree dozen toons, my highest being 42 Undead Rogue. I think I can do half the quests up to lvl 20 without reading the quest goals.
I still can't decide if questing or grinding is faster. Grinding seems faster on paper, but it's definitely dull compared to the thrill of turning in a bunch of quests and getting a few thousand XPs.
The smartest thing I ever did was follow some advice I read somewhere. It's not specific to leveling, but it does help make money (and hence have better equipment, letting you level that much quicker). Create an alt and park him or her next to AH (for an extra challenge, create an Elf, strip naked, and run all the way to Ironforge). Then every time you get anything sellable (ore, cloth, green items, etc), mail them to your alt and have him/her put it on AH. The time you save lugging stuff halfway across the world and the money you make for things you'd otherwise sell or throw out is immeasurable.
Also have your alt check AH regularly for cheap items that your main could use, especially bags. The extra slots of course mean fewer trips to a mailbox, and more time for grinding & questing.
Trippy Sep 15th 2006 1:23AM
Felnor obviously has no life outside the game, with such anger he probably doesn't have much of one inside the game either. Who'd want to group with someone who has no consideration for other people and is so rude?
On another note... I found this article very helpful and plan to use the tips when I start my next character.
Uthelm Sep 15th 2006 9:35AM
LOL #7 & #11! There is always someone out there who has to rain on everyone's parade because they have nothing better to do. I found Jennie Lee's article to be very helpful and any information that helps out new players is beneficial. This is the 2nd post from Felnor that I have seen that is nothing but negative towards the authors and the magazine. Get a life and understand that this article is not meant solely for you.
Duke Sep 15th 2006 6:23PM
One of the fundamental things about WoW is the community of people you can meet and join. There are always some helpful people answering questions for noobs, etc. Its what makes it a better game than most. This is the same spirit that is being demonstrated in these articles, and should be received in the same spirit. People play different styles, so all advice is not applicable to all players. We were all new once, and probably had more than one higher-level player a day offer help (if not a dozen).We need to appreciate the helpfulness of the WoW community, its what makes WoW great.