We all enjoy playing WoW, raiding dungeons, farming, looting, and doing a variety of things this game offers. With Shadowlands on the way, the possibilities become endless and we get some nice new features and changes never seen before. Maybe the biggest impact the Shadowlands is going to make is on the leveling.
We have a new Leveling Guide which is actual for the Dragonflight.
Besides, with every level, our characters mature and new possibilities arise, which immersively, takes us deeper.
However, leveling can be slow sometimes depending on your class, preferences, and style of play. Especially, when it comes to the changes Shadowlands introduces it might even be hard to accommodate to.
Therefore, we made this guide, with a straight and clear goal to show you how to level fast in Shadowlands and explain all the leveling changes.
As you all know, Shadowlands is WoW’s eight expansion, scheduled to launch globally on October 26th (NA) /October 27th (EU). Plus, something that we’ve all been waiting to see is the first-ever – level squish that we’ll explain further. We will also get our hands on a new mega-dungeon in and an additional 6 new zones.
And yeah, just wait to see the storyline! Anyhow, let’s get back on track with how to level fast in WoW Shadowlands.
Leveling in Shadowlands
Leveling, something that probably interests the most players the most is now essentially different. The good news is, leveling 1-50 is 60-60% faster in Shadowlands as opposed to the time needed to do 1-120 now. Furthermore, leveling 50-60 will be more demanding now, as only the zone campaign without side quests just won’t cut it like in beta.
Additionally, you won’t just get stronger with every level as leveling will introduce awards as you move up.
Next, there is a level squish feature everyone was worried about. Simply said, you are safe, don’t worry, your power is going to stay the same. Therefore, the new number of your level will be only a representation of the new scale that Shadowlands brought, say, a new way the game rates and sees your character’s development.
Practically, level squish will squish your level down and level 120 players will plummet to level 50. Moreover, all other levels will proportionally downsize from there.
Not to forget, there are some changes in riding and flying as they are earned every 10 levels. Artisan ridings are now out of the picture which means that you’ll save gold in the process of move speed training. Particularly, you will get the slowest form of flying at 30 (150%) and the fastest at 40 (310%). Additionally, a gap between Expert and Master Riding is only 10 levels.
Experience (XP) is a fundamental part of WoW Power leveling, and it is required to advance through the levels. Many activities grant Experience, but most of it will come from killing mobs in the open world and dungeons, completing quests and bonus objectives, and finishing dungeons. There are a variety of ways to increase Experience gains, such as potions, turning on War Mode, certain Seasonal Events, gem sockets, and more.
General tips on leveling
Logically, getting XP is the main activity for leveling – the more you get, the more you level. In general, killing mobs in the open world/dungeons and completing quests with a focus on bonus objectives will give you the most XP.
Now, there are some cool tweaks and features you can use to boost your XP gain:
- Potions
- War Mode
- Seasonal Events
- Gem sockets
Now, we will show you the ways that can ramp up your leveling fast and it is up to you to use&combine them you see fit.
- War mode
War Mode is a feature that most people are indecisive about whether to turn it on or not. To make it clear, it comes with advantages and disadvantages, but we advise turning it on for fast leveling in Shadowlands. The main disadvantage is that you can get killed or ganked while leveling by players of a rival faction. But still, turning it on will reward you with these:
- You’ll get 10% increased XP rewards by killing mobs and completing quests. The number can increase to 30% if your Faction is under-represented in World PvP
- You’ll unlock PvP Talents which proved useful for leveling (some of them that is – but you are still increasing the odds to get the right ones for fast leveling)
When it comes to assessing advantages and disadvantages, judging by our and other players’ experience with War mode, it is definitely best to turn it on if you really want to level fast.
Important to note: War mode can only be turned on at Orgrimmar or Stormwind and turned off at any Inn or Capital City.
- TimeWalking Campaigns
In Shadowlands, Timewalking feature allows you to jump to whatever previous expansion’s content you want and level there. Nonetheless, this is only for those players who already reached the cap level through BfA expansion.
In that light, you can use this feature to your advantage to level fast. You probably wonder how? Well – just jump to Warlords of Draenor or WoD because all the zones in this pack have Bonus Objectives which will give you amazing XP/time invested to complete ratio.
As other good options, we advise Legion and Battle for Azeroth which are decent for leveling using TimeWalking Campaigns.
- Best zones for leveling
When building a new character from grounds up, you’ll have the option to start in Exile’s Reach – Shadowland’s starting area for new players. This zone is for newbies, meant to show and teach them the mechanics of the game and some basics.
Hence, for you to level fast, do not choose this zone, and instead, choose the original zone for your race.
- Best Leveling Specs
Moving forward, let’s check out the specs that provide the best chances to level fast. Logically, high mobility, heavy AoE, and pulling many mobs altogether will do the job. So, to be precise, a configuration of these factors will help you choose the best specs:
- The ability to self-heal (always good to have at your hand)
- Specs which allow high mobility
- Ranged specs able to tag many mobs efficiently
- Specs with strong AoE damage
Aim to get the spec that has at least one of the abovementioned traits, but the more the merrier.
When it comes to the best leveling classes which combine some of the traits above, here are few tips:
- For high AoE burst damage and more than decent survivability with the best mobility – Go for Demon Hunters
- For pulling many mobs (using DoTs) and spreading AoE damage – Go for Druids, Balanced in particular
- For bigger pulls – Go for Hunters. Hunters have pets that can tank in their favor, which in return
- For amazing crowd control and damage – Go for Mages
However, do not choose these if they do not fit in your playstyle. In general, these are most suitable to level fast, but are not crucial, your own playstyle is.
- Dungeons and Questing
When talking about dungeons, make sure you complete them entirely, as you’ll get a large XP bonus. Besides, from 15 and up, the game allows you to use the in-game tool – Looking for Group which helps you find people for 5-man dungeons. Plus, if you aren’t a dungeon-type, force yourself to do them at least once. If you wonder why – it is because of the quests inside. These quests have an NPC at the beginning, who will offer many quests that are relatively easy to complete for great XP gains. Finally, we also advise doing dungeons multiple times for additional XP, but the first time will be the most resourceful.
When we talk about questing and if you’ve decided to do questing in WoD zones for fast leveling, then choose questing as your main stream of XP. Still, doing dungeons in WoD at least once will surely be significant as an additional XP point.
- Legendary items
In Shadowlands, you will be able to create your own legendary items. Therefore, they aren’t a part of random loot and you will be able to create them yourself at the farm of Torghast, Tower of Shadows. To top it off, it won’t be monotonous farming, according to Blizzard.
Finally, you will be able to forge them at Forge of Domination, where the legendary Frostmourne was forged in the past. Suffice to say, you’ll be able to make equipment and enhance it using legendary items obtained in Torghast.
- Addons
Whether you’re in the East or the West, nothing beats the fun of WoW with cool addons. Check out our WoW Best Addons Dragonflight guide where we lay out the top addons for WoW: Dragonflight retail. We’ll help you figure out which ones are the best and why you gotta have them for the latest expansion!
Addons have cut down unnecessary information and provide you a clear path towards leveling. It is important to choose the right one, so you should check out our Best Addons for the leveling guide.
We will also remind you that among the best addons for leveling are Questie, QuideLime, and the one we recently checked out – Azeroth Auto Pilot. Azeroth Auto Pilot will guide you by placing an arrow and it will list the steps with details about the quests.
On the plus side, it will also focus on using your Consumables at the right moment to maximize your leveling speed. You can also check Pawn and SpeedyAutoLoot.
- Consumables
These items, collectibles, and consumables, in particular, can also influence the speed of your leveling. Nevertheless, some are easy to obtain and the others are not, so you should gauge them by their importance and leveling speed. Focus on these categories of consumables:
- Experience Increasing items – the best ones are Draught of Ten Lands, Insightful Rubellite, Battle Standard of Coordination, and Banner of Cooperation.
- Mobility items – the best ones in this category are Skystep Potion, Gunshoes, Draenic Swiftness Potion, Light-Step Hoofplates, Anglers’ Water Striders/ Inflatable Mount Shoes, and Falling Flame.
- Combat-Enhancing Items – the best ones in this category are Drums of Fury/Drums of the Mountain and Lightning-Forged Augment Rune.