Leveling to 20: where to go

A zone-by-zone route from level 1 to the beta's level 20 cap for every race, Alliance and Horde, with the towns and flight masters on the way, the dungeons you can run, and what to do once you hit 20.

Written for the WoW Forever beta (client build 1.60.1.70009), where the level cap is 20. Blizzard says the cap rises to 30 later in the beta; the zones past 20 below are for then.

How leveling works

In WoW Forever, as in Classic, you level mostly by questing: you pick up quests in a town, do them in the area around it, hand them in, and move on to the next town and the next zone as your level rises. Each zone is built for a band of levels, and there's no level scaling, so a zone's monsters stay the level they are. That makes the order of zones matter: go somewhere too high and every fight is a struggle, stay somewhere too low and you earn little experience (XP).

The level ranges in this guide come from Classic's quest levels, counting only the quests the Forever client has in that zone (from the 10th to the 90th percentile, so a few quests sit outside the range). Blizzard is adding over a thousand new quests across levels 1 to 60; those aren't in the numbers, because only Classic's data gives quest levels. Forever may have moved some things, so treat the ranges as a guide, not a rule.

Tip: If you haven't read it yet, start with Getting started in WoW Forever: it covers races, classes, your first ten levels and the interface.

Where each race starts

Starting zones are where each race began in Classic (the Forever client has their quests). Zephras Isle's levels are from Blizzard's Meet the New Skyborne post, and its place names from the client's map. Towns are place names from the client's maps; the client doesn't say which Zephras Isle towns belong to which Skyborne faction.

Every starting zone has a small starting area where you learn the basics, then a first real town. Blizzard says the classic starting areas, such as the Valley of Trials in Durotar and Shadowglen in Teldrassil, get new NPCs, quests, profession hooks and recipes in Forever. When the starting zone's quests turn grey or run out, around level 10 to 12, move on.

The Skyborne start on Zephras Isle, a level 1–12 starting experience, whichever faction they pick. The data we have doesn't show where the island sends you at the end, but the September 24 notes mention a Windshaper quest, “Exploring the Horde”, that has you speak with Lady Sylvanas Windrunner in the Undercity. Once you're done, pick up the route below for your faction at the 10–20 zones. More in Meet the Skyborne.

Alliance route

Levels: Classic's quest levels for the quests the Forever client has. Quests: how many of those quests the client has in the zone. Towns and Alliance flight masters: from the client's maps. Zones past level 20 are for when the cap rises.

1. Levels 1–10: finish your starting zone. Humans quest in Elwynn Forest, Dwarves and Gnomes in Dun Morogh, Night Elves in Teldrassil, and the High Order on Zephras Isle (to 12).
2. Levels 10–15: move to the zone next door. From Elwynn Forest that's Westfall (Sentinel Hill is the town), from Dun Morogh it's Loch Modan (Thelsamar), and from Teldrassil it's Darkshore (Auberdine), across the water on the Kalimdor mainland.
3. Levels 15–20: finish that zone, then try the other 10–20 zones or Redridge Mountains (Lakeshire), which starts around 14. Westfall and Loch Modan both run to about 18–20, so a Human can do Westfall then Loch Modan, and a Dwarf or Gnome the other way round.
4. Night Elves can stay on Kalimdor: Darkshore runs to 20, and Ashenvale (20–30) is next when the cap rises. To join the Eastern Kingdoms zones instead, Blizzard says Forever adds a ship route from Auberdine to Stormwind Harbor.
5. After the cap rises: Ashenvale, the Wetlands and Duskwood are the next Alliance steps, with Stonetalon Mountains in between.

Horde route

Levels: Classic's quest levels for the quests the Forever client has. Quests: how many of those quests the client has in the zone. Towns and Horde (or neutral) flight masters: from the client's maps. Zones past level 20 are for when the cap rises.

1. Levels 1–10: finish your starting zone. Orcs and Trolls quest in Durotar, Tauren in Mulgore, Undead in Tirisfal Glades, and Windshapers on Zephras Isle (to 12).
2. Levels 10–20, Orcs, Trolls and Tauren: head into The Barrens. It's the biggest zone on this list (88 quests in the client, levels 10–25), with three towns: The Crossroads in the north, Camp Taurajo in the south and Ratchet on the coast. You can quest there all the way to 20.
3. Levels 10–18, Undead: Silverpine Forest is next door, with The Sepulcher as its town. When it runs out, go to The Barrens.
4. Levels 18–20: Stonetalon Mountains starts around 18, with Sun Rock Retreat as the Horde town, if you want a change from The Barrens.
5. After the cap rises: Stonetalon Mountains and Ashenvale (Splintertree Post and Zoram'gar Outpost) are the next Horde steps.

Speculation: In Classic, zeppelins linked Durotar (just outside Orgrimmar) with Tirisfal Glades, which is how Undead players usually reached The Barrens and other Horde players reached Silverpine Forest. The Forever client's map of Durotar has a transport point by the Orgrimmar zeppelins, so expect the same, but we haven't confirmed the routes.

Contested zones

The client marks each zone as Alliance, Horde or contested. Contested zones are open to both factions, and both sides quest there. Before the level 20 cap, the contested zones you'll reach are Redridge Mountains (14–25) and Stonetalon Mountains (18–28). Past it come Ashenvale (20–30), the Wetlands (21–31), Duskwood (24–32) and Hillsbrad Foothills (24–37).

• On the PvP ruleset, contested zones are where other-faction players can attack you while you quest. Quest in a group if you can, keep an eye on your surroundings, and don't fight a mob at low health when players of the other faction are nearby.
• On Normal, Blizzard said at BlizzCon that PvP needs both sides to agree, so contested zones are just busier.
• Some contested zones lean toward one faction: Redridge's only flight master, in Lakeshire, is Alliance, and in Stonetalon Mountains the Alliance fly to Stonetalon Peak and the Horde to Sun Rock Retreat.

When to move on

Quest and mob levels are color-coded, as in Classic: red and orange are above you and dangerous, yellow is about your level, green is below you and easy, and grey is so far below you that it gives little or no XP. Move to the next zone when:

• most of the quests left in your quest log are green or grey;
• you've reached the top of the zone's level range in the tables above;
• the next zone's first quests are yellow for you.

Blizzard's own aim for Forever is that an ordinary monster takes roughly 10 to 15 seconds to kill on your own. If normal mobs take much longer than that, they may be too high for you, or your gear may be behind: check your class's PvE tab for upgrades.

Tip: Don't throw away unfinished quests just because you're moving on: many of the 10–20 zones overlap, and a yellow quest from the last zone is still good XP. Drop quests only when they turn grey or you'll never go back.

Getting around

Flight paths

Every town in the tables above with a flight master is a flight path. Talk to each flight master you pass: you can only fly to flight points you've discovered, so the first visit on foot matters. Flights cost a little money and save a lot of walking, especially for hand-ins in another town. Our maps mark every flight master in the client.

Your hearthstone

Your Hearthstone takes you back to the inn you've set as home. In the client it's a 10-second cast with a 1-hour cooldown. Set it at the inn of the town you're questing from, so that after a loop of quests you can hearth back, hand in, train, sell, and log out there to build rested XP. When you move to a new zone, set it again at the new town.

Boats and new routes

Blizzard says Forever adds new ship routes: from Stormwind Harbor to Auberdine in Darkshore, and between Menethil Harbor, Southshore and Auberdine. Stormwind Harbor is on the client's map of Elwynn Forest. For a Night Elf, that makes the Eastern Kingdoms zones much easier to reach, and the other way round for Humans, Dwarves and Gnomes who want Darkshore.

Class and race travel

• Druids learn Teleport: Moonglade at level 10.
• Mages learn city teleports at level 20: Teleport: Stormwind and Teleport: Ironforge on the Alliance side, Teleport: Orgrimmar and Teleport: Undercity on the Horde side.
• Shaman learn Ghost Wolf at level 20: 40% faster movement, outdoors only.
• Hunters learn Aspect of the Cheetah at level 20: 30% faster movement, but you're dazed if something hits you, so switch back before a fight.
• Windshaper Skyborne have Skysight, and Tauren speed up the longer they keep moving with Plainsrunning.
• Mounts come later: Blizzard says you'll get a mount when you learn the riding skill, and the Skyborne's own Galestrider mounts need level 40 in the client, well past the beta cap.

Dungeons on the way

Dungeons (instances) are group content: a party of up to five players, usually a tank, a healer and three damage dealers, fights through a private copy of the dungeon. They give good XP, good gear and their own quests. These are the ones you can run before the cap:

Minimum levels, player limits and entrances from the Forever client; the level ranges and places for the two new dungeons are from Blizzard. The client lets up to 10 players into the older dungeons, though a party is five.

The Hall of Thanes and the Ruins of Lordaeron are new in Forever and were part of the first week of the beta. Each dungeon page lists its bosses and quests (who gives them and where), so pick up the quests before you go in: they're a big part of the XP. Blizzard's Legacy System also gives one Legacy Point for defeating the final boss in all of the level 15–25 dungeons, which you can finish once the cap rises.

Tip: Never been in a dungeon? Read your first dungeon before you join a group of strangers. The planner shows what each boss did in Classic, which Forever may have changed.

Leveling tips

• Train at every even level. Every class learns something new at levels 4, 6, 8 and so on up to 20. New ranks of your main attacks are often the biggest upgrade you get.
• Stack your quests. Take every quest in a town before you leave it, then do them in one loop instead of walking back and forth.
• Follow quest chains. Many quests lead into the next one, and the end of a chain often has the best reward. The item rewards now cover more classes and roles, Blizzard says, including caster weapons.
• Kill things on the way. Mobs near your level give XP too, so don't walk around every one of them between quests.
• Use rested XP. Log out in an inn or a city and you come back rested, with bonus XP from kills until it runs out. Blizzard says sitting by a campfire gets you rested too, and that crafted food can give a small XP bonus as well as stats.
• Group up for group quests. Quests marked for a group, and elite mobs, need a party. Grouping splits the XP from kills, but you kill faster, and it's the only way to finish those quests.
• Keep your downtime short. Eat and drink between fights, and learn First Aid: a Linen Bandage heals 66 damage over 6 sec in the client. See the professions guide.
• Pull one at a time. Solo, fight one or two mobs at once, not a whole camp. Fighting at the edge of a camp lets you pick your targets.
• Use a leveling build. Each class's Builds tab has leveling talent builds for 20 and 30, with what to press, and the Companion addon can show that rotation on screen.

Watch out: This is a beta. Some quests break or change from build to build: Blizzard's notes have already fixed escort NPCs, respawn times and quest objectives in several starting zones. If a quest won't complete, check the news and the known issues before you spend an hour on it.

At the level 20 cap

Once you hit 20 in the beta, you stop gaining levels until Blizzard raises the cap. There's still plenty to do:

• Run the dungeons up to your level, especially the two new ones, The Hall of Thanes and the Ruins of Lordaeron, and collect your class's best items at 20 from its PvE tab (for example Rogue PvE).
• Finish your zones for their item rewards and money.
• Level your professions while you have time: see the professions guide.
• Save some money for the training and gear you'll want at 30: see making money.
• Try another class or race. The first 20 levels play differently for every class, and each race has its own starting zone. Blizzard's Legacy System rewards leveling each class to 25 once that's possible.
• Plan for 30. The Builds tabs already have leveling builds for level 30, and the talent calculator lets you plan the points you'll get.
• Help test. Report bugs to Blizzard in game, and if you use the Companion addon, the items, quests and beasts it saves help us confirm Forever's data. Upload your dungeon logs to Logs to see your pulls on the Replay page.

Class leveling guides

Each class has its own leveling guide: which race to pick, every ability and rank to level 20, the leveling talent builds, what to press, class quests and gear.

The class guides and builds are written from the Forever client's abilities and talents.

Checked against WoW Forever beta build 1.60.1.70009.