How to level up quickly in World of Warcraft

Leveling can be strangely divisive in World of Warcraft – some players love the journey from the starting zone to max level, while others find it tedious and prefer to speed-run it so they can get straight into the end-game as quickly as possible. 

If you’re hoping to get to max level in The War Within quickly, we’ve got you covered. Here’s a deep-dive into speed-leveling in World of Warcraft, including which events to watch out for in the calendar and which bonuses to pick up. 

The Escapist recaps

• The max level in World of Warcraft at the time of writing is 80. Getting a character to level 80 can take a fair amount of time without the right preparation.
• Having active bonuses can help to speed up the leveling process. The Darkmoon Faire offers two key bonuses – the ride buff and the Darkmoon Top Hat both offer a boost to experience gain and reputation gain. Heirlooms are also worth considering. 
• Paying attention to the in-game event calendar is crucial. Timewalking events are a great source of experience via dungeons, and the Winds of Mysterious Fortune can help your leveling process go quicker, too. 
• Dungeons and delves are both solid sources of experience, but the most beneficial option is to run dungeons in a non-DPS role. 
• Planning your questing routes is advised. Instead of just picking up a handful of quests while going from zone to zone, pick up every quest in the immediate area and plan your route, and move to the next zone as soon as you get the option to. 

Look for bonuses and handy boosts to speed things up

There are some key items and buffs that can make leveling in WoW a lot faster, two of which can be picked up at the Darkmoon Faire.

Riding the rollercoaster or the carousel will provide a buff called “WHEEE!” which increases reputation and experience gained by 10% for an hour. You’ll need to spend ride tickets to access these buffs.

Alternatively, you can pick up a consumable called a Darkmoon Top Hat to obtain the same hour-long buff. This can be purchased at the Faire or won in a Darkmoon Game Prize, and it will not stack with the ride buff.

Another viable option to help increase your experience gain and make leveling quicker is to pick up Heirlooms for your character. These enhanced pieces of gear offer significant boosts like rested experience gain buffs and can be scaled up to fit your needs while working towards the higher levels in-game. 

Turning on War Mode in your faction’s capital city can provide another experience boost, although it does make leveling slightly riskier as it means opposite-faction players can attack you. 

Keep an eye on the in-game calendar

Events can make getting to max level in WoW a speedy affair. Timewalking events are one of the best options to look out for, as these are popular and there will never be a lack of players to queue up with. It does mean you might end up running Shadowlands dungeons, though. 

It’s not just PvE events on offer, either. There are PvP events, world events, and even – shock horror – pet battle events to take part in. These are on a rolling schedule, meaning there’ll be a good handful of events to look for each month. 

Additionally, there can be events that provide direct experience buffs in the calendar, like anniversary events or the Winds of Mysterious Fortune event. 

Dipping into any of the ongoing events will help you pick up some extra experience, and you’ll likely be able to pick up a few more achievements or collectibles in the process. World events like Noblegarden and Brewfest have plenty of games and extra content to tear through, making them particularly lucrative for collectors.  

Run dungeons, but not as a DPS player

Running dungeons, delves, and battlegrounds can help you level up quickly. We’d recommend always being in the queue for your content of choice while you’re leveling up in WoW, to complement the experience gains you pick up from quests. 

Out of the various content types on offer, running dungeons as a non-DPS player will help you get into instances quicker. Healers and Tanks will both find queuing up for dungeons to be much quicker than their DPS counterparts.

If you prefer to focus on solo content in WoW, delves can still be a decent source of experience and gear, especially if the delve bonus event is currently live. 

Plan out your questing routes

While you’re running around the world, make sure to plan ahead when picking up quests. Don’t just focus on the main campaign quests in your immediate area – nab all the side quests too, then peek at the map and look for an optimal route.

Additionally, make sure you move to the next leveling zone as soon as the option makes itself available. Staying in a level 30 cap zone past level 30 can greatly hinder your progress.

Keep queues lined up as you work on your quests. Queuing up for dungeons or other content like pet battles can help to keep the leveling experience fun, as can using the Chromie Time feature to level up in old world areas.

Add-ons can help significantly, too. Tools like TomTom can assist with navigating the world quickly and easily, making tracking down rares or particular NPCs a lot easier. 

Leveling up in World of Warcraft can take time and effort, but if you plan your route, use the tools available to you, and watch out for important events, you’ll be at max level in no time. The Warband bonus buff will make it even quicker once you’ve got at least one max level character on your account as well. 

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