WoW Insider readers' speed leveling tips

WoW Insider recently posted a Breakfast Topic asking readers for their speed leveling tips. Of course, leveling at top speed isn't everyone's preference, but WoW Insider readers seemed to have quite some insights into the fastest way to get from level 1 to level 90!

We've been through the responses and picked out the most regularly mentioned and most intriguing to create this reader-inspired guide.


The Basics

1. Rested Experience.

Several readers commented on the importance of rested XP, and I totally agree that it's a huge deal. The bars seem to fly by when they're blue, or perhaps it's more that they seem to go so slowly when they're purple. How do you make the most of rested XP? One suggestion that came up a lot is to level two characters simultaneously. They don't need to be at the same level, necessarily, but the idea behind this is that when one character gets out of the rested XP zone, the next will have built up enough to last you for a while, or at least until the first character has built up some rested XP of their own. Make sure you log out in an inn or city, where the little "zzz" icon appears on your character's frame. Logging out anywhere in the world will grant rested XP, but nowhere near as much as logging in cities.

2. Heirlooms and other XP boosts

The usefulness of heirlooms was pretty much universally agreed on, both thanks to their XP boosting stats, and their provision of additional power to help players push through higher level zones. One heirloom I wasn't previously aware of was mentioned by a reader: the Dread Pirate Ring. Readers also agreed with the usefulness of Guild Perks, such as the Fast Track buff granted by a level six guild.

And many others suggested keeping a close eye on other XP boosts, such as the Darkmoon Faire hat (in patch 5.2) or carousel buff, the Midsumemr Fire Festival's spinning buff, the Wickerman buff from Hallow's End and the Elixir of Ancient Knowledge dropped by Krol the Blade. All of these are decent XP gain buffs, and will help you go faster!

Leveling a monk also gives you access to a buff called Enlightenment. One reader tipped us off, saying that the buff stacks, so that reader got the buff for six days, logged off straight away, and played on the seventh day with a huge chunk of bonus XP.

3. Recruit-A-Friend

As this is such a separate thing from usual play, and requires a real-money investment, we've separated it out from the in-game XP boosts mentioned above. Via the Recruit a Friend bonus, you can get both triple experience and grantable levels, so this can be a huge speed boost if you have the funds to get a Battle Chest. They're on sale pretty regularly, so do keep an eye out. Once you have a second Battle Chest, make sure you follow the Recruit-A-Friend instructions to the letter, as if you don't you risk not linking your accounts correctly. Once your accounts are linked, go mad with the leveling! As one reader pointed out, the +300% XP bonus stacks with heirloom bonuses, so you'll be leveling at a huge speed.


Alternate leveling methods

We're considering questing and dungeon leveling standard methods for the purpose of this column. Many readers commented on the importance of being in the dungeon queue when you're out in the world as a DPS class, and the additional speed of leveling via dungeons if you're a tank or a healer. Up to level 80, it's definitely faster, but can be a little tiresome.

4. Professions

Many readers spoke of the XP gained from professions. This is a great way to both get a bit of additional XP while out in the world, for the early levels at least -- as one reader pointed out you will inherently out-level your professions in the normal course of leveling, even without the XP bonuses mentioned above.

But Herbalism, Mining and Archaeology all grant small amounts of experience, Archaeology seems to be the best way to go, as the XP scales up pretty nicely as you level, and you're not limited by zone so much as you are with the linear progression found in Herbalism and Mining.

5. Rares

Rares are both an excellent way to level and a fun way to do it. Addons like Silver Dragon or NPCScan will point out nearby rares in leveling zones, and there are usually rares in pretty much every zone, if you know where to look. Not only do they drop big chunks of XP for you, they also drop bags, gold, gear, all manner of useful items, including the aforementioned Elixir of Ancient Knowledge! Maybe it's just us, here at WoW Insider, but taking on rares is an entertaining way to pass the time.

6. Mob Farming

Several readers commented on mobs that can be farmed to push through levels without following the usual routes of questing or dungeon running. Shengyin1 told us about a group of mobs in Howling Fjord -- wolves and Vrykul attacking the gates of Valgarde -- that can help a player past the tiresome Utgarde Keep levels. Alexi0n commented on the leveling potential of of what he referred to as Monkey Runs -- going into Stormstout brewery as a 5-man group, repeatedly, and just killing every mob up to Ook-Ook, then starting again. He asserted that this is the fastest way from 85-90, but we're not entirely sure if this is correct -- it awarded less than the standard XP gain from a quest in Pandaria, so speed would be of the essence.

Many commenters had their own specific leveling routes, which we haven't the space to reproduce here, so do check out the comments on the original post. One thing which merited some comment was the best color of quest to focus on. Readers were divided on whether it was better to focus on green-yellow quests, so quests which are relatively easy to complete, versus yellow-orange quests that are a bit harder. It likely depends a lot on your skill, your location and your heirlooms! Leveling with a friend allows you to progress through much higher level zones, so bear that in mind, too.

Visit the WoW Rookie Guide for links to everything you need to get started as a new player, from how to control your character and camera angles when you're just starting out, to learning how to tank, getting up to speed for heroics and even how to win Tol Barad.