What are WoW Leveling Zones?

A brief explanation about World of Warcraft Leveling Zones

Every MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game) has zones that are great for leveling, and some that make going through the levels feel like a trip to the dentist.  You will find that World of Warcraft is no exception to this rule.  So finding the best WoW Leveling Zones, and the best way to go through the leveling process can take you a fair bit of research, or trial and error.

The easiest way to describe what a zone (synonym for: region or area) is, is to just say that it is a portion of the game map that has its own unique theme, type of enemy or mobs, and it’s own scenery or setting.

Each of the different WoW leveling zones is surrounded by an invisible border, much the same as that of real world nations or countries, or individual states.  Even though you cannot actually see the boundaries, they are still there, and they mark off certain areas in the game.  Usually, each different area has at least one of each of the following: sub zone, city, town, village, or instance.

For Example: the zone of Ghostlands has sub zone of Amani Pass, the city of Tranquillien, the town Hatchet Hills, the village Suncrown Village, and the instance Zul’Aman.  Another example, would be the zone of Eversong Woods which has the sub zone ofDuskwither Grounds, the city Silverspoon, and the town or village ofFairbreeze.

When it comes to WoW leveling zones, the “leveling” part just means that you would be referring to any zone or area that you are currently completing quests in.  The zone you are currently questing in, is directly related to what level your character is at, and your progression through the game has everything to do with what level your character is at.

Breaking the zones up by level of character

Each race has been assigned a unique quest path by Blizzard, the creators of World of Warcraft.  Blizzard did this so players can experience a lot of different story lines if they want.  It helps to keep the game interesting enough for players who want to level many different characters, from multiple races, up to the current level of 85.

To better map out a questing path, I find it helpful to break the leveling zones up by level of character.  Personally I usually go with a sectioning of 1-20, 20-40, 40-60, 60-70, 70-80, & 80-85.

To get an already mapped out questing path, that only includes the most valuable quests, check out the WoW Leveling Guides page on this site. These guides  show you which quests get your character to level 85 the fastest. They will show you, in-game, step-by-step, and are customized for each race class.

How to use the WoW leveling zones effectively

In order to get the most out of the specific zone you are in based on the level of your character, you need to do a little bit of research.  You should find out what the best quests to complete are based on experience vs. time taken to complete (taking into consideration travel time as well).

You can find this WoW leveling zones information in several places.  One place I would definitely look at is in the different forums around the web having to do with WoW leveling zones.  These forums are a great collection of knowledge, especially forums specifically focused on World of Warcraft.  Players of this game are extremely passionate about it, and this is evident in how many popular forums there are – where you will see many of the elite players helping newbies all the time.

But it seems, that every blog or forum has a different opinion on where to level. Further complicating this is the fact that some zones are great for leveling if you are a Horde player, but terrible if you are playing for Alliance.

You will find that some zones have all the quests and plenty of mobs that give good experience, but the way the zone is laid out means that you have to run back and forth between the quest giver and the target, sometimes many times.  Furthermore it can be worse if there are geographical obstacles in the way, or even worse if the quest target is surrounded by insanely difficult monsters.  Un’goro Crater is one such place that comes to mind here. It is a location where extremely powerful Terrorsaurs roam freely, and they are always ready to pound players into the mud.

I have found that the best way to find out where to level, is to let someone else do it for you.  Luckily, quite a few players have put together wow leveling guides that detail not only the best zones to play in, but also what are the most efficient methods with which to do your questing.

There are some of these leveling guides that even provide their own software in the form of add-in scripts that work with the World of Warcraft client program.  The authors of those guides have encoded the leveling guide as data, and the script uses that data to show the player what they need to do next.  This makes it so simple to progress through the WoW leveling zones.  In fact, one guide in particular uses a script that actually works out the steps to take based on the characters level, location, and previously completed quests, and suggests the most efficient path and prerequisites.

So you see there is an easy way about maximizing your WoW leveling zones and getting the most value vs. time on your questing ventures, and that is by using an in-game guide.

Why should YOU use an “In-Game” Guide?

For the very reason, that it is “in-game.”  An in-game guide like this covers all of the quickest leveling paths, for every level, including the new 80-85 Cataclysm zones (and also includes in-game talent build advisor) across the different races.  All of this happens without you having to press ‘alt+tab’ all the time to view it.

WoW Leveling Zones Guides

Free online WoW leveling guides – are they any good?

When it all comes down to it, NO!  You will find that most of the free guides out there will take you through quests, but they will not give a clear cut questing path that eliminates downtime and shows you the quickest possible routes.  Apart from this, there is not one free guide that I have found that has an “in-game” interface, so you will always have to go back and forth between windows, which of course will slow you down more than it helps you.

Paid WoW leveling guides – are they better?

The truth is this: I have tried pretty much all of the paid guides available out there and there are only a few that I consider are even worth mentioning.  The two are Zygor’s Leveling Guide, and X-Elerated Warcraft Guides.  When I used Zygor’s guide, I was able to fully level a character in around about 7 days.  Definitely not a world record by any means, but up to that point in time it was the fastest I had ever personally leveled, that was until I tried the fairly new X-Elerated guide.  Using the X-Elerated guide, I found that I was able to level a new character to 85 in roughly 5 1/2 days!

In fact you might find it interesting to know that after doing some research, I found that X-Elerated Warcraft Guides and Zygor’s Leveling Guide are the only legitimate paid guides that follow Blizzard’s policies set forth about directly selling an add-on.  That’s right!  By just knowing that, I now felt more comfortable with my purchase of these guides, in the sense that I would not be at risk of losing my account, and all my hard work, for using a guide that didn’t adhere to Blizzard’s policies.  I knew that I was able to progress through the WoW leveling zones safely and without concern about my Battlenet account.

Want to know more about X-Elerated Warcraft Guides

Official Site

Here’s an informational video about this guide:

 

 

Want to know more about Zygor’s Leveling Guide

Official Site

Here’s an informational video about this guide:

 

There really isn’t a whole lot more I could tell you about these guides, without repeating what can just as well be shown to you, first hand, at their respective sites.  You will find that each of them offer a FREE trial of their guides (full version, that is entirely functioning, up to level 20).

CLICK HERE to try X-Elerated Warcraft Guides FREE to Level 20!

CLICK HERE to try Zygor’s Leveling Guide FREE to Level 20!

How to play through the WoW Leveling Zones

Of course selecting the right WoW Leveling Zones is extremely important, but nowhere near as important as getting the right mental attitude when it comes to dealing with the task of leveling.

One of the biggest mistakes that many World of Warcraft players make when leveling their characters is that they fall into the social aspect of the game.  This doesn’t really help much when you’re trying to get through levels 60, 70, 80, or – now with the newly released Cataclysm – level 85.  Whilst WoW is definitely designed to be a social game, that same friend aspect can end up being a waste of your time when you are trying to power-level your character.

So you will find that choosing the right WoW leveling zones is important because you’ll want to pick the right area for your level, and then tackle the quests in the correct order, thus ensuring maximum leveling speed.

This process involves the concept of what is known as grinding.  WoW grinding is a term that basically means performing repetitive tasks over and over in order to achieve a certain goal or result.  This goal can be such things as grinding for levels, gold, honor kills, material components for crafting, etc.  WoW farming is another term that basically means the same thing as grinding, as you can put gold farming, level farming and honor kill farming in the same context.

When you are grinding – or farming – you will want to zone out from the distractions around you, you could play some good music and leave the socializing out of the game for a while.  A good idea is to roll or start a new character, and then to not let any of your friends or guild members know about that character until you’ve reached a certain point or level in the game, or maybe even waiting until you achieve the end goal.

WoW Leveling Guide for playing Cataclysm levels

5 essential tips you MUST use to reach max level fast.

With the release of the Cataclysm expansion, Blizzard has completely changed the World of Warcraft game.  Now more than ever before, with the release of Cataclysm you need a WoW Leveling Guide.  All of the zones on the original continents have been completely re-designed with all new quests, level ranges, and layouts.  In addition to the changes in zones, all character classes have been opened to new races, such as Dwarf Shaman and Tauren Paladins.  Blizzard have even added two new races to the mix, the Worgen and Goblins, and with each you can play up to 8 different classes.  So with the changes to zones and races, many new and existing World of Warcraft players will want to experience the game starting again from Level 1 and with the creation of new characters means a race to level 85.  You will want to use the following tips in this WoW Leveling Guide for Cataclysm to help you in leveling more effectively.

WoW Leveling Zones tip # 1: Know your class

Each class is now built with three very distinct talent trees and abilities, each one with a different purpose to help you through the game.  Picking the proper talent tree for your leveling spec is essential to the leveling process whether you are going solo, questing, AoE grinding, or running instances.  Once you have achieved level 10 you can pick your spec, and you will want to make sure you pick the right spec for leveling.  Because if you pick incorrectly, you can waste a lot of money constantly picking different specs, or even worse, waste valuable talent points and therefore even more gold.  You need to do some research on the best spec for what it is you want to accomplish in the game.  Search through the forums, ask in-game, or even do a Google search.  All the information you require is out there.  You just have spend some time to find it.

WoW Leveling Zones tip #2: Skip the crafting

This is just a waste of time and money at the lower levels, and it will only slow you down on your way to your goal.  Much of the gear that you receive from crafting is replaced quickly through the leveling process.  The only real benefits to you for leveling a crafting profession is when you are at the level cap when you can create unique gear that only you can use, or to augment your existing gear.  You should pick 2 gathering professions from Mining, Skinning, or Herbalism.  As these are highly profitable professions, even at the early levels.  You will want to save all of the money you can so that you can get your mounts at the appropriate levels.  By increasing your movement speed you will find that it will greatly enhance your leveling speed.

WoW Leveling Zones tip #3: Quest for glory!

There can be no argument that questing is by far the highest experience yielding method in the game.  Of course you can grind, all day long, but it’s much better to get extra gold and experience when you have a definite purpose for doing it.  Keep in mind that most of the way throughout the game, you will be picking up gear through quests that will help you progress more quickly as well.  You will also discover the storyline of the game through the questing process, making the game much less of a grind, literally speaking.

WoW Leveling Zones tip #4: Shack up for the night

When you log out each day, make sure to stop by the inn or a major city.  You need to do this for a number of reasons.  First of all when you log in next time, you know that you are starting  in a safe place.  Also, you will receive a “rested” experience bonus for the time spent at the inns.  And one final reason to log out at the inn is, it’s a place for you to empty your bags; as most inns have vendors to sell your trash, as well as mailboxes to send valuables to your alternate characters.

WoW Leveling Zones tip #5: Run the Dungeons

Finally, with the Random Dungeon finder that was introduced in patch 3.3 and which is available at level 15, you can queue up for random dungeons, which you can complete as you are questing.  If you have decent groups which don’t wipe frequently, then you will find that dungeons are very rewarding in the leveling process.  Dungeons can yield really fast experience if you have a good group, and even more so if you have quests in those dungeons.  Another thing is that Dungeon bosses also have better than normal loot which helps your game progression significantly.  Up through level 70, you are guaranteed a piece of “Blue” or rare quality gear when you complete a random dungeon.  By completing random Wrath dungeons, rewards justice points, which can then be used as currency for epic and heirloom items.

So to sum it all up, the quickest route to the endgame content is really pretty easy.  You should know your role, gathering valuable materials as you go, do all of the quests you can, rest only in a safe place and make sure you hit the dungeons hard.  By following all of the tips in this WoW Leveling Guide it will not only be fast, but rewarding as well.  You can experience a wide spectrum of the game’s content while leveling by following these simple steps as you progress though the WoW Leveling Zones.  But it is important to remember this: don’t get too stressed over a game.  You should have fun, experience all you can, and once you have hit the level cap, you can enjoy an entirely new game.

For more information on the “leveling guides” topic check out the WoW Leveling Guides page.

I hope you have found all of this is helpful for you as a fellow player seeking knowledge about WoW Leveling Zones.

What are WoW Leveling Zones?

A brief explanation about World of Warcraft Leveling Zones

Every MMORPG (Massively multiplayer online role-playing game) has zones that are great for leveling, and some that make going through the levels feel like a trip to the dentist.  You will find that World of Warcraft is no exception to this rule.  So finding the best WoW Leveling Zones, and the best way to go through the leveling process can take you a fair bit of research, or trial and error.

The easiest way to describe what a zone (synonym for: region or area) is, is to just say that it is a portion of the game map that has its own unique theme, type of enemy or mobs, and it’s own scenery or setting.

Each of the different WoW leveling zones is surrounded by an invisible border, much the same as that of real world nations or countries, or individual states.  Even though you cannot actually see the boundaries, they are still there, and they mark off certain areas in the game.  Usually, each different area has at least one of each of the following: sub zone, city, town, village, or instance.

For Example: the zone of Ghostlands has sub zone of Amani Pass, the city of Tranquillien, the town Hatchet Hills, the village Suncrown Village, and the instance Zul’Aman.  Another example, would be the zone of Eversong Woods which has the sub zone ofDuskwither Grounds, the city Silverspoon, and the town or village ofFairbreeze.

When it comes to WoW leveling zones, the “leveling” part just means that you would be referring to any zone or area that you are currently completing quests in.  The zone you are currently questing in, is directly related to what level your character is at, and your progression through the game has everything to do with what level your character is at.

Breaking the zones up by level of character

Each race has been assigned a unique quest path by Blizzard, the creators of World of Warcraft.  Blizzard did this so players can experience a lot of different story lines if they want.  It helps to keep the game interesting enough for players who want to level many different characters, from multiple races, up to the current level of 85.

To better map out a questing path, I find it helpful to break the leveling zones up by level of character.  Personally I usually go with a sectioning of 1-20, 20-40, 40-60, 60-70, 70-80, & 80-85.

To get an already mapped out questing path, that only includes the most valuable quests, check out the WoW Leveling Guides page on this site. These guides  show you which quests get your character to level 85 the fastest. They will show you, in-game, step-by-step, and are customized for each race class.

How to use the WoW leveling zones effectively

In order to get the most out of the specific zone you are in based on the level of your character, you need to do a little bit of research.  You should find out what the best quests to complete are based on experience vs. time taken to complete (taking into consideration travel time as well).

You can find this WoW leveling zones information in several places.  One place I would definitely look at is in the different forums around the web having to do with WoW leveling zones.  These forums are a great collection of knowledge, especially forums specifically focused on World of Warcraft.  Players of this game are extremely passionate about it, and this is evident in how many popular forums there are – where you will see many of the elite players helping newbies all the time.

But it seems, that every blog or forum has a different opinion on where to level. Further complicating this is the fact that some zones are great for leveling if you are a Horde player, but terrible if you are playing for Alliance.

You will find that some zones have all the quests and plenty of mobs that give good experience, but the way the zone is laid out means that you have to run back and forth between the quest giver and the target, sometimes many times.  Furthermore it can be worse if there are geographical obstacles in the way, or even worse if the quest target is surrounded by insanely difficult monsters.  Un’goro Crater is one such place that comes to mind here. It is a location where extremely powerful Terrorsaurs roam freely, and they are always ready to pound players into the mud.

I have found that the best way to find out where to level, is to let someone else do it for you.  Luckily, quite a few players have put together wow leveling guides that detail not only the best zones to play in, but also what are the most efficient methods with which to do your questing.

There are some of these leveling guides that even provide their own software in the form of add-in scripts that work with the World of Warcraft client program.  The authors of those guides have encoded the leveling guide as data, and the script uses that data to show the player what they need to do next.  This makes it so simple to progress through the WoW leveling zones.  In fact, one guide in particular uses a script that actually works out the steps to take based on the characters level, location, and previously completed quests, and suggests the most efficient path and prerequisites.

So you see there is an easy way about maximizing your WoW leveling zones and getting the most value vs. time on your questing ventures, and that is by using an in-game guide.

Why should YOU use an “In-Game” Guide?

For the very reason, that it is “in-game.”  An in-game guide like this covers all of the quickest leveling paths, for every level, including the new 80-85 Cataclysm zones (and also includes in-game talent build advisor) across the different races.  All of this happens without you having to press ‘alt+tab’ all the time to view it.

WoW Leveling Zones Guides

Free online WoW leveling guides – are they any good?

When it all comes down to it, NO!  You will find that most of the free guides out there will take you through quests, but they will not give a clear cut questing path that eliminates downtime and shows you the quickest possible routes.  Apart from this, there is not one free guide that I have found that has an “in-game” interface, so you will always have to go back and forth between windows, which of course will slow you down more than it helps you.

Paid WoW leveling guides – are they better?

The truth is this: I have tried pretty much all of the paid guides available out there and there are only a few that I consider are even worth mentioning.  The two are Zygor’s Leveling Guide, and X-Elerated Warcraft Guides.  When I used Zygor’s guide, I was able to fully level a character in around about 7 days.  Definitely not a world record by any means, but up to that point in time it was the fastest I had ever personally leveled, that was until I tried the fairly new X-Elerated guide.  Using the X-Elerated guide, I found that I was able to level a new character to 85 in roughly 5 1/2 days!

In fact you might find it interesting to know that after doing some research, I found that X-Elerated Warcraft Guides and Zygor’s Leveling Guide are the only legitimate paid guides that follow Blizzard’s policies set forth about directly selling an add-on.  That’s right!  By just knowing that, I now felt more comfortable with my purchase of these guides, in the sense that I would not be at risk of losing my account, and all my hard work, for using a guide that didn’t adhere to Blizzard’s policies.  I knew that I was able to progress through the WoW leveling zones safely and without concern about my Battlenet account.

Want to know more about X-Elerated Warcraft Guides

Official Site

Here’s an informational video about this guide:

 

 

Want to know more about Zygor’s Leveling Guide

Official Site

Here’s an informational video about this guide:

 

There really isn’t a whole lot more I could tell you about these guides, without repeating what can just as well be shown to you, first hand, at their respective sites.  You will find that each of them offer a FREE trial of their guides (full version, that is entirely functioning, up to level 20).

CLICK HERE to try X-Elerated Warcraft Guides FREE to Level 20!

CLICK HERE to try Zygor’s Leveling Guide FREE to Level 20!

How to play through the WoW Leveling Zones

Of course selecting the right WoW Leveling Zones is extremely important, but nowhere near as important as getting the right mental attitude when it comes to dealing with the task of leveling.

One of the biggest mistakes that many World of Warcraft players make when leveling their characters is that they fall into the social aspect of the game.  This doesn’t really help much when you’re trying to get through levels 60, 70, 80, or – now with the newly released Cataclysm – level 85.  Whilst WoW is definitely designed to be a social game, that same friend aspect can end up being a waste of your time when you are trying to power-level your character.

So you will find that choosing the right WoW leveling zones is important because you’ll want to pick the right area for your level, and then tackle the quests in the correct order, thus ensuring maximum leveling speed.

This process involves the concept of what is known as grinding.  WoW grinding is a term that basically means performing repetitive tasks over and over in order to achieve a certain goal or result.  This goal can be such things as grinding for levels, gold, honor kills, material components for crafting, etc.  WoW farming is another term that basically means the same thing as grinding, as you can put gold farming, level farming and honor kill farming in the same context.

When you are grinding – or farming – you will want to zone out from the distractions around you, you could play some good music and leave the socializing out of the game for a while.  A good idea is to roll or start a new character, and then to not let any of your friends or guild members know about that character until you’ve reached a certain point or level in the game, or maybe even waiting until you achieve the end goal.

WoW Leveling Guide for playing Cataclysm levels

5 essential tips you MUST use to reach max level fast.

With the release of the Cataclysm expansion, Blizzard has completely changed the World of Warcraft game.  Now more than ever before, with the release of Cataclysm you need a WoW Leveling Guide.  All of the zones on the original continents have been completely re-designed with all new quests, level ranges, and layouts.  In addition to the changes in zones, all character classes have been opened to new races, such as Dwarf Shaman and Tauren Paladins.  Blizzard have even added two new races to the mix, the Worgen and Goblins, and with each you can play up to 8 different classes.  So with the changes to zones and races, many new and existing World of Warcraft players will want to experience the game starting again from Level 1 and with the creation of new characters means a race to level 85.  You will want to use the following tips in this WoW Leveling Guide for Cataclysm to help you in leveling more effectively.

WoW Leveling Zones tip # 1: Know your class

Each class is now built with three very distinct talent trees and abilities, each one with a different purpose to help you through the game.  Picking the proper talent tree for your leveling spec is essential to the leveling process whether you are going solo, questing, AoE grinding, or running instances.  Once you have achieved level 10 you can pick your spec, and you will want to make sure you pick the right spec for leveling.  Because if you pick incorrectly, you can waste a lot of money constantly picking different specs, or even worse, waste valuable talent points and therefore even more gold.  You need to do some research on the best spec for what it is you want to accomplish in the game.  Search through the forums, ask in-game, or even do a Google search.  All the information you require is out there.  You just have spend some time to find it.

WoW Leveling Zones tip #2: Skip the crafting

This is just a waste of time and money at the lower levels, and it will only slow you down on your way to your goal.  Much of the gear that you receive from crafting is replaced quickly through the leveling process.  The only real benefits to you for leveling a crafting profession is when you are at the level cap when you can create unique gear that only you can use, or to augment your existing gear.  You should pick 2 gathering professions from Mining, Skinning, or Herbalism.  As these are highly profitable professions, even at the early levels.  You will want to save all of the money you can so that you can get your mounts at the appropriate levels.  By increasing your movement speed you will find that it will greatly enhance your leveling speed.

WoW Leveling Zones tip #3: Quest for glory!

There can be no argument that questing is by far the highest experience yielding method in the game.  Of course you can grind, all day long, but it’s much better to get extra gold and experience when you have a definite purpose for doing it.  Keep in mind that most of the way throughout the game, you will be picking up gear through quests that will help you progress more quickly as well.  You will also discover the storyline of the game through the questing process, making the game much less of a grind, literally speaking.

WoW Leveling Zones tip #4: Shack up for the night

When you log out each day, make sure to stop by the inn or a major city.  You need to do this for a number of reasons.  First of all when you log in next time, you know that you are starting  in a safe place.  Also, you will receive a “rested” experience bonus for the time spent at the inns.  And one final reason to log out at the inn is, it’s a place for you to empty your bags; as most inns have vendors to sell your trash, as well as mailboxes to send valuables to your alternate characters.

WoW Leveling Zones tip #5: Run the Dungeons

Finally, with the Random Dungeon finder that was introduced in patch 3.3 and which is available at level 15, you can queue up for random dungeons, which you can complete as you are questing.  If you have decent groups which don’t wipe frequently, then you will find that dungeons are very rewarding in the leveling process.  Dungeons can yield really fast experience if you have a good group, and even more so if you have quests in those dungeons.  Another thing is that Dungeon bosses also have better than normal loot which helps your game progression significantly.  Up through level 70, you are guaranteed a piece of “Blue” or rare quality gear when you complete a random dungeon.  By completing random Wrath dungeons, rewards justice points, which can then be used as currency for epic and heirloom items.

So to sum it all up, the quickest route to the endgame content is really pretty easy.  You should know your role, gathering valuable materials as you go, do all of the quests you can, rest only in a safe place and make sure you hit the dungeons hard.  By following all of the tips in this WoW Leveling Guide it will not only be fast, but rewarding as well.  You can experience a wide spectrum of the game’s content while leveling by following these simple steps as you progress though the WoW Leveling Zones.  But it is important to remember this: don’t get too stressed over a game.  You should have fun, experience all you can, and once you have hit the level cap, you can enjoy an entirely new game.

For more information on the “leveling guides” topic check out the WoW Leveling Guides page.

I hope you have found all of this is helpful for you as a fellow player seeking knowledge about WoW Leveling Zones.