1-10
Just do your starting town newb quests and the surrounding area.
10-20 - The Barrens
Head on over to Orgrimmar and grab the Wind Rider master. Then make the long run to Crossroads in The Barrens, where many quests await you. Bind at this inn, and always use your Hearthstone to save you running time. The main quests to do here are the series of kill quests from Sergra Darkthorn (12-16), the series of razormane killing quests from Thork (12-15), the oasis-related quests from Tonga Runetotem (16), and the raptor quests from Gazrog (13 and 1Cool. Also available is Fungal Spores from Apothecary Helbrim (15) which will have you running to Thunder Bluff, where you'll want to train in your staff skill with the weapon master there, and also pick up the wind rider point. Just west of the Crossroads along the road is a small Orc outpost where you can find a series of Centaur quests from Regthar Deathgate (14-20). Heading east of the crossroads, along the road again, will bring you to Ratchet where you can find yet more quests such as a series from Mebok Mizzyrix (16-20), Wharfmaster Dizzywig (14-16), and Sputtervalve (14-16). One of Sputtervalve's quests will have you trekking over to Stonetalon Mountains (see below) but the end result (which you'll need a friend for as it's a level 27 quest) is a very nice cloak. Also, the quest NPC for the Chen's Empty Keg series of quests, Brewmaster Drohn (15-24) can be found in Ratchet. Now, if you look up the locations of all of these quests, you'll see that a lot of them coincide with each other in terms of location. Use this fact to minimize on the amount of running that you do. Time=Experience, remember? The Barrens is a big place and you can waste a lot of time there if you don't plan your journeys well. Plan your journeys for you? This isn't spoon feeding, it's just a guide! Well, ok, I'll give you a hint. Check out this link for the quest logs for these quests so you can work out your path. If at any point you manage to outlevel your quests, just find some mobs near your level - there's plenty in the Barrens - and grind on them until you hit the requisite level.
20-25 - More Barrens
At this point, it's time to incorporate Camp Taurajo in Southern Barrens to your leveling for some new, harder quests. However, there are still some very good quests from Crossroads and Ratchet that are worth doing. Lost In Battle and Consumed By Hatred which are given by Mankrik (20) are both good, as is the second part of Chen's Empty Keg as well as Egg Hunt which is given by Korran (22). Once you hit Taurajo, you should find the Blood Shards/Tribes At War series from Mangletooth (21-25) quite good, as well as the Gann's Reclamation series of quests from Gann Stonespire (23-26) who wanders on the road south of Camp Taurajo. The last part gives you a nice ring, but you'll need a friend or two to complete it. Now, these quests are hardly enough to level you from 20-25. I suggest you spend the time before, in between, and after these quests in Wailing Caverns, which is the level 20-25ish instance for Horde. You should do this because the XP there is very good, you'll learn some basic grouping skills, and you'll get some items, most of all is the Crescent Staff which you'll use until you're somewhere near 40. To add to the good XP, and to get the aforementioned staff, you'll need to pick up the Wailing Caverns quests in Thunder Bluff - Deviate Eradication from Ebru (21), Serpentbloom from Apothecary Zamah (1Cool (the plants for this quest inside the caverns can be seen using Find Herbs from the Herbalism profession), Leaders Of The Fang from Narah Wildmane (22). Also available is Smart Drinks from Mebok Mizzyrix (1Cool in Ratchet, who should be your old friend by now.
18-25 - Stonetalon
This is in a separate section because you're going to zone hop into here a little from around 18-25 to Stonetalon Mountains, which is a short way west of the Crossroads along the road. At the entrance to the zone you'll find some quests from Makaba Flathoof (1Cool and Seereth Stonebreak (18-23). Also in Stonetalon are quest mobs and bits for various quests that begin in the Barrens, such as Deepmoss Spider Eggs from Mebok Mizzyrix (20). At some point, you'll want to head up to Sun Rock Retreat and grab the wind rider master. There are various quests here such as the Cycle Of Rebirth quests from Tammra Windfield (23) and Elemental War quests from Tsunaman (25), a talking water elemental who lives on a ridge just behind the retreat. There is also a small series of quests in the Charred Vale (it can be a pain to get here: take the hill over the back of Sun Rock, and when you hit a fork in the hill, left leads to Tsunaman and right leads to the vale) starting with Harpies Threaten from Maggran Earthbinder (26), although Charred Vale is such an add-filled place it's best to get a couple of friends and do the Elemental War quests at the same time as these, doing them a couple of levels below their requirement at the same time, so you don't have to come back here later.
25-30 - Hillsbrad
Tons of kill quests, and a wide range of levels to fight. Also good for mining silk and greater healing potion reagents. Stay away from Alterac quests.
Let s take a quick timeout. At this point (level 25ish) you've got some decent gear from your quests and instancing, and you've got enough talents to make you a decent soloer. You're hopefully finding out that Shadow Word: Pain + Mind Flay + Psychic Scream is awesome, and regeneration after a fight with Spirit Tap is awesome. Your Mind Flay is about to get better with Shadow Reach. It's time to blow off the Barrens and surrounding areas, and go check out Hillsbrad Foothills. Run to Orgrimmar, and if you're Undead, speak to the Priest trainer, Ur'kyo. He gives you a quest for a spell called Devouring Plague, which you'll come to know and love. Now go get the zeppelin from the south side of the station outside of Orgrimmar.
First of all, when you step off the zeppelin in Tirisfal, head into Undercity, grabbing the wind rider point if you don't have it already, and speak to Aelthalyste the Priest trainer. She'll complete your Devouring Plague quest and give you the spell. Next you've got a fairly long run all the way to Tarren Mill in Hillsbrad. You'll pass through Silverpine Forest and should stop off at The Sepulcher. You'll have outlevelled the quests there by now, so ignore them, but pick up the wind rider point anyway before you continue on your journey. When you reach Tarren Mill, grab the wind rider, and bind there; you'll be around here for a while.
The first quests to do are Elixir Of Suffering and Elixir Of Pain from Apothecary Lydon (22-24), The Rescue from Krusk (22) and WANTED: Syndicate Personnel from the wanted poster (22) on the church front before you outlevel them too much. They take quite a lot of kills to get the ingredients so you'll earn some good experience. Then grab the Battle Of Hillsbrad series first quest from High Executor Darthalia (25-30) and while you're doing that, you can complete Souvenirs Of Death from Deathguard Samsa (25). The last Battle Of Hillsbrad quest, in Dun Garok, can be a real pain, but a full group and some common sense make it very simple. You'll see what I mean when you get there. Also whilst doing the Battle Of Hillsbrad quests you can complete Dangerous!, again from High Executor Darthalia (2Cool. More quests to do around Tarren Mill are the Elixir Of Agony series from our pal Apothecary Lydon (28-30), and Humbert's Sword from Deathguard Humbert (30) (which both require going into the Dun Garok where the final part of The Battle Of Hillsbrad is completed, so try to get them done together. Incidentally, Humbert's sword is a random drop from any mob in there).
For the time you aren't questing in this level range, I recommend grinding killing the same people that you kill for The Battle Of Hillsbrad quests. They're in plentiful supply; they drop decent cash, decent vendor-able items, and silk cloth.
30-32 - Thousand Needles
Now we're rollin'. You're Level 30, which means you have Vampiric Embrace, the first key part in your arsenal of becoming ridiculously powerful. If you're playing on a PvP server, you're either loving or hating the constant war that rages around Tarren Mill and the alliance city of Southshore by now! But fear not, because we're going to take a short break from this area and hop on back over to Kalimdor and on down to Thousand Needles!
Once you get back off the zeppelin near Orgrimmar, fly to the Crossroads and run all the way south to The Great Lift (which you probably discovered in your 20's when you were ignoring my guide and exploring, tut tut!) and get the Message To Freewind Post quest from Brave Moonhorn (25). Head between the pillars of stone and on up to Freewind Post, (bind there) where you will be able to grab the wind rider point, turn in your message to obtain the Pacify The Centaur quest series from Cliffwatcher Longhorn (25-2Cool, who also gives Grimtotem Spying. Whilst completing Grimtotem Spying you may happen upon an escort side quest, so it's a good idea to take a couple of friends up to do that one, as you won't complete the escort quest alone. Also available is the Alien Egg series from Hagar Lightninghoof (26-29). One part of this quest involves you swimming underwater gathering weeds and killing water elementals that get in your way; these are great for stocking up on water to drink, and also good experience. It's great being undead with a huge breath bar. I'd grind there for a while. Make sure you check out Hypercapacitor Gizmo (with a friend) from Wizlo Bearingshearer (30), who can be found just north of Freewind Post near a wrecked caravan. You get a decent little ring and a great xp reward for killing a mob that is about 10 seconds north of him.
27-37 Salt Flats
Two words: Salt Flats. Located in the eastern part of Thousand Needles, at level 30 about 8 quests open up that will net you 1 level in about 3 hours of killing mobs. Plus, you will make about 5g selling the useless drops you get. Easiest level in the game After you finish needles/flats you should be about level 33-34, and Arathi Highlands is where you want to be. It has a small alliance presence, but horde numbers are much greater. Lots of good quests here, including a bunch of elites with awesome rewards (one of the best swords you can get for levels 34).
28-33 - Arathi Highlands.
Few kill quests, but mostly good grinding stuff.
32-34 - Shimmering Flats
Moving on south of Thousand Needles brings you to its sub-zone, Shimmering Flats. The quests here are located in three separate Goblin encampments which are roughly North, Southwest, and Southeast of the centre of the flats. Incidentally, this whole zone is a big goblin racetrack. It's very cool. There are an abundance of quests requiring lots of travel time. Ignore them unless you need a break from fighting. The real gems here are the pickup-items-from-the-ground style quests and the kill quests, all of which don't send you any farther than the flats themselves. Check out all of the quests on offer from the NPCs there, and you'll soon find them all. You have all of Load Lightening from Pozzik (30), Hardened Shells from Wizzle Brassbolts (30), Salt Flat Venom from his brother Fizzle Brassbolts (30), Rocket Car Parts from Kravel Koalbeard (31), and A Bump In The Road from Trackmaster Zherin (33) to do. Also make sure you also pick up Hemet Nesingwary from Kravel Koalbeard (31), as you'll be seeing a lot of Hemet soon.
33-36 - Desolace.
So many centaurs... Watch out for useless quests. Best spot to farm grave moss (kodo graveyard). Stay away from the naga quests.
34-37 - Hillsbrad
Say it with me: I love Hillsbrad! I hope you meant it, because we're going back there now. This is the first stage of leveling where grinding - that is, killing mobs instead of questing - becomes the most efficient form of XP. Grab the quests Prison Break-in from Magus Wordeen Voidglare (35), Bracers Of Binding from Keeper Bel'Varil (34), and Infiltration from Krusk (34). Head up into Alterac Mountains from Tarren Mill, complete Infiltration, get it's follow up quest, then go up into the mountains again and head west. You'll find lots of low-mid 30's Yetis. Kill these until you're level 35 and some more. They're great XP, and will give you the first taste of just how effective a soloer you can be. Using the sequence of Mind Blast/Shadow Word: Pain/Mind Flay/Psychic Scream/Mind Flay/Mind Flay you should kill many of these mobs. Let your spirit tap regen work for 15 seconds between each kill. If your feared mob pulls another one, deal with that too, and then take a drink. The only time you should need to drink is if you get an add, when you rebuff yourself, or after about 20 minutes of near-constant killing. When you're bored of grinding, head west off the mountain and complete the two quests near Dalaran. Go hand them in at Tarren Mill, then get the second quest from Wordeen, and do that too, as well as the follow up quest to Infiltration from Krusk, the name of which escapes me, but has you eventually go and do the quest Lord Aliden Perinolde on the east side of Lordamere Lake. He's easy enough to kill at a slightly lower level (36ish) even though he's level 40 (he might have been 42, I forget), but he does heal himself irregularly and has infinite mana, so bring a friend or two with decent damage capabilities. You probably won't be 37 yet, so go and grind to 37 on Crushridge Ogres, which you will have encountered earlier on the way to the yetis and whilst completing Krusk's quests. WoW ogres have little hp and hit quite hard; perfect fodder for a caster who keeps his target feared most of the time.
36-40 - Swamp of Sorrows
Great grinding/money spot, towards the end there are some decent kill quests along the far east coast. For the harder murlocks hit up the cave in the SE section. These levels will fly by
37-45 - The Badlands
Now it's on to the Badlands, where you get to deal with 8billion coyotes running all over, and earth elementals on every single border Nah; it is a pretty good zone, with some good quests. Miners will love it because there is a ton of ore to be had here, mostly iron, some silver/gold/mithril. You can also head to Tanaris at some point, where there are another good supply of quests. Ooops, almost forgot Grom'Gol in stranglethorn vale. A huge amount of quests here, including 1 for a 14 slot bag at level 36. Make sure you don't skip this area, lots of great stuff here. Almost forgot Faralas as well. Not a lot of quests here, but it is an absolutely gorgeous zone. There is 1 long questline that ends with an amazing weapon, no matter what your class (4 to choose from).
43-48 Tanaris
Not many quests except for Zul Farrak (one of the elite instances w/5-6 quests, very worth running through), but tons of stuff to grind from. Rocs give the most loot to sell, ogres drop mageweave by the assloads, and the dogs go down easy as hell. Watch out for the useless 'go find this' quests.
48-50 - Searing Gorge
If you are a frost mage, this will be heaven to you. Stay on the northern side of the zone to fight tons of quickly respawning golems. Also, lots of fire elementals for some of those hard to get fire items needed in crafting. No wind rider.
50-51 - Un-Goro crater
This place blew. Do the kill quests, use Thott to find exactly where everything you need to kill spawns, and then leave. The quests give nice xp, but there's a much better place to grind off of which I'll mention next... You can get there from Tanaris. No wind rider.
52-54 - Western Plaguelands
For some reason, monsters here are incredibly easy... and drop runecloth happy . I'm having fun grinding here now, will let you know when something new comes up. I don't think there's a wind rider, but it's really close to UC
54-?? - Burning Steppes
I've found a few mobs that go down easier than the easy ghouls at WP that were 5 levels lower. They are usually to the north. I'll let you guys explore yourself to find them. Again, this is an ideal place for a frost mage, as well as the staging ground for one of the all around best instances in the game for everyone: BRD. Because you'll be reaching about the end of your grinding here, go ahead and take some runs through the instance. The gear is well worth it.
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