Mists of Pandaria Classic leveling guide: Expert tips for quick level up
Maximize your XP with our MoP Classic leveling guide! Explore top zones, dungeons, and alt-leveling strategies to reach level 90 fast. Start today!
Table of Contents
Leveling in Mists of Pandaria Classic (85 to 90) takes players through the vibrant and rich land of Pandaria, filled with diverse landscapes, intriguing questlines, and plenty of faction-based and lore-driven content. This guide offers an optimal zone progression, efficient questing strategies, dungeon tips for high XP returns, alt-leveling techniques, and bonus content to help you maximize your experience while adhering to the core principles of MoP-era mechanics.
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This MoP Classic leveling guide offers an optimal zone progression, efficient questing strategies, dungeon tips for high XP returns, alt-leveling techniques, and bonus content to help you maximize your experience while adhering to the core principles of MoP-era mechanics.
MoP Classic leveling route
Pandaria’s leveling zones are designed to offer a smooth journey while telling an epic story. To level efficiently and immerse yourself in the lore, follow the recommended zone order:
- The Jade Forest (85–86)
- Valley of the Four Winds (86–87)
- Krasarang Wilds (86–87)
- Kun-Lai Summit (87–88)
- Townlong Steppes (88–89)
- Dread Wastes (89–90)
Tip:
While this isn’t applicable to your first MoP Classic leveling character, you should still consider hoarding Elixirs of Ancient Knowledge, as they are a rare drop. They drop from Krol the Blade, a rare elite in Dread Wastes, who is level 90 and has 4 million HP.
Here’s a breakdown of each zone, key hubs, and optimal questing routes:
The Jade Forest (85–86)
Starting in the Jade Forest introduces you to the Pandaren culture. Questlines center on the ongoing conflict between the Alliance and Horde, as well as the local Pandaren tribes.
- Key hubs: Dawn’s Blossom, Pearlfin Village (Alliance), Grookin Hill (Horde)
- Main story: The Serpent’s Heart arc, culminating in the fight against the Sha of Doubt within the Temple of the Jade Serpent.
- XP tip: Focus on completing the main quest chains for quick, uninterrupted XP flow and gear rewards.
Valley of the Four Winds (86–87)
This peaceful agrarian region gives you a break from the intense combat. You’ll join Chen Stormstout and his niece Li Li in their search for Chen’s family brewery.
- Key hubs: Pang’s Stead, Halfhill Market, Stormstout Brewery
- Storyline highlights: The quest for brewing beer, saving the farm, and the battle on the Serpent’s Spine.
- XP tip: Don’t skip the Stormstout Brewery dungeon-related quests, as they lead to rewarding dungeon runs and additional XP.
Krasarang Wilds (86–87)
A jungle region full of danger and intrigue, Krasarang Wilds is rich with both combat-focused and lore-driven quests.
- Key hubs: Zhu’s Watch, Thunder Cleft, Temple of the Red Crane
- Storyline highlights: The battle against the Sha of Despair and rescuing Chi-Ji from corruption.
- XP tip: Focus on the Zhu’s Watch and Red Crane quests for solid XP and gear, especially in parallel with Valley of the Four Winds.
Kun-Lai Summit (87–88)
The Tibetan-inspired Kun-Lai Summit provides an engaging questline involving the White Tiger Celestial and the Shado-Pan, along with challenges from the Yaungol.
- Key hubs: Binan Village, Westwind Rest (Alliance), Eastwind Rest (Horde)
- Storyline highlights: Proving your worth to Xuen and assisting the Shado-Pan in dealing with the Yaungol.
- XP tip: Make sure to complete the Arena of Annihilation scenario (accessible at 87), which provides an enormous XP boost and useful gear rewards.
Townlong Steppes (88–89)
This war-torn zone focuses on military campaigns against the Mantid and Yaungol, and the Shado-Pan’s efforts to protect Pandaria’s western borders.
- Key hubs: Shado-Pan Garrison, Gao-Ran Forward Post, Deadtalker’s Plateau
- Storyline highlights: Defend against the Mantid and Yaungol while facing the corruption of the Sha of Hatred.
- XP tip: Stick to the main Shado-Pan story arc for efficient questing. The quests here offer good XP returns and gear upgrades.
Dread Wastes (89–90)
The final zone before reaching level 90, Dread Wastes is the Mantid’s home and a place of great corruption.
- Key hubs: Terrace of Gurthan, Klaxxi’vess, Kypari Zar
- Storyline highlights: Working with the Klaxxi Paragons to defeat the Sha-corrupted Empress and dealing with the Mantid empire’s forces.
- XP tip: Completing the entire Klaxxi storyline grants a massive amount of XP, along with high-quality rewards. Make sure to take advantage of the Paragon buffs to increase XP gain and survivability.
Note:
If you’re speeding through your alt’s leveling, this is a great spot to pick up multiple quests and use the Elixir of Ancient Knowledge. Once you’ve gathered 3 or more quests, you can activate the Elixir, which lasts for 1 hour—though it disappears if you die. However, keep in mind this isn’t the most efficient method, and we’ll cover a better strategy later.
Efficient questing strategies
Questing is the primary method for leveling in Pandaria, and it’s essential to maximize your efficiency to reach 90 quickly. Here are some tips:
- Follow the main quest hubs: Stick to the main story-driven questlines within each zone to unlock new areas and gather big XP rewards.
- Use efficient quest loops: When entering a new quest hub, grab all available quests and do them in a single loop. Completing several objectives in the same area minimizes travel time and boosts XP per hour.
- Pick up dungeon quests: Some quests directly lead into dungeons (like those in the Stormstout Brewery or Temple of the Jade Serpent). Pick them up, even if you don’t run the dungeon immediately, to earn bonus XP.
- Make use of questing addons: Addons like TomTom can streamline your questing routes by pointing out objectives and the fastest routes.
MoP Classic dungeon leveling (85–90)
Incorporating dungeons into your leveling can provide significant XP gains and help you gear up. The following dungeons are most relevant for this level range:
- Temple of the Jade Serpent (85+): Quick, with a simple 4-boss structure. Great for XP and gear rewards. Run it as soon as you can for fast progress.
- Stormstout Brewery (85+): A quirky and fun 3-boss dungeon. It’s fast and offers lots of XP for quick clears.
- Mogu’shan Palace (87+): A more complex dungeon with 3 bosses, ideal once you hit Kun-Lai Summit.
- Shado-Pan Monastery (87+): A longer dungeon with 4 bosses. Excellent for XP and gear, especially in the later stages of leveling.
Note:
While MoP dungeons are generally quick, they feature lots unskippable story and roleplaying moments, which can make running them in a strict, efficiency-focused manner less effective—and at times, a bit tedious.
When running dungeons, always pick up the entrance quests for bonus XP, and try to queue while questing to maximize your time.
Alt-leveling tips and tricks
Leveling alts in MoP Classic can be made faster with a few helpful strategies:
- Rested experience: Log out in an inn or capital city to accrue rested XP. This will double your XP from kills and provide significant boosts while questing.
- Heirlooms (if applicable): Although heirlooms stop providing XP bonuses at level 85, they still provide valuable stat increases, which will help you on 85-87 levels.
- Guild perks: Join a level 25 guild to unlock the Fast Track perk, which provides a 10% XP increase to all kills and quests. The Guild Battle Standard can also help, offering an additional 15% XP increase.
- Monk Class bonus: If leveling a monk, take advantage of the Enlightenment buff from the daily class quest, which provides a 50% XP boost for an hour.
MoP Classic most efficient leveling
If you have an alt that you’re not in a rush to level up, here’s an interesting approach proposed by 1138611 Wowhead user:
There are five low-level pet trainers that offer daily battles, which can be accessed through the quest journal of any character on your account. Four of these trainers are Alliance-specific, so you’ll need an Alliance character to access them. They are: Old MacDonald in Westfall, Lindsay in Redridge, Eric Davidson in Duskwood, and Bill Buckler near Booty Bay. The fifth trainer, Dagra the Fierce, is located in the Northern Barrens and is available for Horde players.
To use this method, challenge the trainers but don’t complete the quests. Instead, log onto your alt, use the Elixir of Ancient Knowledge, and complete all five quests for a massive XP. Once done, log off to preserve your buff. The next day, repeat the process. In just about two weeks, I leveled my hunter from 78 to 83 using this method, and I still had 54 minutes left on the buff when I was finished.
Note:
As you can see, this isn’t the fastest traditional method for leveling a character. While the in-game time required is minimal, you’ll still need to log in daily to maximize the XP gains. Though it’s one of the most efficient strategies in MoP Classic, it does come with a bit of nuance.
Optional leveling strategies
While questing through Pandaria, keep an eye out for rare mobs and treasures scattered across the zones. These not only provide valuable gear and XP but can also help break up the monotony of questing. Key areas for rare spawns include:
- Jade Forest: Bonobos and other rare creatures drop great loot and provide bonus XP.
- Dread Wastes: Mantid rares drop excellent gear and provide a hefty chunk of XP.
In addition, don’t forget to explore for treasures and one-off scenario quests that can provide extra XP and rewards. These aren’t essential but can be a fun distraction while leveling.
Conclusion
Leveling from 85 to 90 in Mists of Pandaria Classic is an immersive experience, filled with a rich storyline, complex dungeons, and plentiful quest hubs. By following the optimal zone progression and utilizing dungeon runs, alt-leveling bonuses, and optional content, you’ll not only level efficiently but also experience the heart of Pandaria’s stunning world. Good luck, adventurer, and may the August Celestials guide you on your journey!
Interested in Mists of Pandaria but don’t have a Cataclysm character ready? Use a WoW Cataclysm boost to accelerate your progress and kickstart your Pandaria adventure with our MoP Classic leveling guide.
That’s it for our guide! Happy grinding and enjoy your week!
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