If you have been using a WoW leveling guide to level up faster in World of Warcraft, you’re probably already aware of its usefulness. Of course, in case it wasn’t just a crappy, general guide. Anyway, what I want to say is that so far I’ve seen two major categories of World of Warcraft leveling guides. In-game guides, and PDF or Membership Guides.

So, which ones are the best?

I’m going to try to make that clear. So, here are the pros and cons for an in-game leveling guide and for a PDF or membership guide.

WoW Leveling In-Game Guide – Pros and Cons

Pros

• You won’t have to use ALT+TAB, being able to follow the leveling path which is displayed in game;
• They are easy to install;
• They are all easy to use, with player friendly interface;
• They use the in-game WoW maps;
• They have super optimized quest paths, allowing you to get a maximum XP rate at all time;
• They are step-by-step structured, and have automatic quest trackers;

Cons

• An in-game WoW leveling guide may interfere with the other addons that you have. Anyway, an elite leveling guide shouldn’t have this problem. For example, Zygor leveling guide never showed any glitches in conjunction with other addons;
• An in-game WoW leveling guide may not provide you with satisfying info about certain quests since each step tends to be short. Anyway, that’s not the case for the 3 guides I presented here, on the main page of this site;

WoW Leveling PDF Guide – Pros and Cons

Pros

• Since it’s PDF, you can always print it and have it on your desk;
• A PDF WoW leveling guide doesn’t require installation. You just have to have Adobe Acrobat Reader installed;
• Either if it’s step-by-step structured or not, an elite PDF leveling guide should provide you with much more details when it comes to explaining a quest. Long before Zygor, Joana’s leveling guide was one of the best leveling tools for Horde players and it was a PDF guide;
• PDF guides usually offer direct links to sites like WoWWiki or WoWhead for extra details for any quest;

Cons

• To work with a PDF guide or any guide that it’s not in-game, you’ll have to use ALT+TAB all the time, which sucks;
• Most of the PDF leveling guides for WoW are just general, strategy guides, and will not provide you with a super leveling path;
• A PDF guide is harder to update, so you won’t get updates frequently. This way you may end up with an outdated leveling path;

Conclusion

An in-game guide is much more useful than a PDF one, because you have everything you need for fast leveling directly into your game interface. So, if you want to reach 85 A.S.A.P, choose an elite WoW leveling guide.

There are many ways to increase your XP rate especially after you pass in the new World of Warcraft Cataclysm leveling zones, after reaching level 80. So, here are some Cataclysm leveling tips to increase your XP rating and maintain a high XP flow:

1. Beginning with patch 4.0.1 (not exactly sure), gathering professions have become a great source of XP. When picking up a flower or collecting a mineral node, you will get XP. Depending on your level, and the level of the resource you’re gathering, you can get an amount of XP equal with the one you receive for killing 3-4 mobs. In other words, by gathering 2-3 mineral nodes or herbs, you’ll get an amount of XP equivalent with a quest. This, of course, will increase your XP rate.

2. Don’t waste the money that you get from quests. Save every silver and gold piece, beginning with level 40 at least, to make sure you’re going to have the required amounts of gold to upgrade your riding skills, when you become eligible. The faster you run or fly, the more XP you will get.

3. Dungeon leveling is not a bad way to get XP nowadays. But if you’re following the optimized quest path of a WoW leveling guide, you’ll maintain a much higher XP rate. Therefore, don’t join dungeons unless you have at least 2-3 quests to complete in that particular dungeon.

4. And the last of the Cataclysm leveling tips that I’m going to put into view here stands for Heirlooms. Of course, not all Heirlooms will grant you XP after you reach level 80. In fact, there are only 2 Heirloom items that still work past level 80. The cloak and helmet. These are only available for players that are in a high level guild and they also have at least Revered reputation with that guild. If you meet these requirements, buy those Heirlooms immediately. 15% XP bonus from level 80 to level 85 is pretty sweet.

I hope you find these Cataclysm leveling tips useful. I wish you the fastest leveling from 1 to 85.

I know grinding isn’t exactly the best way to level up in World of Warcraft these days. However, if you’re waiting in queue for a battleground or a random dungeon and you don’t want to interrupt your quests when you’re assigned to a group, it’s best to grind a little bit. That’s what I do especially if I’m a skinner and have a little bit of rested XP.

Therefore, here are 2 spots to grind XP and raise your skinning skill. One is in Hellfire Peninsula (Outland) and the other one is in Storm Peaks (Northrend).

Dustquill Ravine. This spot is located in western Hellfire Peninsula. The mobs you’re going to grind on here are Quilfang Ravagers and Skitterers. They drop Knothide Leather Scraps, Knothide Leather and Crystal Infused Leather. They also drop Ravager Flesh which you can use to cook Ravager Dogs. You need about 310 skinning skill to be able to skin the ravagers here.

Gimorak’s Den. This cave can be found in the middle of Storm Peaks, in Northrend. There are plenty of wolves and Jormungar worms inside which drop Borean Leather and occasionally Arctic Fur. Both types of mobs drop meats which can be sold at AH, as they are or cooked. You need about 400 skinning skill to be able to skin the mobs here. This is actually one of the best spots to grind XP in Northrend.

To level fast from 1 to 85, get the best WoW leveling guide.

Leveling from 1 to 60 is quite easy nowadays, there are many XP bonuses and you can get to Outlands in quite a short time. However, when you reach the Outland zones, once you pass level 60, and furthermore, when you pass to Northrend, you might want to enhance you advancement by completing one or two dungeons.

To gain a high amount of XP in instances, it’s best to aim for the ones with a heavy load of trash mobs. Those are the instances from 60 to 80 that I’m going to point out here.

So, here’s my dungeon leveling path for Outland and Northrend:

58-60 – Hellfire Ramparts.

60-64 – The Underbog. Excellent place to rise your Herbalism. Also, pick up all the Sanguine Hibiscus and sell it in stacks of  5.

64-67 – Mana-Tombs. If you’re an enchanter, you’ll get a chance to get the Formula: Enchant Boots – Fortitude.

67-70 – Shadow Labyrinth and/or The Botanica.

70-73 – The Nexus.
73-76 – Drak’Tharon Keep.
76-79 – Halls of Stone.
79-80 – Caverns of Time: The Culling of Stratholme.

If you join groups for these instances when your character is within the level range mentioned, your effectiveness in a group will be optimal and the XP/time rate, maximized.

If you’re leveling up a character, riding skills are the first and most important skills that you should invest in after training your character. Having a fast mount, you’ll be able to move much faster between quest hubs or between questing locations.

Once you reach level 60, you’re eligible for the first flying, Expert Riding, and you should train it ASAP. Even if it grants you only 150% flying speed, you can still avoid plenty of obstacles and all the aggro between two points on your questing path and this way, your traveling will be improved by a lot.

When you pass to the zone of Northrend, even if you don’t have the money to buy the Artisan Flying Skill, it’s still a good idea to farm the amount you need for the Cold Weather Flying which will allow you to fly your normal flying mount in Northrend. This stands for the Azeroth Flying skill, if you’re leveling up in the Cataclysm zones.

If you have the gold ready for the Artisan Flying skill and also the Master Flying skill, these investments into your character aren’t bad at all, especially while you’re still leveling. Having 310% speed will surely help you burn quests a lot quicker.

I hope these WoW leveling tips were helpful. Anyway, if you want to reach level 85 in less than  days, you’ll be needing a professional WoW leveling guide.