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Leveling to 90 in MoP Classic: Quick Answer
Updated 12 October 2026 for MoP Classic Phase 5. Zone levels and the leveling advice are from Wowhead’s MoP Classic leveling guide; heirloom numbers from Wowhead’s heirloom overview.
Pandaria starts at level 85 and ends at 90. Use the Jade Forest first, then the Valley of the Four Winds, Krasarang Wilds and Kun-Lai Summit, then Townlong Steppes and the Dread Wastes. Mix in each dungeon once as it opens, wear the heirlooms, and do not worry about finishing every zone. Level 90 opens the Vale of Eternal Blossoms and everything in Phase 5, including the Timeless Isle (see our gearing guide).
| Zone | Level range |
|---|---|
| The Jade Forest | 85-87 |
| Valley of the Four Winds | 86-90 |
| Krasarang Wilds | 86-90 |
| Kun-Lai Summit | 86-90 |
| Townlong Steppes | 88-90 |
| Dread Wastes | 89-90 |
| Vale of Eternal Blossoms | level 90 endgame zone |
The Best Way to Level in MoP Classic
Wowhead lists four ways to level: quests, dungeons, grinding mobs and boosting. Questing is the intended and most flexible method. Dungeons can be faster when you have a ready group, and grinding is weaker than it used to be, since quests and dungeons both give a lot of experience. The recommendation is a combination: quest in a zone and run each dungeon at least once as it opens, because the dungeon quests are all available from the entrance and reward gear close to the dungeon’s own loot.
Top-Leveling Methods
- Follow the zone order above. Wowhead advises waiting until you slightly out-level a zone’s starting level: it is faster to do an easier zone quickly than a harder one slowly.
- Finish the storyline quests. Many Pandaria zones have a long storyline that ends in a bigger reward, sometimes leading into a dungeon, with extra experience and a stronger piece of gear.
- Skip red quests. Red quests (5 or more levels above you) are best left alone, orange ones (3 to 5 levels above) may need a group, and gray quests (10 or more levels below you) give only 10% of the experience.
- Use the Hero’s Call Board or the Warchief’s Command Board in your capital: it offers the breadcrumb quests for your level and is usually the fastest way to the next zone.
- Wear heirlooms in every slot (see below).
MoP Classic Level 90 XP Requirements (85–90)
We no longer print a table of experience needed per level. The old table in this guide came from PTR testing before launch and we could not confirm it for the live game. The practical measure is the zone ranges above: a quest-and-dungeon mix takes you through the five Pandaria zones in the order listed.
Group size also matters. Experience from killing mobs is shared: for a mob worth 100 experience to one player, a group of two gets 50 each, three get 39, four get 33 and five get 28 (Wowhead). Quest turn-ins give the same experience to everyone, and in a raid group mob experience is greatly reduced, so do not quest in a raid.
How Leveling Works in MoP Classic
You can arrive in Pandaria in three ways. A new character levels through the older content, a returning character starts from level 85 or higher, and Pandaren and Monks begin on the Wandering Isle. At 85 the Hero’s Call Board (Alliance) or the Warchief’s Command Board (Horde) offers the quest that sends you to the Wandering Isle and then to the Jade Forest. Both factions begin in the Jade Forest with different quest lines, and then largely follow the same route.
Leveling From 1–85 in MoP Classic
The first 85 levels use the older zones and dungeons, and we do not publish a zone-by-zone table for them here because we could not check the current brackets. Two things apply to every route: use the faction capital’s quest boards to find the quest hubs for your level, and queue as a tank or healer if you can, because DPS queues are long. Our power leveling service covers the first 85 levels if you would like to skip them.
Wowhead notes that you should do a dungeon once as soon as it opens even if you are questing, because dungeon quests are good experience and rewards.
Preparing for Pandaria: Level 85 Checklist
This section replaces our separate preparation guide, which was written before the launch in July 2025. Most of its pre-patch advice (currency conversion, honor caps, free boosts) is no longer relevant. These points still are:
- Reach 85 before Pandaria. Pandaria zones and flying are built for 85 and above.
- Set your hearthstone to your faction capital and clear your bags before you go.
- Buy the heirlooms in the next section for your alts.
- Pick up professions early. Gathering professions level themselves while you quest. For crafting professions, see our best professions guide.
- Fishing opens the Anglers reputation and its Azure Water Strider mount (5,000 gold at Exalted), covered in our daily quests guide.
- Install a few addons for questing and the Auction House; see our MoP Classic addons guide.
Heirlooms and Bonus Experience
Heirlooms add up to 50% experience in total and their stats grow with your level.
| Slot | XP bonus | How to get it |
|---|---|---|
| Cloak | 5% | Guild vendor, 1,200 gold, at Friendly with the guild |
| Helm | 10% | Guild vendor, 1,500 gold, at Revered |
| Legs | 10% | Guild vendor, 1,750 gold, at Honored with a guild that finished Working Better as a Team |
| Shoulders | 10% | Justice Points, Darkmoon Prize Tickets, Champion’s Seals or Honor |
Chest, trinket, ring, weapon and shield heirlooms are also available. Heirloom pieces first scale to level 80, and you can upgrade them with Justice Points (PvE) or Honor (PvP) so they scale to level 85. For example, the shoulders cost 2,175 Justice Points, and the upgrade 870 more. There are no limits on which enchants you can put on heirloom gear.
MoP Classic 85–90 Leveling Path: Zones and Tips
Alliance and Horde start in the Jade Forest. Wowhead lists the zones above with these level ranges, so the order of the table at the top of the page is the path. Zone-specific tips:
- Jade Forest (85-87): do the main storyline and the Temple of the Jade Serpent chain. Alliance hub: Pearlfin Village. Horde hub: Grookin Hill. Neutral hub: Dawn’s Blossom.
- Valley of the Four Winds and Krasarang Wilds (86-90): Wowhead gives both the same range, so start with either. Pick up the Stormstout Brewery dungeon quest in the Valley and the Temple of the Red Crane chain in Krasarang.
- Kun-Lai Summit (86-90): the Arena of Annihilation scenario is a short, rewarding detour.
- Townlong Steppes (88-90) and Dread Wastes (89-90): finish with the Klaxxi storyline in the Dread Wastes, and accept the Paragon buffs.
At 90, move on to the Vale of Eternal Blossoms and the dailies: see our daily routine guide.
MoP Classic Alliance Leveling
Alliance characters at 85 take the Hero’s Call Board quest in Stormwind to the Wandering Isle and then start in the Jade Forest at Pearlfin Village. Alliance has its own Jade Forest storyline (a different set of quests from the Horde), then shares the next zones.
MoP Classic Horde Leveling
Horde characters at 85 take the Warchief’s Command Board quest in Orgrimmar to the Wandering Isle and then start in the Jade Forest at Grookin Hill. After the Jade Forest, the Horde follows the same zone order as the Alliance.
MoP Classic Dungeon Leveling
Dungeon leveling means queueing for random dungeons in the Dungeon Finder. Tanks and healers get through the queue almost at once, DPS can wait a while, and a ready group removes the queue. Gear from dungeon quests is often as good as the boss loot. A downside is that you can out-level crafting professions, although many dungeons have mining and herb nodes. These four are the usual Pandaria leveling dungeons:
| Dungeon | Bosses |
|---|---|
| Temple of the Jade Serpent | Wise Mari, Lorewalker Stonestep, Liu Flameheart, Sha of Doubt |
| Stormstout Brewery | Ook-Ook, Hoptallus, Yan-Zhu the Uncasked |
| Mogu’shan Palace | Trial of the King, Gekkan, Xin the Weaponmaster |
| Shado-Pan Monastery | Gu Cloudstrike, Master Snowdrift, Sha of Violence, Taran Zhu |
At 90, the same dungeons become the Heroic and Celestial dungeons (and Challenge Mode, in our Challenge Mode guide).
Classes for Fast Leveling
Wowhead has a leveling page for every class and spec, covering the best leveling spec, talents, gear and glyphs. Our class rankings include a table of the specs that leveling guides recommend most often.