Almar's World of Warcraft Instance Leveling Guide
This guide is here to help you level through WoW primarily by instancing. This guide is much different than my other leveling guide for WoW in that it takes advantage of the Random Dungeon Finder system to assist you in leveling as quickly as possible without the hassel of having to run around and find new quests all of the time. Using Random Dungeon Finder is an extremely fast way to level, still just slightly slower than questing but with instancing you will be sure to always have the best possible gear for your level all the way until max.
Before getting to the actual meat of the guide, here are a few informational pages you will want to read up on before running any instances.
Making extra gold while running instances
Levels 1 - 15
For this portion of the game your character will not have access to the Dungeon Finder tool. What you will need to do is level them the old fashion way, just doing quests and killing mobs. This can be extremely annoying and I am sure one of the least favorite parts of leveling a new character for almost everyone. It is however quite a simple part and will only take a few hours to do, especially if your character has a full set of heirlooms. Even if your character has no heirlooms at all, I would still expect it to only take three hours tops to get to level 15. If you get insanely bored of leveling, just do a few Battlegrounds. You can start doing them at level 10!
As was aforementioned, questing will be the fastest way through these levels. Out of pure boredom I put together a list of all the newbie zones you will be doing based on what race you play. Maybe later I will incorporate links for each of them.
For Horde:
Orc and Trolls
Durotar 1 - 10
Northern Barrens 10 - 15
Tauren
Mulgore 1 - 10
Northern Barrens 10 - 15
Undead
Tirisfal Glade 1 - 10
Silverpine Forest 10 - 15
Blood Elves
Eversong Woods 1 - 10
Ghostlands 10 - 15
Goblins
Kezan 1 - 10
The Lost Isles 10 - 15
For Alliance:
Humans
Elwynn Forest 1 - 10
Westfall 10 - 15
Night Elves
Teldrassil 1 - 10
Darkshore 10 - 15
Dwarves & Gnomes
Dun Morogh 1 - 10
Loch Modan 10 - 15
Draenei
Azuremyst Isle 1 - 10
Bloodmyst Isle 10 - 15
Worgen
Gilneas 1 - 15
Levels 15 - 16(17) Ragefire Chasm & Deadmines
The two very first instances you will be running are Ragefire Chasm and Deadmines. These two instances are a breeze for new players mainly because the players with Heirloom gear will help to be a breeze while running them. At the very start of each of these instances you will find a group of NPCs which have the quests that are available for these two places. At the very start of the instance you will want to gather these quests as they will be completed on the way through.
Doing the quests in each instance is an important part leveling through instances in WoW. Since most of those instance quests come from the very beginning of each instance, you don't really have to go around and look for them anymore. This is one of the best parts of leveling through instances in WoW, since you will be getting both XP from the quests and the instance itself! While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green items that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Items to look out for:
Linen Cloth (Can be used to raise First Aid and Tailoring)
Malachite (Can be used in Jewelcrafting)
Shadowgem (Can be used in Jewelcrafting)
Strange Dust (Can be used in Enchanting or sold on the AH for money)
Greater/Lesser Magic Essences (Can be used in Enchanting or sold on the AH for money)
Levels 16(17) - 19 Wailing Caverns & Deadmines
This part of the guide starts when you stop getting Ragefire Chasm and start getting Wailing Caverns and Deadmines in the Dungeon Finder. You'll notice this happen around level 16 if you're lucky but usually at level 17. If you manage to get a Wailing Caverns run you should expect to get at least an entire level and a half from it. Wailing Caverns gives a ton of XP, Deadmines does too but I figured you did the quests to get to this level in the first place. If not, then getting Deadmines after RFC would be great XP.
Either way, you probably only need a single instance to fill this level gap. Maybe 2 if you don't have a single Heirloom. While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green items that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Items to look out for:
Linen Cloth (Can be used to raise First Aid and Tailoring)
Wool Cloth (Can be used to raise First Aid and Tailoring)
Malachite (Can be used in Jewelcrafting)
Shadowgem (Can be used in Jewelcrafting)
Moss Agate (Can be used in Jewelcrafting)
Strange Dust (Can be used in Enchanting or sold on the AH for money)
Greater/Lesser Magic Essences (Can be used in Enchanting or sold on the AH for money)
Levels 18(17) - 20 Shadowfang Keep
By level 19 Shadowfang Keep will be the only instance you can get from your Random Dungeon Finder queue and there is only a single quest for SFK. The only quest available for SFK that you can get directly from inside the instance is a quest to kill all of the bosses. After you kill each boss an NPC will appear behind him where you can turn in your quest and get another one to kill the next boss. Each of the quest's rewards XP except for the last one which is the only one that offers an item as a reward too.
You will usually only have to run Shadowfang Keep a single time to get above level 20 (Although I didn't have the instances in my queue at 20, they say 20), then once you are level 20 you will be able to run Blackfathom Deeps and Stormwind Stockades. However, once you do get SFK with all of the quests and trash mobs inside you are going to be carried way past 20, usually to 21 almost 22.
While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green items that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Items to look out for:
Linen Cloth (Can be used to raise First Aid and Tailoring)
Wool Cloth (Can be used for Tailoring or to raise First Aid. Is also extemely well selling on the AH)
Malachite (Can be used in Jewelcrafting)
Shadowgem (Can be used in Jewelcrafting)
Moss Agate (Can be used in Jewelcrafting)
Strange Dust (Can be used in Enchanting or sold on the AH for money)
Greater/Lesser Magic Essences (Can be used in Enchanting or sold on the AH for money)
Levels 22 - 25 Blackfathom Deeps & Stormwind Stockades
At level 22 these two instances will be the only two instances available to you. Much like the previous instances you will be able to find the quests for that instance at the very beginning. In this bracket the only instance with quests will actually be Blackfathom Deeps, at least for Horde. Stockades has no quests for Horde but it does have quests for Alliance. You will start to notice the amount of XP you are getting for each run start to slow down in this bracket. For the most part you will still be getting a level or two per run but you will notice a drop off.
If you get Stormwind Stockades as Horde in this bracket you will only get about a single level for the whole instance, mainly just because there are no quests here for Horde. However, if you get Blackfathom Deeps you will get about two levels for a single instance run. As Alliance, it doesn't matter if you get Blackfathom Deeps or Stormwind Stockades, there are quests in both for you. You will be running both of these instances until level...
Also now that you are above level 20 and you have a mount you can start doing other things inbetween instance queues. Things such as the Cooking Dailies in whatever Capital town you're in, any Holiday quests that are going on at the current point in time (Winter's Veil, Noble Garden, Children's Week). You can also use the Warchief's Command Board in any capital town and find a zone to do some quests in while you wait. Although I really can only recommend that for people queuing as DPS as your queues will be the longest and you will have the most time inbetween to do whatever.
While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green items that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Blackfathom Deeps Quests
Horde
Amongst the Ruins
Nightmare of the Deeps
Deeps in the Deeps
(From Baron Aquanis) - Strange Water Globe quest starter
Alliance
In Search of Thaelrid
Knowledge In The Deeps
Researching the Corruption
Twilight Falls
Stormwind Stockades Quests
The Good Ol' Switcheroo
By Fire Be Saved!
The Gnoll King
Items to look out for:
Linen Cloth (Can be used to raise First Aid and Tailoring)
Wool Cloth (Can be used for Tailoring or to raise First Aid. Is also extemely well selling on the AH)
Malachite (Can be used in Jewelcrafting)
Shadowgem (Can be used in Jewelcrafting)
Moss Agate (Can be used in Jewelcrafting)
Strange Dust (Can be used in Enchanting or sold on the AH for money)
Greater/Lesser Magic Essences (Can be used in Enchanting or sold on the AH for money)
Blackfathom Deeps Only - Tangy Clam Meat (Used in Cooking, may sell on AH)
Levels 25 - 30 Gnomeregan (Scarlet Monastery - Rare)
This bracket will be dominated by running mostly Gnomeregan. There will be times that BFD and Stockades pop for you too but you should be expecting to run Gnomeregan a few times. Gnomeregan is a great instance to run since there are a ton of trash mobs to kill which means you will be getting a ton of experience. This instance is one of the more enjoyable instances you'll encounter while running instances through Vanilla content in my opinion. While running Gnomeregan be sure to select Disenchant for all the green items that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Despite what I said earlier by the time you finish the Gnomeregan level range you probably will never want to see this instance again. With Heirloom gear and some rested experience saved up this level range should only take 3 or 4 runs of Gnomregan. However with Heirlooms or rested XP it will take double the amount of runs. Another huge factor in how many runs this instance will take is how much of the trash your group kills. A lot of groups skip Grubbis, Crowd Pummeler and also bypass a ton of the extra trash mobs which are plentiful with experience.
Gnomeregan is very buggy when it comes to combat. In about half the Gnomers I run I am stuck in combat almost the entire instance. While knowing this may do absolutely nothing to help you; it may also in the same sense remind you to conserve mana because while you're in combat there will be no drinking.
Items to look out for:
Silk Cloth
Wool Cloth
Soul Dust
Strange Dust
Greater/Lesser Astral Essence
Levels 30 - 33 Scarlet Monastery/Maraudon
Scarlet Monastery was completely revamped in the patch just before Mists of Pandaria. Instead of having 4 different instances connected to Scarlet Monastery there are now only two in place of where the Graveyard and Library are. In most cases you won't get RFK to pop for you at the start of this bracket of levels however once you progress later into the 30s all you will get to pop is RFK. So be thankful for this short "stay of execution period before you get another "Gnomeregan" we'll call it ;D
Since Scarlet Monastery was revamped just before MoP a lot of returning players will not be used to the new changes made in this instance. That isn't totally a bad thing if you like when Blizzard destroys old content that was fun and enjoyable and replaces it with this garbage of crap they have been pulling out of the trash since Cataclysm. Maybe I am just quick to judge but I enjoyed old Scarlet Monastery and am really upset they replaced it with this... crap.
Luckily these three levels go by fairly quickly and you can leave Scarlet Monastery in the rear view. While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green items that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Items to look out for:
Silk Cloth
Soul Dust
Greater/Lesser Astral Essence
Jade
Levels 33 - 41 RFK/Maraudon/Uldaman
This level range is extremely long without much variation to the instances you run during it. I personally pray that I get Uldaman in this range since it has the most trash mobs which means the most experience and least amount of time waiting in queue. RFK is pretty good too but Maraudon just plain sucks. Maraudon is the shortest of the three instances (regardless of what side you get) which means the least amount of experience per run.
RFK comes in at a close second with quite a bit of trash and stuff to do inside the instance. It even has a nice escort at the end but most groups skip this quest. Then we have Uldaman. As aforementioned Uldaman is by far the best instance you can run in this level range. It has a ton of trash mobs and quite a few different bosses (which sadly a lot of groups still skip the side bosses... tards). Uldaman will net you about double the amount of experience RFK does which in some cases can be up to an entire level in just one run!
This range should go by fairly quickly due to these two instances. About 10 - 15 runs in this level range and you'll be moving onto Scholomance, which was my favorite instance of all time before they changed it in Cataclysm, it's still however half way decent for experience, much better than a lot of the instances before it, maybe on par with RFK.
While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green items that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Items to look out for:
Mageweave Cloth
Silk Cloth
Soul Dust
Greater/Lesser Astral Essence
Jade
Levels 41 - 44 Scholomance
Scholomance will primarily be the only instance you get to pop for you in this level range which actually works out well for me since I love this instance so much. As with all of the other instances before it there are some quests available at the entrance of Scholomance. However the main difference with Scholomance is there are almost double the amount of quests available for this instance than there were for previous instances. Even if you don't level up entirely by running instances Scholomance is one you will definitely want to run at least once for the quest XP.
If you haven't run Scholomance since before Cataclysm a lot has changed in here. For one it doesn't drop Runecloth, Illusion Dust, Large Brilliant Shards or Greater Eternal Essences anymore. Scholomance now drops Mageweave Cloth and supplies you with Disenchanting materials for that level range. Of course to reflect that change mobs levels are also much lower than what they used to be. But I can assume you figured all of this out already considering you can see it is a low end level 40 instance and not a top end level 50 instance.
Aside from those major changes the instance still works almost exactly the same. There are still the same amount of bosses and all of the fights still work in the same ways. It should only take you about 7 runs of Scholomance to get done this level bracket unless you get groups that skip all of the side bosses and a lot of the trash. Or of course if you have a lot of rested XP things will move a lot faster. Either way, savor this bracket as the instances that are part of the neck one are rather lackluster.
While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green items that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Items to look out for:
Mageweave Cloth
Levels 44 - 50 RFD/Dire Maul/Stratholme/Zul'farrak
The amount of instances you're able to run in this level range really opens up. Unlike the previous level ranges you have a large selection here, to the point of where there is even a chance you might not see the same instance twice! Not only are most of the instances in this range pretty fun and much better than the next 5 levels to come but they are extremely plentiful with quests, offering you at least 3 quests for each instance some of them having more.
If I had to pick the worst thing about this level range it is the fact that it doesn't last long enough!
While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green items that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Items to look out for:
Mageweave Cloth
Levels 50 - 55 BRD/Sunken Temple
Starting at level 50 you will enter the most painful bracket there is for leveling up through instances. During this range you are going to be getting a whole lot of Blackrock Depths(BRD). With Cataclysm they split BRD up into a few different parts, most of which are painfully short and since groups skip most of the trash these short instance runs will net you next to nothing in experience. Aside from Azjol-Nerub and Ahn'kahet later on in the 70s this is by far the worst level range for instance grinding.
- Sunken Temple shortened in cata
While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green items that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Levels 55 - 58 LBRS/UBRS
While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for ALL items in this level range. Large Brilliant Shards, Illusion Dust and Greater Eternal Essences sell for insane amounts on the Auction House.
Loot From these instances:
Runecloth
Illusion Dust
Greater Eternal Essence
Rugged Leather
Thick Leather
Levels 58 - 61 Hellfire Ramparts
While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green items that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Levels 61 - 63 Blood Furnace
While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green items that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Levels 62 - 64 Slave Pens
While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green items that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Levels 63 - 65 Underbog/Mana-Tombs
While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green items that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Levels 65 - 67 Auchenai Crypts
While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green items that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Levels 67 - 68 Sethekk Halls
While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green items that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Levels 67 - 71 Utgarde Keep
While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green Armor (Don't DE Weapons) that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Infinite Dust
Greater Cosmic Essence
Borean Leather
Arctic FurLevels 72 - 74 Azjol-Nerub/Ahn'kahet
This is by far the most annoying level range you will come across while leveling up via running instances. It is in fact so horrible that I usually stop running instances for these few levels since I just can't stand Azjol-Nerub or Ahn'kahet. Although if you get a good group in Ahn'kahet you will get some decent experience with every instance run. Getting a good group that actually can interrupt the mobs that hit hard as hell at the start of the instance and towards the third boss and actually understand the mechanics is ungodly rare though.
In my experience of leveling 7 characters through this range with Dungeon Finder most of your time spent in these instances will be waiting for a new player to join. If you actually find a good group in this range beg them to stay around for more than one run. Or, select Specific Dungeons from the queue list and select either The Nexus or Utgarde Keep. Even though both are below your level at least most groups complete both instances. If you actually manage to get a good group Ahn'kahet will take about 4 to 5 full runs to make it to the next level braket and Azjol-Nerub will take about 12
While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green Armor (Don't DE Weapons) that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Levels 74 - 76 Drak'tharon Keep
While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green Armor (Don't DE Weapons) that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Levels 76 - 78 Gun'drak
While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green Armor (Don't DE Weapons) that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Levels 77 - 80 Halls of Stone/Lightning
While running these instances be sure to select Disenchant for all the green Armor (Don't DE Weapons) that drop and greed for all of the blue items. Blue Enchanting mats don't sell well in this level range.
Level 80 - Preperation for new content