World of Warcraft Classic’s new Hardcore game mode—where death is permanent and a strict ruleset can alter the way you play—is launching on Aug. 24. The mode originated in the WoW community, but Blizzard is now getting in on the action with their own official servers.
Although the WoW Classic devs intend for Hardcore mode to be an “evergreen” experience—one you can come back to and play at your own pace—there’s always going to be a contingent of players who want to experience the content as fast as possible. Rushing through at a fast pace is definitely something you can do, although you might run into some difficulties once the concept of permadeath is brought into the mix.
The easiest way to level up fast and efficiently in Classic Hardcore is to combine questing and mob grinding. There is more than enough experience to go around across Azeroth, and you’ll eventually reach level 60 if you stay the course. However, there are still ways to speed things up and turn your leveling journey into a powerleveling journey.
Here’s how to quickly blow through WoW Classic’s first 59 levels on Hardcore and powerlevel your way all the way to the endgame.
What is powerleveling and how does it work in Hardcore WoW Classic?
Powerleveling is the process of gaining a ton of levels in one session of gaming. In WoW Classic terms, powerleveling often involves killing countless mobs and completing endless quests with the intention of surging through the game. To powerlevelers, the story of a game doesn’t matter, and in WoW, their only focus is that sweet, sweet XP. If you’re one of those players who loves to min-max their experience gains and make the most out of their time playing, a powerleveling strategy could be best for you.
Questing or mob grinding?
Ideally, you should play through your WoW Classic Hardcore runs the same way you’d traditionally play the game—by mixing up quests with intermittent grinding (when necessary). If you need a bit more experience to reach a level that’s needed to either train a spell or complete a quest more easily, then grind for a little bit; but don’t rely grinding to be your main source of experience.
While power-grinding mobs in high-density areas with AoE spells is something that you can definitely do to earn experience rapidly, it’s not ideal for the average player. You’ll likely need to do a ton of research and practice in order to perfect mob farming, and on Hardcore servers, where death is permanent, you won’t have that much room to work with. If you make even one mistake when bunching up mobs, you could be faced with a sticky situation that tanks your run.
Related: Best and easiest starting zones for WoW Classic Hardcore
We recommend keeping to what’s in your quest log and only taking on challenges relevant to your level and skill set. Trust us, the experience comes naturally.
Are dungeons worth it for speed-leveling in WoW Classic Hardcore?
One of the most tried and true ways to get some quick experience in Classic WoW is to run dungeons. With tons of enemies inside and some quests to complete, as well, WoW’s dungeons are historically rich with experience. However, on Hardcore servers, there is a hard cap on dungeons; you can only complete each dungeon in the game once per day. With that in mind, it’s going to be better to focus on questing and grinding mobs and only running dungeons when you have enough of a reason to do so.
Running into a dungeon at a low level or without good enough gear is going to be a challenge, and it’s not like the permadeath rule goes away, either. Your deaths in dungeons count just as much as they do in the open world, so enter with care.
WoW Classic Hardcore mode launches on Aug. 24.
