Our leveling page already carries 30-row per-level cheat sheets for both factions — for "where do I go at this level", the table is enough. The question people keep asking is "why": why does the whole Horde converge on the Crossroads at 12? This post explains the reasoning behind the route, so you can improvise when crowds or quest droughts break the script.

Scope notes: the skeleton comes from community beta testing (10-04 to 10-05, multi-source); pacing has both an official and a community version, labeled inline. Coordinates are community-reported — the game governs.

Three principles first

One: quests first, dungeons once. After the two October nerfs, dungeon kill XP is about 10% of outdoor (see the dungeon XP post) — dungeons in a route are a roadside blue-gear stop, not an engine. Accept every quest before entering; leave after the first clear.

Two: new zones over old. Zephras Isle (1-12) and the Riverglades (35-45) have dense quests and light mob competition. When quests dry up, hop to a new zone instead of grinding a crowded old one.

Three: bind one hearth anchor. Half of levelling efficiency is where you log off — inn rested XP plus a hearthstone that lands near your quest hub. Horde binding the Crossroads at 12 and Alliance binding toward Wetlands mid-route are the same logic.

Horde: why everyone converges on the Crossroads at 12

Horde starts are scattered (Durotar / Mulgore / Tirisfal), but the 10-4 all-races speed tests agree: rally at the Crossroads at 12. Three reasons: the Northern Barrens quest belt covers 11-21 with the best density of any low-level zone; the Crossroads is the logistics hub (hearth + flight point); and from there the dungeon chain connects seamlessly — Ragefire's five quests at 13, the run at ~14.5, then straight into the Ruins of Lordaeron chain.

Reroute: if the Crossroads is too crowded, Silverpine Forest is the low-competition alternative (10-5 tests: fewer players, actually faster). Skyborne players: after the Zephras Isle storyline, take the boat to Thunder Bluff, grab the flight point, walk to Orgrimmar — and bind your hearth at the Crossroads as you pass (10-4 speed-run note).

Alliance: why the Hall of Thanes opens the route

The Alliance skeleton is a three-dungeon chain: Fargodeep Mine's five quests at 11 → the Hall of Thanes pre-quest at 12 (kill 10 Dark Iron spies, 64.8,58.5 in Dun Morogh) → the run at 13, five quests worth about 27.6k XP with a three-way blue pick from the final boss → Westfall at 14-16, picking up the bedroll quest → Deadmines at 17-20, six quests turned in at once for an instant 20. The Hall comes first because it is the densest early blue source on the Alliance side — ten drops, all item level 18, a full set at 13.

Reroute: Alliance levels 19-22 have a hidden option — the Ruins of Lordaeron may be marked Horde-leaning, but Alliance players have entered and quested fine in tests; the Wetlands excavation is both-factions anyway. Don't let the old "faction-locked" label box you in.

Yes, groups can be slower than solo

The Icy Veins analysis (10-4) kept verifying in beta: popular zones are mob-competition races, and a group doubles the drop requirements while everyone waits on respawns — a solo player's pickup rhythm is faster. The dungeon nerf widened the gap. The conclusion isn't "never group": quest separately, meet up for dungeons — and for dungeon quests, prefer factions-mixed groups (many dungeon quests span regions; mixed races cover more of them).

What about after 30?

The beta caps at 30, so here's the 30-60 skeleton: 30-40 Thousand Needles / Arathi / Stranglethorn with the Scarlet Monastery chain; 35-45 the dense new Riverglades; 40-50 Tanaris / Hinterlands with Zul'Farrak and Uldaman; 45-55 Searing Gorge and the Blasted Lands; 50-60 the Plaguelands and Winterspring into raid prep. We'll fill in the tested details after the 11-05 launch — the per-level sheets will extend to 60 then.

Time budget, both versions

Official podcast (9-26): about 20.5 hours to 20, roughly 160 hours questing to the cap. Community speedrunners: 80-100 hours to 60, 10-12 hours to 30. The shared point: dungeon-rush routes are dead — expect 30-50% longer than classic-era muscle memory suggests.

As always: the row-by-row details live on the leveling page, talent chains in the levelling talents post, and the bedroll quest walkthrough in its own post.