After the two dungeon XP nerfs (see post 35), queue-grinding dungeons for XP is pointless — but dungeon quest XP plus boss blues remain, so the optimal play becomes a marathon: hit each dungeon once, in level order, every quest accepted, loot, leave. No outdoor mob competition at all. This post lays out the Horde order.
Scope notes: the order comes from CN beta testing (10-05); level bands are community-reported and the live game governs. One thing first — most of these are classic-side dungeons, not in our nine-new-dungeons list; the new ones (Wetlands, the Drowned City, etc.) are called out inline.
Levels 20-29: the five-chain
The tested order: Shadowfang Keep (enter at 23) → Excavation Site: Wetlands (26-31) → Blackfathom Deeps → City of Dalaran → Razorfen Downs. The logic is contiguous quest XP with zero outdoor filler:
- Shadowfang Keep (classic, Silverpine): first-clear at 20+, includes the Sylvanas' Seal quest (+6 attack power);
- Excavation Site: Wetlands (new dungeon, both factions): quests start at three places — the Orgrimmar cooking vendor, Hammerfall in Arathi, and the Titan Relic at the final boss (turn-in at Thunder Bluff); entering at 28 feels much better;
- Blackfathom Deeps / City of Dalaran / Razorfen Downs (classic): round out 20-29 and carry you to 30.
Levels 30-39: Scarlet plus the Drowned City
Run Scarlet Monastery as Graveyard → Library → Cathedral (the Armory pays poorly in this band), paired with the 35-40 new dungeon, the Drowned City. Scarlet's quest chain spans the whole 30s.
Levels 40-49: a five-dungeon relay
Krol'dok Stronghold (40-45, new) → Uldaman (41+; open from 30 per the official 10-4 update) → Zul'Farrak (44) → Maraudon (46) → Alcaz Prison (48, new). The theme is slotting the new dungeons between the classics — Krol'dok's and Alcaz's blues fill the level-40 gear gap precisely.
Levels 50-55: another five-dungeon relay
The Sunken Temple (50) → Blackrock Depths (52) → Dire Maul East (54) → Lower Blackrock Spire (55) → Blackmaw Hold (55, new). The Temple and Dire Maul chains are long — accept-everything-first matters most here; miss two quests and half the run is wasted travel.
Levels 56-60: the six-dungeon close
Dire Maul North (56) → Dire Maul West (56) → Stratholme (main/side gates, 58) → Shaper's Terrace (58, new) → Scholomance (58) → Upper Blackrock Spire (59). Every first clear in this leg pays: Stratholme and Scholomance quest XP is still top-tier, and Shaper's Terrace is the last new dungeon before 60.
Three execution notes
- Quest sharing: prerequisite-free quests share to the whole group; chained ones (like Ragefire's "Hidden Enemies") don't once a teammate has them — check the list before you enter;
- New dungeons outrank classics: their blues plus blueprint recipes are the best-in-band gear; classics yield to them;
- Don't force the level floor: the listed levels are recommendations, not gates — entering two levels under slows the whole group; one short, do an outdoor lap first.
The Alliance mirror is in progress (the 20-29 order differs slightly: Deadmines → Stockades → Gnomeregan as the spine) and will be linked here when published. Pair with the per-level route sheets for zones and the starter gear page for what to wield.