Your essential guide to leveling through Northrend in World of Warcraft: Midnight. Discover the best zones and questing paths from 68 to 80.
Alright, so you've made it to the icy continent of Northrend! This place is huge and packed with quests, but don't worry, I've got a solid path for you to hit level 80 without too much fuss. Think of this as your roadmap to conquering the frozen north.
- 1Levels 68-72: Borean Tundra or Howling Fjord
Your first stop in Northrend. You can catch a boat from the SW Harbor to the Borean Tundra, or from Menethil Harbor to the Howling Fjord. There are also zeppelins at Orgrimmar and Undercity, but I'm not 100% sure about those. The key here is to do the starting quests in *both* of these zones. The rewards, especially weapons, are pretty sweet and will set you up nicely.
- 2Levels 72-74: Dragonblight
Next up is Dragonblight. This is where you'll find the entrances to iconic places like Naxxramas and the Wrathgate. Plenty of quests here to keep you busy and push you through these levels.
- 3Levels 74-76: Zul'Drak or Grizzly Hills
You've got a couple of options here. You can head straight to Zul'Drak, or you can start with the Drakkuru quests in Grizzly Hills and then move on to Zul'Drak. Both will get you the XP you need.
- 4Levels 76-77: Sholazar Basin
Time for Sholazar Basin. It's a bit of a change of scenery, but it's got good questing. You can actually hit level 78 here if you stick around long enough, but it's not strictly necessary.
- 5Level 78+: Storm Peaks and Icecrown
This is where things get serious. You'll start getting quests on the ground in Storm Peaks, but to really explore and get the most out of it, you'll need Cold Weather Flying. If you don't have it yet, you might want to stick to Sholazar Basin for a bit longer. Alternatively, you can start getting some experience from Battlegrounds now. The crafted PvP gear is pretty good, and it's a decent way to start earning Honor for your level 80 gear.
- 6Levels 79-80: Storm Peaks and Icecrown (via Flight)
Once you can fly in Northrend (Cold Weather Flying is a must!), you can really dive into Storm Peaks and Icecrown. The quests here will get you right to level 80. Some of the blue-quality gear you get from these quests will even be good enough to start you off at max level.
- Don't bother with old Azeroth raids or even Outland raids for leveling gear; the rewards just aren't worth the time compared to questing. Same goes for Outland factions like the Shattered Sun Offensive.
- Doing both Borean Tundra and Howling Fjord at the start gives you a great variety of weapon rewards.
- While you *can* skip Grizzly Hills, you'll likely need to complete quests in almost all the other Northrend zones to reach level 80.
- Battlegrounds can be a good alternative for XP, especially if you enjoy PvP. The XP from Alterac Valley is still decent, even after recent patches.
100% Human-Written. AI Fact-Checked. Community Verified. Learn how AntMag verifies content