Alliance route 1 to 60

Vanilla’s Alliance leveling path still works in Forever because the zone level bands and the XP table did not change. What changed is that four gaps got filled: Alterac finally has a reason to exist (City of Dalaran at 28 to 33), the 35 to 45 desert has a whole new zone (Riverglades), the 55 to 60 crawl has Blackmaw Hold and Shaper’s Terrace, and the Stormwind-Auberdine boat kills the Menethil detour. This page is the flow; the dungeon table and new zones pages carry the detail.

How to read this

Level ranges for vanilla zones are the vanilla baseline and unchanged as far as anyone has shown. New Forever content is marked. The route below is the guild’s suggested flow, not Blizzard’s. Where two zones cover the same band, pick the one your pod is in; the point of a pod is being in the same place.

Alliance races: Human (Elwynn), Dwarf and Gnome (Dun Morogh), Night Elf (Teldrassil), High Order Skyborne (Zephras Isle, paid pack).

1 to 12: starting zones

Race	Zone	Hubs	Notes
Human	Elwynn Forest	Northshire, Goldshire	Datamine shows only 2 new quest markers in Elwynn; this is vanilla Elwynn with new lighting and “flowing river effects”. verified
Dwarf, Gnome	Dun Morogh	Coldridge Valley, Kharanos	New flight point “Tidegear Coast” in the client. Hall of Thanes lead-in quests start here. verified
Night Elf	Teldrassil	Shadowglen, Dolanaar	Vanilla. The Darkshore water now has mist; visual only.
Skyborne (High Order)	Zephras Isle	Valanaar, Thendal Village, Shen’dar Village, Falaath Village, Shrine of Akir	1 to 12, sanctuary zone, no PvP. Exit by airship from the Valanaar Skydocks to Dalaran in Alterac Mountains. verified

Launch-night note: every starting camp will be a mob. Zephras Isle will be the emptiest because it is paywalled. See Launch night.

10 to 20: Westfall, Loch Modan, Darkshore

Levels	Zone	Hub	Do
10 to 18	Westfall	Sentinel Hill	8 new quest markers in the datamine; the Defias Brotherhood chain leads into Deadmines. verified for the datamine
10 to 18	Loch Modan	Thelsamar	Vanilla. Good second zone for Dwarves and Gnomes
10 to 20	Darkshore	Auberdine	Vanilla. Now reachable by boat from Stormwind Harbor and from Menethil. verified
13 to 18	The Hall of Thanes (new dungeon)	Inside Ironforge, Old Ironforge burial chambers	Lead-in chain in Dun Morogh: A Visitor to Dun Morogh, Farsen’s Watch, Nip ’Em in the Bud, Underground Map, Old Ironforge Incursion. Inside: Important Heirlooms, The Restless Dead, An Ancient Grudge, Treaty of Understanding. Four bosses. verified
18 to 23	Deadmines	Westfall, Moonbrook	One run with the Defias chain. First Mate Band now pairs with an endgame ring for a two-piece set bonus; bank it. verified

Hall of Thanes sits inside the capital, so Ironforge-side pods can do it with zero travel. Humans and Night Elves should take the tram or walk over around 14 to 15; the quest XP pays for the trip several times over.

18 to 30: Redridge, Duskwood, Wetlands, Ashenvale

Levels	Zone	Hub	Do
15 to 25	Redridge Mountains	Lakeshire	Vanilla. Note that Riverglades is reachable by road off Redridge later. verified for the road
18 to 30	Duskwood	Darkshire	Vanilla; still dense
20 to 30	Wetlands	Menethil Harbor	“Over 25 quests and a new route”, updated lighting and art. verified
24 to 29	Excavation Site: Wetlands (new dungeon)	Above Whelgar’s Excavation	“Strange lights, drifting mist, malfunctioning Titan constructs, and rogue machinery.” Bosses not public. verified for premise
18 to 30	Ashenvale	Astranaar	Vanilla. “Moonlight through Ashenvale’s trees” is visual only
22 to 30	The Stockade	Stormwind canals	Vanilla. One run
24 to 32	Blackfathom Deeps	Ashenvale, Zoram Strand	Vanilla. One run

Wetlands is the one old zone with a confirmed quest expansion, so it moves up the list for Alliance. With Menethil now running boats to Southshore and Auberdine, it is also the travel hub for the whole 20s.

28 to 35: Hillsbrad, Alterac and Dalaran, Stonetalon, Thousand Needles

Levels	Zone	Hub	Do
20 to 30	Hillsbrad Foothills	Southshore	Vanilla; now on the Menethil boat line
28 to 33	City of Dalaran (new dungeon)	Dalaran, Alterac Mountains	Dalaran is rebuilt as a “failing city”, the shield is down, “the Kirin Tor need help”. Bosses not public. verified for premise
25 to 35	Stonetalon Mountains	Stonetalon Peak	Vanilla
25 to 35	Thousand Needles	Thalanaar	Vanilla
26 to 45	Scarlet Monastery (4 wings)	Tirisfal, deep Horde territory	Vanilla. Still worth one run per wing for the blues, and the Alliance chain In the Name of the Light. vanilla baseline
29 to 38	Gnomeregan	Dun Morogh, west	Vanilla. One run

Alterac was empty space in vanilla. In Forever it hosts a 28 to 33 dungeon and the Alliance Skyborne landing, and it is where the two factions first converge in the leveling path. On PvP ruleset, expect fights at Dalaran’s entrance.

35 to 45: Riverglades and the old desert

This is the band vanilla did worst. Stranglethorn, Arathi, Desolace, Badlands, Swamp of Sorrows and Feralas are all sparse. Forever adds a full zone with its own dungeon, plus a second dungeon off the STV coast.

Levels	Zone	Hub	Do
35 to 45	Riverglades (new zone)	Farholde Keep (flight point), Powderfuse Port (neutral, flight point, boat to Tanaris), Bolder’ok, Sunnyglade, Wheeler’s Grange, Windstead	150 to 200 quests, “roughly the size of Stranglethorn Vale”. Enter by road from Redridge. verified
40 to 45	Krol’dok Stronghold (new dungeon)	Riverglades	“Large outdoor ogre dungeon”, Dire Maul style. Bosses not public. verified for premise
35 to 40	The Drowned City (new dungeon)	Off the coast of Stranglethorn Vale	Risen troll ruin, naga, trolls, wrecked pirate ship. BlizzCon demo dungeon. Bosses not public. verified for premise
30 to 45	Stranglethorn Vale	Booty Bay, Rebel Camp	Vanilla; still the largest quest zone of the band
30 to 40	Arathi Highlands	Refuge Pointe	Vanilla
30 to 40	Desolace	Nijel’s Point	Centaur faction quests “with new rewards”; the south road now opens into Shen’dralas. verified
35 to 45	Badlands	(no Alliance hub, Uldaman quests from Ironforge)	Vanilla
35 to 45	Swamp of Sorrows	(Horde hub only)	Vanilla; borders Riverglades
35 to 45	Dustwallow Marsh	Theramore	Vanilla; Alcaz Island opens later at 48 to 53
?	Shen’dralas (new zone)	Shen’dralas, Bristleback Retreat, Evenshade Overlook, Outcast Hideaway	Level range not announced. Enter on foot via Desolace’s south road and the Valley of Bones. No flight master in the client. Probably 35 to 45 or 40 to 50, but Blizzard has not said. unverified for the band
40 to 50	Razorfen Downs	Southern Barrens	Vanilla. One run
42 to 52	Uldaman	Badlands	Vanilla. The Power Stones, Solution to Doom, Lost Dwarves and Platinum Discs chains are a trinket plus a lot of XP. vanilla baseline

45 to 55: Tanaris, Feralas, Hinterlands, Searing Gorge, Un’Goro, Azshara

Levels	Zone	Hub	Do
40 to 50	Tanaris	Gadgetzan, Steamwheedle Port	10 new quest markers in the datamine. Steamwheedle Port now has a boat to Powderfuse Port in Riverglades. verified
40 to 50	Feralas	Feathermoon Stronghold	Vanilla
40 to 50	The Hinterlands	Aerie Peak	Vanilla
43 to 50	Searing Gorge	(Thorium Point)	Vanilla
48 to 55	Un’Goro Crater	Marshal’s Refuge	Vanilla; Shaper’s Terrace opens here at 58
45 to 55	Azshara	Talrendaris	“A serious expansion”, “including its large unused crater”, “additional Azshara quests”. verified
48 to 53	Alcaz Prison (new dungeon)	Alcaz Island, NE of Dustwallow Marsh	The long-locked prison tied to the Varian Wrynn disappearance; Defias and naga inside. Bosses not public. verified for premise
44 to 54	Zul’Farrak	Tanaris, NW	Vanilla. Gahz’rilla chain for Carrot on a Stick, Divino-matic Rod, Nekrum’s Medallion. vanilla baseline
46 to 55	Maraudon	Desolace	Vanilla. Legends of Maraudon gives the Scepter of Celebras, a permanent teleport into the back half. vanilla baseline
50 to 60	Sunken Temple	Swamp of Sorrows	Vanilla. Class quests at 50 give every class a blue. vanilla baseline

Azshara’s expansion is the wild card. The vanilla zone was mostly empty; Blizzard says it now has real content and the Blackmaw Hold entrance. Treat it as a full 45 to 55 zone until the beta reaches it.

55 to 60: the finish

Levels	Zone	Hub	Do
48 to 55	Felwood	Talonbranch Glade	Vanilla
53 to 60	Winterspring	Everlook	Vanilla
50 to 58	Burning Steppes	Morgan’s Vigil	Vanilla. Borders Riverglades. BRD chains (Dark Iron Legacy, Hurley’s, Ribbly, Jail Break) are a huge 52 to 58 XP dump. vanilla baseline
51 to 58	Western Plaguelands	Chillwind Camp	Vanilla
53 to 60	Eastern Plaguelands	Light’s Hope Chapel	Vanilla
55 to 60	Silithus	Cenarion Hold	Vanilla
55 to 60	Blackmaw Hold (new dungeon)	Behind the never-opened furbolg gate, northern Azshara	“Great furbolg city”, corruption in the depths, tunnels reach toward the Barrow Deeps. Bosses not public. verified for premise
58 to 60	Shaper’s Terrace (new dungeon)	Un’Goro Crater	Titan facility, “ancient machinery, power crystals and uncontrolled wildlife”. Bosses not public. verified for premise
52 to 60	BRD, LBRS, UBRS, Dire Maul, Stratholme, Scholomance	Blackrock Mountain, Feralas, Plaguelands	Vanilla. See dungeons
60	Mount Hyjal (new zone)	Summit of Eternity, Tainted Foothills (flight points)	Endgame zone; Barrow Deeps and Hyjal Summit raids open 12-09. See raids overview

At 58 to 60 do Blackmaw Hold and Shaper’s Terrace first. They are the pre-raid gear dungeons for a 12-09 raid opening and their quest chains are the last big XP dump.

Travel cheat sheet

Stormwind Harbor to Auberdine: new boat. Kalimdor from the capital. verified
Menethil to Southshore to Auberdine: new line. Wetlands is the 20s hub. verified
Steamwheedle Port (Tanaris) to Powderfuse Port (Riverglades): new goblin boat. Riverglades to Tanaris for the 45+ crowd. verified
Redridge road to Riverglades: the walking route in. verified
Riverglades flight points: Farholde Keep (Alliance), Powderfuse Port (neutral). verified
Shen’dralas: no flight master in the client. Walk in from Desolace. verified
Set the hearthstone forward every zone. A hearth in the current hub saves 20 minutes per session.

Unknown as of 2026-09-24

Shen’dralas level range and whether it has full content at launch.
Where Alliance Skyborne go after Dalaran at level 12.
Whether Wetlands, Azshara and Desolace expansions are in the launch build in full or staged.
Vanilla dungeon keys (UBRS Seal of Ascension, Dire Maul West Crescent Key, BRD Shadowforge Key): no statement either way.
Whether the Onyxia attunement chain survives as optional story content; attunement itself is confirmed not required for the 12-09 raids. verified