World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Classic will officially launch on Sept. 26 and players are already leveling up their new characters in preparation for the expansion.
The Wrath Classic pre-patch brought about balance updates and new game systems, but most importantly, WoW’s first new class that was introduced to the game, the Death Knight, was made available to play early. Even before the expansion launches, players are able to create a Death Knight without any restrictions and level them up to level 70. Previously, players had to have at least one level 55 character on their WoW account to create a Death Knight, but that restriction has been axed with the launch of Wrath Classic.
Death Knights are considered a “hero class,” meaning they start at level 55 and their journey to the game’s max level is much quicker than every other class in the game. Death Knights do not have to level through the majority of Azeroth and instead can skip directly to Outland, only completing content from Wrath and The Burning Crusade during the leveling process.
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Death Knights need to get through their specific starting zone, the Scarlet Enclave, which should take them to level 58. From there, Death Knights will level through Outland like any other character did during The Burning Crusade expansion. In total, Death Knight players should play the first three levels of their leveling journey in their isolated, Death Knight-only starting zone while completing the final 12 levels of their journey in Outland.
What is the most optimal Death Knight leveling path?
Once you’ve completed the main questline of the Scarlet Enclave, you can head through the Dark Portal in the Blasted Lands to reach Outland. The Scarlet Enclave introductory zone should take players approximately three hours to complete, and once you’ve wrapped it up, you’ll be free to travel through the Dark Portal.
Once in Outland, make your way through the initial quests in Hellfire Peninsula before moving throughout the rest of the continent. If you’re planning to speed-level your Death Knight, we recommend getting out of Hellfire Peninsula as soon as you reach level 62 to avoid competing with other players over quests and high-value mobs. The following zone, Zangarmarsh, has plenty of experience-rich quests and should have fewer players to compete with.
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Some of the mid-level zones in Outland, including Nagrand and Terokkar Forest, are perfect for players looking to bang out as many quests as possible in a short amount of time. This is largely due to the high density of enemies, as well as quest hubs that are overloaded with objectives.
Best Outland zones for new Death Knights
- Hellfire Peninsula (levels 58 to 62)
- Zangarmarsh (levels 62 to 64)
- Terokkar Forest (levels 64 to 66)
- Nagrand/Blade’s Edge Mountains (levels 66 to 68)
- Netherstorm/Shadowmoon Valley (levels 68 to 70)
WoW Classic players leveling their Death Knights during the pre-patch will still be able to enjoy the benefits of the Joyous Journeys world buff, which applies 50 percent bonus experience to all characters. The buff will last until the launch of Wrath Classic.
Wrath Classic is set to launch on Sept. 26, but players can level their Death Knight characters now.
