In MoP Classic, leveling can be time-consuming, so here I'll showcase the most efficient solo route, with tricks to save time. This path requires no prerequisites, works for all classes and factions, and is beginner-friendly. While your first run may feel slow without flying, Blizzard has eased this for alts: once your first character reaches level 90, you can purchase an account-bound tome in your capital that unlocks Pandaria flying at 85 for alts. This won't change the route itself, but it greatly reduces travel time. If you want to gear up faster along the way, you can also buy MoP Classic gold to prepare consumables and upgrades efficiently. With that out of the way, let's dive into the leveling guide.
Dungeons vs. Quests
Before diving into the zone-by-zone route, it's worth comparing dungeon spamming with questing. While full dungeon spam from start to finish is generally slower than pure questing, there's an important nuance. Each dungeon should be completed at least once since they offer one-time quests with large XP rewards and guaranteed gear upgrades. Always use the random dungeon finder for the bonus XP, and if you land in a dungeon you dislike, you can simply leave and continue questing.
That said, dungeon spamming is still viable for the very first level, largely because the initial two dungeons—Temple of the Jade Serpent and Stormstout Brewery—are among the most efficient in MoP. They provide noticeable gear upgrades, which offset the slow start players face with poor Cataclysm gear. Some even farm the trash solo as tanks for fast XP, though it's an advanced strategy. Since Jade Forest is widely considered the worst questing zone in Pandaria and its gear vendor doesn't appear until midway through the quest chain, running these dungeons early can significantly smooth out the initial leveling experience.
Darkmoon Faire
If you would rather not run dungeons at this level. I want to remind you that the Darkman Fair XP buff is finally available in Missandaria, and you should make sure to grab it whenever the fair is active. The Darkman fair is available every 2 weeks in Classic, and you can tell if it's up by checking your in-game calendar. If it's active, you can speak with a Dark Moon mage in one of your faction's major cities to be teleported directly to the fair. Once you've entered Darkman Island, you'll want to enter the fair proper and locate the carousel. Speak to the nearby panda named Katie and purchase a carousel ride ticket in order to sit on the carousel and receive a 10% experience buff. You're able to stack this buff up to a duration of 1 hour.
Entering Jade Forest
To access Jade Forest, players must first pick up a quest in Orgrimmar or Stormwind, depending on faction. From there, you'll board an airship and be teleported directly to Pandaria. Horde players start in the northwest of the zone, while Alliance players begin in the south. Both factions share a similar opening questline involving an assault on the enemy outpost, with small differences such as Alliance piloting a gyrocopter and Horde using machine guns.
Launch Day Challenges
While efficient when done alone, these opening quests become frustrating on crowded launch days. Competition for mob tags makes the early section of Jade Forest slow and inefficient. Unfortunately, the zone worsens later with numerous long roleplay quests, especially around Grain Hill for Horde and Pearlfin Village for Alliance. Although entertaining for story purposes, these roleplay sequences are terrible for leveling speed.
Recommended Horde & Alliance Paths
Horde: Begin in Honeydew Village and progress south until meeting Lorewalker Cho. At this point, it's best to abandon the main questline due to the lengthy roleplay sections.
Alliance: Quest through Paw'don Village into Pearlfin Village. Lorewalker Cho appears as a side quest here, but once you reach him, it's also best to stop following the Jade Forest campaign.
Efficient Questing Hubs in Jade Forest
Despite its flaws, Jade Forest does contain excellent optional hubs:
Tian Monastery (North): Widely considered one of the best quest hubs in Pandaria. Difficult to reach on the first playthrough, but fantastic once alts unlock flying.
Arboretum & Nectar Orchard: Both are independent hubs that don't require main story progression. Arboretum is efficient, while Nectar Orchard is useful but less accessible for Horde due to distance.
Beyond these select hubs, most of Jade Forest should be avoided. After completing the efficient sections, it's best to spam dungeons until reaching level 86, at which point Valley of the Four Winds offers a far superior questing experience.
Treasures and Rare Mobs
From 85 to 86, dungeon spamming is generally the fastest method, but treasures and rare mobs are an important bonus for questing efficiency. Treasures scattered across every zone grant a significant chunk of XP and can be looted once per character. Many respawn instantly, making them accessible to everyone, though a few "true rares" have long timers and aren't reliable for leveling. Using add-ons like HandyNotes (treasures) and RareScanner (rare mobs) makes spotting them much easier. Rares are always worth detouring for since they give large XP, guaranteed gear, and a small chance at pets, toys, or BOEs.
Jade Forest Treasures: Horde vs. Alliance
Jade Forest is uneven in treasure distribution. Horde players benefit from three excellent treasures—Lucky Pandaren Coin, Ancient Pandaren Tea Pot, and Pandaren Ritual Stone—all located near Honeydew Village. Alliance players, however, only have access to the Offering of Remembrance north of Paw'don Village, which grants less XP than the Horde treasures. While Alliance can technically run across the map to loot Horde treasures, the travel time usually isn't worth it compared to simply questing or running dungeons. There is also a minor treasure south of Grain Hill, but its XP reward is so low that it's best skipped.
Valley & Krasarang
Valley of the Four Winds: The Better Choice after Jade Forest
After reaching level 86, you should immediately leave Jade Forest and head west into the Valley of the Four Winds, which is a major step up in questing efficiency. Although dungeon spamming remains viable, Valley (and by extension Krasarang) offers faster progression with better hubs. Unlike Jade Forest's linear structure, Valley is more open-ended. The main questline starts at Pang's Stead, following Chen and Li Li, but while decent, this chain involves too much roleplay and travel time, so it's often worth skipping midway. Quests in Silken Fields are also slow. More efficient options include the Pools of Purity—one of the densest, most rewarding hubs in Pandaria—and the quest chains in Stoneplow and Nesingwary's Safari, both of which are highly efficient despite some travel time. You'll also encounter Halfhill, where you can unlock your personal farm. While not the fastest XP source, it's worth starting for long-term gold-making in MoP Classic.
Krasarang Wilds: Subzone of Valley
Krasarang Wilds can be considered a large subzone of the Valley. You'll first be sent here via a breadcrumb quest from Pang's Stead to Zhu's Watch, which is a strong quest hub worth completing. Other options include Thunder Cleft (Horde) and Sentinel Basecamp (Alliance), but most remaining hubs in Krasarang are less efficient due to excessive travel. Usually, you'll reach the next level without needing them.
Treasures in Valley & Krasarang
Treasure hunting here is less rewarding than in Jade Forest since many require flying. Early on, the only reliable treasures were the Shao-Tien Tablet, which was found near Zhu's Watch, and the Boat-Building Instructions on the southern shore. Others, like the Vermin Treasure Cache on a cliff, can only be reached later once you unlock Pandaria flying.
Entering Kun-Lai Summit (Level 87+)
After reaching level 87, you'll travel through the Veiled Stair from Thunderfoot Fields into Kun-Lai Summit. Along the way, grab two treasures—the Hammer of Folly on a cliff path and a small chest inside the Tavern in the Mists. Skip most Veiled Stair quests, as they're inefficient, and continue north into Kun-Lai. This zone is widely regarded as one of the best in Pandaria, with nearly every quest hub worth completing. Starting in Binan Village, you'll be directed to your faction hub (Eastwind Rest for Horde, Westwind Rest for Alliance). Don't miss the excellent side chain in Inkgill Mere, and be sure to finish the questline at the Temple of the White Tiger, as it unlocks access to the Vale of Eternal Blossoms and your faction's main city shrine at level 90.
Key Quest Hubs and Faction Reputation
Kun-Lai Summit offers multiple efficient hubs: Pools of Purity, One Keg, Kota Basecamp, and several mountain chains branching off the Burlap Trail. While Zouchin Village can be slow without flying, it's optional. The most important hubs are Shado-Pan Fallback and Winter's Blossom, which provide valuable Shado-Pan reputation needed for endgame progression. Because Kun-Lai has so many strong hubs, you can comfortably stay here until level 89 and skip weaker zones like Townlong Steppes. Although you'll unlock new dungeons (Shado-Pan Monastery and Mogu'shan Palace), it's better to avoid them and continue questing.
Treasures of Kun-Lai Summit
Kun-Lai also contains the most treasures of any leveling zone. Highlights include the Terracotta Head near East/Westwind Rest, Ancient Mogu Tablet near Zouchin, Lost Adventurer's Belongings west of Kota Basecamp, and several Hosen-related treasures such as Rikktik's Tick Remover and the Hozen Treasure Cache. Others like the Sprite's Cloth Chest and Stolen Sprite Treasure are easy pickups while following quest chains. Even the optional Statue of Xuen at the bottom of Zouchin's Pond is worth grabbing. Together, these treasures provide frequent XP boosts alongside your questing route. For players looking to save even more time, you can consider a fast Pandaria Classic boost service to skip tedious grinding.
Townlong Steppes
Main Quest Route in Townlong Steppes
At level 88, you'll move from Kun-Lai Summit into Townlong Steppes, usually via a breadcrumb quest from Winter's Blossom. The primary quest loop begins at Longying Outpost, then moves through Hatred's Vice, Gao-Ran Battlefront, and Rensai's Watchpost, before concluding in Sik'this. This chain is fairly efficient and grants significant Shado-Pan reputation, which is valuable at level 90. Optional hubs like Niuzao Temple and the Sundered Span are much slower and can be skipped. Blizzard has mentioned that Shado-Pan dailies may be unlocked independently of Golden Lotus rep in Classic, but since this isn't confirmed, it's not factored into leveling efficiency. Ideally, completing Kun-Lai's quests plus Townlong's main chain should bring you close to level 89.
Dungeons & Leveling Efficiency
If you're still short of 89–90, this is the best point to run dungeons. At this stage, you unlock Gate of the Setting Sun (fast and efficient) and Siege of Niuzao Temple (slower due to long RP events). It's also worth running Shado-Pan Monastery and Mogu'shan Palace at least once for their one-time quest rewards. Note that Stormstout Brewery and Temple of the Jade Serpent leave the random queue pool at this level, so if you want to clear them, queue specifically before they drop out.
Treasures in Townlong Steppes
Townlong has a handful of treasures that add solid XP while questing:
Abandoned Crate of Goods (north, small detour but worthwhile).
Amber Encased Moth (south trenches, near Gao-Ran Battlefront quests).
Hardened Sap of Kri'vess (easy if it spawns east, difficult if west on a cliff without flying).
Fragment of Dread (inside a cave linked to Niuzao Temple quests; can be grabbed separately for bonus XP).
Entering the Dread Wastes
The entry point to the Dread Wastes is unusual, located along the Serpent Spine Wall. Fortunately, most flight masters in Townlong Steppes, Dread Wastes, and the Vale of Eternal Blossoms offer a breadcrumb quest that unlocks the flight point automatically, allowing easy access. Once inside, you'll begin at the Terrace of Gurthun and quickly unlock the Klaxxi faction. Since Klaxxi is an important endgame reputation, it's highly recommended to complete nearly every quest in the zone for rep gains.
Recommended & Skippable Quest Chains
Almost all questlines here are efficient and worth doing. The main exception is Soggy's Gamble in the south—while not terrible, it involves many underwater quests and provides little to no Klaxxi reputation, making it inefficient. By contrast, the Sunset Brewgarden questline in the north is excellent: while it begins outside of Klaxxi rep, it quickly branches into efficient quest chains that reconnect with the main Klaxxi storyline, making it very worthwhile.
Treasures & Dungeon Considerations
Unlike other Pandaria zones, the Dread Wastes has no universal treasures. Instead, it contains ultra-rare treasures that reward powerful Bind-on-Account item level 450 weapons, invaluable for both current leveling and alts. However, these treasures are heavily contested due to long respawn timers. As for dungeons, they are generally inefficient at this stage. Unless you specifically need the one-time quest reward from Gate of the Setting Sun, it's best to avoid queuing for dungeons and focus entirely on questing here, as the zone is already one of the fastest and most rewarding leveling paths.
By following this leveling route guide, you’ll save time, avoid the slowest questing zones, and reach max level more efficiently. Good luck on your journey through Pandaria! And although it expires on death, you can return to the fair and refresh it as many times as you'd like. And don't forget, welcome to join our Mini Game Channel, where plenty of rewards are waiting for you!
Related Links:
MoP Classic Ultimate 85-90 Leveling Guide – Fast Routes & Best Zones
Best Ways to Gear Up Fast at Level 90 in Pandaria Classic
What to Do at Level 90 in WoW MoP: Complete Endgame Guide
