Leveling in WoW Classic Hardcore is everything. The grind from level one to 60 is a difficult task that any WoW player can relate to, but once you place the added parameter of “permadeath” on top of the already difficult journey, just hitting level 60 becomes a monumental achievement.
Your leveling route is one of the most important factors that goes into your journey to 60. Even the most skilled and prepared players will find that a wrong misstep into an overcrowded zone or a bad turn into a mob-filled cave will ruin their Hardcore run and set them all the way back to level one.
With countless leveling zones spread out across Azeroth, the journey to 60 is thankfully filled with options. Once you leave your designated starting zone, the world is at your fingertips, and you’ll want to be spending time in the more advantageous and relatively “safe” zones as opposed to the ones that are jam-packed with enemies who want to kill you.
These are the WoW Classic zones that are the hardest to level in, and we recommend avoiding them at any and all costs.
Western Plaguelands
At the back end of the leveling process, your experience gains might be fewer and further between, but don’t be tempted to dive headfirst into the Western Plaguelands. The zone is littered with mobs who will stray off the roads and go out of their way to cripple your Hardcore runs right before the finish line. Plus, WPL is home to one of the toughest quests in the game: Scarlet Diversions, in which you must destroy a Scarlet Crusade tent. Sounds easy, right? Wrong. Dead wrong. The tent has way too many close-packed mobs guarding it, and if you’re not extremely careful, you’ll lose your character.
Alternate zones: Felwood, Burning Steppes
Related: The 5 hardest quests in WoW Classic
Arathi Highlands
The Arathi Highlands are easily skippable since the level 25 to 40 range has plenty of other zones available where you can level. We recommend avoiding this place, largely due to the fact that almost all of the experience-heavy quests found here require a group, especially quests in the elite-filled Stromgarde Keep to the southwest. Plus, the lack of farmable mob packs in comparison to other zones makes Arathi a waste of time, and an arguably dangerous one at that.
Alternate zones: Hillsbrad Foothills, Stranglethorn Vale
Stonetalon Mountains
Stonetalon Mountains is a mid-level zone that, at first, is fruitful in its experience. But toward the back end, it’s more of a hazard than anything. In particular, the subzone called “The Charred Vale” is filled to the brim with hard-hitting harpies who will tank your run in a matter of minutes due to how closely packed together they are.
Alternate zones: Ashenvale, Stranglethorn Vale
Un’goro Crater
Although there are plenty of high-experience quests available in Un’goro Crater, the mob density of the zone is extremely high and borderline dangerous in the permadeath game mode. Carefully navigating the zone is difficult, especially since there is a dinosaur waiting around practically every tree in the jungle. If you’re playing a class that can successfully evade mobs and weave between threats, then you can maybe swing a trip to Un’goro Crater. Otherwise, you’re better off staying away.
Alternate zones: Felwood, Winterspring
Redridge Mountains
Alliance players will almost always find themselves in the Redridge Mountains early on in the leveling process. But in Hardcore WoW Classic, the zone can prove to be tricky at all stages. The packs of gnolls roaming around the zone in its midsection are more unruly obstacles than they are experience farms, while the Murlocs along the shores of Lake Everstill can always catch unready players off guard.
Alternate zone: Loch Modan
