MoP Classic Leveling Guide: Fastest Route from 85 to 90
MoP Classic is in Phase 5. The update with the Timeless Isle went live on in North America and a day later in Europe, and the Siege of Orgrimmar raid opened on (just after midnight on June 5 in central Europe). The level cap is 90, and the way there is questing through Pandaria from 85 while you queue for dungeons on the side. Blizzard has not announced a next phase or an end date for MoP Classic.
Getting to Pandaria at 85
Each faction has a quest in its capital that starts the trip. In Stormwind, The King’s Command sends you to Grand Admiral Jes-Tereth in Stormwind Keep, and the chain goes on with The Mission, Unleash Hell and Touching Ground. In Orgrimmar, The Art of War sends you to General Nazgrim in Grommash Hold. Follow your chain from there until the Pandaria quests take over.
Pandaria zone route from 85 to 90
These are Blizzard’s recommended levels for each zone. You don’t have to finish every quest in a zone, so when the quests you have left fall behind your level, move on to the next one.
| Zone | Levels |
|---|---|
| The Jade Forest | 85–86 |
| Valley of the Four Winds | 86–87 |
| Krasarang Wilds | 86–87 |
| Kun-Lai Summit | 87–88 |
| Townlong Steppes | 88–89 |
| Dread Wastes | 89–90 |
| Vale of Eternal Blossoms | 90 |
Valley of the Four Winds and Krasarang Wilds cover the same levels, so you only need one of them. Pick the other one on your next character if you want some variety. The Vale of Eternal Blossoms is a level 90 zone, so you go there once the route is done.
Dungeons while leveling
The Dungeon Finder works while you level, and from 85 you can queue for the Normal versions of the new dungeons. Heroic dungeons are level 90 content, so they come later.
| Normal dungeon | From level |
|---|---|
| Temple of the Jade Serpent | 85 |
| Stormstout Brewery | 85 |
| Mogu’shan Palace | 87 |
| Shado-Pan Monastery | 87 |
| Gate of the Setting Sun | 88 |
| Siege of Niuzao Temple | 88 |
A good mix is to quest and queue for each dungeon once, ideally with its quests already in your log. Whether dungeons give you more XP than questing depends on your group and on how long the queue takes, so keep questing while you wait.
XP bonuses that help from 85 to 90
The biggest one is the Fast Track guild perk. With Landfall in September 2025, Blizzard raised its bonus for levels 85 to 90 from 10 to 65 percent, while characters below 85 still get 10 percent. For an alt it is worth joining a guild that has the perk.
Rested XP builds up while you are logged out, and faster when you log out in an inn. It fills at about 5 percent of a level every 8 hours and stops at 150 percent of a level, so logging out in an inn between sessions is free extra XP.
Heirlooms help on the way to 85, but the usual heirloom pieces only scale up to level 85 after their upgrade, so don’t count on them in Pandaria.
Blizzard ran Joyous Journeys from , with 50 percent more XP up to level 90, and announced it to last until the next content update. No XP event has been announced for November 2026.
New characters: Pandaren and Monks
Pandaren start on The Wandering Isle, which covers levels 1 to 10. They are neutral there and pick the Alliance or the Horde at around level 10. After that they level toward 85 like any other character before they come back to Pandaria for this route. Monks are open to other races too, but only Pandaren begin on The Wandering Isle.
Flying in Pandaria
Your first character can fly in Pandaria at level 90. You need Expert Riding (or Flight Form as a Druid), and then you learn Wisdom of the Four Winds from the flight trainers Cloudrunner Leng or Skydancer Shun at the faction shrines.
Alts get it easier in MoP Classic. Once a level 90 character has learned to fly, the Tome of Four Winds Flight becomes available. It is Bind on Account, is used up when you read it, and lets a character fly in Pandaria from level 85 with Riding skill 225, so your alts can fly through the whole route.
What to do at level 90 in Phase 5
Whether you leveled the character yourself or had it leveled, start with flying, then gear. Heroic dungeons need level 90 and a minimum item level. There are nine of them, and they drop item level 463 gear, with a chance at epic 476 items from the last boss. Scenarios are made for three players and don’t need a fixed tank or healer, and their Heroic versions are for premade groups and give Valor with a chance at epic rewards.
MoP Classic has no Raid Finder. Its gear is in the Celestial Dungeons, which also keep the rewards of earlier raid tiers, and they are another way to move the Legendary cloak quests from Wrathion forward. The current raid is Siege of Orgrimmar with 14 boss encounters on Normal and Heroic. Our MoP Classic dungeons and raids guide goes through the dungeons and raids in more detail.
The Timeless Isle has treasures, rare enemies and events that give Timeless Coins along with pets, mounts and cosmetic rewards. The four Celestials and Ordos are there too, and you need the Legendary cloak to reach Ordos. The Proving Grounds are solo challenges for each role with Bronze, Silver, Gold and Endless tiers, which is a good way to practice a new tank or healer. Everything else that came with Phase 5 is in our MoP Classic phase overview, and ways to pay for gear and consumables are in our MoP Classic gold farming guide.
If you don’t have the time to level an alt yourself, our MoP Classic leveling service can take it to 90 for you.
Frequently asked questions
The Jade Forest, which Blizzard recommends for levels 85 to 86. After it come Valley of the Four Winds or Krasarang Wilds, then Kun-Lai Summit, Townlong Steppes and Dread Wastes.
65 percent. Blizzard raised it from 10 percent for levels 85 to 90 with Landfall in September 2025. Below level 85 the perk still gives 10 percent.
Don’t count on it. The usual heirloom pieces scale only up to level 85 after their upgrade, so they help you reach 85 and stop scaling there.
Your first character learns Wisdom of the Four Winds at level 90 with Expert Riding. After that, alts can use the account bound Tome of Four Winds Flight from level 85 with Riding skill 225.
No XP event has been announced for November 2026. The last one, Joyous Journeys, started on April 21, 2026 with 50 percent more XP up to level 90 and was announced to run until the next content update.
No. The gear that Raid Finder gave in the original game drops in the Celestial Dungeons instead, and they keep the rewards of earlier raid tiers too.
Change Log
- June 2, 2026: rewritten for MoP Classic Phase 5, with the Pandaria route from 85 to 90, current XP bonuses, flying and what to do at 90.
- April 18, 2024: first published as a Cataclysm Classic leveling guide to 85.