People can level as fast or as slow as they like. There are many factors that come into play when looking at the rate of leveling such as the amount of time people are playing or what activities they are taking part in. That said, the idea of leveling to 80 (and soon) 85 can be very daunting to some people. We want to make the process as painless and fun as possible. The same could be said for getting people who wish to have alts a means to do so.

There are ways people can slow down their pace if they like (if they want to smell the peacebloom more) by turning off experience too, if they really want to.

We just don't want people to be so daunted by the level cap that they feel completely excluded. There are plenty of other things they'll want to do (hopefully) at those upper levels anyway. It sounds like if they are all playing together, that they are sure to find those things out together too.

Q u o t e:


I've had one question for awhile now and it has bothered me to some extent.

Originally (and I know that all announcements and game directions are subject to change, especially at a concept level), it was announced that due to the fewer levels in Cataclysm (5 as opposed to 10), the leveling curve would be adjusted to feel like each level mattered more. Instead of racing through levels, the idea was that while leveling we would get more of a feel for each level while also appreciating the time spent.

From all reports that I've heard and read, it seems like 80 to 85 is anything but that, where it's rather quick in comparison to all prior expansion leveling curves.

What is the final intention on this?

From my understanding, the beta leveling experience was slightly elevated at the start and has been adjusted here and there to account for a more progressive leveling experience. That said, I'm not sure if the current state is completely indicative of what you should expect during Cataclysm once it's live, but I can always ask to see if we're "there yet". We obviously want it to take some time, but don't want to make the experience too "grind y" either.

Just to follow-up on the question about the 80 to 85 leveling experience in the beta, we feel it's where it needs to be right now. We feel the current pacing is correct, based on what each zone supports via quests while allowing you to mix and match dungeon runs along the way. Keep in mind though that there are always those that are likely to power level their way to 85 fairly quickly.

Also keep in mind that the leveling experience now (1-60) will be changing. I guess we will see if the perception of whether it's too fast or not will change based on that. At the very least the flow of how you level should be improved.

Q u o t e:
It's when a CM writes something like this, that I die a little inside. Knowing that they don't "get it".

Oh, I get it. I was a part of that whole crazy 1-60 rush during the early days of WoW. I also know that I missed out on a lot of quest lines and experiences just getting there. But, it's a choice you make to power level or not. I personally prefer to mix up my activities. It's much more fun and in the end, I'll get to the same place everyone else gets to.

Q u o t e:

I completely understand your point. However, there's something in your statement that irks me just slightly...

"We want to make the process as painless and fun as possible."

Please define "painless".

"Painless" meaning you don't feel punished for trying to do different and interesting things and yet still feel you're doing something fun all at the same time and hopefully finding those challenges you want to find.

We can't do it all for everyone, but we certainly try to mix in a wide variety of things that can be done.