As you might know, one of the biggest changes to the next expansion is the upcoming level squish that we are getting, which affects both characters and item levels in shadowlands. Let’s get into the details of this level squish in Shadowlands!
What is the max level in Shadowlands?
So the max level that we are required to be to play the end game content of this expansion is 60, same as it was in Classic, which means current expansion (Battle for Azeroth) is going to get players to level 50, and after that players start leveling in Shadowlands zone till they reach level 60.
level 1 – 10
The first 10 levels are going to be the introduction levels with the level squish, which means if you are a veteran player (if you leveled up before) you get to choose between the racial starter zone or you can get to the Exile’s reach.
Exile’s reach is an alternative starter zone that teaches you how does your class works and behaves and general wow mechanics in a basic manner for the newcomers. Exile’s reach ends with a mini-dungeon with 2 bosses which is designed for 1-5 players.
As a new player, you are forced to go through Exile’s Reach as it is crucial for you to know how the game behaves and to encounter things new you will see later in-game.
Blizzard has updated lower level characters item level progression and increased gold reward on all characters 16th of April.
Item level progression has been updated. Item levels now increase faster in lower character levels, and low-level creatures are better tuned to account for this and other factors.
Additionally, Gold rewards have been increased at all character levels.
Alpha Update – April 16
Level 10 – 50
This is where the new players have no choice but to do the BFA pre-quests so they catch up with what happened in the last expansion between Horde and Alliance and how it leads us to the Shadowlands.
As for the experienced players, they can choose whatever continent/expansion they desire by speaking to Chromie and they can change it in the middle of leveling (Again, thanks to Chromie) so no being locked in expansion zones forever.
It was said at Blizzcon that each expansion zone (like Northrend) will get you to around level 50.
Level squish speculation
A weird way of finding out how much each expansion will get level squish or what is each level in conjunction with Shadowlands level is to look at that expansion’s end game items and see their items level required.
For example, Arcanist Gloves which is an end game item for Classic require at least is level 25 which means maybe a level 60 character will be squished to level 25 as well.
Based on the above we can create a table of each expansion max level and corresponding level in shadowlands.
| Expansion | Max level | Item | Level required in Live | Level required in Shadowlands |
| Classic | 60 | Arcanist Gloves | 60 | 25 |
| Burning crusade | 70 | Reign of Misery | 70 | 27 |
| Wrath of the lich king | 80 | Bonebreaker Scepter | 80 | 30 |
| Cataclysm | 85 | Sash of Anguish | 85 | 32 |
| Mist of Pandaria | 90 | Bracers of Sordid Sleep | 90 | 35 |
| Warlords of Draenor | 100 | Chakram-Gripping Gloves | 100 | 40 |
| Legion | 110 | Soul-Siphon Mantle | 110 | 45 |
| Battle for Azeroth | 120 | Unguent Caress | 120 | 50 |
Shadowlands leveling zones
Shadowlands was announced with 5 zones 4 of which (Bastion, Maldraxxus, Ardenweald, Revendreth) we can level in. if you are leveling in shadowlands for the first time you are locked to doing them in the following order:
- Bastion
- Maldraxxus
- Ardenweald
- Revendreth
But for the second time, you are not obligated to do them in any specific order and you can choose freely where you want to level.
Demon Hunters, Death Knights, and Allied races
First of all, all allied races will start at level 10 in Shadowlands, and then you can choose which expansion you want to level in, skipping Exile’s Reach and starting zones.
Demon Hunters, they start at level 8 and they are required to do their intro zone to be able to start their journey in any expansion they want.
Death Knights are a bit different, they are also required to do their intro similar to Demon Hunters but not all of them start at level 8.
if you choose a race that did go through what happened in Wrath of The Lich King expansion you will start at level 8, but if you choose an allied race they’ll start at level 10.
Mount riding skills
Surprisingly you’ll be able to learn Apprentice Riding at level 10 and you even get your own mount to ride on.
Likewise, other riding skills now require you to be lower level. Journeyman Riding requires level 17 to learn as seen below.
Expert Riding requires level 25 to learn shown by the picture below.
Artisan Riding requires level 27 to learn.
and last but not least Master Riding requires level 30 to learn (with a 4,750 gold cost).
Heirlooms in Shadowlands
Currently in alpha heirlooms are still having the same leveling system in BFA and are not done completely and some may speculate that heirlooms are getting removed due to extreme leveling speed from 1 to 50.
Other Informations
Battlegrounds
Normal Battlegrounds unlock at level 10 (Warsong Gulch and Arathi Basin are available at 10) and Epic Battlegrounds unlock at level 20.
Dungeons
Classic Dungeons become available at level 7 and will unlock as you level up. BfA Dungeons unlock at level 10. Other dungeons remain to be tested.
Professions
You can learn professions at level 5 (Might change later). Thanks to XPOFF testing, we learnt more about professions item crafts:
Even if craftable by lower levels, items from expansions do not scale and may not be useable.
Items from Kul’tiras and Zandalar are able to proc gem slots for low levels.
In conclusion
seems like leveling in the upcoming expansion is gonna be faster or at least more comfortable due to faster mount training and the choice to level up where ever you want, but its just alpha and a lot will change towards the launch of Shadowlands.
You might want to save an alt or two to level up in Shadowlands to experience the new system but with the 100% Experience Bonus of Winds of Wisdom (available until 20th April) you can level up in Battle for Azeroth with much speed and have a thing to do before Shadowlands.
