WoW Forever keeps the original 1-60 leveling structure from Classic Era intact — the same starting zones, the same level-60 cap Warcraft Wiki confirms is permanent for this branch of the game — and layers four new zones and nine new dungeons on top of it rather than replacing anything. The beta currently caps characters at level 20 as of build 1.60.1.69893, so full 1-60 testing is not yet possible; this guide describes the intended route based on what Blizzard and Warcraft Tavern have confirmed so far.
Alliance route
The Alliance starting zones are unchanged and carried over from Classic Era: Dwarves and Gnomes begin in Dun Morogh, Humans in Elwynn Forest, and Night Elves in Teldrassil. From there, the traditional Alliance leveling path runs through Westfall, Loch Modan, Darkshore and Redridge Mountains in the teens and twenties, into Duskwood, Stranglethorn Vale and the Wetlands through the thirties, and on toward Badlands, Swamp of Sorrows and the higher-level Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor zones from there. None of that changes in Forever. What does change is the addition of Forever-specific detours: The Hall of Thanes Hall of Thanes at 13-18 sits directly on the Alliance-favored side of Ironforge, and the new Riverglades Riverglades zone — built for both factions — becomes available once characters are in their 40s, roughly where Krol'dok Stronghold's confirmed 40-45 range places it.
Horde route
Horde starting zones are likewise unchanged: Orcs and Trolls begin in Durotar, Tauren in Mulgore, and Forsaken in Tirisfal Glades. The traditional Horde path runs through the Barrens in the teens and twenties, into Stonetalon Mountains, Ashenvale and Thousand Needles through the twenties and thirties, and on toward Desolace, Stranglethorn Vale and the higher-level zones from there. Ruins of Lordaeron Ruins of Lordaeron at 15-20 sits almost directly on top of the Forsaken starting experience in Tirisfal Glades, making it one of the most convenient early detours for Horde characters, especially Forsaken ones with an obvious story reason to be there.
Skyborne start
Players who unlock the Skyborne race begin on Zephras Isle Zephras Isle instead of a traditional starting zone, at roughly levels 1-12 based on Warcraft Tavern's zone coverage. Zephras Isle is described as a plane enchanted by air elementals, thematically closer to Eversong Woods than to any existing dwarf, human or orc starting area. Skyborne characters choose Alliance or Horde at creation, and once they graduate out of Zephras Isle, they join the standard leveling path for their chosen faction — Blizzard has not published an exact hand-off zone or level for that transition as of this beta build.
Where the new zones fit in
Beyond Zephras Isle, three more new zones join the leveling path. Shen'dralas Shen'dralas sits between Desolace and Mulgore and continues existing centaur storylines with ties to Dire Maul, Razorfen Downs and Maraudon quests; Warcraft Tavern estimates its range at roughly levels 30-50, though Blizzard has not published an exact number, so treat that as an estimate rather than a confirmed range. Riverglades Riverglades sits on the eastern coast of the Eastern Kingdoms and is built for both factions at once, with more than 150 quests according to Warcraft Tavern and a level range that, based on the Krol'dok Stronghold dungeon inside it, covers at least the low-to-mid 40s. Mount Hyjal Mount Hyjal — rebuilt for Forever and reachable from Darkwhisper Gorge — is framed by Warcraft Tavern as endgame-leveling and reputation content rather than a mid-leveling stop, and it also hosts both of Forever's new raids once they unlock.
Dungeon leveling
The nine new dungeons roughly bracket the entire leveling curve: The Hall of Thanes Hall of Thanes (13-18) and Ruins of Lordaeron Ruins of Lordaeron (15-20) cover the teens, Whelgar's Excavation (24-29) and City of Dalaran City of Dalaran (28-33) cover the twenties, Drowned City (35-40) and Krol'dok Stronghold (40-45) cover the mid-range, and Alcaz Prison (48-53), Blackmaw Hold (55-60) and Shaper's Terrace (58-60) close out the climb to 60. Warcraft Tavern reports that Blizzard has changed how dungeon experience works in Forever: completing a dungeon's own questline is now the primary source of experience, and repeated clears of the same dungeon give noticeably less than before. That makes each dungeon worth a single thorough clear for its quests and loot as you reach its level range, rather than a repeatable farming stop the way some Classic Era dungeons were used.
Rested experience and efficiency
Rested experience — the bonus experience multiplier that accumulates while your character is logged out inside a city or at an inn, carried over unchanged from Classic Era — has not been announced as changed for Forever in any source consulted for this guide. The most efficient route in practice is likely to remain what it always has been in Classic-style leveling: log out at an inn or capital city whenever possible, prioritize quest hubs with tight clusters of objectives over long travel gaps, and treat the new dungeons above as scheduled stops rather than side content, since their quest rewards now carry more of the experience weight than repeat clears do. Blizzard has not announced any Forever-specific changes to experience curves, heirloom-style bonuses, or other leveling-speed systems beyond the dungeon changes described above, so treat anything beyond that as not yet announced.
One more beta-specific caveat is worth repeating here: because the current beta build caps characters at level 20, none of the mid-to-high-level content described above — Riverglades, Shen'dralas, Mount Hyjal, or the dungeons above level 20 — is directly testable yet. Everything past that point in this guide is built from Blizzard's panel recap and Warcraft Tavern's reporting rather than hands-on beta testing, and it will be checked against real gameplay as the level cap rises through the beta.