I think more recent expansions with a lot of content per zone are going to be attractive to players because there will be less travel time between them. Remember, leveling will be faster in Shadowlandsīut knowing that the goal is to make leveling faster, and to make it so you don’t need to leave whatever expansion you choose to get to max level, some things seem fair enough to say. three zones per faction in Battle for Azeroth. While we know that Blizzard is referring to the system for leveling as ‘ outdoor Timewalking‘ and that canonically any new character you start starts in the world of Azeroth as it exists just before Battle for Azeroth starts - in essence, any expansion you choose to level in that isn’t Battle for Azeroth is you travelling back in time - we don’t actually know how they’re going to make that work when not every expansion has the exact same amount of content. There are a lot of zones in post- Cataclysm Azeroth to level through, for example, vs.
Now, of course, this is still up in the air because we don’t know how the XP balancing for content is going to work out. Most races don’t have an XP bonus like this to consider, however. Similarly, Pandaren get double the rested XP, and so being able to log out in a place where they can gain rest might be a concern, making expansions like Wrath of the Lich King and others with a fair amount of settlements a good option for them.
Darkspear Trolls, on the other hand, get extra experience for killing beasts, and so Azeroth with its varied zones full of wild animals might be a better choice for your Troll character. Lightforged Draenei, for example, get extra experience points for killing demons, so The Burning Crusade and Legion are excellent options for them.
So how to decide which expansion is the one we want? But for most of us, we’ll have options, because we’ll be working on an alt and our mains will be level 50, ready to go to Shadowlands directly. You’ll be going from 1 to 10 in Exile’s Reach, and once you finish that, you’ll be sent to Kul Tiras or Zandalar to take part in Battle for Azeroth’s story which is the most direct setup for Shadowlands. Now, if you’re a brand new player or starting a new character on a new account, the decision is made for you. There are a lot of options - The Burning Crusade, Wrath of the Lich King, the post Cataclysm world of Azeroth, Cataclysm’s at the time endgame, Mists of Pandaria, Warlords of Draenor, Legion, and finally Battle for Azeroth‘s current content will become a leveling zone as well. One of the choices you’re going to have leveling through World of Warcraft‘s next expansion, Shadowlands, is deciding which of the game’s expansions to go 10 to 50 in.