WoW’s Fastest Leveling Routes to 90 Are Here, but Waiting Might Be Smarter

World of Warcraft players have already found some very fast ways to reach level 90 in Midnight, because of course they have. Give this community ten levels, a few addons, and a vague efficiency problem, and someone will return from the lab with a route that makes leveling look less like an adventure and more like airport logistics.

A new Wowhead breakdown of Midnight leveling routes highlights two major approaches for players trying to get alts to level 90 quickly: guided 80–90 quest routing through Follow The Arrow, and the much stranger Earthen exploration route using Dystinct Earthen Skyriding.

Both are useful. Both are very WoW. And one of them comes with the small catch that your “fastest route” may involve becoming an Earthen tourist with extremely strong feelings about map discovery.

Follow The Arrow Is the Sensible Route

The most normal option is Follow The Arrow, an addon created by WoW content creator Harldan. The idea is simple: the addon gives players an arrow and step-by-step instructions pointing them toward efficient leveling objectives.

That is not glamorous, but it is exactly what a lot of alt-levelers want.

Midnight’s leveling path is not impossible to follow, but it can still waste time if you wander, overcommit to side content, or start treating every glowing objective as a personal invitation. Follow The Arrow gives players a more direct route through the 80–90 process, including a Midnight campaign route intended for a first character and other routes for players who are already past the “I would like to read the story” stage.

This is the option for players who want to level quickly without turning the whole thing into a science project.

You still play the game. You still move through Midnight content. You just spend less time wondering whether the next quest hub is worth it or whether you accidentally invented a slower route by being curious.

The Earthen Skyriding Method Is the Weird Speed Option

Then there is the faster, weirder option: leveling an Earthen through exploration with the Dystinct Earthen Skyriding addon.

Earthen characters benefit from Wide-Eyed Wonder, a racial that makes exploration XP extremely valuable. Combine that with optimized skyriding routes, and players are reporting level 90 runs in under three hours.

That is fast. That is also extremely specific.

The obvious downside is that you are leveling an Earthen. If that is what you wanted anyway, excellent. You have won both speed and geology. If you wanted another race, the “solution” becomes more awkward: level fast as Earthen, then potentially use a paid race change afterward.

That is where the method moves from clever to slightly goblin-brained.

It is efficient, yes. But it is only truly clean if you already wanted an Earthen alt. Otherwise, you are not just optimizing time. You are making a character identity decision based on route math, which is how you know World of Warcraft has once again become a spreadsheet wearing shoulder pads.

Patch 12.0.7 May Change the Leveling Math

Here is the important wrinkle: Patch 12.0.7 may make waiting smarter for some players.

A Blizzard forum post quoting Linxy notes that Patch 12.0.7 significantly increases experience earned from several Midnight quest types, including first-time Delves through Delver’s Call, Midnight dungeon quests, Prey, and weekly Renown activities.

That matters because those are exactly the kinds of activities many players naturally do while leveling alts. If 12.0.7 makes them more rewarding, then the “best” route may become less about pure campaign pathing or exploration cheese and more about stacking meaningful objectives that were already worth doing.

In other words, the future may be kinder to players who want to level by actually playing Midnight systems instead of flying across the world like a very focused stone tourist.

So Should You Level Now or Wait?

The answer depends on why you are leveling.

If you need an alt at 90 immediately for Mythic+, professions, raid utility, PvP, or because your guild has once again convinced you that “we could really use one more specific spec,” then level now. Follow The Arrow looks like the clean practical route, and the Earthen exploration method is there if speed matters more than dignity.

If you are leveling casually, waiting for 12.0.7 may be smarter. More XP from Delves, dungeon quests, Prey, and weekly Renown activities could make the process feel less like a route race and more like a normal alt journey with better rewards.

That is especially true if you actually enjoy those systems. There is no prize for forcing yourself through the fastest method if it makes you hate the character before they even reach cap.

Efficiency is good. Having fun with the alt you just leveled is also generally recommended.

Speedrunning Leveling Is Not Always the Right Answer

There is a strange tension in modern WoW leveling. Players want it to be fast, but if it becomes too obviously optimized, it starts feeling less like an RPG and more like a delivery route.

That does not mean guides and addons are bad. They are useful. Many players have already seen the story, finished the campaign, and simply want to get another character ready for endgame. For them, fast routing is a blessing.

But Midnight also has a lot of content competing for attention. Housing, Mythic+, raids, Void Assaults, Abyss Anglers, professions, PvP events, and Patch 12.0.7 systems are already piling up. Leveling does not need to become another stressful checklist unless you want it to be one.

That is the real editorial answer: level in the way that matches the goal.

Need speed? Use the route.

Need the absolute fastest route and do not mind being Earthen? Go explore aggressively.

Not in a rush? Wait for 12.0.7 and let Blizzard’s XP buffs do some of the heavy lifting.

Alt Leveling Is About to Get More Interesting

The most useful part of all this is that players now have clearer options.

Follow The Arrow gives a more straightforward guided path. Dystinct Earthen Skyriding gives speed demons a weirdly powerful exploration trick. Patch 12.0.7 looks like it will make normal Midnight activities more attractive for alt leveling.

That is a good place for WoW to be. Not every player wants to level the same way. Some want the campaign. Some want the fastest route possible. Some want to combine Delves, dungeons, weekly objectives, and whatever else gets them to 90 without feeling like they have been trapped inside a quest spreadsheet.

Midnight’s leveling game is not solved by one answer. It is becoming a menu.

And for once, the smartest choice may be not rushing — unless, of course, your raid team needs that alt tomorrow.

In which case, congratulations. You are now an Earthen with a flight plan.