World of Warcraft Dragonflight: How Long Does It Take to Reach Level 70?

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World of Warcraft‘s Dragonflight expansion is here, which means that new, returning, and veteran players are desperately trying to reach Level 70 as quickly as possible in order to finally start playing the game. Thankfully, it won’t take them too long (at least by WoW standards) to hit that new level cap.

While hitting the max level in a World of Warcraft game used to be an epic adventure in and of itself, modern WoW games are designed to tell you a story and allow you to level along the way. Even still, it’s natural to wonder how long it’s going to take you to get into the heart of the Dragonflight experience. So far as that goes, here’s what you need to know.

How Long Does It Take to Reach Level 70 in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight?

It will take you anywhere from two to 15 hours to reach Level 70 in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight. The somewhat extreme time gap between those two estimates comes down to a few logistical factors. 

For instance, that two-hour estimate comes from a group of leveling speedrunners who actually managed to hit Dragonflight’s level cap in just over two hours. Theoretically, you could follow their leveling path and strategies (along with any improvements people make to those paths and strategies) and replicate their success. Realistically, though, it will be nearly impossible for most players to reach 70 in just a couple of hours. At the very least, it’s going to be very difficult for most people to find four other players who are not only willing to commit to a true leveling speedrun but have the skills and knowledge required to make that happen. Still, that kind of leveling time is obviously possible, even if it’s only technically possible.

That being the case, most players will probably hit Dragonflight’s level cap in around 10-15 hours. The key to that average leveling estimate is very much the word “average.” The average player, the average class, the average leveling path…if you’re not going out of your way to hit Level 70 as soon as possible, you can expect to spend about that much time getting to 70 through the fairly normal course of gameplay. If you’re willing to look up a guide or two in order to expedite that process, then you might be able to trim that estimate down to 8 to 12 hours for your first character. 

The biggest takeaway from all those estimates is that the WoW team continues to find ways to make the basic leveling process as smooth as possible. Generally speaking, leveling won’t be much of a concern in Dragonflight. The basic leveling experience is cleanly structured and roughly the length of a modern single-player campaign. Follow the signposts, run a few dungeons when you can, take shortcuts wherever possible, and you’ll be fine.

How Long Does it Take to Level From 1 to 60 in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight?

Dragonflight incorporates the reimagined new player (or new character) leveling experience introduced by the Shadowlands expansion. In other words, anyone coming into this expansion from the cold will be stuck in the special Exile’s Reach area until they reach Level 10. From there, they will follow a special Battle for Azeroth-themed campaign until they hit Level 60. At that point, they will be able to hop into the new Dragonflight content. 

If you’re leveling an Evoker (Dragonflight’s new class), you’ll start the game at Level 58 and will need to work your way through some basic tutorial missions in order to proceed to the heart of the new expansion content. Anyone familiar with playing a new class or race in previous WoW expansions will know the drill. 

Once you’ve reached Level 60 with at least one character on your account, the 1-60 leveling process gets significantly more interesting. At that point, you’ll be able to participate in a special “Chromie Time” campaign that will take you from level 10 to level 60. Once you’ve hit level 60, you’ll be able to start the Dragonflight campaign. 

Just as before, Chromie Time essentially allows you to play through a previous World of Warcraft expansion of your choice in order to level your character. This time around, though, you also have the option of playing through the Shadowlands expansion via Chromie Time. 

Generally speaking, it will take you a little longer to level through WoW’s older expansions than its more recent expansions. In other words, Burning Crusade offers the longest Chromie Time campaign, and Shadowlands offers one of the shortest. If you’re looking to go from Level 10 to Level 60 as quickly as possible, Shadowlands, Battle For Azeroth, Legion, and Warlords of Draenor are your best Chromie Time options. Leveling through any of those expansions will take you about 8 to 12 hours. 

However, due to some massive XP changes introduced in Dragonflight, leveling a character to 60 (regardless of which path you take) is significantly quicker than it’s ever been before. Even if you work your way through the “slowest” expansion, you shouldn’t spend more than 18-20 hours hitting that cap (unless you’re really learning the ropes or taking awesome serious scenic routes). That’s obviously great for those looking to level their alts as quickly as possible, though the continued de-emphasizing of the leveling process across the board is starting to cut into the grand adventure feeling that WoW is supposed to offer just a bit.