WoW Forever Thousand Needles Leveling Guide

Horde bleed through the canyon from 25, Alliance join on the salt at 30. Here is the fastest way through both, minus corpse runs and goblin mail.

The WoW Forever Thousand Needles guide in one breath: Horde enter at 25 from the Great Lift, quest the canyon to 30, finish on the Shimmering Flats and leave at 31 to 33. Alliance skip the canyon entirely, arrive at 30 through Tanaris or Feralas, and farm the Flats to about 35. Take the Freewind Post flight path, clear Darkcloud Pinnacle in two trips, skip the goblin postal service, and leave Heartrazor alone.

Thousand Needles is not on Blizzard's list of expanded Forever zones, so the vanilla chains are still the backbone and still the fastest XP per step. The WoW Forever beta level cap is 30, which lets testers clear the Horde half of the zone and stops them right where the Flats start paying.

Level Range: When to Come, When to Leave

Forever has no level scaling, so the canyon punishes early arrivals the old way. The table below is the WoW Forever leveling route through the zone, phase by phase.

Arrive at 23 and the centaur explain the concept of respawn to you personally. Stay past 35 and the Flats stop giving XP worth the walk.

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Level 51–55 guide to Burning Steppes in WoW Forever: flight paths, quest order, faction routes, elites, rares, and where to go next.

How to Get In: Flight Paths and Way Coordinates

Alliance have no flight master inside the zone. Horde get one at Freewind Post and should grab it before anything else.

Horde set hearth at Innkeeper Abeqwa in Freewind Post (/way 46.1 51.5). Thunder Bluff trips are mandatory later, and the Freewind hearth brings you back to every turn-in that matters.

Quest Hubs and Breadcrumbs

Breadcrumbs worth carrying into the zone:

• Message to Freewind Post from Brave Moonhorn at the top of the Great Lift opens the Freewind quest giver.
• Calling in the Reserves from Sun Rock ends at Grish Longrunner beside the lift, so bring it if you have it.
• The Sacred Flame from Zangen Stonehoof in Thunder Bluff ends at Rau Cliffrunner, who hands out the third part.
• The Swarm Grows from Belgrom Rockmaul in Orgrimmar is the only way to unlock Moktar Krin.
• Steelsnap from Melor Stonehoof is a Thunder Bluff bounty on a hyena in the northwest canyon (/way 17.8 19.8).
• A New Ore Sample from Tatternack Steelforge at Camp Taurajo sends Horde after Gravelsnout kobolds here.
• The Brassbolts Brothers from Pilot Longbeard in Ironforge is the Alliance ticket to the Flats at 28.
• The level 40 version from Klockmort Spannerspan exists for Alliance players who arrive embarrassingly late.
• Shamans take Call of Air to Prate Cloudseer at the Weathered Nook.
• Mages meet Magus Tirth at the Raceway for Get the Scoop.

Optimal Horde Quest Order

WoW Forever Horde leveling here is a loop between two posts and one cursed mesa. Follow this order and you touch each hub the minimum number of times.

• Take Message to Freewind Post at the lift, ride down and follow the road east to Freewind Post.
• Grab the flight path, set hearth, turn in, and accept Pacify the Centaur, Alien Egg from Hagar Lightninghoof, Wind Rider from Elu, and Wanted - Arnak Grimtotem from the poster at 46.0 50.9.
• Kill Galak scouts, wranglers, and windchasers along the western road, and loot the Galak Messenger if he jogs past, because his Assassination Note starts Assassination Plot.
• Check the Alien Egg nests at 56.4 50.4, 52.3 55.3, and 37.6 56.1, since the egg uses several spawn points and never the one you checked first.
• Turn in the egg, watch the hatchling murder a dog, and take Serpent Wild west to Whitereach Post.
• At Whitereach Post give Serpent Wild to Motega Firemane for Sacred Fire, give the note to Kanati Greycloud for Protect Kanati Greycloud, and accept Hypercapacitor Gizmo from Wizlo Bearingshiner.
• Defend Kanati on the spot, since the centaur waves are small and the armor rewards are not.
• Ride to the Highperch cliffs at 17.6 42.3, loot wyvern eggs, and escort Pao'ka Swiftmountain on Homeward Bound back to Motega.
• Kill the Enraged Panther at 22.8 24.6 for the Gizmo once you have a partner or a pet willing to die for you.
• Return to Freewind Post, turn in Pacify the Centaur and Wind Rider, and take Grimtotem Spying from Cliffwatcher Longhorn.
• Clear the first Darkcloud Pinnacle trip described below.
• Fly to Thunder Bluff, hand Sacred Fire to Magatha Grimtotem on Elder Rise and take Arikara.
• Return to Darkcloud Pinnacle, burn the powder at the burial fire at 37 35, kill Arikara, and turn in at Whitereach Post.
• Weave the Test chain between these steps, then move to the Shimmering Flats at 30.

Darkcloud Pinnacle: The Two-Trip Rule

Darkcloud Pinnacle is the Grimtotem mesa beside the Boiling Pool, reached by bridges from the northern needles. Four quests live up there and one lives in the lake below.

• Grimtotem Spying needs three notes from document chests at 33.8 40.0, 39.3 41.5, and 31.8 32.6.
• Sacred Fire needs ten Incendia Agave, most of them underwater around the Boiling Pool at 36.6 38.8, guarded by steam elementals.
• Free at Last starts with Lakota Windsong at 38.0 26.5 and ends at Thalia Amberhide in Freewind Post.
• Arnak Grimtotem stands next to her at 38.1 26.9, so kill him first and escort second.
• Arikara is summoned at the burial needle at 37 35, but only after Magatha turns the agave into Incendia Powder.

Lakota walks the most direct route down and ambush groups spawn along the way, so clear ahead but never outrun her. Losing her means walking back up the bridge to watch her respawn with the same attitude.

The Test Chain: Do It or Skip It

Dorn Plainstalker at the Weathered Nook (/way 54.0 41.5) runs a four-part Horde chain. The first three steps are local and profitable. The fourth is a travel tax.

• Test of Faith asks you to jump off the planks, and you survive, which is the entire test.
• Test of Endurance sends you into the Roguefeather Den west of Freewind Post to destroy harpy food until Grenka Bloodscreech arrives angry and drops Grenka's Claw.
• Test of Strength requires killing Rok'Alim the Pounder, a level 30 elite rock elemental that roams near 25.8 42.1.
• Test of Lore drags you to Braug Dimspirit in Stonetalon Mountains, then to Ashenvale for Legacy of the Aspects, then to Parqual Fintallas in Undercity and a book inside Scarlet Monastery.
• Final Passage pays out Windstorm Hammer or Dancing Flame back at Dorn.

Shimmering Flats and the Mirage Raceway

Shimmering Flats WoW Forever questing is shared by both factions and runs out of the Mirage Raceway. The goblin and gnome crews race rocket cars, lose rocket cars, and outsource the cleanup to you.

• Rocket Car Parts from Kravel Koalbeard asks for 30 parts from rubble scattered across the Flats.
• Salt Flat Venom from Fizzle Brassbolts needs venom from scorpid reavers and terrors.
• Hardened Shells from Wizzle Brassbolts needs shells from Sparkleshell tortoises.
• A Bump in the Road from Trackmaster Zherin is a cull of Saltstone basilisks and their cousins.
• Load Lightening from Pozzik needs bones from Salt Flats vultures and unlocks the Goblin Sponsorship chain.
• Hemet Nesingwary from Kravel is a crate delivery to Hemet Nesingwary in Stranglethorn Vale, so take it if that is your next zone.
• Horde also get The Swarm Grows from Moktar Krin and a drop-started Parts of the Swarm from silithid in the southeast.

All five kill and collect quests overlap on the same salt, so pick them up together and do them in one sweep. Turn-ins sit within a few yards of each other at the Raceway.

WoW Forever Thousand Needles Leveling Guide

Alliance Route

WoW Forever Alliance leveling in this zone is the Flats and a single journal. Arrive at 30 from Gadgetzan or Thalanaar, clear the Raceway sweep above, and leave at 34 to 35.

• Pick up Lonebrow's Journal from the journal on the ground at 30.7 24.4 and deliver it to Falfindel Waywarder in Thalanaar.
• Either faction can take Martek the Exiled from Fizzle, which sends you to Martek the Exiled in Badlands (/way 42.2 52.7) and leads to Indurium and News for Fizzle.
• Encrusted Tail Fins needs murloc fins from the Tanaris coast, so hold it until you work there.
• Quentin at the Raceway ends An Orphan Looking For a Home for Alliance players 38 and up who found the sprite darter egg in Feralas, then sends you to The Hinterlands with a one-hour timer.

What to Skip

Any honest World of Warcraft Forever leveling guide tells you which quests cost more flight time than they return. These are the offenders.

• Skip Goblin Sponsorship unless Booty Bay is already on your schedule, because it is five flights for one quest's worth of XP.
• Skip Wharfmaster Dizzywig and the Kravel rumor chain that follows, since it bounces between Ratchet, Booty Bay, and Swamp of Sorrows.
• Skip Indurium Ore and Rizzle's Schematics unless Uldaman is in your plans.
• Skip Test of Lore unless Scarlet Monastery already is.
• Treat Wind Rider as a courtesy, since it pays a Heavy Armor Kit and only makes sense because the eggs sit next to Homeward Bound.
• Hold Gahz'rilla from Wizzle until you run Zul'Farrak at 45 or later.
• Skip Family Tree unless you are heading to Nataka Longhorn in Desolace anyway.

Elite and Group Quests

Hunters and warlocks can solo most of this list two levels earlier. Everyone else should find a friend, since Forever keeps its stated target of 10 to 15 seconds per solo kill and elites were never tuned for that.

Best Quest Rewards Worth Keeping

Blizzard widened WoW Forever quest rewards across classes and roles, so read every reward window. These are the ones worth the detour.

Rares, Farm Spots, and Zone Drops

Forever reworked world drops and added hundreds of rare-creature drops, so WoW Forever rare mobs in old zones are worth a detour again. The canyon has seven.

• Roguefeather Den harpies respawn fast and drop wool, silk, and vendor trash, making the den the best cloth farm in the zone.
• Galak centaur are humanoids, so they drop cloth too and sit right next to your quest objectives.
• Sparkleshell tortoises on the Flats feed Hardened Shells and nothing else worth your bag space.
• Silithid in the southeast Flats drop the Cracked Silithid Carapace that starts Parts of the Swarm for Horde.

Lore

Lore holds that the needles are the remains of a dried inland sea, which explains the salt flats and why every mesa looks like an island that lost its ocean. The Grimtotem on Darkcloud Pinnacle are the tauren who never accepted Cairne, and Magatha's reaction to Arikara is the first public hint that the most powerful shaman in Thunder Bluff has her own agenda.

The Galak centaur feud with every tauren in sight. Forever adds Shen'Dralas between Mulgore and Desolace, a zone built around the centaur tribal wars, so the Galak grudge has a sequel waiting. The Raceway is lore too, just the dumb kind: goblins and gnomes spending fortunes to crash into salt.

Where to Go Next

The best leveling zones WoW Forever offers after the canyon depend on faction and how much travel you tolerate.

• Horde at 31 go to Stranglethorn Vale for the Nesingwary hunts, carrying Kravel's crate.
• Horde at 32 can take Family Tree to Desolace, one of the zones Forever expanded, and Alliance can ride there from Thalanaar.
• Players at 35 can take the new Steamwheedle boat to Powderfuse Port and open Riverglades, a 35 to 45 frontier with more than 150 quests.
• Horde running dungeons should know that Razorfen Downs sits on the northern rim of this zone, and Shen'Dralas quests will send you there later.
• Alliance at 35 fly to Theramore in Dustwallow Marsh or head to Stranglethorn.

Riding costs gold at 40 in Forever, so stop buying every green on the Raceway vendors. The Legacy perk Well Rested also stretches rested XP, which makes logging out at the Freewind inn smarter than logging out on a cliff.

FAQ

Q: What level should I be for Thousand Needles in WoW Forever?
Horde should arrive at 25 and leave the canyon at 30. Both factions use the Flats from 30 to 35.

Q: How do Alliance players reach Thousand Needles?
Fly to Thalanaar in Feralas and ride east, or fly to Gadgetzan in Tanaris and ride north into the Flats.

Q: Is the Test of Lore chain worth finishing?
Only if you already run Scarlet Monastery. Otherwise the flights to Stonetalon, Ashenvale, and Undercity cost more than the reward.

Q: Which elite quests can I solo?
Hunters and warlocks solo most of them near 30. Other classes should duo the panther, Rok'Alim, Arikara, and the escort.

Q: Where do I go after Thousand Needles?
Horde head to Stranglethorn or Desolace. At 35, anyone can sail to Powderfuse Port and start the new Riverglades zone.

Source: Worst Guides Ever