I am sure that every WoW player has grinded before. If you hear the term grinding: do you only think about Chinese farmers? But a lot of people are also grinding to level up quickly or try and earn some gold. The world of WoW has been expanded multiple times, making it quite big and intimidating at times. I am sure there are grinding spots you have never thought of before. I hope I can give you some information on what makes a grinding spot good. In this article I will mostly talk about horde grinding areas, even though alliance can use most of them too. I have three level 80 characters, leveled them up by questing and doing some grinding. Besides that I also have a couple of lower level alliance alts. It is important to keep in mind that grinding is not necessarily the best way to level up quickly. Usually it pays off to do a lot of quests too. I do most of my grinding with my level 80 characters now, usually to get more gold or try and loot valuable items.

Keys to Great Grinding Areas

An area becomes a great grinding area for multiple reasons. A few factors that you will have to keep in mind:

• Crowds. Do not enter overcrowded areas. Even if it’s the best horde grinding area you can think of, if there’s twenty other players doing the same thing, it is unlikely you can grind consistently.
• Alliance. Be careful if there are alliance characters around. Sometimes everyone will just leave each other alone, but most of the time there are some people looking for PvP fights too. Even if you can take them on, you will lose grinding time.
• Mob respawn time. There are some areas with a lot of easy mobs, which can be killed quickly. But also keep an eye on the respawn time. If you have to wait a minute every time you have killed them, you will have a lot of downtime. You should look for horde grinding areas stacked with low health mobs that respawn quickly.
• Area location. Some areas are quite remote and will take you a long time to travel too. If the grinding area is far away from a flight path or major city, it is better to move on to another spot. In some cases though, being on a remote location pays off because it is less crowded and you can keep on going without being interfered with.

These are just a few of the key factors that make an area a good horde grinding area.

Is Grinding Suited For Leveling?

I am not going to say that grinding is the best option for grinding, because it is not. However, at times it does help a lot to grind a particular area. But, especially if you are below level 10 or 20, the fastest way to gain experience is by doing easy quests.

Make sure you only do quests that are actually worth doing (time and experience wise). This is an entirely different subject though, so you will be better off looking into this horde leveling guide. If you are grinding to level up, make sure you pick an area that is one or two levels below your current level.

The mobs should be easy to kill while you still get most of the experience (target green mobs). Besides that you should keep the factors, named above, in mind.

Do Not Get Bored

You are probably aware of the fact that grinding can be tedious at times. Luckily I have some tips that will make it less of a drag, maybe they are useful for you too.

• Music: listen to some of your favorite music, preferably something that gets your blood running (no romantic, slow, songs). I get much more excited if I have music running on the background, it makes grinding much easier somehow.
• Goals: set some goals for yourself. This may sound childish but it really helps, just give it a try. Examples of goals are: I want to kill 200 of these mobs before I fly back to a city. You could even say that you want to earn at least 30g before leaving the grinding area.
• Team up: teaming up will make grinding less boring and quicker too. Try and team up with someone (guildmember or friend). Preferably a healer / damage dealer combination so you can reduce downtime. For example, my main character is a warlock. Due to life tap I have little to no downtime when teaming up with a healer.

I am sure you can think of other ways to decrease boredom while grinding. Focus on the task ahead and think of the reward (maybe you really want to buy a particular item?).

What Are The Best Horde Grinding Areas

Alright, maybe I have given a bit to much information up front.. but I am sure it will help you out! So, what are the best grinding areas for horde?

* 0-15 – Do not bother with grinding, just quest for experience.
* 15-18 – The Barrens – Harpies (loc: 38,16)
* 18-22 – The Barrens – Bristleback(s)(loc: 52,44)
* 22-24 – The Barrens – Bristleback(s) (loc: 41,79)
* 22-24 – Hillsbrad – Tarren Mill: Bears and Spiders (loc: 59,30)
* 24-26 – Hillsbrad – Across the road from Tarren Mill Bears and Cats
* 24-26 – Thousand Needles – Galak Scouts (loc: 45,42)
* 26-28 – Hillsbrad – Spiders/Bears (back of Syndicate Tower)
* 26-30 – Hillsbrad – Mud Gnolls
* 28-30 – Hillsbrad – Nethander Stead: Cats/Spiders
* 30-32 – Thousand Needles – Harpies inside the cave
* 30-38 – Shimmering Flats – All monsters.
* 38-40 – Dustswallow Swamp – Very North East Islands, Murlock Warriors/Oracles.
* 40-46 – Ferales – Woodpaws (stay away from the ones that disease for slow casting speeds)
* 46-48 – Ferales – Frayfeather Skystormers
* 48-50 – Ferales – Harpies
* 48-51 – Southwest of Gadgetzan – Thistleshrubs
* 50-54 – Western Plaguelands – First ‘field’ to the left, assorted monsters.
* 54-60 – Western Plaguelands – Scarlet Lumberjacks

Above 60 you will be best off doing (daily) quests, as they are great for gaining experience and gold. Check out this blog for more information about horde leveling guides.