World of Warcraft Recruit-a-Friend leveling guide

Recruit-a-Friend is being used by a great many people right now, but few are truly doing it in the most efficient way possible. This is a guide to being incredibly efficient when it comes to using Recruit-a-Friend, and is how I got to Level 59 in 18 hours 39 minutes on four different characters, and have two characters with less than 4 hours /played at 60.

This guide is for Horde for the most part, however if you're an alliance character you should get use out of mostly everything with the exception of the RFC part.

What's Needed?
Two accounts, and either a friend who is a 70 or a third 70 account to help you out. I have used my warrior to run myself through instances until 60, and the second time I levelled a "batch" of characters I had a friend of mine use his mage.

How do I get started?
Go to the World of Warcraft website and log into the account that you want to be the primary account - if you're levelling by having a 70 friend run you through then whatever account you have will work. Since this account will have two level 59+ characters on it from the Recruit a Friend process, it's best if it's upgraded to Burning Crusade, and your main account (so that you don't have to transfer the characters). RAF is NOT an exploit, it's NOT bannable, and completely safe.

Once you're there, choose Recruit-A-Friend. Create a new email account, or use an existing one and follow the instructions. If you want to eventually transfer your second account's toons onto your main account, use your real information, or the same information on the main one, so you can transfer from account to account. Blizzard has already stated that although people double boxing RAF accounts isn't their intention, it's perfectly fine. You have to upgrade the recruited account to a normal copy of WoW to continue to 59. This costs $20, you get a free month of Warcraft for upgrading, so you don't have to worry about spending the $15, and if you level fast you can finish using the account by the time the free month is up.

Double Boxing / Triple Boxing
If you have the computer to handle it, then you can triple box your characters and run yourself through instances while double boxing. If you don't, then don't bother. The main thing that you want to do to make your double boxing experience all the more simple (without using any programs) would be to open both instances of WoW in windowed mode and set up a couple macros for the secondary account and one for the primary account. I was levelling priest/hunter which isn't the best of setups, but until level 8 came around, I was controlling the hunter and using macros to do damage on the priest, just a couple very easy macros that I could get to quickly if needed, and that would make 1-8 a lot easier.

/follow Hunter
/assist Hunter
/cast Smite(Rank 1)

and

/follow hunter
/tar Hunter
/cast Lesser Heal(Rank 1)

Obviously macros are not required, and they can even slow you down if you're more familiar with only running one copy of WoW at a time, however if you have both open in windowed mode you can get your timing down so you level twice as fast, making use of the macros. Just replace "Hunter" with your primary character's name and go from there.

Starting to Level.
Class choice is pretty big. Each time I've levelled I've always made sure that I have one class that can heal, because when you get to 50+ instances (and even ZF), being able to heal whoever is running you through will make things a lot easier. I decked out my priest in all the damage/heal gear he could get and specced him holy, and it just made my mage able to pull a lot more mobs, and get through the instance a lot faster, so I would suggest going with a healer class unless you have a friend in solid gear, since the mage running me was an alt.

From here, this is a straight levelling guide on how I got my RAF characters to 59 fastest. I've gotten six 60s from this, and am working on my third "batch" of characters on alliance side now since I've gotten all horde classes to 60+ this is meant to be a resource for anyone who wants to do RAF, nothing more.

Levels 1 - 8 - Questing!
Feel free to skip this part and go on to the next if you'd like, this is just a bare bones run through of what I did to get to Level 8 (and Orgrimmar) the fastest. Most people don't need to know this much information about starting zone quests, because, if you're like me, you've done them enough.

Create your characters. I will start this with a quick zone runthrough so that people who are starting undead characters know which quests to pick up and can power through quickly. If you created different races then skip to the Level 8 zone, if you created one undead, then use your undead to summon your second account to the undead zone, and then group and begin to quest with one character on follow.

Go to the first quest hub, the church. Pick up the first quest [2] The Mindless Ones. Complete the quest and return to the questgiver. Now pick up the quests [3] Rattling the Rattlecages and [3] Scavenging Deathknell run through the starting zone and finish both of the quests. You should notice you're levelling very, very fast. By the time you turn in those two quests you should be Level 5. From there, start to head out of the starting zone towards Brill, stop and pick up the quest [5] A Rogue's Deal and then continue down the road until you reach Brill.

When you reach Brill go into the inn and turn in the quest. Head to the zeppelin from there, and get on the one to Durotar. After you're off the zeppelin, head into Orgrimmar, and make the zone your hearth on both characters - often times people will forget to set it on both. Once that's done go south until you reach Razor Hill, and pick up the quest from Gar'thok [7] Vanquish the Betrayers as well as teh quest [7] Carry Your Weight (you pick up this quest from the top level of the tower above and behind the inn). Head south towards Sen'jin, follow the road until you reach the questgiver, Ukor that gives you the quest [5] A Peon's Burden, head into Sen'jin. Pick up the quest [8] Thwarting Kolkar Aggression and then head west towards the Kolkars, complete the quest. Return to the questgiver and turn the quest in, and then head north, up the road.

Halfway up the road head east to Tiragarde Keep. Set loot type to Free For All. Begin killing things there, looting only on your primary character until he has all of the Canvas Scraps he needs. At which point continue killing things and remember to tab onto your secondary character to loot. Head up to the top of the castle, and then kill Lieutenant Benedict, loot the Admiral's Key on both characters, and then clear to the roof of the castle, and open the chest on both characters, loot the Admiral's Orders and start the quest that you receive on both characters. From there head back to Razor Hill, turn in all the quests that you have, take no follow ups (aside from the follow up to "The Admiral's Orders" if for some reason you're not level 8 by the time the quests are turned in) and then hearth to Orgrimmar. Now the instance grind begins, and it will not be anywhere near as descriptive as this starting zone guide.

Levels 8 - 14 - Ragefire Chasm
Important Quests: [16D] Slaying the Beast
Pick up the quest from outside the instance to kill Taragaman. You need to be Level 9 to pick it up so if you're still Level 8 then just wait until the next run and pick it up. Grind RFC out until you're Level 14. The experience is superior in RFC to WC up until that point. Pick up the flight path to Orgrimmar while you're there, and then head to Crossroads at 14, pick up the flightpath there.

Alliance - Quest with your alts until Level 10, and then head to Deadmines, stay in Deadmines until Level 19.

Levels 14 - 19 - Wailing Caverns
Important Quests: [21D] Deviate Eradication
Pick up the quest Deviate Eradication from the cave above WC, head into the instance and clear it out multiple times. Don't bother with the Mutanus event. Once you're level 19 then head south, to Camp Taraujo and RFK, pick up the flight path at Camp T.

Levels 19 - 25 - Razorfen Kraul
Important Quests: [30D] Willix the Importer, [36D] An Unholy Alliance
Clear through RFK multiple times. Loot the Small Scroll from Charlga, and do the escort quest from Willix. Stay in RFK until you're a level 25, keep the Small Scroll in your bags. Once RFK is cleared, hearth to Orgrimmar and then hop on the zep to Undercity.

Alliance - Do the Stockade until 25, unless you want to make the long trip to RFK. At this point in the guide, the instances that you will run will be the same as the horde, however the quests will be different (aside from ZF), and having not completed this alliance side, I don't have access to all of the quests.

Levels 25 - 40/42 - Scarlet Monastery
Important Quests: [42D] Into The Scarlet Monastery
When you reach Undercity, set it as your hearthstone, from there, head northeast to Scarlet Monastery, your home for the next 5 or so hours. Clear SM Library until you're Level 27, at which point enter Armory and clear it until you're a 30. When you're a 30 then switch over to Cathedral and stay in there until you're a 33, at which point hearthstone to Undercity and head to the Apothecarium, to Varimathras. Start the quest from the Small Scroll from RFK at this point, and then turn that in, and pick up the quest [42D] Into The Scarlet Monastery from Varimathras.

From there, if both of your characters are Undead (or Blood Elf), head to the respective mount vendors and buy your mount, afterwards go back to SM and enter Library. Kill the Houndmaster once in Library and then run out of the instance. Head into SM Armory and do a full clear there, at which point head into Cathedral and clear that.

Depending on the gear/class of whoever is running you through these instances, you're going to do a different circuit through the instances. If the player isn't a well geared warlock, mage or someone who rips through the instance very quickly, you're going to want to only do Cathedral, and then reset it after each run. If the person running you is well geared then you want to do Cathedral, and then Armory, and then reset the instance.

Follow the above until you're level 40 if the person running you through is geared. If the person running you is not geared, stay in Cath until level 42, and then switch to Zul'Farrak. Remember to turn in "Into the Scarlet Monastery" when you complete the SM portion of the circuit.

Levels 42 - 50/52 - Zul'Farrak
Important Quests: [47D] Divino-matic Rod, [45D] Scarab Shells, [45D] Troll Temper
Head to Tanaris. Begin all of the quests mentioned above, which you can pick up in Tanaris. Getting here for Horde means taking the zeppelin back to Orgrimmar and then flying down to Camp Taraujo and riding to Tanaris through Thousand Needles (where you should pick up the flight path for Freewind Post).

If you're a 40 you definitely are going to need to watch your ass when it comes to agro, there are mobs that stand on certain hills around corners, and you'll need to call out for some help more times than not. At this point, I actually started having to heal the mage running me through, as he was taking a lot of damage, so being 42 when you enter ZF does have it's advantages (mainly you don't have to stay there as long). Clear through ZF, remembering to loot on both of your characters, the Troll Temper, the Scarab Shells and the Divino-matic Rod from Sergeant Bly, after the stairs event. You'll want to stay in ZF until you're either 50 or 52. I suggest 52 if you have someone undergeared running you through, however 50 is fine as well, especially because ZF is one of the more repetitive instances. You'll see some massive quest XP when you go to turn in your quests, so it won't seem all that long.

The Home Stretch
50-60 is by far, the easiest part of the guide, with the exception of the first 30 or so levels, a lot of people overcomplicate it by sticking purely to instances, but my suggestion to you is: don't. Doing the BRD quests is enough to get you to 56, at which point questing is the superior way to get experience, especially if you stick to WPL and EPL. The Cauldron quests giving you 30,000 XP for doing virtually nothing are just incredible, and the grinding quests in EPL can go incredibly fast if you have the same friend who was running you through instances killing things for you. If you like doing instances, then more power to you, but I'll only be covering up to 56, as what I did afterwards was switch directly to questing, although I could see LBRS being a suitable option as well.

Levels 52 - 56 - Blackrock Depths
Important Quests: [52D] Commander Gor'shak, [52D] KILL ON SIGHT: Dark Iron Dwarves, [52D] Dark Iron Legacy, [55D] Lost Thunderbrew Recipe, [56D] Disharmony of Fire
Head to your respective quest hub. For Alliance, it's Morgan's Vigil, and for Horde it's Kargath. Set Kargath to your hearthstone if you're horde. Pick up [52D] Disharmony of Flame(horde) or [52D] Overmaster Pyron(alliance). Complete the quest and do a quick clear of the first room and to High Interrogator Gerstahn, looting any Relic Coffer Keys along the way (head straight and then hang a right), loot the key from her on one of your characters, it will be used for a later quest.

Now, head back to Kargath and reset the instance. Turn in Disharmony of Flame and pick up the following quests: [52D] Commander Gor'shak, [52D] KILL ON SIGHT: Dark Iron Dwarves, [55D] Lost Thunderbrew Recipe, [56D] Disharmony of Fire. From here, head into Searing Gorge and then south through Blackrock Mountain to the Burning Steppes and snag the flight path from the goblins at (65, 23). While you're there pick up [55D] The Heart of the Mountain and then head back into Blackrock Mountain. As soon as you're in BRM, head back towards the way you came (towards the exit to Searing Gorge), when you're next to that hallway jump off the side of the walkway and die on both of your characters, and then run them back in ghost form. Run along the chain, to the center of Blackrock Mountain while in ghost form (down the stairs near the meeting stone) and take the quest [52D] Dark Iron Legacy on both characters, complete the first portion of the quest (listening to his story) and then grab the follow up, run down the chain towards the entrance to BRD (where the old MC port was) and rez, you should have died directly next to it.

Now, it's time to do BRD clears. The instance is huge, and so most people spend a lot of time just killing mobs in there. I'll give you a quick runthrough of what I do the first time, and what I do each time afterwards, to get quests done. Clear out the first room, and then head down the second cave on your right, clearing the mobs along the way. You should soon see a quest turnin pop up on your minimap, open the cell with the key you looted earlier, and turn in the quest on both characters before accepting the followup. As soon as you take the followup tab onto your other character and accept it, a wave of mobs will spawn and attack, have the person running you through ready to pick them up quick.

From here, head back into the main room and take the first right (to the north cave), keep your eyes on the left side of the cave, for the Ring of Law, which is an event that has several waves of mobs before a small boss. Clear this room, and then a hallway will open up that you can walk through. Go up the hallway, and keep a pretty big difference. If the person running you through is going to need heals, have him bring the mobs back to you (positioned in the hallway still) otherwise you'll just agro the fire elemental pats. Clear the better portion of this first small room and then head up the ramp immediately to your right as soon as you leave the hallway. Head across this room, not attacking anything until you're on the opposing side. From here, continue clearing, turn left and then head straight down this hallway. When you get to the end of the bridge you'll come to another room which you can clear out, which will lead you to the central portion of BRD which is centered around Incendius. From here you can do the Heart of the Mountain event, as well as head to Incendius, kill him and finish the quest, and then kill Fineous Darkvire for the Ironfel.

If you've upgraded both the primary and secondary account to TBC, at Level 55 you can take them to Blood Furnace and have a group of friends help run you through, this will be by far the easiest experience up until Level 60, just remember to keep the secondary account from hitting 60 or you won't be able to grant a Level 30 up to Level 59.

Note: Some people are convinced you can grant characters an additional level at 60, I tested on a character I levelled and wasn't able to get it working, but I've got a second batch of characters levelling so will confirm myself. In any event, it may be worth it for anyone wanting to try it themselves to get one toon to 60 and another to 59.9 and then grant the level.

Run BRD until you're around level 55 or 56, and then leave and turn in the quests. From here you can either head to LBRS or start questing, I chose to do the latter. Good luck levelling using RAF and I hope that this helps you out. When the character on the secondary account reaches level 59, he can then grant 29 levels to a lower levelled character on the primary account. At this point I level a character to 30, using the same method and a "throwaway" character on the secondary account, and then grant him levels to 59. Using this method it should only take you a maximum of five days, even if you don't have time to spare. I managed to level my last batch in the timespan of two days, so I'm sure you guys can manage.

Cloth Turnins are an excellent way of getting experience from 58 on. You can get somewhere around 250k experience doing cloth turnins at 58 (with the triple experience benefit). So if you couple the turnins with WPL Cauldron Quests, you should be able to get from 56 to 60 within an hour, good luck.