Originally the World of Warcraft had just the 60 levels and is sometimes referred to as "Vanilla WoW." Then came the Burning Crusade with the Blood Elves, Draenei, a level 70 cap, new dungeons, a whole new continent (Outlands,) and many new toys.
Now we have Wrath of the Lich King. Wrath brings with it another 10 levels, another whole new continent to explore, new dungeons, new gear (which will obsolete our current gear,) and, of course, the Lich King himself and his Death Knights.
Unlike the Outlands, the new continent, Northrend, doesn't have any level requirement. If you want to send your level 1 explorer there then go for it. Mobs start at level 68 so if you actually want to fight something, then bring along a character of a little higher level. If you're not high enough level yet then you should get to work.
If you are the type who likes to explore all the hidden areas (as I tend to do) then you will have a blast exploring Northrend. If you're the type who like to level a little faster be aware that the quests in Northrend, like all the other WoW quests, will send you all over the place. A little organizing of your quests will be needed to make your leveling efficient.
As usual, when you hit any new area and start grabbing quests you will note that they send you in all directions, some are local and some send you to other zones. Make a note of which quest sends you where and then figure out the most efficient path to hit those quests. If one, or some, of them take you to the big city wait until you have others in that city and/or you are going to be there anyway, Your class training is one example.
Once people started hitting level 60 they immediately noticed that quite a large number of experience points were needed to hit 61. The same is true for the new levels. 70-71 is something of a long haul, especially if you aren't organized. If you approach thing willy nilly you will find that each level will take a long time.
Grinding, of course, is something that can be done, but with the loooong levels from 70 onward it seems to me that this will be extraordinarily dull. Take whatever stash of Mountain Dew, pizza, and tunes that you laid in for your pre-70 grind fests and triple it.
The first people to hit 80 played in the beta test and learned all the routes and the sweet spots for a little extra grinding. They don't do it by randomly grinding or by doing quests randomly.Bloodscalp saw its first 80 (Horde) at 1am on the 15th, but he wasn't the fastest.
Nyhm, the first character to hit 80 on any server, said (in an interview with MMO-Campion) that he did it by grinding the crypt in Drakil'ji Ruins (in Grizzly Hills.) The monsters there pop up quickly and are neutral, so the grinding is safer. Apparently he had a healer helping him out for at least part of the way. I don't know that I could deal with 27 hours of straight grinding, but he did. He had the right spot, the right gear, the right team, and made it. I wonder if he even bothered to get training or to loot the mobs he killed.
For those who didn't get to explore the world in the beta it will take a bit longer. One thing that will help you a great deal on all your travels is to grab a WoW addon called "Cartographer." This addon lets you set waypoints which are a big help in finding your way around whichever zone you happen to be in, whether it's the starter area, an instance, or Northrend. Grab a quest, locate the area that you want to be in, set a waypoint, and follow the arrow on your main screen. It's a free download and the installation is as easy as any other WoW addon.
-GameBoot.com
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