Levelling guide

Where to hunt at every level, from the meadow to the dragon's crag.

Monsters well below your combat level give much less XP, so keep moving up. Hover a monster to check its danger colour: white (Suitable) is ideal.

Levels	Where	Monsters	Notes
1–4	Brookhollow meadow	Rat, Meadow Hare, Field Spider, Green Slime	Right outside the north gate. Spiders can poison. At night Meadow Wisps drift over the grass.
3–8	Fernwood glade	Mushroomling, Forest Bee, Stag	West of the meadow. Stags only fight back.
4–9	Brookhollow forest	Goblin Scout, Grey Wolf	East of the crossroads. Buy an upgrade first.
5–9	Fernwood wasp glade	Armoured Wasp, Rose Slime	Wasps poison. Old Mossbeard sometimes appears here.
4–8	Saltmere strand	Mudskipper	West of Fernwood: a harbour town on the sea. Fernwood's puffcap ring (Puffcap, levels 4–8) is on the way.
6–10	Lake Fern	Shore Crab	Tough shells: bring your best weapon.
7–12	Fernwood reeds	Mire Viper, Bog Toad	Vipers poison, toads slow. Bring antidotes.
7–12	Saltmere tide pools	Coral Crab, Tide Jelly	Jellies sting. In the rain they wash up on the strand too.
8–14	The Hollow Cave	Skeleton	North-east of the forest. Varg the Bonelord waits at the bottom.
9–14	Millbrook ruins	Ruin Archer, Bone Mage	Across the river bridge, east of the forest.
10–15	Millbrook slopes and the Mire	Cyclops, Bog Imp, Wailing Ghost	Imps poison and flee; ghosts slow you.
10–15	Rogue's Ridge camp	Bandit Cutthroat, Bandit Archer	East of Millbrook's slopes. Warden Holt has quests and a task board. Captain Redbeard sometimes shows himself.
11–19	The Deep Mines	Cave Bat, Skeleton Miner	The mine head is on Millbrook's ridge top.
12–17	Raptor slopes	Ridge Raptor	Fast and hungry. In the rain, Storm Sprites ride the ridges.
14–18	The mine crypt	Crypt Ghoul	North-west of the mines. Ghouls poison.
12–17	The wreck	Sea Pirate, Pirate Duelist	At night the Drowned Admiral sometimes rises.
13–17	Highmoor west moor	Woolly Alpaking	North of Rogue's Ridge. Watch for Alpaking Rex.
13–16	Ridge Top	Ridge Yeti	Snow all year. Yetis slow you.
15–20	Cactus flats	Cactoid	Through Millbrook's east pass. Cactoids never move.
15–21	Orc warcamp	Orc Warrior, Orc Shaman	Kill the shamans first. Gorrak the Hill Giant walks the high ridge now and then.
15–20	Highmoor pasture, crags and warren	Moor Bull, Crag Harpy, Moor Monkroose, Goblin Raider	Ranger Hale runs the town's task board.
16–21	The Old Crypt	Floating Skull	Deep in the mines.
17–22	The flooded hall	Cave Squid	Their ink slows you.
18–22	The Barrow: the Ossuary	Skeleton Warrior, Barrow Bat, Crypt Ghoul	Floor 1 of the Barrow. Also the troll fells (Moor Troll, 19–24).
18–24	Lava fields	Fire Demon	Burns (poison). Bring antidotes.
22–26	The Barrow: the Drowned Halls	Bloated Corpse, Drowned Spirit, Bile Glub	Floor 2. Spirits cast magic.
22–28	Drake crags	Ember Drake	Tough. Beyond them, the road north leads to the Cinder Keep.
24–28	Cinder Keep courtyard	Ember Golemling, Ash Wraith	North of the Scorched Vale. Sister Ashra waits at the gate. Mine cinder ore here.
27–31	The forge halls	Cinder Fiend, Molten Golem	Golems slam the ground: keep moving.
26–32	The Barrow: the Throne of Bones	Grave Knight, Bone Colossus	Floor 3, and the Barrow King. In the rain, Stormwing circles Highmoor's storm peak.
22–25	Frostfang wolf runs	Frost Wolf	East of Millbrook's Ridge Top. See Frostfang Pass.
23–29	Frostfang lake and crags	Frost Wisp, Snow Harpy, Ice Golem, Frost Giant	Huntress Sigrun's quests and task board.
28–31	Gullwrack beach	Reef Snapper, Thornback Blob	Take the ferry from Saltmere (see Gullwrack Isle).
29–32	Gullwrack jungle	Jungle Prowler, Tiki Brute	Warden Isolde's quests start here.
30–34	The sanctum	Void Walker	The hardest monsters in the Cinder Keep.
31–36	The Sunken Temple and the volcano rim	Temple Witchdoctor, Temple Colossus, Magma Imp, Cinder Wyvern	The Tide Serpent waits in the temple's sanctum. Beat it to open the stair to the Sunken City.
36–42	The Sunken City: the Drowned Streets	Drowned Legionnaire, Coral Crawler, Abyssal Eel, Siren	Under the Sunken Temple. See the Sunken City.
38–46	The Sunken City: the Palace of Tides	Deepguard, Tide Priest	Nerissa, the Drowned Queen waits on her throne.
42–48	The Ashen Citadel: the Outer Ward	Ash Knight, Cinder Hound, Ashen Archer, Flame Priest	East of the Cinder Keep, after chapter 10 of The Waking. See the Ashen Citadel.
44–52	The Ashen Citadel: the Throne of Ash	Magma Brute, Citadel Drake	The hardest monsters in the game, and the Ashen Regent. Then try heroic.
42–50	Cinderwatch	Ash Knight, Cinder Hound, Ashen Archer, Flame Priest, Magma Brute, Citadel Drake	The Citadel's monsters out in the open, on the watch road east of the Cinder Keep (after chapter 10). See Cinderwatch.
52–62	Mistveil Isle	Thornhorn Beetle, Mire Strider, Veil Mantis, Mist Wolf, Gloam Moth, Temple Sentry	By ferry from Port Varrow's west pier; the shore first, then the grove and the temple steps. See Mistveil Isle.

Bosses along the way

Varg the Bonelord, level 18, in the Hollow Cave.
Elder Treant, level 16, in Fernwood's north-west grove.
Deep One, level 22, in the Deep Mines' flooded hall.
Ashwing the Dragon, level 28, beyond the lava moat in the Scorched Vale.

See the boss guide.

Speeding things up

Do the quests: big XP rewards, especially later.
Take board tasks that match where you're already hunting.
Finish medium region diaries: each gives 5% more XP from kills in its region.
Rifts are packed with monsters and elites, and every run is different.
The Proving Pit gives XP for every kill, and falling there costs nothing.
Build kill streaks and hunt elites when you see them.
Buy Scholar mastery (+3% XP per rank) from level 15.