Everquest Classic Leveling Guide
This guide was created for the Everquest Progression Servers and it will also be viable on any EQ Emulator server that is in this era. If you are playing on a server that is in Kunark or Velious or later you may find those leveling guides more accurate and useful for you. Alternatively, if you are a later era and looking for zones that you can get away from other players in, you may find these locations more to your choosing.
I have another Classic Leveling Guide that was written ages ago and it actually still sees a lot of traffic so people must find it useful. If you're interested in seeing that one here's a link.
Noobie Zones 1 - 10
Staying in your noob zone is usually best for these early levels. I'm not going to go super in depth here as almost everyone already knows these levels.
Halflings 1 - 10 Misty Thicket
Dark Elves 1 - 10 Nektulos
5 - 15 Commonlands
Wood Elves, High Elves & Half Elves who start in Greater Faydark 1 - 5
Crushbone 5 - 15
Humans 1 - 5 Qeynos (Or West Freeport)
1 - 10 Qeynos Catacombs
5 - 10 Qeynos Hills
5 - 15 Erud's Crossing
8 - 17 Blackburrow
5 - 15 Commonlands
10 - 15 North Ro
Barbarians 1 - 15 Everfrost Peaks
8 - 17 Blackburrow
Gnomes 1 - 15 Steamfont
Crushbone 5 - 15
Dwarves 1 - 5 Butcherblock
Crushbone 5 - 15
Ogres 1 - 10(15) Feerrott
Trolls 1 - 10(15) Innothule Swamp
10 - 15 North Ro
Erudites 1 - 10 Toxxulia Forest
5 - 15 Erud's Crossing
Levels 10 - 15
These are some of the options in this level range. Don't get impatient if you're getting crappy XP someplace and are thinking about moving. XP is XP in Classic - there really aren't many options for you to choose from.
Crushbone (Dungeon Crawl) Group/Boxer extremely social - If you aren't 10+ stick to the entrance area without a group. 10+ explore a bit and kill what you can while LFG.
Upper Guk (Dungeon Crawl) Group/Boxer Extremely Social - UGuk is one of the main dungeons for players during this level range. Much like Unrest it's going to be packed with groups, assuming that Classic is the current expansion.
Runnyeye (Halflings) (Dungeon Crawl) Boxer/Group antisocial - Stick to the top floor and try not to pull a lot. Also be sure nothing runs, snare everything! Stay near a zone line for safety.
Gorge of King Xorbb (Halflings) (Outdoors/Camp) Solo/Boxer/Group antisocial - Stay near the Runnyeye zoneline for safety and kill muddites and goblins
North Ro (Field Killing/Camps) Solo/Boxer/Group moderately social - Dervish and Undead camps as well as a bunch of different roaming enemies.
Unrest (Dungeon Crawl) Group/Boxer extremely social - Great zone for grouping during this level range. There's going to be quite a few groups here if your server only has Classic EQ and no future X-pacs. This is basically the Go-to place if you're LFG and on Faydwer after Crushbone.
Levels 15 - 20 Undead Isle in OoT
This is one of my favorite places to go since the Undead here are good for players of any type. If you're a boxer you have a ton of undead available and they're easy to pull. Solo players can kite around the outskirts of the island or root rot an undead. There are also gargoyles that spawn here which drop Gargoyle Eyes that sell to a vendor for 8 - 10pp each!
Something to keep into mind about this location are the skeletons and gargoyles will attack each other. If no one is hunting here when you first arrive you'll usually find no gargoyles alive for this reason. After you clear the skeletons the gargoyles will start spawning. Keep in mind too the skeletons are highly social with each other. If you pull them too close together they'll gang up on you quick!
Alternatives:
East Karana (Field Killing) Solo/Boxer social - Will be decent XP and money - lots of mobs to kill in the northern portion of the zone
This is the most profitable route in this level range but you'll have to sell the Pelts and other stuff you farm to players before you see the plat.
North Karana (Field Killing) Solo/Boxer Antisocial - This is an alternative soloing/small group location for those who can't find a group elsewhere.
South Ro (Field Killing/Camps) Solo/Boxer/Group moderately social - The crocodiles by the docks make a great location
Lavastorm (Field Killing) Solo/Boxer/Group social - Will be some of the fastest XP during these levels but also quite difficult - lavastorm is kind of a high risk high reward place. The goblins are best in this level range
Lake Rathe (Outside Killing) Solo/Boxer/Group moderately social - There are a few different camps all around the zone, will be a good place for a small group.
South Karana (Field Killing) Solo/Boxer/Group antisocial - The aviaks aren't too bad for kiting in the upper end of this level range. They are also a location you wont see too many people at.
Highpass Hold (Dungeon Crawl) Solo/Boxer/Small Group antisocial - There are a few different camps of enemies you can kill in this zone that are between the levels of 15 - 20. It makes a decent hunting location if you want to avoid the most popular hunting areas.
Levels 20 - 25 Different Locations
There really is no one spot for this level range. You can stay with the undead in Ocean of Tears, throw up your LFG tag and go wherever you find a group or pick another location to solo. The South Karana Aviaks are where I usually go in Classic EQ after OoT Undead as that's a pretty easy place to kite.
An alternative to the undead in Ocean of Tears you can also go to the mid level goblin island. This place is pretty darn tough though so be wary if you don't have a group. The little buggers run really fast at low health and cast all sorts of annoying spells.
Permafrost (Dungeon Crawl) Boxer/Group antisocial - There'll be lots of goblins to hunt in here.
High Keep (Dungeon Crawl) Boxer/Group moderately social - In the basement you can find goblins to kill
Upper Guk (Dungeon Crawl) Boxer/Group social - If you want a group this is one of the places to look in this level range.
Cazic Thule (Dungeon Crawl) Boxer/Group moderately social - If you want a group this is one of the places to look in this level range.
South Karana (Field Killing) Solo/Boxer antisocial - If you want to solo the Aviaks in South Karana make a decent place for this level range.
Mistmoore (Dungeon Crawl) Solo moderately social - This won't have many groups in my experience but it makes a great location for boxers or those with a few boxes and ready to recruit anyone who stops by! The front is fairly easy to solo too. This will also be one of the most profitable routes to follow in this level range. If you're solo and in need of both plat and XP choose this one!
Lavastorm Smokes and Basilisks Levels 25 - 35
The Basilisks and Smokes in Lavastorm Mountains are one of the best locations for those looking to solo 25 - 30. The baslisks can be quite annoying to kill for melee or for anyone whom can't root them far away as they chain cast a long duration stun. The smokes on the other hand don't have any annoying mechanics - so you could technically completely ignore the basilisks if you'd like.
There are a few upsides to this location; the first of which is the basilisks drop Basilisk Eggs which are used in Baking and can sell for a decent amount in The Bazaar. The second great thing about this location is you can safely bind in the tunnel where no monsters roam - better yet - you can AFK in there without any fear of getting killed!
I have a good writeup about the basilisks in my farming section - to take a look click on the link! EQ Basilisk Egg Farming Guide. If you'd prefer to not kill the baslisks and smokes in Lavastorm check out the locations listed below.. They may give you some alternatives!
Runnyeye (Lower floors) (Dungeon Crawl) Boxer/Group moderately social - If people have been max level for awhile chances are someone will be farming down here for a Black Alloy Medallion. Usually there'll still be mobs up either way and if a higher level is down here you might not need a full group!
Splitpaw (Dungeon Crawl) Boxer/Group social - Stay near the entrance unless you are in a group!
Cazic Thule (Dungeon Crawl) Boxer/Group moderately social - Stay near the entrance unless you are in a group!
Rathe Mountains Hill Giants (Field Killing) Solo/Boxer extremely social - This is a great place if you'd like to get some XP and make a lot of plat while you do it! This spot will be super camped during prime time so I can honestly only recommend you come here if you're playing during an off hour
SolA (Dungeon Crawl) Boxer/Group moderately - Stay near the entrance unless you are in a group!
Mistmoore (Dungeon Crawl) Boxer/Group moderately social - This won't have many groups in my experience but it makes a great location for boxers or those with a few boxes and ready to recruit anyone who stops by! The front is fairly easy to solo too.
Levels 35 - 40
It's going to start getting really hard to level up without a group... Even with a group you're going to have really slim pickings zone wise. I personally prefer the Ocean of Tears cyclops in this level range since they're very solo friendly and there's usually always some for you to kill. If you can find a group though you may want to do a dungeon.
Everfrost Peaks Ice Giants (Camping/Waiting) Solo/Boxer social - This location is good for a solo player with an on/off play cycle. It won't really be an active camp and there will be really long periods of down time.
Ocean of Tears Cyclops (Field Killing) Solo/Boxer/Group social - This location is amazing for almost everyone! The cyclops can be single pulled, they don't hit very hard at all and they drop quite a bit of plat too!
Lower Guk 35+ (Dungeon Crawl) Solo/Boxer/Group extremely social - Will be a great location to get a group.
Splitpaw (Dungeon Crawl) Solo/Boxer/Group social - Another great location for those LFG
SolB (Dungeon Crawl) Solo/Boxer/Group extremely social - This is one of the max level dungeons of Classic. If you're a boxer or LFG this is a decent place to check out
The Hole (Dungeon Crawl) Solo/Boxer/Group social - The front entrance will have lower level elementals for you to kill. Try to look for a group here if you aren't a boxer.
Levels 40 - 50
The cyclops in Ocean of Tears are possibly my favorite camp in all of Classic; they're great for groups, solo players and boxers. These cyclops as well as the nearby Hill Giant, Gornit, can offer you arguably the most raw plat per hours that there is in Classic EQ. Due to this these guys are usually way overcamped - depending on the population of your server will usually determine how many people you run into here.
One of the biggest bonuses for hunting here is the named Ancient Cyclops. He drops an item, Ring of the Ancients, which is use in the SoW Boots (Journeyman's Boots) quest. You can loot the item yourself and sell an MQ for the quest or you can auction the item off and sell loot rights. That is, if you don't plan to use the ring yourself.
There is also another named nearby, a small little Halfling who drops Bracers of Erollsi. His name is Captain Surestout and he can be found along the upper "islands" of the cyclops isle. There is also a very easy to kill Hill Giant on this island called Gornit. He drops an assortment of different types of giant toes and also is a pinata of platinum like all hill giants are.
The cyclops in Ocean of Tears will take you all the way to level 50 quite easily albeit a little slowly. The reason this location is being featured over any other is primarily because it's a location literally everyone can do no matter your gear or if you're boxing or not.
Faster alternatives for leveling are...
Lower Guk (Dungeon Crawl) Solo/Boxer/Group extremely social - You can find some mobs here to kill if you're careful while sitting LFG. With how much Guise of the Deciever is in demand in Classic you can probably safely hunt this area and run to a group if you get in trouble/need a rez.
SolB (Dungeon Crawl) Solo/Boxer/Group extremely social - This zone has a pretty nice level spread and won't be too difficult for players 40+ to grab a few easy kills while LFG. The zone in from Lavastorm will be home to many different Kobolds that are great for players in their lower 40s. There's also beetles and spiders which have a similar level range. Deeper in the zone near the raid boss Nagafen there is Fire Giants which will be very difficult to kill for an unprepared group. There's also one of the most saught after nameds in this zone which is a great camp for players in their 50s, Efreeti Lord Djarn.
The Hole (Dungeon Crawl) Solo/Boxer/Group antisocial - On the Progression servers this zone will be open during Classic EQ. The entrance area is great if you're low numbers or in your low 40s. For those looking for a challenge, boxers or with your friends, move further into the zone. The Docks are a great camp which are a ways inside the city. Even further inside is the Undead Tower which is the hardest camp in the zone!