Speed Farming Guide:
Maximum Gold & XP Per Hour
The definitive farming efficiency guide — best zones by level bracket, kill rotation structure, consumable stacking, and benchmarked XP/gold per hour numbers.
Casual play and speed farming are fundamentally different modes. A casual player kills whatever is nearby, picks up every item, and follows interesting quests. A speed farmer operates with a time budget framework — every action is evaluated by its XP and gold return per minute, and anything that doesn't meet the threshold is skipped entirely.
This guide is for players who want to maximize progression efficiency. It requires some upfront optimization but delivers significantly better results over any sustained farming session.
The Time Budget Framework
Before selecting a zone, define your session length: 30 minutes, 1 hour, or 2+ hours. This determines:
- Which consumables to use — short sessions don't warrant expensive elixirs with 2h durations
- Whether to use Rested XP — always use it, but verify it's active before starting (only accumulates in Taverns)
- Zone selection — high-density zones favor longer sessions; quick-respawn zones suit shorter ones
Zone Selection Criteria
Not all zones are equal for farming. The three metrics that matter most:
- Mob density: Number of killable targets within movement range. Higher density = less travel time between kills.
- Respawn rate: How quickly mobs return after being killed. Zones with 90-second or faster respawns sustain continuous farming loops.
- XP/gold per kill ratio: Some zones have high-XP mobs that give low gold and vice versa. Choose based on your current priority.
Best Zones by Level Bracket
The best early-game farming zone due to high mob density and consistent 60-second respawn on Blood Thralls. The Northeast circuit (around the ruined watchtower) has 14 mobs in a tight rotation. Run the circuit, return to start, repeat.
Best mobs: Blood Thralls (fast kills), Crimson Scouts (high gold drop rate). Skip: Stone Golems — too tanky for XP/time ratio at this level.
Transition zone with excellent gold per kill. The Wastes has 3 distinct mob clusters — focus on the Southern Dust Plains cluster (Waste Stalkers and Moonhowlers) for the best XP/gold balance. Rotate between the two closest clusters.
Best mobs: Moonhowlers (high XP, moderate gold), Dust Wraiths (high gold, lower XP). Balance your route based on current priority.
The highest XP-per-hour zone from Level 51 to 70, but requires solid gear — Shadowfen mobs hit hard. The Inner Cavern loop (accessible after completing the initial cavern quest) has 20+ mobs in a tight circuit. This is where Rested XP and Bloodmoon Elixir stack most effectively.
Best mobs: Cavern Reapers (S-tier XP), Shadow Lurkers (high loot quality). Avoid: Cavern Sentinels near the dungeon entrance — they're flagged as dungeon mobs and have nerfed outdoor XP.
Endgame zone with the best gold per hour in the game. Shattered Isle mobs drop rare crafting materials worth substantial gold on the Auction House. Pure gold income here surpasses any other zone at max level — but XP gain is diminishing since mobs are same-level or below.
Best mobs: Isle Wraiths (rare material drops), Void Stalkers (high gold coin drops). Stack LCK for better color tier drops here.
Consumable Stack for Farming
Stacking consumables correctly is the difference between average and optimal farming. The standard farming stack:
- Bloodmoon Elixir — +20% XP for 2 hours. Craft from the Alchemy station or buy from the market. Core farming consumable.
- Rested Bonus — Only active if you logged off from a Tavern. Provides +50% XP on kills until the bonus pool is depleted. Always check this is active before starting.
- Swiftfoot Tonic (Level 40+) — Reduces time between kills by speeding zone movement. The time savings across a 2-hour session are substantial.
- Fortune Draught (Gold focus sessions) — +15% gold drop rate. Use when farming Shattered Isles specifically.
Bloodmoon Elixir costs ~80 gold from market. A 2-hour Shadowfen session without it yields ~3,200 XP. With it: ~3,840 XP. The 640 XP gain is worth it from Level 40+ when XP requirements per level are in the tens of thousands. Below Level 30, save your gold.
XP and Gold Benchmarks Per Zone
| Zone | Level Range | XP/Hour (avg) | Gold/Hour (avg) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Crimson Fields | 1–25 | 1,200–1,800 | 40–80g | Best early XP |
| Moonveil Wastes | 26–50 | 2,400–3,600 | 120–200g | Balanced |
| Shadowfen Caverns | 51–70 | 4,800–7,200 | 200–350g | Best XP zone |
| Shattered Isles | 71–80 | 3,200–4,000 | 500–900g | Best gold zone |
Benchmarks assume: Rested XP active, Bloodmoon Elixir active, optimal route, no stopping for side quests. Actual values vary by subclass and gear level.
Route Optimization Within a Zone
Within any zone, the optimal route follows these principles:
- Never backtrack: Plan a loop that returns to your starting point, not an out-and-back path.
- Target mob density clusters first: Start where mobs are most concentrated. By the time you complete one cluster loop, respawns at the start are ready.
- Ignore low-value mobs: If a mob takes 3× as long to kill for 1.2× the XP, skip it. The net XP/minute is negative compared to killing two normal mobs.
- Don't full-loot every kill: Only pick up Uncommon+ tier items. Common items break even or lose money accounting for the time cost of looting and selling.
When to Switch Zones
Switch to the next zone bracket when you can kill the zone's mobs in fewer than 3 rounds consistently. The zone transition point is when mob HP relative to your damage becomes so low that fights end before your rotation completes — at that point, you're not using your character efficiently and a harder zone will yield dramatically better results.
Common Speed Farming Inefficiencies
- Looting everything: Stop it. Full-looting adds 15–20 seconds per kill. That's 400+ seconds per hour of standing still.
- Stopping for side quests mid-route: Unless the quest is on your path AND takes under 2 minutes, defer it. Interrupting your route collapses the kill density advantage you've built.
- Farming without consumables: The XP differential over a month is enormous. Budget for consumables as a core farming cost.
- Staying in an underleveled zone: The most common mistake. Players get comfortable. Move up when it's time — the XP jump in the next zone is always worth it.
Speed farming isn't exciting, but it's the engine that funds the fun parts of VvW. Two optimized hours in Shadowfen Caverns produces more progression than six casual hours of mixed activity. For more on the economic side of farming income, see the Gold Farming Guide and the Auction House Guide.