RvR Is the Fastest Leveling Method
Realm vs Realm warfare and scenarios consistently rank as the fastest leveling method on Return of Reckoning, delivering both experience and renown simultaneously in a way pure PvE questing can't match. At lower levels specifically, joining a warband for Tier 4-appropriate RvR content (once accessible) can net several character levels per hour during active sessions — a pace that's hard to replicate through solo questing or grinding alone.
This doesn't mean questing is worthless — early chapter quests still matter for gear and story context — but if raw leveling speed is your priority, prioritizing RvR and scenarios over solo PvE grinding is the community's consistent recommendation.
Understanding the Renown Cap
Renown Rank (RoR's PvP progression track, separate from character level) is capped relative to your character level — broadly, your renown rank can reach roughly double your character level until you hit the level cap of 40, after which renown can climb independently. This means farming renown far beyond what your current character level allows doesn't actually help until you level up enough to unlock access to those banked points, so balancing character leveling alongside renown farming (rather than over-focusing on one) tends to produce a more usable character by the time you reach 40.
Scenario Queuing for Bonus XP
Weekly RvR and scenario events often carry bonus experience and renown multipliers, and stacking these bonuses (checking for active weekly events before a big leveling session) can noticeably compress your leveling timeline. Some weeks offer enough overlapping bonuses that a dedicated player can maintain an extended renown and experience buff across most of the week — worth checking Return of Reckoning's current event schedule before planning your leveling sessions rather than grinding at a flat, unboosted rate.
Playing Your Class's Designed Role
A recurring and genuinely useful piece of veteran advice: playing your class's actual designed role — tanks holding the line and taunting, healers healing, DPS focusing priority targets — nets meaningfully more experience and renown from scenarios and RvR than trying to solo-carry outside your class's intended function. Scenario rewards scale with your contribution and performance, and "doing your job" well is consistently reported as more rewarding than chasing personal kill count at the expense of your team's actual objectives.
Rally Masters and Chapter Quests
Each chapter camp's Rally Master hands out quests tied to that chapter's storyline, and collecting these systematically as you progress through zones — rather than skipping ahead — provides a steady stream of experience and Gold alongside your RvR activity. Pairing specific race combinations for questing efficiency (Dwarf/Greenskin and Empire/Chaos zone pairings are commonly cited as working well together) can streamline this process if you're leveling multiple characters or want a more efficient questing route through early content.
Coming Back to Return of Reckoning
Because Return of Reckoning is a community-maintained continuation of a game that officially shut down in 2013, it has its own patch history distinct from the original live game, and returning players — especially those who last played on official Warhammer Online servers before 2013 — should expect meaningful differences in balance, available content and current population patterns. Checking the project's current forums and patch notes before diving back in helps set accurate expectations, since a decade-plus of community-driven development has changed quite a bit from what long-retired players might remember.
Whichever path you take through the levels, don't neglect gear upgrades from quest rewards along the way — arriving at level 40 undergeared makes your first stretch of real endgame RvR meaningfully harder than it needs to be.
Tier Transitions
Warhammer Online's RvR content is split into tiers, and each tier transition (particularly moving into Tier 4, the endgame RvR bracket) represents a meaningful jump in both opportunity and danger. Entering a new tier underprepared — undergeared or at a low renown rank relative to the tier's typical population — tends to go poorly, so gearing up through the previous tier's content before pushing into the next is generally better than rushing tier transitions purely for the level and renown gains.
Whichever pace and method you choose, Return of Reckoning's active community forums remain a genuinely good resource for current, patch-accurate advice beyond what any single guide can capture.
For the Old World, or against it — good luck reaching rank 40.
Whichever realm you fight for, the Age of Reckoning awaits your warband.
War never truly ends in the Old World — enjoy every rank of the climb.
Paid Leveling Services
If you'd rather skip the grind entirely, paid leveling/boosting services can take a fresh character to max level in a day or two of real time. See our vendor rankings for boosting specialists, and weigh the account-action risk covered in our safety guide before buying.
Prefer to skip the grind entirely? See our full vendor rankings for boosting and leveling services, or check the Warhammer Online: Return of Reckoning Farming Guide for what to do once you hit max level.
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Frequently Asked Questions
What's the fastest way to level in Return of Reckoning?
RvR warfare and scenarios, which deliver both experience and renown simultaneously and can net several levels per hour during active warband sessions — faster than solo questing or grinding alone.
What is the Renown Rank cap relative to character level?
Renown rank is capped at roughly double your character level until you reach the level cap of 40, after which it can climb independently. Farming renown far beyond your level doesn't help until you level up enough to access those points.
Does playing my class's actual role matter for leveling speed?
Yes — scenario and RvR rewards scale with contribution and performance, and playing your designed role (tanking, healing, or focused DPS) tends to net more experience and renown than trying to solo-carry outside that role.
