The Catch Up Experience Guide - A Gentle Reintroduction for Returning Players

By Neryssa Updated: 2025/11/29

Start the Catch Up ExperienceTutorials20-30 minutesGnoll WayLeave Catch UpIf you leave the Catch Up Experience, you can come back and pick up where you left off via the Adventure Guide.Features Highlighted by the Catch Up Experience

Assisted Highlight more information

Assisted Highlight consists of a UI element in your action bars that assists in your character's rotation by adding a blue highlight on abilities that are recommended for you to use. You can read more about Assisted Highlight in our dedicated UI guide:

Combat Assisted Highlight & One-Button Rotation Tool Overview Guide

Skyriding more information

Skyriding is a feature added in the Dragonflight expansion, which allows you to ride your flying mounts at much faster speeds, but requires control of momentum and the usage of abilities to stay airborne. You can read more about Skyriding in our dedicated guide:

Skyriding Basics: How To Ride Your Dragon in World of Warcraft

Interrupts more information

Interrupts are one of the more essential concepts players need to learn in World of Warcraft. Many mobs in the game have spell casts that are deadly, but can be interrupted with specific class abilities. In the optional questPardon the Interruption / Pardon the Interruption, you will learn the basics of interrupting, like identifying an interruptible cast and using it in time.

Catch Up Experience Rewards

You will receive a set of four 24-slot bags - Large Green Bag, Large Black Bag, Large Red Bag, Large Blue Bag.

The armor from the Catch-Up experience resembles the armor characters receive after going through a paid boost, so this is a great way to obtain these appearances for free. Catch-up Experience Armor Appearances

Mage Mountainsage Regalia resembles Magister's Regalia.

Priest Communal Regalia resembles Sanctified Crimson Acolyte Regalia (25 Heroic Recolor).

Warlock Felsoul Regalia resembles Dreadmist Raiment.

Demon Hunter Illidari Armor (Horde Recolor) resembles starter Demon Hunter gear.

Druid Springrain Armor resembles Wildheart Raiment.

Monk Mistdancer Armor resembles starter Monk gear.

Rogue Lightdrinker Armor resembles Nightslayer Armor.

Evoker Blue Winglord Mail resembles starter Evoker gear.

Hunter Trailseeker Set resembles dwarven rifleman.

Shaman Streamtalker Set resembles The Ten Storms.

Death Knight Heart Lesion Battleplate resembles Saronite War Battleplate.

Paladin Sunsoul Battleplate resembles Field Marshal's Aegis.

Warrior Oathsworn Battleplate resembles Warlord's Battlegear.

Comments

Comment by OLBarbok

This is so trash and unfinished, not a single one of my characters actually got gear better than what I am already using, their pvp stays on so if you go straight from character select into it when asked you just get killed by high level characters. I also instantly get asked "Haven't seen you for a while do you want to go to orgrimmar for a fresh start?".

what were they smoking?

Comment by greekryan

Takes about 15 minutes to complete this experience and rewards some DF transmog items throughout

Comment by NecroMandy

As I walk around collecting the Poorly Laid Plans from some kobolds that did their best..
While trying to ignore the fact that I am collecting pumpkins from what is obviously a corn field, with not a single pumpkin plant in sight anywhere on the map...
I wonder why the heck I am in this situation in the first place as so far there has been zero context for me to even be in this situation to start with.
Let alone the surprise at finding the continuation of the story line after killing some gnolls resulted in the quest givers simply teleporting away and leaving me standing there with no idea what to do next. Until i randomly wandered out the gate opposite to the hold and mounted up ready to fly around and see what was happening.

Sadly I shortly realise the only poorly written notes I am finding is the storyline for this quest chain.

Comment by Shad0wman

When they implement things like this i get puzzled. Like why did they dfo this and then I realize I'm just questioning the Mother$hip AI. Its all ai all the way down.

Comment by Mofype

I got gearlevel 551 on an alt, that already had 691. What a waste...

Comment by JainaFrost

Yeah nah. My alt had ilvl 45 average from another expansion I've not logged into for years. I couldn't even beat a single gnoll with it haha.

Comment by EXPERIMENTONGOD

Some important information:

- You can repeat this experience with the same character as many times as you want even at max level (as of 28/12/25 it's level 80)
- You can leave the experience at any time and when you go back it will resume where you left off
- By the time you finish all main quests you will get a complete set of gear (a piece for every slot). It will cover all specs; for example a warrior will get 1x 1-handed axe, 2x 2-handed axes and 1x shield after completing the very first quest
- The quest reward gear will scale with your character's level capping at ilvl 551 at level 80. When you "ding" mid-run the ilvl of the reward you get offered on the next quest will increase
- There's a quest that teaches you interrupts which is optional. If you're using the Catch Up Experience for powerleveling you can skip it (otherwise it will reduce your XP/hour)

I personally leveled an old Shadowlands character from 60 to 80 exclusively by running the "Catch Up Experience" several times in a row and I was getting a little over a whole level worth of XP per ~7 minute run. The ilvl of the quest rewards was miles ahead of the gear my character had at level 60 (Shadowlands endgame). My fastest run was 6m14s.

In my opinion this is an excellent way not only to get a good set of gear for any level (except maybe 80) but also to powerlevel any characters.

Comment by nailkitty

How do I move that book-bar thingy? I've got several addons for moving UI elements but I can't move that and it interferes with my map and it moves on its own and sometimes I can't click on it unless I make the minimap really tiny.

Comment by Aevyx

I don't see it listed anywhere, but the catch-up experience does have a level requirement. If you are below level 20, trying to enter it from the adventure guide will let you press the start button, and then give an error that you are not high enough level. Once you hit level 20, pressing start will initiate a teleport to Arathi Highlands as is normal.

Comment by nissi

What ilvl gear does this give after the stat squish from Midnight prepatch?

Comment by Phaldor8

WARNING: I'm salty, so if you don't want to hear me vent, skip this comment.

I've been playing for a (very) long time, so this "Catch Up Experience" thing is really starting to get on my nerves. Here's my situation: I have over 45 characters, most of which are just there to "be there" if you catch my meaning (racial/class specific content/gear/achievements/mounts). Ergo, they don't get played hardly ever. When this feature was introduced, it meant something, you get upgraded gear (which was nice), and it plunked you down in your home city with an empty quest log (ok, I get it, no real bother).

Fast forward to now: The gear you can get, you have to quest to get it, and it's "meh" ilvl. Nothing special here. Oh, I did mention quests, right? Yeah, you are plunked down in the middle of Azeroth and they expect you to complete some quests, because apparently the "catch up" is about lore, not a boost in power any longer. Annoying, and yes, I know I could just exit it, but it took me a while to figure even that part out.

The BIGGEST annoyance to me is nearly my entire list of characters upon login when a new season drops (or whenever they want to run the "experience" because I haven't used that character in a while) displays the "Catch Up" banner where normally it would display the last location where I parked that character. So, instead of immediately being able to determine whether the character is in the right place or not, I have to actually log in, skip the catch up, just to log back out and repeat it for EVERY character on the list.

Now, I have a pretty fast gaming rig, but when you multiply that out by over 45 characters, that's at least an hour of lost game play....

Lest I forget, in times past, it would also reset every action bar....THAT was super annoying. I tested it out on a throwaway toon this time and that problem seems to be gone, fortunately.

The Catch Up Experience Guide - A Gentle Reintroduction for Returning Players

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