The final countdown of level is close, Both Nexus and Dominion will struggle to reach level 50. WildStar's leveling is not too harsh for players.

Rule 1: Pick questing over grinding
Continue to quest up to level fifty, never simply grin. Make sure to explore the entirety of Malgrave, Southern Grimvault and Western Grimvault before resorting to a straight grind without quests. The previous leveling zone always includes a mainstream NPC to guide players onto the next part of the region. If the mainstream quest tree is completed with no leads on the next place to go, backtrack to the previous leveling zone and seek out NPCs. These NPCs oftentimes reside in places away from the initial NPC who directed players to another part of Nexus.

For example the Phagelabs is a complex section of Grimvault. Keep in mind what parts are explored and which parts are not. Failing to understand and organize the layout of Phagelabs causes players to repeatedly explore the same area. Important NPCs may never be found. The southern most part of Sourthern Grimvault has a lot of obstacles in the way of smooth gameplay. Train the eye to recognize parts of Southern Grimvault as a method of avoiding the exploration of the same area multiple times.

Rule 2: Two step verification for a reward
Activate the 2-Step Verification: Players who set up their 2-Step Verification are given a two percent increase in Experience, Renown bonus, Prestige bonus, an eyepatch and another official title. Additionally, players are also rewarded a Retroblade Mount. This is great for players who have alternate characters they use to farm gold materials for weapons, armor, support systems, medical supplies, decor items, etc. Instead of spending ten gold on a mount for the alternate character, set up the 2-Step Verification and log into to the alternate to claim the free mount! This will help players save money and score some sweet loot that will actually be used. After all, receiving unusable free stuff is the worst!

Rule 3: More people is better
Players should only party up if they are working on raids, PvP, battlegrounds, warplots, instances, shiphands, adventures, dungeons, public events or friends who want to work on the game as a team. As long as players stay within one to two levels of the mobs they are fighting against – most mobs are soloable. The WildStar system does not give Experience bonuses for parties. Idealistically, players should only party up with other players if the mobs are unbeatable.

Deciding to kill mobs with a party that could otherwise be defeated solo – means the Experience is split up between other members. Quests may be completed twice as fast, but unfortunately the WildStar team has not been able to make twice the quests for players who enjoy completing quests exclusively with their friends. Group play is an important part of WildStar. Grouping ultimately helps build a strong community, interaction and guilds which boost player Experience earned per mob kill. Nonetheless allocate the group play to specific types of game play so that the questing aspect does not suffer.

Rule4: Secret Stashes in Malgrave and Grimvault?
Secret Stashes: Finding the Secret Stashes around Nexus helps players earn some extra gear and achievements. Gear can be sold at the Auction House, a vendor or salvaged for some quality crafting materials. The achievements help players earn Reputation Points for their faction. Oftentimes the tasks in WildStar that involve more brain than brawn are given better prizes. Secret Stashes take a lot of patience and wit to find those hard to reach areas of the Nexus world.

The Malgrave and Grimvault Secret Stashes have been the hardest items to locate so far. The Malgrave Secret Stash is a little easier to find than the Grimvault Secret Stash. Head to Area 77 and go east into the ravine below. After arriving completely at the bottom of the ravine head further east. Be parallel with the Scourwind Perch camp at all times of heading east. The Secret Stash is close to foliage and large cliffs, so it is easy to lose the way toward the Secret Stash. Travel to the Phage Labs in Grimvault to find the Secret Stash. Pass through the Antechamber and head to the room called Chamber Floor 3. Use the purple teleporters in a six step sequence to enter into the Secret Stash Room. Once the chests are found an Achievement called “Chest Collector” is given.

Leveling Zone
Malgrave (Level 42 – 46)
This is where you'll have a few options as far as leveling paths. Malgrave can technically take you all of the way to level 50 due to the large amount of quests, challenges and content to explore. There is a chunk of quests missing for the level 46-49 range, however, and this is where you'll probably be tempted to head to the next zone. Splitting your time between the zones is a valid option, but getting to level 50 should be your priority. You can easily come back to finish off the final zone(s) afterwards.

When you get started on Malgrave you'll begin in Fort Domiunus. There are three major hubs in this area-- Fort Dominus, Redsand Station which is the Exile starting hub and Shinysand Oasis which is a neutral hub. You will be able to grab quests in both Fort Dominus and Shinysand Oasis. You'll receive quests for Chittering Beach and the Gravestone area.

Quests in the west will take you to Fleshfouler Village while quests in the east will take you to Swindler's End, Exo-Lab X1-BB and Robber's Rest. There are additional quests to grab in Robber's Rest.

After you are done with both areas you should move north and more toward the central area of the map. Make your way to Area 77, Substation SR-29 and Camp Devotion. These three questing areas will reward you with plenty of quests for the surrounding areas of The Hellrose Bowl, Shardspire Canyon and Scourwind Peak. You should start with the Area 77/Shardspire Canyon quests as these are slightly easier. Afterwards, do the other two areas.

If you find yourself having trouble with the area, it might be best to find a friend or willing stranger to run through the quests with you. Otherwise, just go through them yourself, but take it nice and easy, and make sure to be constantly checking your surroundings to insure you won't have to deal with any adds halfway through a battle.

Finally, when you're ready to move on to Malgrave, head back to Illium and travel there by spacecraft. You should receive an introductory breadcrumb quest immediately upon landing. You will want to prioritize the story quests that start with "Welcome to Fort Dominus". You'll also want to prioritize the following quests and any of the main story/main zone quests:

Southern Grimvault - Levels 46-48
Southern Grimvault is the zone located north of Malgrave. Heading north of Camp Devotion and through Containment R-12 should take you to the entrance of Southern Grimvault. The zone is divided quite evenly between Dominion and Exile areas. The entire east side of the zone is dedicated to Dominion quests and content.

This means you'll start out by being directed to Vigilant Incursion. The quests obtained here will take you to a variety of nearby areas including Ethereal Cavity, Radiant Gamma Down, Radiant Alpha Down and Radiant Beta Down.

Afterwards, head north to Dawnbringer Outpost. This is your next quest hub. Quests here will take you north and to the west at Blighted Pass, Giant Robot (greatest location name ever, right?), Corrupted Installation, Creeping Caverns, Spineridge Nest, Corrupted Installation Teleporter and Ghostwind Hollow. You should be able to gain 1-2 levels in this region of Grimvault.

Western Grimvault - Levels 48-50
This area of Grimvault is smaller and slightly easier to navigate. Most of the quests are tuned for levels 46-48, but if you are close to level 50 at this point you should be able to hit level 50 easily. Both Dominion and Exile players will make their way through the first areas of the zone while doing breadcrumb quests. These areas include Boiling Cauldron and Silverwaste.

Journey west to the Dominion quest hub in this zone. It's called Legion Landing and is directly next to Arborian Camp which is the Exile hub. Quests received in this area will take you to all other areas of the map including Cryomere, Corridor of Corruption, Bio-Mech Facility Alpha and finally Phagelabs. Phagelags and Bio-Mech Facility Alpha are the final questing areas in Western Grimvault.

As you near level 50 you will want to maximize your gear to the best of your abilities whether it be through crafting options, dungeon rewards, quest rewards or reputation rewards. If you're doing dungeons and adventures you will want your gear to be as solid as possible, especially for this last set of instanced content. Gear can make a large difference between a wipe and a victory. Having the correct set of AMPs available also becomes increasingly important. Remember that many can be found as quest rewards, reputation rewards and even as drops off enemies. If you're missing any crucial AMPs, check with guild members, friends and the auction house to see if you can pick them up.