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Blizzard does not want dungeon cleave to become the fastest way to reach level 60 in World of Warcraft: Forever. Its planned changes raise base XP from dungeon kills by 20% and fix a beta bug that scaled kill XP to the highest-level member of a group. The developer’s stated goal is for optimal dungeon leveling to stay close to optimal questing, not to beat it clearly.
What Blizzard is changing
The changes were announced on October 8, 2026, by Josh “Aggrend” Greenfield, a senior game designer on World of Warcraft: Forever. He posted on the official World of Warcraft forums after Episode 3 of the WoW: Forever Podcast, which focused on dungeons. Both changes are described as planned adjustments to the game’s beta, and Blizzard has not published a build number or release date for them.
Fixing the kill XP bug
During beta, dungeon kills awarded XP based on the level of the highest-level player in the group, not on each player’s own level. Aggrend’s example was a Deadmines group of four level-20 players and one level-25 player. The four lower-level characters received very little XP per kill because the calculation used the level-25 member.
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The fix is intended to calculate XP for each character from that character’s own level relative to the mobs being killed. Two players in the same group would therefore earn different amounts from the same kill, based on how far each is above or below the enemy’s level, rather than both receiving the amount set by the group’s highest-level member.
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A 20% increase to base dungeon XP
Blizzard also plans to raise base XP from dungeon kills by 20%. Aggrend presented the bug fix and the increase together, saying the combination should make dungeon XP feel better and more even across a group. PC Gamer’s October 8 report describes the increase as small, and says the developers do not intend to restore dungeon XP to the level it had in World of Warcraft Classic.
Why dungeons will not be the clear winner
The more significant part of the announcement is the design target. Aggrend says the game should not make dungeon cleave to level 60 the optimal leveling strategy. He cited two of the game’s design pillars, “World is the Main Character” and “Nurture and Protect Social Experiences,” and argued that if dungeons became the clear winner, players would behave in ways that work against both.
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In his words: “That playstyle being the optimal way to level does not pass that muster and we need to hold firm on these balance adjustments.”
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How dungeon and questing rates are expected to compare
Aggrend’s main claim about the new numbers is a comparison, not a measurement. He wrote: “As it stands now after the adjustments, with perfect xp/hr play, the leveling rates in dungeons will be very close, if not equal to the speed you can level with optimal questing play.” That is the developer’s stated expectation for the beta changes. No independent testing of dungeon or questing XP per hour has been published.
| Factor | Dungeon leveling after the planned changes | Optimal questing |
|---|---|---|
| XP per hour (perfect play) | Developer expects it to be very close to, or equal to, questing. Not independently measured. | Baseline for the comparison. Not separately quantified in the announcement. |
| XP per kill in mixed-level groups | Each character earns XP based on its own level relative to the mobs, after the fix. | Not applicable. |
| Base XP from dungeon kills | Increased by 20% (Blizzard, October 8, 2026). | Not stated in the announcement. |
| Intended role in the game | A social leveling option that should not become the clear optimal route. | Core leveling path that keeps players in the world. |
Blizzard has not given XP-per-kill figures for specific mobs or dungeons, nor comparative leveling times for any level range. Any figure circulating beyond the announcement should be checked against the developer’s post before it is treated as official.
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What is still unknown
- Release timing. No beta build or date has been given for the bug fix or the XP increase.
- Exact numbers. The announcement does not list XP per kill for particular dungeons or mobs.
- Measured results. The near-parity claim has not been tested independently.
- Final balance. Blizzard has described the adjustments as planned, so the values may change before they reach live servers.
What this means for players
If you are choosing between leveling by dungeons or by questing in World of Warcraft: Forever, the current announcement points to a roughly even choice under optimal play, with dungeons offering a more social, group-based route. The practical change for groups is that a lower-level player should no longer lose most of the XP from a kill because a higher-level friend is in the party. Those expectations rest on Blizzard’s own statements, so the best check will be how the changes perform once they reach a playable beta build.
Sources: PC Gamer, Tyler Colp, “Blizzard refuses to let World of Warcraft: Forever’s dungeons become the fastest way to grind XP: ‘We need to hold firm on these balance adjustments’,” October 8, 2026. Blizzard Entertainment, World of Warcraft Forums, “The WoW: Forever Podcast: Episode 3 – Dive Into Dungeons With Devs ft. @Hammerdancegaming,” including Josh “Aggrend” Greenfield’s post of October 8, 2026.
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