Blizzard is not trying to make dungeon cleaving the best way to reach level 60 in World of Warcraft: Forever. On October 8, 2026, senior game designer Josh “Aggrend” Greenfield posted on the official World of Warcraft forums that the studio is raising base XP from dungeon kills by 20% and fixing a beta bug that tied kill XP to the highest-level member of a group. Together, the two changes are meant to make dungeons feel more rewarding without letting them clearly outpace questing.
What Blizzard is changing
The post came after Episode 3 of the WoW: Forever Podcast, which focused on dungeons. Aggrend described two adjustments that work together:
- Per-character kill XP. Kills had been awarding XP based on the level of the highest-level player in the group. Under the fix, each character should receive XP based on its own level relative to the mobs it kills.
- Higher base XP from dungeon kills. Blizzard plans a 20% increase to the base XP that dungeon kills award. This is the only numeric change the developer post gives. It applies to base dungeon kill XP; the post does not provide per-mob or per-dungeon values.
Aggrend’s stated goal is that the combination makes XP feel better and more even across a group. Neither change has a stated build or release date in the reviewed coverage, so treat them as announced intent rather than live behavior.
Why the bug mattered
Aggrend’s example was a Deadmines group with four level-20 players and one level-25 player. Because kill XP followed the highest level in the party, the four lower-level characters received very little XP per kill, while the level-25 player was the one the system rewarded. Under the old behavior, grouping with a higher-level friend could quietly reduce your own progress, and that is the outcome Blizzard says it is correcting.
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Why dungeons will not become the fastest route
The more consequential part of the post is the design target. Aggrend said the goal is for optimal dungeon leveling to sit close to optimal questing, and he stated directly that dungeon cleaving to 60 should not become the optimal leveling strategy. He tied that position to two of the game’s design pillars: “World is the Main Character” and “Nurture and Protect Social Experiences.” His concern is the behavior that would follow if dungeons became the clear winner: players leaving the open world and treating group content as a grind route rather than a social or world-facing activity.
The phrase that gives the headline its edge is Aggrend’s statement that “That playstyle being the optimal way to level does not pass that muster and we need to hold firm on these balance adjustments.” That is a design-philosophy argument, not a measured conclusion about speed.
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What the developer says the result will be
Aggrend’s expectation is stated in a single sentence: “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.” Read it as Blizzard’s projection for players who play dungeons with near-perfect efficiency, not as a benchmark anyone has tested. The reviewed coverage contains no independent XP-per-hour measurements for dungeons or questing, and no comparison by level range.
PC Gamer’s October 8 report adds two points. The developers do not intend to restore dungeon XP to the level it had in WoW Classic, and the increase is described as small. The same report notes that players want different things from dungeons: some want them to be a real alternative leveling route, while others want dungeon XP to match questing.
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How the changes compare with questing
Blizzard’s post addresses three comparison axes. The table below lists what each one establishes and what it leaves open.
| Axis | What Blizzard states | What is not established |
|---|---|---|
| XP efficiency under optimal play | Dungeon leveling rates should be very close to, or equal to, optimal questing after the adjustments (developer expectation, Aggrend, October 8, 2026) | Measured XP per hour for either activity; not stated |
| Group XP fairness | Kill XP will follow each character’s level relative to the mobs, not the highest-level group member (planned fix) | Release build or date; not stated |
| Play style and social effects | Dungeon cleaving to 60 should not be the optimal route; the world and social play should stay central | Any observed change in player behavior; not stated |
What players should take from this
- If you run dungeons while leveling, expect the per-character XP fix to matter most for mixed-level groups, once it ships.
- Do not plan around dungeons being faster than questing. Blizzard’s stated target is near parity under optimal play, and it has said it does not want dungeons to be the clear winner.
- Do not expect a return to WoW Classic-era dungeon XP. PC Gamer reports that the developers do not intend to restore it.
- Watch for a build note or patch announcement before changing your leveling plans. None of the reviewed sources gives a beta build number or a go-live date.
The core message is consistent across the sources: Blizzard is fixing an unfair group-XP calculation and boosting dungeon kill XP, but it is doing so while deliberately keeping questing and the open world as the main leveling experience.
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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 Aggrend’s developer post of October 8, 2026.
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