Dungeon leveling in WoW: Forever is worth doing, but not as your only path. The October beta changes raised dungeon experience from kills by 20% while cutting dungeon quest bonus XP by 50%, and the designers’ stated goal is for dungeon leveling to be very close to, if not equal to, optimal questing speed. Dungeons are no longer meant to beat questing outright, so treat them as a repeatable alternative rather than the fastest grind.
What changed in the October beta
Dungeon experience from kills has been increased by approximately 20%. The same round of changes reduced the extra experience granted by dungeon quests by 50% beyond normal quest values, with certain quest rewards recalibrated at the same time.
The two changes pull in opposite directions on purpose. The kill XP buff gives you a reason to run a dungeon more than once, while the quest bonus cut stops dungeon cleave from being the optimal way to level.
Why Blizzard made the change
Blizzard's position is that grinding dungeons should not be the optimal way to play, and that players should have a reason to go into the outside world. The developers want Azeroth to be the "main character" rather than having everyone spend their whole leveling experience in caves.
On the kill XP side, the goal is that with perfect XP/hour play, dungeon leveling rates land very close to, if not equal to, the speed of optimal questing. The October 8, 2026 beta build also fixed a bug that reduced XP granted to players who were in a party with higher-level players killing lower-level enemies, reverting the calculation to Classic Era behavior where only the individual’s level matters.
How the two changes interact
The 50% cut applies to the bonus that dungeon quests were given in Forever, not to the base experience those quests award. Take the Deviate Hides quest in Wailing Caverns: it gave 1600 XP in Classic WoW and around 4650 XP in the Forever beta before the patch, and turning it in after the change gave 3100 XP. Dungeon quests remain worth completing.
Because the kill XP buff and the quest bonus cut land together, the practical result is a dungeon run that pays better per kill than before but less per quest turn-in. That is the trade the designers describe when they say dungeons should match optimal questing rather than exceed it.
Dungeon leveling vs questing
Blizzard has been explicit that dungeon cleave to 60 is not the intended optimal path and that the balance adjustments are being held firm. Dungeon XP gain is not going to be what it was in WoW Classic, but it should feel significantly better than the pre-buff beta state.
Earlier beta-era comparisons put a dungeon plus quest hybrid at the top of XP/hour, ahead of solo questing and solo dungeon running, and recommended switching to dungeons from level 10 onward. That data predates the October changes, so use it as a picture of how the two activities compare in shape rather than as a current XP/hour figure.
If you want the dungeon clears handled for you while you keep questing, the WoW Forever Dungeon Bundle covers the runs your character qualifies for.
See also: WoW Forever Excavation Site Quests Guide and WoW Forever Dungeon Levels: Brackets & First Runs
Frequently Asked Questions
Is dungeon leveling faster than questing after the buff?
Blizzard's stated target is that optimal dungeon leveling is very close to, if not equal to, optimal questing — not faster. Dungeon cleave being the optimal way to level does not pass the design pillars, and the team is holding firm on the adjustments.
Should I still do dungeon quests?
Yes. The 50% reduction applies to the extra bonus dungeon quests were given in Forever, not the base experience, and the quests remain worth completing.
What about running dungeons repeatedly?
The kill XP increase is meant to incentivize running dungeons more than once, and the team does not want dungeons to be a one-and-done experience. Grinding them as your entire leveling path is the part that is not intended to be optimal.
Is this all final?
The changes landed during the beta, which the designers describe as actively being tuned. The dungeon quest XP reduction and reward recalibration were made as part of ongoing leveling-speed discussions in the beta.
