World of Warcraft: Forever has already made one thing very clear about leveling: Blizzard wants us outside.
The latest beta update pushes that philosophy even further. According to Blizzard’s October 1 development notes, dungeon quests now award 50% less bonus experience beyond their normal quest values. Blizzard says the change comes directly from feedback about leveling speed during the beta.
On its own, that sounds reasonable. The problem is that Forever had already dramatically reduced XP from ordinary dungeon enemies.
Now both sides of the equation have been nerfed.
Dungeon Quests Were Supposed to Be the Compensation
Blizzard’s original dungeon philosophy made a certain amount of sense. Ordinary dungeon mob XP was reduced so repeatedly farming the same instance would not become the fastest route to level 60. In exchange, dungeon quests received unusually generous experience rewards.
The intended rhythm was simple: adventure through a zone, collect its dungeon quests, gather four other players, complete the instance once for a substantial reward, then return to the open world.
That approach fitted perfectly with Forever’s broader attempt to make old Azeroth matter again.
But cutting those additional quest rewards by 50% changes the calculation. Players are now asking whether Blizzard has removed too much of the incentive that made dungeon runs worthwhile in the first place.
The Beta Was Already Leveling Almost Exactly Like Classic
The timing makes the change particularly interesting.
Blizzard recently revealed that Forever players were reaching level 20 in an average of 20.5 hours. Classic players averaged 20.4 hours.
Six minutes separated them.
That hardly suggests Forever had accidentally become an express train to level 60, although Blizzard is now testing a larger part of the leveling journey and clearly has more data than those early numbers alone.
The developers specifically say they appreciate feedback about leveling speed and that the dungeon quest adjustment is part of those ongoing discussions. This is still a beta, after all. Numbers are supposed to move.
Players Want Dungeon Mob XP Back
The emerging player argument is not necessarily that the quest nerf itself is wrong. Some testers actually agree that the first-clear dungeon reward had become too powerful.
The complaint is that Blizzard has not restored the ordinary mob XP that was removed earlier.
That creates a strange situation. Dungeon quests are less rewarding, dungeon enemies provide reduced XP, and repeating an instance after completing its quests becomes particularly unattractive. Tanks and healers who prefer leveling through group content may feel that more sharply than players happily killing boars outdoors.
It could also create a longer-term matchmaking problem. Forever is adding nine completely new dungeons, and Blizzard obviously wants players to experience them. But if the efficient strategy becomes completing each dungeon exactly once, players arriving later may find fewer people willing to return.
Forever Needs Dungeons to Feel Worth the Journey
There is a sensible idea underneath Blizzard’s experiment.
Classic WoW becomes a much smaller game when the optimal leveling strategy involves living inside Scarlet Monastery until everybody begins recognising the furniture. Forever wants its new zones, quests, professions and open-world discoveries to remain relevant.
But there is a difference between preventing dungeon grinding and making dungeons feel inefficient.
Blizzard now has to find the line between the two.
The good news is that this is exactly what a beta is for.
The bad news for testers is that sometimes being a beta tester means discovering Blizzard has just cut your XP in half.
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