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Dungeon experience (XP) in WoW Forever works very differently from Classic, with most of the XP moved off the mobs and onto the quests. This has been a sore spot for many during the WoW Forever early beta, but it's not all doom and gloom.
Dungeons still reward great experience on your first run, and the loot makes them worth it on top. In this guide, we'll run through what changed and why every dungeon is still worth at least one run.
Table of Contents:
- What Changed With Dungeon XP In WoW Forever
- Dungeon XP By The Numbers
- What It Means For Your Levelling
- Is Dungeon Levelling Faster Than Questing In WoW Forever?
- All WoW Forever Dungeons by Level
What Changed With Dungeon XP In WoW Forever
In Classic, dungeon mobs gave full Experience (XP), which is why some people leveled by spamming instances. WoW Forever flips that. Kill XP in dungeons got drastically reduced, and dungeon quest XP got a big boost to make up for it. It also shuts down boosting, which was huge in Classic because you could sit at the entrance of a dungeon and soak up the XP. Now, if anyone in the party is way above the mob's level, nobody gets XP. Dungeons still drop incredible loot, though, which is worth remembering.
The system changed a lot during the beta, as the table below shows.
| Change | When | What it did |
| Dungeon mob XP slashed, quest XP boosted | Forever beta start | It made your first clear very good, but repeated runs became much worse for XP. |
| Dungeon quest bonus XP cut by 50% | 1 October beta build | Halved the extra XP Forever added. Dungeon quests still pay more than double Classic. |
| Dungeon kill XP up around 20% | 8 October beta build | To counter the loss of quest XP, mob XP went up. |
| Party XP bug fix | 8 October beta build | XP is now based on your level, not the highest-level player in your group. |
| Quest rewards see a nerf | 8 October beta build | Various dungeon quest rewards dropped from Rare to Uncommon, with stats adjusted to match. |
The final beta updates had no extra changes, and Blizzard's launch notes on 2 November left dungeon XP alone, so these are the live numbers.
Dungeon XP By The Numbers
Here's how dungeon quest payouts and mob XP compare with Classic, with a few examples from the beta:
| Experience Type | Classic | Forever |
| Deviate Hides quest, Wailing Caverns | 1,600 XP | 3,100 XP |
| All six Deadmines quests (excluding those outside) | 8,300 XP (five quests) | 18,450 XP (one new quest that rewards 2,700 XP) |
| All City of Dalaran quests (per faction) | Not in Classic | 15,800 XP |
| Dungeon mob XP | Full value | Around 70% below Classic |
These numbers are from the beta and Wowhead data.
From this data, dungeons are still well worth running. If you consider the loot, which in turn will help you level, then doing each dungeon at least once will be well worth it. Dungeons inside capital cities, like The Stockade in Stormwind, will also be a good dungeon to do, especially as it now has lots of new loot.
What It Means For Your Leveling in WoW Forever
Each dungeon is a one-time payday. The first clear with every quest is one of the best XP hits at its level, and repeat runs are still worth it for the loot.
It's also worth noting that some dungeons will require an extra run, especially if you are unable to loot all the items required. As always, clear communication with your group and sharing quests is recommended.
Alliance still get the rough end of it with dungeon quests. They have one fewer Scarlet Monastery quest than the Horde, though Forever adds a new one for them called Past Due, which you pick up in the city of Dalaran. There are also a lot of new dungeon quests, and some of the rewards are very nice.
Is Dungeon Leveling Faster Than Questing In WoW Forever?
Grinding dungeons on their own? No. Josh Greenfield (Aggrend) says perfect dungeon play now lands very close to optimal questing at best, and Blizzard will "hold firm" on keeping it that way. Mixing the two is where it gets good.
Most zone storylines finish in a dungeon. Westfall is the classic example: the story builds through the whole zone and ends with you storming the Deadmines. That's the best way to look at dungeons, as the cap on a zone.
Our take: quest through each zone and finish with its dungeon, and you'll level faster than questing alone. Start looking for a group while you hand in quests and restock, so you're ready to go.
All WoW Forever Dungeons by Level
Even if you can't stand dungeons, do each one once with every quest.
Those quest payouts are more than double Classic, and testers reported close to two levels from a single Hall of Thanes or Ruins of Lordaeron run with every quest in the log. Here's every dungeon in Forever by level, with the nine new ones marked.
Our WoW Forever dungeon guides cover each run in full, including where to get all of the quests associated with that dungeon.
Note: These level ranges are our suggestion; a full group of level 16s will struggle to complete The Deadmines. The nine new dungeons use Blizzard's official ranges.
| Dungeon | Level Range | Location |
| Ragefire Chasm | 13-18 | Orgrimmar |
| Hall of Thanes (New) | 13-18 | Under Ironforge via the Throne Room |
| Ruins of Lordaeron (New) | 15-20 | Above the Undercity |
| The Deadmines | 17-20 | Westfall |
| Wailing Caverns | 18-24 | The Barrens |
| Shadowfang Keep | 21-26 | Silverpine Forest |
| Blackfathom Deeps | 23-28 | Ashenvale |
| Excavation Site: Wetlands (New) | 24-29 | Wetlands |
| The Stockade | 25-29 | Stormwind City |
| City of Dalaran (New) | 28-33 | Alterac Mountains/Dalaran |
| Gnomeregan | 29-34 | Dun Morogh |
| Razorfen Kraul | 30-38 | The Barrens (South) |
| Scarlet Monastery | 30-46 | Tirisfal Glades (Graveyard 30-38, Library 33-41, Armory 36-44, Cathedral 38-46) |
| The Drowned City (New) | 35-40 | Off Stranglethorn Vale |
| Uldaman | 37-45 | Badlands |
| Razorfen Downs | 37-45 | The Barrens (South) |
| Zul'Farrak | 40-47 | Tanaris |
| Krol'dok Stronghold (New) | 40-45 | Riverglades |
| Maraudon | 45-51 | Desolace |
| Alcaz Prison (New) | 48-53 | Dustwallow Marsh |
| Sunken Temple | 50-55 | Swamp of Sorrows |
| Blackrock Depths | 52-60 | Blackrock Mountain |
| Blackmaw Hold (New) | 55-60 | Azshara |
| Blackrock Spire | 57-60 | Blackrock Mountain (Lower 57-60, Upper 60) |
| Shaper's Terrace (New) | 58-60 | Un'Goro Crater |
| Dire Maul | 58-60 | Feralas (East 58-60, West and North 60) |
| Stratholme | 58-60 | Eastern Plaguelands (Living and Undead sides) |
| Scholomance | 58-60 | Western Plaguelands |
To get the most out of each run:
- Come prepared with all the quests before you join a group.
- Understand what the goal of the dungeon is. Do you need to loot an item or kill a certain boss.
- Talk to your group and share quests.
- City of Dalaran requires an attunement; do that while in Hillsbrad.
And that's you all set for dungeons in WoW Forever. We will update this guide with any new information from the live release.
