Forever raises dungeon kill XP · a group-level bug is being fixed too

The debate over dungeon experience received a concrete response today. Blizzard announced higher kill XP alongside a fix affecting groups with different character levels. That does not mean every earlier reduction is being reversed.

Two changes, not one blanket XP multiplier

In an October 8 forum post, Aggrend described a 20% increase to base dungeon kill XP. A separate fix makes the calculation use each player's level relative to the enemy, instead of letting the group's highest level reduce other members' rewards.

Neither change, on its own, tells you the percentage improvement for an entire run. Travel, waiting and the pace of the group also shape an evening's progress. Quest rewards need to be kept separate from experience earned by killing enemies.

Why the percentage is not the whole comparison

Our first question when comparing runs would be whether the group was similar before and after the fix. Change the dungeon, party composition and character levels at the same time, and it becomes difficult to isolate the effect of any one adjustment.

A useful set of test notes could record:

• your level and the lowest and highest levels in the party;
• experience from the same type of enemy;
• quest rewards separately;
• the time spent on the run and any interruptions.

That is our suggested comparison method, not a Blizzard testing procedure or a promise of a particular experience rate.

Blizzard is not aiming to restore Era dungeon leveling

The developer says dungeons should not become the clearly optimal leveling route. His assessment that efficient dungeon play can approach efficient questing is a design-team assessment, not an independently measured result from this article.

A dungeon's value is not captured by XP per hour alone. Players practise their roles, pursue equipment and spend time with friends. In our view, the balance discussion should distinguish the fastest possible leveling route from whether an ordinary group evening feels rewarding.

The podcast provides context; the bluepost adds a correction

Episode three of the Forever podcast covers dungeons and questing. Aggrend added the XP-calculation clarification in a separate forum reply, so it should not be attributed to a statement made in the episode.

For the earlier change, see our level-30 beta update coverage. The extra dungeon-quest XP discussed there is distinct from the kill XP covered here.

Kaivax's maintenance announcement also promises updated development notes. This article reports announced changes; it does not claim that we have already verified their implementation in the game.