WoW Forever Podcast Episode 3: Dungeon XP, Onyxia Attunement, and Blackmaw Hold

Dungeon XP: Better, but Questing Stays King

The dungeon talk, about seven minutes in, opens on the week's biggest beta complaint: dungeons felt unrewarding after the October 1 build halved dungeon quest bonus XP. The designers said they "do listen" and that the numbers are still being tuned. They announced a roughly 20% increase to experience from dungeon kills.

Greenfield followed up on the forums with a fix the podcast missed:

Blue post, Aggrend

XP gain is not going to be what it was in era, but it should feel significantly better now.

Until the October 8 build, kill experience in a group was based on the highest-level player. His example: four level 20s and one level 25 in Deadmines got very little per kill. Now each player earns experience from their own level against the mob.Blizzard: The WoW: Forever Podcast: Episode 3 thread, Aggrend, post 20, checked Oct 9, 2026.

Both changes shipped in the October 8 beta patch notes.

He was also clear about the ceiling. With "perfect xp/hr play," he wrote, dungeon leveling will be "very close, if not equal to the speed you can level with optimal questing play." Dungeon cleaving as the optimal way to level "does not pass that muster" with Blizzard's design pillars, "World is the Main Character" and "Nurture and Protect Social Experiences."

So plan to quest most of the way and run each dungeon for its quests and loot. A route addon like RestedXP can plan the questing for you. Our dungeon XP page tracks every change build to build.

Onyxia's Lair Keeps Its Attunement

Hammerdance asked whether raid attunements would be quick, like Molten Core's, or long, like Burning Crusade's Tempest Keep. The answer, at 54:10 in the video:

• Onyxia's Lair still needs its attunement quest chain.
• It is per character, "at least at launch."
• New raids have no attunement gate at the door.
• Some new raids hide steps you must dig for.

A designer said "there is something a little familiar" in one new raid, without naming it. They said they will add attunements only "when we think it makes sense," and that no two will look the same. Blizzard's roadmap plans three raids: Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit, and Onyxia's Lair; see our raids guide.

Blackmaw Hold: Probably Bigger Than Blackrock Depths

The host handed the Blackmaw Hold question to Rowan Ryder at 39:07. The dungeon "wasn't designed as a mega dungeon," but its footprint "probably is bigger than" Blackrock Depths, with a lot of verticality.

• Comfortable at 60; you can enter a little earlier.
• Corrupted furbolgs and demons fill it.
• Meant to clear start to finish in one long session.
• It sits behind Azshara's old Timbermaw Hold gate.

The team renamed it from Timbermaw to Blackmaw after players in the alpha build confused the dungeon with the Timbermaw faction's own hold. It is not in the beta. Our Blackmaw Hold guide has the location and known enemies.

No Summoning Stones, All the Consumables

Summoning stones still won't summon. The designers want the walk to a dungeon to be part of it: "travel itself has value," one said, and the team worries a lot about "shrinking the world." Hammerdance agreed; he said working stones would have cut his beta travel time by about half.

For raiders, "you'll still have access to all of the classic consumables," a designer said, from flasks to Juju Power. The designers want raid prep to be "attainable" without having to "sweat for 40 hours a week."

Sources