Today's Beta update is one of the heaviest yet, and the development notes read like a list of the community's most-wanted fixes. Here's everything that matters:

Dungeon XP way up, party penalty gone

  • Experience from killing creatures in dungeons is up about 20%.
  • Party XP for lower-level kills reverts to the Classic Era formula: each member is judged on their own level, with no penalty based on the highest-level member. Blizzard's own words: the combination will "dramatically increase experience earned in dungeons for most players." The old exception stands — if the party vastly outlevels the enemy, nobody gets XP.

Legacy system: 16 points for everyone

  • All Beta players are flagged as having completed the Legacy Challenge and granted 16 Legacy Points to test the system fully.
  • The lowest-cost Legacy respec now costs 1 silver, with the cost stepping down by one respec per hour — same mechanic as class-talent respecs, Beta only.

Dalaran dungeon opens — and Horde get to stay

The City of Dalaran dungeon is now live for testing. Bigger news for Horde: after completing the dungeon and the Heart of Disruption questline (the one that awards the Dalaran Sewer Key), the Shrewd Negotiations quest lets you carry the Arcane Mote into the city, and the previously hostile guards turn neutral. Citizens won't offer every service, but you can stock up on arrows, food and drinks, train Mage skills, swap Hunter pets at the stable — and most importantly, fish for coins in the Dalaran fountain. For the full quest chain, see our Horde attunement walkthrough.

Other things worth knowing

  • Swapping multiple weapons within the same GCD is back (macro away).
  • Several Warrior/Druid Rage-from-damage bugs are fixed, and gains were rebalanced around a 20-40% armor assumption per level; the Druid critical-strike Rage bonus rises from 75% to 100%, and Bear/Dire Bear threat bonus goes from 30% to 50%.
  • Shapeshift-overriding effects are tightened toward Classic behavior (Noggenfogger still works — it breathes underwater).
  • Item economy: many dungeon quest rewards drop from rare to uncommon; Enchanting wand vendor prices adjusted across the board; Wolfshead Helm now grants 5 extra Energy when Shifting Power is used; the Booty Bay Bruiser's Buckshot loses its knockback.
  • Stitches is once again hostile in Duskwood (the notes literally say: DARKSHIRE…I HUNGER!!).
  • PvP: critical strikes no longer have reduced efficacy; the Shipwreck Cove capture point in the Darkspear Islands was moved to its correct location.
  • Voice: Discord Voice can now be set in audio options, and Group Finder listings can attach a voice-mode invite.

For leveling pace, the leveling route will matter more now that dungeon grinding pays better; class-side details live on the class changes page.

Source: Wowhead carrying Blizzard's official development notes (official confirmation), published 2026-10-09. Subject to further Beta changes.