Beta build 4 (October 8): class tuning, the dungeon XP group bug fixed, a lighter Spirit Healer penalty and gear changes

The Naxxramas loading screen from the WoW Forever client

2026-10-09 · ForeverDB

Blizzard's October 8 build fixes the bug that cut dungeon XP for lower-level players grouped with higher-level ones, rebalances Warrior and Druid Rage, tunes most classes, and changes a batch of items. Wowhead datamined that the Spirit Healer durability penalty has dropped to 25%.

On October 8 Blizzard put a new build on the WoW Forever beta, the fourth so far. Kaivax posted the full change log. Below are the main points, with every number kept exactly as Blizzard wrote it. One item in the headline, the Spirit Healer durability change, is not in Blizzard's notes; it was datamined by Wowhead, and we flag it as such.

These are beta changes. Anything here can still change before launch.

Dungeon XP: two changes, one bug fix

Two dungeon XP changes land together. XP from killing creatures in dungeons is up by about 20%, and Blizzard fixed a bug that cut the XP a lower-level player earned when grouped with higher-level players killing lower-level enemies.

So far in WoW: Forever, experience for killing lower-level enemies while in a party was penalized based on the highest-level member of the party. In Classic Era, that adjustment was made individually for each party member without regard for the highest-level party member. We’ve reverted the calculation to the Classic Era behavior, where only the individual’s level matters. Developers’ notes, posted by Kaivax (Community Manager)

Game Developer Aggrend had flagged the same fix in a forum reply tied to the dungeon podcast:

In previous beta builds, the XP earned per kill was awarded based on the highest level person in the group. If you are running, say, Deadmines with 4 level 20s and 1 level 25, the amount of XP you get as a level 20 is extremely low per kill. With this fix, you should now receive XP based on your level relative to the mobs,as intended. Aggrend, WoW Game Developer

Aggrend added that this is not a return to Era-style dungeon levelling. He said that with perfect play, dungeon levelling speed will now be very close to, if not equal to, optimal questing, and that dungeons being the clear fastest route does not fit the project's pillars. We covered that reasoning in our podcast write-up.

Spirit Healer durability penalty cut to 25% (datamined)

Wowhead datamined that resurrecting at a Spirit Healer now costs 25% durability damage, down from 50%. Resurrection Sickness still applies if you take the Spirit Healer instead of running to your corpse. This is not in Blizzard's October 8 notes.

The durability figure is a Wowhead datamining report, not a Blizzard change or statement. Durability loss on resurrection is handled on Blizzard's servers, so the beta client files can't confirm the exact percentage either way.

Warrior and Druid: Rage fixes and a rebalance

Blizzard fixed several bugs in how Rage is gained from taking damage, so the typical Warrior or Druid should now gain more Rage when hit. One bug used the player's own health instead of the creature's health, which meant more Stamina gear gave less Rage. Others mishandled extra damage from critical strikes and crushing blows, and from damage absorbs. Blizzard also rebalanced how much Rage you gain:

Previously, we were balancing Rage gained around Warriors having 50% Armor. While this was appropriate for a tank, it was not appropriate for questing Warriors. We have rebalanced Rage gains based on appropriate values per level in the 20% to 40% range, varying by level. Developers’ notes, posted by Kaivax (Community Manager)

Other Warrior changes: Demoralizing Shout now puts some threat on all affected targets (it generated none). Arms needs Deep Wounds again to reach Impale, and a bug where Deep Wounds scaled with off-hand attack power is fixed. Protection's Last Stand now grants the correct health on use.

Druid

Thorns is back to Vanilla WoW base values, and its spell power ratio drops to 6% (was 13.3%).
Extra Rage from landing critical strikes rises to 100% increased Rage (was 75%).
Bear Form and Dire Bear Form threat bonus rises to 50% (was 30%). Demoralizing Roar now puts some threat on all affected targets (it generated none).
Fixes: Cat Form no longer reduces your maximum health, and you can use Mana Potions in Bear, Dire Bear and Cat Form. Wrath ranks 1 to 5 were retuned so each rank is always an upgrade.
The Feral talent Predatory Instincts is renamed Natural Instinct and now also increases spell healing by 12/25% of Intellect. Shifting Power can no longer be cast at full Energy.
Effects that override shapeshifting now more closely resemble Classic. Blizzard says keeping a Druid's form visible in combat matters, so only a limited set of transforms still work (for example Noggenfogger Elixir, because it lets you breathe underwater).

The Natural Instinct detail also appears in Wowhead's class-changes datamine. The rename and the 25% figure match Blizzard's own notes.

Paladin

Retribution Aura is back to Vanilla WoW base damage (about a 33% reduction), and its spell power ratio drops to 6% (was 13.3%). A bug that used the struck target's spell power instead of the Paladin's is fixed.
Protection: Reckoning now has a 1.5 second cooldown on how often it can trigger. Seal of Fury no longer returns Mana without the Improved Seal of Fury talent, and Improved Seal of Fury and Shield Specialization no longer generate threat when they restore Mana. Blizzard says Paladins restoring enough Mana to tank was generating more threat than intended.

Priest: Penance and consistent rank growth

Smite, Lesser Heal and Heal had their early ranks retuned so each new rank is always an upgrade. For Discipline, Blizzard reworked Penance:

Spell damage and healing were reduced to fix a bug where Penance was treated as a 3-second channel instead of a 2-second channel.
Mana costs were adjusted so Penance keeps a consistent Mana-efficiency edge over the Heal and Greater Heal family. Rank 1's Mana cost went up by 50%.
Healing on Penance ranks 2 and 4 was increased.

Other class tuning

Hunter: Disengage's threat reduction is now doubled as intended, and a bug where pets repeatedly healed at low health is fixed. Beast Mastery's Unleashed Fury now correctly boosts pet damage. Marksmanship's Improved Concussive Shot and Survival's Improved Wing Clip now proc at the correct chance. Survival's Expose Prey now lasts 10 sec (was 5), and Entrapment's diminishing returns and Frost Trap trigger are fixed.
Mage: Impact can no longer proc off Flamestrike's periodic damage. Frostbolt, Fireball and Arcane Missiles had early ranks retuned for consistent growth.
Shaman: Lightning Bolt ranks were retuned for consistent growth. Elemental Focus is no longer wasted on Fire Nova. Restoration's Water Shield tooltip now shows the Mana restored and no longer claims a 15 second cooldown, and Mana Tide Totem's pulse visual is back. Flametongue Totem now uses a shapeshifted target's attack speed.
Warlock: your current pet is now stunned while you summon a new one. Shadow Bolt ranks were retuned for consistent growth. Demonology's Demonic Brand only deals high threat when it deals Shadow damage.
Cooldown Manager: all classes, racial abilities and trinkets are now supported. Blizzard says consumable support will come later.

Items and gear

Wolfshead Helm's effect now grants 5 additional Energy when Shifting Power is used; the Rage portion of the helm's effect is unchanged.
Various dungeon quest rewards had their rarity lowered to Uncommon from Rare, with stats updated to match.
Truthseeker's Bow from the Greater Friend of the Library quest now correctly requires level 40, matching the other two rewards from that chain.
Several Enchanting-produced wand and oil vendor prices were adjusted, for example Minor Wizard Oil to 1s and Twisted Nether Wand to 10s. The new Desolace quest rewards from the Gelkis and Magram quests were tuned, and in an upcoming hotfix will require level 35 to equip.
Transformative Cocoon is now correctly a debuff. Booty Bay Bruiser's Buckshot no longer knocks back. New armour set shoulder pieces are back to the correct visual size.

Wowhead has datamined the new stats for several of these items, including the reduced-rarity dungeon rewards, the partly restored wand sell prices and the level 40 Truthseeker's Bow. The direction of each change matches Blizzard's notes; exact datamined numbers are Wowhead's.

Other changes

The new City of Dalaran dungeon is now available for testing.
You can once again swap multiple weapons within the same GCD, for example a macro that swaps from a two-handed weapon to a sword and shield.
Classic looting is back, so creatures that dropped no loot can still be interacted with. Fixes also land for flickering effects on large creatures and for unintended long-distance pulls.
Legacy system: all beta players were granted completion of the Legacy Challenge, awarding 16 Legacy Points to test the system. The lowest-cost talent re-spec for Legacy Points now costs 1s, with the cost dropping by one re-spec per hour, as with class talents during the beta.
Gamepad support got several updates, including edit mode support for the Gamepad Action Bar and per-UI-type saved layouts.