World of Warcraft Makes Leveling Harder in The War Within

Key Takeaways

• Enemies in World of Warcraft: The War Within from levels 70-79 will have increased hit points starting August 28.
• Level 70 monsters will see the biggest power increase, leveling out at higher levels.
• Endgame NPCs in The War Within remain unaffected by these scaling adjustments.

World of Warcraft is adjusting the scaling in The War Within to make monsters from levels 70 through 79 take more effort to defeat. This hotfix is being made in response to unexpected power levels of Dragonflight endgame gear, and aims to bring the leveling experience of the new World of Warcraft expansion into line with expected trends.

The War Within is officially live in World of Warcraft, kicking off the Worldsoul Saga with a bang. Players can explore the zones of Khaz Algar, tackle eight new dungeons on Normal or Heroic difficulty, and experiment with Hero Talents as they reach the WoW: The War Within level cap of 80.

Now that the expansion is in full swing, World of Warcraft is changing how the leveling experience feels. Starting August 28, enemies in World of Warcraft: The War Within from levels 70 through 79 will have their power levels adjusted to make them more difficult, primarily by increasing their hit points and defenses. This should lead to combat taking longer than it has so far, with the goal of bringing it in line with previous expansions. Monsters at level 80 will be unaffected by this change.

Enemy Scaling Fixes Coming to WoW: The War Within

• Starting August 28, enemies from levels 70 through 79 will have their hit points increased.
• Level 70 monsters will receive the biggest power increase, with the changes being less impactful at higher levels.
• NPCs at the endgame of WoW: The War Within are unaffected.

As it stands, the scaling in The War Within is rather imbalanced, with level 70 characters dealing disproportionate amounts of damage due to high-level Dragonflight endgame gear and the new Hero Talents. Enemies die in a couple of hits, and story bosses can often be killed before they even finish their dialogue. This is even more noticeable in mixed-level groups, where low-level party members contribute drastically more than their higher-level allies. This discrepancy even led to WoW disabling the experience halt function for characters of level 70 and above.

At face value, this is a good change. The previous scaling led to the enemies in The War Within posing little challenge during the level-up campaign – even dungeon bosses melt within a few seconds. Increasing the threat levels of these monsters will provide a more satisfying experience.

However, the fact that World of Warcraft is only just now making this change, nearly a week after early access began, has players upset. Some fans leveled over a dozen WoW characters to 80 during early access, and changing the scaling only after full release makes it seem like those who bought the Epic Edition also got the chance to power level their characters. While this was certainly not Blizzard’s intention, it will need to be careful if it chooses to do a premium early access period again.