WoW Forever: Everything We Know
Before you roll the same character and follow the same route, see what Forever changes about Classic.
CHOOSE YOUR CLASS
Talent trees by class
Check whether the talents you remember still work the same way before committing to a build.
Arms
Fury
Protection
Holy
Protection
Retribution
Beast Mastery
Marksmanship
Survival
Combat
Subtlety
Discipline
Holy
Shadow
Elemental
Enhancement
Restoration
Arcane
Fire
Frost
Affliction
Demonology
Destruction
Balance
Feral Combat
Restoration
GEAR UP FOR THE NEXT RUN
Open the loot atlasDungeon loot, at a glance.
See what each boss can drop before deciding which dungeon deserves another run.
THE ROAD AHEAD
From beta to the first raids.
Keep track of name reservation, launch and raid openings while you plan your character.
- Before launch
Reserve your name
October 27 through November 3, 2026, with an upgrade.
Details - Launch
Enter Azeroth
November 4, 2026.
Details - Endgame
The first raids
Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia’s Lair are scheduled to open on December 9, 2026. All three are level-60 raids. Blizzard currently plans weekly resets.
Details - After launch
Hardcore comes later
Hardcore is planned after launch; developer follow-up targets 2027.
Details
The beta closed on October 23. Early name reservation opens from October 27 for eligible upgrade owners; launch is November 4 at 23:00 UTC. Check your next access window.
FACTION AGAINST FACTION
Darkspear Islands
A new 15-versus-15 battleground.
Explore Azeroth
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Release & access
What is WoW: Forever?
A new, continuing Azeroth adventure alongside modern and Classic WoW.
Release date
November 4, 2026.
Early name reservation
October 27 through November 3, 2026, with an upgrade.
Invite-A-Friend launch access
Eligible Invite-A-Friend recipients can access Forever from November 4 through November 11, 2026, without a subscription or game time.
Warcraft Forever Collection sale window
Warcraft Forever Collection is advertised as available through January 11, 2027.
Beta
Beta dates
The beta closed on October 23. Early name reservation opens from October 27 for eligible upgrade owners; launch is November 4 at 23:00 UTC.
Historical paid beta access
During the beta, Skyborne Epic Pack, Warcraft Forever Collection and Collector’s Edition included paid beta access.
BlizzCon demo
PC Gamer reports a playable demo at BlizzCon.
The world
New routes through Azeroth
Take a closer look at Stormwind Harbor, the old zones getting another chapter and the Skyborne home of Zephras Isle.
Explore the world preview →Story setting
Year One is framed before Kazzak opens the Dark Portal, in a bounded time bubble.
New and expanded regions
Mount Hyjal, Shen’dralas, Riverglades and Zephras Isle.
Zephras Isle
A level 1–12 Skyborne starting experience.
Riverglades
Riverglades is a mid-level region, roughly Stranglethorn-sized, with nearly 200 quests and Powderfuse Port.
Flying and level scaling
No flying mounts and no level scaling.
New travel links gain official detail
Blizzard details new/expanded travel connections including Stormwind Harbor to Auberdine, Menethil/Southshore/Auberdine links and a Steamwheedle Cartel route from Tanaris toward Riverglades.
New quests in Wetlands, Desolace and Shen’dralas
Find more quests in Wetlands, new centaur faction quests and rewards in Desolace, and Eldre’Thalas-linked stories in Shen’dralas, reached through the Valley of Bones.
Zephras and Skyborne lore groups detailed
Blizzard identifies the Skyborne as shen’dorei, describes their refuge in Skywall/Zephras and failing pylons, and names groups including Windshapers, High Order and Al’Aketh.
Classes & races
Choose your faction, race and class →
Skyborne unlock
Skyborne and its starting experience require Heroic Pack or higher.
Skyborne race
Skyborne can join either faction.
Skyborne classes
Both factions: Warrior, Hunter, Rogue and Druid.
Undead Paladin
Forsaken Paladin is an announced Forever combination.
Dwarf Shaman
Dwarf Shaman is an announced Forever combination.
Class and talent changes
Classes and specializations are being revised.
Gnome Priest
Blizzard confirms Gnome Priest as a new Forever race/class combination.
Human Hunter
Blizzard confirms Human Hunter as a new Forever race/class combination.
Orc Mage
Blizzard confirms Orc Mage as a new Forever race/class combination.
Troll Warlock
Blizzard confirms Troll Warlock as a new Forever race/class combination.
Season of Discovery class quests return in WoW Forever
Blizzard says some Season of Discovery class questlines made it into WoW Forever, while additional class quests were added and some existing questlines were expanded.
Blizzard is rebalancing classes and specs toward viability
Ion Hazzikostas says Forever's talent trees and specs are being rebalanced with the goal of making every class viable, unlike original Vanilla.
Progression & Legacy
Legacy points, trees and rewards →
Level cap
Level 60 at launch.
Account-shared Legacy Points
Legacy Points earned through challenges are shared across characters on the account.
Ongoing development
Forever is planned to evolve through major updates rather than expansion packs.
16-point launch spending cap
At launch, each character can spend up to 16 Legacy Points.
Up to 65 points earnable at the start
Players can continue completing challenges and can earn up to 65 Legacy Points at the start.
How Legacy Points and trees work
Earn Legacy Points through Legacy Challenges. The starting trees are Professions, Adventure and Resourcefulness.
Systems & professions
Professions, Blueprints and Camping →
Camping
Outdoor camps support professions and shared buffs.
Profession changes
Profession updates are announced.
Honor changes
Blizzard has announced changes to Honor.
Graphics options
Updated environments and a choice of HD or SD models.
Transmog
Players can disable transmog entirely to see equipped gear on others; Classic Mode starts with it disabled.
Controller support
Official gamepad support is announced.
Darkspear Islands
A new 15-versus-15 battleground.
More than 600 new recipes and food adjustments
Blizzard says Forever adds more than 600 recipes across professions/levels and adjusts crafted food to include a small experience bonus plus stat boosts.
Advanced profession Blueprints can come from dungeon bosses
Advanced Blueprint recipes are tied to specific dungeon boss drops.
Camp object contribution and cooldown rules
A Basic Camp supports up to three crafted objects, each player contributes one object, and the objects share a one-hour cooldown.
Profession-specific camp objects and non-stacking rule
Each profession has three objects learned at different skill levels. Examples include a Blacksmith Sharpening Wheel, Tailoring Faction Banner and Herbalism Incense Candle. Their class-buff-like effects do not stack with the corresponding class buffs.
Combat pacing and dungeon tactical intent
Blizzard targets roughly 10–15 seconds for an ordinary solo creature and says crowd control and threat should matter in dungeons, with AoE used when tactically safe.
Hit and crit stat consolidation
Spell/melee/ranged hit chance are consolidated, as are spell/melee/ranged critical strike chance.
Weapon skill, healing/damage and avoidance-itemization changes
Weapon skill remains but requires less skill per item; bonus healing grants one-third as bonus damage; new stats reduce the chance attacks are parried/dodged; caster weapons gain spell damage plus healing.
Dungeon loot broadly reworked
Every dungeon drop was re-examined, hundreds of items are new, unique dungeon-boss items are upgraded to blue quality, and set bonuses were improved.
Rockslicer can temporarily mine without Mining
In the beta, the Deadmines axe Rockslicer has a 30-charge effect that lets its wielder mine Copper, Tin, Silver and Iron even without the Mining profession. The weapon remains after the charges are spent, but the mining effect is exhausted.
Quests
New quests
More than 1,000 new quests.
Dungeons
New dungeons
Nine new dungeons are announced.
Raids
New raids
Barrow Deeps: 10 players. Hyjal Summit: 20 players.
First raid opening
Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia’s Lair are scheduled to open on December 9, 2026. All three are level-60 raids. Blizzard currently plans weekly resets.
Onyxia: 40 players
Named developers identify Onyxia’s Lair as a 40-player raid.
Tier pieces across three raids
Developers say tier pieces are obtainable across Barrow Deeps (10 players), Hyjal Summit (20) and Onyxia’s Lair (40).
Slower item progression and chase drops intended to preserve raid relevance
Developers describe slower item progression and rare, powerful chase drops on boss loot tables so earlier raids stay relevant longer.
Molten Core is intended later, not as the immediate raid focus
Kris Zierhut says Molten Core will return at some point but the team is prioritizing new raids first.
Choose your first raid
Barrow Deeps has eight bosses for ten players, with entrances connected through Mount Hyjal, Winterspring and Blackmaw Hold. Hyjal Summit has thirteen bosses for twenty players near Nordrassil. Onyxia’s Lair is in Dustwallow Marsh and takes forty players.
Bring your own Drakefire Amulet
Every Onyxia raider needs a Drakefire Amulet in their inventory; it does not need to be equipped. Alliance starts with Helendis Riverhorn in the Burning Steppes. Horde starts with Warlord Goretooth in Kargath, Badlands.
Forever removes tedious World Buff farming for raids
Ion Hazzikostas says WoW Forever will remove tedious World Buff farming as a raid-preparation requirement.
Servers
Hardcore after launch
Hardcore is planned after launch; developer follow-up targets 2027.
Region-wide rulesets
Forever is realmless: players choose region-wide Normal, PvP or Roleplaying rulesets instead of a traditional realm list. Roleplay-PvP joins them at the November 4 launch.
Dead Hardcore character transfer
Developers say a dead Hardcore character can transfer to another ruleset, including PvP.
Grouping boundaries by ruleset and faction
Players on the same ruleset can group for dungeons and raids; there is no cross-ruleset grouping; Horde and Alliance remain separate and cannot group.
Roleplay-PvP launch and early reservation
Roleplay-PvP is announced for the November 4 launch. Blizzard plans to include it in Early Name Reservation beginning October 27.
Choose the same region to play together
To play together at launch, choose the same region as well as the same ruleset and faction. Preferred Online Language does not prevent grouping with players who choose another language.
Can characters share a first name?
Characters can share a first name or surname. The full two-name combination must be unique within your region.
Hide your secondary name
To hide your surname above your character, open Escape → Options → Nameplates and turn off My Secondary Name. Your full name still appears in chat.