Blizzard has confirmed that World of Warcraft: Forever goes live globally on November 4. It will be a permanent home that sits alongside modern World of Warcraft and Classic. Set after Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom and before Molten Core, it takes adventurers across the original continents up to level 60, with new zones, systems and character options layered on top.
Raiding doesn’t start on day one. Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia’s Lair open to level 60 characters on December 9, which gives players about five weeks to level up and gear up first.
What’s in the launch
Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor are getting new and reworked zones, with more than 1,000 new quests across the 1–60 journey. Four new destinations stand out:
- Mount Hyjal: the aftermath of Archimonde’s defeat, including Darkwhisper Gorge.
- Shen’dralas: a hidden region between Mulgore and Desolace, tied to the Shen’dralar, Eldre’Thalas, Dire Maul and local centaur tribes.
- The Riverglades: a frontier zone with more than 150 quests covering much of the mid-30s to mid-40s.
- Zephras Isle: the level 1–12 starting area for the new Skyborne race.
The Skyborne can join either faction. Horde-aligned Windshapers can become Shaman, and Alliance-aligned High-Order Skyborne can become Mages. Several new race and class pairings are also available, including Orc Mages, Troll Warlocks, Undead Paladins, Human Hunters, Gnome Priests and Dwarf Shamans.
Group content includes nine new five-player dungeons spread from level 13 to 60. For PvP players there’s a new 15v15 battleground, Darkspear Islands, set off the coast of Dustwallow Marsh. In it, the Darkspear Raiders and the Theramore Expeditionary Force fight over footholds and a central flag.
New systems and first login
On first login, players pick an experience preset: Classic, with simpler visuals and fewer guidance features, or Enhanced, with HD models, quest markers, one-bag and transmog switched on. Blizzard recommends Enhanced for anyone who isn’t sure. Every setting can still be changed later, and HD or SD models can be chosen per character.
Instead of picking a realm, players choose a ruleset. Normal, PvP, Roleplay and Roleplay PvP are available at launch, and Hardcore will follow at some point after launch. Character names now use a two-part structure that is unique within a region.
Other new features include:
- Camping: a Cooking campfire becomes a shared campsite. Nearby players can each add one profession-crafted feature, up to three in total, and sitting or crafting there for at least a minute grants buffs.
- Legacy System: account-wide horizontal progression built on Legacy Challenges, Perks and Rewards. It rewards leveling alts and trying different professions, but every benefit can also be unlocked on a single character.
Blizzard is also pointing newcomers and returning players to its starter guides and the WoW Portal Room Discord server. You can find more in the official announcement.
Source: World of Warcraft official news.
