What's New in WoW Forever?

The Basics

• The story is set after the Warcraft III campaign "Forsaken Kingdom" and before Molten Core, on the original continents. official
• Level cap 60. Classic expansions like The Burning Crusade are not planned. official
• At launch: over 1,000 new quests, 9 new dungeons, 3 new zones, reworked old zones and the new Skyborne race. official
• Launch is Nov 4 at 3:00 pm PST (Nov 5, 2026, midnight CET), worldwide at the same moment and without early access. All dates: Release and Countdown. official
• Included in the regular WoW subscription. There will reportedly be no WoW Token and no paid character boosts. per fan sites

Rulesets Instead of Realms

There are no more realms. You pick a ruleset (Normal, PvP or Roleplay, with Hardcore coming later) and play in one big shared world. Names consist of a first and a last name. More: Rulesets and Names.

Races and Classes

The new Skyborne race plays as the Windshapers (Horde) or the High Order (Alliance), depending on faction. On top of that come six new race and class combinations, such as Dwarf Shaman and Undead Paladin. Every race now has two active and two passive racial abilities. Table of all combinations: Races and Classes.

Combat and Talents

• Hit chance and critical strike chance now apply to spells, melee and ranged alike. This mainly helps hybrid classes. official
• One third of bonus healing also counts as bonus damage. Weapon skill appears on items only in smaller amounts. official
• Talent trees have milestones at 11, 16 (new), 21 and 31 points. Some former talents are now baseline abilities, such as Blessing of Kings. official
• Dual spec at level 40. per fan sites
• A built-in Cooldown Manager for class abilities, racials and trinkets. official
• Every class, talent and ability by level: Classes and Talent Calculator.
• What changed for each class: Warrior · Paladin · Hunter · Rogue · Priest · Shaman · Mage · Warlock · Druid

New Zones

• Zephras Isle (level 1–12) official
  Skyborne starting zone
• Riverglades (level mid-30s to mid-40s) per fan sites
  Eastern Kingdoms, over 150 quests, about the size of Stranglethorn Vale
• Shen'dralas (level not final, reports range from 40 to 53) unconfirmed
  Kalimdor, between Mulgore and Desolace
• Mount Hyjal (level 60) per fan sites
  Kalimdor, endgame zone
• Darkspear Islands (level 30–60) official
  15v15 battleground off the coast of Dustwallow Marsh

There are also three new boat routes and barbers in Darnassus and Thunder Bluff. Which zone fits which level: Leveling guide.

New Dungeons

All the old dungeons remain. Their loot has been reworked, with hundreds of new drops, blue boss items and better set bonuses.

Groups are formed through a manual listing; there's no automatic Dungeon Finder. per fan sites

Bosses, loot and quests: dungeon atlas.

Raids

Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair open on Dec 9, 2026. official Raid sizes: 10, 20 and 40 players. per fan sites Details and countdown: Raids.

Legacy System

A new account-wide progression system: 65 challenges award points that you spend on perks in three trees, plus cosmetic rewards. More: Legacy System.

Camping and Professions

• Over 600 new recipes; food grants a small XP bonus and stats. official
• Campfires become small camps with vendors, repairs, profession workstations and one-hour buffs. Each fire holds up to three crafted objects, more with Cooking upgrades. official
• Better camp objects are unlocked through blueprints that drop from certain dungeon bosses. official
• Leveling routes and materials: Professions.

PvP

Two progression tracks side by side: Honor for two PvP sets and rank points for the old ranks 1 to 14. Plus PvP seasons and the new battleground on the Darkspear Islands. More: PvP.

Quality of Life and Tech

• You get your mount as soon as you learn riding. There's no flying. official
• Transmog is optional. "Classic Mode" turns it off, but appearances are still collected. Collections are account-wide. official
• Classic looting is back (since the Oct 8 beta update). official
• Gamepad support, "Modern" or "Classic" graphics presets and a choice of HD or SD models. Runs on Windows and macOS. official
• Optional Discord voice chat and voice callouts in groups. official

More WoW Forever Guides

• Beginner's guide
  Getting started in WoW Forever: picking a class, leveling route and checklist.
• Forever vs. Classic
  Every difference, topic by topic, with sources.
• Rulesets and Names
  Normal, PvP, RP, Hardcore and name reservation.
• Races and Classes
  Skyborne and every race and class combination.
• Raids
  Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia from Dec 9, 2026.
• PvP
  Honor, rank points, ranks 1–14 and the new battleground.
• Legacy System
  65 challenges, three trees, cosmetic rewards.
• Which class suits me?
  Quiz with 8 questions and a class recommendation.
• BiS lists
  The best gear for every class and playstyle.
• Dungeons by level
  Which dungeon fits your level, plus the raids.
• Professions 1–300
  Leveling routes for every profession with materials and a shopping list.
• Best professions
  Which profession suits which class.
• Making gold
  Honest ways to earn gold, no buying, no bots.
• Release and Countdown
  Every date up to the raid launch.
• Editions and prices
  All editions, prices and what the subscription includes.
• Roadmap
  Dates and phases through 2027, confirmed or open.
• Name generator
  First and last names for every race, with a rules check.
• Class quests
  Every class quest chain for each class, by level.
• Class trainers
  Where every class finds its trainers, with coordinates.
• Macros
  Ready-made macros for all nine classes to copy.
• Dungeon quests
  Every quest to pick up before each dungeon as a checklist.
• Quest Chains
  Every quest chain by zone, in the right order.
• Librams and Arcanums
  All eight librams with materials, costs and bonuses.
• Tier list
  The strongest classes and specs by role.
• Skyborne guide
  The new race: factions, racial abilities and starting zone.
• Hardcore
  What is confirmed and what is still open.
• Onyxia attunement
  Every attunement quest as a checklist.
• Launch time worldwide
  When WoW Forever launches in your time zone.
• Dates and countdown
  All dates up to launch and beyond, with a calendar.
• Server status
  Servers, queues and known issues during launch week.
• What to do at which level?
  Zones, quests and dungeons for every level.
• Riding
  Required level, cost and mounts.
• Attributes and stats
  What Strength, Stamina, Armor and more actually do.
• Camping
  Every camp object and what it does.
• Lockpicking
  Rogue guide, skill 1–300.
• Pick Pocket
  What rogues can steal and where.
• Best addons
  The best addons for leveling, raids, PvP and gold.
• Install addons
  How to get addons into WoW Forever.
• Reputation
  Every faction with its rewards and the quests that grant reputation.
• Launch checklist
  Your day-one checklist for WoW Forever.
• Legacy planner
  Plan the perk trees and tick off all 65 challenges.
• Patch notes
  What changes in the game data from build to build.
• Best race per class
  Our pick for every class and faction, PvE and PvP.
• XP and rested bonus
  How fast you level: rested bonus, camp tent, food and dungeon XP.
• Group finder
  Finding a group: dungeon list, chat, language and guild.
• System requirements
  What's confirmed for PC and Mac and what's still missing.
• Gaming setup
  Mouse, headset and keyboard: what really helps in an MMO.
• Horde or Alliance
  Choosing a faction: the PvP rule, new combos and racials.
• Dungeon leveling
  Dungeon leveling: new dungeon XP, carries, the group finder and dungeons by level.