SignsOfKelani on the end of the WoW Forever beta: RP PvP at launch and who the game is for
· ForeverDB
SignsOfKelani rounds up the last beta week: layering and sharding acting up, a 24-hour send-off event, dev talk about who the game is for and how hard endgame will be, a changed Molten Core, and an RP PvP rule set confirmed for launch. Most of it is player reports and design talk that the client can't confirm, though it does carry the places named, the "(RP PvP)" string and a Molten Core 40-player raid.
This is a community video by SignsOfKelani, not a Blizzard post, so everything below is the creator's claim or finding unless we say otherwise. We checked it against the WoW Forever beta client (build 1.60.1.70532); any client detail here comes from that build. The beta is capped at level 30, and it closed at the end of this week.
The video is a final-week catch-up, built on the creator's own play and on the latest WoW Forever Podcast. Most of it is server behaviour and design talk that the client doesn't hold, plus a one-off event; the table below notes the few things it does.
The short version
- Layering and sharding looked worse, not better. SignsOfKelani says they saw players and mobs crossing layer boundaries in Westfall, and points to a Reddit clip of someone being attacked by an enemy faction player they couldn't see.
- The beta closed this week at 10:00 a.m. PDT, 6pm UK time (the video says "PST"), with launch on November 4.
- A 24-hour send-off event brought world bosses, infernals, epics "like candy", some legendary drops and a vendor for experience potions and cosmetics.
- Dev talk from the podcast: WoW Forever is "for anyone who likes World of Warcraft", and endgame is meant to be "beer and pretzels", not mythic-hard.
- Molten Core returns changed in a summer update, with reworked boss mechanics. The client has the current 40-player raid but no revamp data.
- An RP PvP rule set is confirmed for launch, giving four rule sets (PvE, PvP, RP, RP PvP) with hardcore later. The client carries an "(RP PvP)" string.
Claim by claim
| Claim | SignsOfKelani says | The client says | Verdict |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westfall | The creator levelled a Mage here and saw layering oddities | Westfall is a levelling zone, not new in Forever | Zone confirmed; the behaviour can't be checked |
| Stormwind | Running in and out of Stormwind holds players better now | Stormwind is the Alliance capital | Can't check yet: server behaviour |
| The Crossroads, Southshore, Wetlands | Hotspots on the podcast death heat map | All exist as client areas / zones | Places confirmed |
| Layering / sharding | Players and mobs blending across layers; a cross-faction attack you can't see | Runs on the server; nothing in the client to check | Can't check yet: a player report |
| Molten Core | Returns in a summer update, but changed, with reworked boss mechanics | A 40-player raid with 10 bosses, Ragnaros among them; no revamp data | Current raid confirmed; revamp can't be checked |
| RP PvP rule set | Devs reversed course; it's a launch option, making four rule sets | The client carries the "(RP PvP)" string | Confirmed by Blizzard and a client string |
| Dungeon Finder | The creator doubts it will ever be added | The client still has "Dungeon Finder" interface text (inherited UI) | String present; not proof the feature is on |
| End-of-beta event | World bosses, infernals, free epics, some legendaries, XP potions, cosmetics for 24 hours | A temporary beta event; not in the client | Can't check yet: a beta event |
| "Beer and pretzels" difficulty | Endgame meant to be relaxed, not mythic-hard | Design intent, not client data | Can't check yet: a dev statement |
Columns: the claim, what SignsOfKelani relays, what the beta client holds, and our verdict.
Layering and the end of the beta
SignsOfKelani was levelling a Mage through Westfall when they noticed the layering oddities: players swinging at nothing, mobs walking over players without aggroing, and world bosses whose area-of-effect hit people who couldn't see the boss. They say a Reddit clip showed a player taking damage from an opposite-faction player they couldn't see at all, which they call a bad sign for PvP servers. Layering and sharding run on the server and the client holds none of that logic, so we can't confirm or deny any of it. The creator reads the mess as the dev team actively changing the settings, not a finished state. The next word on the server tech is promised in an upcoming podcast episode.
SignsOfKelani plays a Mage but makes no claims about Mage spells. For the record, the beta client teaches Blizzard, the frost area spell, from the trainer at level 20, and the Impact talent sits at Fire tier 2, which opens at level 15; see Mage changes and the Mage talent calculator.
The dev team marked the end of the beta with a 24-hour event: a vendor selling costumes, cosmetics and experience potions, plus infernals and world bosses spawned in the starting zones. SignsOfKelani says some players picked up epics freely and even a few legendaries from the world bosses. None of that is in the client data we have, so treat it as a one-off beta send-off.
Who it's for, and how hard endgame will be
From the podcast, SignsOfKelani relays a dev (named Clay) answering who the game is for: "World of Warcraft Forever is for anyone who likes World of Warcraft, has liked World of Warcraft in the past, or is interested in jumping in for the first time." The pitch is slower, classic-style play with new experiences, loot and raids, sitting alongside Classic and retail rather than replacing them. The creator lists the stated four pillars as "approachable and familiar", the world as a main character, journey before destination, and "protect and nurture social experiences", and uses them to doubt a Dungeon Finder will ever be added.
On difficulty, SignsOfKelani says endgame is pitched as "beer and pretzels": a chill experience with a few important mechanics per fight, nothing like mythic raiding or high-end mythic plus, and heavy use of consumables and buffs to make fights easier. That is design intent from the podcast, not anything the client measures, and nobody can test it until endgame opens, which the level 30 cap keeps out of reach.
Molten Core comes back changed
SignsOfKelani says Molten Core will return in the summer update, but not the same Molten Core: the revamp brings reworked boss mechanics and abilities. Our client data has the current raid. Molten Core is a 40-player raid with Lucifron, Magmadar, Gehennas, Garr, Shazzrah, Baron Geddon, Sulfuron Harbinger, Golemagg the Incinerator, Majordomo Executus and Ragnaros. There's no revamp data in the beta client, so the changed mechanics can't be checked yet, and with the beta capped at level 30 no beta player could reach the raid anyway.
Four rule sets at launch, now with RP PvP
SignsOfKelani reports the dev team reversed its earlier position and will offer an RP PvP rule set at launch, so the choices are PvE, PvP, RP and RP PvP, with hardcore later. This matches a Blizzard forum post from Aggrend on October 22:
In a recent episode of the WoW Forever Podcast we discussed some of our concerns with adding a Roleplay-PVP ruleset in WoW Forever, but we also mentioned that we were still discussing the topic internally and watching player feedback. Over the last few days, we’ve carefully examined what it would take to add it to WoW Forever and decided to go for it. We will add a Roleplay-PVP Ruleset for launch on November 4. Aggrend, WoW Game Developer
The client carries an "(RP PvP)" string, but that is standard WoW interface text, like the "Dungeon Finder" string, so it is Blizzard's post, not the client, that confirms the rule set. Blizzard's post doesn't spell out how the rule set works, so the exact rules stay unconfirmed. The creator also worries about faction imbalance, about two PvP rule sets letting one player roll both factions, and about an RP PvP realm being used to dodge the main PvP realm; those are their own predictions, not anything in the client.
Sources
- The Devs CONFIRM Who WoW Forever Is For & Big Updates As The Beta Ends (SignsOfKelani, YouTube)
- SignsOfKelani: The Devs CONFIRM Who WoW Forever Is For & Big Updates As The Beta Ends (YouTube)
- The Roleplay-PvP Ruleset is Coming to WoW Forever (Aggrend, WoW Game Developer)
- Molten Core in the WoW Forever client (ForeverDB)
- Mage: changes from Classic Era (ForeverDB, from the client)