Forever for Classic veterans

Played Classic before? Everything that works differently in World of Warcraft: Forever, from the game client and Blizzard's own posts.

Before you start

• Pick a ruleset, not a realm: Instead of a realm list you choose Normal, PvP, Roleplaying or Hardcore, and each is one big world for grouping, dungeons and raids. Hardcore arrives some time after launch. Rulesets explained
• A new race: the Skyborne: The Skyborne (shen'dorei) can join the Horde or the Alliance and start on Zephras Isle (levels 1 to 12). They come in two kinds, High Order and Windshaper, with 5 racials such as Elemental Insight, Read Ley Line, Skysight. They come with the Skyborne packs, not the base game. Races and racials Meet the Skyborne
• No flying, no level scaling: Forever keeps Classic's ground rules: no flying mounts and no level scaling. You go to a zone when you're its level. BlizzCon recap
• The beta stops at level 20: The beta is capped at level 20; Blizzard expects 30 around mid-October. Forever launches on November 4, 2026, and the new raids open on December 9. Anything the client has above the cap is marked Speculation on this site. The roadmap
• The Legacy System: An account-wide progression: finish challenges to earn Legacy Points and spend them on perks. The client has 69 perk ranks in 3 trees (Professions, Adventure, Resourcefulness), and a character can use up to 16 points. Legacy calculator Legacy explained

Your character

• Most racials changed: 26 of Classic's 32 racials are different in Forever. Weapon racials now help casters too, e.g. Human Sword Specialization: "Increases your critical strike chance with all spells and attacks by 2% while you have a sword or two-handed sword equipped." Every racial, old and new
• Hit and crit are one stat each: Spell, melee and ranged hit chance are one stat, and so are the three critical strike chances. That helps hybrids such as Retribution Paladins and Enhancement Shaman. Stats and itemization
• New abilities for every class: 64 class abilities Classic didn't have (Hunter 15, Paladin 12, Priest 10, Shaman 6, Rogue 5, Druid 5, Mage 4, Warlock 4, Warrior 3), among them Arcane Blast (Mage), Ice Lance (Mage), Frostfire Bolt (Mage), Penance (Priest), Prayer of Mending (Priest), Lava Burst (Shaman), Riptide (Shaman), Wild Growth (Druid), Incinerate (Warlock), Mutilate (Rogue). 1,186 class spells work differently. Classes Every change by class
• Rogues can use one-handed axes: Classic Rogues couldn't. Every weapon skill by class, the racial that goes with it and where the weapon master stands is on the trainers page. Weapons and trainers
• Mounts come with the riding skill: Like The Burning Crusade: you pay for riding training and get a mount with it, instead of buying the mount separately. The details
• Hunter pets: 2 new pet families (Core Hound, Fox) and new pet abilities, and every tameable beast with where to find it. Hunter pets
• Some things didn't change: Shaman totems still need their totem items, and combat keeps Classic's pace: Blizzard says an ordinary monster should take about 10 to 15 seconds to kill. Shaman Combat pace

Gear and items

• Thousands of new and changed items: 5,355 items Classic didn't have and 3,169 that changed. Blizzard says unique dungeon boss items are now blue, dungeons drop hundreds of new items, and quest rewards cover more classes. What's new Items Itemization
• Gear that works in one place: New "horizontal" rewards: gear that's stronger in one zone or against one kind of enemy, gathers without the profession, or walks on water. 33 so far. Unusual gear
• Relics for Paladins, Shaman and Druids: 64 librams, totems and idols, 25 of them new, for their classes' relic slot. Relics
• Set bonuses were reworked: 32 new item sets and 68 with new bonuses. Sets
• Opt-in transmog: Transmogrifiers in some cities let you set up outfits, or turn the whole system off and see everyone in their real gear. Transmog
• New factions: 8 new reputations (Theramore Expeditionary Force, Darkspear Raiders, Powderfuse, Earthen Ring, Guardians of Hyjal, Kirin Tor, Nightclaw Druids, The Watchers), and every item tooltip on this site says the reputation it needs. Reputation

Professions and camping

• Hundreds of new recipes: 941 of the 2,492 recipes are new and 731 changed: different reagents, different amounts (oils and several bombs make more) and reworked skill-ups. Professions
• Healing potions moved to First Aid: The plain healing potions, from Minor to Major, and the anti-venoms are First Aid recipes now. Alchemists make Discolored Healing Potions, stronger but with a drawback. First Aid Alchemy
• Gathering professions craft: Herbalism has Gardening and Skinning has Tanning, each with its own recipes, and Mining smelts new bars. Herbalism Skinning Mining
• Camping: A cook builds a campfire, and every profession can place a camp feature next to it that buffs everyone sitting nearby: Intellect, Spirit, rested experience, a repair bot, a greenhouse. Better features come at skill 140 and 300. How camping works
• New consumables: 372 consumables Classic didn't have, and Blizzard says crafted food can give a small experience bonus. Best consumables for your level Professions

The world

• New zones: Mount Hyjal, Zephras Isle, Darkspear Islands, Riverglades, Shen'dralas. Blizzard promises over a thousand new quests from 1 to 60, and the starting zones get new ones too. Maps The new zones
• New dungeons and raids: New dungeons so far: City of Dalaran (28+), Excavation Site: Wetlands (26+), Ruins of Lordaeron (15+), Half-Pint Tavern, The Hall of Thanes (13+), Manor Mistmantle. Blizzard's raids are Hyjal Summit (20 players) and the Barrow Deeps (10 players). Dungeons and raids Dungeons and raids
• New battlegrounds and an arena: Darkspear Islands, Battle for Gilneas (battlegrounds) and Hyjal Crater (arena), and a winter version of Warsong Gulch. What's new
• New ways to travel: 22 new flight paths, 7 new flight masters and 5 new boat, zeppelin and airship routes, such as Stormwind to Auberdine and Tanaris to the Riverglades. Travel planner

Interface and options

• Cooldown Manager: A built-in display that pulls your important cooldowns and procs together. It's still being worked on in the beta. Beta development notes
• Looks and controls: High- or standard-definition character models, Classic or modern visual presets, the original animations, and gamepad support. BlizzCon recap