World of Warcraft: Forever goes live globally on November 4, with a new race and 1,000+ quests
Blizzard says World of Warcraft: Forever goes live globally on November 4, with new zones, the Skyborne race, nine dungeons and a December 9 raid date.
Blizzard Entertainment has announced that World of Warcraft: Forever goes live globally on November 4. It’s described as a permanent home alongside modern and Classic WoW, set after Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom and before Molten Core, with an adventure across the original continents up to level 60.
New zones and quests
Blizzard says the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor get new and reimagined zones, plus more than 1,000 new quests across the level 1-60 journey. New destinations include Mount Hyjal, Shen’dralas, the Riverglades and Zephras Isle.
- Mount Hyjal: explore the aftermath of Archimonde’s defeat and travel through Darkwhisper Gorge.
- Shen’dralas: a long-hidden mystery between Mulgore and Desolace, tied to the Shen’dralar, Eldre’Thalas, Dire Maul and the centaur tribes.
- The Riverglades: more than 150 new quests across much of the mid-30s to mid-40s.
- Zephras Isle: an elemental, skybound starting experience for levels 1 through 12.
A new race: the Skyborne
The Skyborne, also known as the shen’dorei, are a new playable race. They begin on Zephras Isle and can join either faction at character creation.
Horde-aligned Windshapers can become Shaman, while Alliance-aligned High-Order Skyborne can become Mages. Blizzard also points to newly available combinations such as Orc Mages, Troll Warlocks, Undead Paladins, Human Hunters, Gnome Priests and Dwarf Shamans.
Presets and rulesets
The first time you log in, you’ll choose an Experience Preset. Classic goes for simpler visuals, standard definition models and fewer modern interface features. Enhanced uses high definition models and has options like transmog and one-bag switched on. Blizzard suggests Enhanced if you’re unsure, and says individual settings can be changed later under Game Menu > Options.
You’ll then pick a Ruleset instead of a traditional realm:
- Normal: focus on adventuring, with PvP at your own discretion.
- PvP: you’re almost always at risk of attack from opposing players.
- Roleplay: strict naming and behaviour rules.
- Roleplay PvP: the roleplay rules, with a PvP focus.
The Hardcore ruleset will become available sometime after launch, according to Blizzard.
Systems, dungeons and raids
Characters will have a two-name structure, which together forms a full name that’s unique within a region. The Camping system turns the Cooking profession’s Basic Campfire into a shared campsite, where up to three profession-crafted Camp Features can be added by nearby players.
The account-wide Legacy System focuses on horizontal progression, with Legacy Challenges, Legacy Perks and Legacy Rewards. Blizzard says alts aren’t required, and all advantages can be unlocked on a single character.
There are nine new five-player dungeons for levels 13 through 60. On December 9, level 60 players can take on three raids: Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia’s Lair.
PvP
The new Darkspear Islands battleground is a 15 versus 15 clash between the Darkspear Raiders and the Theramore Expeditionary Force, with a central flag and strategic footholds to fight over.
Blizzard’s post also links to a New Player’s Starter Guide, a returning player guide and the WoW Portal Room Discord server.