The spires of Dalaran at sunset, with a path leading up to the city

World of Warcraft: Forever What's new

The Azeroth you know.
Thirty things that changed.

Every announced difference between Forever and the Azeroth you remember, numbered one to thirty and walked through in order. Read the line, or open the one that interests you.

Start at number one Where this comes from

30: changes
6: chapters
4: new regions
1: new playable race

New in Forever: the Azeroth you know, reimagined. Thirty announced changes, told across six chapters, from new regions and class reworks to camping, legacy systems and new challenges. Based on announced World of Warcraft: Forever features, researched on 20 September 2026.

Changes 01 to 05 of 30

Chapter 1 of 6Changes 01 to 05

A wider world

Four regions and a thousand quests added to the old map.

Forever adds to the continents you already know rather than building a new one beside them. Four regions, more than a thousand new quests, and reasons to leave the road on the way from level 1 to 60.

A familiar world offers new adventures to those who look closer.

Forever press kit · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 1 of 30.World · Region

Mount Hyjal

A Kalimdor region still recovering from Archimonde's defeat opens up.

A region players have looked at from across the border for years becomes somewhere to travel through, and it sits on the way to 60 rather than after it.

In more detail

The slopes below Nordrassil become a place to travel through rather than a locked skybox. Blizzard showed it as one of the regions added to the original continents, reached on the way to 60 rather than after it.

Source

Blizzard announcementOfficial Forever footage · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 2 of 30.World · Region

Riverglades

A new frontier of rivers and settlements, with grudges of its own.

A region built new rather than revised, which is where Forever gets to tell its own story instead of retelling an old one.

In more detail

Announced as a fresh region rather than a revision of an existing one, with its own settlements and questing. Krol'dok Stronghold, one of the nine new dungeons, sits inside it.

Source

Blizzard announcementOfficial Forever footage · © Blizzard Entertainment

Ruined elven architecture among the trees of Shen'dralas — Forever press kit · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 3 of 30.World · Region

Shen'dralas

A region between Mulgore and Desolace, tied to the Shen'dralar.

It ties the highborne ruins of Eldre'Thalas to the plains around them, a piece of Kalimdor the original game left mostly untold.

In more detail

Its story reaches back to Eldre'Thalas and the centaur tribes of the surrounding plains. The reveal screenshots show elven ruins standing among the trees. No footage of it has been shown.

Source

Blizzard announcementForever press kit · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 4 of 30.World · Starting zone

Zephras Isle

The Skyborne starting journey, levels 1 to 12, above the clouds.

The first starting experience added since the original races, and the only part of the world here that needs the optional paid upgrade.

In more detail

A starting experience rather than a zone bolted onto an existing one. It is part of the optional paid upgrade that unlocks the Skyborne themselves.

Source

Blizzard announcementOfficial Forever footage · © Blizzard Entertainment

A quest giver calling out to adventurers in official Forever artwork — Forever editorial artwork · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 5 of 30.World · Quests

1,000+ new quests

New stories woven through the whole climb from 1 to 60.

Spread through the climb rather than saved for 60, so the zones you already know have new reasons to be walked again.

In more detail

Not a level-60 content drop: the new quests are spread across the leveling journey, in the new regions and the old ones alike.

Source

Blizzard announcementForever editorial artwork · © Blizzard Entertainment

Chapter 2 of 6Changes 06 to 13

A fresh beginning

A new race, new combinations and every class reworked.

A new race on both sides, six combinations the original game never allowed, and all twenty-seven talent trees revisited. The shape of a character is familiar. What fills it is not.

Same classes. New reasons to roll one again.

Forever press kit · © Blizzard Entertainment

A Skyborne adventurer against the cloud-covered landscape of Zephras Isle — Forever key art · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 6 of 30.Character · Race

The Skyborne

A new playable race, on both sides, with a starting isle of its own.

A new playable race that both factions can take, which is unusual enough to change how a guild thinks about its roster.

In more detail

The Alliance follows an arcane path and the Horde an elemental one, which is why each faction gets a different signature class. Both sides also offer Warrior, Hunter, Rogue and Druid. The race and its starting experience need the optional paid upgrade.

Source

Blizzard announcementForever key art · © Blizzard Entertainment

A line-up of characters in the newly allowed race and class combinations — Forever press kit · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 7 of 30.Character · Race

Six new race and class combinations

Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, Undead Paladin.

Six class doors that were shut to a race in the original game open, which is the cheapest way to make a character you have played before feel new.

In more detail

Six at launch, with more planned for later updates. Each one opens a class to a race that could never take it in the original game.

AllianceGnome Priest
AllianceHuman Hunter
AllianceDwarf Shaman
HordeOrc Mage
HordeTroll Warlock
HordeUndead Paladin

Source

Blizzard announcementForever press kit · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 8 of 30.Character · Racials

Racials, rebuilt

Original races get redesigned kits: two active and two passive abilities each.

Picking a race for a raid spot has been a quiet tax on character choice since 2004. Bringing every race to the same shape is aimed squarely at that.

In more detail

Rather than the uneven original spread, every race is brought to the same shape. The rework is aimed at making race choice less of a raid-roster decision.

Source

Blizzard announcement

Blizzard's announced Paladin talent interface with Holy, Protection and Retribution trees — Announcement screenshot · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 9 of 30.Character · Talents

Every talent tree reworked

All 27 revisited, with the three-tree shape kept.

Every build guide written for Classic needs reading again, and it is why our own calculator waits for real client data instead of reusing Classic's.

In more detail

The familiar structure stays: three trees per class, points spent from the top down. What changed is what is in them, which is why our own calculator reads the trees straight from the client rather than from Classic data.

Source

Blizzard announcementAnnouncement screenshot · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 10 of 30.Character · Talents

A new 16-point talent

A milestone added between the 11 and 21-point talents.

A milestone at 16 means a build commits to a tree earlier than it used to, which changes the first twenty levels more than the last ten.

In more detail

The single-point milestones used to sit at 11, 21 and 31. Forever adds one at 16, which changes how early a build commits to a tree.

11points16New21points31points

Source

Blizzard announcement

Change 11 of 30.Character · Abilities

New class abilities

Paladins gain Holy Strike, and Seal of Fury turns Judgment into a taunt.

The Paladin example shows the shape of the reworks: not more buttons for their own sake, but an ability that fixes something a specialization could not do.

In more detail

Blizzard used the Paladin as the worked example: a new strike, and a seal that changes what Judgment does, which gives Protection a real taunt.

Source

Blizzard announcement

Change 12 of 30.Character · Abilities

Buffs become baseline

Blessing of Kings, Divine Spirit and others move into the class toolkit.

A group stops being assembled around who spent points where, which matters most to the specializations nobody used to invite.

In more detail

Buffs that used to cost a deep talent become part of the class. The stated intent is that a group is not built around who spent points where.

Source

Community comparison

Change 13 of 30.Character · Design intentAnnounced intent

Every specialization viable

Blizzard's stated aim is a place in dungeons and raids for all of them.

This is the reason given for the three changes above, so it is worth reading them together rather than on its own.

In more detail

An intention, not a shipped number. It is the reason given for the talent, ability and buff reworks above, so it is worth reading them together.

Source

Community comparison

Chapter 3 of 6Changes 14 to 17

A place to pause

Campfires you build together, and far more to craft.

The cooking fire stops being a crafting station and becomes the reason to stop walking: somewhere to rest, repair, meet a group and put a profession to work for the people around you.

The best part of a long road is where you stop.

Forever press kit · © Blizzard Entertainment

A campfire glowing beside a tent beneath the trees — Announcement screenshot · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 14 of 30.Camping · Social

Camping

A Cooking Fire becomes a place to rest, repair, visit vendors and meet a group.

It gives a long road somewhere to stop, which is the part of a slow game that usually has no design behind it at all.

In more detail

The fire stops being a cooking station and becomes the reason to stop walking. Sit and rest to pick up one-hour buffs from whatever the camp holds.

Source

Blizzard announcementAnnouncement screenshot · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 15 of 30.Camping · Professions

Profession camp objects

Every profession crafts something for the fire, each with its own buff or workspace.

It turns a profession into something you bring to a group rather than something you level on your own.

In more detail

One object per player, on a shared one-hour cooldown. A Basic Campfire holds three objects; upgraded fires hold five or ten. Camp buffs do not stack with the matching class buff.

What it brings to camp

Attack Power

A blacksmith brings an edge to the next fight. The wheel provides an Attack Power buff to rested campers.

Source

Blizzard announcement

Change 16 of 30.Camping · Professions

600+ new recipes

More to make across every profession while you level.

A profession stays worth training while you climb, instead of becoming a chore you finish once you are 60.

In more detail

Spread through the leveling journey rather than saved for the end, so a profession stays worth training as you go.

Source

Blizzard announcement

Change 17 of 30.Camping · Professions

Blueprint drops

Dungeon bosses drop Blueprints that unlock advanced recipes and camp upgrades.

A dungeon becomes worth running for something other than gear, which is what keeps one in rotation after the drop you wanted stops mattering.

In more detail

A reason to run a dungeon for something other than gear: the drop feeds your profession and the campfire rather than your item level.

Source

Blizzard announcement

Chapter 4 of 6Changes 18 to 20

Every journey counts

Account-wide progress that follows every character.

Progress earned on one character is credited to the account. A second character starts further along than the first one did, and what the track hands back is something to keep rather than something to keep up with.

Nothing you do is only for one character.

Forever press kit · © Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard's Legacy Challenges screen with categories including classes, tradeskills, adventure, dungeons and raids — Announcement screenshot · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 18 of 30.Legacy · Account-wide

The Legacy system

Account-wide progress earned on any character and spent on all of them.

The oldest cost of rolling an alt, starting again from nothing, is the thing this is pointed at.

In more detail

Class levels, profession milestones and other challenges earn Legacy Points for the account. An alt is no longer starting from nothing.

Source

Blizzard announcementAnnouncement screenshot · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 19 of 30.Legacy · Progression

Legacy trees

Adventure, Professions and Resourcefulness, each spent per character.

Shared points, separate spending: a second character benefits from the first without turning into a copy of it.

In more detail

The points are shared, the spending is not: every character chooses its own path. Announced perks include more rested experience, extra gathering materials and fewer class reagents.

Source

Blizzard announcementAnnouncement screenshot · © Blizzard Entertainment

Legacy reward track showing cosmetic rewards including the Spectral Bear Cub — Announcement screenshot · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 20 of 30.Legacy · Cosmetics

The Legacy reward track

Account-wide cosmetics and prestige, without competitive power.

Rewards without power attached, so the track is something to collect rather than something to keep up with.

In more detail

Rewards you keep rather than rewards that make you stronger, including the Spectral Bear Cub shown in the announcement.

Source

Blizzard announcementAnnouncement screenshot · © Blizzard Entertainment

Chapter 5 of 6Changes 21 to 27

Beyond the beaten path

Nine dungeons, three new endgames and reworked loot.

Nine dungeons spread across the whole climb, two raid sizes at 60, a fifteen against fifteen battleground, and loot tables reviewed from one end to the other.

Azeroth feels different when there is something new around every corner.

Forever press kit · © Blizzard Entertainment

The entrance terrace of the Shaper's Terrace dungeon — Forever press kit · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 21 of 30.Challenges · Dungeons

Nine new dungeons

New doors opening throughout the climb, not only at the end of it.

Nine doors across the whole level range rather than nine more at 60, which is what stops the climb turning into a queue for the same three instances.

In more detail

From the Hall of Thanes at 13 to Shaper's Terrace at 58, the nine sit across the whole level range. The bar chart shows where each one lands.

Hall of Thanes
Ironforge
13–18
Ruins of Lordaeron
Lordaeron
15–20
Excavation above Whelgar's
Wetlands
24–29
City of Dalaran
Alterac Mountains
28–33
The Drowned City
Stranglethorn Vale
35–40
Krol'dok Stronghold
Riverglades
40–55
Alcaz Prison
Dustwallow Marsh
48–53
Blackmaw Hold
Azshara
55–60
Shaper's Terrace
Un'Goro Crater
58–60

See the dungeon atlas

Source

A hall deep inside the Barrow Deeps — Forever press kit · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 22 of 30.Challenges · Raids

New 10-player raids

A smaller endgame group size returns as its own tier.

Ten is a size a guild can field on a weeknight without running a recruitment drive first.

In more detail

The Barrow Deeps is the announced ten-player raid. Ten is a size a guild can field without a recruitment drive.

10playersThe Barrow Deeps

Source

The burning slopes of the Hyjal Summit raid — Forever press kit · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 23 of 30.Challenges · Raids

New 20-player raids

A second new raid size at level 60.

A second size above ten gives a guild somewhere to grow into without needing to find forty people.

In more detail

Hyjal Summit is the announced twenty-player raid, sitting above the ten-player tier.

20playersHyjal Summit

Source

A contested control point on the Darkspear Islands — Forever press kit · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 24 of 30.Challenges · PvP

Darkspear Islands

A fifteen against fifteen battleground off the coast of Kalimdor.

Fifteen a side sits between Warsong Gulch and Arathi Basin, a battleground size the original game never had.

In more detail

Capture and defend control points. A new battleground size, between Warsong Gulch and Arathi Basin.

Source

Change 25 of 30.Challenges · Loot

Complete itemization rework

Dungeon loot reviewed, hundreds of additions, unique boss drops raised to Rare.

Dungeon loot that was safe to skip in Classic gets looked at again, and a boss drop promoted to Rare changes what a run is worth.

In more detail

Existing items revised rather than left as they were, with new items added throughout and boss drops that were once Uncommon promoted to Rare quality.

Source

Blizzard announcement

Change 26 of 30.Challenges · Stats

One hit. One crit.

Melee, ranged and spell versions become a single stat.

Three stats collapse into one, so a piece of gear stops asking you to solve the same puzzle three separate times.

In more detail

Three separate stats collapse into one each, and healing bonuses also grant one third as much spell damage. Gear stops being three different puzzles.

Source

Blizzard announcement

Change 27 of 30.Challenges · Loot

More rare and world drops

Improved world epics and hundreds of rare-creature drops.

More reasons to leave the main road, which is the whole argument for a world you are meant to travel slowly.

In more detail

New stats that reduce enemy dodge or parry, situational trinkets, and effects tied to specific creatures or environments. More reasons to leave the main road.

Source

Blizzard announcement

Chapter 6 of 6Changes 28 to 30

Better with company

Realmless regions, two-part names and optional transmog.

Realms give way to regions and rulesets, a name gets a second half, and transmog becomes a switch you decide rather than a decision taken for you.

Same world. More to discover.

Blizzard's selection screen for Normal, PvP and Roleplay rulesets — Announcement screenshot · © Blizzard Entertainment

Change 28 of 30.Together · Realms

Realmless regions

Normal, PvP and Roleplaying rulesets replace named realms.

What you have to match to play with a friend becomes a region, a ruleset and a faction rather than a realm name, which is the most common reason people give up on playing together.

In more detail

You pick a region, a ruleset and a faction instead of a realm, which is also what you have to match to play with someone. Hardcore follows after launch.

Source

Change 29 of 30.Together · Identity

First and last names

Two-part character names, unique across a region rather than a realm.

A region-wide name space is far more crowded than one realm's, so a second part is what keeps the name you wanted available.

In more detail

Blizzard's example is Ana Forever. With realms gone, a region-wide name space needs two parts to stay workable. The same options panel also sets a preferred online language for all your characters in a region.

First name + last nameAna ForeverBlizzard's example of a two-part character name, unique per region.

Source

Community comparison

Change 30 of 30.Together · Appearance

Optional transmog

Switch it off to see equipped gear. Classic Mode starts with it hidden.

Classic's look is part of why people came back, so Forever makes it a switch you decide rather than a decision taken for you.

In more detail

Appearance collecting stays available either way. The choice is about what you see in the world, not what you can earn.

Source

Blizzard announcement

That is all thirty

There's a place
for you by the fire.

Find your class Gather your party

Chapter 1 of 6: A wider world

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Hall of Thanes

Ruins of Lordaeron

Excavation above Whelgar's

City of Dalaran

The Drowned City

Krol'dok Stronghold

Alcaz Prison

Blackmaw Hold

Shaper's Terrace

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There's a place
for you by the fire.