Warcraft Forever

LaunchesNov 4

FactionHorde, if Victor

Saying yes10 of 15

A third World of Warcraft, and this one stops at 60

Warcraft
Forever

Announced 12 September 2026, out 4 November. A third permanent version of the game beside retail and Classic — not a Classic server, not an expansion. Level 1 to 60, four new zones, nine new dungeons, a new race, and 60 is where it stays.

Wowhead's Forever hubBeta closes October 22Launch is November 4, 3pm PST

Where it sits next to the two games we already have

What it actually is#

Not a Classic server. A third game.

Original Azeroth with its unfinished parts finished, plus zones, dungeons and a race that never existed — then a permanent stop at 60. New content keeps arriving, but it arrives at 60.

Everyone starts at level 1 on 4 November. Nothing carries over from retail, Classic or Season of Discovery.

Blizzard's key art for Forever — a mixed party on a ridge above a misted lake city at sunset.

Your subscription covers it

A standard sub or Game Time includes it. The packs only add the Skyborne, beta access and cosmetics.

A fresh start for everybody

No boosts, no transfers in. Nobody arrives geared.

No expansion at the end

60 is permanent. The roadmap to summer 2027 is all raids, dungeons, zones and systems at 60.

Fifteen asked, ten straight yeses, one flat no

Who is playing#

Answers as of 4 October. Ask again in November.

10In
3It depends
1Not answered
1Out

Yes
Killer
Organising it. Warrior or Shaman, not decided
Yes
Razzo
In since Ulduar. Warlock, claimed
Yes
Darby
New to the group, played as far as TBC. Orc Warlock, claimed
Yes
Devin
Priest or Paladin, still deciding
Yes
Ferrum
Joined in 2009. Paladin, claimed — Undead if Horde
Yes
Dark
Leaning Hunter. Would have picked Alliance, not a deal breaker
Yes
Darkway
In since 2010. Undead Mage, planned
Yes
Richard
Founded the guild in 2008. Druid, claimed
Yes
Evan
Richard's son, new to WoW. Class open
Yes
Jonny
Leaning Hunter
Horde PvP, elsewhere
Victor
Hunter, with his Classic group. Playing with him means Horde and PvP
Will try
Sam
Almost certainly retail first
For the rewards, maybe
Luis
The packs carry retail cosmetics, so he can buy in without levelling
Unknown
Matthew
Joined in the FF14 years, never done vanilla
No
Vod
Out, clearly and early

Ten yeses is two five-mans on a good night, or one with spares on a thin one. It fits December too: every raid tier ships a ten built for a dungeon group to graduate into, and The Barrow Deeps at ten is exactly this roster. Hyjal Summit at twenty still means joining somebody else's guild.

Six grouping pools, and a character can only ever play with the others in its own cell. Horde is only settled if we play with Victor — and his group is in Horde PvP, so joining him picks the cell outright. Not joining leaves all six open.

Decision	Status	What it costs us
Faction	Horde — if we play with Victor	Joining his Horde PvP group settles faction and ruleset in one go; otherwise faction is open. Darby's Orc and both Undead picks assume Horde, and Dark would have gone Alliance. Either side keeps every class and sees eight of the nine new dungeons.
Ruleset	Open, and permanent	PvE, PvP, Roleplay and Hardcore are separate pools with no transfers; only battlegrounds cross them. PvP allows one faction per account, for good. Settle it before 27 October — a name can only exist on one ruleset, so you cannot reserve on both.
Guild	Open — and it decides the ruleset	Run Ambient again or join an existing guild. A guild can be left; the ruleset it plays on cannot, so this is on the 27 October deadline too. A character is in one guild only, so "Ambient, with someone else raid leading" means either Ambient as a chat channel or cross-guild raid invites — say which before proposing it.

Six have picked, two are leaning, two are blank

The party we need#

The main tank is the only slot the group cannot start without, and nobody has claimed it.

Role	Who	Class	What it brings
Main tank	Killer if he goes Warrior, otherwise Dark — unclaimed	Warrior	Still the best tank at 60. Protection gains Charge in Defensive Stance and +10% damage behind a shield.
Main healer	Devin, if he takes it	Priest	Strongest healer, plus Shackle Undead and Fortitude. Discipline is a real healing tree now. Holy Paladin covers it with a narrower kit.
Second tank	Ferrum	Paladin	Makes a second group possible at all. Kings for everyone, off the trainer.
Second healer	Richard	Druid	Wild Growth, Mark of the Wild, Rebirth — and bear form when a tank is out, so he covers either slot.
Summons	Darby and Razzo	Warlocks	Banish, Fear, healthstones, and the only summons in the game: no summoning stones, no dungeon finder.
Damage	Darkway	Mage	Polymorph, portals, food and water, Intellect. Read the crowd-control row below.
Damage	Dark and Jonny, leaning	Hunters	Good damage, and Freezing Trap is the only crowd control. Dark's seat becomes the tank if Killer goes Shaman.
New player	Evan	Open	Levels alongside Richard and picks after trying a couple of classes to 10.

Undead Paladin and Dwarf Shaman are new, so all nine classes exist on both sides — the faction call costs races, never a class.

Class	Horde races	Alliance races
Druid	Tauren, Skyborne	Night Elf, Skyborne
Hunter	Orc, Tauren, Troll, Skyborne	Human †, Dwarf, Night Elf, Skyborne
Mage	Orc †, Undead, Troll	Human, Gnome, Skyborne
Paladin	Undead †	Human, Dwarf
Priest	Undead, Troll	Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome †
Rogue	Orc, Undead, Troll, Skyborne	Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome, Skyborne
Shaman	Orc, Tauren, Troll, Skyborne	Dwarf †
Warlock	Orc, Undead, Troll †	Human, Gnome
Warrior	Orc, Undead, Tauren, Troll, Skyborne	Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome, Skyborne

† is new to Forever. Skyborne costs $29.99 — see below.

Open question	Where it stands
The main tank	Killer's Warrior-or-Shaman choice is the tank question. Shaman hands it to Dark, or to Ferrum and Richard's bear as a stopgap. Ask Dark directly rather than reading it off his class.
Crowd control on the Horde route	The route is undead end to end — Ruins of Lordaeron at 15–20, Scholomance and Stratholme at 58–60 — and Polymorph does not work on undead. Shackle Undead does, which is the case for Devin going Priest. Hunters lost Wyvern Sting and bring only Freezing Trap. Past that it is Darby's Banish and Fear.
Check on the beta	Whether two Paladins' blessings stack on one target — the whole case for a second Paladin — and whether Protection Paladin has a taunt. Neither is published.

Ten people, two groups

What cancels a night is the tank or healer being out. Ferrum and Richard make a second five-man possible, and Richard's Druid is the margin on either slot.

Shaman is down to Killer

Razzo's switch took Windfury and the totems with it. If Killer goes Warrior, Shaman is the gap left for Evan.

Claim the class, not the spec

The trees still move before 4 November. The calculators are there when you want the spec.

Nine primaries, twenty slots, and a camp that only works if we differ

Professions, spread thin#

For once there is a mechanical reason not to overlap.

Camp features are unlocked by profession and share a one-hour cooldown per player, so a camp with four buffs standing in it is four people with four professions. Left to chance, it is four miners and no tailor. This split is a suggestion — Ferrum's Blacksmithing is the only one anybody has picked.

Character	Professions	What it puts into the group
Paladin · Ferrum	Mining + Blacksmithing	His pick. Plate and weapons, stones for everyone, Sharpening Wheel at camp.
Warrior · Killer or Dark	Mining + Engineering	The second miner. Bombs on the way up, repair bot at 60.
Priest · Devin	Herbalism + Alchemy	Potions and elixirs, Incense Candle at camp.
Warlock · Razzo	Skinning + Leatherworking	Leather for the Druid, mail for the Hunters.
Warlock · Darby	Tailoring + Enchanting	Bags on day one, the only enchanter, and the Faction Banner.
Hunter · Dark or Jonny	Herbalism + Skinning	Pure gathering. Pays for the mount at 40.
Everyone else	Open	The six above already cover all nine primaries. Pick whatever pays for your own gear — for Evan, two gathering professions.

All three secondaries, for everyone

Cooking builds the campfire, so no Cooking means no camp. First Aid, because nothing rescues a bad pull. Fishing only as far as Cooking needs — Kings killed the Fish Bowl.

Gather now, craft at level

Blacksmithing at 200 on a level 30 costs more gold than a level 30 has seen. Let the gathering pay for it.

It can be undone

Professions can be dropped and relearned. The class cannot.

Blizzard's own roadmap, and the dates read off it

The calendar#

Everything past winter is a season, not a date.

When	What happens
September 17 – October 22	Beta. Cap starts at 20, raised to 30 before it closes.
October 27	Name reservation and character creation, for pack holders
November 4	Launch, 3:00pm PST
November 11	Invite-a-Friend codes expire — a free week from launch, not a rolling trial
December 9	Raids unlock: The Barrow Deeps (10), Hyjal Summit (20), Onyxia's Lair (40)
Winter 2026	Forever Hardcore, as its own sealed mode
Spring 2027	Two raids, two dungeons, new quests, a new area, a legendary questline, PvP refresh
Summer 2027	A revamped iconic raid, another new raid, two dungeons, PvP refresh, professions and Legacy updates

Blizzard's 2026–2027 roadmap for Forever, from the September beta through to next summer.

Four zones that were never finished, and one that was never there

The new world#

Over a thousand new quests, spread across all sixty levels.

Zone	Levels	What is there
Zephras Isle	1–12	The Skyborne starting zone, anchored in Skywall
Riverglades	35–45	Rivers, grasslands and trade routes, 150+ quests. A new boat from Tanaris lands at Powderfuse Port
Mount Hyjal	60	The aftermath of Archimonde, and December's twenty-player raid
Shen'dralas	60	Max-level ruins between Mulgore and Desolace

Zephras Isle — the Skyborne home, and levels 1–12 if you roll one — **Zephras Isle** — the Skyborne home, and levels 1–12 if you roll one

Riverglades at 35–45, reached by a new boat route to Powderfuse Port — **Riverglades** at 35–45, reached by a new boat route to Powderfuse Port

Shen'dralas, the max-level ruins between Mulgore and Desolace — **Shen'dralas**, the max-level ruins between Mulgore and Desolace

Mount Hyjal at 60, where December's twenty-player raid is — **Mount Hyjal** at 60, where December's twenty-player raid is

Nine new ones dropped into the twenty that were already there

Every dungeon, 13 to 60#

The whole run on one axis, so the gaps are visible.

Original Classic dungeonNew at launchFaction-gated

DM-N59–60

Shapers58–60

Scholo58–60

Gnomeregan31–37Krol'dok Stronghold40–55DM-W58–60

City of Dalaran28–33Scarlet Monastery Cathedral39–45LBRS57–60

The Deadmines18–24Blackfathom Deeps25–31The Drowned City35–40Maraudon48–54Blackmaw Hold55–60

Ruins of Lordaeron15–20Excavation Site: Wetlands24–29Scarlet Monastery Graveyard31–37Razorfen Downs38–44Alcaz Prison48–53Dire Maul East55–60

Ragefire Chasm13–19Shadowfang Keep23–29Razorfen Kraul30–36Scarlet Monastery Armory37–43Zul'Farrak45–51Blackrock Depths52–60

Hall of Thanes13–18Wailing Caverns19–25The Stockade26–32Scarlet Monastery Library34–40Uldaman44–50Sunken Temple52–58Strat59–60

15202530354045505560

Green is new at launch, blue was always there, gold edges are the faction-gated pair. Hover for full names.

New dungeon	Levels	Where it is
The Hall of Thanes	13–18	Under Ironforge. Alliance only
Ruins of Lordaeron	15–20	What is left of the city, and what is still living in it. Horde only
Excavation Site: Wetlands	24–29	Whelgar's Excavation Site
City of Dalaran	28–33	The barrier is down and the Kirin Tor have lost control of it
The Drowned City	35–40	A troll ruin off the Stranglethorn coast
Krol'dok Stronghold	40–45	Riverglades. Older charts still say 40–55
Alcaz Prison	48–53	Alcaz Island, north-east of Dustwallow Marsh
Blackmaw Hold	55–60	A furbolg city in North Azshara
Shaper's Terrace	58–60	Un'Goro Crater

The Hall of Thanes, 13–18, under Ironforge — Alliance only — **The Hall of Thanes**, 13–18, under Ironforge — Alliance only

Ruins of Lordaeron, 15–20, and what is still living in it — Horde only — **Ruins of Lordaeron**, 15–20, and what is still living in it — Horde only

City of Dalaran, 28–33, with the barrier down — **City of Dalaran**, 28–33, with the barrier down

The Drowned City, 35–40, off the Stranglethorn coast — **The Drowned City**, 35–40, off the Stranglethorn coast

Krol'dok Stronghold, from 40, in Riverglades — **Krol'dok Stronghold**, from 40, in Riverglades

Shaper's Terrace, 58–60, in Un'Goro Crater — **Shaper's Terrace**, 58–60, in Un'Goro Crater

The raids arrive together on 9 December: The Barrow Deeps at ten, Hyjal Summit at twenty, Onyxia's Lair at forty. Every tier carries a ten and a twenty, and every dungeon and raid has one difficulty — nothing to re-run a tier for. The ten is the tier we plan for.

Quests and dungeons together, one tab per faction

The levelling route#

Horde if we play with Victor. Alliance is the other half of that decision.

Dungeon kills barely give experience now; the quests inside give a lot. The first clear with the quests in hand is worth more than ever and the third is close to worthless, so make sure everyone has the chain before summoning in.

Blizzard's Your Adventure Begins walks through the new quests, characters and rewards on the way to 60 — six minutes, and the best picture of what the route is like to play rather than plan.

Levels	Where to quest	Dungeons on the way
1–12	Durotar, Mulgore or Tirisfal — Zephras Isle if you rolled Skyborne	Nothing is open yet
12–20	The Barrens, then Silverpine	Ragefire Chasm (13–19) inside Orgrimmar; Ruins of Lordaeron (15–20)
19–25	The Barrens and Hillsbrad	Wailing Caverns (19–25)
23–31	Stonetalon, Thousand Needles, Hillsbrad	Shadowfang Keep (23–29); Blackfathom Deeps (25–31)
28–34	Arathi Highlands and Desolace	City of Dalaran (28–33); Excavation Site: Wetlands (24–29) only if the group will cross for it
30–37	Desolace and Thousand Needles	Razorfen Kraul (30–36), SM Graveyard (31–37)
35–43	Stranglethorn, Dustwallow Marsh, Badlands	SM Library (34–40), The Drowned City (35–40), SM Armory (37–43)
38–45	Swamp of Sorrows, Tanaris, Riverglades	Razorfen Downs (38–44), SM Cathedral (39–45), Krol'dok Stronghold from 40
44–51	Tanaris, the Hinterlands, Feralas	Uldaman (44–50), Zul'Farrak (45–51)
48–54	Feralas, Un'Goro, Searing Gorge	Maraudon (48–54), Alcaz Prison (48–53)
52–58	Burning Steppes, Blasted Lands, Western Plaguelands	Blackrock Depths (52–60), Sunken Temple (52–58)
55–60	Eastern Plaguelands, Winterspring, Silithus, Mount Hyjal — Shen'dralas once you are 60	Dire Maul (55–60), Blackmaw Hold (55–60), LBRS (57–60), Scholomance and Stratholme (58–60), Shaper's Terrace (58–60)

Gnomeregan and the Stockade sit in Alliance capitals and are not worth the trip. The awkward one is Excavation Site: Wetlands at 24–29 — Alliance ground, and it only happens if somebody puts it in the calendar.

Levels	Where to quest	Dungeons on the way
1–12	Elwynn, Dun Morogh or Teldrassil — Zephras Isle if you rolled Skyborne	Nothing is open yet
12–18	Westfall, then Loch Modan	Hall of Thanes (13–18) under Ironforge
18–24	Redridge, then Darkshore or Wetlands	The Deadmines (18–24), a tram ride from Ironforge
24–29	Wetlands and Duskwood	Excavation Site: Wetlands (24–29) in the zone you are standing in; Shadowfang Keep (23–29)
26–32	Duskwood, Hillsbrad, Ashenvale	The Stockade (26–32) in Stormwind; Blackfathom Deeps (25–31)
28–34	Hillsbrad and Arathi Highlands	City of Dalaran (28–33)
31–37	Arathi, Stranglethorn, Desolace	Gnomeregan (31–37), SM Graveyard (31–37), Razorfen Kraul (30–36)
35–40	Stranglethorn and Alterac	SM Library (34–40), The Drowned City (35–40)
37–45	Badlands, Swamp of Sorrows, Riverglades	SM Armory (37–43), Razorfen Downs (38–44), SM Cathedral (39–45), Krol'dok Stronghold from 40
44–51	Tanaris, the Hinterlands, Feralas	Uldaman (44–50), Zul'Farrak (45–51)
48–54	Feralas, Un'Goro, Searing Gorge	Maraudon (48–54), Alcaz Prison (48–53)
52–58	Burning Steppes, Blasted Lands, Western Plaguelands	Blackrock Depths (52–60), Sunken Temple (52–58)
55–60	Eastern Plaguelands, Winterspring, Silithus, Mount Hyjal — Shen'dralas once you are 60	Dire Maul (55–60), Blackmaw Hold (55–60), LBRS (57–60), Scholomance and Stratholme (58–60), Shaper's Terrace (58–60)

Brackets are intent, and the beta will move some. Riverglades overlaps most of the Eastern Kingdoms mid-game — take it or Badlands and Swamp of Sorrows, not both, or you will out-level the quests.

The first new race in vanilla Azeroth

The Skyborne#

Behind the $29.99 pack, and not actually neutral.

You pick Horde or Alliance at level 1 on Zephras Isle, and the racials differ. Horde's Windshapers get Walk on Air (a 10-second glide), 1% haste, 5% extra damage to elementals and a run-speed blessing.

Six classes: Warrior, Hunter, Rogue and Druid on both sides, Shaman on Horde, Mage on Alliance. That puts Killer, Richard, Dark and Jonny all within reach of a $29.99 pick.

The old races' racials were reworked too — Undead gains Touch of the Grave — so check Hyjal's racials before rolling on reflex.

A Skyborne above Zephras Isle, from Blizzard's Forever site.

Things vanilla never had, for better and worse

What is new#

No realms, no Token, no dungeon finder.

There are no realms

Players are sorted into rulesets — PvE, PvP, Roleplay, and Hardcore after launch — and group only inside their own, battlegrounds excepted. Names are region-wide, one ruleset per name.

The Legacy system

An account-wide perk tree fed by exploring, levelling, professions, PvP, reputations and clears. The perks are non-combat: Talented moves your first talent point to level 5, Frequent Flier halves flight costs.

Camping

Train Cooking, craft a campfire, and add features from your professions that anyone passing can use.

The new look is a toggle

Rebuilt water, lighting, terrain and HD models, each with its own switch in your own client.

No dungeon finder

No summoning stones either. A Classic-style LFG listing: you list, you whisper, you walk to the door.

Transmog, optionally

Can be switched off. Drops unlock the look for everyone eligible to loot, and silhouette is kept — cloth over cloth only.

No Token, no boosts, no GDKP

GDKP is banned outright, and gold buying is punished hard.

PvP without a ladder

No rated PvP. A 14-rank Honor track that resets every season, and a new battleground in Darkspear Islands.

The modern client

Quest tracker, ping wheel, a bigger quest log and bank, focus targets, modern nameplates, full controller support, and a three-minute warning before your layer refreshes.

Dual spec, maybe

In the demo build, never announced. Do not build the group on it.

The only decision that costs money

Which edition#

Nothing here is required to play.

Edition	Price	What is in it
Skyborne Heroic	$29.99	The Skyborne and Zephras Isle, a mount, a transmog set, a toy, housing décor, early name reservation, one Invite-a-Friend code. No beta.
Skyborne Epic	$59.99	Everything above, plus beta access, 30 days of Game Time, more cosmetics, and three Invite-a-Friend codes.
Forever Collection	$79.99	Everything above, plus Warcraft III: Reforged and the Forsaken Kingdom campaign. On sale only until 11 January 2027.

What each Forever pack contains — the Midnight column is the retail housing décor.

The packs also carry cosmetics for modern retail, so buying one and never making a Forever character is coherent — which answers Luis.

Nine classes, nine trees, all of them changed

Talent calculators#

Forever's trees, not Classic's. Plan against these.

Druidhyjal.ccBalance · Feral Combat · Restoration
Hunterhyjal.ccBeast Mastery · Marksmanship · Survival
Magehyjal.ccArcane · Fire · Frost
Paladinhyjal.ccHoly · Protection · Retribution
Priesthyjal.ccDiscipline · Holy · Shadow Magic
Roguehyjal.ccAssassination · Combat · Subtlety
Shamanhyjal.ccElemental Combat · Enhancement · Restoration
Warlockhyjal.ccAffliction · Demonology · Destruction
Warriorhyjal.ccArms · Fury · Protection
Legacy treehyjal.ccEvery perk with per-rank numbers
Racialshyjal.ccTen races, four racials each, with the real values
Wowhead's calculatorswowhead.comThe other set

These are Hyjal's, read straight out of the beta client, and they list what each tree lost — which no other calculator does.

What changed	Detail
The shape did not	Still three trees, still 51 points at 60.
The capstones are new	Every tree ends in a new 31-point talent — Penance, Prayer of Mending, Wild Growth, Berserk, Hot Streak and the rest.
Weapon specialisation is gone	Off the Warrior, the Rogue and Enhancement. Weapon-type crit lives on races now, and no spec needs a particular weapon.
Paladin blessings left the tree	Kings, Sanctuary and Consecration are baseline and trainer-taught. Every blessing lasts an hour.
The Hunter lost three	Wyvern Sting, Trap Mastery and Improved Feign Death.

It is the modern client, so it is the modern rules

Addons and the UI#

Not the Classic client. Plan for retail's restrictions.

Forever runs retail's UI and almost all of its 12.1.5 API, which brings addon disarmament with it.

Addons come from retail

Midnight's API, not Classic's. Old Classic-API addons will not carry over.

Outside the fight, everything works

Maps, bags, auction house, unit frames, nameplates, cast bars. The client has its own quest helper.

Inside the fight, addons go blind

Combat state is a secret value — an addon can show it but not read it. Boss timers, buff-watching WeakAuras and damage meters are what goes.

Retail's answer is to build the replacements in. Nobody has said whether Forever does, and twenty people in Hyjal Summit on 9 December without a boss timer is a different evening to the one everyone remembers. The single most useful thing to check on the beta.

Where the information actually comes from

Sites and tools#

Hyjal has the client behind it. Wowhead has the guides. ForeverChanges has the diff.

Hyjalhyjal.ccBuilt from the beta client: talents, Legacy, racials
Hyjal's world maphyjal.ccThe client's own terrain in 3D, every zone labelled
Hyjal's build diffshyjal.ccWhat changed between beta builds
ForeverChangesforeverchanges.proEvery change from Classic in one list, plus a map
Wowhead Foreverwowhead.comNews and guides, updated daily
Forever databasewowhead.comItems, quests and spells
The content roadmapwowhead.comEvery announced release and when
Official Forever siteworldofwarcraft.blizzard.comBlizzard's own page
Battle.net shopus.shop.battle.netThe three packs
Icy Veins Forevericy-veins.comClass and system guides
Warcraft Wikiwarcraft.wiki.ggLore, and what Hyjal and Shen'dralas were before
CurseForgecurseforge.comThe addon library

Where Hyjal and Wowhead disagree on a number, believe Hyjal until Blizzard publishes.

What was actually shown

The trailers#

Cinematic, gameplay, and the developer piece, in that order.

If you only watch one, make it the third — Evolving a Timeless World explains the reasoning rather than selling the thing. Below: the Deep Dive for systems, the Hardcore panel, and Found Photographs on Zephras Isle.