World of Warcraft: Forever expands the original level 1–60 Azeroth into a permanent game with new places to explore and new reasons to revisit familiar ones. The beta is now underway, but its opening level-20 test is only a small part of the announced release. Here is how the world, classes, group content, and major systems fit together.

A permanent home in original Azeroth

Forever is built around exploration, leveling, cooperation, and the identity of individual classes. Blizzard intends the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor to keep growing over time, with effort and rewards tied to playing in that world.

The familiar constraints still shape the adventure: there are no flying mounts and no level scaling. Travel, preparation, and choosing an appropriate challenge therefore remain part of planning an evening with friends.

The story begins in original Azeroth's early era, before Kazzak reopens the Dark Portal. Its separate continuity gives local characters and unfinished places room for new stories without requiring the adventure to follow later expansion campaigns.

Sources[1] Blizzard Entertainment[3] Blizzard Entertainment[5] Blizzard Entertainment

Inspect 6 claim records
Forever · positioning

Claim · positioningA permanent World of Warcraft experience alongside modern WoW and Classic, rather than a temporary season.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · level range

Claim · levelRangeLevels 1–60 form the core journey.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · flying mounts

Claim · flyingMountsNo

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · level scaling

Claim · levelScalingNo

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · classic design pillars

Claim · classicDesignPillarsFamiliar, approachable play, Azeroth as the focus, Leveling and exploration matter alongside endgame, Social cooperation remains important

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · world story era

Claim · worldStoryEraThe new stories use original Azeroth's early Year 1 setting, before Kazzak reopens the Dark Portal, within Forever's own continuity.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Where the journey expands

Blizzard announces more than 1,000 new quests throughout levels 1–60, alongside additions to established starting areas and familiar zones.

RegionWhat it adds
Mount HyjalExplore the land recovering from Archimonde's defeat, including the route through Darkwhisper Gorge.
RivergladesA large frontier for roughly the mid-30s to mid-40s, connected to new sea travel through Powderfuse Port.
Shen'dralasA new area beyond southern Desolace, with stories tied to Eldre'Thalas, Dire Maul, and centaur history.
Zephras IsleA level 1–12 starting experience for the Skyborne, built around an island in an elemental crisis.

Sources[1] Blizzard Entertainment[3] Blizzard Entertainment

Inspect 7 claim records
Mount Hyjal · summary

Claim · summaryExplore a recovering Hyjal after Archimonde’s defeat, including a journey through Darkwhisper Gorge.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Riverglades · summary

Claim · summaryA mid-level frontier connected to neighboring regions, with new ship travel through Powderfuse Port.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Riverglades · level band

Claim · levelBandMuch of the mid-30s to mid-40s experience.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Approximate band, not a precise minimum/maximum.

Shen'dralas · summary

Claim · summaryA new area south of Desolace tied to Eldre’Thalas, Dire Maul, and the region’s centaur history.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Zephras Isle · summary

Claim · summaryAn announced level 1–12 starting experience for the Skyborne, with links to Skywall and elemental wind spirits.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Zephras Isle · crisis

Claim · crisisThe elemental patrons have disappeared, the island's anchoring pylons are failing, and rival groups contest its future.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · new quests

Claim · newQuestsmore than 1,000 new quests

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Strict lower bound; not an exact total.

Forested slopes and ancient towers beneath a vast tree on Mount Hyjal.
Mount Hyjal in Blizzard’s Found Photos preview, one of the four named regions introduced for Forever.Official screenshot© Blizzard Entertainment

New ways to play a familiar class

Classic-style talent trees retain their familiar rows. The 11-, 21-, and 31-point milestones are joined by a new 16-point milestone, while selected former talent buffs become baseline abilities. The redesign combines unchanged talents with revisions and new choices.

Six additional race and class combinations are announced: Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, and Undead Paladin. Racial design uses two active and two passive abilities for each race.

Skyborne choose Alliance or Horde at character creation. Both factions offer Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, and Druid; Alliance Skyborne also have Mage, while Horde Skyborne also have Shaman. The race has its own druid forms and character customization.

Sources[1] Blizzard Entertainment[2] Blizzard Entertainment

Inspect 11 claim records
Forever · talent structure

Claim · talentStructureTalent trees retain the familiar Classic rows and structure.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · talent milestones

Claim · talentMilestones11 points, 16 points (new), 21 points, 31 points

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · talent revision

Claim · talentRevisionSome patch 1.12 talents remain unchanged, while others are adjusted or improved.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · baseline buff examples

Claim · baselineBuffExamplesDivine Spirit, Blessing of Kings, Improved Mark of the Wild

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Examples of former talent buffs becoming baseline, not a complete list.

Forever · new race class combinations

Claim · newRaceClassCombinationsGnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, Undead Paladin

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Six announced additions; no other combinations inferred.

Forever · racial design

Claim · racialDesignEach race is planned to have two active and two passive racial abilities.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Skyborne · faction choice

Claim · factionChoiceAlliance, Horde

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Skyborne · shared classes

Claim · sharedClassesWarrior, Hunter, Rogue, Druid

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Skyborne · alliance class

Claim · allianceClassMage is additionally available to Alliance Skyborne.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Skyborne · horde class

Claim · hordeClassShaman is additionally available to Horde Skyborne.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Skyborne · announced features

Claim · announcedFeaturesunique racial abilities, customizations, voices, dances, visual options, Skyborne-specific Druid forms

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: No racial numeric values asserted.

Systems that support the journey

  • Camping turns a Cooking fire into a shared rest stop with profession contributions, useful services, and temporary buffs.
  • Legacy challenges award points across alts. Each character allocates its own selection of perks, with a launch spending cap of 16 points.
  • Realmless play replaces the traditional realm list with Normal, PvP, and Roleplaying rulesets. Friends still need compatible ruleset and faction choices; Hardcore follows after launch.
  • Professions gain more than 600 recipes, including campsite objects and advanced recipes found through dungeon bosses.
  • Transmog can be hidden while appearance collection continues. Modern and Classic visual presets, HD and SD models, restored Classic animations for HD models, and official gamepad support provide further options.

Sources[1] Blizzard Entertainment[2] Blizzard Entertainment

Inspect 14 claim records
Camping · summary

Claim · summaryBasic Campfires create shared campsites where players can rest and contribute profession-made objects.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Legacy System · shared points

Claim · sharedPointsLegacy Points are shared across alternate characters; spending is separate for each character.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Legacy System · launch spend cap

Claim · launchSpendCapup to 16 points per character

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Realmless Azeroth · summary

Claim · summaryPlayers choose a ruleset rather than a traditional realm, with grouping limited to the same ruleset and faction.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Realmless Azeroth · rulesets

Claim · rulesetsNormal, PvP, Roleplaying, Hardcore

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Hardcore is planned after launch, not available at launch.

Realmless Azeroth · hardcore availability

Claim · hardcoreAvailabilityHardcore is planned after launch; no date is announced.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Professions · new recipes

Claim · newRecipesmore than 600 new recipes

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Lower bound; not an exact recipe count.

Camping · learning sources

Claim · learningSourcesIntroductory camping NPCs and profession trainers teach early objects; certain dungeon bosses drop advanced Blueprint recipes.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Transmogrification · opt out

Claim · optOutPlayers may opt out of viewing others’ transmogrified outfits.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Transmogrification · collection when disabled

Claim · collectionWhenDisabledYes

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Appearance collection continues while display is disabled.

Visual & Control Options · presets

Claim · presetsModern visual preset, Classic visual preset

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Visual & Control Options · models

Claim · modelsHD character models, SD character models

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Visual & Control Options · animations

Claim · animationsClassic animations are being restored for HD character models.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Visual & Control Options · gamepad

Claim · gamepadYes

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Official gamepad/controller support announced.

Three adventurers gather around a campfire beside a canvas tent in Blizzard's Forever Camping preview.
Blizzard’s Camping preview shows a roadside gathering around a player-placed campfire.Official screenshot© Blizzard Entertainment

Dungeons, raids, and PvP

The nine announced dungeons include Hall of Thanes beneath Ironforge, the Ruins of Lordaeron, and adventures involving Dalaran, Un'Goro, and other familiar corners of the world. Dungeon quests and revised loot give these places a role in the leveling journey as well as group play.

Barrow Deeps introduces a maximum-level 10-player raid, and Hyjal Summit uses 20 players. The December 9 roadmap entry also includes the 40-player Onyxia's Lair. New tier sets and a legendary reward have been teased, with fuller item details still to come.

Darkspear Islands is the announced 15-versus-15 battleground off Kalimdor. Its objectives combine control points with Arathi Basin-style flag capture and defense.

Sources[1] Blizzard Entertainment[2] Blizzard Entertainment

Inspect 12 claim records
Forever · new dungeon count

Claim · newDungeonCount9 announced new dungeons

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Hall of Thanes · setting

Claim · settingThe dungeon is beneath Ironforge.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Ruins of Lordaeron · premise

Claim · premisePlayers help the Forsaken reclaim the Ruins of Lordaeron.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
City of Dalaran · premise

Claim · premisePlayers investigate magical trouble in Dalaran.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Shaper’s Terrace · setting

Claim · settingThe dungeon's announced theme involves titan mysteries in Un'Goro.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Itemization · loot updates

Claim · lootUpdatesdungeon drops re-examined, hundreds of new drops, blue-quality unique dungeon boss items, updated set bonuses, expanded quest rewards, improved world-drop epics, hundreds of new rare-creature drops

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: No specific item database implied.

Barrow Deeps · summary

Claim · summaryAn announced maximum-level raid planned for 10 players.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Hyjal Summit · players

Claim · players20 players

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · raid unlock lineup

Claim · raidUnlockLineupDecember 9: Barrow Deeps, 10 players, December 9: Hyjal Summit, 20 players, December 9: Onyxia's Lair, 40 players

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Read directly from the official infographic; it includes an existing raid alongside the new raids.

Forever · raid rewards

Claim · raidRewardsNew tier sets and a legendary reward have been teased; the legendary item’s details are not revealed.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Darkspear Islands · summary

Claim · summaryAn announced 15 versus 15 battleground with control points and flag capture/defense.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Darkspear Islands · location

Claim · locationThe battleground is off Kalimdor's coast.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Beta and launch schedule

The seasonal entries belong to Blizzard's 2026–2027 roadmap. They are plans with adjustable timing, rather than individual release dates.

MilestoneCurrent announced scope
Beta began September 17Opening cap: level 20. Skyborne, Zephras Isle, Hall of Thanes, Ruins of Lordaeron, and zone content through level 20 are included.
Later beta testingA level-30 cap and further content are planned. October 21 is the last full testing day; the server-slam window has no published schedule yet.
Global launch: November 4The announced launch time is 3:00 p.m. PST.
Raid unlock: December 9The roadmap lists Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit, and Onyxia's Lair.
Winter, spring, and summerHardcore follows in winter; later seasonal updates add raids, dungeons, new quests and areas, and PvP refreshes.

Sources[6] Blizzard Entertainment[4] Blizzard Entertainment[1] Blizzard Entertainment[5] Blizzard Entertainment

Inspect 12 claim records
Forever · beta start

Claim · betaStartSeptember 17, 2026

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Day precision only. The Q&A clock time is a different event.

Forever · current beta level cap

Claim · currentBetaLevelCap20 levels

BetaConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · beta opening scope

Claim · betaOpeningScopeSkyborne and Zephras Isle, Hall of Thanes (levels 13–18), Ruins of Lordaeron (levels 15–20), Zone content through level 20

BetaConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · planned later beta level cap

Claim · plannedLaterBetaLevelCap30 levels

BetaConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Planned for a later testing phase; no date is stated.

Forever · beta final full testing day

Claim · betaFinalFullTestingDayOctober 21, 2026

BetaConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · server slam

Claim · serverSlamPlanned; timing to be announced

BetaConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: No exact date or time is published.

Forever · launch time

Claim · launchTimeNovember 4, 2026, 3:00 p.m. PST

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Original local wall time and PST offset retained.

Forever · first raids unlock

Claim · firstRaidsUnlockDecember 9, 2026

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · raid unlock lineup

Claim · raidUnlockLineupDecember 9: Barrow Deeps, 10 players, December 9: Hyjal Summit, 20 players, December 9: Onyxia's Lair, 40 players

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Read directly from the official infographic; it includes an existing raid alongside the new raids.

Forever · roadmap winter hardcore

Claim · roadmapWinterHardcoreThe 2026–2027 roadmap places the Hardcore launch in winter without an exact date.

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:
Forever · roadmap spring scope

Claim · roadmapSpringScopeTwo new raids: 10-player and 20-player, Two new dungeons, New quests and playable area, New legendary questline, PvP season refresh

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: Season labels are retained from the 2026–2027 graphic; content and timing may change.

Forever · roadmap summer scope

Claim · roadmapSummerScopeA revamped iconic raid, A new raid, Expanded world content, Two new dungeons, PvP season refresh, Professions and Legacy updates

AnnouncedConfidence: highLast verified:

Editor note: The iconic raid and other future instances are not named in the graphic.