What's different from Classic in World of Warcraft: Forever

The short version

Forever starts where Classic starts: the original two continents, level 60, the same classes. Then it stops copying. Blizzard’s own product page promises “updated class design, revamped systems, visual updates to the world, and gameplay improvements” Confirmed Battle.net Shop on top of new and expanded zones, and the What’s Next panel filled in what most of that means. This page lists every difference Blizzard has stated or shown, and says where the details end.

Classic-side descriptions below refer to Classic Era as it plays today.

At a glance

Area	Classic	Forever
World and quests	The original 1–60 map	Same map, plus three new zones, several overhauled ones, Zephras Isle for the new race, and more than 1,000 new quests across 1–60
Level cap	60	60, staying there for the foreseeable future
Dungeons	The original set	The original set plus nine new dungeons named by Blizzard, from the Hall of Thanes to the Shaper’s Terrace, many aimed below 60
Raids	Original raids from day one	Two new raids, Barrow Deeps (10) and Hyjal Summit (20), unlocking December 9; more raids and a revamped iconic raid to follow
PvP	The original three battlegrounds	A new one, the Darkspear Islands: 15v15 off Kalimdor, control points plus Arathi-style flags
Races	The original eight	Nine: the Skyborne Elves join, choosing Horde or Alliance at creation
Realms	A realm list to choose from	None. A ruleset instead: Normal, PvP, Roleplaying, or Hardcore after launch; no grouping across rulesets
Race and class combinations	Original restrictions	Six new pairings: Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, Undead Paladin, more planned; Skyborne get Shaman (Horde) or Mage (Alliance)
Racials	Original abilities	Every race reworked to two active and two passive abilities; Skyborne racials added
Talents	The 1.12 trees	Same rows and 11/21/31 milestones plus a new 16-point milestone; Divine Spirit, Blessing of Kings and Improved Mark of the Wild baseline; Paladins detailed first
Itemization	Separate hit and crit stats per school	Hit chances merged into one stat, crit chances too; weapon skill weaker per item; caster weapons with spell damage; hundreds of new drops; unique dungeon boss items blue
Professions	The original recipe lists	600+ new recipes, food with a small experience bonus, Blueprint recipes from dungeon bosses, campsite objects per profession
Account-wide progress	None	The Legacy system: challenges award points spent on account-wide, non-combat perks, plus a cosmetic reward track
Character names	One unique name	A Full Name made of a Main Name and a Secondary Name, with a display toggle
Transmog	None	Available, with a setting that hides everyone’s transmog if you prefer base gear
Graphics	Original look	Updated world lighting and effects; modern or Classic presets; HD or SD character models, with Classic animations restored on HD
Controller	Not supported	Official gamepad support
Camping	Cooking fires only	Craftable campsites other players join, contribute to through professions, and share buffs from
Hardcore	Separate Hardcore realms	A Hardcore ruleset after launch; a dead character can transfer to another ruleset, including PvP
Access	Subscription	Subscription or Game Time; paid editions add the Skyborne race, beta access and cosmetics

The world

The map is Azeroth’s original two continents with the blank spaces filled in. Blizzard’s What’s Next panel named the new regions: Mount Hyjal, set after Archimonde’s defeat and including Darkwhisper Gorge; Shen’dralas, between Mulgore and Desolace and tied to Dire Maul and the centaur tribes; and the Riverglades, a frontier with more than 150 quests across the mid-30s to mid-40s Confirmed Wowhead. Zephras Isle is the Skyborne starting zone, levels 1 through 12. Several existing zones are reworked as well, and Wowhead notes the full zone list is not yet public. Each new zone has its own page, Mount Hyjal, Shen’dralas, the Riverglades and Zephras Isle, holding what Blizzard has said until the beta fills it in. The original zones are indexed under Zones, quest by quest and NPC by NPC, and each will say what Forever changed as the beta shows it.

The quest count is the headline difference for a leveler: more than 1,000 new quests spread across the whole 1 to 60 journey, in keeping with Blizzard’s stated design of “the world as a main character” Confirmed PCGamesN.

Dungeons and raids

Nine new dungeons ship with Forever, many built for characters below 60, and Blizzard’s recap of the panel names them all: the Hall of Thanes beneath Ironforge, the Ruins of Lordaeron, an excavation site above Whelgar’s Excavation, the City of Dalaran, Blackmaw Hold, the Drowned City, Krol’dok Stronghold, Alcaz Prison and the Shaper’s Terrace Confirmed Blizzard. Classic’s dungeon list never changed; Forever’s grows, and dungeon quests are on the roadmap. Classic’s own dungeons and raids, from the Deadmines to Molten Core and Naxxramas, are indexed with their bosses and loot; the nine new ones each have a page under New in Forever and fill in as the beta opens them.

Raids are where the cadence differs most from Classic’s 2019 launch. The roadmap shown at BlizzCon places the first two new raids in December: Barrow Deeps, a 10-player raid, and Hyjal Summit, a 20-player raid Confirmed Wowhead, and Blizzard’s own recap dates it: new raids unlock on December 9 Confirmed Blizzard, with new tier sets and a legendary reward, then more 10- and 20-player raids, returning old favorites and “a revamped iconic raid” over the following year. In other words, November is for leveling. Both raids have pages, Barrow Deeps and Hyjal Summit, with what Blizzard has stated so far.

Races and classes

The Skyborne Elves are the ninth race. A Skyborne picks the Horde or the Alliance at character creation, and the choice sets the class list: all Skyborne can be Warriors, Hunters, Rogues or Druids; Horde-aligned Skyborne add Shaman, Alliance-aligned Skyborne add Mage Confirmed Wowhead. Skyborne Druids get their own sky-blue Bear, Cat, Travel and Moonkin forms. The race and its starting island require the Skyborne Heroic Pack or a higher edition; see which edition should you buy.

New combinations for existing races. Blizzard’s Deep Dive recap names six: Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, and Undead Paladin, with more planned for future updates Confirmed Blizzard. Every class with its Forever race list, new pairings marked, is on the class picker.

Racials change. The Skyborne have two variants: the Alliance High Order and the Horde Windshapers share Walk on Air, a ten-second downward glide; Wind Blessed, a passive 1 percent Haste; and Elemental Insight, 5 percent more damage to Elementals; the High Order add Read Ley Line for 100 percent increased Health and Mana regeneration, the Windshapers add Skysight for 10 percent run speed Confirmed Wowhead. Existing races are touched too: Tauren Cultivation now grows bonus herbs that need no Herbalism, Orc Axe Specialization now raises Critical Chance, Gnome Expansive Mind now raises maximum resource, and Gnomes gain Eureka!, which cuts the cost of and adds 10 percent damage or healing to the next three spells or abilities.

Class design. Classic’s talent trees are patch 1.12’s. Forever’s keep the same number of rows and the 11, 21 and 31-point milestones, add a 16-point milestone, and make Divine Spirit, Blessing of Kings and Improved Mark of the Wild baseline Confirmed Blizzard. Racials are reworked to two active and two passive abilities per race. Blizzard has detailed one class so far: Paladins gain Holy Strike at 6, Seals that survive Judgment, Consecration at 20 and Seal of Fury’s taunt for Protection, while still lacking an interrupt and a slow; the Paladin guide has the list. The other eight follow “through future videos and articles”.

Itemization. Classic has separate hit and crit chances per school and weapon skill as a best-in-slot stat. Forever combines the hit chances into one stat and the crit chances into another, gives less weapon skill per item, adds a third as much bonus damage to bonus healing, adds stats that reduce being parried or dodged, and puts spell damage and healing on caster weapons Confirmed Blizzard, with every dungeon drop re-examined and hundreds of new ones added.

Systems Classic never had

The Legacy system. Classic has no account-wide progression. Forever adds Legacy Challenges in six categories, one Legacy point each, spent in a perk tree across Professions, Adventure and Resourcefulness Confirmed Wowhead. The perks apply to every character on the account, are mostly passive, and none touch combat power: examples from the BlizzCon demo build include faster rested experience, talent points starting at level 9, more reputation and less durability loss. A separate reward track pays out cosmetics by total points, including a Spectral Bear mount.

Rulesets instead of realms. Classic asks you to pick a realm before you have a character. Forever is realmless: you choose a ruleset, Normal with PvP by mutual consent, PvP, Roleplaying, or Hardcore after launch; each is its own large ecosystem, there is no grouping across rulesets, and factions stay separate Confirmed Blizzard. Collections and Legacy Points are account-wide across rulesets, with nothing flowing into Hardcore.

Two-part names. Every character has a Full Name made of a Main Name and a Secondary Name; both are required, and whether the second shows is a settings toggle Confirmed Wowhead, and Blizzard’s recap says the full name is unique per region.

Transmog, with an off switch. Classic Era has no transmog. Forever has it, and Blizzard said at the panel that a setting decides whether you see other players’ transmogs or the base look of their gear Confirmed Wowhead, applied to everyone you see. The Deep Dive recap adds the group-loot rule: a bind-on-pickup Uncommon or Rare dungeon drop grants its appearance to every eligible looter, while epic raid drops grant it only to the player the item binds to Confirmed Blizzard; Classic Mode disables transmog automatically, and appearances keep collecting while it is off.

Visuals. Updated lighting and effects for the world, listed by Game Informer as new lighting and global illumination, volumetric particles, a new water renderer and real-time shadows Confirmed Game Informer. Blizzard’s recap adds the character side: modern and Classic visual presets, HD and SD character models, restored Classic animations for the HD models, and official gamepad support Confirmed Blizzard.

Camping. Classic has cooking fires. Forever adds campfires you craft in the outdoor world, which other players can stop by, contribute to through their professions, and share buffs from Confirmed Blizzard.

Modes and cadence

Hardcore is coming to Forever; Blizzard said so at the panel and deferred the details to a Hardcore panel on September 13. The launch roadmap staggers content after November 4, starting with the raids on December 9 and continuing, in Blizzard’s words, with more raids, dungeons, PvP updates, world content, more quests, Hardcore and a revamped iconic raid. Classic’s launch, by contrast, opened with its first raids available. PvP gets its first new map since the original three: the Darkspear Islands, a 15-versus-15 battleground off the coast of Kalimdor, combining strategic control points with Arathi Basin-style flag captures and defense Confirmed Blizzard. It has a page that fills in as the beta shows it.

Access and editions

Classic comes with a subscription and so does Forever. The difference is the optional editions: the Skyborne Heroic Pack unlocks the new race and its starting zone, the Epic Pack adds beta access and 30 days of Game Time, and the Warcraft Forever Collection adds Warcraft III: Reforged and the Forsaken Kingdom campaign. Nothing in any edition gates zones, dungeons, raids or quests. Full breakdown in the edition guide.

What’s the same

The continents, the level cap, the original classes, the subscription. Blizzard describes Forever as developed by the Classic team and intended to embody the principles of the original game; the changes above are additions and adjustments inside that frame, not a new game.

What Blizzard hasn’t said yet

• Which race and class combinations follow the six named so far; Blizzard says more are planned.
• Talent and ability changes for the eight classes other than Paladin, promised “through future videos and articles”.
• When the Hardcore ruleset opens; only “after launch” so far.
• The dates of anything on the roadmap beyond December 9, which raid the “revamped iconic raid” is, and whether any Classic realm changes accompany Forever.

Everything confirmed so far, with sources, is kept on everything we know, which changes as Blizzard talks.