Forever keeps the original continents and a level 60 cap, but changes the classes, loot and content you meet on the way there. If you're coming from Classic Era, expect familiar combat with new builds, rewards and places to learn.
Classes, specs and racials
All nine original classes return with revised talents and new abilities. Protection Paladins gain a seal-dependent taunt, and both factions can now build groups with Paladins and Shamans.
The talent system keeps the familiar Classic structure: three trees per class, seven rows in each tree, and a five-point investment to unlock the next row. In an interview, developers said every tree will also receive a new one-point ability at 16 points, alongside the existing 11-, 21- and 31-point abilities. They said many talents that improved class buffs, including Divine Spirit, Blessing of Kings, Mark of the Wild and Blessing of Might, have been removed because those improvements are now baseline. The stated aim is for all 27 trees to be viable in dungeons and raids, without making a single tree so strong that raids stack it exclusively.
The September 24 update made Holy Strike's 10-second cooldown baseline and renamed Druid Mangle to Primal Bite and Primal Fury to Blood Frenzy. October 1 then removed Tiger's Fury and King of the Jungle, adding Shifting Power and Improved Shifting Power, and substantially revised Fury and Protection Warrior talents. October 8 prevents Shifting Power use at full Energy. Check the current calculator before reusing an older build.
The new race/class combinations include Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Undead Paladin. Blizzard says more combinations are planned in future updates. Skyborne adds another choice on both factions, though the race and its starting experience require an optional upgrade purchase. For Skyborne, the announced toolkit includes a racial ability that lets them glide and float safely to the ground from high altitude.
Each race has two active and two passive racials. Don't choose from an old Classic racial ranking: familiar names can have different effects. Compare the racials and class combinations, then read the class and spec guides for the changes to your build.
Gnome Eureka! discounts eligible abilities' resource costs by 10% for every class. The October 1 update excludes periodic effects; channeled spells do not count as periodic effects for this rule. Check each class's damage or healing eligibility rather than using an old mana, Rage or Energy discount.
Gear and combat
Hit and crit are combined across melee, ranged and spells. Healing gear also grants bonus damage, weapon-skill items give less skill per item, and dungeon drops have been reworked. That changes which rewards help your spec; an old BiS list is not a Forever gearing plan.
Blizzard says every dungeon drop has been re-examined as part of its itemization work, which includes revised existing drops, hundreds of new or adjusted drops, and effects tied to particular environments or creature types. The new stats are intended to provide spell-damage and healing options at earlier levels.
The itemization guide covers those changes and the assumptions worth checking before you roll. Combat still asks you to manage threat and use control when a pull is too large. New tank tools don't make every caster pack safe to AoE.
Warrior Rage from dealing damage is normalized around weapon speed rather than each swing's damage. The October 1 notes increase the critical-strike bonus to 100% extra Rage; Druids in Bear and Dire Bear Form receive the same 100% bonus in the October 8 notes. October 8 also fixes incoming Rage calculations for Warriors and Druids: Stamina no longer incorrectly lowers gains, critical and crushing damage multipliers are handled correctly, and absorbs are ignored as intended. Blizzard rebalanced the armor assumptions by level and expects typical Warriors and Druids to gain more Rage from taking damage.
New zones and dungeons
Blizzard's What's Next recap names Mount Hyjal, Shen'dralas, Riverglades and Zephras Isle among the new regions. More than a thousand new quests are planned across the level 1–60 journey. There is no level scaling and no flying.
Nine new dungeons join the world, including the Hall of Thanes, Ruins of Lordaeron and City of Dalaran. Use the dungeon overview for their announced levels and locations rather than assuming your old dungeon route covers everything.
Raids and group planning
The December 9 roadmap lists Barrow Deeps for 10 players, Hyjal Summit for 20 and Onyxia's Lair for 40, after the November 4 game launch.
The raid overview covers the schedule. For recruiting and arranging groups, see raid buffs and utility; the final tank/healer split still depends on the encounters.
Professions, Camping and Legacy
Camping expands the Cooking Fire into a Basic Campfire that creates a campsite. Blizzard says campsites can provide rest, vendors, repairs, profession workspaces and one-hour buffs. Nearby players can add up to three profession-created objects, with each player contributing one; those objects can supply further utility or buffs. Cooks can create upgraded campfires that allow more objects, while some advanced campsite recipes are tied to dungeon-boss Blueprint drops. Matching camp and class buffs do not stack, so coordinate useful contributions rather than doubling up. Start with profession choices and how Camping works.
Legacy progression is announced for players who enjoy leveling and alts. Legacy Points are shared across an account, but each character spends them separately in Professions, Adventure and Resourcefulness trees. At launch, Blizzard says a character can spend up to 16 points, while players can earn up to 65 points; points beyond the spending cap contribute to a reward track for cosmetic and prestige rewards rather than competitive power. Alts are optional: one character can earn up to 29 points. Access begins with your first point, usually at level 25, but reaching 150 in a non-gathering primary profession or exploring the whole world can unlock it earlier. The Legacy guide and calculator cover the trees.
October 8 granted all beta players completion of the Legacy Challenge for 16 Legacy Points to test the system. This beta grant is separate from the launch earning rules.
Rulesets replace realm selection
Choose Normal, PvP or Roleplaying instead of a traditional named realm. Hardcore is planned after launch. Your friends still need the same ruleset and faction to group with you; realmless does not mean cross-faction or cross-ruleset raiding.
Hardcore is a separate ecosystem. A character that dies can transfer out to another ruleset, including PvP, but progress from other rulesets does not flow back into Hardcore. Blizzard says account-wide collections and Legacy Points can move from Hardcore to other rulesets, preserving a one-way boundary around Hardcore progression.
Agree on those choices before making characters. The servers and rulesets guide explains the grouping rules and Hardcore's separate progression.
Transmog and visual settings
Transmog is optional. You can disable it by speaking to an NPC. On your first login, a mode selector offers presets for several settings, which you can reconfigure later. Selecting Classic Mode disables the visibility of other players' transmogs as soon as you enter the game, letting you see their equipped gear instead.
For eligible green and blue BoP dungeon drops, the appearance goes to all eligible looters when the item is looted. Epic raid appearances go to the player the item binds to.
Blizzard also lists modern and Classic visual presets and official gamepad support. The HD/SD model choice initially covers the original races: SD Skyborne characters and SD Druid forms are planned for early 2027, not launch. October 8's Cooldown Manager supports all classes, racial abilities and trinkets, with consumables planned for a later patch.
For access and the testing schedule, see Forever beta.