Whether you’re stepping into World of Warcraft for the first time or finding your way back to Azeroth, there’s a place for you in World of Warcraft: Forever. Explore a new and reimagined Azeroth at your own pace, discover new places or revisit old favorites, and meet fellow adventurers along the way. This permanent home alongside modern and Classic WoW puts community first and makes the journey as meaningful as the destination.
Set after the events of Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom and before Molten Core, WoW: Forever takes you across the original continents on an adventure to level 60. Your journey continues through new stories, experiences, and updates inspired by years of player passion and feedback.
WoW: Forever expands the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor with new and reimagined zones and more than 1,000 new quests across the level 1–60 journey. Explore new destinations including Mount Hyjal, Shen’dralas, the Riverglades, and Zephras Isle.
Mount Hyjal invites you to explore the aftermath of Archimonde’s defeat, journey through Darkwhisper Gorge, and help shape the future of a recovering land. In Shen’dralas, a long-hidden mystery between Mulgore and Desolace becomes a new adventure tied to the Shen’dralar, Eldre’Thalas, Dire Maul, and the centaur tribes of the region.
In the Riverglades, you’ll discover a rugged frontier of rivers, grasslands, trade routes, struggling communities, and old grudges, with more than 150 new quests across much of the mid-30s to mid-40s experience. On Zephras Isle, you’ll begin an elemental skybound starting experience from levels 1 through 12, blending Classic Warcraft aesthetics with architecture inspired by Skywall.
Race and class shape the hero you become in World of Warcraft: Forever, from the fantasy you embody to the role you take on in the world. You can return to a familiar favorite, explore a newly available combination, or begin your journey as a Skyborne character, with each choice offering a different way to step into Azeroth’s next chapter.
The Skyborne are a new playable race in World of Warcraft: Forever, bringing their own identity to the unfolding story. When choosing to play this new race, players can choose between Horde-aligned Windshapers which can become Shaman, or an Alliance-aligned High-Order Skyborne which can become Mages.
World of Warcraft: Forever opens new ways to build your character, including Orc Mages, Troll Warlocks, Undead Paladins, Human Hunters, Gnome Priests, Dwarf Shamans, and the debut of the Skyborne. Explore the possibilities and learn more in our article.
The Skyborne—also known as the shen’dorei, or hidden people—are a new playable race in World of Warcraft: Forever. Their journey begins on Zephras Isle, a level 1–12 starting experience that blends classic Warcraft aesthetics with elemental architecture and a story shaped by wind and ancestry. At character creation, you’ll choose whether your Skyborne joins the proud Horde or the noble Alliance.
Get to know the Skyborne in our previously published article.
The first time you log in to World of Warcraft: Forever, you’ll be asked to Choose Your Experience Preset. You’ll make this choice before selecting your Ruleset.
Classic
A more traditional presentation with simpler visuals, standard character models, and fewer modern interface features enabled by default for a cleaner, more original-style experience with less automatic guidance.
Starting Settings:
Enhanced
An updated presentation with higher visual fidelity and additional interface features enabled by default.
Starting Settings:
If you are not sure which to choose, start with Enhanced. The preset gives you a convenient starting point rather than locking in your choices, and you can change its individual settings later under Game Menu > Options. After your initial log in to the game, you will no longer see this screen.
Each time you create a new character, you can select either High Definition (HD) or Standard Definition (SD) character models and animations. HD uses higher-detail models and updated visuals, while SD offers the style associated with the original look of World of Warcraft. This character-specific choice affects only appearance—not abilities or progression—and you can change it later in the Options Menu or by visiting a Barbershop in game.
Every journey through Azeroth begins with a choice about the kind of world you want to step into. In World of Warcraft: Forever, your journey starts with a Ruleset rather than a traditional realm-selection screen.
Instead of picking the “right” realm before creating a character, you choose the kind of experience you want in World of Warcraft: Forever. Each Ruleset functions as a broad player ecosystem rather than a single traditional realm, making it easier to find others who share your preferred playstyle while preserving the feeling of a living, active Azeroth.
For players seeking the ultimate challenge, where every decision matters and death carries lasting consequences, the Hardcore ruleset will become available sometime after launch.
Learn more about rulesets in our previously published article.
A name is one of the first choices you make when creating a character. It can be humorous, heroic, mysterious, deeply personal, or something that only makes sense to the friends who have adventured with you for years. In World of Warcraft: Forever, character names gain more room to breathe through a new two-name structure designed for a larger, realmless Azeroth.
Instead of relying on a single name tied to a specific realm, each character will have two names. Together, those parts form a full name that is unique within a region, creating more possibilities for players who want something that fits their character, history, or story in Azeroth. Learn more in our previously published article.
The Camping system in World of Warcraft: Forever turns the Cooking profession’s Basic Campfire into a shared campsite where adventurers can rest, prepare, and connect. Nearby players can contribute up to three profession-crafted Camp Features, with each player adding one. Sit or craft at a campsite for at least 1 minute to gain benefits from its Camp Features, including buffs that are mutually exclusive with their corresponding class buffs. Take a moment to meet fellow adventurers before returning to the road. Learn more in our previously published overview article.
World of Warcraft: Forever introduces an exciting new account-wide horizontal progression system—the Legacy System. It’s a whole new way to progress, focusing on exploring everything the game has to offer, rather than power progression alone.
This new system encourages players to level multiple characters of different classes and tradeskills and experience the journey all over again, however leveling alternate (alts) characters is not required to benefit from the system. All character advantages can be unlocked on a single character. The Legacy System has three major components: Legacy Challenges, Legacy Perks, and Legacy Rewards. Learn more in our overview article.
A spell to cast, an ally to heal, a well-earned reward to collect—there’s plenty to keep you busy in Azeroth. If you prefer a gamepad, World of Warcraft: Forever gives you another way to join the action.
In World of Warcraft: Forever, we’ve refined targeting, casting, looting, and menu navigation for gamepads while keeping the familiar feel players have come to know. Learn more in our overview article.
World of Warcraft: Forever introduces nine new five-player dungeons for adventurers from level 13 through level 60. Rooted in the original World of Warcraft, each dungeon brings new threats, quests, and adventures to the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. Learn more about each of the new additions in our previously published article.
World of Warcraft: Forever invites adventurers to journey deeper into Azeroth, where familiar places hold new challenges and stories waiting to be discovered. On December 9, level 60 players can put their preparation, teamwork, and mastery of their classes to the test in three raids: Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit, and Onyxia’s Lair. Learn more about each of these raids and what you’ll need to do to enter Onyxia’s Lair for the first time in our overview article.
Off the coast of Dustwallow Marsh lies the Darkspear Islands, where a new battle is taking shape. In this 15 versus 15 battleground the Darkspear Raiders and Theramore Expeditionary Force clash for control of strategic footholds, a central flag, and the rewards waiting for those willing to fight for their faction. Get battle ready by learning more in our previously published article.
Whether you’re charging into battlegrounds with your faction or setting your sights on long-term PvP (Player vs. Player) goals, World of Warcraft: Forever brings a refreshed sense of purpose to every match-up. This approach gives players more reasons to take part throughout the season while preserving the spirit of competition that defined PvP in the original World of Warcraft. Get more intel for the battles ahead from our previously published article.
Your first steps in Azeroth begin with a few meaningful choices: how you want to play, who your character will become, and where curiosity will lead you. From setting up your account to joining other adventurers, the fundamentals below will help you begin with confidence while leaving discovery in your hands. Learn more in our New Player Starter Guide.
World of Warcraft: Forever begins a new journey through a reimagined original world, with new zones, quests, dungeons, systems, and character options designed to expand the adventure while preserving its foundational character. If you’re returning to Azeroth, we’ve got what you need to get you started on your path. Learn more.
World of Warcraft: Forever has something for explorers, dungeon groups, collectors, roleplayers, and PvP fans alike. See how its interface conveniences, class updates, and progression systems complement a distinct take on original WoW—and what to expect if you also play the modern game. Learn more.
Whether you’re new to Azeroth, returning after a break, or have made World of Warcraft part of your life for years, the WoW Portal Room is a welcoming Discord server where you can meet fellow adventurers and find your next community.Learn more.
Keep the conversation going in modern World of Warcraft and World of Warcraft: Forever with Discord account linking and guild chat mirroring. Whether you’re coordinating your next raid run, recruiting more players for PvP, or catching up with your guildmates, you can send messages between Discord and your guild chat. Learn more.
Here’s to the unexpected detours, hard-earned victories, and little moments that become your favorite memories. We can’t wait to hear the tales you’ll tell. We’ll see you in Azeroth!
