World of Warcraft: Forever – journey over destination
World of Warcraft is being relaunched – for the second time. Mind you, Forever is much more than just Classic Plus. And after my hands-on session at BlizzCon, I’m convinced: this expansion has what it takes to reignite my old addiction.
World of Warcraft: Forever is like Peter Pan’s Neverland. In it, you never get older… than Level 60. There won’t be any expansions that raise the level cap or turn the world upside down. The game will exist alongside Classic and Retail, and will turn back the clock once again. To where it all began, when Azeroth was still at peace. For anyone who thinks like me, Forever promises to be a second homecoming. But the expansion isn’t just another Classic.
Turning old into new
Let’s get the biggest downside out of the way first. While Blizzard has made some visual improvements – especially in terms of lighting, water and shadows – it still falls far short of the Retail version. This helps distinguish the two from one another. Still, I was hoping for something more substantial. During my hands-on session at BlizzCon in Los Angeles, I hardly noticed a difference from Classic at first glance.
Source: Blizzard
The most significant changes are related to content. Blizzard wants to preserve the essence of Vanilla and turn it into a forever game. Journey over destination – so says Holly Longdale, Vice President of World of Warcraft, during the presentation. Thunderous applause confirms that many are fed up with the endless grind of add-ons and higher level caps. In Forever, the level cap should stay at 60, well, forever.
To ensure players stay motivated over the long term, Blizzard is adding new on top of the vanilla version. However, zones aren’t just invented out of thin air; instead, previously unused areas are brought to life. The four new regions include the Riverglades, Mount Hyjal, Shen’dralar and Zephirs Isle. That last location is also the homeland of a new race, the Skyborne.
Source: Blizzard
I can already try out those exiled high elves. One of their special abilities is gliding. This way, I can survive jumps from the tallest towers. With its green meadows and round mountains, Zephirs Isle reminds me a bit of Mulgore, the Tauren starting zone.
Source: Blizzard
How do those dungeons work again?
The second thing I get to try out is the massive outdoor dungeon called The Drowned City. From the BlizzCon press centre, I – a Level 38 character – join three visitors who are playing games below me in the huge exhibition hall. Luckily, I’m using the Hunter class, so I’m still somewhat familiar with it. Even so, I’m really working up a sweat. It’s been a few years since I last played WoW. But that familiar feeling returns immediately – at the latest when our tank draws in a second group of enemies and we wipe for the first time.
Source: Blizzard
After that, things go more smoothly, and we work hard to collect loot. Here’s another new mechanic at work. If an Unusual or Rare item drops, all party members will at least receive its appearance so they can transmog it later. That way, I don’t have to worry about someone trying to steal my loot just because it looks cool. Thankfully, World of Warcraft: Forever offers transmog too, so I can change the appearance of my gear at will. Another cool feature: if I prefer playing without transmogs, I can turn them off in the settings. That way, everyone can decide for themselves how they want to play.
Right now, though, I have other things on my mind. In the dungeon, we run into trolls who regularly send me flying through the air with charge attacks whenever I pull too much aggro. My team seems to know the dungeon a little better already. We take a shortcut to a small lake. Since the demo has a time limit, we jump right in – and quickly realise our mistake. A massive shark swims toward us and sends me and the others right back to the start of the level in one gulp.
Source: Blizzard
At that point, my team says farewell with a «Bye, guys, thanks for playing,» and I’m not sure if it’s meant sarcastically. That reminds me – I haven’t even looked at the new skills yet. Blizzard has revamped those as well. To find out what effect they have on the game, though, I need more time – and I’d have had to activate them before entering the dungeon. I slap my forehead so hard that the other media people turn to look at me, puzzled. It’s only now that I realise I didn’t allocate my talent points at all. That probably explains why we were constantly getting wiped.
Sorry team!
A total of nine new dungeons and two new raids for 10 and 20 players will be available on launch in Forever. Meanwhile, solo players can look forward to over 1,000 new quests scattered throughout Azeroth.
Source: Blizzard
Campfires, the perfect social setting
There are also a few changes under the hood compared to the original WoW. Cooking areas have been converted into campfires. There, I can take a short break, and other players are welcome to join me. «It’s a great way to bring people together,» says Ana Resendez, lead developer at Blizzard. I can also place specially crafted items by the campfire, depending on my profession. Blacksmiths have a whetstone that increases attack power, tailors have a faction banner that boosts spirit and herbalists have an incense stick that increases intellect.
Source: Blizzard
Everyone who sits around a campfire receives the bonuses. It’s an interesting system that could definitely foster a more social atmosphere.
Account-wide benefits
Another new feature is the Legacy system. I earn points by completing certain challenges, which, according to Ana, aren’t just generic tasks but are meant to make the journey through Azeroth more varied.
The Legacy system applies to all characters too. Depending on whether I’m primarily playing with one character or with many secondaries, I can focus more on breadth or depth. The system consists of Legacy trees. For example, there’s the Rested talent, which increases the rest bonus and gives extra experience. With Bountiful Harvest, on the other hand, I get more resources when mining.
Source: Blizzard
Blizzard has also made some adjustments to the combat and item systems. I haven’t really noticed much of that yet. But then again, I forgot to spend my talent points. Blizzard emphasises that they’ll be expanding horizontally, particularly with regard to the endgame. Apparently, previous equipment won't suddenly be rendered obsolete by an update.
There was a lot of excitement at BlizzCon over the news that World of Warcraft: Forever will be realmless. This means I no longer have to choose a suitable server from a list when I start up, one that’ll hopefully have room for my friends as well. Instead, you can choose between Normal, PvP, Roleplay and Hardcore. When asked about server preferences, to my surprise, the cheers were loudest among the last group. As if being addicted to WoW weren’t exhausting enough. At least there, you can export your character to a PvP server once after death.
Source: Blizzard
World of Warcraft for consoles?
The latest significant update concerns controllers. Now, you can play WoW from the sofa too. I tried this out, and as expected, the transition isn’t exactly easy. Selecting items from the inventory or equipping a character will probably always be easier with a mouse.
On the other hand, direct controls using the analogue stick and the selection of attacks with the RT and LT buttons in combination with the face buttons work very well. I aim at targets using the shoulder button. A good alternative for couch gamers. And who’s most likely to play games from the sofa? Console owners. Like most MMOs, WoW still isn’t available there, even 25 years after launch. Blizzard declined to say whether that would change in the near future. But the groundwork has already been laid.
Source: Blizzard
This also applies to anyone thinking about returning to World of Warcraft. Forever promises a familiar experience with a completely revamped system, new content and improved graphics. I’ll definitely have a closer look come November. There’s nothing else big coming out then, right?
World of Warcraft: Forever will be released on 4 November for PC. The beta opens on 17 September. Blizzard invited me to BlizzCon and covered all expenses.
As a child, I wasn't allowed to have any consoles. It was only with the arrival of the family's 486 PC that the magical world of gaming opened up to me. Today, I'm overcompensating accordingly. Only a lack of time and money prevents me from trying out every game there is and decorating my shelf with rare retro consoles.
Interesting facts about products, behind-the-scenes looks at manufacturers and deep-dives on interesting people.
Show all
