Blizzard’s lead designers for World of Warcraft: Forever have answered questions from fans, and the answers cover mounts, raids, and the very name of the game itself. The team spoke about everything from shaman tanks to raid sizes to the new PvP system.
Shaman Tanks Are Dead
The designers confirmed that the wild role-swapping of Season of Discovery, which let shamans tank and mages heal, will not appear at launch. One designer said that the team is “starting from a baseline of simplicity that’s more adjacent to the Classic game than Season of Discovery was.”
He added that the team wants to keep the conversation open with players who love unusual class roles.
Every Raid Tier Gets a 10-Person Option
The biggest relief comes from raid accessibility. The team confirmed that every tier will have at least one 10-player option and one 20-player option, plus sometimes a 40-player raid. That means a small group can always find a raid.
Jones said the team wants to make sure there is “challenge and rewards in the 10-player content and there will always be a 10-player raid for groups every single tier forever.” He added that “If you’re a 10-man group and you don’t have interest in doing 20-man content, that is perfectly fine.”
Mounts Cost More Gold Now
The Skyborne elves are paywalled behind a $30 purchase, and the designers declined to say whether more gameplay content will be locked behind payment in the future. Instead, Jones spoke about the effort players put into the game.
“You still have to, we’ve readjusted the gold cost to not be on the mount itself, but on the training so that we’re not giving someone free training for a mount when they hit level 40,” he said. Players still have to spend time and effort into the game to get a mount.
Summoning Dungeons Still Needs a Warlock
Meeting Stones still exist at the front of dungeons, but they no longer let you summon other players. Instead, they open a new Looking for Group feature that lets you list and discover groups doing the activities you want.
If you don’t have a Warlock in the party, you still have to travel across the continent to meet up with each other.
Add-Ons Get Restricted
Nuthals said the team will bring over the in-game disarmament of computational add-ons, meaning players will not have access to programs that automate marking or communicating during combat.
Jones and Nuthals did not confirm specifics, but the direction is clear: add-ons will be limited in a way similar to how they are in retail.
No One-Button Rotation
The designers confirmed that the one-button rotation feature will not carry over. That is a simple confirmation, but it removes one major change from the list of what players can expect.
PvP Gets a New Ranking System
Honor gained from Battlegrounds and other PvP content feeds into a ranking system. Within a season or patch cycle, players can reach rank 14 with rewards including cosmetic items and PvP armor with stats.
New battlegrounds like the Darkspear Islands will supplement the original Vanilla Battlegrounds.
What “Forever” Actually Means
Jones explained the name directly. He said that playing Classic versions of the game often leaves players with an afterthought: what happens to their character?
“Why am I investing time into this character when I know that this experience will end? That this is a seasonal experience or another expansion will come along the way?”
He said World of Warcraft: Forever solves that problem. The game has a level 60 cap and continues to build content horizontally for players. There is also a legacy system that encourages rolling alts.
The Bottom Line
The key promises are:
- Every raid tier gets at least one 10-player and one 20-player option.
- Mount training costs gold, not a flat fee.
- Summoning dungeons still requires a Warlock.
- Add-ons are restricted.
- PvP has a new honor-based ranking system.
- Shaman tanks are not viable at launch.
The biggest concern about raid accessibility is settled. The team is making a deliberate choice to keep things simple, and that includes keeping the 10-player raid available every tier.
Key Facts Box
– Raid tiers: At least one 10-player and one 20-player option per tier, plus sometimes a 40-player raid
– Mount training: Costs gold, not a flat fee
– PvP ranking: Up to rank 14 per season or patch cycle
– Skyborne elves: Paywalled behind a $30 purchase
– Battlegrounds: New Darkspear Islands join original Vanilla Battlegrounds
The designers are making a deliberate choice to keep things simple, and that includes keeping the 10-player raid available every tier.
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