Between September 23 and October 12, Blizzard detailed the Legacy System and PvP ranks, unveiled a new battleground, and raised the beta level cap to 30. The same period brought the first waves of gold-buying bans, while developer interviews and a podcast answered questions about classes, GDKP, and dual specialization. With a little over three weeks until the November 4 launch, here are the main points.
The Legacy System: 65 challenges and up to 16 points per character
On September 23, Blizzard explained the Legacy System in detail. It provides progression across your Battle.net account: 65 challenges in six categories (classes, professions, PvP, adventures, dungeons, and raids), each worth 1 Legacy Point. The system unlocks with your first point, usually when your first character reaches level 25.
At launch, each character can spend up to 16 points on perks such as Well Rested or The Quick and the Dead. A single character without alts can earn a maximum of 29 points. Points also unlock cosmetics, including the Reins of the Spectral Bear mount. Hardcore is tracked separately: challenges completed in regular modes do not carry over to Hardcore, while those completed in Hardcore count across all modes.
Gold-buying bans: more than 2,100 buyers have already lost their accounts
On October 1, Kaivax wrote on the Blizzard forums that botting and buying gold for real money (RMT) were already being punished in the beta and would continue to be punished after launch. Penalties can range from removing gold to suspending or permanently banning an account. In episode 3 of the official podcast, released on October 8, Josh "Aggrend" Greenfield shared the figures: more than 2,100 gold-buying accounts had been closed, along with nearly 1,600 seller and botting accounts.
Blizzard will also add a warning to the trade window: do not accept gold from strangers or suspicious players. Avoid "gifts" from people you do not know, and read our gold guide for legitimate ways to earn it.
GDKP is banned in North America and Europe
GDKP raids sell loot through an internal gold auction. They were banned back in September, and in an interview with Taiwanese outlet 4Gamers, Clay Stone clarified that the ban applies only to North America and Europe.
Stone also said normal gameplay in Forever would earn you more gold than in the original Classic, without specifying how much more. Vendors also help keep prices in check: in the beta, a Black Market vendor sells Black Lotus for 50 gold, so the flower cannot command a higher auction price.
PvP: Honor, Rank Points, and seasonal quests
On October 7, Blizzard explained PvP progression. You earn Honor from player kills, battlegrounds, and PvP quests, then spend it on rare and epic gear sets. To obtain an epic piece, you need its rare version and an Emboldened Seal, and buying the seal requires a certain rank.
Rank Points accumulate up to a weekly cap and take you through the classic ranks to High Warlord for the Horde and Grand Marshal for the Alliance. Rewards unlock by rank: a tabard at rank 1, epic weapons at rank 14. Each season has a chain of weekly quests awarding Honor and Rank Points, and completing three quests in a season also grants a Legacy Point. During holiday weeks, the featured battlegrounds award extra Honor.
A new 15v15 battleground: the Darkspear Islands
Also on October 7, Blizzard unveiled Battle for the Darkspear Islands, a battleground off the coast of Dustwallow Marsh. It is a 15v15 battle for levels 30–60: the map has four capture points and a central flag that must be carried to a base your team controls. The first team to reach 2,000 points wins.
You can queue at a battlemaster in any capital city or enter through a portal at your faction's base in the Barrens. For the Horde, that is the Darkspear Raiders camp on the Merchant Coast; for the Alliance, it is the Theramore Expeditionary Force at Northwatch Hold. Each side has its own reputation rewards, and reaching Exalted unlocks a quest chain for a faction tabard. Blizzard has not yet announced when the battleground will open.
Beta: level cap raised to 30 and new dungeons
The beta level cap rose to 30 on October 1. Here is what else changed:
- a new dungeon, Excavation Site: Wetlands (levels 26–31), plus access to Razorfen Downs (25+) and Uldaman (30+);
- dungeon quests award 50% less bonus experience on top of their regular rewards, making dungeon-only leveling slower (see our quests or dungeons comparison);
- the Honor cap rose from 15,000 to 25,000, and most PvP gear became roughly 50% more expensive;
- players noticed that Group Finder now requires a playstyle selection (Learning, Relaxed, Competitive, Carry Offered). The official notes do not mention this.
- According to Blizzard, the beta will run until October 21.
The September 24 build: Cooldown Manager and class changes
On September 24, Kaivax posted the first developer notes for a new beta build on the forums. The highlights:
- the Cooldown Manager was added; it is disabled by default and can be enabled under Gameplay Enhancement in the settings;
- controller support was expanded;
- Renew and Rejuvenation can now critically heal, and using Sap on a PvP-flagged target also flags the Rogue for PvP;
- the Gnome racial Eureka now reduces the cost of Mana, Rage, or Energy abilities by 10% for every class;
- Touch of the Grave for the Forsaken no longer breaks crowd control or triggers from non-damaging abilities;
- talent resets in the beta temporarily cost 1 silver if you have not changed talents recently; another reset costs more, but after an hour the price drops back to 1 silver.
Classes will not be "modernized," and there will be no summoning stones
On October 12, Wowhead summarized TechRadar's interview with the Forever team. Classes will not be adjusted to match modern WoW's pace: combat will remain close to the original, with classes that are relatively simple but have depth. Respecs will not be cheap either: after launch, talent reset costs will rise quickly and decrease once a week, at least initially.
There will be no summoning stones. The developers say easy teleports "shrink" the world and take away part of the Warlock's role, so you will have to travel to the dungeon on foot or use a Ritual of Summoning. See our playing together guide for how to meet up with friends without summoning stones.
Dual specialization might unlock before level 40
In the same third podcast episode, Greenfield discussed dungeon tanks and said the team was considering which level should unlock dual specialization; he half-jokingly suggested 30. It currently unlocks at 40, as the official class articles also state, and no decision has been made. Earlier dual spec would let players keep separate builds for dungeons and solo leveling.
Skyborne SD models are coming in early 2027
On October 7, Blizzard shared its visual update plans for the new Skyborne race, which currently has only HD models. SD Skyborne character models and SD Druid forms are being prepared for early 2027. The HD Druid forms will also be revised: they will lose some of their overly soft look, gain more detailed fur, and have less saturated colors. The SD models will not be ready for the November 4 launch.