Visual and Control Changes

Choosing Classic Mode when you first launch the game turns Transmog off, and a transmogrifier in certain cities lets you configure outfits or disable the system at any time. With it off, you see other players in their equipped gear, and you still collect appearances in case you switch it on later.

When an Uncommon or Rare bind-on-pickup item drops in a dungeon, every eligible looter receives its appearance, so nobody needs to roll against an upgrade just for the look. Epic raid drops grant their appearance only to the player who receives the item. Poor and Common items grant their look as soon as you loot them.

Transmog follows item-type rules, so plate transmogs to plate and cloth to cloth. Low-level characters cannot use high-level appearances until level 60. Even with Transmog off, you can hide your helm or cloak as before.

Forever offers modern and Classic visual presets and a choice of High-Definition or Standard-Definition character models. HD models can use restored Classic animations.

Rendering updates add small environmental touches, such as rivers that flow through Elwynn Forest, mist over the waters of Darkshore, and moonlight breaking through the trees in Ashenvale, while keeping the timeless art style of the original world.

Forever supports controllers officially, so you can play with a gamepad as well as with keyboard and mouse.

It is one of several options designed to welcome more players into Azeroth with the setup that suits them, complete with native button prompts, radial action bars, and soft-target interaction.

Blizzard confirmed that addons are supported in Forever, and that the game keeps parity with mainline WoW: the same interface rules apply on both sides, so a change to one carries across.

The line the team draws is about control rather than customization. Addons should not hold too much power over a player’s experience, which keeps the reading of a fight and the decision of what to press with you rather than with a helper that solves it first.

Blizzard confirmed that Forever ships with its own built-in damage meter, so you can read your output without installing anything first.

The Cooldown Manager also reached the beta as an opt-in option under Gameplay Enhancement settings, with the October 1 build adding racial abilities and Rogue support.

Hover any stat on the character panel and Forever explains what it does, what raises it, and how it helps you. The answers cover the questions players used to look up elsewhere.

The Defense tooltip is the clearest example for tanks: creature critical strikes deal 200% damage, creatures three or more levels above you can land Crushing Blows for 150% damage, and 440 Defense stops raid bosses from critically hitting you.

The barbershop was up and running in the playable BlizzCon demo build, in Dalaran, letting players change body type, hair style, and facial features without rerolling the character.

Since the October 1 beta build, Darnassus and Thunder Bluff have barbershops too, every barbershop has a barber on duty, and city guards will give you directions.