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The WoW Forever beta just doubled its playable range. Blizzard’s October 1 build lifts the level cap from 20 to 30, and the extra ten levels come with a brand-new dungeon in the Wetlands, two classic dungeons opened up, and a round of tuning that makes leveling and PvP a little stingier on purpose.
This update is the first real look at Forever’s mid-game. Below: where the new levels take you, how Blizzard is reshaping the leveling and Honor economy around them, the short version of what changed for each class, and the smaller fixes worth knowing before you log in.
Levels 21 to 30: Three New Doors
Excavation Site: Wetlands is the headline. It is a new dungeon for levels 26 to 31, built in a zone that never had one in Classic. Dwarven diggers in the eastern Wetlands broke into something old, and four bosses stand between your group and what lies beneath: Saltspine, Shadetooth, Highland Horror, and the Relic Guardian. Alliance characters questing out of Menethil Harbor now have a dungeon right on their doorstep.
Razorfen Downs and Uldaman open their gates. Razorfen Downs now admits characters from level 25, and Uldaman from level 30. They join every dungeon already live in the beta: Ragefire Chasm, Hall of Thanes, Ruins of Lordaeron, Wailing Caverns, The Deadmines, Shadowfang Keep, The Stockade, Blackfathom Deeps, Gnomeregan, Razorfen Kraul, and Scarlet Monastery.
That makes fourteen dungeons open in the beta, three of them new to this build. Check each dungeon page for the map, boss loot, and quest list before you queue.
Leveling: Dungeon Quests Pay Less, the World Moves Faster
Forever already moved experience out of dungeon trash and into dungeon quests. The October 1 build pulls that lever back halfway: dungeon quests now grant 50% less bonus experience on top of a normal quest’s reward. Blizzard calls it part of an ongoing conversation about leveling speed, and says some other quest rewards were recalibrated at the same time.
Dungeon quests still pay more than a normal quest, just by a smaller margin. The open world gets help in return: creatures and objects respawn faster across Hillsbrad Foothills, Ashenvale, the Wetlands, Duskwood, and Thousand Needles, and Blizzard asks players to keep reporting areas where quest objectives are hard to finish. A bug that stopped escort quests from starting when your quest log held 25 or more quests is also fixed.
Mulgore players get something back, too: the quest “Kyle’s Gone Missing!” is in the game.
Plan your route around zones, not dungeon farming. The Alliance and Horde leveling routes list the zones and dungeons in order.
PvP: Honor Buys Less, Banks More
Honor gear just got more expensive. Most PvP gear and upgrade tokens now cost about 50% more Honor, which Blizzard says better matches how fast it wants players to earn gear. To make room, the Honor cap rises from 15,000 to 25,000.
The two changes work together: you will spend longer saving for each piece, and you can now hold enough to buy it. If you were about to cash in Honor at the old cap, there is no rush to spend it. See what each rank unlocks on the Honor Ranks page and current caps on the currencies page.
Classes: The Short Version
Every class got something in this build. The biggest stories:
- Warrior: critical strikes from basic attacks now generate twice as much Rage. Fury is rebuilt: Whirlwind always swings both weapons, Raging Blows instead lowers the Rage cost of Cleave and Whirlwind, Improved Cleave and Boundless Rage are gone, and three talents arrive: Lingering Rage, Furious Precision, and Gore Drinker. Protection reshuffles its early rows so warriors without a shield can reach Iron Will, Improved Disarm, and Last Stand.
- Druid: Tiger’s Fury and King of the Jungle are removed. Cat Form gets Shifting Power instead, a 16-point talent that turns 55% of base Mana into 40 Energy on a 16-second cooldown, with Improved Shifting Power cutting that cooldown. Bear and Dire Bear Form gain 75% more Rage from critical strikes, and every shapeshift form is now immune to Disarm.
- Hunter: Deflection drops to 5% parry at five points, Sniper Shot gets a 45-yard range and adds 10 yards to your next three shots, and pets get Aggressive mode back.
- Mage: Hot Streak is renamed Heating Up, Combustion returns to 3 charges, and Comprehension scrolls can no longer be cast while moving.
- Paladin: Redoubt’s block bonus drops to 20%, Holy Shield’s rises to 30%, and Champion of the Light now converts up to 60% of Intellect into spell damage only.
- Priest: Devouring Plague can critically strike, and Inner Focus no longer boosts periodic effects.
- Warlock: Soul Harvesting is renamed Soul Harvest and now grants its full Mana regeneration, Hellfire can critically strike, and demons get Aggressive mode back.
- Rogue and Shaman: bug fixes, including Expose Armor no longer eating your combo points on a miss and Disease Cleansing Totem lasting its full 5 minutes.
Gnomes also see Eureka! stop applying to periodic effects. Every class page’s talents and spellbook views already use the new client data.
Smaller Changes Worth Knowing
- Barbershops spread out. Darnassus and Thunder Bluff now have barbershops, every barbershop has a barber, and city guards will give you directions.
- Campfires are kinder to newcomers. They no longer damage characters below level 5 and deal less damage to anyone under 90% health. The Boosted Rest effect also gets a clearer icon and tooltip. The camping guide covers campfires and every camp object.
- Bind rules tighten. Selling a Bind on Equip item whose appearance you have not collected now makes it soulbound instead of account-bound.
- The Cooldown Manager grows. It now tracks racial abilities and supports Rogues.
- Watch your positioning. A new known issue lets enemies parry and block attacks from behind when you stand very close. Blizzard’s advice until it is fixed: give your target a little room.
What to Do Next
- Group up for Excavation Site at 26. It is the only new dungeon in this build; read its map and bosses first.
- Hold your Honor. With prices up and the cap at 25,000, saving is now the better plan; compare rewards on Honor Ranks.
- Recheck your build. Warriors, Druids, Hunters, and Paladins all have talents that moved or changed; start from your class page.
- Quest in the open world. Dungeon quests pay less than before, while respawns are faster in five zones; follow the leveling routes.
- Join the beta if you have not yet. The beta guide covers every way in and the dates through the end of testing.
Read the full announcement on Blizzard News