After 20 hours with World of Warcraft: Forever, I'm convinced it gives old school fans nearly everything they could want

I've been playing World of Warcraft since its 2004 launch, so I've somehow been playing it for half my life. There's a familiarity there which is pivotal to why I enjoy it so much, but I also don't want things going stale. It's a tricky line to tread, but I think World of Warcraft: Forever has nailed it, reviving the original spirit of World of Warcraft that captured the hearts and minds of myself and millions, while simultaneously feeling like a new step forward.

Cliches exist for a reason, and I can't lie when I say that playing World of Warcraft: Forever genuinely feels like a homecoming – if that home had just been redecorated and tidied up a little. Home really is where the heart is, and between live, laugh, loving, and slaughtering through Azeroth from low-level upward once again, it feels like playing spot the difference between it and other incarnations of World of Warcraft. Ultimately though, it's just a lot of fun! Who says you can never go home again? The good old days are forever.

Classic, again

World of Warcraft: Forever has already been affectionately called Classic Plus by fans, and that sums up the new, third WoW pillar well. It has the slightly harder original difficulty level of World of Warcraft Classic, but with a bundle of quality of life improvements that come from the 'other', core WoW experience (AKA: Retail) with its most recent expansion pack, Midnight. If you haven't played in a long while, think of Forever (and its Classic cousin) as recreating the version you're most likely to remember. It's an approach that bridges the gap between modern and old school, and effectively gives Blizzard a second chance at improving upon the Classic formula.

Forever revives WoW as it was many years ago, like Classic did. However, it does so with a new race (Skyborne), improved visuals, some quality of life additions, and a hard level cap of 60 so you won't see any expansion packs like with Classic and Retail. Instead, progression will eventually be horizontal with new gear and new max level zones and dungeons. Think Classic but more, and without any expansion packs in the future. Confused yet? I don't blame you. The message could be a little clearer. Regardless, an MMO that stubbornly promises to never go past level 60 is a bold move, especially for a game called Forever.

This particular beta only allows you to level up to 20 but that's a strong start. Particularly bearing in mind that when the game officially launches on November 4, the servers are wiped and you're starting all over again. At some point, the level cap will increase to 30 before the beta ends in late October, but even with the lower cap there's plenty to get stuck into already.

Right now, the beta is incredibly busy. Instead of using traditional server realms, Blizzard has opted for realms based on how you want to play. There's a PvE, PvP, and Roleplay realm (Permadeath Hardcore mode is to follow) and in theory, you'll always have someone to play with because each one is packed with players rather than being spread across multiple servers.

After a long time of feeling like I was alone on my previous WoW server, the population brings back memories of when the game launched. There are players everywhere! From small towns like Auberdine to the sprawling city of Stormwind, I've witnessed people working together, buffing each other, and yes, still throwing out trash talk because it is WoW after all. But, good-spirited ribbing can still give me a fuzzy feeling. World of Warcraft feels like an MMO again.

A couple of times when I die, someone even resurrects me just because they can. There are glimmers of kindness and so many signs of virtual life. Blizzard has tapped into that further with its camping system. A form of crafting, you can place a campsite down and others can share special buffs while gathering around the fire. It's surprisingly heartwarming to see and feels so community spirited.

World of wishlists

Adding to the 'let's do what we've been meaning to do for years' attitude that Blizzard seems to be demonstrating, there are so many more quests in starting zones and beyond than before. WoW veteran, Rob Pardo, once told me that during playtesting of the original game, the team quickly realized there needed to be a lot more quests added to the game. Well, now there's even more than that.

Better still, they tend to link together better, leading you to new zones or teaching you new and valuable skills. For instance, one quest in Darkshore gives me water breathing potions which previously felt like gold dust to acquire. Many additions feel so natural that veteran players will find themselves racking their brains to remember which quests are new and which were always there. Also, you can keep 40 quests in your log instead of the very paltry 20 of before. One of the many subtle quality of life improvements you'll soon end up adoring. I liked stockpiling myself with quests from different zones so I could wander freely and always have something new to do.

There are things that don't entirely impress me though. The lighting and water effects are much improved, bringing vibrancy to the visuals, but other graphical improvements feel much more subtle rather than revolutionary. This isn't the WoW 2.0 we all hoped for. The only new zone in this beta is the starting zone for the Skyborne race, Zephras Isle, and that's very pleasant and more modern to look at. It's also a sprawling zone that is potentially a little too vast for starting out in. The Skyborne race itself is best described as elven smurfs but as a night elf main, I feel at home.

Another thing to tick off the 'I always wanted this' list is gamepad support. It's in alpha right now and I wasn't entirely sold but I can see the promise. It's a lot like Final Fantasy 14's gamepad support so the potential is there, but undoing 20 years of using mouse and keyboard is going to take some time. I'm hopeful it means you'll be able to play on a ROG Ally or Steam Deck more effectively one day.

So early on into its beta, it's hard to tell what the future holds for World of Warcraft: Forever. It's clearly very popular right now with certain imbalances compensating for that such as super fast respawns of even 'rare' mobs. There are still many new items to find with some cool rumors floating around, from weapons that open up brand new class strategies, to a series of strange books. Just this week, an item that allows you to mine without possessing the mining skill has been found, along with an experience boosting sleeping bag.

There are new zones for higher levels too, yet to be explored. I'm intrigued to see what the account-wide Legacy system will look like too which unlocks at level 25 and presumably the next stage of the beta. It promises to be kind of like the current achievement system but with rewards such as buffs or new pets and mounts. I'm hopeful it extends longevity once you hit level 60.

What I do know is that I'm really enjoying my time with World of Warcraft: Forever. As a big Classic fan, it still scratches the itch from being a veteran player but offers quality of life fixes that save me from needing to install add-ons, all while giving me a genuinely active community again.

A little like World of Warcraft: Midnight did for Retail, World of Warcraft: Forever feels like exactly what old school players need to revitalize and re-excite. Forever, Classic, and Retail will all co-exist as separate branches of WoW – and Forever feels like it's eating Classic's lunch a bit after playing – but I'm beginning to suspect a lot of players after a traditional MMO experience will flock to Forever unless they're true purists. As a veteran player, it feels like the obvious option. Whichever you favor, 2026 is shaping up to be a very good year for World of Warcraft fans.

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