Dev notes

WoW Forever Beta Development Notes

Read the original (Blizzard forums) ↗

2026-11-04

Highlights

A "User Interface and Accessibility" section was added to the Nov 2 notes after the fact
The melee swing timer bar no longer fades with range until the swing finishes
Combined bags show slot backgrounds by bag; nameplate debuff icons are now click-through
Spellbook and talent windows open at the same height as other panels; the spellbook combat-mode window is smaller
Once at the honor cap, kill honor no longer shows as floating text or in chat; PvP scoreboard updated

By topic

Interface

The melee swing timer bar no longer fades with range until the swing finishes
With combined bags on, slot backgrounds show which bag each slot belongs to
Nameplates show elite status again; debuff icons on nameplates are click-through
Spellbook and talent windows open at the same height as other panels; spellbook combat-mode window is smaller
Hovering an action bar binding in the keybind menu highlights that button

PvP

PvP scoreboard display updated
Once at the honor cap, kill honor no longer shows as floating text or in chat

Forever Assist commentary

An interface and accessibility section was added to the Development Notes on launch day. There are no number changes; these are quality-of-life tweaks already in the launch build.

Melee players will notice the swing timer no longer fading at range, and heavy nameplate users will like debuff icons no longer blocking clicks. If combined bags left you unsure which bag is which, slot backgrounds now tell you. In PvP, kill honor disappearing from the screen is your cue that you've hit the cap — spend honor first.

2026-11-02

Highlights

Roundup of 2.5 weeks since Oct 15: several classes deal more damage and high-level mobs get more health; no big tuning planned before raids
Tank threat up across the board: Warrior Defensive Stance 30% → 80%, Bear Form 50% → 115%, Righteous Fury learned at 10 instead of 16
Paladin Blessing of Salvation and Blessing of Light removed; Holy gains Oath of Light and Boundless Light
Rogue gets Shank (24) and Poised (18); Deadly and Instant Poison coefficients doubled; all three trees reshuffled
Shaman Lightning Bolt buffed, Chain Lightning 2.5 sec cast, Stormstrike 100% → 150% weapon damage, Lava Burst removed
Bags no longer auto-equip; faster respawns in starter zones; Hunter traps share a 30 sec cooldown

By topic

Systems & leveling

Rolls up 2.5 weeks of fixes, class polish and Beta feedback since Oct 15
Within a Classic-sized power budget, several classes deal more damage and high-level mobs get more health to match
No major tuning before raids open except bugs and big outliers; larger tuning after post-30 data comes in

Bug fixes

Thrown weapons correctly use a 0.5 sec windup instead of weapon speed
Racial base stats fixed: Tauren Warrior Strength +2 → +5 (vs Human), High Order and Windshaper Skyborne too
Proc-based roots (Frostbite, Entrapment, Improved Wing Clip, Counterattack and others) now have diminishing returns

Races

The racial pass announced on Oct 26–27 ships in this build
Undead Cannibalize usable while immune to physical damage; Touch of the Grave proc rate and visuals fixed
Skyborne base stats corrected

Dungeons

Ruins of Lordaeron dungeon quests all start at level 15 (was a mix of 15 and 16); some prerequisites adjusted

Warrior

Defensive Stance threat 30% → 80%; Slam cooldown 18 → 15 sec
Arms: Two-Handed Weapon Specialization 1/2/3% → 2/4/6%; Improved Tactical Mastery 5 ranks → 3 (keep 5/10/15 Rage on stance swap)
Arms: Bloodthrill now 2 ranks — 10/20% chance to allow Overpower when hitting a Rended target
Fury: new Reckless Swings (spend 25% health, +5 Rage on next 4 melee hits); new Improved Whirlwind (−1/−2 sec cooldown, 15/30% damage to the nearest enemy)
Fury: Flurry now 3 ranks (10/20/30% attack speed for 3 swings after a crit), no longer needs Death Wish; Bloodthirst now requires Death Wish
Protection: Defiance threat bonus 5/10/15% → 7/13/20%

Rogue

New Poised (18): full Energy out of combat makes your next Energy ability cost 10 less
New Shank (24): 5 Energy, 10 sec cooldown, off-hand strike for 50% weapon damage that refunds 15 Energy (rank 2 at 44: 25)
Deadly Poison coefficient 0.0045 → 0.009; Instant Poison 0.005 → 0.01
Assassination: Mutilate 75% → 90% weapon damage; new Bloodstain (longer Rupture and Garrote); a crit-damage talent cut to 2 ranks
Combat: new Coup de Grace and Flash of Steel; Dual Wield Specialization 5 ranks → 2 (off-hand damage 25/50%)
Subtlety: new Boot Knife, Death Mark and Quick Escape, several talents removed — all three trees need a re-spec

Shaman

Lightning Bolt base damage up on every rank (most at the top); Chain Lightning 2.5 sec cast
Shock base damage restored to Classic values (higher than the previous Beta)
Totemic Projection → Totemic Call: moves your totems to you, 30 sec cooldown
Elemental: Lava Burst removed → Call of Thunder (+5% crit on Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning); Lightning Overload 3/7/10% → 10/20/30%
Enhancement: Stormstrike 100% → 150% and 8 → 6 sec cooldown; Maelstrom Weapon procs twice as often; Flurry 5–25% → 6–30%
Restoration: Riptide costs ~40% less mana, cooldown 6 → 12 sec, now heal-over-time only

Warlock

Spellstone boosts Shadow damage only; pet health per Stamina 7.5 → 2
Curse of Agony updates with spell power; Drain Soul grants Soul Shards far less often except on kills
Affliction: Wrack coefficient doubled, level-60 base damage per sec 36 → 86
Destruction: Shadow and Flame 2–10% → 4–20%

Hunter

All traps share a 30 sec cooldown (Fire and Frost no longer separate)
Aimed Shot bonus damage +~110%; Arcane Shot base damage +~30% and coefficient 0.10 → 0.15
Serpent Sting per-tick coefficient 3% → 5%, base damage +~20%; Aspect of the Hawk ranged AP raised
Hunter's Mark ranks no longer stack; rank 4 giving less than rank 3 fixed
Marksmanship: Barrage 3/7/10% → 5/10/15%, Sniper Shot bonus damage +100% / Survival: Lightning Reflexes Agility 2–10% → 3–15%

Druid

Bear and Dire Bear Form threat 50% → 115%
Cat weapon damage: Shred 155% → 200%, Claw 110% → 140%, Ravage 350% → 435%; Rip, Rake, Ferocious Bite and Pounce ~25% stronger
Ferocious Bite gains a level-24 rank 1; new Poised (32); Starfire base damage +~40%
Feral: Berserk removed, Primal Bite and Shifting Power move to the bottom row, Lacerate becomes a talent, Predatory Discipline added
Resto: Gift of the Earthmother → Bloom; Swiftmend needs your Rejuvenation or Regrowth; Wild Growth 3 sec cast
Balance/Feral: Genesis 1–5% → 2–10%; Moonkin and Leader of the Pack crit bonuses restored and exclusive again

Mage

Frost Blast removed; Arcane Blast mana per stack 175% → 100%, Intellect scaling 15% → 12%, 18 sec duration
Ice Lance shares an 8 sec cooldown with Fire Blast; bonus vs frozen back to 300%
Arcane: Missile Barrage consumed when Arcane Missiles starts; Arcane Focus removed (folded into Precision)
Fire: Critical Mass 10% → 6% (3 ranks), Incineration 6% → 10% (5 ranks), Improved Fireball → Accelerant
Frost: Piercing Ice removed; Precision 3 ranks 2/4/6%; Ice Barrier grants 15% Frost damage for 1 min

Paladin

Righteous Fury at 10 instead of 16; all threat +33% plus 90% extra from Holy damage
Blessing of Salvation, Greater Salvation, Revoke and Blessing of Light removed
Holy: new Oath of Light (heal-boost oath on one ally) and Boundless Light; Holy Power becomes 10–50% crit healing
Protection: new Stoicism and Shieldsworn; Improved Righteous Fury 3/6/9%; One-Handed Weapon Specialization removed; Templar's Bulwark dispellable
Retribution: new Turn Evil and Unsealed Wrath (31-point); Two-Handed Weapon Specialization also boosts Holy 2/4/6%; Instrument of Law removed
Confirms the Paladin rework seen in the Oct 30 datamine

Priest

Binding Heal removed → Holy Binding: Flash Heal on others heals you for 50%, with no threat
Shadow Word: Death backlash 10% → 30% when the target survives; no backlash on a miss
Power Word: Shield overwrites with equal or higher ranks correctly; Vampiric Embrace healing can no longer crit
Cure Disease and Abolish Disease no longer break Shadowform

Gamepad

Core gameplay and UI fully playable on a gamepad, configurable in Edit Mode and options
Placed AoE items, bag navigation, Focus target (LB+RB+Down), targeting dead allies and leaving a flight path added
Popups no longer steal focus; better addon compatibility

Items

Bags no longer auto-equip into empty slots — equip them yourself

Legacy system

Replica Ironforge Air Rifle works on allies holding one; Quitter debuff 5 min → 40 sec; stun 3 → 2.5 sec

Quests & world

Respawn speed now scales by zone level: fastest in starter zones, slower higher up (to be lowered again once launch crowds thin)
Many quest XP, prerequisite and map-marker fixes; some satyrs reclassified as Demons (good for Paladins)
The Barrens: start Counterattack! by talking to Rethgar Deathgate; Alterac Mountains Dalaran summoners no longer summon endlessly

PvP

Darkspear Isles battleground: dropping the flag no longer applies Recently Dropped Flag

Forever Assist commentary

This is the last big roundup before launch, and the theme is "stronger classes, sturdier mobs." Mob health rose with class damage, so leveling will not get much faster, but the biggest gains go to Hunters (Aimed Shot, Arcane Shot, Serpent Sting), cat Druids, Enhancement Shamans and Rogues. Blizzard says no major tuning before raids, so today's numbers are a fair basis for choosing a class.

All three tanks gain a lot of threat. Defensive Stance at 80%, Bear at 115% and Righteous Fury at level 10 mean far fewer lost mobs in early dungeons. The flip side: with Salvation gone, damage dealers in groups have to watch their own threat.

Rogue, Paladin and Druid trees moved around enough that you should re-spec on login. Most of the Oct 30 datamine is now officially confirmed, and with bag auto-equip off, just remember to equip the first bags you pick up yourself.

2026-10-27

Highlights

Follow-up to the October 26 racial pass with changes left out of it
Orc Blood Fury cooldown 3 min → 2 min
Troll Berserking duration 10 sec → 15 sec
Undead Touch of the Grave internal cooldown 25 sec → 15 sec
Skyborne Charged and Attuned survive death but are removed on entering a raid

Number changes at a glance

Orc

Blood Fury (cooldown) ▲ Buff -33%

180s → 120s

Troll

Berserking (duration) ▲ Buff +50%

10s → 15s

Undead

Touch of the Grave (internal cooldown) ▲ Buff -40%

25s → 15s

By topic

Races

Addendum to the October 26 racial pass — three missed changes and a Skyborne buff rule
Orc: Blood Fury cooldown 3 min → 2 min
Troll: Berserking duration 10 sec → 15 sec
Undead: Touch of the Grave internal cooldown 25 sec → 15 sec
Skyborne: Charged and Attuned persist through death but drop when you enter a raid

Forever Assist commentary

Orcs, who only got Command back the day before, now also get a 2-minute Blood Fury. That makes it available on nearly every dungeon pull and gives Orc Warriors, Rogues and Hunters a noticeably better burst. Trolls get a longer 15-second Berserking for opening bursts on bosses, and Undead see Touch of the Grave fire more often, adding steady self-healing while leveling.

Skyborne get no number changes, just a clearer rule: the 1-hour Charged and Attuned buffs carry through death in the open world and 5-player dungeons, but vanish when you enter a raid. Stopping at a Ley Line pays off for leveling and dungeons, while for raiding you should judge Skyborne by their base values. With name reservation already open, this addendum completes the racial picture for your final pick.

2026-10-26

Highlights

Racial pass: more distinct racial identity; some role- or class-focused racials return (weapon specs stay gone)
Human Ruthless crit 2% → 1%; The Human Spirit 5% → 10% Spirit
Dwarf Earth Fury removed → new Artisan's Precision (1% hit)
Orc Savage removed → Command returns (+5% Warlock and Hunter pet damage)
Tauren Plainsrunning cap 30% → 60% (no longer affects mounts); Endurance is now just 5% Health
Skyborne Wind-Blessed haste 3% → 2%; Read Leyline and Skysight retuned with new 1-hour empowered buffs

Number changes at a glance

Human

Ruthless (crit chance) ▼ Nerf -50%

2% → 1%
The Human Spirit (Spirit) ▲ Buff +100%

5% → 10%

Dwarf

Earth Fury (crit damage/healing) ✖ Removed

2% → —
Artisan's Precision (hit chance) ✚ New

— → 1%

Orc

Savage (crit chance) ✖ Removed

1% → —
Command (pet damage) ✚ New

— → 5%

Warlock & Hunter

Tauren

Plainsrunning (speed per stack) ▲ Buff +100%

1% → 2%
Plainsrunning (max speed) ▲ Buff +100%

30% → 60%

No longer affects mounts
Endurance (Health) ▼ Nerf

5% → 5%

Hit and crit damage bonuses removed

Skyborne

Wind-Blessed (haste) ▼ Nerf -33%

3% → 2%
Read Leyline (mana/health regen) ▼ Nerf -50%

100% → 50%

100% while "Attuned" (1 hr, at a Ley Line)
Skysight (movement speed) ▲ Buff +50%

10% → 15%

30% while "Charged" (1 hr, at a convergence)

By topic

Races

Direction: give each race a slight edge in certain roles by restoring racials that had become too generic (weapon specs excluded)
Human: Ruthless crit 2% → 1%; The Human Spirit 5% → 10% Spirit
Dwarf: Earth Fury (2% crit damage/healing) removed; new Artisan's Precision — 1% hit with spells and attacks
Orc: Savage (1% crit) removed; Command returns — +5% Warlock and Hunter pet damage
Tauren: Plainsrunning 1% → 2% per stack, cap 30% → 60%, no mounted speed / Endurance is just 5% Health (no hit or crit damage bonus)
Skyborne: Wind-Blessed haste 3% → 2% / Read Leyline regen 100% → 50% (15 sec, not with Innervate), 1-hour "Attuned" at a Ley Line restores 100% / Skysight speed 10% → 15% (15 sec), 1-hour "Charged" at an elemental convergence gives 30% — both persist through death

Forever Assist commentary

The October 15 pass pushed racials toward safe, generic numbers like crit; this one swings back toward racial flavor. Orc Warlocks and Hunters gain the most: Command returns with 5% more pet damage, which shows most while leveling with a pet. Dwarves trade crit damage for 1% hit, a steady gain for both melee and casters in early gear that lacks hit.

Humans and Skyborne lose out. Human crit is halved, making them less appealing for damage, while 10% Spirit leans them toward healers like Priests and Paladins. Skyborne lose haste and base regen, but the 1-hour buffs from Ley Lines and elemental convergences can bring them past their old values for players who seek them out.

Tauren lose their combat bonuses (hit and crit damage) but Plainsrunning now reaches 60%, making them the mobility race. That helps before you have a mount and in world PvP, but for dungeon damage they now trail other races. With launch on November 4, if you have not picked a race yet, these are the numbers to plan around.

2026-10-15

Highlights

Racial rework: Human, Orc and Dwarf weapon specs become crit traits; Troll Regeneration and Tauren Endurance improved
Wands and Hunter Auto Shot need you to stand still for 0.5 sec (early-WoW style)
Mage gets a new Frost spell, Frost Blast (level 24); Arcane Blast and Fire talents redesigned
Battle Shout, Trueshot Aura, Leader of the Pack, Shaman totems and more become raid-wide
Blessing of Salvation becomes Salvation, which stacks with other blessings; Shadow Priest talents reworked
Scrolls trigger the global cooldown; Marks of Honor stack to 30; Horde are attacked on sight in Dalaran

By topic

Races

Human Sword Specialization → Ruthless: 2% crit chance
Orc Axe Specialization → Savage: 1% crit; Blood Fury on a 3 min cooldown
Dwarf Mace Specialization → Earth Fury: 2% crit damage and healing; Find Treasure finds extra chest loot
Tauren Endurance: 2% crit damage and healing; War Stomp 90 sec; Plainsrunning adds 3% mounted speed
Troll Regeneration up to 20%; Night Elf Quickness stacks with other speed effects
Gnome Eureka becomes an 8 sec buff; Undead Touch of the Grave tidied up; several Skyborne traits buffed

Systems & leveling

Wands and Auto Shot fire only after standing still for 0.5 sec
Many party buffs from Warriors, Hunters, Druids and Shamans are now raid-wide

Druid

Leader of the Pack and Moonkin Aura are raid-wide
Faerie Fire generates threat in bear forms; Shred rank 1 learned at level 20
Furor keeps your Cat Form Energy through bear forms

Hunter

Auto Shot needs a 0.5 sec stand-still (still fires while casting Aimed Shot)
Trueshot Aura is raid-wide; one Fire and one Frost trap can be active at once
Pet abilities toned down: Crocolisk Dismember, Bat Sonic Blast, Bird of Prey Mine! get longer cooldowns

Mage

New spell Frost Blast (level 24): 1.5 sec cast, 40% slow — replaces down-ranked Frostbolt
Arcane Blast redesigned (stacking Intellect-based spell power); new gold medal talent Arcane Wrath
Fire talents such as Heating Up and Critical Mass redesigned; Frost: Ice Lance vs frozen down to 200%, Cone of Cold improved

Paladin

Blessing of Salvation → Salvation (stacks with blessings) plus Revoke to remove it
Righteous Fury threat up to 90%; Consecration spell power coefficient lowered
Reckoning stores up to 4 charges and fires on your next swing, as in Classic

Priest

Devouring Plague cooldown 24 sec; Shadow Word: Death 18 sec
Vampiric Embrace 30 sec and unresistable; new Shadow talent Dark Inspiration (party Spirit)
Discipline talents reshuffled; Mental Strength now boosts Intellect

Rogue

Poisons no longer proc on enemies attacking you; Sap no longer triggers weapon procs
Spec-swapping to refill Energy fixed; Cold Blood is consumed by Mutilate crits

Shaman

Grace of Air, Strength of Earth, Windfury and Flametongue totems are raid-wide; Grace of Air no longer excludes the other two
Chain Lightning mana cost down ~35%; Fire Nova damage and cost cut sharply
Elemental Mastery returns as the 31-point talent, Lava Burst moves to 21 points; Stormstrike costs 8% base mana

Warlock

Affliction gets a range talent; Shadow Mastery up to 2–10%
Destruction range talent changed; Soul Link on pets fixed

Warrior

Battle Shout is raid-wide; Slam no longer suffers pushback
Overpower vs much lower-level enemies fixed; Fury talent bugs fixed

Gamepad

Swing timer on the reticle; Trade, Guild, Chat Channels and Transmog usable with a gamepad
Ground-targeted items and quest reward selection fixed

Items

Scrolls trigger the global cooldown
Vendor prices of many crafted items reduced; some draughts share the combat potion cooldown

Quests & world

Dalaran: Horde are attacked on sight (City of Dalaran dungeon access unaffected)
Quest and respawn fixes in Darkshore, Mulgore, Stormwind, Teldrassil, Wetlands and more

PvP

Battleground Marks of Honor stack to 30 (was 20)

Interface

Auction House shows equip level and stats of suffix items
Level-up stat messages restored; nameplate distance tuned; /who supports subzones

Bug fixes

Bright fog at low shadow settings and Horde gaining Kirin Tor reputation fixed
Creatures regenerate health out of combat again

Forever Assist commentary

The headline of this build is the cleanup of "weapon races". Human, Orc and Dwarf weapon specializations all become crit-style traits, so your race no longer pushes you toward a specific weapon. The old Classic rule of thumb, "Orcs want axes, Humans want swords", is gone.

Second, many party buffs now reach the whole raid: Battle Shout, Trueshot Aura, Leader of the Pack and Shaman totems among them. Building raid groups around buff coverage matters much less, and Shamans only need to drop a totem once for everyone.

The change you will feel most in play is the 0.5 second stand-still rule for wands and Auto Shot. If you are used to shooting on the move, expect some lost damage until it becomes habit. Mages also get Frost Blast, an official replacement for down-ranked Frostbolt.

2026-10-08

Highlights

New dungeon: City of Dalaran opens for testing
Dungeon creature XP up about 20%; party XP now uses each player’s own level (Classic style)
Rage gain bugs fixed; crit Rage bonus raised to 100% (Warrior, Druid)
Bear threat raised; Retribution Aura now uses the caster’s spell power
Some dungeon rewards lowered from Rare to Uncommon; reduced PvP crit efficacy removed
Discord voice chat option; quest tracker shows quest type and level

By topic

Dungeons

City of Dalaran dungeon opens for testing
Dungeon creature XP up about 20%

Systems & leveling

Party XP now uses each player’s own level (Classic style)
Rage gain bugs fixed; crit Rage bonus 100%
Legacy Challenge granted (16 points); cheapest Legacy re-spec 1 silver

Druid

Bear threat up to 50%; Thorns back to Vanilla values
Demoralizing Roar generates threat

Hunter

Disengage threat reduction works
Expose Prey lasts 10 sec

Paladin

Retribution Aura uses the Paladin’s spell power
Reckoning has a 1.5 sec cooldown

Priest

Penance damage adjusted; rank 1 mana cost +50%

Warrior

Impale requires Deep Wounds again
Last Stand health fixed

Items

Some dungeon quest rewards lowered from Rare to Uncommon
Enchanting vendor prices changed

PvP

Reduced PvP crit efficacy removed

Interface

Discord voice chat; quest tracker shows type and level
View Talents on the target menu

Forever Assist commentary

This build reopens dungeon leveling: Dalaran arrives, dungeon XP goes up, and the bug that granted party XP based on the highest-level member is fixed, so grouping with friends of different levels costs less.

The Rage fixes matter most for Warriors and bear Druids. Rage from taking damage is back to normal, which makes early tanking noticeably smoother.

2026-10-01

Highlights

Level cap raised to 30
New dungeon Excavation Site: Wetlands (26–31); Razorfen Downs (25+) and Uldaman (30+) open
Dungeon quest bonus XP cut by about 50%
Barbershops added in Darnassus and Thunder Bluff
Fury Warrior talents heavily reworked; new Feral Druid talent
Some Blacksmithing and Leatherworking recipes now drop in dungeons

By topic

Systems & leveling

Level cap 30
Dungeon quest bonus XP cut about 50%
PvP gear Honor costs up ~50%; Honor cap 25,000

Dungeons

New dungeon Excavation Site: Wetlands (26–31)
Razorfen Downs (25+) and Uldaman (30+) open

Druid

Bear forms gain 75% more crit Rage; Tiger’s Fury removed
New Feral talent Shifting Power (mana → Energy)

Warrior

Fury talents heavily reworked; Protection reshuffled

Professions

Some Blacksmithing and Leatherworking recipes drop in dungeons
Fewer poor copper veins in starter zones

Quests & world

Barbershops in Darnassus and Thunder Bluff
Respawn tuning in several zones

2026-09-24

Highlights

Balance changes for every class (Druid heals can crit, Paladin Holy Strike, Shaman totem stacking and more)
Re-spec cost starts at 1 silver during the Beta
Cooldown Manager available for testing (some classes, off by default)
Gamepad class flyouts; Wizard Oils reverted to Classic values
Campfire buff no longer interrupts crafting or casting; respawn rates tuned in many zones

By topic

Systems & leveling

Re-spec from 1 silver during the Beta
Cooldown Manager available for testing
Campfire buff no longer interrupts crafting or casting

Druid

Rejuvenation, Tranquility and Wild Growth can crit; Wrath damage +~50%

Paladin

Holy Strike stronger (10 sec cooldown)
Righteous Fury threat 60%

Shaman

Lightning Bolt ranks 3–4 buffed; totem stacking rules tidied

Items

Wizard Oils back to Classic values; wands no longer scale with spell power

Original: official Blizzard forums. The topic breakdown and commentary are written by Forever Assist from the original and are not a translation. Check the original for exact numbers.