WoW Forever beginner's guide

The biggest mistake is assuming you already know it. Forever adds more than a thousand new quests between level 1 and 60, and in my experience nothing in the game tells you which ones are new. I have played through Northshire Valley, the human starting area, something like three dozen times over the years, and I still found a quest there I had never seen. That one is Nibbled-On Book, which starts from a book the kobolds drop and turns into a chain at the abbey library. Keep an eye out for quest givers you don't recognize.

If you have only played retail, a few old rules are back:

• You learn spells from your class trainer as you level, and they cost gold. Visit a trainer every couple of levels. Weapon skills are trained too.
• Hunters use ammunition. Arrows and bullets run out, so carry plenty.
• Professions matter. Blizzard added over 600 new recipes, crafted food that gives a small experience bonus, and recipes that drop from dungeon bosses.
• Talents start at level 10, and dual spec arrives at level 40.
• Group Finder helps you find people, but it does not build the group for you or teleport anyone. You still travel to the dungeon entrance.
• Transmog is there if you want it and off if you don't.

If you are a casual player, or new to WoW, play a Hunter. It is the easiest class to understand. You have a pet that holds attention while you attack from range. Race matters much less than class, so pick whatever you like the look of. Horde or Alliance is fine too; I play Alliance because I always have.

The two things that caught me out on a Hunter, years ago, were taming a pet and ammunition. You can't tame a beast that is higher level than you. Ammunition is the one to plan for: it runs out mid-quest if you forget it, so buy a stack every time you visit town. In Forever every pet family can learn Bite or Claw, and pets scale with your gear.

Warrior and Paladin are the other two I would point a new player at. Still not sure? Choosing your first class has a five-question quiz, every class card and the full race table.

Forever also opens up race and class pairs that were never allowed before: Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Undead Paladin. There is one new race, the Skyborne. On both factions they can be Druids, Hunters, Rogues or Warriors; Horde Skyborne can also be Shamans, and Alliance Skyborne can also be Mages. They start on Zephras Isle, and access to the race comes with the Forever upgrade packs.

Leveling in Forever is faster than Classic and slower than retail. That is my read rather than a number, and Blizzard has adjusted experience more than once during testing, so I would not trust anyone quoting an exact time to 60.

What helps is the usual: questing with other people, logging out in an inn or a city so you build rested experience, and eating crafted food for its small experience bonus.

Camping is the new system I like most. You can build a campfire out in the world, and other players can add to it with their professions. A campsite can offer vendors, repairs, places to craft, and one-hour buffs. Sit by the fire for a moment and you get them.

A basic campfire holds three objects, and upgraded fires hold five or ten. Objects unlock at profession skill 20. Blizzard's deep dive has the full list. If you see a campfire with people around it, stop for a minute.

Pick up two gathering professions early. Skinning, Mining and Herbalism all pay from the first level, because you can sell what you gather. Once you have some gold and know what you want to make, drop the one that doesn't fit. If I started with Mining and Herbalism and decided to become a Blacksmith, I would keep Mining and drop Herbalism.

Pick up everything and sell what you don't need. Vendor trash adds up, and early gold is what pays for your spells at the trainer.

Get bags as soon as you can. Buy them, have a Tailor make them, or take them as quest rewards. Some drop at random, so you can get lucky. More bag space means fewer trips back to town.

Don't buy gold. During testing Blizzard closed over 2,100 gold-buying accounts, plus around 1,600 that were selling gold or botting. I think of it like a speed limit. Everyone knows it's there, and if you get caught going over it, that's on you.

To list yourself in Group Finder you have to pick a playstyle: Learning, Relaxed, Competitive or Carry Offered. Be honest with it. On my first Hall of Thanes run I picked Relaxed. Our tank said he was new, and he should have picked Learning. If it's your first time through a dungeon, Learning is the right pick.

It is a useful tool, but I would like to be able to choose more than one. Relaxed can read as "not going to try", and Competitive can read as "on a timer". Most groups are somewhere in between.

Hall of Thanes is a new dungeon in Old Ironforge, beneath the High Seat, for levels 13 to 18. It has four bosses: Faldrim Anvilmar, Magmatus, Plunder and Durgen Dirgehammer. Its quests are for the Alliance and start in Dun Morogh. Wowhead's walkthrough covers the route.

I describe it as a light warm-up for Blackrock Depths, the level 50 dungeon famous for being a maze. Hall of Thanes is much smaller, but it can feel like a maze in the same way. A group that knows the way should finish in 30 minutes to an hour. My first run took about an hour and a half, after swapping both the tank and the healer.

Everything about the dungeon, with the route, the quests and all four bosses, is in the Hall of Thanes guide.

It is one of nine new dungeons in Forever. Another is Ruins of Lordaeron, for levels 15 to 20. All nine are listed on the dungeons page.

Hardcore is its own ruleset, and Blizzard said it would open after the others. It is a closed community: you can't group with players on other rulesets. If a Hardcore character dies, it can transfer to another ruleset, PvP included, and keep playing.

I don't plan to play Hardcore. It has never really appealed to me. That transfer rule is the closest it has come, though, because a death sends your character to the rest of the world instead of deleting it.

If you try it, be careful, and never walk away from your computer while your character is somewhere dangerous. You never know what will wander past.

Facts on this page were checked against Blizzard's posts and Wowhead on 8 October 2026. Blizzard can change details at any time, and its own posts are the final word.

• Blizzard: What's Next panel recap (what Forever is, new quests, camping, no flying or scaling)
• Blizzard: Deep Dive panel recap (professions, camping details, transmog)
• Blizzard: Choose your ruleset (rulesets, Hardcore)
• Blizzard: Hunter and Druid deep dive (pets)
• Blizzard: races and classes (new pairs, Skyborne, Zephras Isle)
• Blizzard: Forever upgrades (Skyborne access)
• Blizzard: beta content (Hall of Thanes and Ruins of Lordaeron levels)
• Blizzard: class guide (trainers, talents, dual spec)
• Wowhead: no WoW Token or boosts
• Wowhead: Group Finder playstyles
• Wowhead: Hall of Thanes walkthrough
• Wowhead: gold-buying bans
• Blizzard forums: development notes (ammunition, taming)
• Warcraft Tavern: Group Finder and summoning
• Wowhead: Nibbled-On Book

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