'World of Warcraft' has constantly evolved over a long period of time.
With each expansion, the world expanded and systems grew more complex. Yet at the same time, players consistently voiced a desire to reclaim the feeling of walking across Azeroth for the very first time long ago. Revealed for the first time at this year's BlizzCon, 'World of Warcraft: Forever' is a project born from those memories. Having recently conducted beta testing, it has now entered the stage of confirming its direction through actual gameplay rather than vague anticipation.
Executive Producer Holly Longdale and Associate Production Director Clay Stone of 'World of Warcraft' are currently in Australia to attend PAX Australia. While handling their local event schedule, the two took a brief moment to sit down for an online interview with Inven.
Inven met online with Holly Longdale and Clay Stone to discuss the current development status and future direction of 'WoW: Forever'.
The current 'WoW: Forever' beta has received many positive reactions, with players noting that Classic's signature sense of adventure and exploration has been brought back to life. What is the development team most satisfied with in the current beta?
Holly Longdale: Most gratifying of all is the incredible response and excitement surrounding the idea of 'WoW: Forever' itself. This beta is also the largest in terms of player participation that we've ever recorded. Based on player feedback, we feel confident that we've made good decisions in creating 'WoW: Forever'. Now Clay and the team are continuing to polish the details based on the various feedback coming in from the beta.
Clay Stone: To add to what Holly said, we packed a vast number of ideas into 'WoW: Forever', including new features. However, we couldn't be entirely sure how actual players would receive them.
There were many risky decisions that required a significant amount of development time, such as the rendering update that kept the existing vanilla world intact while adding new lighting and atmospheric effects, or the new server infrastructure that removes realm boundaries. Until we revealed this at BlizzCon, we had no way of knowing whether players would truly accept these changes.
But almost every element we've tried so far has received an overwhelmingly positive response overall. That's what makes me, and the entire team, happiest.
Among the new features in 'WoW: Forever', many players are interested in the camping system. Is there any possibility of expanding this into a larger system more closely tied to player interactions and professions in the future?
Clay Stone: We are very pleased to see that the camping system is being well received by players, and that it's naturally encouraging social interaction.
In particular, the level cap in the current beta is 30, and we're looking forward to seeing how players engage with the camping system as they progress beyond level 30, further advancing their professions and crafting skills to utilize them at camp.
Based on the response so far, the team has already begun discussing what more we can do with the camping system in the future. However, we don't have any concrete announcements to make today. We want to continue developing and expanding features that resonate particularly well with players in new and exciting directions. As we said at BlizzCon, nothing is off the table. We will continue to determine our direction based on player reactions.
'WoW: Forever' is built on Classic's combat foundation while making significant changes to existing classes. Some players feel that it's not just numerical performance, but class identity itself that has shifted. What does the dev team consider the criteria for 'Forever-style' class design?
Clay Stone: That's a huge question. While the answer varies slightly for each class, the overall philosophy is to maintain distinct class identities and avoid homogenization.
Rather than making every class identical to how it was in the past, keeping them feeling distinct from one another is what matters most. At the same time, we want to flesh out areas that weren't fully realized originally.
Back in vanilla, there were specializations that were considered practically unplayable due to the community-driven meta. One of our key goals in 'WoW: Forever' is to ensure that no spec feels unplayable or useless.
Every spec doesn't need to be the absolute best choice in every fight, raid, or dungeon. However, there should be a compelling reason to bring a specific spec to certain content in the game. It's important that every class and specialization gets an opportunity to shine in different parts of the game. Anyone following the beta will notice that the scale of changes varies greatly by class. Classes that were already fun and working well received only minor adjustments. On the other hand, specs that were previously dubbed 'meme specs' or considered non-viable are getting far more work.
Throughout the beta process, we've been making substantial changes and adjustments based on player feedback. In some cases, we felt we pushed too far and pulled back. That was the case when we tweaked or added certain racial traits. In Season of Discovery, we intentionally pushed class changes very far. In doing so, class homogenization occurred in certain situations. We are trying to avoid that in 'WoW: Forever'.
If 'WoW: Forever' continues adding content over the long term, new abilities and combat mechanics will likely be needed. Where do you draw the line for changes while maintaining Classic's relatively simple combat structure?
Clay Stone: It's difficult to draw an exact line. Philosophically, however, we really love the feel of combat in vanilla.
The idea is that if players invest enough time into preparation, the actual execution of combat doesn't need to be as mechanically complex as modern 'World of Warcraft' combat. This is something we learned through recreating 'WoW Classic' in 2019 and navigating various Classic experiences since.
In Classic, the process of a team preparing to overcome a challenge is just as important as executing the fight itself. Looking at some of the dungeon bosses in the current beta, there are cases where they only have a handful of mechanics. We view it very positively that players are responding so well to that design. Unless a compelling reason arises to shift course, we intend to stick with this approach for the foreseeable future.
This also helps carve out 'WoW: Forever's unique identity. Combat in 'WoW: Forever' is intentionally meant to feel different from modern 'World of Warcraft' combat, and we want to preserve that distinction.
'WoW: Forever' maintains a level cap of 60 while emphasizing 'horizontal progression'. From a player's perspective, however, it might be hard to intuitively grasp how this differs from simply obtaining better gear. What is the core of horizontal progression as the dev team defines it?
Clay Stone: There is an important distinction here. When we talk about 'horizontal', we primarily mean expanding the world itself horizontally.
We can add new zones, dungeons, raids, and quests, as well as deepen professions or expand profession trees. Legacy systems can also be added continuously over time. Broadening the world sideways in this manner is what we mean by horizontal progression.
Looking strictly at gear progression, it isn't entirely horizontal. When a new raid tier is introduced, there will be a degree of power escalation between tiers. However, we aim to keep that power jump as narrow as possible.
For instance, some of your Best-in-Slot (BiS) gear might come from a previous raid tier, and players could keep using those items for a considerably long time. That doesn't mean you'll wear them forever—they will eventually be replaced—but we want to keep older content relevant for as long as possible. This applies not just to raids, but to earlier dungeons as well. Even as new content is continually added, we want players to have reasons to revisit older dungeons and raids.
Truthfully, this approach isn't unique to 'WoW: Forever'. In the original 'World of Warcraft' and 'WoW Classic', certain items from earlier content remained Best-in-Slot for a long time or were consistently sought after by many players. We will continue listening to player feedback to judge what feels right, but at least as a starting point, this is how we plan to approach it.
It's still too early to say whether there will be a 'soft reset' for gear progression. However, our intent is that everything a player does in the game should hold meaning. What a player experiences and the items they earn should all matter. While maintaining this 100% forever might be practically impossible, it remains a core principle and pillar of 'WoW: Forever' that we want to uphold as long as possible.
One of the controversial changes in the beta has been the dungeon XP tuning. While the intent to limit repetitive dungeon leveling is understandable, some argue that leveling through dungeons has been overly restricted, even for specs that struggle with solo play. Do you feel the current system is working as the dev team intended?
Clay Stone: Things like this are precisely why we're so glad to run a beta. Before launching a beta, we have to rely on educated guesses and calculated risks in many areas. For issues like this in particular, having a beta to gather player feedback is incredibly important.
Speaking from a philosophical standpoint, some of the original game's developers are still on our team today, and I don't believe those original creators intended for players to spend their entire journey from level 1 to max level locked inside dungeons doing nothing out in the open world.
'World of Warcraft' is a social game. One of the core elements of 'WoW: Forever' is that the 'journey' matters deeply. We want players to go out into the world, experience Azeroth, meet other players of similar levels, and create meaningful memories as they journey together.
That doesn't mean we dislike dungeons. We love dungeons, and we love dungeon-related quests. We also place great rewards in dungeons so players have reasons to return even after completing them once.
However, the numbers at the start of the beta may have leaned a bit too far in one direction. Personally, I think it's actually fortunate that we started there, because it allows us to dial things back gradually from that point.
I believe we've already announced adjustments to slightly reduce XP gained from dungeon quests while slightly increasing XP earned from dungeon mobs. Throughout the beta process, we will continue fine-tuning to find the sweet spot that feels right to players.
This is an issue we need to keep discussing with the community moving forward. By launch, I believe we'll land on a solid middle ground that satisfies players while staying true to 'WoW: Forever's core design philosophy.
With a recent survey regarding the possibility of new classes, players have begun imagining what 'WoW: Forever' will look like years down the line. Over the long term, how do you hope players remember 'WoW: Forever' beyond simply an 'expanded Classic' or 'Classic+'?
Clay Stone: Even looking at where we are starting today, I think 'WoW: Forever' is already forging its own distinct identity.
What's wonderful about the legacy Classic titles we brought back is that they serve as a sort of 'time capsule'. Conversely, modern 'World of Warcraft' keeps pushing forward, charting its course as a contemporary MMO.
My hope is that 'WoW: Forever' clearly defines its own identity and stands side-by-side with them. In any form, I believe 'World of Warcraft' is one of the greatest games ever created, and I hope 'WoW: Forever' comes to be remembered as one of those games as well.
Looking at elements like the rendering update and new systems in 'WoW: Forever', while the foundation originates from Classic, there are also features—such as the collections system—that were drawn from modern 'World of Warcraft' and refined into a more contemporary form.
Ultimately, I hope it becomes a game that stands alongside other versions of 'World of Warcraft' while offering a distinctly unique experience when you play it.
Holly Longdale: Philosophically, the dev team will also remain open-minded. Over time, I think we'll gradually move away from discussions about 'what feels Classic' versus 'what feels modern'.
Instead, the focus will shift to what 'WoW: Forever' and its community need. We've always followed the voice of our community, and we will continue to do so. Ultimately, the identity of 'WoW: Forever' will be built alongside the 'WoW: Forever' community.
