WoW Forever Week of Sep 16–Sep 22: The Beta Opens

The week at a glance

Site updates

31

Each one a change to a page, listed below with its source where it rests on one

Days with updates

6

Between Sep 16 and Sep 22

Pages changed

20

Different pages the updates link to

Day by day

1. September 17, 2026
   • New name reservation page: when you can reserve names before launch, and how two-part names work.
   • New About page: where our facts and talent data come from, and how we check them.
   • New system requirements page: Blizzard’s minimum and recommended specs for Windows and Mac.
   • New editions and prices page: what the Skyborne Heroic and Epic Packs, the Warcraft Forever Collection and the Collector’s Edition include.
   • New Forever vs Classic page: what WoW Forever is and what changes from Classic.
   • Build links made before the talent trees change still open with their talents; a point the new trees can’t take is dropped with a notice.
   • The dungeons page’s level chart is now a leveling roadmap, with the new zones’ levels beside the dungeons.
   • New raids guide: the Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia’s Lair, raid sizes, tier sets and the raid roadmap.
   • New talent data updates page: each rebuild of the calculator’s talent data, and what changed from the demo to the beta.
   • The talent calculator now reads its talents from the beta client (build 1.60.1.69893) instead of transcriptions of the BlizzCon demo. Source: wago.tools
2. September 18, 2026
   • Each class talent page now lists the talents that differ between the BlizzCon demo data and the beta, and the calculator’s ⇄ toggle marks them in the trees.
   • The servers, raids, dungeons, name reservation, Legacy and Skyborne pages add Blizzard’s September 17 Live Q&A answers and the beta known issues: shared battlegrounds, one difficulty, a required last name, no GDKP. Source: Blizzard · Our news article
   • The beta is open, and the release date page now has Blizzard’s dates for it (September 17 to October 21), how to get in and its known issues list. Source: Blizzard
3. September 19, 2026
   • The raids, dungeons, release date, Forever vs Classic and zones pages add this week’s developer interviews: the launch raids need no attunement, item stats stay hidden until they drop, and riding training costs 100 or 1,000 gold with the first mount free.
   • The calculator and talent pages now read beta build 1.60.1.69913, which changed no talents; the Beta changes sections still compare the BlizzCon demo data with the beta. Source: wago.tools
4. September 20, 2026
   • The servers page explains the World Refresh notification: the warning before the game moves you to another copy of your zone, the “Refresh Now” button, and what can be different once you are there. Source: Wowhead
   • Each new zone now has its own page: Mount Hyjal, Shen’dralas, the Riverglades and Zephras Isle, with what is in them and how you get there.
   • Every new dungeon now has its own page: levels, where it is, who Blizzard pitched it to, and what Blizzard has shown of it.
   • New professions and camping guide: what stays the same as Classic, the 600+ new recipes, every profession’s camp objects and buffs, campfire sizes and the Legacy perks that go with them.
5. September 21, 2026
   • New answers: a PvP ruleset allows one faction per player, mob tagging stays unshared, and the beta is hosted in the US with better routing for Europe.
   • Each launch raid now has its own page: the Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia’s Lair, with size, open day, entrances, the demo’s boss names and what is still unannounced.
   • Each profession now has its own page, with its camp objects, Legacy perks and a list of the recipes that are new in the beta client.
   • Each class now has an abilities page: the trainer abilities that are new, changed or gone in the Forever beta client compared with Classic Era, with the text of both.
   • New leveling guide: the new zones and dungeons by level, the dungeon XP changes, where the new quests are, Legacy leveling perks and travel.
   • New PvP guide: no rated PvP, the seasonal honor track, Darkspear Islands, battleground queues, and the honor ranks and weekly cap found in the beta client.
   • Two new guides: the Hardcore ruleset (not at launch, what happens when you die, Legacy points) and Classic mode (the transmog toggle, HD and SD models).
6. September 22, 2026
   • A Wowhead datamine said the beta needs about 26% less experience to reach 60 (retracted on September 23: the curve is the same as Classic); also the 48-slot bank, mailed dungeon loot, name rules in the beta and the Hunter Auto Shot change. Our news article
   • New beta datamine series, counted from the beta client’s own tables: first, every new item, by level, slot and armor type, with the new Premier honor gear, Horde Paladin and Alliance Shaman sets and crafting-order writs; plus how we count.
   • Beta datamine: every new spell in the beta client, by kind and class, with new Tier 1 set bonuses written per spec, the new mounts and companions, and a new racial for every race.
   • Beta datamine: which announced zones, dungeons and raids the beta client already has maps for, and the places nobody has announced, from a Ruins of Gilneas zone to Manor Mistmantle.
   • Every class page is now a full guide: is the class for you, its three specs and the Forever talents they rest on, abilities by level from the beta client, the race for your weapon and what changed from Classic. Talent calculators now list the community builds posted for the beta and the races for each class.

Related WoW Forever guides

• Latest Updates
• Release Date & Beta