Blizzard updates World of Warcraft: Forever beta with class rebalances, new tutorial and Horde lockout from Dalaran

What changed in the October 15 build

Blizzard community manager Kaivax posted development notes on the official World of Warcraft forums at 12:15 a.m. UTC on Friday, saying the team had updated the WoW Forever beta with a new build. The notes are dated October 15. ^{[1] [2]}

General additions include a new tutorial experience for new players, a Bloom Intensity slider in the advanced graphics settings, and an Auto Attack and Auto Shot option for Hunters that also supports gamepads. Wands and Auto Shot now require the player to stand still for half a second before firing, which the notes say matches early WoW. ^[1]

Bug fixes include extra-bright fog at lower shadow settings, Horde players being able to earn Kirin Tor reputation, and creatures failing to regenerate health properly out of combat. ^[1]

Races and classes

Several racial traits were reworked. Humans lose Sword Specialization in favor of Ruthless, a 2 percent critical strike bonus, and Dwarves swap Mace Specialization for Earth Fury, a 2 percent boost to critical damage and healing. Orc Blood Fury now has a three-minute cooldown, up from two, and Troll regeneration bonuses rise to 20 percent from 10. ^{[1] [2]}

Class changes are broad. Mages get a new level 24 spell, Frost Blast, and a redesigned Arcane Blast. Paladins see Blessing of Salvation replaced by Salvation and Mass Salvation, with a new Revoke ability. Warriors' Battle Shout becomes raid-wide, and Shaman Chain Lightning mana cost drops by about 35 percent. Priest, Hunter, Druid, Rogue and Warlock talents were also adjusted. ^[1]

Battleground Marks of Honor now stack to 30 instead of 20, and the Auction House gains an equippable level column. ^[1]

Dalaran and quest changes

Horde players are now attacked on sight in Dalaran and are no longer welcome in the city, according to the notes. The Dalaran Sewer Key from the Horde questline no longer grants open-world access to the city, though the City of Dalaran dungeon remains accessible. Other quest fixes touch Ashenvale, Darkshore, Mulgore, Stormwind, Teldrassil and Wetlands. ^[1]

Background and what comes next

World of Warcraft: Forever is a new version of the game built on the original Azeroth, which Blizzard describes as reimagined. The beta began September 17 and runs through October 21, the last full day of testing, according to Blizzard. Access requires an eligible bundle or an invitation from the opt-in pool. ^{[3] [4]}

Earlier builds in the same notes thread raised the beta level cap to 30 and added the City of Dalaran dungeon. Blizzard has set the launch for November 4 at 3 p.m. Pacific, and TechSpot reports the game will be included with an active WoW subscription. ^{[2] [3] [5]}

The notes list no new known issues for this build. Blizzard has not said whether further beta builds will arrive before the October 21 end date. ^{[1] [2]}