Level 30 is now open in the WoW Forever beta, and Blizzard has used the patch to rework how levelling feels. Dungeon quests give less experience, monsters respawn faster out in the open world, several classes have been tweaked and PvP gear now costs a lot more honour. Testers get new dungeons to explore along the way. For everyone else waiting on the 4 November launch, it’s a useful early look at the pace of the final game, and the WoW Forever beta still has more than two weeks to run, so further changes remain possible.
At a glance
WoW Forever beta characters can reach level 30 since the maintenance of 1 October.
The dungeon quest experience bonus has been halved, and creatures respawn faster in open-world zones.
Most PvP gear costs around 50% more honour, while the honour cap rises to 25,000.
WoW Forever opens up level 30 and two new dungeons
Since the beta opened on 17 September, characters had been stuck at level 20. Blizzard lifted that cap during the beta maintenance of 1 October announced on its official forums, and the servers came back up on the morning of 2 October, Paris time, according to Kami-Labs. Characters already sitting at level 20 can simply carry on from where they stopped. Testers can now reach level 30, and the cap will stay there until the test ends.
New content arrives with those ten extra levels. According to the breakdown published by French MMO site JeuxOnLine in its summary of the patch notes, two dungeons open up: a dig site in the Wetlands aimed at levels 26 to 31, and Razorfen Kraul, available from level 25.
More is on the way. On the official WoW Forever page, Blizzard promises nine new dungeons at launch, along with new zones and new raids. The WoW Forever beta is revealing them bit by bit, one level bracket at a time.
Less dungeon XP, more monsters outdoors
Progression takes the biggest hit. JeuxOnLine reports that the experience bonus from dungeon quests has been cut by 50%, while creatures now respawn faster in open-world zones. According to JeuxOnLine, the aim is to push players to level outside dungeons rather than running the same instances on repeat.
Anyone planning to rush through dungeons with a group will feel the difference. Questing out in the world becomes a serious option again, and quicker respawns mean less waiting around when several players are hunting the same target.
Several classes have been tweaked as well. Druids lose Tiger’s Fury, replaced by a talent that converts mana into energy. Warriors generate more rage from critical hits and get a reorganised talent tree, while Hunters and Warlocks have their pets’ aggressive mode back. The remaining classes receive smaller balance adjustments.
On 24 September, an earlier beta patch had already adjusted all nine classes and removed three talents, according to French site Kami-Labs, which relies on posts by Kaivax on Blizzard’s forums.
PvP gear in WoW Forever will take longer to earn
PvP fans will need more patience. Honour is the currency earned by fighting other players, and it’s what buys PvP gear and the tokens used to upgrade it. JeuxOnLine says the honour cost of most PvP gear pieces and upgrade tokens has gone up by around 50%. To balance that out, the maximum honour you can hold rises from 15,000 to 25,000. Putting together a full PvP set will take noticeably more matches than before the patch.
Blizzard could still move these settings, as it keeps adjusting the game based on feedback. The studio had already raised the tester limit twice, as we covered when WoW Forever raised its beta player cap again. The WoW Forever beta is due to close on 21 October according to JeuxOnLine, or 22 October according to Kami-Labs, roughly two weeks before launch.
Between now and 4 November, testers have a few more weeks to send feedback on this new progression, and everyone else will find out at launch which of these numbers survived. For Blizzard, it’s the last real chance to settle these numbers before everyone else gets in.
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