What's new compared with Classic
- Skyborne: High Elf exiles who can join either faction, starting on Zephras Isle (levels 1 to 12).
- New race and class pairings, such as Undead Paladins and Dwarf Shamans.
- New zones: the Riverlands and Mount Hyjal, plus new areas inside existing zones.
- Nine new dungeons spread through leveling, including Hall of Thanes (levels 13 to 18) and Ruins of Lordaeron (15 to 20).
- Revamped talent trees and new gear.
- Legacy: account-wide rewards. Legacy Points are shared across your characters, with up to 16 to spend per character at launch.
- Campfires give one-hour buffs and make it easier to meet other players.
- Professions: more than 600 new recipes across every level range.
- Updated visuals: new lighting, fog, reflective water and real shadows.
What stays the same
- Zones have fixed level ranges with no level scaling.
- There's no flying.
- Meeting Stones open a group listing rather than summoning players.
- There are no traditional realms. You pick a ruleset, and grouping, dungeons and raids stay within it.
- On PvP rulesets, all of an account's characters must be the same faction.
Raid unlocks and roadmap
| When | What |
|---|---|
| September 12, 2026 | Announced at BlizzCon 2026 |
| November 4, 2026 | Worldwide launch |
| December 9, 2026 | Raids unlock: Barrow Deeps (10 players), Hyjal Summit (20) and Onyxia's Lair (40) |
| Winter 2026 | Hardcore ruleset launches |
| Spring 2027 | Two new raids, two new dungeons, a new area, a legendary questline and a PvP season refresh |
| Summer 2027 | A revamped iconic raid, a new raid, two new dungeons, plus profession and Legacy updates |
First-week tips
- Starting zones are crowded in launch weeks. If a quest mob is contested, group up instead of racing for tags.
- When you join a friend's group, you'll see a layer refresh notice. Accept it once you're somewhere safe.
- Pick up flight paths as you travel. Without flying, they save a lot of time later.
- Plan your Legacy Points across characters, since they're shared.
- Raids open December 9, so aim to have a level 60 character and a dungeon set by then.