Every WoW Forever beta update by date

WoW Forever beta timeline
DateWhat changed
Sept 17 Beta opens, level cap 20. Week one: Skyborne, Hall of Thanes (13–18), Ruins of Lordaeron (15–20) and zones up to 20. First known-issues list.
Sept 18 Known issues add Cooldown Manager, Bear Form armor, spell queue and Arcane Missiles bugs.
Sept 21 Faster EU routing for movement and connection problems.
Sept 22 Client 1.60.1 Build 69977: Mac display, stability and gamepad fixes.
Sept 23 Heavier weather teased for some beta zones (a downpour in Elwynn).
Sept 24 Maintenance, new build, updated known issues and action on name violations.

Open bugs, including the party/world instance issue and Cooldown Manager tracking gaps, are in WoW Forever beta known issues.

September 24 build: class-by-class changes

Biggest leveling change per class, September 24 build
ClassBiggest change
Druid Rejuvenation, Tranquility and Wild Growth can crit; Wrath base damage up about 50%. Mangle is now Primal Bite.
Hunter Pet Furious Howl AP bonus cut 40%; Tame Beast no longer works on Beasts above your level.
Mage Arcane Missiles checks line of sight only at the start. Wake of Fire 30 sec, Hot Streak 20 sec (up from 20 and 15).
Paladin Holy Strike ranks scale from 25% to 50% weapon damage; Righteous Fury holy threat down to 60% (was 90%).
Priest Renew can crit; Power Word: Shield overwrites a shield if there’s no Weakened Soul.
Rogue Sap on a PvP-flagged target flags you too.
Shaman Flametongue Totem has no duration; air totems don’t stack even from different Shamans.
Warlock Voidwalker Sacrifice scales with 10% of your spell healing.
Warrior Protection: Bastion and Focused Rage swapped. Arms: Bloodthrill chance doubled, Slam cooldown 18 sec.

Racials: Gnome Eureka! is now a 10% resource discount for every class, Tauren Cultivation has per-herb level requirements, and Touch of the Grave no longer breaks CC. More in WoW Forever class and talent changes.

Changes that affect everyone

  • Respecs: if you haven’t respecced recently, it costs 1 silver. The next one costs much more, then drops back to 1 silver after an hour. Beta only.
  • Campfire buff: works while sitting, in a chair, sleeping, lying down or kneeling, and buffing, casting or crafting while you wait no longer stands you up.
  • Cooldown Manager: off by default, enable it under Options > Gameplay Enhancement. Testable on Druid, Mage, Priest, Warrior and Warlock, no spell ranks yet.
  • Wands and Wizard Oil: wands no longer scale with your spell damage. Minor, Lesser and regular Wizard Oil are back to Classic Era values (8/16/24 spell power).
  • Gamepad: class flyouts for forms, pets, auras and stances, plus Compact Action Bar and Fixed Party Targeting options.
  • Performance: a memory leak that slowly hurt performance is fixed, a setting that could disable fog is gone, and Mac water and display bugs are fixed.

Quest and zone fixes worth knowing

  • Elwynn: murlocs, Shinyfinder Narf and Nimsy respawn faster; Mother Fang respawns slower and doesn’t always drop a green; Jasperlode and Fargodeep lost their candles.
  • Teldrassil: “Bounty: Gnarlpine Furbolg” needs 15 instead of 20.
  • Skyborne: four Zephras Isle and Undercity quests are fixed.
  • Silithus: Khonsu’s arrival is pulled from this beta phase and will return later.

Name violations: the September 24 crackdown

Blizzard is issuing forced name changes to beta characters that break the naming policy and pulled beta access from some players whose names were far outside the Code of Conduct. The dev team reviewed each case, Customer Service won’t handle appeals, and an automated name filter is coming “very shortly”.

What’s coming in the next beta builds

  • Fewer blues: some quests will give only XP and gold, or one blue instead of four. The devs on the podcast said some of this may land next build. 55:47
  • No rushed dungeon XP changes; they’ll revisit once the cap goes up. 59:39
  • Average 1–20 leveling time: 20.4 hours in Era, 20.5 in Forever. 50:09
  • The level cap rises from 20 to 30 as the beta goes on.
  • Blizzard is working on improvements for party changes moving you between world instances.
  • Heavier weather is coming to some beta zones “soon”. Weather clip
  • Everyone plays on a single beta server; live servers won’t work that way, which also explains the EU issues. 38:17
  • A Server Slam will open the beta to everyone for a few hours, details to come.

When does the WoW Forever beta end?

Beta access ends on October 21 (PDT) per the Collector’s Edition article, and Blizzard’s beta announcement calls it the last full day of testing; the roadmap image says “Sept 17 – Oct 22”. No exact shutdown time has been given. Early name reservation opens October 27, and the game launches November 4 at 3:00 p.m. PST (23:00 UTC).

FAQ

How do I install a beta update?
Exit the game and update from the Battle.net app. Bigger builds come with maintenance; the September 24 downtime was billed as “at least a couple of hours”.
Can I still get into the beta?
Yes, until October 21. The Skyborne Epic Pack, Warcraft Forever Collection or physical Collector’s Edition guarantee access; the free opt-in doesn’t.

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