Blizzard before WoW Forever's launch: fewer layer swaps, new content every four months, dual spec at launch

With the beta over and the launch on 4 November close, two Blizzard developers answered questions from the press: Clay Stone, associate production director of WoW Forever, in a statement sent to GameSpot on 23 October, and Kris Zierhut, principal game designer, with Tim Jones, lead Classic designer, in a long interview with IGN published on 27 October. These are not official Blizzard articles but developers' words reported by the press: here is what they say.

Layering: what changes at launch

Layering runs several copies of the world at the same time to spread out players. During the beta it was one of the most criticised systems: players switched layer when leaving a group, crossing into another zone or travelling by boat or zeppelin. According to Stone, players are assigned a layer based on familiar players and friends, language and PvP balance, and grouping with someone moves you to their layer.

Blizzard admits that players were separated too often and in unexpected places, and promises two improvements for launch: players will no longer be split from the people they saw on a transport (boats and zeppelins) after the loading screen, and large groups will no longer change layer when entering or leaving a capital city. Stone adds that some layering will always remain, with more improvements during and after launch. GameSpot notes that the statement does not mention layer changes at zone borders, the case most criticised by world PvP players.

New content every four months

Zierhut explains that going six or eight months without new content "always feels bad", while Season of Discovery, at eight to ten weeks, was too fast. Forever's target is "closer to once every four months or 17 weeks", three times a year: about four months between raid tiers, and the same between PvP seasons, which Forever will have. Between one major patch and the next some content will unlock gradually through a timed event calendar.

What comes next

• Molten Core, Blackwing Lair and Ahn'Qiraj will come, but more slowly: "We're not starting with Molten Core". At launch the first raids, on 9 December, are Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair (details in our zones, dungeons and raids guide).
• New places that feel like they belong, such as the Riverglades and its ogre dungeon, and entirely new ones such as the Skyborne's Zephras.
• Northrend and Pandaria: possible "minor forays", a dungeon or a quest, but "not doing soon". The Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor remain home, with no new capital cities.

Dual spec at launch

"We have dual spec in the game at launch", says Zierhut: each character can keep two talent builds. A third is not ruled out for the future. Talents remain a commitment, with no changing them freely before every fight, but Blizzard has ideas to make respeccing easier. You can plan both builds in our talent builder.

Housing and the other answers

• Housing: "we don't have any plans to add player housing to Forever right now".
• Raids: there will be 10-, 20- and 40-player raids plus 5-player dungeons. Blizzard knows that sooner or later there will be "too many raids" and has ideas it is not sharing yet.
• Items: many trinkets change strength depending on the creature or the place, and Blizzard is watching bag and bank space, already larger than in Classic.

Meanwhile, from Blizzard

• 26 October: the short story Unbowed, about a former Scarlet Crusader who became one of the Forsaken.
• 27 October: the animated trailer WARPATH, Horde against Alliance.
• 27 October: an article on the WoW Portal Room, the official World of Warcraft Discord server, which opens its doors to Forever players.

All the dates before and after launch are in our calendar.