Forever's quality-of-life changes, and the one trap to know

Forever keeps Classic's pace, but it quietly removes a lot of old friction. Here is everything the beta has shown so far, with the one change that can actually hurt you listed first.

The trap: spell ranks don't update themselves

When you train a new rank of a mana-based spell, the old rank stays on your action bar. Rogue and Warrior abilities update automatically, but casters don't. The spellbook also hides lower ranks by default, with a toggle at the top right. After every visit to the trainer, check your bars, or you'll keep casting Frostbolt rank 2 at level 30 without noticing.

Bags, banks and loot

• The bank is twice as big: 48 slots by default and 8 bag slots instead of 6. Blizzard says more may come once players need it.
• Free bags early. Starter-zone quests hand out a 6-slot bag, and new bags slot themselves in automatically when you have room.
• Forgotten loot is mailed to you. Leave something in a dungeon and the Steamwheedle Lost and Found posts it back.

Combat and information

• Stats explained on hover. The character panel now tells you what each stat does, including how much hit you need against higher-level enemies. Hit and crit now apply to melee, ranged and spells alike.
• Faster Auto Shot and wanding. The hidden "stand still" window before each shot is much shorter. Hunters and wand users still stop, but only for a moment.
• Five minutes' warning before a layer change. If the game needs to move you to another copy of the zone, you get a countdown and a "Refresh Now" button, instead of a surprise mid-fight. It was built with Hardcore in mind.

Fun extras

• Barbershops are confirmed, starting in Stormwind, with the same options as character creation plus a toggle between the classic and HD models.
• The Cozy Sleeping Bag returns from Season of Discovery through a quest chain from level 14. Resting on it gives a small experience bonus, up to 3%, and the chain rewards a 12-slot bag.
• Rockslicer, a two-handed axe from the Deadmines, can mine Copper, Tin, Silver and Iron 30 times without the Mining skill, and it stays a normal weapon afterwards.

None of this changes what Forever is. But together it means fewer trips to the mailbox, fewer wasted casts and fewer deaths to things you couldn't see coming.