The level cap is still 60 and the old world is still there. Around it Blizzard is adding new zones, a new race, new race and class pairings, reworked racials, campfires, rulesets instead of realms, and optional transmog. This page puts all of it in one place, with sources.
| Date | What |
|---|---|
| 12 Sep 2026 | Announced at BlizzCon |
| 17 Sep – 22 Oct | Beta, level cap 30 |
| 27 Oct – 3 Nov | Early name reservation and character creation, for Heroic Pack owners |
| 4 Nov 2026 | Worldwide launch, 3 pm Pacific. Included with a WoW subscription |
| 9 Dec 2026 | Raids open: Barrow Deeps (10 players), Hyjal Summit (20) and Onyxia's Lair (40) |
| After launch | Hardcore ruleset |
Sources: Icy Veins roadmap, Blizzard deep-dive recap.
The Skyborne starting zone. The wind spirits that protected the island are gone and its ancient structures are failing.
Home to Powderfuse Port, a new goblin cartel town. The beta already has a Black Market Auction House there.
Hyjal Summit also becomes a 20-player raid on 9 December.
Zone art: Blizzard's own Forever page, which shows these classic zones under "updates".
The Skyborne descend from Highborne exiles who bonded with the wind spirits of Skywall. You choose a faction when you create one. Windshapers join the Horde and can be Shamans. The High Order join the Alliance and can be Mages. Both can be Druids, with their own forms, as well as Hunters, Rogues and Warriors.
Six older races get new classes: Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, Undead Paladin, Human Hunter, Gnome Priest and Dwarf Shaman.
| Race | Classes |
|---|---|
| Orc | Hunter, Mage (new), Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, Warrior |
| Tauren | Druid, Hunter, Shaman, Warrior |
| Troll | Hunter, Mage, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock (new), Warrior |
| Undead | Mage, Paladin (new), Priest, Rogue, Warlock, Warrior |
| Windshaper Skyborne (Horde) | Druid, Hunter, Rogue, Shaman, Warrior |
| Dwarf | Hunter, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman (new), Warrior |
| Gnome | Mage, Priest (new), Rogue, Warlock, Warrior |
| Human | Hunter (new), Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Warlock, Warrior |
| Night Elf | Druid, Hunter, Priest, Rogue, Warrior |
| High Order Skyborne (Alliance) | Druid, Hunter, Mage, Rogue, Warrior |
| Race | Racials |
|---|---|
| Orc | Blood Fury (+10% attack and spell power, 15 s) · Shatter Curse (immune to curses, less magic damage, 8 s) · Axe Specialization (+1% crit with axes) · Hardiness (stuns 20% shorter) |
| Undead | Will of the Forsaken · Cannibalize · Underwater Breathing · Touch of the Grave (attacks sometimes drain health) |
| Tauren | War Stomp · Cultivation (grow herbs without Herbalism) · Plainsrunning (speed builds while moving) · Endurance (+5% health, +1% hit) |
| Troll | Berserking · Rapid Regeneration · Beast Slaying · Regeneration (some health regeneration continues in combat) |
| Human | Will to Survive (breaks stuns) · Perception · Sword Specialization (+2% crit with swords) · Human Spirit |
| Dwarf | Stoneform · Find Treasure · Mace Specialization · Big Game Hunter (+5% damage to beasts) |
| Night Elf | Elune's Light (+10% crit, 15 s) · Shadowmeld · Quickness · Wisp Spirit |
| Gnome | Escape Artist · Eureka! (next 3 spells or abilities cost less and hit 10% harder) · Expansive Mind · Engineering Specialization |
| Skyborne (both) | Walk on Air (10 s glide) · Wind Blessed (+1% haste) · Elemental Insight (+5% damage to elementals) |
| Windshaper / High Order | Skysight (+10% run speed) / Read Ley Line (+100% health and mana regeneration) |
Sources: Blizzard race and class overview, Meet the Skyborne, Icy Veins summary.
Place a campfire and each profession can add an object to it. Anyone who sits at the camp for a minute gets an hour-long buff that grows with level. A camp buff does not stack with the class buff it matches. Cooking upgrades the Campfire Kit's slots, and more than 600 new recipes arrive, some as blueprints dropped by dungeon bosses.
| Profession | Camp buff | Doesn't stack with |
|---|---|---|
| Alchemy | Mana per 5 s | Blessing of Wisdom |
| Blacksmithing | Strength | Strength of Earth |
| Cooking | Stamina | Food buffs |
| Enchanting | Armor, stats, resistances | Mark of the Wild |
| First Aid | Stamina | Power Word: Fortitude |
| Tailoring | Spirit | Divine Spirit |
| Mining | Melee attack power | Blessing of Might |
| Herbalism | Intellect | Arcane Intellect |
| Skinning | Critical strike | Moonkin Aura |
| Fishing | +8% stats | Blessing of Kings |
| Engineering | Reagents and repairs | — |
| Leatherworking | +5% rested experience | — |
As seen in the beta (Icy Veins). Blizzard's own deep-dive gives a Blacksmith's Sharpening Wheel for attack power and a Tailor's Faction Banner for Spirit, so expect the details to move before launch.
You choose a ruleset instead of a realm, and Hardcore comes after launch. You can't group across rulesets. Collections and Legacy points are account-wide. On PvP you can only make characters for one faction.
Only the full pair has to be unique in your region. You can hide the second name on nameplates, but it still shows in chat. Heroic Pack owners can reserve names from 27 October.
Blizzard is keeping mob tagging as it was. Instead, Recent Allies marks players you've grouped with before, so you can find them again.
New gear shows its stats only after it has dropped for someone in your region, and the Dungeon Journal starts without boss explanations.
Transmog is opt-in. The goblin cartel factions sell cosmetic helms at Revered, one per faction.
Challenges completed on any character earn Legacy points that you spend on each character, so alts start with a head start.
Sources: Blizzard: rulesets, Blizzard: names, Blizzard: deep-dive, and the news feed.