144
Systems — Realmless, Legacy, PvP & Client Choices

Systems

No realms in the old sense, an account-wide Legacy progression, a rebuilt PvP economy, and a client that lets you choose how much modernity you see.

Realmless

Choose a Ruleset, Not a Realm

There is no realm list. Before creating a character you choose a ruleset, and each ruleset functions as its own large ecosystem — its own world, economy and community.

RulesetClassic EraForever ruling
NormalRealm type, picked from the realm listPvE focus. Open-world PvP at your discretion, by mutual consent.
PvPRealm type, picked from the realm listOpen-world attack risk through much of the world, with faction-balance systems similar to Season of Discovery’s approach.
RoleplayRealm type, picked from the realm listNaming and behaviour rules that protect immersion.
Roleplay-PvPRealm type, picked from the realm listThe strict naming and behaviour rules, plus near-constant open-world PvP risk. Added to the launch set on Oct 22 — reversing the earlier three-ruleset framing.
RuleClassic EraForever ruling
Server unitOne traditional realmA ruleset “functions more like its own large ecosystem than a single traditional realm” — explicitly not one giant realm for everyone.
Grouping & guildsWithin your realm and factionRuleset-locked: group, guild, run dungeons and raid only with players on the same ruleset and faction. No cross-ruleset or cross-faction grouping.
LanguageSet by the realmA language preference you choose; you encounter others who share it.
Character namesOne nameTwo-part names — “Firstname Lastname” (e.g. Ana Forever). The full combination must be unique per region; first names may be shared. The second name can be hidden from nameplates (it still shows in chat).
Hardcore—Later — a fully enclosed ecosystem arriving after launch. Death is final there, but a dead Hardcore character may transfer out to another ruleset. Collections and Legacy progress flow out of Hardcore, never in.
Getting in—Forever is included with a WoW Subscription or Game Time. Early Name Reservation ran Oct 27 – Nov 3 for upgrade-pack owners — up to three characters across all rulesets, first-come first-served.

Deep Dive Panel Recap · 2026-09-13 — Starter Guide · 2026-10-28 · Roleplay-PvP added Oct 22, 2026

Legacy — account-wide progression

Legacy

Challenges across classes, tradeskills, PvP, adventure, dungeons and raids each pay one point into an account-wide pool, and each character spends separately in three perk trees. Open it with the shield icon on the menu bar, or hotkey Y.

AccessOn earning your first point — typically level 25 on your first character; also 150 in a non-gathering primary tradeskill, or exploring the entire world map.
65 challenges, 1 point eachClasses 27 · Tradeskills 18 · PvP 12 · Adventure 2 · Dungeons 3 · Raids 3. One character can earn at most 29 — alts are encouraged, never required.
Spend cap: 16 per characterAt launch. Earnings continue to the 65 cap; points are account-wide (Battle.net), Hardcore excepted.
Node costs: server-side — unknownPer-rank costs: server-side — unknown for every node.
Professions — 9 nodes
Up to 5 ranksCost: server-side — unknown
Up to 5 ranksCost: server-side — unknown
Up to 2 ranksCost: server-side — unknown
Single rankCost: server-side — unknown
Up to 5 ranksCost: server-side — unknown
Up to 3 ranksCost: server-side — unknown
Single rankCost: server-side — unknown
Single rankCost: server-side — unknown
Up to 2 ranksCost: server-side — unknown

Hover a node for its in-game tooltip. Per-rank costs: server-side — unknown for every node.

Professions — Named Perks

7
Up to 5 ranks

Your cooking recipes have a 30% chance to create an extra result.

Cost: server-side — unknown
Up to 5 ranks

Increases your chance to gain a skill increase from using any primary, secondary, or class-based tradeskill by 10%.

Cost: server-side — unknown
Up to 2 ranks

Reduces the gold price of items from all vendors by -10%.

Cost: server-side — unknown
Single rank

Increases your skill by 1 in your lowest tradeskill among your Primary and Secondary tradeskills. If you have already reached 300 skill in your two current Primary Tradeskills and all three Secondary Tradeskills, you will gain 3 of a random Elemental Essence.

Cost: server-side — unknown
Up to 5 ranks

You are 100% more likely to discover Scarce materials from Mining, Herbalism, and Skinning.

Cost: server-side — unknown
Up to 3 ranks

You have a 15% chance to receive 100% increased Merchant's Favor when you turn in a crate to the Azeroth Commerce Authority or Durotar Supply and Logistics.

Cost: server-side — unknown
Up to 2 ranks

While fishing with a Lure active, you have a 50% chance to catch an extra fish.

Cost: server-side — unknown

Adventure — Named Perks

7
Up to 2 ranks

Increases your ability to detect nearby targets with Stealth as if your level were increased by 2. Ineffective in Battlegrounds.

Cost: server-side — unknown
Up to 5 ranks

Your rested experience accumulates 20% faster and your rested experience cap is increased by 20%.

Cost: server-side — unknown
Single rank

You gain talent points every level starting at level 5 instead of starting at level 10, but you still may not have more than 51 total talent points.

Cost: server-side — unknown
Up to 5 ranks

You gain 5% of your maximum Health and Mana over 10 sec each time you deliver the killing blow to a non-trivial enemy. Ineffective in dungeons, raids, and battlegrounds.

Cost: server-side — unknown
Up to 3 ranks

Reduces your cooldown on adding Camp features by 25%

Cost: server-side — unknown
Single rank

You receive a -50% discount on all flight paths, and your flight path mount flies 20% faster.

Cost: server-side — unknown
Up to 2 ranks

Reduces the duration of the Recently Bandaged effect by 10 sec when you use a bandage. Ineffective in dungeons, raids, and battlegrounds.

Cost: server-side — unknown

Resourcefulness — Named Perks

7
Up to 5 ranks

Increases Honor Points gained by 10%.

Cost: server-side — unknown
Up to 3 ranks

Increases the duration of beneficial effects from eating food by 100%.

Cost: server-side — unknown
Up to 2 ranks

Your class abilities which grant long-duration stat or attribute benefits to all party or raid members last 100% longer, and the benefits you gain from resting at a camp last 50% longer.

Cost: server-side — unknown
Up to 2 ranks

Increases movement speed while dead by 10% and your helpful spells and abilities cost no resources for 2 min after being resurrected or until you enter combat.

Cost: server-side — unknown
Single rank

Your class abilities no longer require reagents purchaseable from vendors.

Cost: server-side — unknown
Up to 5 ranks

You take -20% less durability loss when you die.

Cost: server-side — unknown
Up to 5 ranks

Increases your reputation gains by 10%.

Cost: server-side — unknown

21 named perks across the three trees. The trees also carry 6 unnamed nodes — “Unknown — to be added in a future update” — shown in the browser above, not counted as perks. One naming difference: the client calls one perk “Performance Bonus”; the Legacy article calls it “Performance”.

Reward Track — points also earn these, account-wide

· · ·

Replica Ironforge Air Rifle (toy), Spectral Bear Cub (pet), Spectral Bear Tabard, Reins of the Spectral Bear (mount) — cosmetics and toys, no competitive advantage; more rewards arrive with content updates.

PvP

Darkspear Islands & the New Honor

A 15v15 battleground off Dustwallow Marsh for levels 30–60, and two currencies in place of the old grind. Tick rates, flag values and capture timers: unpublished.

Battle for the Darkspear Islands: control four capture points to score; a flag at the centre can be carried to a point your team holds for more. First to 2,000 points wins — a control game, not a flag race. Queue from any capital battlemaster, or from the faction bases (Darkspear Raiders at the Merchant Coast; Theramore Expeditionary Force at Northwatch), whose reputations sell trinkets, rings, cloaks, weapons, armor and an Exalted tabard questline.

Honor is now a currency — earned in PvP, spent on a blue set and an epic set (the epic pieces upgrade the blue ones with Emboldened Seals, which carry rank requirements; Shaman finally get healer, melee and caster sets). Rank Points advance the original 14-rank ladder under a weekly cap, up to High Warlord / Grand Marshal. Battleground Marks of Honor now stack to 30 (Oct 15 notes), and each PvP season’s weekly journey tasks pay Honor and Rank Points — three of them each season also grant a Legacy Point. Track your standing in the Character Pane’s PvP tab.

RankReward
Rank 1Tabard
Rank 2PvP Trinket
Rank 3Cloaks
Rank 4Necklace
Rank 5Combat Potions
Rank 6Tabard
Rank 7Battle Standard
Rank 8Epic Bracers · Epic Belt Upgrade Token
Rank 9Epic Boots Upgrade Token
Rank 10Epic Gloves Upgrade Token
Rank 11Mounts
Rank 12Epic Legs · Epic Shoulders Upgrade Token
Rank 13Epic Chest · Epic Helm Upgrade Token
Rank 14Epic Weapons — High Warlord / Grand Marshal

Rank-reward ladder: PvP Progression article · 2026-10-07 — Darkspear article · 2026-10-07 — Beta Notes Oct 1/8/15

The Client

Your Choices

Four client systems, plus the preset split chosen at first login.

Client Features

5
Dual SpecializationLevel 40

Dual Spec unlocks at level 40; respecs for class and Legacy talents alike happen at class trainers in the major cities.

Classic EraForever
CostSingle specializationNot announced — a discounted price seen in beta was explicitly framed by Blizzard as beta-only
Starter Guide · 2026-10-28
TransmogrificationOpt-in — and opt-out

Configure outfits at a transmogrifier in certain cities — or disable the system entirely and see everyone in their real equipped gear. It is a general display choice, not a PvP inspection tool. Disabling it never stops you dressing your own character or hiding helm and cloak. Collection rules: a BoP Uncommon or Rare dungeon drop grants its appearance to all eligible looters; Epic raid drops grant it only to the player the item binds to; appearances still follow item-type rules, and level restrictions on collected appearances lift at 60.

Deep Dive · 2026-09-13
Cooldown ManagerOff by default

A built-in, fully customizable tracker that pulls critical cooldowns from your buffs and bars into one place (Options → Gameplay Enhancement). By Oct 8 it covered all classes, racials and trinkets, and multi-rank spells show as a single entry.

Beta Notes · Oct 8, 2026
Gamepad SupportBeta state

Controller support ships in beta state: class-specific action-bar flyouts (stances, shapeshifts, pet control, auras), party targeting on the D-pad, and gamepad action bars with Edit Mode layouts saved per interface type.

Starter Guide · 2026-10-28
Mounts — the TBC-style shiftCost moved into training

The up-front cost moved into training: when you learn the riding skill, a mount is granted with it, instead of the Classic pattern of cheap training and a ruinously expensive mount.

Official posts

Experience Preset — Classic

  • SD character models
  • Quest POI / objective blobs off
  • One-bag UI off
  • Transmog off
  • Camera-turn keyboard binds
  • Classic screen UI layout

Experience Preset — Enhanced

  • HD character models
  • Quest POI / objective blobs on
  • One-bag UI on
  • Transmog on
  • Strafe keyboard binds
  • Centralized screen UI layout

Presets are a starting point chosen at first login — every setting can be changed later in Options. HD vs SD models are chosen per character at creation and can be changed in Options or at a Barbershop; appearance only, never power. Choosing the Classic preset disables transmog automatically. Small print: the Auction House gained an equippable-level column (Oct 15); several party buffs and auras became raid-wide in the same notes — Moonkin Aura, Leader of the Pack, Trueshot Aura, Battle Shout and the Shaman totems among them. A built-in damage meter has been reported in coverage of official material — unconfirmed.

Deep Dive Panel Recap · 2026-09-13 — Starter Guide · 2026-10-28 — Beta Notes Sep 24 – Oct 15

Follow the Chronicle

Every batch, every reversion, every value — set against Classic Era 1.15.9.