World of Warcraft: Forever is borrowing another good idea from Season of Discovery, and this time it is not about turning Mages into healers or hiding another Rune behind a suspiciously specific collection of dead boars.
Blizzard has confirmed that class-specific questlines from Season of Discovery are returning in WoW Forever. Some have already been carried over, others have been expanded, and Forever contains entirely new class quests of its own. More importantly, Blizzard says this is something the team wants to continue building after launch.
Senior Game Designer Josh Greenfield discussed the plans in an interview with MMORPG.com, explaining that class quests were particularly close to the team's heart during Season of Discovery. That makes their return especially interesting because WoW Forever is supposed to be Blizzard's permanent answer to the Classic+ idea, rather than another temporary experimental season.
Season of Discovery Was the Testing Ground
Season of Discovery experimented heavily with class identity. Rune quests frequently sent players into forgotten corners of Azeroth, while longer chains gave individual classes stories, weapons and abilities that could not simply be collected from the nearest generic quest hub.
The Paladin storyline became perhaps the best example. It developed across several phases and eventually connected players with Gregory, the Truthbearer, a character originating in Warcraft III. Instead of simply receiving another spell from a trainer, Paladins had a reason to travel through the world and engage with the history of their class.
That philosophy fits rather neatly with Forever. Blizzard is already adding roughly a thousand quests to original Azeroth, while expanding zones such as Azshara and the Wetlands. As we have seen during the opening phase of the Forever beta, the goal is not to replace Vanilla progression but to fill the gaps between things players already remember.
Not Everything From SoD Is Coming Back
This does not mean Blizzard is simply pouring Season of Discovery into Forever and giving it a permanent address. Developers have been quite clear that SoD was designed as an experimental seasonal mode, and plenty of its systems will remain there.
The class quests are different because they reinforce something original WoW did particularly well. Classes once felt like professions within the world rather than simply different combat interfaces. Warlocks hunted demons. Shamans travelled for their totems. Druids learned forms through quests. Paladins earned class-specific rewards through chains that occasionally required considerably more commitment than visiting a trainer with enough silver.
Forever appears interested in restoring some of that identity without simply reproducing every inconvenience from 2004. That same balancing act can already be seen elsewhere. Forever's first raids will launch without traditional attunements, while professions are becoming more important through systems such as crafted class sets tied to raid progression.
More Class Stories Could Come After Launch
Perhaps the most interesting part is that Blizzard does not consider launch the finish line.
Greenfield said ideas that do not make the initial release can still be developed later because Forever is intended to keep expanding rather than moving inevitably toward another expansion. Class-specific questlines are already being discussed for future additions.
That could prove much more important than another row of talents.
A Warrior should occasionally get to do something that feels specifically like being a Warrior. A Warlock should probably be sent somewhere deeply unpleasant to negotiate with something that should not be negotiated with. And Rogues should periodically be asked to commit crimes for surprisingly modest rewards.
Season of Discovery proved that players still enjoy that kind of class fantasy. Forever now has the opportunity to make it permanent.
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