Anyone who played World of Warcraft in its earliest years will remember that reaching a dungeon could be an adventure in itself. Five players scattered across Azeroth, a meeting place somewhere in the wilderness, and at least one unfortunate soul who had apparently forgotten which continent the dungeon was on. A trip to Scarlet Monastery could involve more travelling than fighting, while Blackrock Depths required a small expedition before anyone even reached the entrance. It was inconvenient, occasionally infuriating, and somehow an essential part of what made the world feel enormous.

World of Warcraft: Forever intends to bring that experience back. Blizzard has confirmed that Summoning Stones will not be part of its new Classic-inspired MMO, meaning players cannot simply teleport their companions to dungeon entrances. And in a recent developer interview, the studio explained why this is more than an exercise in making modern players suffer through old-fashioned travel arrangements.

Blizzard Doesn't Want Azeroth to Become Smaller

Speaking to TechRadar Gaming, the Forever development team described Summoning Stones as an example of a convenience feature that conflicts with the game's underlying philosophy. Easy teleportation reduces the importance of distance, makes travelling less meaningful and removes opportunities for players to encounter one another along the way.

Blizzard has established four guiding principles for Forever: protecting social experiences, maintaining familiarity, treating the world as a central character and placing the journey ahead of the destination. Summoning Stones clash particularly with the first and third principles. If everyone can appear directly outside a dungeon, much of the surrounding world becomes scenery rather than somewhere players actually spend time.

That philosophy has been evident since Forever was revealed as Blizzard's long-awaited answer to Classic+. The game introduces new quests, dungeons and modern conveniences, but it deliberately retains the slower pace and geographical scale of original Azeroth.

Warlocks Are Getting Their Old Job Back

There is another reason Blizzard wants to leave Summoning Stones behind, and it concerns one of Warcraft's most peculiar professions: persuading demons to do useful things.

In the original game, Warlocks possessed something genuinely valuable beyond their damage and questionable taste in travelling companions. Ritual of Summoning allowed them to bring another player to their location, provided two additional party members were present to help complete the ritual. When a dungeon group was scattered across several zones, having a Warlock could save an enormous amount of travelling.

Summoning Stones eventually made that particular service considerably less special. Why depend on a Warlock when ordinary party members could accomplish much the same thing at the dungeon entrance?

Forever restores the distinction. The class once again provides a form of transportation that other adventurers cannot easily reproduce. It fits Blizzard's broader attempt to preserve recognizable class identities instead of importing every modern convenience and specialization. A Warlock should feel different from a Mage, just as a Druid's flexibility or a Rogue's ability to avoid danger should have practical consequences outside combat.

For players still deciding which character to main in WoW Forever, that makes utility worth considering alongside damage, survivability and raid performance. Sometimes the most appreciated player in a group is not the one producing the largest numbers. It is the one who can get everybody into the same place.

Not Every Old Inconvenience Deserves to Return

There is, however, a perfectly reasonable argument against Blizzard's decision. Travelling through Azeroth could create memorable encounters, but it could also consume a substantial portion of an evening. Waiting outside a dungeon while somebody crossed three zones was not always a wonderful social experience. Sometimes it was simply waiting.

Players with limited time may understandably prefer spending that time exploring a dungeon rather than watching a flight path. Summoning Stones do not automatically eliminate cooperation either. Someone still needs to reach the entrance, and a group still needs to organize itself before beginning.

Blizzard appears to recognize the distinction between meaningful journeys and unnecessary frustration. As we noted in our WoW Forever beta review, the game introduces additional boat routes to make certain journeys more practical without placing instant transportation outside every instance.

It is a compromise worth examining. Forever is not removing every improvement introduced since 2004. Instead, Blizzard is choosing which conveniences preserve the character of Classic and which ones fundamentally change how the world functions.

The Journey Is Part of the Dungeon

The decision also connects to Blizzard's changes to dungeon experience rewards, which encourage players to explore the open world instead of repeatedly farming the same instance. Together, these systems suggest that Forever wants dungeons to feel like destinations within Azeroth rather than isolated activities selected from a menu.

Whether that philosophy survives contact with thousands of impatient players remains to be seen. Some will enjoy planning their journeys, helping guildmates reach difficult locations and discovering the occasional unexpected adventure. Others will remember exactly why Summoning Stones became popular in the first place.

Both reactions are understandable. The original World of Warcraft was not memorable because every minute was perfectly convenient. It was memorable because its enormous world frequently demanded something from the people travelling through it.

Forever wants to discover whether that feeling can still exist in 2026.