Blizzard developers have responded to two common complaints from the first week of the World of Warcraft: Forever beta: leveling feels too fast, and characters can collect too much blue gear by level 20. Senior Game Designer Josh Greenfield and Lead Classic Designer Tim Jones discussed both concerns in the first episode of Blizzard’s WoW Forever podcast, released Sept. 24.
Greenfield said Blizzard’s internal data shows that the average trip from level 1 to 20 takes 20.5 hours in Forever, compared with 20.4 hours in Classic Era. That challenges the claim that players are reaching level 20 much faster, though the figures cover only the current beta range. Greenfield said the team has shifted more experience from enemy kills to quests to encourage players to explore the world and complete dungeon stories. The figures do not measure whether individual fights feel easier.
Jones agreed that early dungeon quests hand out too many rare, blue-quality items. A player can finish one run with several upgrades, skipping much of the usual progression from white gear to green and then blue. He said the team is already adjusting rewards for an upcoming beta build. Some quests will award only experience and gold; others will distribute fewer blue items. Blizzard has not said the final reward balance is settled.
The developers also acknowledged a layering bug that can change a player’s version of the world when they join a group, sometimes making a nearby quest target disappear. Greenfield called it a problem the team intends to fix. Jones said the global beta runs on a single test server and does not mirror the planned live-server setup, so its current performance is not a reliable preview of launch conditions.
Players also raised concerns that new Druid forms look too detailed beside Classic-era environments. Greenfield said the art team is reviewing that feedback but announced no change. The new Skyborne race has divided players as well; the developers expected mixed reactions and explained why its story allows players to choose a faction. For now, the firmest planned change from this conversation is the reduction of early blue quest rewards.
Sources: Blizzard’s podcast announcement; leveling discussion (50:04); gear rewards (55:14); layering (43:47); Druid art (24:18).
Featured image: © Blizzard Entertainment, from Blizzard’s official WoW Forever podcast announcement.