WoW Forever might make us discover our loot before we can plan an entire character around it. A new interview reveals that Blizzard intends to hide item stats until items start dropping, alongside new details about storage, addons and Camping.
The information comes from MMORPG.com’s Robin Baird, who spoke with Senior Game Designer Josh Greenfield and Senior Art Director Jeff Parrott at BlizzCon. Their conversation covers a lot of ground, but these are the details that stood out. Interview link
A Damage Meter and Plans for a Cooldown Manager
Greenfield describes a built in damage meter and says a cooldown manager is planned, although he cannot confirm whether it will be ready for the initial Beta. The addon approach will broadly take cues from modern WoW, with adjustments based on feedback. That gives us a direction, but it doesn’t confirm that every Retail addon restriction will apply exactly the same way.
Item Stats Will Stay Hidden Until Loot Is Discovered
According to Greenfield, item stats won’t be visible until the item drops for you or someone on your server. Blizzard wants the first raid tier to begin with players discovering gear, rather than arriving with every slot already planned.
That doesn’t mean BiS lists are going away. Greenfield expects players to share discoveries and build guides once loot starts appearing. The intention is to give those first discoveries some room to happen. Raid encounters are part of that approach too. He says players won’t initially have a Dungeon Journal explaining what to do, and the team has scattered more secrets throughout the world.
Camping Has Placement Rules and a Nearby Alert
Camps will need space between them, and some locations, including cities, restrict placement. Players will also receive a buff indicating that a campfire is nearby, giving them a way to find another player’s setup. A better profession fixture can replace a weaker version already placed. Greenfield also estimates that campfires and fixtures last around 10 minutes, though his wording makes that a tentative duration.
Picking a safe spot still matters. One internal tester set up on the road in Duskwood, stepped away, and returned to find that Stitches had killed her. Apparently he isn’t interested in sharing profession buffs.
A Bigger Bank for All That Situational Gear
Greenfield says the default bank is significantly larger. He tentatively mentions 96 slots, but sounds unsure of the exact number, so that figure still needs verification. Bags will initially use the original sizes. The extra space fits with gear designed for particular jobs, such as fighting dragons. Greenfield even suggests that a rare item could beat an epic for a specific purpose.
He also makes an important distinction about progression. Characters will still gain power through new gear. Blizzard wants smaller increases between tiers, with situational items giving older content reasons to remain useful.
More Class Quests Are Coming Along Too
Some class quest content from Season of Discovery has made its way into Forever, with other quests expanded and new ones added. Greenfield says the team wants to keep building on class stories beyond launch.
There is more in the conversation about visual updates, transmog and the future of Legacy. Give Robin Baird’s full MMORPG.com interview a read for the complete discussion.
