WoW: Forever Says No to Shaman and Warlock Tanks — For Now
Shaman tanks and Warlock tanks will miss the launch of World of Warcraft: Forever. Senior game designer Josh Greenfield told GameSpot the two fan-requested roles are "not quite yet, but never say never". That rules them out on day one, but leaves the door open.
A tank is the player who stands at the front and absorbs enemy damage while the rest of the group attacks. In the current beta, Shaman tanking lacks the tools for the job, including a true taunt, an ability that forces an enemy to target you, and better damage mitigation, or ways to reduce incoming hits.
Mage healers are also out at launch. That will disappoint some players, because Blizzard experimented with both Mage healers and Rogue tanks in World of Warcraft Classic Season of Discovery, a time-limited version of the game built around unusual class roles.
Greenfield said Season of Discovery was always meant to be ephemeral, according to a separate interview reported by PC Gamer. Forever is a different project. Still, some of that experiment survives. New class quests introduced in Season of Discovery have made their way into Forever.
Two other pieces of Season of Discovery content will not be there at launch. The Scarlet Enclave raid, a large high-level mission for a big group, will not be included. The Kharazhan Crypts dungeon, a smaller mission for a small party, will also be missing.
The full release is scheduled for 4 November 2026, with a global launch at 3:00 p.m. PST, according to Blizzard. The beta, a test version released before launch, began on 17 September and is available through 21 October. Access is currently ongoing for players who preorder the Skyborne elf race, described by Blizzard as Azeroth's newest race.
Forever also adds new class and race combinations. They include Forsaken Paladin and Dwarf Shaman. Details are listed on Blizzard's Forever page.
What makes this stand out is the balance Blizzard is trying to strike. It wants Forever to feel fresh without carrying over every wild idea. For fans, this means launch will be closer to classic Warcraft roles, with the stranger builds left as a maybe for later.
