Is WoW Forever worth playing? 70+ hours in the beta

By George In The Meta · 5 Oct 2026 · updated 10 Oct 2026

73 h played · in-game /played, three characters (Maple 38, plus 24 and 12), 10 Oct

Short answer: yes. I've put over 70 hours into the beta: 38 on Maple, my level 22 Paladin, 24 on a level 17 Paladin and 12 on a Shaman. It's good for new players, and it's good for old, nostalgic players who found retail had too much going on.

Maple, a level 20 Undead Paladin, standing in The Drag in Orgrimmar in the WoW Forever beta — Maple in The Drag, Orgrimmar.

Who is WoW Forever for?

New players, and returning players who remember the old game and bounced off retail, with however many levels it goes up to now. You get the World of Warcraft people are nostalgic for, without a decade of systems piled on top.

What feels different from Classic?

Honestly, I can't put my finger on it. It feels like they've done tiny quality-of-life fixes, so small you don't notice them. But you do notice, because they're things that were bugging you before.

Can you use add-ons in WoW Forever?

Yes, and that was the big one for me: I built my own. Anything I wanted help with, or wanted to look different, I made an add-on for, exactly how I wanted it. Together they're my Maple WoW Helper:

Auction gold: how much gold I've made from selling alone. 18g 66s 66c from 115 sales so far.
Deaths: every time I've died, when and where.
Missing buffs: a little panel of buffs I could have running and don't. Click one to cast it.
The Maple meter: damage I've taken, reflected and soaked. 9,231 taken, 3,886 reflected back by Retribution Aura and about 8,138 soaked by armour.
Played time: total time played, time at this level, and how much of it was AFK. I'm at 1 day 6 hours on Maple, and 26% of that was AFK.
Where to sell: hover over anything in my bags and it says vendor or auction house. Copper Ore is 5c at a vendor and about 1s 97c on the auction house.
Gear scoring: every weapon and piece of armour gets a Maple score against what I'm wearing, and it locks my best one-hander, shield and two-hander so I can never sell them by accident.
Professions: the cheapest next step to level a profession. Right now it says smelt Silver.
Talents: a nudge to spend a talent point or visit the Paladin trainer.

MapleGold tooltip: 18g 66s 66c of auction earnings from 115 sales, last sale Wool Cloth — Gold made from the auction house alone. Tap to enlarge.

MapleMeter tooltip: 9,231 damage taken, 3,886 reflected by Retribution Aura and 8,138 soaked, next to the on-screen Reflected, Soaked, HP 901 and Armor 1,646 readout — The Maple meter: what I took, reflected and soaked. Tap to enlarge.

MaplePlayed tooltip: played 1 day 6 hours 31 minutes, 3 hours 33 minutes at this level, 7 hours 47 minutes AFK, 26% of total play — 1 day 6 hours on Maple alone. Tap to enlarge.

Equipment tooltips scoring Mirror of Rath'mael at Maple 35.9 and Night Watch Shortsword at 24.2, each marked KEEP as the best owned shield and one-hander — Gear scoring: my shield and one-hander are locked as the best I own. Tap to enlarge.

Mining window with the add-on naming Smelt Silver as the best next skill-up and Smelt Iron, Rock Garden and Smelt Steel to learn at the trainer — Professions: the cheapest way to the next skill point. Tap to enlarge.

Why play a Paladin? The Maple build

There's an anime called Bofuri: I Don't Want to Get Hurt, so I'll Max Out My Defense. The main character, Maple, doesn't want to get hurt, so she goes all in on defence and somehow ends up the tankiest player in the game and one of the most damaging, because of reflection.

So my Paladin is called Maple, and I went in with a plan for everything to pick up along the way: be as tanky as possible, but still do real damage by reflecting it. That's what the soaked-and-reflected add-on is for.

WoW Forever character select with Maple Gitmgg, level 20 Paladin in Orgrimmar, plus Gitm Gg, level 17 Paladin, and Gitm Dotgg, level 11 Shaman — My three characters. Maple has a look on her.

What changed for Paladins? Lay on Hands every 20 minutes

Blizzard's announcement on 4 October: Paladins can "throw that Lay on Hands Hail Mary every 20 minutes instead of once an hour."

That's massive. Lay on Hands refills your entire health, and it was one of my two get-out-of-jail-free cards, along with Divine Shield, the bubble that fully protects you. Cutting the cooldown to a third means you can play a lot more risky.

Will I keep playing at launch?

I hope so. I'll probably stay a Paladin and do the whole Maple run again, but level differently: use a two-hander while levelling, then switch to the tanky setup at 20, when I get Consecration and the better reflection stuff.