Last updated: 19 October 2026

WoW: Forever New Zones What's New Compared With Classic, and What's Still Unconfirmed

WoW: Forever (launching November 4, 2026) keeps the two Classic continents but adds four new zones — Zephras Isle, The Riverglades, Shen'dralas and Mount Hyjal — plus a new battleground, the Darkspear Islands, and reworks several old zones. This guide lists what each place is, where it sits and what is actually confirmed. Level ranges for the still-unreleased zones are beta-era reports from third-party outlets and may change at launch, so cross-check official Blizzard sources once they're live.

01The New Places at a Glance

The community-maintained Forever map comparison on warcraft.wiki.gg lists five new entries versus Classic (it gives no level ranges; those come from the guides cited below):

• **Zephras Isle** — starting zone of the Skyborne race, levels 1–12.
• **The Riverglades** — a large mid-level zone on the Eastern Kingdoms coast, roughly mid-30s to mid-40s.
• **Shen'dralas** — centaur and Highborne ruins in Kalimdor, level range not confirmed.
• **Mount Hyjal** — a renewed endgame zone with raids.
• **Darkspear Islands** — confirmed by Blizzard on October 7 as a new 15v15 battleground, not just an open-world PvP area.

For how these fit into a full 1–60 route, see the [leveling guide](leveling-guide); this page goes zone by zone.

02Zephras Isle (Levels 1–12)

Zephras Isle is the Skyborne starting area, a floating island in the clouds with wooden docks and ships chained to stone spires. Lore-wise it is described as a plane of air elementals. It is the only new zone confirmed as playable in the beta. Per Gfinity Esports, Skyborne following the "High Order" track leave the island around level 12 for Alliance territory, while a second, "Windshape" track connects to a Horde hub; this split is reported by one outlet, so treat the track names as provisional. More on the race in the [Skyborne guide](skyborne-race-guide).

03The Riverglades (Roughly Levels 35–45)

The Riverglades is the headline leveling zone. Reports place it on the east coast of the Eastern Kingdoms, bordered by Redridge Mountains, Swamp of Sorrows and the Badlands. Developers have said it holds more than 150 quests, with many PvP encounters, a neutral goblin port, and a contested outdoor dungeon, Krol'dok Stronghold, which Warcraft Tavern puts at levels 40–55. Level estimates for the zone itself are about 35–45 (Gfinity) or the mid-30s to mid-40s (Noobtoboss). One guide adds a ferry from Tanaris to a port on the Riverglades coast; that route is reported by a single source, so confirm it in-game.

It is not playable in the beta and arrives with the full game on November 4.

04Shen'dralas (Level Range Unconfirmed)

Shen'dralas is a ruined area in Kalimdor, reported between Mulgore, Desolace and Feralas. It builds on the Shen'dralar Highborne exiles tied to Dire Maul and on the rival Gelkis and Magram centaur clans, and it is linked to the new centaur questlines. Its level range is not settled: one guide gives 45–53, while Warcraft Tavern's own writer calls their 30–50 estimate a guess, not a confirmed figure. We therefore do not give a range here. Plan around it when it goes live on November 4 rather than trusting a number now.

05Mount Hyjal (Endgame)

Mount Hyjal returns in a renewed form. Warcraft Tavern describes the forest as slowly recovering after Archimonde's death there, with developers hinting at a story about wild gods and lingering dangers in the zone; players reach it from Darkwhisper Gorge. It is home to the Hyjal Summit raid and, per Noobtoboss, one of three entrances to the Barrow Deeps raid. Sources disagree on how to classify it: Warcraft Tavern calls it an "endgame leveling zone," while Gfinity describes it as a level 60 endgame zone for max-level questing, with raid access opening shortly after launch. For raid details see the [raids guide](raids-guide).

06Darkspear Islands: The New Battleground

Blizzard confirmed the Darkspear Islands in an October 7, 2026 blog post, replacing earlier, vaguer reports that only called it a new PvP area. It's a 15v15 battleground off the coast of Dustwallow Marsh, pitting the Darkspear Raiders (Horde) against the Theramore Expeditionary Force (Alliance), open to characters level 30–60.

Teams score by holding four capture points — controlling more of them speeds up point gain — and by grabbing a central flag and carrying it back to a captured base; the first team to 2,000 points wins. You queue through a battlemaster in any capital city or at a faction base in the Barrens (Merchant Coast for the Darkspear Raiders, Northwatch for the Theramore Expeditionary Force). Each faction has its own reputation track with gear and consumables for sale at reputation milestones, and reaching Exalted unlocks a short questline for the faction's tabard.

Blizzard's post doesn't say whether the battleground is live in the current beta or arrives with launch. Our [PvP guide](pvp-guide) covers the rest of the battleground line-up.

07Old Zones That Changed

The wiki marks these zones as substantively changed on the map: Alterac Mountains, Eastern Plaguelands, Redridge Mountains, Stormwind, Tirisfal Glades, Desolace and Mulgore (plus the continent maps themselves). The page does not say what changed, and we won't guess.

One guide adds that the Wetlands (levels 20–29) gets more than 25 new quests and a revised flow plus the Excavation Site: Wetlands dungeon, and that Desolace and starting zones get campsites and expanded local quests. This comes from one source.

08What You Can Test in the Beta

Reports agree that Zephras Isle is playable in the beta; Gfinity adds that the low-to-mid level zones (levels 1–30), including the revamped Excavation Site: Wetlands, are open too, while other outlets mention only Zephras Isle. The beta is reported to run through around October 21, so this section will be outdated by launch. Riverglades, Shen'dralas and Mount Hyjal arrive with launch on November 4. Check the [beta guide](beta-guide) for the current level cap.