The WoW: Forever beta is done and dusted. Thank. The. Light. I stopped playing more than a week ago.
And no, it’s not because I didn’t like it. It’s because I loved it, and that was the problem.
Somewhere along the way, I stopped testing the game and started playing it. There’s a difference. A tester pokes at systems, files bug reports, and runs into walls on purpose. I ran quests with old friends, gathered mats, leveled professions, and fretted about gold. Gold. In a beta. With a level cap of 30. I was treating a test server like my retirement plan, and I could feel the burnout coming a mile away.
Then there’s the Vanilla of it all. Forever is built on the bones of the original game, which means its inconveniences and annoyances come along for the ride. I did my best not to level a Dwarf Hunter. I lasted about as long as you’d expect, then caved. And that’s when it hit me: I really don’t like the Dwarven starting areas, at least compared to many of the others. This isn’t a call for zone parity. I just don’t look forward to doing it all again. In fact, I may take a different path with my Dwarf Hunter.
That’s kind of the point of WoW: Forever. Paths not chosen.
I’m planning my starting journey, my professions, and even my character names, all in my head, before the game has launched. And that has me excited.
I’m still trying to figure out why WoW: Forever has captivated me in a way that Classic WoW did not. Did all it take was some fog, water, and God rays? Admittedly, the God Rays are doing some heavy lifting.
Maybe the fact that I can’t explain it is the explanation. It’s the unknown. It’s the undiscovered country that has me going once more unto the breach.
The beta showed me just enough to know there’s more I haven’t seen, and that’s a feeling I didn’t expect to get from WoW again.
So thank you, beta. You did your job, even if I didn’t do mine.
Mark Your Calendars
- October 27: Character creation and name reservation open
- November 4: WoW: Forever launches
Start brainstorming those names now. And remember you’ll need a first and second name.
