New dungeons and raids may be the trickiest part of World of Warcraft Forever

World of Warcraft Forever is an alternate branch of World of Warcraft, without the design cruft that has built up over two decades of patches, expansions, and developer decisions. There is no Burning Crusade where we go to Outland, no Dungeon Finder, no flying — the big decisions that came after Classic are all gone, and the developers are free to start over. The developers have been intentionally unclear about what that fresh start means, and whether Forever will expand on existing lore or start its own storylines in new directions.

But there is one interesting question: how will Blizzard handle the dungeons and raids of Forever? Unlike many of the main features of World of Warcraft, dungeons and raids are one of the few things that 1) have remained a constant addition in every single expansion and 2) are generally considered to be a strong point of the game, even when players are frustrated about other aspects of the MMO. I attended a World of Warcraft activation event for Forever in Toronto, where I got to speak to Michael Nuthals, Lead Encounter Designer, about the design of dungeons.

World of Warcraft Forever is going to launch with much of the same content as the original games. However, players can also expect some new dungeons, including two around Ironforge and Undercity, scraps in the city of Dalaran, and an excavation site in the Wetlands. There are also two new dungeons joining the endgame lineup in Shaper’s Terrace and Blackmaw Hold.