WoW: Forever Won't Launch With Shaman or Warlock Tanks, But Blizzard Leaves Door Open

World of Warcraft: Forever is taking a more conservative approach to class roles than Season of Discovery did, at least for now. Shamans and Warlocks won't be able to tank when the game launches on November 4, despite Blizzard experimenting with both roles in the previous seasonal content.

In an interview with GameSpot, WoW: Forever senior game designer Josh Greenfield explained the reasoning. "I think in spirit, a lot of the lessons we learned are carried over, but some of the more out-there things that weren't originally in original WoW, we tone them back a little bit," he said. "Because it's one of those things. It's in the name: It's Forever. We can do a lot of things over years, but we wanted to kind of start from a place where the soul of the class is very coded and original-WoW-centric."

That said, Greenfield didn't rule out future changes. "Some of [those], like Warlock tank, Shaman tank, not quite yet, but never say never," he added. Currently in the beta, Shamans remain on the edge of viability as tanks, held back by the lack of a true taunt and better damage mitigation options. Only minor adjustments would be needed to make the role properly functional.

Season of Discovery content that is making the transition includes new class quests, the Undermine Reals endgame currency, and a hidden cozy-sleeping bag quest chain. However, larger Season of Discovery exclusives like the Scarlet Enclave raid and Kharazan Crypts dungeon won't arrive at launch. Blizzard is also adding controller support for WoW: Forever, a first for the MMORPG.

The WoW: Forever beta is active for players who preorder the new Skyborne elf race.