World of Warcraft: Forever Unveils Major Visual Overhaul for Skyborne Race
- World of Warcraft: Forever developers announce significant visual updates to the Skyborne race.
- Senior game designer Josh Greenfield confirms the changes follow community feedback.
- World of Warcraft: Forever launches fully on November 4th, 2023.
The developers of World of Warcraft: Forever have revealed extensive visual changes to the Skyborne race following enthusiastic feedback from the community. The revisions feature new in-game models that align more closely with the game’s original MMO aesthetic, much to the satisfaction of players.
Details about these changes surfaced during a recent episode of the official World of Warcraft: Forever podcast, where senior game designer Josh “Aggrend” Greenfield addressed community concerns regarding the existing Skyborne humanoid and druid character models. While he initially had no updates to provide, he suggested that more substantial news would be forthcoming, which has now been realized.
A blog post on the World of Warcraft website detailed the visual updates, emphasizing the team’s objective to “uphold the original WoW era aesthetic” while providing players with greater options in their experience of Azeroth. The post acknowledges that some initial design choices, particularly regarding the Skyborne models, did not resonate with players. It states, “The Skyborne are from an exotic environment, and their Druid forms reflect that, but we don’t want that to be dissonant with the visual language of other creatures in the world.”
Adjustments to both versions of the Skyborne elves will enhance their integration within the broader game environment. The blog showcases side-by-side comparisons of before and after images, indicating a reduction in model softness, decreased color saturation, and improved fur textures.
Additionally, there are plans for standard definition models, which, per community feedback, felt “jarring” when compared to legacy races. The blog confirms that new standard definition models are in development, set for release in early 2027. A work-in-progress image of these characters has been included, featuring angular designs.
The community response to the blog post has been overwhelmingly positive. On Blizzard forums, players have praised the renewed direction. For instance, user Solforge, a level 85 Paladin, remarked, “So much better. Unbelievable how much of an impact this has. This gives me faith.” Another player, Alison, added, “I think the new druid forms look Soooo much better! The colors stand out to me more but not in a loud bright neon way.”
Sentiments on the World of Warcraft Reddit are similarly optimistic, with many players applauding the team’s rapid and open response to community input. A popular thread encourages continued feedback and appreciation for the developers’ willingness to listen. Additionally, the same thread discusses Blizzard’s recent decision to reduce the rarity of dungeon loot and modify race headshots in the character creator to resemble those from Classic WoW instead of Modern WoW.
User Ubberman commented, “The fact that they tweaked these rather minor things and even changed the icons is honestly in my eyes monumental. Who are these people? That is an exceedingly high response rate and for rather minor things that only add to the feel. If they keep this up for even a year, WoW Forever will genuinely be the best World of Warcraft version to date. Genuinely.”
Even in beta, World of Warcraft: Forever is gaining traction, having increased server capacity due to high player demand. Initial reviews, including critiques from our team, have been predominantly favorable. The full launch of WoW Forever is scheduled for November 4, 2023.
News Courtesy of Eurogamer
