WoW Forever New Zones Guide

WoW Forever New Zones Guide Quick Overview:

1. WoW Forever adds new major zones to improve the leveling experience.
2. Each zone is connected to the lore of the original game and RTS in some way.
3. Zephras Isle is a new level 1–12 starting zone for the Skyborne race.
4. Riverglades is a large mid-level zone aimed roughly at levels 35–45, with content for both factions.
5. Previously inaccessible regions such as Mount Hyjal and Shen'dralas are being opened with new quests, factions, stories, and travel connections.

Trying to get to the new zones? Buy WoW Forever Gold and get enough coins to take any route leading to Zephras Isle or any other new location in the game using new flight paths.

 

 

 

WoW Forever Adds New Locations

WoW Forever expands Vanilla Azeroth without abandoning its original setting. Blizzard describes its approach as “found photographs”: adding places, stories, and characters that could realistically have existed during WoW’s original year-one timeline. I like this direction because the new content is meant to feel like something that was always hiding just beyond the edges of the original world.

That approach covers everything from previously inaccessible locations to completely new regions inspired by old Warcraft lore. Blizzard is also adding plenty of new instanced content, which I covered separately in my WoW Forever Dungeons Guide.

In this guide, I’ll cover every confirmed new WoW Forever zone, including its level range, location, story, major factions, and how to get there.

All New Zones in WoW Forever

WoW Forever launches with four major new zones. They cover different parts of the 1–60 journey, from a new starting experience to a level-60 endgame area.

Zone	Level Range	Location	Main Purpose
Zephras Isle	1–12	Skywall	Skyborne starting zone
Riverglades	35–45	Eastern Kingdoms	Mid-level questing zone
Shen'dralas	40-45	Between Mulgore and Desolace	New questing region tied to Eldre’Thalas and the centaur tribes
Mount Hyjal	60	Northern Kalimdor	Endgame zone set after the Battle of Mount Hyjal

What I like here is that Blizzard did not simply add four disconnected pieces of land. Each fills a different gap in Classic Azeroth, whether that means opening an area players already knew existed or introducing somewhere completely new that still fits the original setting.

Zephras Isle

Zephras Isle is a level 1–12 starting zone located within Skywall, the elemental plane of air. It is the homeland of the new Skyborne race and one of WoW Forever’s completely new regions. If you want to know more about the race itself, including its factions, classes, racials, and lore, I covered all of that separately in my WoW Forever Skyborne Guide. Blizzard describes Zephras as a starting experience that combines Classic Warcraft aesthetics with architecture inspired by Skywall.

The Skyborne arrived here thousands of years ago after Highborne exiles fled Eldre’Thalas. Wind spirits eventually transported their island into Skywall and helped sustain their civilization there. By the beginning of Forever, those spirits have vanished, the magic supporting Zephras is fading, and its enormous anchor pylons are becoming unstable.

That crisis also fuels a divide among the Skyborne. The Windshapers, aligned with the Horde, remain closely tied to elemental traditions, while the Alliance-aligned High Order believes arcane magic offers the best path forward. Early quests introduce both sides before shifting toward the Al'Aketh cult, whose activities around the island and its anchor pylons become one of the main threats to Zephras. The walkthroughs also show that the story starts on a very Classic scale: controlling local wildlife, gathering Windstones, investigating restless wind sprites, and helping nearby villages before the larger danger takes over.

How to Get to Zephras Isle

Skyborne characters start on Zephras Isle automatically, so there is no initial journey required. Horde characters from elsewhere in Azeroth can also reach Valanaar using the zeppelin at Skywatcher Plateau in Mulgore, meaning the zone is not completely isolated to newly created Skyborne.

At the end of the Skyborne starting story, the two factions reconnect with Azeroth through different routes. Alliance Skyborne take a skycutter to Dalaran, while Horde Skyborne travel by skycutter to Mulgore.

My Zephras Isle Impressions

From the footage I’ve watched, Zephras looks like Blizzard understood the assignment visually. The improved lighting, shadows, fog, and distant floating terrain make it look noticeably newer, but the actual vegetation, creatures, buildings, and quest design still feel recognizably Classic. One player described it as strongly Night Elf-inspired with some Blood Elf touches, while another specifically praised how the lighting improves the old WoW look without replacing it.

The quest progression looks deliberately familiar too. Thendal Grove begins with small wildlife and ecosystem problems, then sends you toward Shen'dar Village as the Al'Aketh threat grows. That makes the zone feel more like an actual Vanilla starting area than a modern expansion intro where the world is ending five minutes after character creation. There are some less impressive parts, particularly a few simple village layouts, but overall Zephras looks cohesive and surprisingly natural for a zone set inside Skywall.

Riverglades

Riverglades is a level 35–45 zone in the Eastern Kingdoms and one of the largest new areas coming with WoW Forever. Blizzard says it is roughly the size of Stranglethorn Vale, with rivers, grasslands, trade routes, settlements, and several distinct biomes. The land technically existed in the original Classic world but was inaccessible to players.

This is probably the clearest example of Blizzard’s “new but familiar” approach. Riverglades connects naturally with Redridge Mountains, Burning Steppes, Swamp of Sorrows, and the surrounding Eastern Kingdoms, sharing creatures and conflicts from those neighboring zones. Gnolls have established camps here, ogres control parts of the frontier, and the Twilight’s Hammer has a presence around places like Sunny Glade.

There is a lot more actual questing here than in a small side zone. Blizzard said Riverglades contains nearly 200 new quests across Horde and Alliance storylines. The Horde begins around Ragmar, while Alliance players have Farhold Keep. The neutral Powderfuse Goblins operate Powderfuse Port, and the zone also introduces the Brotherhood of the Horse, a faction whose roots go back to the original Warcraft RTS games.

Riverglades also contains Krol'dok Stronghold, one of the new WoW Forever dungeons. The surrounding ogre presence therefore is not just background decoration. It becomes part of the zone’s larger story as players move toward the higher end of its level range.

How to Get to Riverglades

There are at least two confirmed ways to enter Riverglades. The simplest one starts at Steamwheedle Port in Tanaris, where a new ship route takes players across the sea directly to Powderfuse Port.

You can also enter Riverglades by land from the Redridge Mountains and Burning Steppes side. Blizzard specifically showed a new route branching away from the familiar Redridge/Burning Steppes journey and into the zone.

My Riverglades Impressions

Riverglades is probably the new zone I’m most impressed with so far. The footage that I’ve seen immediately shows level 37 mobs, which fits Blizzard’s stated mid-30s starting range, but what stands out more is how naturally the environment connects with old Azeroth. The player repeatedly compares it to Redridge and specifically praises how the landscapes blend together instead of feeling like a separate expansion map.

The zone also looks absolutely huge. There are Twilight’s Hammer camps, murloc areas, ogre territory, open grasslands, rivers, ruins, and several settlements spread across the map. Farhold Keep is easily one of the highlights. It uses familiar human architecture but expands it into a proper fortified settlement with ramparts, a chapel, crypts, memorials, vendors, and plenty of small lore details. The player exploring it repeatedly says that it still feels like Classic despite clearly being much more elaborate than most original towns.

Powderfuse Port gives the zone a completely different atmosphere again. It is a proper goblin settlement with its own faction, transport links, profession vendors, and even a Black Market Auction House. The variety between Farhold, the wilderness, Twilight territory, and the goblin port makes Riverglades look much less repetitive than its size initially suggests.

What sells it for me is that none of this looks dramatically out of place. The visuals are cleaner, the lighting and music are just more vibing, and the settlements are more detailed, but Riverglades still looks like somewhere that could have been sitting between Classic zones all along. That is pretty much exactly what I wanted to see from WoW Forever.

 

 

Shen'dralas

Shen'dralas appears to be a level 40+ questing zone located between Desolace and Mulgore. Beta footage already shows level 43 enemies such as Magram Marauders and Blind Screechers inside the zone, which suggests most of its content sits somewhere in the low-to-mid 40s.

Unlike Riverglades, Shen'dralas is built directly around storylines already present in Classic. Blizzard is expanding Desolace's centaur content with new faction quests and rewards, then continuing that journey into Shen'dralas. The new zone digs further into the centaur tribes, the Shen'dralar, Eldre’Thalas, and Dire Maul, making it feel like an extension of several unfinished Vanilla story threads rather than an unrelated new region.

Blizzard says the zone contains dozens of new quests focused on the history of Eldre’Thalas and the people connected to it. That should make Shen'dralas particularly interesting for anyone who likes the Highborne side of Classic lore, since the Shen'dralar are the surviving Highborne faction associated with Dire Maul.

The beta map also shows areas such as Magram Front, Outcast Hideaway, Bristleback Retreat, Evenshade's Overlook, and Forlorn Gardens. Combined with the Magram enemies seen in footage, it looks like the centaur conflict will remain a major part of the zone instead of disappearing once you leave Desolace.

How to Get to Shen'dralas

The confirmed entrance is through the Valley of Bones in southern Desolace. Blizzard specifically describes Shen'dralas as the continuation of the centaur questing journey: follow the storyline south through Desolace, and the path eventually leads into the new zone. There is no confirmed ship or special transport route for Shen'dralas so far. Unlike Zephras Isle or Riverglades, it appears to be designed as a natural land extension of the existing Kalimdor leveling path.

My Shen'dralas Impressions

It’s pretty gloomy, and it has mobs from Desolace. The main point of interest is this giant temple guarded by ghostly NPCs. Inside, there’s a round room, and in the center is a magic crystal guarded by Pulon Protectors and some Shard Guards. Around it, there are also all sorts of Scholar NPCs. Apparently, the leader there is Magister Kirandis, so I bet there’s a quest chain for this place. Outside the temple, however, the zone is pretty dark and gloomy. It does have a mystical vibe, but as far as visual diversity goes, this zone is nothing to write home about. I mean, it’s pretty dull, to be honest. I bet there’s cool lore tied to the zone, but visually it’s just not as impressive. At the end of the day, Shen’dralas is just a new option for you to level up in besides the usual Southern Stranglethorn Vale, Dustwallow Marsh, and others.

 

 

Mount Hyjal

Mount Hyjal is a level 60 endgame zone in northern Kalimdor. In WoW Forever, we finally get to explore the mountain itself instead of only seeing it on the map or visiting a past version through the Caverns of Time. The zone’s narrative takes place after Archimonde’s defeat at the end of Warcraft 3, with Hyjal still recovering from the Burning Legion’s invasion. The story of the zone revolves around helping restore Hyjal and shape the future of the recovering land. 

Mount Hyjal is also much more than a normal questing zone. It serves as one of Forever’s major level-60 hubs and connects directly with its endgame content. The Hyjal Summit raid is located here, while one of the entrances to Barrow Deeps is also found somewhere in the zone.

How to Get to Mount Hyjal

The main route into Mount Hyjal goes through Darkwhisper Gorge in southern Winterspring. This is especially fitting because the gorge already led toward Hyjal in Vanilla, but the route beyond it was never opened as a proper playable zone. WoW Forever essentially finishes that old path and turns it into the entrance to a complete level-60 region.

Unlike other new zones, which are by all intents and purposes optional and you can choose whether you want to level up in there or stick to the original zones, Mount Hyjal isn’t like that. It seems to be the final destination for the leveling journey and a hub to the endgame.

My Mount Hyjal Impressions

Mount Hyjal looks much bigger and more varied than I expected. There are forests, burned foothills, ruins, furbolg territory, old Horde and Alliance posts, and the Summit of Eternity itself. It really feels like a mountain you gradually ascend.

What I like most is how super connected it appears to be to the aftermath of Warcraft 3. There are still demons, undead, burned settlements, damaged structures, and corrupted areas, but the zone is also full of signs that nature is slowly returning. The Cenarion Circle talks about healing the mountain, while new vegetation appears in places that were previously scarred by the Legion. That rebuilding theme seems to run through the entire zone.

There also seems to be a lot going on beyond the main questline. The footage that I’ve seen shows new furbolg storylines, reputation-related factions, the Guardians of Hyjal, multiple flight paths, profession resources, and several quest hubs on the way up the mountain. One furbolg group even asks players to prove themselves by fighting the Deadwood before they can earn its trust.

The zone also makes good use of places Warcraft players already recognize. You can reach areas corresponding to the old Horde and Alliance positions from the Battle of Mount Hyjal, see the land around Nordrassil, and eventually reach the entrance to the new raid. From higher points, you can also look down toward Darkshore, Felwood, and Azshara, which makes Hyjal finally feel physically connected to the rest of Kalimdor. 

Mount Hyjal might be the zone that best delivers on WoW Forever’s whole idea. It is technically new playable content, but almost everything in it feels like something Vanilla was always supposed to let us explore.

Check out more WoW Forever guides:

• WoW Forever Overview
• Paladin Guide
• Skyborne Race Guide
• Best Professions
• Best Class Tier List

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