WoW Forever beta habits: HD or classic models, and why testers are hoarding 40 quests before level 30

Not every beta story is a patch note. Two small things are all over the WoW Forever beta: how your character looks, and what you are doing with your quest log.

Team HD or team classic?

Forever includes a model toggle. You can play with the original 2004 character models or the updated HD models from the modern game, with a simple toggle. It is purely a matter of taste.

PC Gamer asked readers to pick a side, and the answers split the usual way:

• HD wins on detail. Hairstyles like the troll braided mohawk and facial animations look much better;
• classic wins on feeling. The blocky proportions match the world, the old animations match the old spell effects, and for many players that is WoW.

There is no wrong answer, and you can try both in seconds.

The 40-quest hoard

The second habit is sneakier. The beta cap is level 20, and Blizzard plans to raise it to 30 later in the test. Any experience earned at 20 is wasted, so some testers near the cap have stopped turning in quests:

1. keep questing in zones for your level as normal;
2. complete the objectives, but do not hand the quests in;
3. once the cap goes up, turn them all in and gain several levels at once.

This works because Forever doubled the quest log from 20 to 40 quests. A full log of completed quests is a lot of experience.

It makes little sense in a beta that will be wiped at launch. PC Gamer’s author calls it a guilty pleasure, and admits to doing it anyway, just to be a few levels ahead for a couple of hours.

Should you do it?

If you want to test the 20–30 content as soon as it opens, it is a good trick. You skip the grind and go straight to the new zones and dungeons. Just note:

• some quests may change or break in the next build, and quest items can be reset;
• Blizzard has not given a date for the level 30 raise, only that it comes later in the beta, which runs until October 21.

For launch, where your progress stays, our leveling guides and the interactive map show the quest routes. For the level 20 cap, the talent calculator has the 11-point builds.