WoW Forever Zones Guide
What New Zones Are Coming to WoW Forever?
WoW Forever expands original Azeroth with full new and reimagined regions rather than limiting new content to endgame instances.
Four major areas form the initial zone expansion:
Zephras Isle;
Riverglades;
Shen'Dralas;
Mount Hyjal.
Together, they cover several stages of progression, from the first levels of a new Skyborne character to level 60 world content. Blizzard has also announced more than 1,000 new quests throughout the wider 1-60 journey.
Players who need progression across several regions can use WoW Forever Zone Completion.
New Zone Level Ranges
The currently known progression structure looks roughly like this:
Zephras Isle - levels 1-12;
Riverglades - levels 35-45;
Shen'Dralas - a new story zone with its main level range still needing final confirmation;
Mount Hyjal - level 60 world content.
This means new Forever content is spread throughout character progression rather than being concentrated entirely at the level cap.
Zephras Isle - Skyborne Starting Zone
Zephras Isle is the dedicated starting experience for the new Skyborne race.
The zone covers approximately levels 1-12 and combines familiar Warcraft aesthetics with architecture inspired by the elemental realm of Skywall.
Skyborne choose Horde or Alliance from character creation, so the race begins its story already aligned with a faction.
What Happens on Zephras Isle?
The main purpose of the zone is to introduce the Skyborne and prepare a new character for the wider Forever journey.
During the starting experience, players:
gain their first levels;
learn about Skyborne history;
unlock early class abilities;
explore the island;
receive early equipment;
prepare to enter the wider world.
At around level 12, the dedicated Skyborne route ends and the character continues through regular Azeroth progression.
Players who want to continue directly toward the cap can use Skyborne 1-60 Leveling.
What Comes After Zephras Isle?
After finishing the starting zone, Skyborne join the broader level 1-60 journey.
The next route depends on faction, quest choices, and the zones the player wants to explore. With more than 1,000 new quests being added throughout Azeroth, different characters can follow different paths instead of repeating one identical leveling route.
Players who want to reach the cap directly can also use WoW Forever 1-60 Leveling.
Riverglades - Major Level 35-45 Zone
Riverglades is one of WoW Forever's largest completely new regions.
It covers approximately levels 35-45 and contains more than 150 new quests across rivers, grasslands, trade routes, frontier communities, and settlements populated by humans, orcs, ogres, and others.
Rather than focusing on another immediate world-ending threat, Riverglades is built around life in the region, local communities, older conflicts, and the future of the frontier.
Why Riverglades Matters for Leveling
Its 35-45 range places Riverglades directly in the middle of the leveling journey.
More than 150 quests can provide a substantial amount of progression while also contributing:
experience;
story completion;
quest rewards;
reputation progression;
access to connected activities.
Players targeting the region can use Riverglades Completion.
Traveling to Riverglades
The zone is connected to expanded goblin travel routes, including a neutral port that helps link the new frontier with the rest of Azeroth.
These travel connections matter beyond the Riverglades storyline because they can make movement between Classic and new Forever regions easier during later progression.
Krol'dok Stronghold and Riverglades
Riverglades also connects directly with new group content.
Krol'dok Stronghold is one of Forever's new dungeons and fits naturally into progression through the region.
Players can target it separately through Krol'dok Stronghold.
This is a good example of Forever connecting questing zones and dungeons instead of treating them as isolated progression systems.
Riverglades Reputations
New reputations and rewards are also planned as part of Riverglades.
That can keep the zone relevant after its main story is finished.
Once all faction details are confirmed, players will be able to evaluate:
reputation rewards;
standing requirements;
repeatable progression;
important faction items.
Players targeting faction progression can also use WoW Forever Reputation Boost.
Shen'Dralas - Hidden Between Mulgore and Desolace
Shen'Dralas is a new region located between Mulgore and Desolace.
Its story expands the Shen'dralar, Eldre'Thalas, Dire Maul, and the conflicts between local centaur tribes.
The zone is particularly interesting because it develops established Warcraft lore that previously existed only through scattered locations and stories.
Shen'dralar and Eldre'Thalas
The Shen'dralar are closely connected to Eldre'Thalas and Dire Maul.
Forever turns this history into a broader regional storyline and uses it to expand a previously unfinished part of Kalimdor.
That matches the overall philosophy of Forever: instead of replacing Azeroth with an entirely new continent, Blizzard is filling in old gaps and expanding stories already rooted in the original world.
Players can target the zone through Shen'Dralas Completion.
Centaur Stories and Connected Dungeons
The Shen'Dralas storyline also explores conflicts between centaur tribes.
Some quests lead players beyond the zone itself into Maraudon and Razorfen Downs.
This makes Shen'Dralas part of a wider Kalimdor progression route rather than a completely isolated questing area.
What Level Is Shen'Dralas?
Shen'Dralas does not yet have the same clearly defined public leveling range as Riverglades or Zephras Isle.
It is therefore better not to lock the entire zone to one specific bracket until beta quest data provides a more reliable route.
Its final leveling value will depend on:
main quest levels;
connected dungeons;
rewards;
surrounding zones;
how it fits into efficient 1-60 progression.
Players targeting one specific storyline can also use Questline Completion.
Mount Hyjal - Level 60 Zone
Mount Hyjal becomes a full high-level zone in WoW Forever.
The story takes place after Archimonde's defeat. Players explore the aftermath of the battle, travel through Darkwhisper Gorge, and help shape the future of the recovering region.
Current information identifies Mount Hyjal as level 60 content.
That makes it different from Riverglades and Zephras Isle: Hyjal is focused on progression at the level cap rather than ordinary leveling.
Mount Hyjal After Archimonde
Forever continues the story of the region after Warcraft III.
Instead of simply revisiting a familiar landmark, players explore a land attempting to recover from the major battle.
The storyline involves:
restoring the region;
emerging local forces;
new alliances;
consequences of Archimonde's defeat;
future threats to Hyjal.
Players targeting the area can use Mount Hyjal Completion.
Hyjal Summit and Level 60 Progression
Mount Hyjal also connects directly to raid progression.
Hyjal Summit is one of WoW Forever's first new raids and is designed for 20 players.
This creates a natural transition from the open-world zone into level 60 group content.
Players continuing into raiding can use Hyjal Summit.
How New Zones Fit Into Level 1-60
The four major areas demonstrate Blizzard's broader approach to Forever.
New content appears at several stages:
early leveling - Zephras Isle;
mid-level progression - Riverglades;
additional Kalimdor story progression - Shen'Dralas;
maximum-level world content - Mount Hyjal.
New quests are also being added throughout existing parts of the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, so Forever's expanded leveling route is not limited to these four zones. Blizzard has announced more than 1,000 new quests overall.
Players who want a complete path to the cap can use WoW Forever 1-60 Leveling.
New Zones and Dungeons
Forever connects open-world progression with dungeon content.
Nine new dungeons are distributed across the level 1-60 journey, creating group activities at several stages of character development.
Riverglades has a clear connection to Krol'dok Stronghold, while Shen'Dralas sends players back into existing Kalimdor dungeons for new story reasons.
Players targeting multiple instances can use WoW Forever All Dungeons.
New Zones and Legacy Progression
Exploration can also contribute to the broader Legacy System.
Legacy Challenges support several areas of Forever progression, including classes, professions, reputations, PvP, dungeons, raids, and exploration.
That means completing new zones can contribute more than experience and story progression when the related Legacy objectives are active.
Players focusing on the system can use Legacy Challenges and Legacy Points.
Do You Need to Complete Every New Zone?
Not necessarily.
Players focused purely on reaching level 60 efficiently may eventually use a route that combines only part of the new content with Classic zones and dungeons.
Players who care more about story and exploration may prefer to complete the major questlines in every region.
Your goal changes the best approach:
speed - prioritize efficient experience;
story - complete major questlines;
exploration - clear zones more broadly;
Legacy - target relevant challenges;
reputations - spend additional time with important factions.
The same zone can therefore have very different value depending on the character.
Will More Zones Be Added Later?
Yes.
WoW Forever is designed as an expanding version of Azeroth.
The current roadmap already includes new quests and another playable area in spring 2027, followed by further world-content expansion in summer.
The four launch regions are therefore only the first stage of Forever's map expansion.
Instead of constantly abandoning Azeroth for completely separate continents, Forever has room to continue developing unfinished corners of the original world.
Which New Zone Should You Start With?
Skyborne characters naturally begin on Zephras Isle.
For other characters, the best choice depends on level and progression route.
Riverglades becomes particularly relevant around levels 35-45, while Mount Hyjal is intended for level 60 characters. Shen'Dralas is better treated as a separate story region until its most efficient leveling bracket becomes clearer through testing.
Players who want progress across several areas can use WoW Forever Zone Completion.