Blizzard has stepped in to calm things down after a batch of new mounts and cosmetics turned up in the World of Warcraft: Forever beta. Community Manager Kaivax posted a short statement on the official WoW forums yesterday (October 16th), and it did not take long for players to start picking it apart.
Here is the statement in full: "A number of art assets were recently datamined in the latest Beta build of WoW Forever. While we appreciate the feedback and discussion online, please be advised that these assets are not intended for this version of World of Warcraft." WoW Senior Art Director Jeff Parrott shared the same note on X shortly after:
What Was Found In The Beta
The assets came out of the latest WoW Forever beta client earlier this week. Dataminer Stiven shared several of them on X, including a Cape Rugged Totemic Backpack, a chicken mount he showed off riding into Duskwood, and a camp tent toy. The one that got the most attention was the Spectral Wolf Pack mount, which he posted a short clip of here:
Stiven later broke down how the mount works. When you summon it, two ghostly wolves appear and run beside you, and nearby party members who summon their own mounts take on the look of Spectral Wolves while they stay near the leader. Everyone still controls their own mount, so the whole group rides around Azeroth as a pack without any shared seats.
The concept itself got plenty of praise. The problem for a lot of players was the look. WoW Forever has been sold as a fresh take on original Azeroth, set after the events of Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom and before Molten Core, and many fans felt these models looked like they belonged in modern retail WoW. One player on X, TheRedShirtGuy, put it this way: "These new WoW Forever mounts (and this tent) are odd, they're 100% in retail's art style, just with intentionally low-resolution textures."
Players Are Split On The Answer
The bigger worry was where these items would end up. WoW Forever already has a shop, and plenty of players took the new mounts and transmog as a sign that premium cosmetics were on the way before the game even launched. One reply in the forum thread summed up that side, saying "They definitely panicking because the assets are clearly item shop models." Another player in the same thread said the concerns about art direction "have a real chance to derail the excitement of their target audience."
Stiven also raised questions about the statement. He pointed out that the assets were pulled straight from the Forever client and are not present in the retail 12.1.7 PTR client or any other Classic client, even as encrypted files. He added that other existing retail items, such as the FisherFalk armor set, the Pinky pet, Baby Murloc Thrall, and an encrypted Mecha Devilsaur mount, also sit in the Forever client under brand-new keys.
Even so, he landed on a fairly positive read. "Did Blizzard see the community's reaction and reconsider their plans? That's just my personal theory, and I could be completely wrong," he wrote. "But if datamining gave players a chance to voice their opinions, and Blizzard actually listened and adjusted their plans, I'd call that a win for everyone."
Other players were happy to take Blizzard at its word, pointing out that the beta is still a work in progress and that files turning up in a test client have never been a promise of anything. Some just liked the wolves and would be glad to see them in any version of the game.
The Beta Wraps Up Soon
Blizzard's statement does not say which version of WoW the assets are meant for, so retail players may want to keep an eye out for that wolf pack down the line.
In the meantime, the WoW Forever beta is entering its final days. Testers can play everything up to level 30 until the beta closes next week (October 21st), and Blizzard is also holding an open server stress test on Monday (October 19th) that anyone can join without beta access. The full game launches globally next month (November 4th), and access is included with a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time. Optional upgrades like the Skyborne Heroic Pack, Skyborne Epic Pack, and the limited-time Warcraft Forever Collection are available to pre-purchase on the Battle.net Shop.
Do you take Blizzard at its word that these mounts are not headed to Forever, or do you expect them to show up in its shop after launch?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.