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Blizzard Realized WoW Forever Was Losing Its Classic Look

Esfand

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Blizzard just announced BIG visual changes coming to World of Warcraft: Forever, including updated Skyborne Druid forms and brand-new Classic-style SD models for the Skyborne race!

After community feedback about the new HD character models not fitting the original World of Warcraft aesthetic, Blizzard has acknowledged the concerns and revealed its plans to bring the new race closer to Classic WoW's visual style.

Esfand reacts to Blizzard's latest announcement, takes a look at the updated Druid forms, discusses the upcoming SD Skyborne models arriving in early 2027, and shares his thoughts on the future of WoW Forever's graphics.

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20 Comments

@gamingfogie 1 day ago

I had to walk to walk barefoot uphill to Ironforge in the snow...back in my day.

@Belzebub1978 1 day ago

In my opionion its not so much about HD and SD, its about the style. The new stuff looks more comicy and everything is super bright. And the classic is not bright and more gritty. i dont mind detailed textures and modells

@markj.a351 1 day ago

They clearly just need some artists that have a passion for the classic aesthetic.
It feels like they're forcing retail artists who were hired because they like the retail Disney aesthetic, to make stuff for forever.
Nothing agaisnt the artists, but they need artists with a passion for the more gritty classic theme.

@Wellorep 1 day ago

The skull icon on higher level and dangerous enemies needs reverted to the classic art regardless if they give us an option later for full classic UI, which we should be getting anyways

@Azayus 1 day ago

The bear form for the sky elves is like the pre-evolution Moonkin

@Epiko1 1 day ago

This is a great step in the right direction. The new HD druid forms are sick, more busy, more gritty and aggressive. I really hope they consider doing this to the HD character models too!

@jaymekelso8182 1 day ago

The druid forms were 100% coloring. The original colors were way too bright and contrasting for the world. The darker toned down colors are a huge improvement.

@wiegraffolles9822 1 day ago (edited)

It's a great sign. I don't think most people realize the significance of this. To them it's just some art asset changes that don't really matter.

This is a battle for the soul of the game. Artistic cohesion is just one piece of it.

The OSRS community understands this. They gatekeep the game down to the smallest details, because they know that when you give an inch it can, and will, turn into something more.

@lastelite3967 1 day ago

SD needs to be the priority for all future content in the game. With HD models, for characters only, being supported for those who want that. The entire world is SD already and needs to stay cohesive.

@sbarter 1 day ago

Nothing more gritty than a bear druid doing /dance

@lc-ii9ii 1 day ago

The fact he started by talking about the top image, clearly thinking it was still the design requiring changes, tells you the job isn't good enough.

@BootLord 1 day ago (edited)

I want grim dark but I don't care about keeping things low poly. Imo many of the higher res models look Disneyfied. Tauren and Orcs should look intimidating but currently they are meh.

@elecktro_o 1 day ago

the druid forms went from looking straight out of Shadowlands, to something from pandaria, so they're going in the right direction 🤔

@Ostekat 23 hours ago (edited)

Can we please just be able to see skyborn forms as regular druid forms? Pleeeeeeeaaaaaase. Let the it be a transmog option whether we wanna see owl bears everywhere, PLEEEEEAAAAAASE.

@skn0589 1 day ago

Esfand thanks for pointing this out for the community. I mean some people really dont care about the classic aestetics, some do not even see the difference. But those who do, really love the classic designs and blizzard really need devs who also see the difference in classic art design. I am not sure if every retail designer at blizzard knows what we mean..

@abe-riatos 1 day ago

On top of everything else, they want money; I explicitly told them on their podcast's official channel that I had no intention of spending money on a Blood Elf copy-paste race—much like many others have likely said. I also wrote to them that the best thing about WoW is that items don't become obsolete, the journey is fun, and the community is the main focus—not just an online single-player experience. Those of us who left after WotLK (the last great expansion) did so because the game was ruined by the watering down of the talent system, the loss of community, and the endless chase for the latest trendy item. I think we need to keep pressing that point, especially with the veteran community; after all, Retail is already there for those who prefer things fully cosmetic and sanitized.

@rockitgamer 1 day ago

I like the HD models and version of the game, however I also think it is important that the devs are paying attention and going back to work on the details to provide consistency accros all graphic versions of the game. There are players that want to stay in SD mode and they expect it to look like that, totally valid, and that should be addressed, so glad the devs are.

@SalientPrime 20 hours ago

It isn't a poor quality resolution, ITS AN ART STYLE

@MrCristoflanga 1 day ago

I think you're right that there's a huge adjustment in mentality going on with the resposiveness and transparency Blizzard seems to be suggesting for this game. For a "forever" experience, it's hugely important that everything in the game keeps being updated and paid attention to instead of left behind for whatever new content they bring out. This also means a game that doesn't always provide a new tradmill for addicted players, and we'll see how the community reacts to that in a few months.