World of Warcraft: Forever
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World of Warcraft: Forever is coming Nov 4, 2026Worldwide, at 3:00 p.m. PST

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Darkspear Islands

Darkspear Islands is the new 15 versus 15 battleground of World of Warcraft: Forever, off the coast of Dustwallow Marsh for levels 30 to 60, where the Darkspear Raiders and the Theramore Expeditionary Force fight over four capture points and a central flag to reach 2,000 points.

Darkspear Islands is a new 15 versus 15 battleground in World of Warcraft: Forever, set on islands off the coast of Dustwallow Marsh in Kalimdor, for characters of levels 30 to 60. Blizzard revealed it on the What's Next panel at BlizzCon 2026, where the presenter first promised that players will still fight in the classic battlegrounds they already know, then introduced the islands as a strategic location for whichever side wants the upper hand in the war between the Horde and the Alliance; it follows the same ruleset as Eye of the Storm, where a team wins by controlling strategic positions. Blizzard's preview of Oct 7, 2026 gave the details: the Darkspear Raiders and the Theramore Expeditionary Force fight for four capture points and a flag in the middle of the map, and the first team to 2,000 points wins.

A cracked red earth path runs along a headland toward a thatched shelter raised on wooden poles, a leafy tree and a hide-covered tent. Below, a wooden pier lined with pale tusks and a carved arch reaches over bright turquoise water toward several sailing ships and palm-covered islets in a hazy golden light.
A dirt path climbs a red rock headland to a thatched shelter on poles above a tusk-lined pier, with sailing ships anchored off small palm islands, at Darkspear Islands, in an official World of Warcraft: Forever press screenshot. Blizzard Entertainment

Quick facts

Type Battleground: capture points with a flag capture
Team size 15 versus 15
Levels 30 to 60
Location Off the shores of Dustwallow Marsh, Kalimdor
Objectives Four capture points and a central flag
Victory The first team to 2,000 points
Horde side The Darkspear Raiders, based at the Merchant Coast
Alliance side The Theramore Expeditionary Force, based at Northwatch
Entry A battlemaster in any major capital city, or the portal at each side's base in the Barrens
Rewards Reputation gear and consumables; a faction tabard at Exalted
Previewed Oct 7, 2026, in a Blizzard article

How the battleground works

The twist is in how positions are taken. Darkspear Islands uses capture points in the style of Arathi Basin: a player interacts with a flag, then has to stand and defend it to secure that location. Blizzard's written recap of the panel sums it up as strategic control points combined with "Arathi Basin-style flag captures and defense". Horde players join the Darkspear trolls, who are fighting to drive the Alliance off their islands, while Alliance players report to the Theramore Expeditionary Force for deployment.

A stone archway with carved spiral panels and a grinning face at its top stands on a path of cracked red earth, with a small torch burning at the foot of each pillar. Palm trees rise on both sides, carved stone pillars stand further along the path toward the sea, and the wooden gondola and propeller of an airship hang just above the arch.
A carved stone arch topped with a grinning face stands on a cracked red sand path among palm trees, with a zeppelin hovering overhead, at Darkspear Islands, in an official World of Warcraft: Forever screenshot. Blizzard Entertainment

Blizzard's preview filled in the scoring. Teams earn points by controlling the four capture points across the islands, and the more points a team holds, the faster its score rises. A flag waits in the middle of the map: a player who grabs it and brings it to one of the bases the team has captured earns more points for the side. "The first team to earn 2000 points wins!"

An aerial view over turquoise sea. On the left, a red rock island is crossed by dirt paths and dotted with flat-topped trees, palms, ruins and a lookout on a hill, with a wooden bridge reaching across the water. On the right, paths wind through a green island of large leafy trees toward a stone wall and a building with a dark blue roof, while sailing ships lie offshore and more islets fade into the haze.
Seen from high above, a red rock island crossed by dirt paths faces green fields, leafy trees and a walled fort across a narrow channel, with ships anchored in the misty sea, at Darkspear Islands, in an official World of Warcraft: Forever screenshot. Blizzard Entertainment
An airship with a patched purple balloon, a spiked metal nose and a wooden gondola floats above choppy green sea beside a small island of red sand. On the island stand palm trees, a stone archway topped with a carved face, crates and wooden canoes, and a wooden pier with tusk decorations juts into the foreground, with red cliffs, flat-topped trees and a thatched hut beyond.
A spiked zeppelin with a purple balloon flies over a red sand island of palm trees, carved stone arches and beached canoes, seen from a tusk-lined pier, at Darkspear Islands, in an official World of Warcraft: Forever press screenshot. Blizzard Entertainment

Getting there and the rewards

Players can queue at a battlemaster in any major capital city, or travel to the Barrens, where the Darkspear Raiders hold a base at the Merchant Coast for the Horde and the Theramore Expeditionary Force one at Northwatch for the Alliance; a portal at each base leads into the battle. The bases also have quests for the battleground and vendors whose rewards unlock as a player's standing with that faction rises.

A wide dirt road framed by tropical flowers and ferns leads through an arched wooden gate set in a wall of huge gray stone blocks, with a torch burning on each side. Through the opening, red rock, palm trees, a blue-roofed structure and pale stone towers stand under a turquoise sky.
A dirt road runs through a torchlit gate in a massive stone wall toward red hills, palm trees and distant towers, in an official World of Warcraft: Forever screenshot from Blizzard's Darkspear Islands preview. Blizzard Entertainment

Each side has its own reputation track. The vendors sell gear and consumables, including trinkets, rings, cloaks, weapons and armor, at different reputation thresholds. Battleground quests take Marks of Honor for reputation, and at Exalted a short questline earns the faction's exclusive tabard. Reaching Exalted with each battleground reputation is also one of the PvP challenges of the Legacy system.

Under a pale turquoise sky, an airship with a spiked metal nose and a patterned purple balloon floats on the left above palms and a small stone arch. Across rolling red earth lie a horned animal skull, a hide lean-to on bone poles and a gnarled flat-topped tree, with carved stone arches, a square tower and a tall stepped temple tower on the right.
A spiked zeppelin with a purple balloon flies over red ground scattered with bones, hide shelters, carved stone ruins and a tall stepped tower, at Darkspear Islands, in an official World of Warcraft: Forever screenshot. Blizzard Entertainment
Backlit by a hazy sun, a big wooden ship with patched sails is tied up at a plank dock with torches and two square stone pillars, near a sandy beach where a small rowing boat lies. Grassy dunes and a dirt path lead to palm trees on the right.
A large sailing ship lies moored at a wooden dock lit by torches and flanked by stone pillars, beside palm trees and a sandy path, at Darkspear Islands, in an official World of Warcraft: Forever press screenshot. Blizzard Entertainment

In the beta

Blizzard said when the beta opened on Sep 17 that "the new battleground" would open for testing as the test went on. Its development notes have not announced the date, but creators were posting matches from early October, after the level cap rose to 30 on Oct 1; Sodapoppin's first look went up on Oct 5. See Beta.

From a grassy rise behind a pair of crossed wooden poles, the view runs over a blue inlet to rolling red rock hills dotted with palms, flat-topped trees, a pale stone tower and a thatched lookout on stilts, linked to the shore by a long wooden bridge. On the right, broad trees, small torches and a blue-roofed hut stand on a green shore, with sailing ships in the haze and a pale sun in the corner of the sky.
Red rock hills with flat-topped trees, a stone tower and a raised lookout face a green, palm-lined shore where ships ride at anchor, at Darkspear Islands, in an official World of Warcraft: Forever screenshot. Blizzard Entertainment

PvP in Forever beyond the islands

Darkspear Islands is only part of Blizzard's PvP plans. Near the end of the What's Next panel, associate production director Clay Stone listed "the new PvP system" among the things there was no time to talk about. Blizzard described it on Oct 7, the same day as the battleground: Honor to spend on PvP gear, Rank Points to climb the original ranks with a weekly cap, and seasons with a journey of weekly tasks. See PvP Progression.

Framed by dark tree canopies, a sunlit dirt path crosses a grassy hill marked with small torches and two red-banded posts. A broken stone tower stands under a large tree on the left, and on the right, beyond palms, a spiked airship with a purple balloon floats over a red rock shore with carved ruins and a channel of water.
A dirt path runs over a grassy rise past a ruined stone tower toward red rock shores, where a zeppelin with a purple balloon hangs above the water, at Darkspear Islands, in an official World of Warcraft: Forever screenshot. Blizzard Entertainment

On the roadmap Stone showed, "PvP updates" are among the content that follows the new raids unlocking on Dec 9, 2026, alongside more raids, new dungeons and world content. The dates are on Release and Roadmap.

A worn dirt path leads past a small half-timbered cottage with a blue tiled roof and palm trees toward wooden docks where a large sailing ship lies moored. Big leafy trees stand on the right by the water, a wrecked mast juts from the sea, and red rock hills with flat-topped trees and a thatched lookout rise on the left under a pale sun.
A blue-roofed timber cottage sits on a grassy rise above docks where a sailing ship is moored, below red rock hills topped with a thatched lookout, at Darkspear Islands, in an official World of Warcraft: Forever screenshot. Blizzard Entertainment

MadSeasonShow, reading the roadmap slide in a summary video of Sep 14, 2026, lists a new PvP season among the spring updates and another in the summer. Blizzard's written recap does not break the roadmap down by season.

A low view along weathered wooden planks flanked by tall pale tusks and dark posts wrapped in red cord, with a hide shelter on the left. Ahead, broad-leaved trees and palms cover sandy hills, and a ruined stone structure sits on the green slope at right beneath a bright, hazy sky.
A wooden bridge lined with curved tusks and posts bound in red cord leads toward palm trees and a jungle hillside under a hazy sun, at Darkspear Islands, in an official World of Warcraft: Forever screenshot. Blizzard Entertainment

Rulesets and faction balance

Fighting outside battlegrounds depends on the ruleset a player picks. Forever has no realm list; players choose a ruleset instead, and the PvP ruleset is for those who want every trip into contested territory to carry more danger. On the Deep Dive panel, lead software engineer Ana Resendez said faction balance matters a great deal on the PvP ruleset, and that Blizzard will have mechanisms in place to aim for a balance of Horde and Alliance, as it did for Season of Discovery. Factions stay separate on every ruleset, so Horde and Alliance players cannot group together. Blizzard's ruleset article adds that battlegrounds may include players from other rulesets, except Hardcore.

Cracked red earth stretches toward a broken stone archway topped with a carved face, a square block of stone wall and a small carved stone chest among palms and ferns. Beyond, a calm lagoon leads to a grassy shore with large trees and a blue-roofed building, while sailing masts and flat-topped trees fade into the pale green sky.
Carved stone ruins, a broken archway and palm trees stand on cracked red ground beside a lagoon, with ship masts and a green shore in the haze, at Darkspear Islands, in an official World of Warcraft: Forever screenshot. Blizzard Entertainment
From a sandy, grassy path, a broad wooden stairway with torches and short rope-wrapped posts rises between two square stone pillars to the deck of a big sailing ship with tan sails and lit stern windows. A small figure stands at the top of the steps, and palm-topped islets and calm water lie beyond under a misty sky.
Torchlit wooden steps climb between stone pillars and rope-wrapped posts to a large ship with patched sails, beside palm islets in a pale green sea, at Darkspear Islands, in an official World of Warcraft: Forever screenshot. Blizzard Entertainment

Frequently asked questions

How many players are in a Darkspear Islands match? Thirty: two teams of 15.

What level do you need for Darkspear Islands? Level 30. Blizzard lists the battleground for levels 30 to 60.

How do you win? By being the first team to 2,000 points. Points come from holding the four capture points, faster the more a team holds, and from carrying the central flag to a base the team controls, much as in Eye of the Storm.

Where is Darkspear Islands? Off the shores of Dustwallow Marsh in Kalimdor. Players enter through a battlemaster in a capital city or a portal at their side's base in the Barrens: the Merchant Coast for the Horde, Northwatch for the Alliance.

Are the original battlegrounds staying? Yes. Blizzard said on the What's Next panel that players will still fight in the classic battlegrounds they already know.

Sources

Moments

World of Warcraft: Forever - What's Next Panel | BlizzCon 2026

World of Warcraft

  1. Darkspear Islands is a new 15 versus 15 battleground in World of Warcraft: Forever, set on islands off the coast of…
  2. The twist is in how positions are taken. Darkspear Islands uses capture points in the style of Arathi Basin: a player…
  3. Darkspear Islands is only part of Blizzard's PvP plans. Near the end of the What's Next panel, associate production…
  4. On the roadmap Stone showed, "PvP updates" are among the content that follows the new raids unlocking on Dec 9, 2026…

World of Warcraft: Forever - Everything We Know

MadSeasonShow

  1. MadSeasonShow, reading the roadmap slide in a summary video of Sep 14, 2026, lists a new PvP season among the spring…

World of Warcraft: Forever - Deep Dive | BlizzCon 2026

World of Warcraft

  1. Fighting outside battlegrounds depends on the ruleset a player picks. Forever has no realm list; players choose a…

Photos

From a sandy, grassy path, a broad wooden stairway with torches and short rope-wrapped posts rises between two square stone pillars to the deck of a big sailing ship with tan sails and lit stern windows. A small figure stands at the top of the steps, and palm-topped islets and calm water lie beyond under a misty sky.Cracked red earth stretches toward a broken stone archway topped with a carved face, a square block of stone wall and a small carved stone chest among palms and ferns. Beyond, a calm lagoon leads to a grassy shore with large trees and a blue-roofed building, while sailing masts and flat-topped trees fade into the pale green sky.A low view along weathered wooden planks flanked by tall pale tusks and dark posts wrapped in red cord, with a hide shelter on the left. Ahead, broad-leaved trees and palms cover sandy hills, and a ruined stone structure sits on the green slope at right beneath a bright, hazy sky.A worn dirt path leads past a small half-timbered cottage with a blue tiled roof and palm trees toward wooden docks where a large sailing ship lies moored. Big leafy trees stand on the right by the water, a wrecked mast juts from the sea, and red rock hills with flat-topped trees and a thatched lookout rise on the left under a pale sun.Framed by dark tree canopies, a sunlit dirt path crosses a grassy hill marked with small torches and two red-banded posts. A broken stone tower stands under a large tree on the left, and on the right, beyond palms, a spiked airship with a purple balloon floats over a red rock shore with carved ruins and a channel of water.From a grassy rise behind a pair of crossed wooden poles, the view runs over a blue inlet to rolling red rock hills dotted with palms, flat-topped trees, a pale stone tower and a thatched lookout on stilts, linked to the shore by a long wooden bridge. On the right, broad trees, small torches and a blue-roofed hut stand on a green shore, with sailing ships in the haze and a pale sun in the corner of the sky.Under a pale turquoise sky, an airship with a spiked metal nose and a patterned purple balloon floats on the left above palms and a small stone arch. Across rolling red earth lie a horned animal skull, a hide lean-to on bone poles and a gnarled flat-topped tree, with carved stone arches, a square tower and a tall stepped temple tower on the right.A wide dirt road framed by tropical flowers and ferns leads through an arched wooden gate set in a wall of huge gray stone blocks, with a torch burning on each side. Through the opening, red rock, palm trees, a blue-roofed structure and pale stone towers stand under a turquoise sky.An aerial view over turquoise sea. On the left, a red rock island is crossed by dirt paths and dotted with flat-topped trees, palms, ruins and a lookout on a hill, with a wooden bridge reaching across the water. On the right, paths wind through a green island of large leafy trees toward a stone wall and a building with a dark blue roof, while sailing ships lie offshore and more islets fade into the haze.A stone archway with carved spiral panels and a grinning face at its top stands on a path of cracked red earth, with a small torch burning at the foot of each pillar. Palm trees rise on both sides, carved stone pillars stand further along the path toward the sea, and the wooden gondola and propeller of an airship hang just above the arch.Backlit by a hazy sun, a big wooden ship with patched sails is tied up at a plank dock with torches and two square stone pillars, near a sandy beach where a small rowing boat lies. Grassy dunes and a dirt path lead to palm trees on the right.An airship with a patched purple balloon, a spiked metal nose and a wooden gondola floats above choppy green sea beside a small island of red sand. On the island stand palm trees, a stone archway topped with a carved face, crates and wooden canoes, and a wooden pier with tusk decorations juts into the foreground, with red cliffs, flat-topped trees and a thatched hut beyond.A cracked red earth path runs along a headland toward a thatched shelter raised on wooden poles, a leafy tree and a hide-covered tent. Below, a wooden pier lined with pale tusks and a carved arch reaches over bright turquoise water toward several sailing ships and palm-covered islets in a hazy golden light.

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Last updated Oct 9, 2026 by the Vi.ki team. Page text CC BY-SA 4.0.

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