Patch 1.60.1.70291: Discord voice, gamepad support, a smaller client and a secret dungeon
WoW Forever's beta client moved from build 70245 to 1.60.1.70291 on 8 October. The last two patches only rebuilt the executables. This one is a real feature patch: Discord voice chat built into the game, gamepad support across the interface, Classic-style quest titles, a round of class tuning, a much smaller client and the first trace of a new dungeon. We compared every changed file between the two builds; here is what is in it.
A new dungeon area: Dreambound Pinnacle
The client now names Dreambound Pinnacle, a subzone whose music set is called "1.60 Dungeon - General - Alpine". The map it sits on and its parent zone are still encrypted, so it is not playable yet. We wrote up everything the files give away in Dreambound Pinnacle: the secret new dungeon in WoW Forever?
A second new area is easier to place: Twilight Hollow, an explorable spot in the Riverglades (exploration level 41).
Discord voice chat in the game
The biggest change in the game code. Voice chat can now run through Discord instead of the old built-in system:
- A new setting picks the voice provider: Legacy or Discord. With Discord, the game can import your volumes, voice mode and push-to-talk key from the Discord app.
- Three new chat channel types: Discord party, Discord guild and Discord solo. Party voice commands go to the Discord party when Discord is the provider.
- Group finder listings get a voice mode (none, legacy, Discord or custom), and listings that use Discord show a Discord icon.
Quest titles show level, elite and type
Forever now always puts the quest's level in front of its title, with a + for elite quests, and names the quest's type after it: (Elite), (Dungeon), (PvP) or (Raid). That is how Classic players remember the quest log. Difficulty colours stay a setting.
Class tuning
75 class abilities changed, most of them low ranks. Low-rank damage spells lost 7 to 14 percent, Penance was roughly halved, and Lesser Heal got stronger:
| Spell | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Penance (Rank 1) | 81 damage | 42 damage |
| Fireball (Rank 2) | 30–44 | 26–38 |
| Frostbolt (Rank 2) | 31–35 | 27–31 |
| Wrath (Rank 2) | 21–25 | 19–23 |
| Shadow Bolt (Rank 2) | 22–28 | 20–26 |
| Lightning Bolt (Rank 2) | 27–31 | 25–29 |
| Heal (Rank 1) | 270–312 | 250–290 |
| Lesser Heal (Rank 2) | 71–85 | 86–102 |
Tanking and threat:
- Demoralizing Shout and Demoralizing Roar now cause threat (11 and 8 for rank 1).
- Bear Form's threat bonus went from 30 to 50 percent.
- Thorns (rank 2: 9 to 6) and Retribution Aura (rank 1: 7 to 5) reflect less damage.
Also: Mana Tide Totem is learned at level 25 instead of 40, the Paladin judgements finally have tooltip text, and the Druid talent Predatory Instincts is now called Natural Instinct. Every change is on our class pages.
Glancing blows, now in the game's API
Two new functions, GetGlancingBlowChance and GetGlancingBlowPenalty, work from your weapon skill and the target's defense skill. They confirm that Forever keeps Classic's weapon skill and glancing blows: auto-attacks against higher-level targets can land as weaker glancing hits.
Gamepad support across the interface
The gamepad action bar moved into Edit Mode, with options for a compact bar, empty bars, button prompts, highlights and expanding. The shop, the movie player, the game menu, the bags and the keyring, the group finder and professions can all be driven with a controller now, and the button-prompt icons were redrawn.
A 13 percent smaller client
The client went from 1,435,259 files to 1,242,273. Most of what left is retail content Forever never shows, plus a 65 MB Battle for Azeroth cinematic. That means a smaller install and less to download.
Everything else
- Interface: a rebuilt Classic-style combo point frame, and Rogue and Druid combo bars plus a Druid mana bar in Cat and Bear Form on the personal resource display. A rewritten Inspect window with character, PvP and guild tabs. The Professions button opens the Professions window, and abandoning a profession closes its trade skill.
- PvP ranks: the game now tracks PvP rank points through a faction of its own, the way Classic's honor ranks worked.
- Behind the scenes: new realm groups for Forever's regions, a "no realms available" state on the realm list, and stricter checks when your settings and keybinds load from the server (likely a fix for settings mixing up between characters).
- Server rule switches in the client's code: swapping weapons without the combat swap cooldown, never dropping items nobody can loot, and allowing empty loot.
- Items: 17 new basic consumables (potions, food, oils, sharpening stones and a Woolen Bag), and 128 changed items. The Spiritcaller set is shaman-only now, and Whisper, Amulet of Vengeance, Amulet of Forgiveness and Rage of the Storm were re-tuned.
- Achievements: a "Times camped" statistic for the campfire, and a beta tester achievement worth 16 Legacy Points. More on that in our post about it.
Full lists of the new and changed spells and items: patch notes.