Level 1–60, on foot. Your starting zones, refreshed — the new Gnome Priest and Dwarf Shaman, two combinations your old character couldn't be — and the new ship routes out of your capitals. Every fact sourced and dated.
Launches Nov 4, 2026 · 3:00 p.m. PacificCompanion to the full guide
The honest version first: the three headline regions — Zephras Isle, Shen'dralas, Mount Hyjal — sit in Kalimdor, and the Horde guide covers that side. The Alliance share of Forever is different, not lesser: every starting area refreshed, three new race–class combinations, new ship routes out of your capitals, and a battleground with its own reputation track for you.[2][7]
Your starting zones, refreshed. Humans in Elwynn Forest — the Deep Dive panel names the new lighting following the rivers through Elwynn[2] — dwarves and gnomes in Dun Morogh, night elves in Teldrassil; all three are in the current beta build.[9] Every starting area on both sides gets new NPCs, quests and profession hooks.[7]
Six new race–class combinations launch, split three to three: the Alliance takes the Gnome Priest, Human Hunter and Dwarf Shaman — two of the three didn't exist in 2005.[3] The one exclusive split is the Skyborne's — your path unlocks Mage; the Horde path unlocks Shaman.[2][3]
The long trip, shortened. The new ship routes: Stormwind Harbor ↔ Auberdine (early EK↔Kalimdor), Menethil and Southshore to Auberdine, and the Steamwheedle line from Tanaris into Riverglades.[7] And the new 15v15 battleground, the Darkspear Islands, off Dustwallow Marsh: queue at a battlemaster in any major capital, and earn your rep with the Theramore Expeditionary Force.[10]
Everything else is shared: same zones, same dungeons, same 1,000+ new quests — Riverglades' story is written “for Horde and Alliance players” alike — and there's no cross-faction grouping.[7][3] The other side of the same war gets its own page: the Horde guide.
“Horde and Alliance identity is something we definitely want to preserve… There's a deep history of enmity and conflict here that shouldn't be forgotten or brushed over.”
New combosGnome Priest · Human Hunter · Dwarf Shaman
Skyborne pathMage (Horde: Shaman)
New battlegroundDarkspear Islands · 15v15 (30–60)
Endgame raidsHyjal Summit & Barrow Deeps · Dec 9
03 · Pick your race
Five doors, one side
Human
Elwynn Forest, then Westfall and Redridge.[9][31] The Deep Dive panel names the new lighting following the rivers through Elwynn.[2] One of the six new launch combinations: the Hunter.[3]
Dwarf
Dun Morogh, as always — and now the Shaman: Dwarves never played the class in 2005.[3] The shaman toolkit lands reworked — totem GCD down to 1.0s, persistent totems last five minutes.[12]
Gnome
Dun Morogh, alongside the dwarves, in the current beta build.[9][31] New at launch: the Priest — Gnomes never played the class in 2005.[3] And Gnomeregan is still on the list for mid-level runs.[31]
Night Elf
Teldrassil, then Darkshore, with Ashenvale as the long connector.[9][31] The classic toolkit stays — with the racials rework everyone gets: two active and two passive per race, tuned for similar power with signature utility kept.[3]
Skyborne New race
The neutral race: you pick Alliance at creation and pursue the arcane legacy — Mage is the Alliance path (Shaman is the Horde one), alongside Warrior, Hunter, Rogue and Druid with brand-new Skyborne druid forms.[2] The start is Zephras Isle, levels 1–12.[2][7]
Heads-up: the Skyborne is the one race behind a pack — the Skyborne Heroic Pack ($29.99 US) or higher. Everything else on this page, including all six new race–class combinations, is included with your subscription.[4][22][1]
04 · The journey
The road, level by level
Provisional Assembled from community leveling guides[31] with the official dungeon ranges.[29] The beta is capped at level 30 right now, so anything past 30 is a plan, not a measured route — nobody, guide included, claims a verified “fastest” path yet.[8][31]
Lv 1–12Starting zones. Human: Elwynn Forest. Dwarf & Gnome: Dun Morogh. Night Elf: Teldrassil. Skyborne: Zephras Isle. Every starting area is refreshed with new NPCs, quests, and profession hooks.[7][2][31]
Lv 10–20Westfall and Redridge (Human), Loch Modan (Dwarf & Gnome), or Darkshore and early Ashenvale (Night Elf) — pick by quest level, not by map lore.[31] First new dungeon: Hall of Thanes 13–18, directly beneath Ironforge with a full dungeon-quest bundle — batch it with the Ironforge trip, don't drop in cold.[29][31]
Lv 20–30Wetlands, Ashenvale, Duskwood, or Hillsbrad — Wetlands gets new quests[7] and is the hub for Excavation Site: Wetlands 24–29.[29] Redridge and Stonetalon fill the gaps.[31] This is exactly the bracket the beta is testing right now — with one wrinkle: City of Dalaran (28–33) isn't enabled in the current build; it's coming in a later beta update.[9][31]
Lv 30The Darkspear Islands open — the new 15v15 battleground, first team to 2,000 points, queue at a battlemaster in any major capital (the Barrens also queues).[10]
Lv 35–45Riverglades — the new frontier. Roughly Stranglethorn-sized, nearly 200 quests, built from a part of the Classic world that was never reachable; from your side it's reached the same way the Horde reaches it — via the Steamwheedle line from Tanaris.[7] It spans the mid-30s to mid-40s, with the Drowned City 35–40 and Krol'dok Stronghold 40–45 along the way.[2][29]
Lv 45–55Feralas, Tanaris, the Hinterlands, Searing Gorge, Un'Goro, Felwood — the old mid-Kalimdor loop, now with Alcaz Prison 48–53 in it.[31][29]
Lv 55–60The Plaguelands, Winterspring, Silithus, Burning Steppes, Azshara — finished out with Blackmaw Hold 55–60 and Shaper's Terrace 58–60, the Titan mysteries in Un'Goro.[31][29][2]
Lv 60The top — across the water.Hyjal Summit (20-player) and the Barrow Deeps (10-player) unlock December 9 — five weeks after launch — and both sit in Kalimdor: your endgame is the long trip, with new tier sets and a legendary reward still to be revealed.[2][26]
Where the nine new dungeons land
Official ranges from the developers' clarification post of September 15; the “Alliance route” column is community routing advice, not a mandate.[29][31]
The nine new dungeons with level ranges and Alliance routing notes
Dungeon
Levels
On the Alliance route
Hall of Thanes
13–18
Beneath Ironforge — the Alliance's priority first run, full quest bundle[31]
Ruins of Lordaeron
15–20
Optional detour — no core Alliance quest bundle yet[31]
Two more notes from the guides: the Oct 1 update cut the extra XP on dungeon quests by 50% — quest-stacked runs still beat empty runs, but repeated dungeon grinding is no longer the fastest road.[31] And Shen'dralas could help routes that reach Kalimdor (Desolace, Feralas) — but nobody has an official level bracket for it yet, so treat it as a discovery, not a level block.[31]
05 · Endgame
What waits at the top
Hyjal Summit 20-player · max level
The site of the Battle for Mount Hyjal — the aftermath of Archimonde's defeat, Darkwhisper Gorge, and the factions taking shape in a recovering land. The two-decade wait, answered — with one catch: it's across the water.[2][7]
Barrow Deeps 10-player · max level
Press describes it as a Night Elf cavern-prison beneath Kalimdor holding an imprisoned Demon Hunter.[2][26]
Both unlock December 9, 2026, alongside new tier sets and a legendary reward Blizzard is “looking forward to revealing in full.”[2] And both sit in Kalimdor — from your side it's the long trip, so plan the crossings early; the new ship routes help.[7]
The Darkspear Islands, in detail. Four capture points plus a central flag — hold the points, and the clock runs faster for your team; grab the flag and bring it to a captured base for bonus points. First to 2,000 wins. You earn reputation with the Theramore Expeditionary Force: gear and consumables at each threshold, Marks of Honor from the battleground's own questline, and an Exalted-exclusive tabard at the top.[10]
PvP progression keeps its original shape: Honor and Rank Points, the rank ladder all the way up to Grand Marshal, a weekly rank cap, and seasons with weekly tasks that also feed the Legacy system.[11]
06 · Quick answers
Questions, answered
Does the Alliance get a different world?
Almost the same one. Zones, dungeons, and the new regions are shared — Riverglades' quests are written “for Horde and Alliance players.” What differs is faction-specific: your storyline, your class availability, your battleground reputation track — and the geography: the three headline new regions sit in Kalimdor, which makes your 1–60 partly a road to the other side of the map.[7][10]
Can my Alliance Skyborne be a Shaman?
No — the Skyborne split at character creation: the Alliance path pursues the arcane legacy and unlocks Mage, while the Horde path embraces elemental traditions and unlocks Shaman. Both can also play Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, and Druid. (And remember the race itself requires the Heroic Pack or higher.)[2][4]
Can I group with my Horde friends?
No. Horde and Alliance stay separate — no cross-faction grouping, no cross-ruleset grouping. Players keep asking for more cross-faction play; the developers say faction identity — enmity included — is something they “definitely want to preserve.”[3][15] Meanwhile, your friends on the other side can read their guide.
Is the endgame in the Eastern Kingdoms?
No. Both December 9 raids sit in Kalimdor — Hyjal Summit at Mount Hyjal[2], and the Barrow Deeps, which press places beneath Kalimdor[26]. From your side it's the long trip; the new ship routes make the crossings less painful.[7]
Which ruleset should an Alliance player pick?
Pick by how you want to meet people: Normal (PvP by mutual consent), PvP (the road to Grand Marshal), Roleplay, or Hardcore (post-launch — reports say winter 2026). Each ruleset is its own large ecosystem; a dead Hardcore character can still transfer out to another ruleset.[3][24]
Are the new race–class combinations free?
Yes. Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, and Dwarf Shaman are part of the base game — included with any World of Warcraft Subscription or Game Time. The only paid path in the game is the Skyborne race itself (Heroic Pack, $29.99 US, or higher).[1][3][4][22]
07 · References
Sources & verification
Last updated: October 11, 2026 — every fact on this page was checked against the sources below on this date. Keys match the main guide's reference list; the complete list lives in the full guide. Gold badges mean Blizzard stated it (T1); bronze “Reported” badges mean credible press or community, not yet official (T2/T3).
Oct 11, 2026 — Desktop menu fix: when the nine-item row outgrew its container (1024–1060px), the left-most links were cut off at the list's left edge. The row is now right-aligned via an auto margin — any overflow extends right and scrolls instead of clipping — and item gaps and text size are slightly tighter, so the row fits at every desktop width with no horizontal scrollbar.
Oct 11, 2026 — First published version of the Alliance starting guide, built on the site's shared visual foundation (hourglass-moon hero, parchment quick-facts plate, 1060px section shells, vertical level-band list) and mirroring the Horde guide as its complement: the honest Kalimdor framing, five race cards incl. the new Gnome Priest and Dwarf Shaman, a level-banded 1–60 route (badged provisional), the nine new dungeons with official ranges, the endgame across the water, and a six-item FAQ. All facts verified against the sources above on this date, including the Sept 15 official dungeon-range clarification; the community route is badged provisional throughout.