The WoW Forever Legacy System is the game’s answer to a simple question: why level another character when your main is already 60? You complete one-time Legacy Challenges (level a class to 25, raise Tailoring to 150, reach a PvP rank), each one gives your whole account a Legacy Point, and every character then spends those points on its own in three perk trees: Adventure, Professions and Resourcefulness.
The catch is the cap. Blizzard says 65 points can be earned at the start, but each character can spend only 16 at launch on November 4. Everything past 16 feeds a cosmetic Legacy Reward Track. None of the perks add combat stats: they cover rested XP, gathering yields, reagent costs, flight paths and repair bills.
Below: where the first 16 points come from, every perk in the beta client, and our builds for a main, a leveling alt and a profession character.
Where the numbers come from: The beta opened on September 17 with a level 20 cap, and Blizzard’s known-issues list implies the Legacy panel is meant to open at level 25. Nobody has tested it in play yet. The perk values, gates and challenge list below are datamined from the beta client (compiled by Wowhead and cross-checked by classicwow.gg), and Blizzard can change any of them before launch.
How the WoW Forever Legacy System Works
- Earn once per account. Each Legacy Challenge is a first-time achievement worth 1 point. Your second Druid to reach 60 earns nothing; your first one did.
- Spend per character. Points are not a currency. With 16 on the account, every character has 16 to allocate, and your Warrior’s picks don’t touch your Mage’s.
- Gates inside each tree. In the beta data, the first perks in each tree are open, the rest need 5 points spent in that tree, and the three capstones (Frequent Flier, Dedicated Study, Reagent Economy) need 10. Some perks also need a rank in the perk before them.
- Built to grow. Blizzard plans to raise the cap later and add perks, columns and possibly new trees.
- Hardcore is one-way. Progress earned on Hardcore carries over to other rulesets, never the reverse.
All 65 Legacy Points and Which to Get First
The beta files list exactly 65 challenges, which matches Blizzard’s number:
| Category | Points | What counts |
|---|---|---|
| Class levels | 27 | Reach 25, 45 and 60 for the first time on each of the nine classes |
| Crafting skill | 18 | Reach 150, 225 and 300 in each of the six crafting professions |
| PvP | 12 | Ranks 3, 7, 10, 13 and 14 (5), exalted with the four battleground factions (4), three weekly PvP journey milestones (3) |
| Dungeons | 3 | Three Spelunker sets: clear every dungeon on a list |
| Raids | 3 | Onyxia, Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit |
| World | 2 | Explore every zone on both continents with one character, and the Lord Valthalak quest chain |
Two things jump out. Gathering and secondary skills give nothing: Mining, Herbalism, Skinning, Cooking, Fishing and First Aid have no challenge in the data. And the cheapest points are the first milestone of anything: level 25 on a new class, or 150 in a new crafting profession.
Here is the order we would chase them in on a fresh account:
- Take at least one crafting profession on your main. A main that levels to 60 with two crafting professions at 300 earns 9 points (3 for levels, 6 for skill). A double-gatherer main earns 3. If you want to gather for gold, pair one gathering skill with one crafting skill instead of two gatherers.
- Run each low-level dungeon once while leveling. The first Spelunker set covers the early dungeons and the second the mid-level ones. One reading of the data puts the new Hall of Thanes and Ruins of Lordaeron in the first set. Both sets come naturally with a group-friendly leveling route and add 2 points by 60.
- At 60, clear the third Spelunker set. It appears to cover the level 60 dungeons (wow.gg’s reading lists all Dire Maul wings, both Stratholme halves and both Blackrock Spire halves, though other trackers say the lists aren’t fully readable yet). You’ll run most of them for gear anyway. That brings a main to 12.
- Level one alt to 25 with two new crafting professions to 150. That is 3 points for a fraction of the time the later milestones take, and your alt already has all of your main’s points to spend while leveling. Now you are at 15.
- Pick up the 16th point wherever you play. PvP Rank 3 is the most modest PvP goal. The two new raids open on December 9. The Explorer point needs every zone on both continents revealed on a single character, which is a long tour but can be done on a mount at 60.
The expensive points (PvP Rank 13 and 14, four battleground exalted grinds, the week-gated PvP milestones) only matter for the Reward Track. A new class is also a good excuse to try a new race: our Skyborne race guide covers the new starting zone and class options.
Every Legacy Perk in the Beta
The beta client has 21 perks, seven per tree, plus two sealed slots per tree that read “Not yet implemented”. Values are at maximum rank.
| Perk | Tree | Gate | Ranks | At max rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Well Rested | Adventure | Open | 5 | Rested XP builds 20% faster, rested cap 20% higher |
| Thrill of Adventure | Adventure | Open | 5 | Killing blows restore 5% health and mana over 10 sec (open world only) |
| Talented | Adventure | 5, after Well Rested | 5 | Talent points start at level 5 instead of 10, still capped at 51 |
| High Alert | Adventure | 5 | 2 | Detect stealth as if 2 levels higher (not in battlegrounds) |
| Field Guide | Adventure | 5 | 3 | Camp feature cooldown 25% shorter |
| Field Medicine | Adventure | 5 | 2 | Recently Bandaged 10 sec shorter (open world only) |
| Frequent Flier | Adventure | 10, after Field Guide | 1 | Flight paths 50% cheaper and 20% faster |
| Working Overtime | Professions | Open | 5 | 20% higher skill-up chance |
| Bountiful Harvest | Professions | Open | 5 | 100% more Scarce materials from Mining, Herbalism and Skinning |
| Master Chef | Professions | 5 | 5 | 50% chance for an extra cooked item |
| Bartering | Professions | 5 | 2 | Vendor items cost 10% less |
| Performance Bonus | Professions | 5, after Bountiful Harvest | 3 | 15% chance for double Merchant’s Favor on crate turn-ins |
| Luremaster | Professions | 5 | 2 | 50% chance for an extra fish while a lure is active |
| Dedicated Study | Professions | 10, after Bartering | 1 | Daily: +1 skill in your lowest tradeskill, or 2 to 4 Elemental Essences once all are 300 |
| Gourmand | Resourcefulness | Open | 3 | Food buffs last 100% longer |
| The Quick and the Dead | Resourcefulness | Open | 2 | 10% faster as a ghost, helpful spells free for 2 min after a resurrection |
| Reinforce | Resourcefulness | Open | 5 | 40% less durability loss on death |
| Permanence | Resourcefulness | 5, after Gourmand | 2 | Your long party and raid buffs and camp rest bonuses last 100% longer |
| Diplomat | Resourcefulness | 5 | 5 | 10% more reputation |
| For Great Honor | Resourcefulness | 5 | 5 | 10% more honor |
| Reagent Economy | Resourcefulness | 10, after The Quick and the Dead | 1 | No vendor reagents for class abilities, Tier 1 camp features free to craft |
One perk comes close to power: Talented. Five extra talent points from level 5 to 55 is a real leveling boost, and it’s one of the most argued-about perks on the official forums, mainly because of level 19 and 29 battlegrounds. At 60 the cap of 51 is unchanged, so it does nothing for endgame. If any perk changes before launch, this is the likely one.
Best 16-Point Build for Your Main
Recommendation: all 16 in Resourcefulness. The Quick and the Dead 2, Gourmand 3, Reinforce 5, Reagent Economy 1, Diplomat 5.
The Adventure tree is mostly dead weight at 60: Well Rested, Talented and Thrill of Adventure only matter while leveling, and Frequent Flier costs 11 points to reach. Every Resourcefulness perk still works at endgame:
- Reinforce 5 cuts durability loss on death by 40%. In Classic a death costs 10% durability on every item, so the death part of a progression night’s repair bill drops by 40%.
- Gourmand 3 doubles food buffs. Most Classic well-fed buffs last 15 minutes, so you’d eat half as often in a raid.
- The Quick and the Dead 2 gets you back from the graveyard faster and makes rebuffing and topping off after a battle rez or wipe free for 2 minutes.
- Reagent Economy is the capstone. Those first 10 points already open it, so it costs one point.
- Diplomat 5 adds 10% reputation, which pays off in every endgame rep grind.
You won’t have 16 points while leveling your first character, so buy in this order: The Quick and the Dead and Gourmand (useful from level 25), Reinforce, Reagent Economy at 11, then Diplomat. Blizzard’s screenshot shows a “Right click to unlearn” prompt, but the reset cost is unknown, so this build avoids relying on a cheap respec.
Swaps by class and playstyle
- Buff classes (Mage, Priest, Druid, Paladin): Take Reinforce 3 and Permanence 2 instead of Reinforce 5. Your raid-wide buffs last twice as long, and Reagent Economy covers the reagents behind them. In Classic that meant Arcane Powder, Sacred Candles, Wild Thornroot and Symbols of Kings. Forever has reworked parts of every class, so the exact reagent list may differ.
- PvP mains: Swap Diplomat 5 for For Great Honor 5.
- Warriors and Hunters: Reagent Economy does little for you beyond free Tier 1 camp features. Once the gate is open it costs a single point, so it’s still worth taking, but Permanence 1 (camp rest bonuses last 50% longer) is an equal alternative.
Still deciding what that main will be? Our best race for every class guide covers the reworked racials.
Best Build for a Leveling Alt
Recommendation: Well Rested 5, Talented 5, Field Guide 1, Frequent Flier 1, Thrill of Adventure 4.
This is where the Adventure tree earns its place. Well Rested 5 makes rested XP build 20% faster with a 20% higher cap, which helps most on alts that sit in an inn between sessions. Talented gives five extra talent points for most of the leveling curve. Field Guide 1 is the entry fee for Frequent Flier, which halves flight costs and makes every flight 20% faster. The last four points in Thrill of Adventure return 4% health and mana per kill, which trims eating and drinking between pulls.
If Talented gets moved or cut before launch, the alt build still works: Well Rested 5 and Thrill of Adventure 5 open the 10-point gate, then Field Guide 1 and Frequent Flier 1, and the last four points go to The Quick and the Dead 2 and Gourmand 2.
Best Build for a Profession Character
Recommendation: Working Overtime 5, Bountiful Harvest 5, Bartering 2, Dedicated Study 1, Performance Bonus 3.
Working Overtime’s 20% higher skill-up chance means fewer materials burned leveling a craft, and Bountiful Harvest doubles Scarce material finds for gatherers. Blizzard hasn’t said which items count as Scarce, so how much gold that is worth is still open. Bartering cuts every vendor purchase by 10%, which adds up on thread, vials and flux.
The long-term reason to build this character is Dedicated Study. Once a day it raises your lowest tradeskill by 1, which is slow. Once both primary professions and all three secondary skills (Cooking, Fishing, First Aid) are at 300, it gives 2 to 4 random Elemental Essences a day instead. That is free raid material every day, and it’s the best reason to take a bank alt’s secondary skills all the way to 300.
Performance Bonus is for players who turn in supply crates to the Azeroth Commerce Authority or Durotar Supply and Logistics. If you don’t, take Luremaster 2 and Master Chef 1 for fishing and cooking instead.
The Legacy Reward Track
Every point you earn counts toward the Reward Track, spent or not, so points 17 to 65 go here at launch. The BlizzCon build showed a Replica Ironforge Air Rifle toy at 15 points, a Spectral Bear Cub pet at 25, a Spectral Bear Tabard at 40 and the Reins of the Spectral Bear mount at 55. The mount needs all but ten of the 65 points, which means alts, PvP ranks and raids. Blizzard says the rewards are cosmetic or prestige only.
What We Still Don’t Know
- How much it costs to reset Legacy perks.
- What the six sealed perk slots will be.
- When the 16-point cap goes up, and by how much.
- Which items count as Scarce materials for Bountiful Harvest.
- How points work if one Battle.net account holds several WoW licenses.
FAQ
Do Legacy perks make my character stronger?
Not at 60. The perks cover XP, professions, travel, reagents and gold costs. Talented speeds up talent points while leveling but doesn’t raise the cap of 51.
At what level does the Legacy System unlock?
Blizzard hasn’t stated it outright, but its known-issues list says opening the panel before level 25 causes errors, which points to 25. That’s also where the first class challenge lands.
Sources: Blizzard’s BlizzCon systems panel recap, What’s Next panel recap, beta announcement and beta known issues; the Icy Veins Legacy guide; beta perk data from classicwow.gg and Wowhead’s Legacy calculator; the challenge list as compiled by classicwowforever.com and wow.gg from Wowhead’s datamine. Art and screenshot: Blizzard Entertainment.