Horizontal progression in World of Warcraft: Forever means progress that gives you more options instead of more raw power. Blizzard uses the term for the Legacy system, which it calls an “account-wide horizontal progression system” built around “exploring everything the game has to offer, rather than power progression alone.”
It is also the thinking behind two bigger choices: the level cap stays at 60, and new content is added inside those 60 levels instead of on top of them. Below is what the term means, every place it shows up in Forever, what is still vertical, and what it changes for you, checked against Blizzard’s posts and an October interview with the developers, as of November 13.
Vertical Versus Horizontal
Most MMOs progress vertically: each update raises the level cap or the gear level, and what you earned before falls behind. Horizontal progression adds width instead. Your character gets new choices, conveniences and things to collect, while the ceiling on its power moves little or not at all.
| Vertical progression | Horizontal progression | |
|---|---|---|
| What grows | Levels, item level, raw stats | Options, perks, collections, places to go |
| What happens to old content | Left behind | Stays worth doing |
| Gap between new and veteran players | Widens | Kept small on purpose |
| Forever example | Raid gear and tier sets | Legacy perks, a fixed cap, situational trinkets |
Where Forever Uses Horizontal Progression
The Legacy system. Legacy Challenges (65 at launch) each award one Legacy Point, shared by every character on your account. Each character then spends up to 16 points on perks in three trees: Professions, Adventure and Resourcefulness. Most perks make life easier rather than making you hit harder: Well Rested for faster leveling, Frequent Flier for cheaper flights, Bartering for vendor prices, Talented for earlier talent points. The Legacy Reward Track adds cosmetics such as the Spectral Bear Cub, which Blizzard says come “without providing a competitive gameplay advantage.” Our guides to getting Legacy Points and the best Legacy talents cover the details.
The 16-point cap. Blizzard says the spending cap exists so “new players will not be so far behind established players that they can’t catch up,” and so a single character can reach it without alts. That is horizontal design in one rule: you can earn more points, but each character can only use so many.
A level cap that stays at 60. Blizzard’s November 3 post says Forever “sticks to a level cap of 60 without going beyond. This leaves room for an expanding game without an expansion of levels.” Its roadmap lists new dungeons and a new playable area, and its panel recap promises “additional quests throughout the level 1-60 journey.” Our guide to when the level cap goes up explains what that means past launch.
New content at low levels. Principal game designer Kris Zierhut told IGN in October that the Legacy system supports adding “a new level 30 zone or a new level 40 dungeon,” and that the best way to see one is a new character leveled to it: “Don’t just go in and crush it with a level 60 character.”
Situational gear. Zierhut also described trinkets “that vary in power based on what kind of creature you’re fighting or what kind of environment you’re in,” a “bag of tricks” you swap between rather than one item that beats everything. Blizzard’s deep dive recap calls the item rework “unsolving” the path through the game.
What Is Still Vertical
Horizontal progression sits alongside the usual climb, not in place of it:
- Levels 1 to 60 are still the first goal: our zone level ranges show the climb, and our guide to how long it takes to reach level 60 has the hours.
- Raids bring “new tier sets, and a legendary reward,” per Blizzard, and more raids follow. Our guide to when raids open has the schedule.
- PvP rank and Honor gear still go up in steps. Our guide to where to spend Honor covers them.
How new raids will treat the gear from older ones is still open. Zierhut told IGN the team is aware raids will pile up at the same gear level over time and has plans for it that it is not ready to share.
What It Means for You
- Alts are worth it, but optional. Legacy Points come faster with alts, but Blizzard says all character advantages can be unlocked on a single character.
- Late starters are not locked out. The point cap and the fixed level cap keep the gap between a new player and a day-one player small.
- Spend points per character. Each character spends the shared points its own way, so a leveling alt and a raiding main can run completely different builds.
- Keep useful oddities. A trinket that is strong only against one creature type or in one environment may be the right pick for a specific fight.
Blizzard also says the Legacy system will grow with “new challenges, new perks, additional ways to spend points, expanded spending caps,” new columns and possibly new trees. Our Legacy system story covers the launch version. Every WoW guide we have is on our World of Warcraft hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is horizontal progression in WoW Forever? Progress that adds options rather than raw power. Blizzard uses the term for the Legacy system, an account-wide set of challenges, perks and cosmetic rewards.
Is the Legacy system pay to win? No. Legacy Points come from in-game challenges, each character can spend only 16 at launch, and the reward track is cosmetic.
Does horizontal progression mean no new gear? No. Raids bring tier sets and a legendary reward. Horizontal progression adds width beside that climb.
Will the level cap go above 60? Blizzard says Forever sticks to a level cap of 60 and adds content inside those levels instead.
Do I need alts to benefit? No. Blizzard says every character advantage can be unlocked on one character.