Raid night without the world buff grind

In an interview with Windows Central, Game Director Ion Hazzikostas confirmed that world buff farming will be removed from World of Warcraft: Forever’s raids. In original WoW, players stacked buffs like Rallying Cry of the Dragonslayer, Warchief’s Blessing, Dire Maul tribute-run buffs, and Felwood’s Songflower Serenade before a raid, turning the runs and turn-ins needed to gather them into an elaborate pre-raid ritual.

Hazzikostas discussed the change as part of a broader conversation about how Forever is built on Classic’s foundation while making its own calls on systems the team feels didn’t age well or added unwanted friction to raid night itself.

Why it matters: raid nights in Forever won’t start with an hour of world-buff farming, but guilds who enjoyed that ritual as part of Classic’s raid culture will need to adjust expectations.