WoW Forever Classic or Enhanced preset: what each one changes, and which to pick at first login

What is the Experience Preset in WoW Forever?

The Experience Preset is a one-time choice WoW Forever asks for the first time you log in, before you pick a ruleset: Classic or Enhanced. It sets your starting art and interface options in one go, and Blizzard calls it "a convenient starting point rather than locking in your choices". The screen never comes back after that first login, but every setting can still be changed.

The game client names the screen "Choose Your Experience Preset" and asks you to "Select a starting experience for your art and interface settings. You can customize these settings later on." (game files of build 1.60.1.70707, October 30, 2026). Your ruleset, faction, race and class come after it, at character creation. Blizzard's New Player's Starter Guide of October 28, 2026 shows the same two columns as the client.

What do the Classic and Enhanced presets change in WoW Forever?

Blizzard lists six starting settings for each WoW Forever preset. Classic gives standard definition character models, quest points of interest and objective blobs off, One-bag off, transmog off, camera-turning keyboard binds and the classic screen UI layout. Enhanced gives high definition models, quest points of interest and objective blobs on, One-bag on, transmog on, strafing keyboard binds and a centralized screen UI layout.

Blizzard describes Classic as "a more traditional presentation with simpler visuals, standard character models, and fewer modern interface features enabled by default", with "less automatic guidance", and Enhanced as "an updated presentation with higher visual fidelity and additional interface features enabled by default". Its articles of October 28 and 29 do not describe One-bag or the two screen layouts any further, so neither do we.

To fill your bags, see our first bags guide.

Classic or Enhanced: which WoW Forever preset should you pick?

Blizzard's own advice for WoW Forever is: "If you are not sure which to choose, start with Enhanced." Classic is for players who want what Blizzard calls "a cleaner, more original-style experience with less automatic guidance": standard definition models, no quest points of interest and no transmog at first. Neither choice is final: the preset and each of its six settings can be changed later in the options.

• Enhanced if you are new, unsure, or want the modern comforts from the start: it is the starting point Blizzard recommends.
• Classic if you want the original look of World of Warcraft and fewer modern interface features switched on at first.
• Playing with friends: the preset is your own setting. What you must agree on is the ruleset and the faction, since "Characters can group, join guilds, run dungeons, and raid only with players on the same Ruleset and faction" (Blizzard, October 28, 2026).
• Transmog: Classic starts with it off, but appearances are still collected while it is off, Blizzard said in September 2026. See our transmog guide.

Can you change the WoW Forever preset after the first login?

Yes. Blizzard's article of October 29, 2026 says you can change the selection later, or fine-tune your experience, in the Options menu under System, then Preset; its starter guide of October 28 points to Game Menu > Options for the individual settings. Only the choice screen is one-time: "After your initial log in to the game, you will no longer see this screen."

• Two buttons: Set to Classic and Set to Enhanced, with a line "Current setting: Classic" or "Current setting: Enhanced".
• Separate options: Show Quest POIs & Blobs and Show Interface Toasts, plus the buttons Classic Turn/Strafe Keys and Enhanced Turn/Strafe Keys.

These labels come from the game files of build 1.60.1.70707 (October 30, 2026), not from an announcement: Blizzard's articles name only the System, then Preset section. For the other tools built into the modern client, such as Edit Mode, see our interface guide.

HD or SD models: what is the difference in WoW Forever?

In WoW Forever, each new character can use high definition (HD) or standard definition (SD) models and animations. HD has "higher-detail models and updated visuals", SD "the style associated with the original look of World of Warcraft". Blizzard says this per-character choice "affects only appearance", not abilities or progression, and that it can be changed later in the Options menu or at a Barbershop.

The preset sets the starting value of this option: standard definition with Classic, high definition with Enhanced, according to Blizzard's lists of starting settings. You still pick HD or SD again each time you create a character.

What does the Classic preset turn off for transmog and quests?

With the Classic preset, WoW Forever starts with transmog off and with quest points of interest and objective blobs off. Blizzard said in September 2026 that players who choose Classic Mode at first launch have transmog disabled when they enter the world, while their appearances keep being collected for later. The client also has a separate option to show quest points of interest and blobs again.

Blizzard called it "Classic Mode" in its Deep Dive recap of September 13, 2026; its October articles call the first-login choice the Classic preset, which starts with "Transmog off". Our transmog guide explains how appearances are collected, and our launch day guide what comes after the preset.