Look & feel: transmog, HD/SD models, presets, controller

Updated 2026-09-14

Forever's design pillar is "approachable and familiar", and a lot of that is letting you decide how Azeroth looks.

Transmog — opt-in, both ways

Transmogrification is in the game, but with two switches:

1. Show my transmog — you decide whether your own gear displays its transmogrified appearance.
2. See other players' transmog — if you prefer the classic look where everyone wears what they actually have, you can hide everyone else's transmog locally. They still see theirs.

So purists can play a world where a level 20 warrior looks like a level 20 warrior, and collectors can still dress up. Blizzard has not detailed how appearances are collected or whether there are restrictions (armor type, quest rewards) — those details should come with the beta.

Rules from the Deep Dive panel (Sept 13)

• You pick your transmog mode in a selector at first login and can change it later at an NPC.
• Bind-on-pickup items dropped in dungeons unlock their appearance for every eligible looter — no rolling just for looks. Raids are excluded.
• Same armor type only (plate to plate, cloth to cloth), no transmogging high-level gear onto low-level characters, and PvP gear still needs its rank.
• Only uncommon and rare bind-on-pickup dungeon drops share their appearance — epics are excluded.

HD or SD character models

You can toggle between the modernized HD character models and the original SD models. Blizzard also restored the Classic animations for the HD models, so the HD dwarf still moves like the 2004 dwarf.

Visual presets: modern or Classic

Beyond models, there are Modern and Classic visual presets covering the rendering upgrades — new lighting, global illumination, volumetric particles, a new water renderer and real-time shadows. Pick Modern for the renewed Elwynn rivers and Ashenvale moonlight, or Classic for the flatter original lighting.

Reworked UI and controller support

The UI is reworked (the talent window shown at the panel is one example) and official gamepad support ships at launch. Blizzard has not shown the controller layout yet.

What we don't know yet

• Whether SD/HD is per character or account-wide.
• Any performance targets or minimum specs for the modern preset.

Everything on this page comes from the What's Next panel and Blizzard's site; numbers and details may change during beta.