WoW Forever transmog: opt-in, off by default in Classic Mode, and governed by who gets an appearance when — every rule Blizzard published

'Players can visit a transmogrifier in certain cities to configure transmogrified outfits or disable the system entirely. In practical terms, opting out means players will only see others around them as they are, in their equipped gear. Players who choose Classic Mode when first launching the game will have transmog disabled automatically when they enter the world. Even while the system is disabled, players can continue collecting appearances from new gear in case they decide to use transmog later.'

Three consequences. Opting out is a viewing choice as much as a personal one — you stop seeing everyone else's outfits. Classic Mode, chosen at first launch, is the shortcut to that state. And collection never stops: the appearance log fills whether or not the system is on. Blizzard also preserves the two Classic display options for everyone: 'Players who have transmog disabled will still see other players' hidden helm and cloak settings, preserving the original World of Warcraft functionality around those display choices.' And 'disabling the system does not prevent players from configuring and displaying their own transmog if they want to hide a specific slot such as a helm or cloak or show a particular appearance without enabling the full system for themselves.'

This is the part designed around group content. 'If a bind-on-pickup Uncommon or Rare item drops in a dungeon, its appearance will be granted to all eligible looters when the item is looted. That means someone who needs an item as an upgrade should not have to worry about another player rolling against them just to collect the appearance.' By contrast, 'for epic raid drops, appearances are granted on acquisition only to the player the item binds to, preserving the prestige of higher-level rewards and leaving organized loot decisions in the hands of raid groups'. And at the bottom of the ladder, 'items of Poor or Common quality grant their appearance as soon as they are looted and do not need to bind to the player first, allowing lower-level or unbound appearances to be shared more flexibly'.

Read as a ladder: greys and whites grant on loot to whoever loots them; greens and blues from dungeons grant to every eligible looter in the group; epics from raids grant only to the person who ends up with the item. The word 'eligible' is not defined — presumably class/armor-type eligibility, given the item-type rules below.

'Transmogrification still follows item-type rules, so plate transmogs to plate and cloth transmogs to cloth. A Paladin wearing a cloth chest such as Robes of the Exalted would need to use another cloth chest appearance for that item.' That example is deliberate: in Classic, plate classes often wore cloth or leather pieces for their stats, and Forever's rule keeps the appearance type tied to the item's actual armor class, not the wearer's.

Level gating: 'Low-level characters also cannot use high-level appearances until level 60, when level restrictions are removed for valid appearances in the collection. Cosmetic-only items are the exception, though they will be rare in World of Warcraft: Forever.' So a level-20 alt cannot wear a raid look; at 60 the collection opens. Blizzard does not define 'high-level' — whether it is a fixed level, item level, or relative to the character.

Blizzard states the two concerns explicitly. Immersion: 'the team also recognizes that it was not part of the original game and that outlandish outfits can affect immersion for some players' — hence opt-out and Classic Mode. Loot etiquette: 'the team also considered how appearance collection could affect player behavior in group content' — hence the dungeon rule that grants greens and blues to everyone present, so nobody needs to roll for a look, and the raid rule that keeps epic appearances scarce. 'Ultimately, the goal is to give players maximum flexibility over what they see in their own game.'

The cosmetic-only note — such items 'will be rare' — is a stated design position, not an accident: Forever is not planning a cosmetic economy of the retail kind.

Collections are account-wide across rulesets: 'Collections and Legacy Points remain account-wide across rulesets, with Hardcore as the exception.' A Normal-ruleset and a PvP-ruleset character share one appearance collection; a Hardcore character contributes appearances outward but receives none. Visual presets sit beside transmog: 'modern and Classic visual presets, High-Definition (HD) and Standard-Definition (SD) character-model options, restored Classic animations for HD character models'. The Skyborne packs' named sets — the Shen'dorei Skyseer's Garb and the Veteran Adventurer's Outdoor Wear — are transmog sets in Blizzard's own list, so they enter this system.

Five players clear a dungeon on the Normal ruleset. A rare bind-on-pickup shield drops. Under Blizzard's rule, every eligible looter in the party receives the shield's appearance the moment it is looted — before any roll — so the Warrior who needs it as an upgrade rolls against nobody who only wanted the look. A grey vendor sword on the same boss gives its appearance to whoever loots it, no binding required. Later, in the 20-player Hyjal Summit raid, an epic chest piece drops: only the player it binds to gains the appearance, and 'organized loot decisions' stay with the raid.

The same run on the Hardcore ruleset (after launch) fills that character's collection and, per the account-wide rule, the collection of every non-Hardcore character on the account — but nothing collected on Normal appears on the Hardcore character. And if the Warrior is a Paladin in a cloth chest, the cloth rule applies: a cloth appearance only, until a plate chest replaces it.

Nothing in that example goes beyond the recap's sentences; the numbers a real dungeon would add — how many appearances a set has, which slots the Skyseer's Garb covers — are not published.

Where the transmogrifiers are ('certain cities'); any cost; whether weapons follow the same rules as armor; what 'eligible' means for the dungeon grant; what counts as 'high-level'; whether appearances collected before opting out are visible to others once you opt in; whether there is a wardrobe interface; and whether the raid-epic rule applies to the two December raids only or to all epics. The beta from 17 September will expose the interface; Blizzard's posts will settle the rules.

Classic had no transmog at all; every character looked like its gear, and the only display choices were hiding a helm or a cloak. Retail's transmog is universal and always on, with a wardrobe that unlocks appearances on any character for any equipped-type item. Forever sits between them by construction: it is present, but off for anyone who wants Classic, and it adds Classic-minded limits retail does not have — the level-60 gate, the raid-epic exclusivity, the rarity of cosmetic-only items. Blizzard's phrase for the aim is 'maximum flexibility over what they see in their own game, whether they want to collect and customize or play as though the system is not part of their moment-to-moment experience'.

If you want Classic's look, choose Classic Mode at first launch and never think about it again — you will see equipped gear only, hidden helms and cloaks still work, and your collection quietly fills. If you want to collect, greys and whites are yours on loot, dungeon greens and blues are everyone's, raid epics belong to whoever wins them, plate stays plate, and the full collection unlocks at 60.