WoW Forever Darkspear Islands Guide
Darkspear Islands is WoW Forever's new battleground; Blizzard published its rules on October 7, 2026. This guide covers scoring, queueing, match priorities and the two new reputations.
- Type
- Four capture points (bases) and a central flag
- Teams
- 15 v 15
- Levels
- 30–60
- Location
- Off the coast of Dustwallow Marsh; portals in the Barrens
- To win
- First team to 2,000 points
- Reputations
- Darkspear Raiders (Horde), Theramore Expeditionary Force (Alliance)
How to win Darkspear Islands
Your team scores in two ways:
- Bases. Each of the four capture points earns points over time for the team holding it. The more bases you hold, the faster you score.
- The flag. It waits in the middle of the map. Carry it to any base your team holds for extra points. Icy Veins reports that a delivery is worth more the more bases you hold at that moment, and compares the map to Eye of the Storm.
How to queue for Darkspear Islands
- From a capital city: talk to a battlemaster. Blizzard says every major capital has one; Icy Veins places them in Stormwind Keep and Orgrimmar's Valley of Honor.
- From the Barrens: take the portal at the Darkspear Raiders base on the Merchant Coast (Horde) or the Theramore Expeditionary Force base at Northwatch (Alliance).
Beta game data (build 1.60.1.70205) and Icy Veins split Darkspear into four level brackets: 30–39, 40–49, 50–59 and 60.
For queue rules across rulesets and groups, see Battlegrounds.
Darkspear Islands match priorities
These are our starting priorities, worked out from Blizzard's rules.
| Situation | What to do |
|---|---|
| You hold no base | Take one first. Until you do, you earn no points over time and the flag has nowhere to go. |
| You hold one or more bases | Keep defenders on each one. A defender stays until someone takes their place and calls out incoming enemies. |
| Each team holds two bases | Base scoring is even, so fight for the flag. Take a third base when you can: it speeds up your score and, if Icy Veins is right, makes each delivery worth more. |
| Your team has the flag | Escort the carrier to your safest base. If that base comes under attack, switch to another base you hold. |
| The enemy has the flag | Slow or stun the carrier and kill them, or defend or retake the base they are running to. A delivery only counts at a base their team holds. |
Ways to stop a flag carrier
Every ability below is available by level 30, Darkspear's minimum level. Values are the first rank from Wowhead's Forever database. For diminishing returns on repeated controls, see Combat mechanics.
| Class | Ability | Level | Effect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Druid | Entangling Roots | 8 | Roots the target for up to 12 sec (18 from level 28) after a 1.5 sec cast. Damage can break it. |
| Hunter | Concussive Shot | 8 | 50% slow for 4 sec from range; 12 sec cooldown. |
| Mage | Frost Nova | 10 | Freezes enemies near you for up to 8 sec; 25 sec cooldown. Damage can break it. |
| Paladin | Hammer of Justice | 8 | 3 sec stun from 10 yards (4 sec from level 24); 1 min cooldown. |
| Priest | Psychic Scream | 14 | Up to 2 enemies (3 from level 28) within 8 yards flee for 8 sec; 30 sec cooldown. Damage can break it. |
| Rogue | Kidney Shot | 30 | Stuns for 1 sec per combo point, up to 5 sec; 20 sec cooldown. Cheap Shot (level 26) stuns for 4 sec from stealth. |
| Shaman | Frost Shock | 20 | 50% slow for 8 sec; 6 sec cooldown. Earthbind Totem (level 6) slows enemies within 10 yards. |
| Warlock | Curse of Exhaustion | Talent | 30% slow for 12 sec. Affliction's 16-point talent. |
| Warrior | Hamstring | 8 | 40% slow for 15 sec. Intercept (level 30, Berserker Stance) charges in and stuns for 3 sec. |
Darkspear reputations, vendors and marks
The Darkspear Raiders (Horde, Merchant Coast) and Theramore Expeditionary Force (Alliance, Northwatch) vendors sell gear and consumables, including trinkets, rings, cloaks, weapons and armor, each unlocked at a set reputation level.
Darkspear Islands quests
Blizzard says the reputation quests take Marks of Honor. Wowhead's Forever quest data lists these:
- Conflict at Darkspear Islands (Horde) and Darkspear Islands Clash (Alliance): hand 3 Darkspear Islands Marks of Honor to a Horde Warbringer or an Alliance Brigadier General.
- The Battle for Darkspear Islands! Win a match, then report to Nizook Boof at the Merchant Coast (Horde) or Brelinda McFarry at Northwatch Hold (Alliance).
What the vendors sell
Examples from Wowhead's Forever item data, not the full stock.
| Standing | Horde examples | Alliance examples |
|---|---|---|
| Honored | Darkspear Raider's Cloak | Expeditionary's Cape |
| Revered | Darkspear Raider's Reaper (two-handed axe) | Clever Expeditionary's Spellblade (spell-power dagger) |
| Exalted | Darkspear Spaulders (epic plate shoulders) | Theramore Spaulders (epic plate) and Theramore Pauldrons (epic leather) |
The cloaks and weapons come in four versions, item level 33 to 63, for levels 28, 38, 48 and 58. The shoulders are item level 65 and need level 60.
Blizzard says Exalted unlocks a short questline for the faction's tabard. Wowhead lists a Darkspear Battle Tabard and a Theramore Battle Tabard, each needing Exalted. Exalted also earns the Master of Darkspear Islands achievement and 1 Legacy Point; Blizzard gives one for each battleground reputation (see PvP Legacy points).
Darkspear Islands Marks of Honor
- Blizzard raised battleground mark stacks from 20 to 30 on October 15.
- Icy Veins' September cost list asks 10 Darkspear marks for the rare PvP necklace and boots, and for Rank 14 one-handed weapons, ranged weapons, off-hands and shields. Two-handed Rank 14 weapons take 20 Alterac Valley marks instead.
- Each reputation quest takes 3 marks, so keep 10 back for the next item you plan to buy with them.
Matches also earn Honor and Rank Points; see Honor and Rank Points.
Recent Darkspear Islands changes
- The beta level cap rose to 30, Darkspear's minimum level.
- Blizzard published Darkspear Islands' rules, queue locations and reputation rewards.
- Blizzard's beta notes fixed the Shipwreck Cove capture point, which had appeared in the wrong place. The note does not name the battleground.
Sources
- Blizzard: Beta development notes, October 15 update, post 6 (Oct 16 UTC / Oct 15 US, 2026; checked Oct 22): mark stacks. Announced changes; exact build not named.
- Blizzard: Battle for the Darkspear Islands (Oct 7, 2026): rules, scoring, queue locations, reputations and rewards.
- Blizzard: Beta development notes, October 1 and October 8 updates: the level 30 cap and the Shipwreck Cove fix.
- Blizzard: Class deep dives: Rogue and Warlock (Oct 7, 2026): Curse of Exhaustion as the Affliction 16-point talent.
- Blizzard: Get to know the Legacy system (Sep 23, 2026): a Legacy point for Exalted with each battleground reputation.
- Blizzard: How PvP progression works (Oct 7, 2026): Honor and Rank Points from battlegrounds.
- Wowhead: Forever item, quest and achievement data (checked Oct 12, 2026): reputation quests, vendor items, tabards and the Legacy achievement. The earlier mark stack size is superseded by October 15 notes.
- Wowhead: Forever abilities (checked Oct 12, 2026): levels, cooldowns and effects of the carrier-stopping abilities.
- Icy Veins: PvP overview (Sep 19, 2026): level brackets, flag scoring, marks per match and battlemaster locations.
- Icy Veins: PvP rank system (Sep 21, 2026): mark costs for the necklace, boots and Rank 14 weapons.
- Wago: PVPDifficulty table, build 1.60.1.70205 (read Oct 4, 2026): datamined level brackets.
Guide changes
: Updated the mark stack size to 30; scoring and carrier verification remain open.
: New guide covering scoring, queueing, match priorities, ways to stop a flag carrier and reputation rewards.