WoW Forever · Leveling addons
Journey vs Joana's Guides for WoW Forever
Journey and Joana's Guides share a route and an addon programmer: Journey licenses Joana's technology and builds on Paul Lucas's routes, then rewrites them for World of Warcraft: Forever. What that means for a new player and for someone who already owns Joana's, read October 23, 2026.
Short answer
Buying now: Journey. It is the Forever version of that route family, levels 1 to 30 are free and tested in the beta, and the full guide is $22.50 per faction with code REALMFIRST.
Already own Joana's Classic Era guide: load it in Forever first. Joana's says it works there "with some limits"; Forever's new quests and zones are not in it, and its Forever product has no price or date yet.
Who should pick which
New to these routes
JourneyA Forever-only guide: 1 to 30 free and tested in the beta, the rest $22.50 per faction with our code. Journey aims to start adding Forever's new quests for 30 to 60 about a week after launch.
$25 per faction or $30 for both until December 4, then $30 and $45; one-time, plus tax
Journey: prices and our offerAlready own Joana's Classic guide
Joana's GuidesYour lifetime Classic Era 1 to 60 purchase runs in Forever "with some limits" at no extra cost. Forever-only content comes later as a separate product.
Forever price "to be determined". Today: Classic Era 1 to 60 for $79.95 once, everything for $129.95 once, or $5.95 a month
Joana's download page
How Journey and Joana's are related
Joana's Guides
- Routes by Paul Lucas ("Joana"), who set Vanilla 1 to 60 speedrun records from 2005 to 2007 and died on April 29, 2024.
- Addon programmed by TomCat; TomCat's Gaming holds the copyright and continues the guides with the family's consent.
- Guides for Classic Era, Season of Discovery, Hardcore, TBC and Wrath, sold through ClickBank.
Journey
- Sold by JOURNEY FOREVER LLC of Austin, Texas, for Forever only.
- "Built on Joana's original routes" with permission from Joana's family; the addon software is TomCat's Gaming's, "used under license".
- Forever routing by Alenya, a Classic speedrunner and 1 to 60 guide writer for eight years, with a team of speedrunners and class specialists.
Journey states that Joana's Guides remains "independently developed and updated by TomCat's Gaming". The two are separate purchases: owning one gives no access to the other.
Levels covered in Forever
Journey
1 to 30 free
1 to 30 tested in the Forever beta; Classic route; Forever quests targeted for about a week after launch
Joana's Guides
Classic starter guide 1 to 12
Classic Era 1 to 60 guide, runs in Forever with limits
FreeForever route, vendor says readyClassic route, Forever quests laterAnnounced, not released
Side by side
| Fact | JourneyRealm First partner | Joana's Guides |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Forever-only route guide; free addon, paid levels 30 to 60 | Classic speed-leveling route in a free addon; paid guides from the member area |
| Price for Forever | $25 per faction or $30 for both until December 4, then $30 and $45; one-time, plus tax | Forever price "to be determined". Today: Classic Era 1 to 60 for $79.95 once, everything for $129.95 once, or $5.95 a month |
| Through Realm First | $22.50 or $27 with creator code REALMFIRST (10% off) | No partner deal with Realm First |
| Free part | Levels 1 to 30, "free now and staying that way" | Starter guides: Classic Era 1 to 12 (and 12 to 15 Tirisfal) |
| Refunds | Ask within 14 days; "usually approved" for a wrong faction, a guide that does not work or one barely used | No refund text found on joanasworld.com; ClickBank sells the guides |
| Forever status | 1 to 30 routed and tested in the Forever beta; 30 to 60 starts on the classic route; Forever quests targeted for about a week after launch | Addon runs the Classic Era 1 to 60 guides in Forever "with some limits"; Forever-only quests, zones and dungeons come as a separate product |
| Latest Forever file | 4.00.02, October 18, 2026 (CurseForge and Wago, Forever 1.60.1) | 3.03.01, October 9, 2026 (Forever, Classic, TBC, MoP) |
| Install and account | Free addon from CurseForge or Wago, no account for 1 to 30; the paid guide needs a Journey account and its installer | Free addon from CurseForge or Wago; paid guides need a member-area account |
| Source code | Closed source (All Rights Reserved); addon code licensed from TomCat's Gaming | Closed source (All Rights Reserved) |
| Releases, last 30 days | 3 (all in October; first file October 15) | 1 (October 9) |
| Downloads | 8,715 on CurseForge, 71 on Wago | 530,132 on CurseForge, 9,527 on Wago |
| Routes by | Alenya, "Classic speedrunner and 1-60 guide author for 8 years", and a team of speedrunners; built on Joana's original routes | Paul Lucas (Joana, died 2024); TomCat continues the guides with the family's consent |
Features
Joana's pages say little about features beyond the step list, its arrow and Hardcore support, so several of its cells read "Not stated".
| Feature | Journey | Joana's |
|---|---|---|
| Ordered leveling route | YesGuide panel with the next step; /journey goto jumps to a step | YesClassic Era 1 to 60, Horde and Alliance |
| Waypoint arrow | YesMovable, resizable; no TomTom needed | YesMinimap arrow; TomTom optional |
| Quest givers and objectives on the map | Not statedNot stated | Not statedNot stated |
| Auto-accept and turn-in | YesAccepts and turns in quests | Not statedNot stated |
| Dungeon route or dungeon guides | AnnouncedDungeon quests planned as an option; main route is open world | AnnouncedForever dungeon quest guides, separate product |
| Class-specific steps | PartlyOne route for every class, with class tips and class quests | PartlyClass step options in the guide |
| Talent advice | Not statedTalent advice not mentioned; skill training suggestions to level 20 are planned | Not statedNot stated |
| Gear advice | PartlyVendor buys and quest rewards to keep; class gear advice planned | Not statedNot stated |
| Profession guides | AnnouncedProfession guides listed under "Coming to Journey" | NoAdvises skipping professions for speed |
| Hardcore mode | AnnouncedHardcore Mode announced; not part of the purchase | PartlyClassic guides support Hardcore; Forever not stated |
| Speedrun tricks (death skips) | YesDeath skips and class tricks; left out on Hardcore realms | PartlySpeedrun tips page; no death-skip statement |
| Own or community routes | Not statedNot stated | Not statedNot stated |
| Skyborne start on Zephras Isle | AnnouncedZephras Isle start "coming soon" | AnnouncedForever-only races and zones "offered as a separate product" |
| Languages besides English | Not statedSite and support pages in English only | Not statedPages in English only |
| Features marked Yes | 4 of 14 | 2 of 14 |
Yes vendor or code says it exists ·Partly limited or through another addon ·Announced promised, not released ·No ·Not stated no statement found
If you already own Joana's Guides
- Update the Joana's addon to 3.03.01 or later; it is the first build that runs on both Classic and Forever.
- Load your Classic Era 1 to 60 guide. Joana's warned on September 18 that addon settings may not save reliably because of a known client issue.
- Expect the classic route: Forever's changed zones, Zephras Isle and new quests are not in it.
- Watch joanasworld.com for the Forever product and any upgrade price for owners; none is set on October 23.
- Or start Journey's free 1 to 30 on a second character and compare the two routes yourself.
Journey is a Realm First partner: sales with code REALMFIRST pay Realm First a commission, and the code takes 10% off. Joana's Guides pays Realm First nothing. The verdicts are Realm First's reading of vendor pages, download listings and code, not results from playing each addon.
Questions players ask
Answers checked .
Is Journey the same as Joana's Guides?
No, but they are related. Journey says it is built on Joana's original 1 to 60 routes, made with the permission of Joana's family, and that TomCat's Gaming licenses its addon technology to Journey. Joana's Guides stays a separate product that TomCat's Gaming keeps developing. Journey's Forever routing is by Alenya and a team of speedrunners.
Does my Joana's Guides purchase work in WoW Forever?
Partly. Joana's World says a lifetime Classic Era 1 to 60 purchase "will work in WoW Forever with some limits", and since September 21 its addon runs the Classic Era guides on the Forever client. Forever's new quests, zones, races and dungeon quest guides come as a separate product, with "pricing, bundles, and upgrade options to be determined".
Journey or Joana's for WoW Forever?
Journey if you are buying now: it is routed for Forever, levels 1 to 30 are free and the full guide is $22.50 per faction with code REALMFIRST until December 4. Joana's if you already own its Classic Era guide and accept a Classic route until its Forever product exists. Realm First's reading of vendor pages, October 23, 2026; neither tested in game.
Who was Joana?
Joana was the character Paul Lucas played. Paul set Vanilla 1 to 60 speedrun records in 2005 to 2007, the fastest in 4 days 20 hours and 49 minutes played on a troll hunter, and wrote the Joana's Guides routes. He died on April 29, 2024; TomCat, who programmed the addon, continues the guides with the family's consent.
What do they cost?
Journey: $25 per faction or $30 for both until December 4 ($22.50 and $27 with our code), then $30 and $45. Joana's: $79.95 once for Classic Era 1 to 60, $129.95 for Everything to 80, or $5.95 a month; its Forever price is not set.
Can I get a refund?
Journey takes refund requests within 14 days of purchase and reviews each one. We found no refund text on Joana's site; its guides are sold through ClickBank, whose own buyer terms we did not check.
Sources
Each value comes from the vendor's own pages, its CurseForge or Wago listing or its code on GitHub, read on. World of Warcraft: Forever is Blizzard's own game, launching November 4, 2026 with a level cap of 60; it is not a private server.