CodexWoW Forever
  1. Home
  2. Data sources
Transparency

Data sources

Everything here is built from the game files and official sources, cross-checked, and labelled on every page. This is what we use, what for, how often it is refreshed and what it cannot tell you.

How the data is made

  1. Download

    Our pipeline downloads the client database tables (DB2) straight from Blizzard’s public CDN, once per language: English, Spanish (Spain) and Spanish (Latin America).

  2. Apply hotfixes

    Blizzard ships many changes as server hotfixes. We merge the hotfix caches of real English and Spain clients, which add rows that the downloaded files do not contain yet (thousands of items in this beta).

  3. Compare

    Every table is compared with the Classic Era client: that is how a page can say what is new in Forever, what changed and what was removed — by ID and, for names, by meaning.

  4. Cross-check and label

    Numbers that matter are checked against official announcements and independent sources. Every data page ends with the sources it used and the build number; beta values carry a warning.

The builds behind the data

World of Warcraft: Forever client (beta)
1.60.1.69913
Classic Era client used as the baseline
1.15.9.69722
Data last generated
Sep 23, 2026
client tables read (599,239 rows)
159

Read through wago.tools because our CDN reader could not parse them in this build: Faction, PlayerCondition.

Every source and what we use it for

  • Read from the game client
  • Collected while playing
  • Outside references

Game client database (DB2) from Blizzard’s CDN

What it is
The database tables that ship with the game client, downloaded from Blizzard’s content network (CDN) with an open-source reader.
What we use it for
Almost everything: zones and areas, maps, dungeons and bosses, races and classes, spells and talents, professions and recipes, items, collections, Legacy, PvP ranks and every name in three languages.
Updated
Every new client build (beta builds arrive every few days).
Limits
The client only contains what it needs to display. Content Blizzard has not released yet may be missing or encrypted until it goes live.

Server hotfixes from the client cache (DBCache.bin)

What it is
The cache where a real client stores the data rows the server sends as hotfixes (DBCache.bin).
What we use it for
Rows that exist only as hotfixes — mostly items, prices and recent fixes — and the latest value of rows that were patched.
Updated
Whenever we run the pipeline after logging into the game.
Limits
Only covers what the server has sent to our clients (English and Spain), so a hotfix can reach the site a little later than the game.

Classic Era client (baseline for “new” and “changed”)

What it is
The same tables from the current Classic Era client (1.15.9.69722).
What we use it for
The reference to decide what is new, changed or removed in Forever, and to flag Season of Discovery leftovers that both clients still carry.
Updated
When Classic Era gets a new build.
Limits
Some Forever systems (Legacy, collections, titles) have no Era counterpart, so there “new” is judged by meaning rather than by ID.

Blizzard UI source code (Forever branch)

What it is
Blizzard’s interface code for the Forever client (Lua and XML), mirrored publicly by the community.
What we use it for
Confirming what is really active in Forever (which systems load, rules, limits and interface texts) instead of guessing from leftover tables.
Updated
With each client build.
Limits
It describes the interface; server rules such as drop rates are not in it.

Server data seen in play (quest/creature caches)

What it is
The caches where the client keeps what the server tells it during play: quest texts, creature and object names.
What we use it for
Quest titles, texts and objectives in every language — data the client files do not include.
Updated
Grows as quests are seen in game (see our own collection below).
Limits
Only contains what somebody has actually loaded in game, in the language of that client.

Our own in-game data collection

What it is
Codex Collector, our companion addon: a player who installs it lets the client ask the server for quest data by ID, using read-only game functions (it pauses in combat and sends nothing anywhere).
What we use it for
Filling in quest texts and objectives in English and both Spanish variants, including Forever’s new quests.
Updated
Whenever volunteers run it; more during launch weeks.
Limits
Coverage depends on who runs it and in which language; missing texts are marked instead of guessed.

Official Blizzard announcements and blue posts

What it is
Official announcements, developer posts, the roadmap and patch notes.
What we use it for
Dates, level ranges and features that are announced before the data exists, and cross-checking what we read in the files.
Updated
As Blizzard publishes.
Limits
Plans can change; when announcements and data disagree, the page says so.

wago.tools DB2 exports (older builds, cross-checks)

What it is
A community service that publishes the client tables of every build as CSV.
What we use it for
A second route for tables our reader cannot parse, and older builds to see what changed between beta builds.
Updated
Only when needed.
Limits
Same content as the client, so the same limits; we always prefer our own extraction.

Wowhead tooltips (links)

What it is
Wowhead’s tooltip service and database pages for Forever.
What we use it for
Hover tooltips on item and spell links, and a link out for things we have no page for yet.
Updated
Live, served by Wowhead.
Limits
We never copy Wowhead data into our pages; its script only loads when you point at a Wowhead link.

Community data with an open licence (credited on the page)

What it is
Data other fans publish under a licence that allows reuse.
What we use it for
Only to cross-check or fill a gap, always credited on the page where it appears.
Updated
Case by case.
Limits
Never used for anything we can read from the game itself.

What the data cannot tell you (yet)

  • 8,193 of 31,675 item IDs exist in the client without any data: Blizzard keeps them back (mostly level 50–60 gear) until they are needed. They appear here as soon as they ship.
  • Loot tables and drop rates live on the server. Where a page shows loot it comes from item sources the client does know; everything else says “To be discovered at launch”.
  • Raids and several dungeons are encrypted in the client until release: we show what is announced and fill in the rest the day the keys arrive.
  • Quest texts, NPC positions, vendor prices and trainer costs are sent by the server, not stored in the files — hence our collection addon.
  • This is beta data (1.60.1.69913): values, levels and names can change before launch on 4 November 2026. Beta pages say so.
  • The Forever client carries leftovers from the modern game and from Season of Discovery. We only show what Forever actually uses, based on the interface code and the game rules.
  • Translation runs a little behind new content: 132 names still show in English in the Spain client right now. The name translator lists them.
  • The server hotfix caches we read come from English and Spain clients. 3,810 hotfix-only items got their Latin America name from the Classic Era client because they have not changed; 500 newer ones have no Latin America name in our data yet, and the site says so instead of reusing the Spain name.

See every name and its three versions in the name translator →

Credits

  • World of Warcraft, its data, names and artwork are © Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. This is an independent fan site.
  • wowdev and the WoWDBDefs project, for the community-maintained table definitions that make the files readable.
  • @rhyster/wow-casc-dbc (MIT licence), the reader we use to download and parse files from the CDN.
  • wago.tools, for public table exports and build history.
  • Wowhead, for its free tooltip service.
  • The community mirror of Blizzard’s interface code (Gethe/wow-ui-source).
  • Pillow (icon conversion), Astro and Preact (this website).