The short answer
WoW Forever has a built-in Cooldown Manager, and it starts switched off.
You turn it on in Options, under the Gameplay Enhancement settings.
Since Blizzard's October 8 beta update, it supports all classes.
It also supports racial abilities and trinkets.
Additional support for consumables will come in a later patch, Blizzard says.
The notes do not say how far consumables are supported today.
On September 24, Blizzard listed effects it cannot track, such as Healthstone.
The notes of October 1 and October 8 do not mark any of those as fixed.
Blizzard's known issues still call the feature a work in progress that varies by class.
This page is built from Blizzard's beta notes and known issues, not from our own play.
We will update it as Blizzard changes what the Cooldown Manager supports.
What the Cooldown Manager does
Blizzard says the Cooldown Manager pulls critical information from the buff bar or action bar.
It then places that information in a location you can fully customize.
So the timers you care about can sit where you choose, with no addon (our reading).
Modern World of Warcraft already has a tool with the same name.
Blizzard's Forever notes include no screenshot of the Forever version.
The image below is Blizzard's screenshot from the modern game, not from Forever.
Forever's layout and options may differ from it.
How to turn it on
The Cooldown Manager is disabled by default.
Open Options and go to the Gameplay Enhancement settings.
Enable the Cooldown Manager there.
Turn on the Cooldown Manager
- Open Options
- Gameplay Enhancementthe settings group named in Blizzard's notes
- Enable the Cooldown Managerit is off by default
- Check your spellscompare them with the known issues below
Blizzard's Forever notes give only that path, not the label of each option.
In modern WoW, the tool opens from both Edit Mode and the Options menu.
Blizzard has not said whether Forever's version also opens from Edit Mode.
After you turn it on, check which of your class's spells it shows.
That matters because Blizzard's known issues list effects it cannot track yet.
Which classes can use it: September 24 to October 8
Blizzard opened the Cooldown Manager to beta testers in stages.
On September 24, Druid, Mage, Priest, Warrior and Warlock could test it.
Blizzard said other classes would become testable in future updates.
On October 1, Blizzard added Rogue and support for racial abilities.
On October 8, it said all classes, racial abilities and trinkets are supported.
That brings in Hunter, Paladin and Shaman, which the earlier notes had not listed.
Blizzard says additional support for consumables will come in a later patch.
How far consumables are supported now is not stated in the notes.
| Beta update | Cooldown Manager support | Blizzard's note |
|---|---|---|
| September 24 | Druid, Mage, Priest, Warrior, Warlock | Other classes in future updates |
| October 1 | Rogue and racial abilities added | Duplicate spell-rank entries should be gone |
| October 8 | All classes, racial abilities and trinkets | More consumable support in a later patch |
From Blizzard's beta development notes (U.S. forum dates).
Spell ranks need a note of their own.
On September 24, Blizzard said the Cooldown Manager did not support spell ranks yet.
It said this would be resolved in a future beta update.
On October 1, it said duplicate entries for each spell rank should no longer appear.
That fix covered the classes already supported at the time.
No note up to October 8 says that spell rank support is complete.
Dates are those of Blizzard's posts on its U.S. forum.
What it cannot track yet: the September 24 known issues
With the September 24 build, Blizzard listed 7 tracking problems in its known issues.
Healthstone cooldowns cannot be tracked.
Pet cooldowns cannot be tracked.
Item enhancements such as Windfury or rogue poisons cannot be tracked.
Arcane Blast cannot be tracked.
A Mana Gem starts tracking its cooldown only after the mage casts an additional spell.
Priests track all spells by default.
Banes and Curses lose tracking if you drop your target and pick up one that has them.
| What | Known issue of September 24 |
|---|---|
| Healthstone | Cooldown cannot be tracked |
| Pet cooldowns | Cannot be tracked |
| Item enhancements (Windfury, rogue poisons) | Cannot be tracked |
| Arcane Blast | Cannot be tracked |
| Mana Gem | Tracking starts only after the mage casts another spell |
| Priest | Tracks all spells by default |
| Banes and Curses | Break if you drop and re-acquire a target that has them |
Listed in Blizzard's known issues for the September 24 build; none marked fixed in the notes up to October 8.
The notes of October 1 and October 8 do not mark any of these as fixed.
They also do not say the problems are still there.
The known issues post, updated October 8, still calls the Cooldown Manager a work in progress.
It adds that the implementation varies from class to class.
So test the effects you rely on, such as poisons, weapon imbues or your pet's abilities.
The feedback Blizzard asked for
Blizzard's September 24 notes name the feedback it wants most for this feature.
It is the spells you wish were tracked by default.
Maybe a spell you press all the time is missing from the default list.
That is exactly the kind of note Blizzard asked for.
The 7 problems above are already on Blizzard's list, so you can leave them out.
Feedback that helps
- Turn it on with your classsee which spells it shows by default
- Note missing spellsthe ones you use often
- Skip the known issuesthe 7 problems Blizzard already lists
Cooldown Manager or a cooldown addon?
We do not claim the Cooldown Manager replaces cooldown addons.
In its developer Q&A of September 17, Blizzard said Forever uses the modern addon API.
The same answer said Blizzard does not want players to feel they need addons to play.
It named the damage meter and the Cooldown Manager as tools Forever offers.
As a built-in feature, the Cooldown Manager needs nothing installed.
Its known limits are the issues above, and more consumable support is still to come.
In modern WoW, Blizzard has added sound and visual alerts, up to 3 per cooldown.
Modern WoW also saves, shares and imports layouts and shows debuffs on your target.
Blizzard has not said whether any of these modern options exist in Forever.
| Feature | Forever (Blizzard's beta notes) | Modern WoW (Blizzard's notes) |
|---|---|---|
| Turned on in | Options, Gameplay Enhancement | Edit Mode or the Options menu |
| Classes | All classes since October 8 | All classes |
| Sound and visual alerts | Not announced | Up to 3 per cooldown |
| Saved and shared layouts | Not announced | Save, share and import |
| Debuffs on your target | Not announced | Supported |
Forever column from the beta notes up to October 8; modern column from Blizzard's Midnight UI articles.
Whether an addon works in Forever depends on its own Forever release.
Our addon guides track which addons already have a Forever file.
Not announced yet, and what we will update
As of October 10, 2026, Blizzard has not announced the following.
Whether the 7 tracking problems from September 24 are fixed.
When spell ranks will be fully supported.
When the additional consumable support arrives, and what it covers.
Which modern options, such as alerts or shared layouts, Forever will get.
We will update this page when Blizzard's notes change any of these points.
For Edit Mode and the damage meter, see our guide to the built-in UI.
Controller players can find the gamepad changes from the same notes in our controller guide.