Brad Chan confirmed the Forsaken Paladin as a new multiplayer tavern hero at the Warcraft III: Reforged Forsaken Kingdom What’s Next panel at BlizzCon 2026. “This will be the first new Tavern Hero in over 20 years,” he said. The hero’s origins are told in the Forsaken Kingdom campaign, and the same character is now being added to the neutral tavern for multiplayer.
Chan put the gap in context. “The last hero that was released was the Fire Lord, Goblin Tinker, and the Alchemist back in September 20th in 2004, roughly right before when the Warcraft came out. It’s all connected.”
The slide showed two builds of the hero side by side, both hooded, in plate with a blue cloak and glowing eyes. The team has made a Classic model as well as the new one. “Players that want to play Classic, Reforged, or Definitive Edition, you’ll all be able to play him for free,” Chan said. That follows his note on the graphics modes a minute earlier: play whichever you prefer, “we still support all cross functionality.”
Abilities were not shown on the main stage. Chan pointed players to the Warcraft III matches at the Classic Cup tournament in Hall A today to see the hero in play, and said a Forsaken Paladin deep dive panel covering his kit runs on the Classic stage in Hall A later today. Whether the hero is live in the multiplayer tavern with today’s patch, or arrives later, was not stated.