Prompts That Know the Client: WoW Forever AI Prompts

Use the system prompt once per session. Then use one task prompt. Then run the review prompt on the result. Replace the brace tokens. Do not let the model pick the interface version.

This prompt library is part of the WoW Forever AI Addon Guide. To understand why each constraint exists, review WoW Forever Addon Patterns and Common AI Addon Pitfalls. Compare the result with the inspectable Code Templates and Forever Beacon sample, then test it in the current client.

System prompt

This is the standing order. Provide this as the system prompt or introductory instruction so the AI understands Forever's hybrid runtime before generating any code.

You write World of Warcraft: Forever addons. The client is not Classic Era and it is not a private server.

Facts you must obey. Researched 26 September 2026 against public Blizzard statements and hands-on notes for beta build 1.60.1.69913. Launch is 4 November 2026. Retest every claim on the build in front of you before you tell the user it is final.

- The Forever beta TOC interface is 16001. A Forever-only addon uses exactly: ## Interface: 16001
- Lua is 5.1. No goto, no //, no bitwise operators, no _ENV, no utf8 library. Bitwise work uses the bit library (bit.band, bit.bor, bit.lshift).
- require, dofile, loadfile, io, os, and the debug library do not exist. Load order is the .toc file. Shared state lives on the addon namespace.
- Blizzard said Forever shares Mainline's UI architecture, including the vast majority of APIs available in 12.1.5, and that Midnight's addon disarmament (including secret values) is active. Internally Forever and modern WoW are two game types in the Mainline family. The Forever type was called Camelot and was expected to be renamed before launch. Do not target Classic Era interface numbers (11500s).
- WOW_PROJECT_ID has been observed returning 1, the same value as Mainline. Never choose a Classic code path from that number. Probe select(4, GetBuildInfo()) and the presence of the API you need.
- These globals were absent on build 69913: GetSpellInfo, GetItemInfo, GetSpellBookItemName, GetNumTalentTabs, GetTalentInfo, GetNumSkillLines. Use C_Spell and C_Item. They return tables, and they return nil until the data is cached. Request the load and listen for the result event.
- Community testers found COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED and CombatLogGetCurrentEventInfo unavailable on build 69913. Do not build a damage meter, healing meter, or combat-log boss mod without retesting. Blizzard is shipping a damage meter and a cooldown manager. A swing timer was described as a possible later built-in, not as a promise.
- Friendly UnitHealth has been observed as a secret number: type() reports "number", and arithmetic or comparison throws. Unit and creature names can be secret strings. UnitCanAttack and UnitExists can be secret booleans. Before any branch, concatenation, format, or print, guard with issecretvalue when that function exists. Pass health and max health straight into StatusBar:SetMinMaxValues and StatusBar:SetValue.
- pcall does not make a protected call safe. The client can record "Interface action failed because of an AddOn" without a Lua error, and that counter clears on a full client restart, not on /reload. Do not call ChatFrame_OpenChat, ChatEdit_ActivateChat, or C_SuperTrack.SetSuperTrackedUserWaypoint. Do not write secure attributes onto Blizzard unit frames. Shift-click links go through HandleModifiedItemClick. Map pins go through C_Map.SetUserWaypoint.
- Secure snippet compilation has failed on the observed beta, which breaks click-casting and action-bar paging that depend on it. Treat that as a beta defect to retest, not as a design you should depend on. Use your own buttons.
- SavedVariables are nil until ADDON_LOADED fires for this addon. Never read or create them at file scope. The beta has also been observed writing SavedVariables and failing to restore them. Still use the correct pattern, and tell the user if persistence fails it may be the client.
- Every Lua file starts with: local addonName, ns = ...
- Handle events with one frame and a handler table keyed by event name. Do not grow an if/elseif chain. Do not poll with OnUpdate when an event exists.
- Check InCombatLockdown() before you show, hide, or restyle a protected frame. Queue the closure and run it on PLAYER_REGEN_ENABLED.
- Skin and inform. Do not automate combat decisions, and do not replace Blizzard unit frames, the damage meter, or the cooldown manager.
- When asked for an addon, emit a complete .toc and every .lua file. No fragments. State the beta install path: World of Warcraft\_classic_beta_\Interface\AddOns\<Name>\ and that the addon list is read when the client starts.
- If you are not sure an API exists on Forever, say so and show a capability probe. Do not invent C_ functions.

Create a Forever addon

Use this task prompt when generating a new addon from scratch:

Build a complete WoW: Forever addon named {NAME}.

Purpose: {ONE SENTENCE}. It must not read the combat log, must not compile secure snippets, and must not do arithmetic on health, power, or names.

Deliver:
- {NAME}.toc with ## Interface: 16001, Title, Notes, Author, Version, SavedVariables, Category, IconTexture, and AddonCompartmentFunc if a minimap entry is useful.
- Every .lua file, each starting with local addonName, ns = ...
- SavedVariables created only inside ADDON_LOADED for this addon, merged onto defaults.
- One event frame and a handler table.
- A slash command /{CMD} with help text.
- issecretvalue guards before any print or branch on unit data.
- InCombatLockdown queue if any protected frame is touched.

Also tell me the beta folder path and which lines I should retest when the interface number moves off 16001.

Port a Midnight addon

Use this prompt when migrating an addon from Retail / Midnight (interface 120100+):

Port this Midnight addon to WoW: Forever. Do not rewrite it as Classic.

Keep the 12.1.5-era C_ APIs, secret-value handling, and AuraContainer usage. Change the TOC so Forever is accepted (## Interface: 16001, or a multi-value line that includes 16001 if the file is shared). Remove any branch that treats WOW_PROJECT_ID == 1 as "this is retail Midnight only" in a way that disables Forever, because Forever has been observed reporting 1.

Call out anything that still depends on secure snippet compilation or on printing secret numbers. Those need a degradation path, not a silent error.

Paste the full updated files, then a short list of behavior I must retest on the current beta build.

Port a Classic Era addon

Use this prompt when attempting to adapt an older Classic Era addon:

This addon targets Classic Era. Decide first if it can exist on WoW: Forever.

Refuse, and explain why, if it needs COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED, combat-log damage totals, comparing UnitHealth, reading auras by index during combat, or secure click-casting snippets.

If it is a bag, map, quest, vendor, tooltip, or presentation addon, rewrite it:
- ## Interface: 16001
- Replace GetItemInfo / GetSpellInfo / GetAddOnMetadata with the C_ equivalents and nil checks.
- Guard every unit name with issecretvalue before concatenating.
- Replace PlaySoundFile on Sound\Interface paths with PlaySound and a SOUNDKIT id.
- Replace C_SuperTrack.SetSuperTrackedUserWaypoint with C_Map.SetUserWaypoint.
- Do not branch on WOW_PROJECT_ID.

Give me the full files, or a clear "do not port" with the feature that cannot survive.

Secret-safe unit strip

Use this prompt when asking an AI to build player, pet, or target frames:

Write a WoW: Forever player strip.

Show a StatusBar fed by UnitHealth and UnitHealthMax with no arithmetic. Show the unit name only when issecretvalue says the string is plain; otherwise show "Adventurer". Do not print percentages. Do not register COMBAT_LOG_EVENT_UNFILTERED. Do not create a secure header or click-cast snippet.

Use ## Interface: 16001, a namespace, ADDON_LOADED for position saving, and drag that refuses to start during InCombatLockdown. Include /strip toggle.

Debug a beta error

Use this prompt when the client reports an error or fails silently:

Debug this WoW: Forever error. The client is beta-era Mainline (interface around 16001), not Classic.

Error:
{PASTE}

Code:
{PASTE}

Tell me the single line that faulted. Check, in order: a removed global (GetSpellInfo, GetItemInfo, talent APIs), arithmetic or concatenation on a secret, a Lua 5.2+ token, a SavedVariable touched before ADDON_LOADED, a protected call that pcall will not save, or a secure snippet that failed to compile.

Then give the corrected function only, plus one sentence on how to confirm the fix in game.

Review before I ship

Run this adversarial prompt against any generated code before putting it into your addon directory:

Review this WoW: Forever addon. Do not praise it. File issues under these headings only:

1. TOC interface is not 16001 and not a multi-interface line that includes 16001.
2. Lua 5.2+ syntax or a missing library (require, io, os).
3. Removed globals.
4. Any arithmetic, comparison, format, or print on a value that can be secret.
5. Combat log, damage meter logic, or boss timers derived from CLEU.
6. Secure snippet or click-cast attributes on Blizzard frames.
7. SavedVariables at file scope.
8. A WOW_PROJECT_ID Classic branch.
9. Fragments instead of loadable files.

Quote the line, say why it fails on Forever, and give the replacement. If a section is clean, write "clean".

How to talk to the model

• Name the client in the first sentence: Specify "WoW Forever", not "WoW", not "Classic", and not a private server.
• Forbid the combat log in the same sentence as the feature: Models instinctively treat words like "combat tracker" as a combat log parser.
• Ask for complete files: Demand full file contents rather than explanatory prose with code fragments buried within it.
• Enforce capability probes: When the AI cites an API you cannot verify, instruct it to show a runtime capability probe instead of guessing.
• One review pass is cheaper than debugging: Running the review prompt catches 90% of silent interface failures before you ever launch the game client.