Guide
What a combat log coach should tell you
In short
- A good coach shows evidence, picks a few changes and says what it cannot know.
- It works from the log after the fight, because addons in Forever cannot read protected spell values during combat.
- Battle Debrief is coming soon. This page says what we are aiming for, not what has shipped.
Where Battle Debrief stands
Battle Debrief is not open yet. It is being built to read your World of Warcraft: Forever combat log after each battleground, dungeon pull or (if released) arena match and tell you what to change, including which talents to swap against a given enemy team. The example report on our home page is made up and labelled so.
What a good coach does
- Shows its evidence. “You died at 6:21” is useful; “you died at 6:21 after three hits from this spell while your defensive was unused” is better.
- Picks a few changes. A wall of numbers is not advice. One to three things worth changing is.
- Says when it does not know. If the log cannot show something, such as intent or where you stood, it should say that and not guess.
- Stays in its lane. It reviews fights you have already played, and does not pretend to be a live overlay.
- Treats talent advice as advice. Trees and specs are expected to be rebalanced, so a recommendation needs a reason you can check.
What the log can and cannot tell a coach
The WoWCombatLog-*.txt file records every damage, heal, aura and cast event with spell IDs. That is enough to count interrupts, find the damage before a death and see when cooldowns were used. It is not a recording of what you were thinking or, necessarily, where you were standing.
This is why analysis after the fight is the reliable way: addons in Forever cannot read protected spell values during combat. See how to read your combat log to try it yourself today.
Arena, battlegrounds and dungeons
Battlegrounds and dungeons exist in the client data, according to a fan site reading build 1.60.1.70862. Arena is not officially announced, so we make no promise about arena support. Our checklists for a PvP match and a dungeon pull show the kind of review we mean.
Questions and answers
Is Battle Debrief available now?
No. It is coming soon for World of Warcraft: Forever. You can leave your email on this page to hear when it opens.
Does a combat log coach work during the fight?
Not in the way an addon overlay would. Addons in Forever cannot read protected spell values during combat, so reviewing the log file after the fight is the reliable approach.
Will Battle Debrief support arena?
We do not know yet. Arena is not officially announced for Forever, although an arena entry exists in the client data.
What should a combat log coach tell me?
What happened, with evidence from the log, the few changes most worth making, and what it cannot tell from the log.
Sources
Combat log facts are from our own checks of the game client on November 8-9, 2026. What a good coach should do is our own opinion.
- Forever dungeons, raids and battlegrounds from client build 1.60.1.70862 (wowforevertalents.com, fan site, not official)
- WoW Forever features vs Classic and Retail (senseos.gg, fan site)
- World of Warcraft: Forever (Blizzard)