WoW Forever Launch Guide

Release Date and Launch Time

Live since November 4, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST (11:00 p.m. UTC)

World of Warcraft: Forever launched worldwide on November 4, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. PST. Every region went live at the same moment: late evening on November 4 in the UK, midnight in central Europe, and the morning of November 5 in Korea and Australia.

Base access is included with an active World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time, so you can log in today without buying anything extra. The time zone table and key dates are further down; first, the setup that makes your first week smooth.

First-Week Checklist

Seven things to settle in your first sessions. Each step links to its section below.

Account and Client

• Check your access. Forever is part of an active World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time. If your Game Time has lapsed, renew it first so you are not held at the login screen.
• Install the client. Open the Battle.net app, select World of Warcraft: Forever in the game version menu, and install it. If you installed before launch, let the app finish its update before you press Play.
• Check your PC. The system requirements list the minimum and recommended specs for Windows and Mac.
• Controller players. Forever supports gamepads officially, alongside keyboard and mouse.
• Bring a friend. Invite-A-Friend Launch Codes from the upgrade packs give a friend free access for launch week, November 4 to 11. Send them now: the free week ends on November 11, so the sooner your friend starts, the more days they get.

Choose a Ruleset

Forever has no realm list. You choose a ruleset instead, and that choice decides who you can play with: grouping, dungeons, and raids stay inside one ruleset. Settle it with your friends and guild before anyone creates a character.

On the PvP ruleset you can create characters for only one faction, while Normal, Roleplay, and Hardcore allow both. Battlegrounds can match you with players from other rulesets, except Hardcore. Names are two-part and unique per region, and a language preference helps you meet players who share it. The realms and characters guide covers the details.

Class and Race

Nine classes and nine races are available at launch, with new combinations on both sides: Undead Paladin and Dwarf Shaman open both classes to both factions, and the new Skyborne race joins either faction from the Skyborne Heroic Pack. Every race has two active and two passive racials, and none of them is a weapon specialization, so pick the race whose tools and look you enjoy.

• Compare roles, changes, and race options on the classes page and the race and class matrix.
• Plan your first talent points in the talent calculator. Every tree has a new milestone talent at 16 points, and key group buffs such as Blessing of Kings are now baseline.
• See which abilities you train at each level in the spellbook, so you know when to visit your trainer.
• Still undecided? Roll a random race, class, and spec.

Plan Your Leveling

Zones keep fixed level ranges with no level scaling, and there are no flying mounts, so the route from 1 to 60 follows the map in a set order. Knowing that order from the start saves you hours of backtracking.

• Your route. Follow the Alliance or Horde leveling route, or see the 1–60 path across both continents by level band.
• Dungeons on the way. Nine new dungeons join the leveling curve, starting with Hall of Thanes in Ironforge (13–18) and Ruins of Lordaeron above the Undercity (15–20). The dungeon guides list every quest to pick up before you enter.
• Finding groups. Meeting Stones open a group listing window instead of summoning, so list or browse a group there and travel in together.
• Riding. The cost of a mount moves into riding training, and learning to ride grants you a mount. Budget your gold for training rather than a vendor mount.
• Alts. Legacy Points are shared across your characters, and each character can spend up to 16 of them at launch.

Professions

More than 600 new recipes cover every level range, so crafting stays useful from your first skill point to 60. Two choices to make early:

• Pair a gathering profession with your route. Herbalism, Mining, or Skinning along your quest path pays for training and gear while you level.
• Plan for camping. A campfire lets nearby players add profession objects for one-hour buffs, with the first objects unlocking at profession skill 20. Crafted food can also grant a small experience bonus.

Every profession's recipes and skill-up plan are in the profession guides.

Settings and Addons

• Classic Mode or modern visuals. At your first login you choose between Classic and modern presets and HD or SD character models. Choosing Classic Mode turns Transmog off; a transmogrifier in certain cities lets you change that later, and you keep collecting appearances either way.
• Action bars. Mana abilities keep the rank you placed on your bar, so drag the new rank in after each trainer visit. Rage and Energy abilities still update on their own.
• Addons. The free WoW Handbook addon puts a dungeon guide, talent simulator, and spells by level in the game, and marks trainers and herb and ore nodes on your maps. Install it with the client so it is ready on your first login.

Launch Week

• Starting zones are packed. Blizzard named Durotar as a zone it expected to be packed on launch day, and every starting zone stays crowded through the first days. Share kill and loot objectives with the players around you; a quick group finishes crowded quests faster than competing for spawns.
• Getting onto your friend's layer. Joining a group shows the layer refresh notice instead of moving you at once. Press Refresh Now when you are somewhere safe. The layering guide explains how it works at launch.
• Pick up flight paths as you pass them. Every route runs on ground travel, boats, and flights, so each flight point you open saves time later.

Launch Time Near You

Servers opened at these local times. Daylight saving time had already ended in the United States on November 1 and in Europe on October 25, so the table uses winter clocks.

Key Dates

Upgrade Packs

Every pack includes the Skyborne race and its Zephras Isle starting experience. Invite-A-Friend Launch Codes arrived by email from October 20, 2026, and let a friend play Forever during launch week, November 4 to 11, without a subscription. Read more in the Skyborne guide.

Full pack contents: Blizzard's pre-purchase announcement.

Name Reservation

Name reservation has closed. From October 27 at 1:00 p.m. PDT through November 3, every upgrade pack let you create and customize up to three characters and lock in their names before launch, and those characters are ready on your character list now. Europe opens the same day at 18:00 CET, and Korea and Taiwan on October 28 at 07:00. The three-character limit covered all rulesets together, and the new Roleplay-PvP ruleset joined Normal, PvP, and Roleplay at launch. Forever is realmless, so names are unique per region rather than per server: if you still want a name, create the character today. The full reservation schedule is in the name reservation guide.

Beta

The beta ran from September 17, 2026 to October 23 at 10:00 a.m. PDT, two days longer than first planned. The Skyborne Epic Pack and Warcraft Forever Collection included access, alongside a free opt-in. The WoW Forever beta guide recaps how it ran, and the beta-to-launch schedule lists every date in Pacific time.

Collector's Edition

The WoW Forever Collector's Edition sells for $150 on the Blizzard Gear Store and ships from November 2026. Alongside its physical collectibles, it includes the full Warcraft Forever Collection, so you get everything in the Skyborne Epic Pack, including beta access and 30 days of Game Time.

• Warcraft Forever Collection digital code: the Skyborne Epic Pack, Warcraft III: Reforged, and the Forsaken Kingdom campaign
• 13-inch Dwarf and Bear statue
• Zephras Isle mousepad
• Art prints, collectible pins, and a companion journal

If you want your digital rewards sooner, buy the Warcraft Forever Collection on the Battle.net Shop now. Some digital purchases qualify for a Battle.net Balance credit when you later redeem your Collector's Edition code; check the Gear Store listing for availability in your region.

Roadmap

Raids unlock on December 9, 2026: Barrow Deeps for 10 players, Hyjal Summit for 20, and Onyxia's Lair for 40. Locations, boss counts, and the Onyxia attunement are in the raid guide. Hardcore follows in winter, and major updates arrive in spring and summer 2027.

Common Questions