Key dates in your time zone, which rulesetRuleset What Forever has instead of realms: Normal, PvP, Roleplay and later Hardcore. Each one is a single big world per region, split into layers. to pick, playing with friends, names, editions and a checklist to be ready on launch day.
What Forever changes in the game itself is in What’s new.
Launch
Nov 4, 3:00 PM PT
Countdowns use your device’s clock and time zone. Blizzard announced most dates in Pacific time.
For Epic Pack and Collection owners and invited testers. Level cap 20 at first, 30 later.
World event · 15 days. From the game’s calendar files: live realms may hold it on other days.
Codes from eligible editions start arriving by email (Pacific time). They do not include beta access.
October 21 is the last full day of testing. Beta characters are test characters: Blizzard has not announced any carry-over.
With any edition: create and customize up to three characters. Names are first come, first served.
Invited friends play without a subscription, November 4–11 (Pacific time). Blizzard’s Spanish article says November 5–12 and the EU shop November 5–11, in European time; the exact end time is not published.
3:00 PM PT on November 4: 6:00 PM in New York, 11:00 PM in London and midnight (November 5) in Central Europe.
The Barrow Deeps (10 players), Hyjal Summit (20) and Onyxia’s Lair (40).
World event · 18 days. From the game’s calendar files: live realms may hold it on other days.
The limited bundle with Warcraft III: Reforged and Forsaken Kingdom is sold until this date.
Listed for winter on the official roadmap, without a date.
Two raids, two dungeons, a new playable area, a legendary questline and a PvP season refresh.
A revamped iconic raid, a new raid, two dungeons, more world content, PvP season, profession and Legacy updates.
There is no realm list: you pick a ruleset, and everyone on it in your region shares one world. A character cannot change ruleset later (HardcoreHardcore A ruleset where death is permanent: a character who dies there can only be resurrected by moving to another ruleset. Forever’s Hardcore ruleset opens after launch. ones only after they die), so choose with your friends.
This ruleset allows you to focus on player versus player combat; you are almost always at risk of being attacked by opposing players.
This ruleset allows you to focus on adventuring and fighting monsters while allowing you to fight other players at your own discretion.
This ruleset has strict naming conventions and behavior rules for players interested in immersing themselves as a character in a fantasy-based world.
This challenging ruleset features permanent player character death. Dead characters may transfer to other rulesets to be resurrected.
The card texts are the game’s own, from its ruleset selection screen. Classic Hardcore also has a Self-foundSelf-found Classic Hardcore’s solo-economy mode: no trading, mail or auction house, only what you find or make yourself. Blizzard has not said if Forever will have it. mode (no trading, mail or auction house); Blizzard has not said whether Forever’s will.
Help me chooseFour quick questions. The answer comes from the table below.
Pick the ruleset your friends or guild chose, and on PvP their faction too.
Open at launch
Best fit
If it were up to you alone:
PvP (ES: JcJ)NormalRoleplay (ES: Juego de rol)Answer the other questions to narrow it down.
Answer the questions to see which ruleset fits.
Groups, dungeons, raids, guilds and mail only work within one ruleset, so everyone who wants to play together picks the same one.Game files
On PvP you can be attacked almost anywhere.
On Normal and Roleplay you fight other players only when you choose to.
Roleplay adds strict naming and behavior rules for playing in character.Game files
No ruleset is both Roleplay and PvP: pick what matters more to you.
On PvP your account can only create characters of one faction. Play the other on Normal or Roleplay: collections and Legacy points are shared across rulesets.
Normal and Roleplay let you play both factions on one account.
A character can’t change ruleset later.
Want permanent death? Hardcore arrives after launch (winter, no date yet).
| Side by side | PvP | Normal | Roleplay | Hardcore |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Available | At launch | At launch | At launch | After launch |
| Open-world PvP | Always on | Only if you choose | Only if you choose | Not announced |
| Factions per account | One faction only | Both | Both | Both |
| Groups, dungeons and raids | Same ruleset only | Same ruleset only | Same ruleset only | Same ruleset only |
| Mail and guildsGame filesIn game: “You can't send mail to that ruleset.” “You cannot invite a character playing under different gameplay rules to your guild.” | Same ruleset only | Same ruleset only | Same ruleset only | Same ruleset only |
| Battlegrounds | Mixed with other rulesets | Mixed with other rulesets | Mixed with other rulesets | Hardcore only |
| Collections and Legacy points | Shared account-wide | Shared account-wide | Shared account-wide | Hardcore → others only |
| Death | Resurrect as usual | Resurrect as usual | Resurrect as usual | Permanent (can transfer out) |
| Names and behaviorGame filesIn game: “This ruleset has strict naming conventions and behavior rules for players interested in immersing themselves as a character in a fantasy-based world.” | Code of conduct | Code of conduct | Strict roleplay rules | Code of conduct |
“Game files” rows come from the game’s own messages.
On the PvP ruleset Blizzard may temporarily limit character creation for one faction to keep populations balanced, as in Season of Discovery.
Agree on these before October 27, when name reservation creates the first characters.
Groups, dungeons, raids, guilds and mail only work between characters on the same ruleset, and Horde and Alliance still can’t group. Battlegrounds mix rulesets (except Hardcore): there you can meet.
In game: “You can't send mail to that ruleset.” “You can only see this player inside instances because they are playing with a different ruleset.”
Characters belong to one region. Friends in Europe and in the Americas (Latin America included) only meet if one of you plays in the other’s region: pick it in the Battle.net app before creating characters.
On PvP your account can only create characters of one faction, and name reservation from October 27 already creates characters: agree on Horde or Alliance first.
In game: “You cannot have both a Horde and an Alliance character on the same PvP ruleset”
Everyone on a ruleset shares one world split into copies (layers; players also call them shards). When you join a group, the game moves you to the group’s copy after a short countdown; out of combat you can press “Refresh Now”.
In game: “The world around you will refresh in… Make sure you are out of combat and in a safe area, or click here to refresh now.”
Several players can share a first name, so give friends your main and secondary name, and invite them from their name in chat or from your Battle.net friends list.
In the beta, mail to a character that shares its first name with another can fail (“You can't send mail to yourself.”) or reach the wrong one. Until Blizzard fixes it, give characters that swap items different first names.
Game Menu (Esc) → Options → System: Languages and Social → Preferred Online Language. It applies to your whole account and has a 24-hour cooldown. It decides which players you meet, not the language of your client.
Every character has a first name and a second name. What must be unique is the full combination, across your whole region.
Early name reservationOct 27 – Nov 3, Pacific timeTime TBA
Tests a name against the game files’ rules and reserved-name lists as you type.
Type a name to check it.
Only the game can tell you if it’s free: “That name is taken. Taken names can't be claimed (even if inactive).”
Nothing you type leaves this page.
Want a name that works in English and Spanish? Name translator
You do not need to buy anything to play: Forever is included with a World of Warcraft subscription or game time. The packs add the Skyborne race and extras.
$29.99€29.99
Cerulean PrideclawESGarramanada cerúleo
Shen'dorei Skyseer's Garb (ES: Atuendo de vidente del cielo shen'dorei)
Shen'dorei WindwellESPozo de viento shen'dorei$59.99€59.99
Veteran Adventurer's Loyal CompanionESCompañero fiel de aventurero veterano
Veteran Adventurer's Outdoor Wear (ES: Ropa para exteriores de aventurero veterano)
Lordaeron Forever TabardESTabardo de Lordaeron eterno
Shen'dorei TabardESTabardo de los shen'dorei$79.99€79.99
Sold until January 11, 2027
You still need to buy the riding skill in the game. Prices read on the Battle.net Shop (US and EU) on September 23, 2026. Euro prices include VAT; your region’s price may differ.
From the Battle.net Shop listing. An SSD is required.
| System requirements | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Operating system | Windows® 10 64-bit (May 2019 Update or newer) | Windows® 11 |
| Processor | 4 cores, 3.0 GHzIntel® Core™ Haswell / AMD Ryzen™ Zen | 8 performance cores, 5.2 GHz boostIntel® Core™ Ultra (Series 2) / AMD Ryzen™ Zen 5 |
| Graphics | DirectX® 12, 4 GBNVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 10 series / AMD RDNA™ 1 / Intel® Iris® Xe2-LPG (Lunar Lake) | DirectX® 12, 8 GBNVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 40 series / AMD RDNA™ 3 / Intel® Arc™ B-Series |
| Memory | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| Storage | SSD, 128 GB | SSD, 128 GB |
| Resolution | 1280 × 720 | 1280 × 720 |
Forever’s new lighting needs a GPU from one of these families or newer. For example, a GeForce GTX 760 or Radeon HD 6950 will not run the game.
Mac: the Shop lists macOS 12 as the minimum and macOS 15 as recommended.
Objectives
Tick things off as you go. Your progress stays in this browser.
Answers follow Blizzard’s announcements unless a tag says otherwise.
No. It is included with an active World of Warcraft subscription or game time, together with modern WoW and Classic.
The Skyborne race and their Zephras Isle starting zone need the Heroic Pack or higher. Everything else (the other races, new zones, dungeons and systems) comes with the subscription.
No carry-over has been announced. Treat beta characters, and the names you used on them, as test data: to secure a name for launch, use the early name reservation (October 27 – November 3).
None: there are no realms. You pick a ruleset (Normal, PvP, Roleplay, later Hardcore) and share one world with everyone on it in your region.
No: you create a new character there. The exception: a Hardcore character that dies can transfer to another ruleset, including PvP.
None have been announced. Blizzard’s articles only mention Hardcore death transfers.
No. Horde and Alliance stay separate, and on the PvP ruleset your account can only create characters of one faction.
Pick the same ruleset and region, and on PvP the same faction: groups, guilds and mail only work within one ruleset, and Horde and Alliance can’t group.
Set Preferred Online Language to your language: the game then favors players who chose the same one. It is account-wide and has a 24-hour cooldown.
Only the full two-part name must be unique in your region, so try the same first name with a different second name.
Names must be 2 to 12 letters with no spaces or digits, use one alphabet and never repeat a letter three times in a row. The game files also reserve lore names, titles such as “King” at the start of a name, and words caught by a filter.
Yes: Options → Nameplates → “My Secondary Name”. It is hidden in the world but still shown in chat.
Midnight on November 5 in Madrid (11:00 PM on the 4th in the Canary Islands); on November 4, 5:00 PM in Mexico City, 6:00 PM in Bogotá and Lima, and 8:00 PM in Buenos Aires and Santiago.
Editions include one (Heroic) or three (Epic, Collection) codes, emailed from October 20. A friend redeems one on Battle.net and plays during launch week without a subscription. Codes do not give beta access, and gift purchases are excluded.
Raids unlock on December 9: The Barrow Deeps (10 players), Hyjal Summit (20) and Onyxia’s Lair (40).
In winter, according to the roadmap, with no date yet. Hardcore is a closed world: its progress flows out to other rulesets, but nothing from them flows in.
No. Blizzard has ruled out both.
Yes. The Battle.net Shop lists Mac requirements (macOS 12 minimum, macOS 15 recommended).
Yes, Forever has official gamepad support. In the beta client the gamepad interface is still labelled “Alpha”.
In the beta files, 7,928 item IDs have no public data yet, and the Forever client does not load the Dungeon Journal. Stats and boss loot will be filled in as players discover them after launch.
