WoW Forever launch day

Everything you need for November 4: when it goes live where you are, names, rulesets and what to do first.

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Launches November 4, 3:00 PM PST

Launch time in your region

US West (PT)3:00 PMWed 4 Nov

US East (ET)6:00 PMWed 4 Nov

Brazil8:00 PMWed 4 Nov

UK11:00 PMWed 4 Nov

Central Europe12:00 AMThu 5 Nov

Romania1:00 AMThu 5 Nov

Australia East10:00 AMThu 5 Nov

Name reservation

Who can reserve: Players with one of the upgraded editions. A normal subscription or game time gets you into the game at launch, without early names.
When: Opened October 27 (4:00 PM Eastern in North America) and runs until November 3.
How many: Up to three characters in total, across all rulesets. Names are first come, first served.
Two part names: Every character has a first name and a second name. Two players can share a first name as long as their full names are different, because the full name only has to be unique in your region.

Pick your ruleset

Forever has no realms. You pick a ruleset, and everyone on it plays together. You can't move a character to another ruleset later, so choose before you get attached. Collections and Legacy Points are shared across Normal, PvP and Roleplaying.

Best for most playersNormalPvE. You only fight other players when you choose to. If you are new to WoW, start here.

Open world fightsPvPPlayers from the other faction can attack you in contested zones. Fun, but getting ganked while questing is part of the deal.

Story firstRoleplayingNormal rules, with a community that likes to stay in character.

After launchHardcoreOne life. Coming after launch, no date yet. Its Legacy Points can be used everywhere, but points from other rulesets can't be used on Hardcore.

Your first hour

Have your class ready. Not sure yet? Take the class quiz, alone or with a friend.
Know your race. Blizzard changed several racials on October 26. Check the racials before you make your character.
Log in early. Big launches usually mean login queues. Being ready a little before the start helps.
Follow a route. The leveling guide shows every starting zone and where to go next, for both factions.
Learn Cooking and First Aid early. Cooking makes the campfire for Camping, and First Aid adds a camp object of its own.
Healers: Forever has mouseover healing built in. Turn it on in the Combat options.

What opens when

November 4: The game, and every dungeon, old and new. See the dungeon guides.
December 9: The first raids: Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair. Onyxia needs a long attunement quest chain first.
Later: The Hardcore ruleset. No date yet.

Get ready

Last checked October 27, 2026. We update this page as Blizzard shares more.