Launch checklist

Tazdingo recommendation

Prepare the client, a small set of necessary addons and the intended ruleset first, then choose a manageable questing and profession plan. Keep gold for training and practical upgrades rather than stocking speculative crafts from Beta prices. Racial changes can affect builds but do not settle level-60 rankings. Treat the checklist as pre-launch preparation, and check Blizzard's launch announcement for schedule changes. Early login, long grinds and reaching 60 quickly are preferences, not requirements to enjoy the opening weeks.

Check the launch time where you live

Blizzard gives one global time: 4 November at 3:00 p.m. PST (Blizzard). One of Blizzard's own articles says "PDT" in its first paragraph, but daylight saving time ends in the US on 1 November, so PST is right. ForeverDB and Icy Veins both give 23:00 UTC. The other rows are conversions of that time.

Make sure you have Game Time

Forever is included with a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time (Blizzard). The three upgrade packs are optional:

• Skyborne Heroic Pack: the Skyborne race and their Zephras Isle starting zone, Early Name Reservation, the Cerulean Prideclaw mount (you still buy riding in game), cosmetics, housing decor and one Invite-A-Friend code.
• Skyborne Epic Pack: everything above, plus 30 days of Game Time from 4 November, more cosmetics, pets and tabards, and three Invite-A-Friend codes. Wowhead lists the Veteran Adventurer's Loyal Companion mount among them.
• Warcraft Forever Collection (limited time): everything above, plus Warcraft III: Reforged, the Forsaken Kingdom campaign and housing figurines.

Blizzard's posts don't give prices (ForeverDB); Icy Veins lists the Heroic Pack from $29.99. You only need a pack to play a Skyborne or to reserve names early. Collector's Edition orders from the September restock are expected to arrive in February 2027.

Reserve your names

Early Name Reservation opens on 27 October at 18:00 CET in Europe and 1:00 p.m. PDT in North America, and on 28 October at 07:00 in Korea and Taiwan. It runs until 3 November (Blizzard).

• It's for accounts with a pre-purchased pack, on the account the pack was bought for.
• You can create up to three characters in total across all rulesets: two on PvP leaves one for elsewhere. The limit applies only during reservation.
• Every character has two names, and the full pair must be unique in your region. You can share a first name with someone else (Blizzard).
• Names go first come, first served. The game checks both parts together, so splitting a banned word across them won't get it through.
• Blizzard was working to open the Roleplay-PvP ruleset for reservation from 27 October (forum post). Its 23 October post says character creation opens on 27 October for "everyone", which it hasn't explained further (ForeverDB).

Install the game

Blizzard's steps: update your graphics drivers, install or update the Battle.net app, choose World of Warcraft, pick World of Warcraft: Forever in the Game Version menu above the Play button, and install. Then press Play and choose your ruleset (Blizzard). The live game installs into its own _forever_ folder (ForeverDB). During the beta, Blizzard said the install was larger than intended and that it was working to shrink it; it hasn't given a size.

Bring your beta setup across

Nothing from the beta's _classic_beta_ folder appears in the live game by itself. Copy the files you want from its WTF folder to the same place under _forever_ with the game closed. A player's guide on Blizzard's forums explains where macros, keybinds, chat and addon settings live. Edit Mode layouts can be copied with the layout menu's Share button and imported on live.

Get your addons ready

Install versions made for Forever (interface 16001). A starting kit drawn from Addons: a quest helper (Questie, the ForeverDB addon or Forever Quest Pins), Leatrix Maps, Bagnon or Baganator, Auctionator, a threat meter such as ForeverThreat, and BugSack. The game already has a damage meter and a Cooldown Manager. WeakAuras and TradeSkillMaster have no Forever version.

Change these settings

• On a Mac: if the game freezes the Mac when you enter the world, set Secondary Lighting to Fair, and Shadow Quality to Low if you see a green tint. These are players' fixes, not Blizzard's (Known issues).
• Preferred Online Language: Options, then Languages and Social. It's account-wide, has a 24-hour cooldown, and decides which players you meet (Blizzard).
• Your second name: to hide it above your head, untick "My Secondary Name" under Options, Nameplates. It still shows in chat (Blizzard).
• Look and controls: high- or standard-definition models, Classic or modern visual presets, the original animations and gamepad support are all options (Blizzard).
• Transmog: choosing Classic Mode the first time you launch turns transmog off; you can switch it at a transmogrifier in some cities (Blizzard Deep Dive).
• Built-in tools: enable the Cooldown Manager (Options, Advanced Options) and the Damage Meter (Options) (foreverchanges.pro).
• Casting: Forever has focus-cast and mouseover-cast options and focus key bindings (ForeverDB); see Macros.

Choose your class and race

Start with the role you want: Warriors, Paladins and Druids can tank; Priests, Paladins, Shaman and Druids can heal (ForeverDB). The class pages cover every spec. Six race and class pairs are new: Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Undead Paladin (Blizzard). Skyborne need a pack; Horde Skyborne can be Shaman and Alliance Skyborne Mage.

Two cautions. Blizzard retuned racials again on 26 October: for example, Humans' crit bonus halves to 1%, Orcs lose their crit passive and regain a pet damage bonus, Dwarves get 1% hit, and the Skyborne's Read Leyline and Skysight now get stronger at ley lines and convergences (development notes). Guides written before that are out of date on racials. Beta play stopped at level 30; some simulators model level 60, but their unverified assumptions cannot establish live rankings (ForeverDB).

Pick a ruleset

Forever has no realm list. You choose a ruleset, and each one works as its own large community (Blizzard):

• Normal: player-versus-player fighting only when you choose it.
• PvP: open-world conflict. You can only make characters of one faction here, and faction balance systems may briefly limit character creation for one side.
• Roleplaying: for players who want to stay in character. Blizzard hasn't published its rules yet (ForeverDB).
• Roleplay-PvP: added for launch after player feedback.
• Hardcore: arrives some time after launch.

You can only group, run dungeons and raid with players on the same ruleset; battlegrounds may mix rulesets, except Hardcore. Characters can't move between rulesets, but collections and Legacy Points are shared across them.

On launch night, check the servers before you panic

If you can't get in, check the server status and Blizzard's posts first: login problems at busy times are usually on Blizzard's side. If you're stuck on "Retrieving character list", your _forever_\Logs\Connection.log shows where the login stopped (ForeverDB).

Learn Cooking for campfires

Around level 5, the quest The Great Outdoors introduces camping and sends you to a Cooking trainer for the Basic Campfire (Wowhead). At skill 20 in any profession you can make its first camp feature, from the trainer or the Camping 101 quest (wow-professions.com). Sitting at a camp for a minute gives an hour of buffs. See Camping.

Plan your professions and your first gold

You get two primary professions plus Cooking, First Aid and Fishing. Gathering professions are the usual early earner, since you can sell what you gather; ForeverDB notes that's general advice, not Blizzard's. From level 10, Waylaid Crates you find or buy can be filled for Merchant's Favor, and the prices pages show asking prices for their stated market and capture date, not completed sales.

Weigh dungeon quests, gear and travel together

Dungeon quests give half the extra bonus experience they did early in the Beta; that reduction alone does not establish whether questing or a dungeon group levels faster (ForeverDB). The first dungeons open at level 13: Ragefire Chasm and the Hall of Thanes (Dungeons and raids).

Pick up the easy extras

• Library books: turning in 10 books from level 1 earns a neck reward, with more at 20 and 25 books (Warcraft Tavern).
• Cozy Sleeping Bag: a quest chain from level 14 gives up to 3% extra experience that stacks with camp buffs and cooked food (Warcraft Tavern).
• Legacy: your first character to level 25 opens the account-wide Legacy system.

Know the trading restrictions

Blizzard is acting against gold buying in Forever. Blizzard warns about accepting gold from unknown sources and shows a warning for trades with strangers. Suspicious accounts can be put under a Temporary Economy Hold; an ordinary trade with an unfamiliar player is not, by itself, proof of gold buying (Blizzard).