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WoW Forever launch checklist: everything to do before November 4

How to get ready for WoW Forever's launch on November 4: reserve your names from October 27, pick a ruleset you can't switch later, plan your race, class and talents, set up your addons, and know the launch time where you live.

IlluminoctisOct 24, 2026Checked against build 1.60.1.705323 min read

A leather satchel, a rolled map and a lit lantern on an inn table by a window at dawn, a cloak on a peg, for the WoW Forever launch checklist

WoW Forever launches on Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. PST, and the big decisions start a week earlier: Blizzard opens character creation on Tuesday, October 27, “allowing everyone plenty of time to select the ruleset” and reserve a name. Here’s everything worth doing before launch, in the order you’ll need it.

1. Reserve your names (from October 27)

Character creation opens on October 27 in North America and Europe, and on the morning of October 28 in Korea and Taiwan. During early name reservation you can make up to three characters across all rulesets, and names are the new two-part kind, unique across your region. Start times by region and who qualifies: WoW Forever name reservation.

2. Pick your ruleset, once

This is the one choice you can’t undo. Each ruleset is its own world, and a character can’t move to another one later. The only exception is a Hardcore character that dies.

  • Normal, PvP, Roleplaying and the new Roleplay-PvP are there at launch. On PvP you play one faction only. (Can you switch rulesets? and the RP-PvP ruleset)
  • Hardcore opens sometime after launch, with no date yet. If you’re waiting for it, a launch character on another ruleset is a good way to learn the routes.
  • Region and language: there’s no realm list. You pick a region and a ruleset, and North America and Europe don’t play together at launch. (Realms, servers and regions)

3. Choose your race and class

  • Which class levels fastest: our best leveling class page, with the numbers behind it.
  • Playing Hardcore later: the best race for Hardcore, every life-saving racial side by side.
  • What changed for your class: each class page, such as Mage, lists every talent and ability against Classic, and the races page does the same for racials.

4. Plan your talents

Talents work differently in WoW Forever, with a new 16-point milestone and Legacy talents, and you change them at a class trainer in a capital city. Lay out your build in the WoW Forever talent calculator and save the link. Dual spec opens at level 40, so you can plan a second build too.

5. Set up your addons

WoW Forever has its own AddOns folder and takes its own addon versions. Classic Era addons don’t always work.

6. Know your route

The WoW Forever leveling guide lays out every zone from 1 to 60 by level, with each start’s road and the dungeons along the way. The Alliance and Horde guides put the zones in order. Mounts come at level 40, so put some gold aside.

7. Launch day

  • The time where you live: 3:00 p.m. PST is 6:00 p.m. Eastern, 23:00 in London, midnight in Paris and Berlin, and Thursday morning in Seoul and Sydney. Every region’s time.
  • Bring a friend: a qualifying edition comes with Invite-A-Friend Launch Codes that let a friend play from November 4 to 11 without a subscription. How the codes work.
  • Your beta character stays behind: Blizzard hasn’t said beta characters carry over, so plan to start fresh. (The beta is over: what now)

Everything new before launch, from Blizzard’s posts to the last builds, is on What’s new.

Questions

When does WoW Forever launch?

On Wednesday, November 4, 2026, at 3:00 p.m. PST (23:00 UTC), the same moment in every region, Blizzard says.

When can I make my WoW Forever character?

From Tuesday, October 27. Blizzard opens character creation that day so you can pick a ruleset and reserve your names before launch. During early name reservation you can make up to three characters across all rulesets.

What should I do before WoW Forever launches?

Reserve your names from October 27, choose your ruleset carefully (you can't move a character to another one later), plan your race, class and talents, install your addons in WoW Forever's own AddOns folder, and check the launch time in your time zone.

Can I keep my beta character?

Blizzard hasn't said beta characters carry over, and nothing it posted suggests it. Plan to start fresh on November 4.

Sources

  1. Blizzard, Thank You For Testing the WoW Forever Beta (Oct 23)
  2. Blizzard, Choose Your Ruleset in World of Warcraft: Forever (Sep 21)