Start here: getting ready for Forever
The choices you make before your first login matter more in Forever than in Classic: your ruleset is permanent for that character, names work differently, and some older graphics cards won't run the game. Here's what to sort out, in order.
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1. Know when it goes live
Launch is November 4, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST worldwide.
Forever is included with a World of Warcraft subscription or game time. The Skyborne upgrade packs and the Warcraft Forever Collection are optional extras. The Skyborne Epic Pack and the Warcraft Forever Collection also include beta access. See Blizzard's announcement ↗ for what each pack includes.
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2. Check your graphics card
Forever needs a GPU built on AMD Graphics Core Next 1 (2012), NVIDIA Maxwell (2014) or Intel Skylake (2015) or newer. In practice, a GeForce GTX 750 or any GTX 9xx works, and a GTX 760, 770 or 780 does not, even though they're newer model numbers. On Windows, check under Settings, System, Display, Advanced display, or in Device Manager under Display adapters.
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3. Pick a ruleset (there are no realms)
You choose a ruleset instead of a realm. Each one is its own large community, and a character can't move to a different ruleset later, so pick the one your friends are on.
Ruleset What it's for Both factions on one account? Available Normal Questing and cooperation. World PvP only when both players opt in. Yes Launch PvP Contested zones are dangerous; open-world fights happen. No, one faction per account Launch Roleplaying For players who want to stay in character. Yes Launch Hardcore Death is permanent. Sealed off from the other rulesets. Yes After launch, no date yet - You can only group, run dungeons and raid with players on the same ruleset. Battlegrounds can mix rulesets, except Hardcore.
- Horde and Alliance still can't group together anywhere.
- Collections and Legacy Points are account-wide across rulesets. Hardcore is the exception: its progress carries out to the others, but nothing carries in. A Hardcore character that dies can transfer to another ruleset.
- Set your preferred language under Options, then Languages and Social, to meet players who speak it. You can change it once every 24 hours.
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4. Plan a two-part name
Every character has a first and a second name, and it's the full pair that has to be unique in your region. If someone already has "Thalen", you can still be "Thalen Brightvale". The filter reads both halves together, so splitting a blocked word doesn't work. You can hide the second name in the game world (Options, Nameplates, "My Secondary Name"), but it still appears in chat.
Reservation: October 27 to November 3, 2026, for eligible upgrade purchases, first come, first served.
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5. Pick a race and class
The nine Classic classes return. New in Forever: Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, Undead Paladin, Human Hunter, Gnome Priest and Dwarf Shaman, plus the Skyborne, who start on Zephras Isle (levels 1–12) and choose a faction at creation. Windshaper Skyborne join the Horde and can be Shaman; High Order Skyborne join the Alliance and can be Mages. Both can be Warriors, Hunters, Rogues and Druids.
Every race has two active and two passive racials in Forever, and most were reworked. See the full race and class table, or the racial changes.
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6. Sketch your talents
The trees keep Classic's shape, but many talents are new or moved. The planner has all 27 trees from the October 1 beta build, and the meta builds page has a level-30 build for every spec. For account-wide perks, the Legacy planner covers the 16 points each character can spend at launch.