WoW Forever Launch Day Checklist

Tick a step when it is done. Your ticks stay in this browser, and the next open step is marked by today’s date.

1. 1Before Oct 27

   Install Forever in the Battle.net app

   Game Version menu, World of Warcraft: Forever, Install.

2. 2Before Oct 27

   Pick a ruleset and a faction with your group

   Groups never cross rulesets or factions.

3. 3Before Oct 27

   Plan three characters and backup names

   Main name plus secondary name, first come first served.

4. 4Oct 27 to Nov 3

   Reserve your names

   Opens at 18:00 CET in Europe and 1:00 PM PDT in North America.

5. 5From Oct 20

   Send your Invite-A-Friend codes

   Friends play November 4 to 11 without a subscription.

6. 6Before Nov 4

   Install your starter addons

   Quests, bags, boss timers and a leveling route.

7. 7Nov 4, 3 PM PST

   Launch night: language, look, first quest

   Set your online language before you look for a group.

8. 8Nov 4 to 11

   Your first week

   First Aid, a gathering profession, your first dungeon.

Before October 27: install Forever and plan with your group

Three jobs to sort out before the reservation opens. Get them done now and October 27 is just a matter of typing names.

1Before Oct 27

Install Forever in the Battle.net app

1. Battle.net app
2. World of Warcraft
3. Game Version
4. World of Warcraft: Forever
5. Install

Blizzard lists these steps in its name reservation post. Once it is installed, press Play and choose your ruleset.

• Announced

  You play Forever with your WoW subscription or Game Time. The Skyborne Epic Pack and the Warcraft Forever Collection add 30 days of Game Time from November 4.

• Beta data

  A live Forever build, 1.60.1.70245, has been on Blizzard’s download servers since October 13.

Not published yet · checked Oct 21
No preload date and no download size from Blizzard yet, and no word on the day Forever shows up in the Game Version menu. We add both the day Blizzard posts them.

Source: Blizzard: Claim Your World of Warcraft: Forever Character Names (October 20)Source: Client data: Blizzard builds on wago.tools

2Before Oct 27

Pick a ruleset and a faction with your group

Settle this with your friends first. A ruleset and a faction decide who you can ever group with.

• Announced

  At launch you choose Normal, PvP or Roleplaying. Hardcore follows some time after launch, with no date yet.

• Announced

  Groups, dungeons and raids stay inside one ruleset, and Horde and Alliance never group. Battlegrounds mix every ruleset except Hardcore.

• Announced

  On PvP your account plays one faction, and Blizzard may pause new characters of one faction to keep the sides even.

• Announced

  Switching rulesets later means a new character, but your collections and Legacy Points count across rulesets.

Still torn on the race? The race tier list ranks the racials, the class tier list the classes.

Rulesets and world PvPNormal, PvP, Roleplaying and Hardcore side by side

Source: Blizzard: Choose Your Ruleset (September 21)

3Before Oct 27

Plan three characters and backup names

Decide now where your three reserved characters live. Two on PvP leave one slot for Normal or Roleplaying.

• Announced

  Every name has two parts, a main name and a secondary name. The full pair must be unique in your region, so one part on its own may repeat.

• Announced

  Blocked words count across both parts together, so a pair can fail even when each half is fine.

• Announced

  Names go first come first served and Blizzard guarantees none, so write down two or three backups per character.

• Announced

  The option My Secondary Name under Options, Nameplates hides your secondary name in the world. Chat still shows it.

Source: Blizzard: Create a Name of Your Own (September 21)Source: Blizzard: Claim Your World of Warcraft: Forever Character Names (October 20)

The early name reservation runs from October 27 to November 3 (PST). You create and customize your characters before launch, so the name is yours on day one. What each pack includes.

• Announced

  You need the Skyborne Heroic Pack, the Skyborne Epic Pack, the Warcraft Forever Collection, the Digital Upgrade or the Collector’s Edition, and you reserve on the account it was bought for.

• Announced

  You reserve in the Forever client, so install it first. You get up to three characters across all rulesets, and the limit only applies during the reservation.

When the reservation opens

Blizzard names the openings for Europe, North America, Korea and Taiwan. The UK and Oceania rows are our conversion: the UK plays in the Europe region, and Oceania shares the Americas schedule in the stress test.

Source: Blizzard: Claim Your World of Warcraft: Forever Character Names (October 20)Source: Blizzard: Join the World of Warcraft: Forever Stress Test

Every upgrade pack comes with launch codes for friends without a subscription. That is your shot at getting the old guild back together for launch week.

• 1codeSkyborne Heroic Pack
• 3codesSkyborne Epic Pack
• 3codesWarcraft Forever Collection

• Announced

  Blizzard sends the codes by email from October 20 (PST).

• Announced

  Your friend redeems the code on Battle.net and plays from November 4 to 11 (PST) without a subscription or Game Time. After that week they need one to keep playing.

• Announced

  The codes give no beta access, and packs bought as a gift come without codes.

• Player report

  The first players report codes in their inbox on October 21, one with two of the three Collection codes so far.

Source: Blizzard: Pre-Purchase World of Warcraft: Forever UpgradesSource: Blizzard forums: player thread on the first Invite-A-Friend codes (October 21)

Set up the few addons you really need now, so you are not reading install guides while everyone else levels. One addon per job is plenty for the first week.

Status from our addon list, checked Oct 19.

• Confirmed

  Blizzard’s addon rules make every addon free. Never pay for one.

• Confirmed

  The game already brings a lot: Edit Mode for your layout, a Damage Meter, combined bags and the Cooldown Manager, which covers all nine classes since October 8. Try those before you add more.

• Player report

  WeakAuras is blocked by the addon rules of Forever, so do not plan your UI around it.

• Beta

  In the beta the addon folder was World of Warcraft\_classic_beta_\Interface\AddOns.

Install addonsFolder, addon apps and errorsBuilt-in UIWhat the game does without addonsAll addonsEvery addon with its Forever status

Source: Blizzard forums: UI Add-On Development Policy

Every region starts at the same moment, so there is no later start for anyone.

In your time zone:Thursday, November 5, 00:00 CET in Central Europe

Launch time in every region

At your first login

1. 1

   Set your Preferred Online Language under Esc, Options, System, Languages and Social. It matches you with players who picked the same language, counts for your whole account and can change once every 24 hours.

   Announced
2. 2

   Pick a look. The game asks for a preset: the Classic one keeps SD models, no quest markers, separate bags and transmog off, Enhanced turns on HD models, quest markers, combined bags and transmog. You can switch later in the options.

   Beta data
3. 3

   New to WoW? Play the tutorial. Forever adds a new tutorial for new players and updates the in-game tutorials.

   Confirmed
4. 4

   Then head for your class quest. Your start zone and the first quest of your class are right below.

Start fresh

• Announced

  Blizzard deletes the characters, names and guilds of the October 21 stress test.

• Player report

  Players report that beta characters do not carry over to launch either. Blizzard has not said so for the beta itself.

• Player report

  Beta players reported layer swaps in groups and in PvP. How realms and layers work.

Release date and timeEvery region, the timeline and the packs

Source: Blizzard: Choose Your Ruleset (September 21)Source: Blizzard forums: WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 15 (Kaivax)Source: Blizzard: Join the World of Warcraft: Forever Stress TestSource: Blizzard forums: What is going to be done about layering before launch? (player thread)

Your first hours by class

Your first class quest, the spec most players level with and one habit worth building early. Pick your class.

WarriorPaladinHunterRoguePriestShamanMageWarlockDruid

Warrior

TankDamage

Level as

Arms

First class quest

Level 10A Warrior's Training Alliance·Veteran Uzzek HordeBeta→ Defensive Stance

Tip

Swap in every better weapon you find, it carries most of your damage. You have no heals of your own, so carry food and rest between pulls.

Warrior guideTalent Path: Warrior

Paladin

TankHealerDamage

Level as

Retribution

First class quest

Level 12The Tome of Divinity Alliance·A Lesson in Divinity HordeBeta→ Redemption

Tip

Blessings last an hour now, so you buff yourself and your group once. At level 20 three new spells arrive at once, so plan a trainer visit.

Paladin guideTalent Path: Paladin

Hunter

Damage

Level as

Beast Mastery

First class quest

Level 10Taming the Beast Alliance·Taming the Beast HordeBeta→ Tame Beast and Beast Training

Tip

Until the pet quest at 10 you fight alone, so shoot while the mob runs in. Buy ammo in bulk and carry food your pet likes.

Hunter guideTalent Path: Hunter

Rogue

Damage

Level as

Combat

First class quest

Level 20Mathias and the Defias Alliance·The Shattered Salute HordeBeta→ Poisons

Tip

Upgrade your main-hand weapon first. Your strikes and auto attacks hit with it, and a slow sword, axe or mace speeds up every kill.

Rogue guideTalent Path: Rogue

Priest

HealerDamage

Level as

Shadow

First class quest

Level 5In Favor of the Light Alliance·In Favor of Darkness HordeClassic→ Priest robe: Friar's Robes of the Light or Acolyte's Sacrificial Robes

Tip

Finish mobs with a wand. It costs no mana and keeps your mana regeneration running between casts.

Priest guideTalent Path: Priest

Shaman

DamageHealer

Level as

Enhancement

First class quest

Level 4Call of Earth Alliance·Call of Earth HordeBeta→ Earth Totem and Stoneskin Totem

Tip

Never skip a totem quest. They come at 4, 10 and 20, and your totem spells need the totems they give.

Shaman guideTalent Path: Shaman

Mage

Damage

Level as

Frost

First class quest

Level 10Speak with BelannBeta→ Windbough Wand (Skyborne only)Every other race gets its first class quest at 30.

Tip

Get a wand early and finish mobs with it to save mana. Every second level, drag the new spell ranks onto your bars yourself.

Mage guideTalent Path: Mage

Warlock

Damage

Level as

Affliction

First class quest

Level 10Gakin's Summons Alliance·Gan'rul's Summons HordeClassic→ Summon Voidwalker

Tip

Your first demon comes with the class quest at 10. Send it in first and let it hold the mob while your spells tick.

Warlock guideTalent Path: Warlock

Druid

TankHealerDamage

Level as

Feral Combat

First class quest

Level 10Heeding the Call Alliance·Heeding the Call HordeBeta→ Bear Form

Tip

Until 10 you fight as a caster. Your forms from 10 and 20 hit with your weapon, so keep upgrading it.

Druid guideTalent Path: Druid

A plan for the days after launch, in the order you will need it.

1. 1

   Level 1 to 10 in your start zone and learn First Aid on the way. Bandages save you a lot of downtime.

2. 2

   Pick a gathering profession for gold, and try Camping, the new skill: its first objects come at skill 20. The profession tier list helps you choose.

3. 3

   Run your first dungeon at 13–18: Hall of Thanes or Ragefire Chasm, then Ruins of Lordaeron at 15–20. Tanks and healers find a group fastest, and the Dungeon Finder shows what fits your level.

4. 4

   Plan your Legacy perks in the Legacy Calculator before you spend your first points.

5. 5

   Heading for City of Dalaran at 28–33? It needs an attunement questline first, so pick that up on the way.

6. 6

   The new raids open on December 9. The raid guides collect what is known so far.

The full route from 1 to 60, zone by zone, is in the leveling guide. That route takes many evenings. If you would rather spend your first week on dungeons and professions, a WoW Forever leveling boost plays those levels for you.

Source: Blizzard: Explore the New Dungeons (October 20)Source: Blizzard: Deep Dive Panel RecapSource: Blizzard: What’s Next Panel Recap