World of Warcraft: Forever launches November 4: what to know

On November 4, 2026 World of Warcraft: Forever opens its doors, and it does so for everyone at the same instant. For players in Italy that means staying up: access starts just after midnight, which is why Blizzard's Italian page talks about November 5.

When you can log in

What it is

Forever takes players back to the original Azeroth, the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor, with a full path from level 1 to 60. The story sits between the events of Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom and Molten Core. There are more than a thousand new quests, spread over new or reworked zones: Mount Hyjal, Shen'dralas, the Riverglades (over 150 quests for levels 35 to 45) and Zephras Isle, where characters start from level 1 to 12.

The level cap stays at 60. For group play there are nine new five-player dungeons, suited to levels 13 to 60, and a 15 vs. 15 battleground called Darkspear Islands.

The main novelties

• Skyborne: the new race, also known as Shen'dorei. In the Horde it is called Windshaper and can be a Shaman; in the Alliance it is the High-Order Skyborne and can be a Mage.
• New combinations: Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, Undead Paladin, Human Hunter, Gnome Priest and Dwarf Shaman.
• Classic or Enhanced: at first login you decide how close to stay to the original experience or to modern comforts. The choice is not final.
• No realms: instead of a server you pick a ruleset: Normal, PvP, Roleplay or Roleplay PvP. Hardcore will be added later.
• First and last name: every character has both, and the combination is unique within its region.
• Camping: the Cooking campfire becomes a meeting point. Nearby players can add up to three profession-crafted features and, by staying a minute, receive the bonuses.
• Legacy system: account-wide progression made of Legacy Challenges, Legacy Perks and Legacy Rewards, which does not force you to grow other characters.

Classes, Legacy and Hardcore: what has emerged so far

The BlizzCon panel and the analyses published in recent weeks give some useful hints, to be taken as previews until the game is online.

• Classes: Blizzard says it does not want to modernize the classes, but to add mechanics that make them less simple than they were in Classic. The example shown is the Paladin, which will be able to tank. The nine classes with three talent trees each remain, and dual specialization arrives at level 40.
• Priest and Warrior: in Blizzard's deep dive, Fear Ward and Devouring Plague become available to all Priests at level 20, Divine Spirit at 30 and Shadow Word: Death at 32. The Warrior gets more reliable Rage: Rage taken ignores absorbs, Rage dealt depends on weapon speed, and Tactical Mastery arrives at level 14 and Victory Rush at 20. Blizzard notes these values may change during the beta.
• Legacy system: according to guides published before launch, there are 65 challenges, and points are earned by taking classes to levels 25, 45 and 60, advancing in professions, exploring and rising in PvP rank.
• Hardcore: it will be a separate environment, where nothing enters from the other rulesets. Someone who dies can move permanently to another ruleset, but cannot come back.
• Groups: there is no automatic search for dungeons; you look for or create groups by hand and invite whoever you need.

Before launch

As for the beta, according to Blizzard's recap 8,862,354 characters were created, with 9,959,014 PvP kills. These are character counts, not player counts: Blizzard has not said how many accounts took part.

Name reservation is already open and allows up to three characters, but not playing. In the first days several players reported login queues and errors, so it is better not to wait until the last moment. Blizzard has not announced population limits or queues for launch day: anyone predicting waits of an hour or more is making an estimate, not reporting an official figure. A cautious choice is to enter with a less crowded ruleset or to prepare a second character.

Raids come later

There are no raids at launch. They open on December 9, for level 60 characters: Barrow Deeps for 10 players, Hyjal Summit for 20 and Onyxia's Lair for 40. The last one requires specific preparation to enter. No date has been given for Hardcore.

How much it costs

To play you only need an active World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time: Forever is included, with no new expansion to buy. A Battle.net account and the Battle.net desktop app are required.

Those who want the new race or something extra can pick from three packs (prices in euros, VAT included):

The Collection can be bought until January 11, 2027. Playing the Skyborne requires at least the Heroic Pack. Names can be reserved from October 27 to November 3, first come first served and with no guarantee on your choice. Qualifying purchases also give Invite-A-Friend codes, which let a friend play from November 4 to 11.