Getting ready for WoW Forever: what to sort out before 4 November
· ForeverDB
WoW Forever opens at 23:00 UTC on 4 November. Install it now, agree a ruleset and faction with your friends, plan your character and know the first-login choices.
World of Warcraft: Forever opens worldwide on Wednesday 4 November at 3:00 p.m. PST, which is 23:00 UTC. That's the first of four launch articles we're putting out this week. This one covers what's worth doing before the servers open. The next ones cover picking a class, launch night and your first week.
When you can log in
Blizzard's launch article gives the time in each region:
| Region | Time | Day |
|---|---|---|
| Americas (PST) | 3:00 p.m. | 4 November |
| Brazil (BRT) | 8:00 p.m. | 4 November |
| UK (GMT) | 11:00 p.m. | 4 November |
| Europe (CET) | 12:00 a.m. | 5 November |
| Taiwan (CST) | 7:00 a.m. | 5 November |
| Korea (KST) | 8:00 a.m. | 5 November |
| Australia and New Zealand (AEDT) | 10:00 a.m. | 5 November |
| UTC | 23:00 | 4 November |
From Blizzard's "World of Warcraft: Forever Goes Live Globally November 4!" article. The countdown on our launch page shows it in your own time zone.
Today is the last day for reserved names
Early Name Reservation closes on 3 November. It's for players who pre-purchased the Skyborne Heroic Pack, the Skyborne Epic Pack or the Warcraft Forever Collection, and it covers up to three characters in total across all rulesets. Each character has two names, and the full name has to be unique in your region. Both names are checked together against the Code of Conduct, and names go first come, first served, so keep a second combination ready. Our name reservation page has the details.
Install the game now
You don't have to wait for launch to download it. Blizzard's steps:
- Update your operating system and graphics drivers, and check the system requirements.
- Install the Battle.net desktop app (Windows or Mac) and log in.
- Pick World of Warcraft, then choose World of Warcraft: Forever in the Game Version menu. With more than one WoW account you get a second menu: choose the account you want to play on.
- Select Install, and Play once it's finished.
Playing needs an active World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time; the editions are optional. Playing a Skyborne needs the Skyborne Heroic Pack or a bigger upgrade. If you haven't logged in for years, sort out your password and authenticator through Blizzard's account recovery page today rather than at 11 p.m. on launch night.
Agree a ruleset and faction with your friends
Forever has no realm list. You pick a ruleset: Normal, PvP, Roleplay or Roleplay-PvP, with Hardcore coming some time after launch. Blizzard's starter guide is clear that you can only group, join a guild, run dungeons and raid with players on the same ruleset and faction, so settle both with your friends or guild before anyone makes a character.
- On the PvP ruleset all your characters have to be the same faction. Blizzard hasn't said whether Roleplay-PvP works the same way.
- Battlegrounds can mix players from different rulesets, except Hardcore.
- Your preferred online language (Options, Languages and Social) is account-wide and has a 24-hour cooldown once you change it.
Our rulesets page covers the rest. Guilds are already recruiting by ruleset and faction on the recruitment board.
The first login: Classic or Enhanced
The first time you log in, before you pick a ruleset, the game asks you to choose an experience preset. It only sets your starting options, and you can change each one later under Game Menu, Options.
| Classic | Enhanced | |
|---|---|---|
| Character models | Standard Definition | High Definition |
| Quest points of interest and objective areas | Off | On |
| One bag | Off | On |
| Transmog | Off | On |
| Movement keys | Turn the camera | Strafe |
| Screen layout | Classic | Centralised |
Blizzard suggests Enhanced if you're not sure. Separately, each new character can use HD or SD models. That only changes how it looks, and you can switch later in Options or at a Barbershop.
Plan your character
- Class: our class quiz matches a class and spec to how you like to play, and tomorrow's article goes through all nine.
- Race: Forever changed most racials. New pairings are Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman and Gnome Priest for the Alliance, and Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Undead Paladin for the Horde. The Skyborne start on Zephras Isle (levels 1 to 12) and can join either faction. Which race to play has our picks for each class.
- Talents: lay them out in the talent calculator. If you planned a Paladin or Druid during the beta, plan again: late hotfixes moved and rewrote a lot of both trees, and our check of those changes lists them.
- Professions: you get two primary professions and all three secondary ones (Cooking, Fishing and First Aid). Which professions to pick covers the pairs that work together.
Addons
Install addons before launch night, not during it. Our free ForeverDB Companion adds a rotation helper, quest help and gear tips to the game's own interface, and the best addons list covers the rest.
Tip: The launch checklist has all of this as 15 steps you can tick off, and it remembers where you got to. On the night, the server status page checks Blizzard's login server every minute.
What are you playing? Vote in the class poll on our forum, and say why in the comments.
Sources
- World of Warcraft: Forever Goes Live Globally November 4! (Blizzard)
- Return to Azeroth in World of Warcraft: Forever (Blizzard)
- New Player's Starter Guide: Welcome to World of Warcraft: Forever (Blizzard)
- Claim Your World of Warcraft: Forever Character Names (Blizzard)
- Choose Your Ruleset in World of Warcraft: Forever (Blizzard)