Guide 01 · First steps

Start here if you're coming back

Which ruleset to pick and what to do first in WoW: Forever.

Our one recommendation

Pick the Normal ruleset, make one character, and try the free Stress Test on October 21 first.

On Normal, PvP only happens when both players agree, so you won't get camped by other players while you find your feet. Rulesets can't group with each other, so choosing the one your friends will be on matters more than any other launch choice. The Stress Test is free, so you can check that your PC, drivers and controls work before launch night.

Why Normal

  • There are no realms to pick from. You pick a ruleset: Normal, PvP, Roleplaying, or Hardcore (Hardcore comes after launch). [source]
  • Normal is "the baseline World of Warcraft experience with a focus on cooperation, where player-versus-player combat requires mutual consent." [source]
  • You can only group, run dungeons and raid with people on the same ruleset. Horde and Alliance still can't group together. [source]
  • Collections and Legacy Points are shared across rulesets, except Hardcore. [source] So if you change your mind later, you don't lose them.

Your first-week checklist

  1. Before October 21: update your graphics drivers and the Battle.net app. [source]
  2. October 21, 5:00 p.m. ET: in Battle.net, choose World of Warcraft, then pick "World of Warcraft: Forever Stress Test" under In Development in the Game Version menu. Anything you make there is deleted afterward. [source]
  3. Choose a name with two parts, like a first and last name. Names are unique per region. [source]
  4. Want it to look like 2004? Choose Classic Mode when you first launch. It switches transmog off. [source] There are also HD and SD character models [source], and gamepad support is official [source].
  5. Read your class's Blizzard deep dive before level 10. That's when talents open up. Many abilities have changed. [source]

Things that haven't changed

  • No flying mounts and no level scaling. [source]
  • Fights are still slow and careful. Blizzard says a normal enemy should take about 10–15 seconds to kill when you're solo. [source]
Unverified Not confirmed yet: launch-night queues, whether server capacity will hold, and whether your old Classic characters carry over in any way. We found no Blizzard post that answers these. Forever is described as a new game where you "begin again". [source]
Related: All four rulesets, and what you can't change later: Rulesets explained. Your local launch time: Launch time by time zone. Bought a pack? Reserve names from October 27. Not sure you need to buy anything? Is WoW Forever free?

Sources

Last checked against these sources: October 21, 2026. WoW: Forever is in beta, and Blizzard says classes and talents may still change.

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