Short answers

Forever in eight lines

When does it launch?

November 4, 2026, at 3:00 PM PST.

Do I have to buy anything?

No. A subscription or Game Time is enough.

What is the level cap?

60, and Blizzard says it is not going up.

How do I get in the beta?

Free opt-in, or guaranteed with the $59.99 Epic Pack.

Are there realms?

No. You pick PvE, PvP or Roleplaying instead.

Is there a WoW Token?

No token and no paid character boosts.

What is the new race?

The Skyborne. They need a pack, from $29.99.

When do raids open?

December 9, five weeks after launch.

Every one of these is answered properly on the FAQ.

Not in Classic

Twelve things Classic never had

Forever is built on Classic’s combat model, so the useful comparison is against the 2004 game rather than against Retail. Every card below is one change, what it replaced, and where to read the whole of it.

• Realms are goneIn Classic: You picked a server and lived with it, transfers and all. In Forever: You pick a playstyle. Everyone on it shares one world.
• Campfires became a systemIn Classic: A campfire cooked your food and that was the end of it. In Forever: Shared campsites with vendors, repairs and profession buffs.
• Alts finally inheritIn Classic: Nothing carried between characters. Every alt started cold. In Forever: Account-wide points and perks earned on any character.
• A fourth talent milestoneIn Classic: Milestones at 11, 21 and 31, and twenty points of filler. In Forever: A fourth at 16, and party buffs no longer cost points.
• Transmog you can switch offIn Classic: No transmog. Your gear was your gear. In Forever: Opt in, or turn it off and never see anyone else’s either.
• Undead Paladins existIn Classic: The 2004 race and class grid, unchanged for twenty years. In Forever: Twelve new combinations, including six free with the game.
• A neutral ninth raceIn Classic: Eight races, four a side, and no choosing. In Forever: The Skyborne pick their faction at character creation.
• Plainsrunning is backIn Classic: Several races carried a racial nobody ever used. In Forever: Thirteen new abilities, two actives and two passives each.
• Set bonuses that do somethingIn Classic: Eight-piece bonuses made of small stat increases. In Forever: Rebuilt dungeon sets whose bonuses grant real abilities.
• First Aid makes potionsIn Classic: Bandages. That was the entire profession. In Forever: Six healing potions, three debuff cures and a camp kit.
• No token, no boostsIn Classic: Classic shipped without either, then got the WoW Token. In Forever: Neither, and Blizzard says there are no plans for them.
• Raids open in DecemberIn Classic: Molten Core opened with the game and set the pace. In Forever: Raids land December 9, five weeks after launch.

Launch build

What ships on November 4

Blizzard has confirmed the shape of the launch build. The numbers below come from BlizzCon coverage rather than a written Blizzard page, so anything we could not confirm directly is marked.

Level cap

60

Matching the original 2004 launch cap. The beta reached its 30 cap on October 1.

New zones

3

Zephras Isle (1 to 12), The Riverglades (30 to 45) and Mount Hyjal. A fourth follows in spring 2027.

New quests

1,000+

Spread across the whole 1 to 60 bracket, not bolted onto the end.

New dungeons

9

From The Hall of Thanes at 13 to Shaper’s Terrace at 58, so there is one at almost every tier.

Raids

2, on Dec 9

Barrow Deeps (10 player) and Hyjal Summit (20 player) open five weeks after launch, not on day one.

New race

Skyborne

Requires an upgrade pack. Starts on Zephras Isle.

Azeroth in a new light

The old world, relit

The three new zones get the headlines, but the larger change is to the ones already there. Blizzard has shown Forever’s rebuilt lighting and environments running in six Classic zones. These are not the new areas: this is Ashenvale and The Barrens as they will look on November 4.

Dates

The road to launch

1. 01

   Sep 17, 2026

   Done

   Beta opens

   The Forever beta went live at a level 20 cap. The cap rose to 30 with the October 1 maintenance, which opened Razorfen Downs (25+), Excavation Site: Wetlands (26 to 31) and Uldaman (30+), and cut the bonus experience on dungeon quests by 50%. Beta characters are not expected to carry over to launch.

2. 02

   Oct 21, 2026

   Upcoming

   Beta closes

   The test ends. Everything you did in it stays in it, so treat the beta as a look at the game rather than a head start.

3. 03

   Oct 27, 2026

   Upcoming

   Early name reservation

   Runs October 27 to November 3 for anyone who bought an upgrade pack. This is the only part of the pre-purchase that is genuinely time-critical: names are first come, first served.

4. 04

   Nov 4, 2026

   Upcoming

   Launch

   World of Warcraft: Forever goes live at 3:00 PM PST. An active WoW subscription or Game Time is all you need to play it.

Reference

Start here

• 01Beta accessBoth routes into the September 17 beta, including the free one, and what the level 30 cap means.
• 02EditionsEvery pack side by side, what each one actually adds, and which to skip.
• 03FAQStraight answers on subscriptions, level cap, Classic, and whether beta progress carries over.
• 04Classes & racesThe nine Classic classes, the six new race combos, the Skyborne, and the Paladin rework.
• 05Class pickerFive questions, then the combinations that fit, the racial doing the work, and whose kit is published.
• 06Race & class combosThe full matrix: every race, every class, and which twelve combinations are new in Forever.
• 07RacialsTwo actives and two passives per race, what is new, and Plainsrunning finally arriving.
• 08CampingEvery campfire object with its reagents and effect, and the rules that govern them.

Coverage

Forever, as it happens

Guides, news and reviews for Forever specifically, kept separate from our Retail and Classic coverage so nothing here is an old expansion guide with the version numbers changed.