World of Warcraft: Forever is a new way to play the original Azeroth. It keeps the level cap at 60 for good, then grows the world with regular content updates instead of expansions. It launches worldwide on November 4, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST and comes with any World of Warcraft subscription or game time.
If you played Classic, most of the map will feel like home. Almost everything you do on it has changed: more than a thousand new quests, four new zones, nine new dungeons, a new race, rebuilt talent trees for every class and a set of account-wide systems that reward you for exploring the whole game.
The launch calendar
| Date | What happens |
|---|---|
| October 27 to November 3 | Early name reservation: create and customize up to three characters |
| November 4 | Launch at 3:00 p.m. PST |
| November 4 to 11 | Invite-a-friend launch codes let friends play without a subscription |
| December 9 | Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia’s Lair open |
Rulesets instead of realms
There is no realm list. You pick a ruleset, and each ruleset is one large player ecosystem:
- Normal for questing and cooperation, with PvP when you choose it.
- PvP for open-world danger. You can only create characters for one faction here.
- Roleplaying for players who want to lean into the fantasy.
- Hardcore, where death is permanent, arrives some time after launch.
You can group, run dungeons and raid only with players on the same ruleset, and factions stay separate. Battlegrounds can mix rulesets, except Hardcore. To play under a different ruleset you make a new character there. The rulesets guide covers the details.
Choosing a race and class
The new race is the Skyborne, Highborne exiles who made a pact with the wind spirits. They start on Zephras Isle and choose a faction at character creation: Horde Windshapers can be Shamans, Alliance High Order can be Mages. Six older races also gained a class: Orc Mages, Troll Warlocks, Undead Paladins, Human Hunters, Gnome Priests and Dwarf Shamans. See every combination on the races page and the Skyborne guide.
Classes play differently from Classic. Every talent tree was rebuilt, and many familiar talents moved to the trainer. Open the talent calculator for your class before you commit: the new and reworked talents are marked.
How leveling works
You still earn one talent point per level from 10 to 60, 51 in total, and each row of a tree opens after five points in that tree. The leveling guide lays out a zone-by-zone route for both factions, including the new zones:
- Zephras Isle, levels 1 to 12, the Skyborne starting zone.
- Riverglades, around 36 to 44, on the eastern coast of the Eastern Kingdoms.
- Shen’dralas, between Mulgore and Desolace.
- Mount Hyjal, for the last levels and the endgame.
New dungeons sit along the way, from The Hall of Thanes at 13 to The Shaper’s Terrace at 58. There are no flying mounts and no level scaling, so zones keep their danger.
Systems you will meet early
- Legacy: account-wide challenges that earn points you spend on perks for each character, plus cosmetic rewards. Most players unlock it when their first character reaches 25. Read the Legacy guide or plan it with the Legacy planner.
- Camping: pitch a camp in the wild to share profession stations and give your group buffs. Placing camping features has a one-hour cooldown.
- Transmog: opt-in, so you can turn it off if you want to see everyone’s real gear.
- Graphics: real-time shadows, volumetric fog and new water, with a toggle between the original and updated character models.
- Controller support is official.
What to do before launch
- Pick a ruleset and claim your names during early reservation (October 27 to November 3).
- Plan your talents in the calculator and save the link. The point order doubles as a leveling plan.
- Read your class guide.
- Check the gear planner for the best items you can wear at each level.