WoW Forever launch: price and what to know

World of Warcraft: Forever launched Nov. 4 at 3 p.m. PT. See what it costs, how rulesets work, what is new, and how launch night went for U.S. players.

World of Warcraft: Forever went live on Wednesday, Nov. 4, at 3 p.m. PT (6 p.m. ET), and as of Nov. 5 the launch looks far smoother than Blizzard's last big ones, according to IGN's live coverage. You need an active World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time to play, and you pick a ruleset instead of a realm. Here is what U.S. players should know before logging in.

What does World of Warcraft: Forever cost?

Nothing extra if you already pay for WoW, because Blizzard says Forever is included with an active subscription or Game Time. Blizzard's own pages do not list the subscription fee in the launch material we read, so check the Battle.net shop for the current monthly rate.

The optional packs are a separate matter. Blizzard's U.S. shop lists the Warcraft Forever Collection at $79.99, with packs starting from $29.99. Icy Veins lists the Skyborne Heroic Pack at $29.99 and the Skyborne Epic Pack at $59.99. Only the Heroic Pack or higher unlocks the new Skyborne race and its Zephras Isle starting zone. The Epic Pack and the Collection each add 30 days of Game Time, and Blizzard says the Collection is available through Jan. 11, 2027.

Friends can also get in without paying. Invite-A-Friend Launch Codes from qualifying packs let an invitee play from Nov. 4 through Nov. 11 with no subscription, though they do not include beta access.

What is actually new in Forever?

Forever is built on the original game's Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor and stops at level 60. Blizzard says it adds more than 1,000 new quests and new or reimagined zones such as Mount Hyjal, Shen'dralas, the Riverglades and Zephras Isle. There are nine new five-player dungeons for levels 13 through 60, and a 15-versus-15 battleground at the Darkspear Islands.

The first raids arrive later. Blizzard says level 60 players can enter Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair on Dec. 9.

The Skyborne are the new playable race. Horde players can choose Windshapers, who can become Shaman, and Alliance players can choose High-Order Skyborne, who can become Mages. Blizzard also added race and class pairings that did not exist in the original, including Orc Mages, Troll Warlocks and Undead Paladins.

How do rulesets and presets work?

This is the part that trips people up. Instead of picking a realm, you choose a ruleset: Normal, PvP, Roleplay or Roleplay-PvP. Hardcore is planned for some time after launch. Blizzard warns that characters can only group, join guilds, run dungeons and raid with others in the same ruleset and faction, so agree on both with friends before anyone creates a character. PvP players are also locked to one faction.

On first login you also pick an Experience Preset, Classic or Enhanced. Blizzard's advice is to start with Enhanced if you are unsure, and you can change individual settings later under Game Menu, then Options. Classic uses standard-definition character models and turns off quest guidance, while Enhanced adds higher visual fidelity and conveniences such as a single-bag inventory view. Gamepad support exists but is labeled beta.

How did launch night go?

Mostly fine, with real wrinkles. IGN's Jackie Thomas reported a short login queue at first, then a longer one that reached more than 2,000 people at one point, and players who got in saw the rulesets listed as temporarily unavailable for a while. A Blizzard support reply quoted by IGN acknowledged payment-processing trouble and blamed heavy website traffic. IGN also flagged player reports of missing reserved characters, disabled Horde character creation on some PvP servers, and a black-screen and driver-timeout thread that may point to AMD graphics hardware rather than Blizzard. A couple of hours in, IGN called it the smoothest Blizzard launch in years.

IGN's separate review is still in progress. It is based on about 30 hours of beta, carries no score yet, and the outlet says a firmer verdict will come before the December holidays.

Our take

The realmless setup is the real experiment here, and it is also the likeliest source of confusion. A ruleset and faction mismatch can split a friend group on day one, so spend two minutes agreeing on it. If you have never paid for WoW, the free launch-week code is the cheapest way to find out whether the slower, level-60 pace suits you before a subscription starts. The Collection is the only pack that looks like a limited-time buy, with its Jan. 11 end date.