Realms and rulesets
Forever has no realm list. You choose a ruleset, then a faction, and play with everyone in your region who chose the same. The choice is permanent for that character (no transfers at launch), and on PvP it locks your whole account to one faction. Launch is November 4, 3:00 p.m. PST; name reservation runs Oct 27 to Nov 3.
The rulesets
| Ruleset | Available | Factions | PvP | Pick it if |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Normal PvE | Nov 4 | Both factions on one account | Opt-in: you flag yourself, or get flagged by attacking | Most players, guilds that want to level together without being camped, anyone unsure |
| PvP Open world PvP | Nov 4 | One faction only per account on this ruleset (your first character locks it) | Always flagged in contested zones; faction balance enforced (new-character creation can be paused for the larger faction, as in Season of Discovery) | Players who want Hillsbrad and Stranglethorn to be dangerous; premades and PvP guilds |
| Roleplaying RP | Nov 4 | Both factions | Opt-in, as Normal | Roleplayers; players who want a quieter, more in-character world |
| Roleplaying-PvP RP + open PvP | Nov 4 (added Oct 22) | Expected one faction per account, as PvP | Always flagged in contested zones | RP guilds that want the war to be real |
| Hardcore One life | After launch (Icy Veins expects early 2027) | Both factions | None expected (Hardcore stays out of mixed battlegrounds) | Players who want permanent consequences |
Normal
The baseline experience. Grouping, mail, auction house and world events are shared with every Normal player in your region and faction. Legacy Points and collections are account-wide with PvP and RP.
PvP
Layers are faction-balanced. Cannot roll the other faction here later, so coordinate with your guild before anyone creates a character.
Roleplaying
Naming and chat conventions apply. Same shared-ecosystem rules as Normal.
Roleplaying-PvP
Late addition announced in the Oct 22 update; available for Early Name Reservation from Oct 27. Details beyond the PvP rules are still thin.
Hardcore
Fully enclosed: progress and Legacy Points from other rulesets do not flow in, but Hardcore progress can flow out. A dead Hardcore character can transfer to any other ruleset, including PvP.
Which ruleset?
Facts that matter on day one
- Launch: Wednesday, November 4, 2026 at 3:00 p.m. PST (6:00 p.m. EST, 11:00 p.m. GMT, Thursday 10:00 a.m. AEDT). Included with an active WoW subscription or Game Time; no separate purchase.
- Early Name Reservation: October 27 to November 3 for pack buyers, first come, first served. Names are two-part (first + second) and must be unique within a region; each part can be shared. See the names and rulesets page for the rules.
- No realm list: you pick a ruleset, then a faction, and share one world with everyone in your region on that ruleset. Layers group you with guildmates and people you have played with.
- Cross-ruleset grouping is not supported for dungeons and raids. Battlegrounds can mix rulesets, except Hardcore.
- Factions stay separate: Horde and Alliance cannot group, trade or mail. Friends list cap is 600.
- Preferred Online Language: Options → Languages and Social → Preferred Online Language. Account-wide, 24-hour cooldown. You are layered with players who share it.
- Moving between rulesets: there are no transfers at launch. To play another ruleset, make a new character there. Collections and Legacy Points are account-wide (Hardcore excepted).
- Regions: Americas, Europe, Korea, Taiwan, China (NetEase) and Oceania as usual; each ruleset is one ecosystem per region. Blizzard has not published per-region realm names, because there are none.
Launch time by time zone
| Pacific (Blizzard's clock) | Wed Nov 4, 3:00 p.m. PST |
| Mountain | Wed Nov 4, 4:00 p.m. MST |
| Central | Wed Nov 4, 5:00 p.m. CST |
| Eastern | Wed Nov 4, 6:00 p.m. EST |
| UK | Wed Nov 4, 11:00 p.m. GMT |
| Central Europe | Thu Nov 5, 12:00 a.m. CET |
| Sydney | Thu Nov 5, 10:00 a.m. AEDT |
| Seoul | Thu Nov 5, 8:00 a.m. KST |
Status by ruleset as of 2026-10-27
| Ruleset | State | Queue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Normal | Not yet open | — | Opens Nov 4, 3 p.m. PST |
| PvP | Not yet open | — | Faction-balance locks possible at launch |
| Roleplaying | Not yet open | — | |
| Roleplaying-PvP | Not yet open | — | Name reservation available from Oct 27 |
| Hardcore | Not scheduled | — | After launch |
From launch day this table carries queue times, faction-creation locks, layer counts and incidents by ruleset, updated each morning by the WoW desk task and more often during launch week. Source: Blizzard CS Twitter/X, the launch forum thread and the in-game login screen.
Next
Names & rulesetsTwo-part names, reservation rulesLaunch guideChecklist for Nov 4Launch live blogQueues and hotfixes as they happenLeveling guidesEvery class, 1 to 60
Sources: Blizzard: [Updated 10/22] Choose Your Ruleset in World of Warcraft: Forever · Icy Veins: Everything you need to know about realms (Sept 18, 2026) · Blizzard: Claim your WoW Forever character names.
Ruleset rules from Blizzard's Oct 22 post; the status table starts filling on launch day. Data from talentsforever.com (CC BY 4.0), read from the WoW Forever beta client, build launch. Updated 2026-10-27. World of Warcraft is a trademark of Blizzard Entertainment; this is a fan site.