Quick answer: World of Warcraft: Forever goes live worldwide on November 4, 2026 at 3 PM PT (5 PM CT, 6 PM ET, 11 PM GMT). It is included with an active WoW subscription or Game Time, and you install it from the Battle.net app by picking WoW: Forever in the Game Version menu. Blizzard’s final notes before launch raise damage for every class, remove Shaman Lava Burst, give Rogues a new Shank ability and boost tank threat. Raids open December 9. Current as of Blizzard’s November 3 development notes.
World of Warcraft: Forever launches tomorrow, and Blizzard used its last set of beta development notes to change a lot more than bug fixes. Every class got more damage, a few signature abilities are gone, and tanks will feel different on day one. Here is when you can log in, how to get the game installed, and what changed in the final pre-launch update, class by class.
WoW Forever release time in every region
Blizzard is launching every region at the same moment, 23:00 UTC on November 4.
- US Pacific: 3 PM, November 4
- US Central: 5 PM, November 4
- US Eastern: 6 PM, November 4
- Brazil: 8 PM, November 4
- UK: 11 PM, November 4
- Central Europe: midnight, November 5
- Korea: 8 AM, November 5
- Australia (AEDT): 10 AM, November 5
How to install WoW Forever before launch
- Open the Battle.net desktop app (Windows or Mac) and sign in.
- Select World of Warcraft.
- In the Game Version menu, choose WoW: Forever, then click Install.
- Let it finish now so you are not downloading at 5 PM CT with everyone else. You cannot log in until launch.
You do not need to buy a separate game. Blizzard says WoW Forever is included with an active World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time. The paid Skyborne packs are optional upgrades, and the Warcraft Forever Collection is on sale through January 11, 2027. If a friend bought a pack, their Invite-A-Friend Launch Code lets an eligible player try Forever without a subscription from November 4 to November 11.
What changed in the final pre-launch update
Blizzard posted its last beta development notes on November 2 (early November 3 UTC). The big picture: Blizzard decided that holding every class to Classic power budgets made too many iconic abilities feel weak, so it raised damage across all classes and increased the health of higher level creatures to compensate. Blizzard also says some earlier changes leaned too fast on Burning Crusade and Wrath era ideas, and it rolled some of those back.
- No big tuning until raids: outside of bugs and serious outliers, Blizzard does not plan big tuning changes before raids open next month. A larger pass will come once enough players are past level 30.
- Training costs: training every class ability from 1 to 60 now costs between 206 and 207 gold for every class.
- Action bars: new spells are no longer added to your bars automatically.
- Bags: new bags no longer auto equip. You have to put them in a slot yourself.
- Respawns: faster respawn rates in many zones for the launch rush, fastest in starting zones. Blizzard will slow low level zones back down once the surge settles.
- Gamepad: Blizzard says gamepad support has reached a “complete functional state,” covering movement, spells, interaction and menus, with settings in Edit Mode and Options.
WoW Forever class changes explained
- Shaman: Lava Burst is removed. Elemental gets Call of Thunder instead (+5% crit on Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning), and Lightning Overload now triggers 10/20/30% of the time (was 3/7/10%). Lightning Bolt’s max rank hits 80% harder. Chain Lightning now has a 2.5 second cast. Enhancement’s Mental Dexterity now gives up to 150% of Intellect as attack power.
- Rogue: new Shank ability at level 24. It costs 5 Energy, has a 10 second cooldown, hits with your off hand for 50% weapon damage, cannot miss and gives back 15 Energy (25 at rank 2, level 44). A new passive, Poised, cuts the cost of your next Energy ability by 10 when you are out of combat at full Energy. Deadly and Instant Poison scaling doubled.
- Paladin: Blessing of Salvation, Mass Salvation and Revoke are removed. Righteous Fury now gives +33% threat plus 90% extra threat from Holy damage.
- Warrior: Defensive Stance threat bonus goes from 30% to 80%. Slam’s cooldown drops to 15 seconds (was 18).
- Druid: Bear and Dire Bear Form threat bonus goes from 50% to 115%, again to make up for Salvation leaving. Shred, Claw and Ravage hit much harder, and Rip, Rake, Ferocious Bite and Pounce get about 25% more damage. Lacerate is now a Feral talent.
- Hunter: Aimed Shot bonus damage up about 110%, Arcane Shot up about 30%, and all traps now share one 30 second cooldown.
- Mage: Frost Blast is removed, and Arcane Blast’s stacking mana cost is cut to 100% per stack (was 175%).
- Warlock: Wrack’s damage at level 60 jumps from 36 to 86 per second, and Shadow and Flame now adds up to 20% Fire or Shadow damage.
- Priest: Binding Heal is replaced by Holy Binding, and Shadow Word: Death now costs 30% of your max health if it fails to kill (was 10%).
What it means for tanks: with Salvation gone, DPS players cannot lean on a threat reduction buff anymore. Blizzard pushed the tank side up instead (Defensive Stance, Bear Form, Righteous Fury), so pulls should be steadier, but DPS that open too hard will still pull aggro.
What comes after launch
There are no raids on day one. On December 9, level 60 players get three: Barrow Deeps (10 players), Hyjal Summit (20 players) and Onyxia’s Lair (40 players). The Hardcore ruleset arrives sometime after launch, so at launch you pick from Normal, PvP, Roleplay and Roleplay PvP. If you played the October stress test, our stress test rundown covers what was in that build.
Sources: Blizzard forums, WoW Forever Beta Development Notes (Nov 2 update), Blizzard News, WoW Forever goes live November 4, Blizzard New Player’s Starter Guide, Blizzard pre-purchase details, Blizzard raid overview. Image: Blizzard Entertainment.
