Update, October 17: Blizzard has moved the stress test from October 19 to Wednesday, October 21. The start times are unchanged, and this article has been updated with the new date.
Anyone curious about Blizzard’s new take on classic Azeroth will get a free look next week. Blizzard’s World of Warcraft: Forever stress test now takes place on Wednesday, October 21, two days later than the October 19 date it first announced, and it is open to every player. No subscription, Game Time, invitation or beta access is required, according to the official announcement on Blizzard News, which Blizzard revised on October 16 to note the new date. It did not give a reason for the move.
That is a big change from how access has worked so far. The WoW: Forever beta, which began on September 17, has been limited to players who bought one of the higher-priced upgrade editions. The stress test is the first time Blizzard is letting everyone in before the game’s November 4 launch.
WoW Forever stress test start times
The test begins at the same moment worldwide on October 21, which works out to these local times:
- North America: 2:00 p.m. PDT (4:00 p.m. CDT, 5:00 p.m. EDT)
- Europe: 19:00 CEST
- Korea: 06:00 KST on October 22
- Taiwan: 05:00 CST on October 22
Blizzard has not given a fixed end time. It says the window “may end earlier or run later as needed,” so plan for a session of a few hours rather than a full day. The regular beta will go offline shortly before the stress test starts and should come back shortly after it ends.
How to join the stress test
You only need a Battle.net account and the Battle.net desktop app. Blizzard’s steps are:
- Update your graphics drivers.
- Open the Battle.net app and let it update if prompted.
- Select World of Warcraft from your games list.
- In the Game Version menu above the Play button, choose World of Warcraft: Forever Stress Test under In Development, then select Install.
- Once the test is live, press Play, pick an available test realm and create a new character.
Installing ahead of time is a good idea, since the whole point of the event is to pack the servers at once. Blizzard is openly asking players to bring friends and guilds along.
Your characters will not carry over
Everything made during the stress test is temporary. When it ends, Blizzard will wipe all characters, names and guilds from the test servers to prepare for Early Name Reservation, which opens on October 27. If you grab a name you love during the test, you will need to claim it again later.
Early Name Reservation runs from October 27 through November 3 and is limited to players who pre-purchase the Skyborne Heroic Pack, the Skyborne Epic Pack or the limited-time Warcraft Forever Collection. Those players can create and customize up to three characters before launch. Names are first come, first served.
What is World of Warcraft: Forever?
Blizzard describes WoW: Forever as a new permanent version of the game that sits alongside modern World of Warcraft and WoW Classic. It returns players to a reimagined version of the original continents, set after the events of Warcraft III Reforged: Forsaken Kingdom and before the Molten Core raid. The level cap is 60, and Blizzard plans to keep adding new regions, dungeons, raids and stories over time.
Access at launch is included with a regular World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time. The optional upgrades add extras on top. The Skyborne Heroic Pack, which Wowhead reports costs $29.99, unlocks the new Skyborne race and its Zephras Isle starting zone, along with a mount, cosmetics and one Invite-A-Friend Launch Code. The Skyborne Epic Pack and Warcraft Forever Collection add beta access, 30 days of Game Time and more, as laid out in Blizzard’s edition breakdown.
Key WoW: Forever dates
- October 20: Invite-A-Friend Launch Codes start arriving by email for upgrade buyers
- October 21: Free stress test for all players, and the last full day of the beta
- October 27 to November 3: Early Name Reservation for upgrade buyers
- November 4: Global launch at 3:00 p.m. PST (5:00 p.m. CST)
The Invite-A-Friend codes are another way in for people who don’t subscribe. Friends who redeem one can play WoW: Forever without a subscription or Game Time during launch week, from November 4 through November 11.
WoW: Forever is the latest piece of a busy stretch for Blizzard’s Warcraft games. Modern WoW players recently got Midnight Patch 12.1.5, and the studio had to roll back Warcraft III Patch 3.0.1 earlier this month. Wednesday’s stress test is the easiest way yet to see whether WoW: Forever is worth a subscription before it launches.
