Blizzard changed course: the Roleplay-PvP ruleset will be in WoW: Forever on launch day instead of arriving later. The studio added the note to its ruleset article on October 22. RP-PvP will also be open for Early Name Reservation, which starts on Tuesday, October 27.

Rulesets instead of realms

WoW: Forever has no traditional realm list. When you make a character you pick a ruleset, and each one works as a large shared population. Four are planned for launch:

  • Normal: the standard game, with PvP when you opt in;
  • PvP: contested zones are always dangerous;
  • Roleplaying: for players who want to stay in character;
  • Roleplay-PvP: roleplaying with open-world PvP.

Hardcore, where death is permanent, comes some time after launch.

Groups, dungeons and raids only form inside one ruleset. Battlegrounds can mix players from different rulesets, except Hardcore. Horde and Alliance still can't team up. Switching rulesets means rolling a new character, though collections and Legacy Points are shared across the account.

Before you create a character

On the PvP ruleset you can only make characters for one faction. If the population tips too far, Blizzard may pause character creation for one side for a while, as it did in Season of Discovery. Normal, Roleplaying and Hardcore allow both factions.

You can also set a preferred online language under Languages and Social in the options, and the game will put you near players who chose the same one. The setting has a 24-hour cooldown.

Name reservation runs through November 3, and our name reservation story covers it. WoW: Forever launches November 4 at 15:00 PT (23:00 UTC), and you can set a reminder on the game page.