WoW Forever name reservation: start times, eligible packs and steps

Start times by region

Blizzard gives one start time per region, not a single global moment: Europe opens three hours before North America. Use the row for the region you play in. Blizzard’s post gives November 3 as the last day but no closing hour.

Europe returns to winter time on October 25, so 18:00 CET is 17:00 UTC. North America is still on daylight time on October 27; that is why Blizzard writes PDT here and PST for the November 4 launch.

Who can reserve a name

Blizzard’s October 20 post opens Early Name Reservation to players who pre-purchase the Skyborne Heroic Pack, the Skyborne Epic Pack or the limited-time Warcraft Forever Collection. It does not list a subscription or Game Time alone as qualifying.

Its footnote reads: “Purchase of World of Warcraft: Forever Digital Upgrade or Collector’s Edition required.” It adds that the benefit applies only to the specific WoW account the purchase was made for. Blizzard does not say how that wording maps onto the three packs. If you have several WoW accounts on one Battle.net login, launch the one the pack was bought for.

Blizzard’s September pre-purchase post described reservation more broadly, as part of any upgrade purchase. Blizzard’s October 23 forum message says character creation opens on October 27, leaving time to pick a ruleset and a name; it links to the reservation post without restating who qualifies. Neither text changes the October 20 terms, so plan on needing an eligible pack until Blizzard says otherwise.

How to reserve, step by step

These are Blizzard’s preparation steps. They end with character creation: reserving a name does not let you play before November 4.

1. 01

   Update your graphics drivers

   Blizzard lists this first, before installing the client.

2. 02

   Install or update Battle.net

   Install the Battle.net desktop app if needed, open it and let it update.

3. 03

   Install World of Warcraft: Forever

   Select World of Warcraft. In the Game Version menu above Play, choose World of Warcraft: Forever, then Install. This is the Forever entry, not the beta client used until October 23.

4. 04

   Choose your ruleset

   When installation is complete, select Play and choose the ruleset for your character.

5. 05

   Create up to three characters

   Enter your full two-part name. If it is taken or refused, try one of your backup combinations.

Three characters across all rulesets

The limit is three characters in total, not three per ruleset. Blizzard’s example: create two on PvP and you can make only one more, on Normal or Role-Play. This cap applies only during Early Name Reservation.

On October 22, Blizzard added a Roleplay-PvP ruleset for launch and said it is working to let players select it and reserve names there from October 27. That is a stated goal, not a guarantee; the reservation post, published two days earlier, names only PvP, Normal and Role-Play.

Rulesets are separate spaces: you cannot group for dungeons or raids across them, and switching later means creating a new character. On PvP, your first character fixes the faction you can create there.

Choose a full name before the window opens

Forever uses a first name and a secondary name. The complete pair must be unique across your region, not merely on a realm. Another player using your first name does not rule out your own combination.

Prepare a few complete pairs before your region opens. Blizzard has not said whether a reserved name can be changed later.

Blizzard has forced name changes during the beta and removed beta access in some severe cases. Check both parts of your proposed name against its Code of Conduct; acceptance by the name field alone is no guarantee the name will remain valid.

What about the name you used in beta?

The beta closed on October 23. Blizzard has announced no transfer of beta characters or names to launch, and the stress-test characters of October 21 were deleted, names included. If a name matters to you, reserve it in the October 27–November 3 window.

Naming rules still apply to both parts and to the combined name. Blizzard may reject restricted words, impersonation or other combinations covered by its naming policy.