Official news · Blizzard
New Player’s Starter Guide: Welcome to World of Warcraft: Forever
Blizzard publishes a starter guide for newcomers to WoW Forever, from first login to grouping. It restates launch rules and announces nothing new.
Highlights
- At first login you pick a Classic or Enhanced experience preset; Blizzard suggests Enhanced if unsure
- Normal, PvP, Roleplay and Roleplay-PvP rulesets open at launch, with Hardcore coming later
- Grouping, guilds, dungeons and raids work only within your own ruleset and faction
- Skyborne start on Zephras Isle (level 1–12) and need the Heroic Pack or a higher upgrade
- Every character has a main name and a secondary name, unique together in the region
- Two primary professions per character, plus all three secondary ones
What this means for players
Nothing in the guides changes: this post sums up rules Blizzard had already set out. If you and a friend plan to play together, settle the ruleset and the faction before either of you makes a character, because nothing crosses either line. Skyborne players should check they own the Heroic Pack or higher first.
Getting into the game
WoW Forever comes with an active World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time. You install it through the Blizzard desktop app and choose WoW Forever from the game versions there. It runs on Windows and Mac with keyboard and mouse, and controller support is available as a beta.
Experience presets
The first login asks for an experience preset, before the ruleset. Classic starts with Standard Definition models, quest objective markers, the single bag and transmog all off, keyboard turning and the classic screen layout. Enhanced starts with High Definition models, those features on, keyboard strafing and a centered layout. The preset only sets starting options: each one can be changed later in the options, and the screen does not appear again after the first login.
Rulesets
The ruleset is chosen before the character and decides how PvP works and which community rules apply. Normal, PvP, Roleplay and Roleplay-PvP are available at launch. Hardcore, where death can end a character, is planned for later, and Blizzard says its details and timing will come later. Players can group, join guilds and enter dungeons or raids only with others on the same ruleset and faction.
Character creation
Skyborne choose a faction when they are created: Horde Skyborne can be 
Shamans and Alliance Skyborne can be 
Mages. Both start on Zephras Isle, a level 1–12 zone, and playing one needs the Heroic Pack or a higher upgrade. Each character can use High Definition or Standard Definition models, which changes looks only and can be switched later in the options or at a Barbershop. Names have two parts, a main name and a secondary name, and the pair must be unique in the region. The secondary name can be hidden from your nameplate, but it still shows in chat.
Dying and resurrecting
After releasing your spirit you appear at a nearby graveyard and can run back to your corpse to return to life next to it. You can instead resurrect at the graveyard's Spirit Healer, which costs equipment durability and may give 
Resurrection Sickness, a temporary effect that sharply weakens you.
Professions and campsites
A character may take up to two primary professions, and every one of the three secondary ones: 
Cooking, 
Fishing and 
First Aid. The gathering professions are 
Herbalism, 
Mining and 
Skinning; the crafting ones are 
Alchemy, 
Blacksmithing, 
Enchanting, 
Engineering, 
Leatherworking and 
Tailoring. The guide says professions also contribute features at campsites, where players can rest, share profession-made benefits and trade.
Where the journey goes
Besides the familiar zones, the guide names the Riverglades, Shen'Dralas and Mount Hyjal as places later adventures may lead. Dungeons are spread across a range of levels and are generally run in groups of five.
Not announced yet
- When Hardcore arrives, and how it will work beyond a death that can end a character.
Guides this affects
PriestRelated news
This is our own summary of what Blizzard posted, not Blizzard's text. The original is the authority.