THE WOW FOREVER COLLECTION · FIELD GUIDE · RESEARCH CHECKED OCTOBER 24, 2026
Short answer: WoW Forever's Early Name Reservation opens on Tuesday, October 27 at 1:00 p.m. PDT in North America and 18:00 CET in Europe, and runs until November 3. You need one of the paid packs (Skyborne Heroic, Skyborne Epic, or the Warcraft Forever Collection, including the Collector's Edition). A beta invite on its own doesn't count. Each account can create three characters in total across every ruleset, names are a first and last name that must be unique across your whole region, and it's first come, first served. If you're rolling on the PvP ruleset, remember that your first PvP character also locks your faction there.
The beta closed on October 23. In the farewell post, Kaivax said Blizzard will "open access to the character creation system on Tuesday, October 27, allowing everyone plenty of time to select the ruleset that will define your journey and snag the name that best fits your adventurer." So you aren't just claiming a name in a box: you are making real characters, with a race, class and ruleset, that you'll log into on November 4.
Start times
| Region | Opens | Same moment in UTC |
|---|---|---|
| North America | Tuesday, October 27, 1:00 p.m. PDT (4:00 p.m. EDT) | 20:00 UTC |
| Europe | Tuesday, October 27, 18:00 CET | 17:00 UTC |
| Korea | Wednesday, October 28, 07:00 KST | October 27, 22:00 UTC |
| Taiwan | Wednesday, October 28, 07:00 CST | October 27, 23:00 UTC |
Europe opens three hours before North America. Names are unique per region, so an EU player can't take your NA name, and vice versa. Reservation closes on November 3, and the game launches the next day. Our release date and timeline page has the full launch schedule, including the December 9 raid unlock.
Who can reserve
Blizzard's announcement lists three products: the Skyborne Heroic Pack, the Skyborne Epic Pack and the limited-time Warcraft Forever Collection. The fine print says a "Digital Upgrade or Collector's Edition" purchase is required and that the benefit "only applies to the specific WoW account it was purchased for." If you have several WoW accounts under one Battle.net login, check which one the pack went to.
The cheapest way in is the $29.99 Heroic Pack. It has no beta access, but it does include name reservation. The Heroic vs Epic breakdown shows every difference between the packs.
Two questions keep coming up on the forums:
- Does a beta key count? No. Blizzard's customer support answered this on October 7: "To be eligible for Early Name Reservation (there isn't any early access associated with that), you need to own one of the packs, Skyborne, Collection, or Collector's Edition."
- Do I need an active subscription? Blizzard hasn't said so. The announcement and that support answer only mention owning a pack. Several players whose game time runs out before November 4 asked this in an October 23 thread, and nobody from Blizzard said a sub was needed. If you can't get into the client on the 27th, check your subscription before you assume anything else is wrong, but there's no sign it will be required.
How Forever names work
Every character has two names, and the pair together is what has to be unique. Blizzard's naming article puts it this way: "What matters is the complete two-name combination." Someone may already be "Kael Ashfield," but "Kael Stonehoof" can still be free. Because Forever has no server list, uniqueness covers the whole region, not one realm.
A few rules from that article are worth knowing before the 27th:
- The usual code of conduct for names still applies, and Blizzard says the system "can also evaluate both parts of the name together, so separating a restricted word across the two names will not necessarily make it valid." Warcraft Tavern reports that some players lost beta access over their names, so don't push your luck.
- You can hide your second name in the world under Options, then Nameplates, by unchecking "My Secondary Name." It still shows in chat.
- A shared surname works well for alts or a guild theme. Blizzard's own example is a family of three characters with the surname Brightvale.
Blizzard's announcement is plain about it: names are "first-come, first-served, and desired names cannot be guaranteed." Checking that a name is available does not hold it for you while you pick hair colours. If you want a short or popular first name, have the full combination ready and make that character first.
Three slots, shared across every ruleset
This is the part most likely to catch people out. From Blizzard's post: you can reserve "up to three characters total across all Rulesets. This means that if you create two on a PvP Ruleset, you'll only be able to create one more character in a Normal or Role-Play Ruleset." Blizzard adds that "this restriction only applies to Early Name Reservation," which suggests the cap goes away at launch. That's a fair reading of the wording, but Blizzard hasn't spelled out the post-launch limit.
The rulesets you should be able to pick on October 27:
| Ruleset | Notes for reservation day |
|---|---|
| Normal | Both factions allowed |
| PvP | One faction per account. Your first PvP character locks the other faction out on that ruleset |
| Roleplaying | PvE roleplay. Both factions allowed |
| Roleplay-PvP | Added on October 22. Blizzard says it plans to have it available for reservation on the 27th |
| Hardcore | Not at launch, so nothing to reserve yet |
Blizzard's ruleset article is direct about the PvP lock: "Once you create an Alliance character on the PvP ruleset, you won't be able to create a Horde character there, and vice versa." Reservation creates real characters, so the lock should apply from the moment you make your first PvP character. Settle your faction with your friends or guild before you log in. Blizzard has also said the PvP ruleset will use Season of Discovery style faction balance, where character creation for one faction can be paused for a while. It hasn't said whether that could kick in during reservation week, so if a faction gets lopsided early, being one of the first through the door may matter.
Whether Roleplay-PvP has its own faction lock hasn't been announced. A forum thread asking for one had passed 200 posts by October 24, and Blizzard hadn't answered it. Our RP-PvP explainer covers that debate and why Blizzard changed its mind.
Two more things decide which ruleset each slot should go to:
- Rulesets don't mix for group content. You can only group, run dungeons and raid with players on the same ruleset. Battlegrounds can pull in players from other rulesets (but never Hardcore). If your friends are going Normal, a PvP character won't be able to dungeon with them.
- You can't move a character between rulesets. The only exception Blizzard has mentioned is a dead Hardcore character, once Hardcore exists.
How to reserve, step by step
- Update your graphics drivers and the Battle.net desktop app before the 27th, not at 1:00 p.m. on the day.
- In Battle.net, select World of Warcraft, then pick World of Warcraft: Forever from the Game Version menu above the Play button and install it. If you were in the beta, the beta client was a separate install; Blizzard hasn't said whether you can reuse it, so update or install the live Forever client as instructed.
- Press Play when reservation opens and choose your ruleset.
- Create up to three characters with the names you want.
While you're in the menus, set your language preference under Options, then Languages and Social. It's account-wide, it affects which players you share the world with, and Blizzard says it has a 24-hour cooldown.
How we'd spend three slots
There's no right answer, but here's what we'd think about first:
- Main first, and fast. Make the character whose name you care most about in the first few minutes. Get the alts done after that.
- Don't spend a slot on a maybe. If you're torn between PvP and RP-PvP, or still waiting to see where your guild lands, keep one slot free. You have until November 3.
- Pick the class now. You're choosing race and class on the 27th, not only a name. If you're still stuck, the best race for each class page and the class randomizer can help, and the tier list reflects the final beta builds.
- Have two backup surnames. Expect the obvious combinations to go early. A less common surname is the easiest way to keep the first name you actually want.
What Blizzard hasn't said yet
- Whether you can delete and remake a reserved character during the window to free up a slot.
- The character limit per ruleset after November 4.
- Whether Roleplay-PvP is definitely on the list on day one. Blizzard's October 22 update says "we also plan to make it so," which is a plan, not a promise.
- Whether PvP faction balance limits can apply during reservation week.
We'll update this guide once reservation goes live on the 27th and those answers show up in the client.
Sources: Blizzard, Claim Your World of Warcraft: Forever Character Names (October 20, 2026); Kaivax, Thank You For Testing the WoW Forever Beta (October 23, 2026); Blizzard, [Updated 10/22] Choose Your Ruleset in World of Warcraft: Forever (update dated October 22, 2026); Blizzard, Create a Name of Your Own in WoW: Forever (September 21, 2026); Vrakthris (Blizzard customer support), reply on Early Name Reservation eligibility (October 7, 2026); Blizzard forums, Subscription required for Early Name Reservation? (October 23, 2026) and RP-PvP & PvP Faction Lock (October 22 to 24, 2026); Warcraft Tavern, Early Name Reservation Details Announced for WoW Forever (October 20, 2026); Massively Overpowered, WoW Forever winds down beta, runs stress test today and preps name reservation for next week (October 21, 2026).