How to Choose the Right Ruleset in WoW: Forever

Choose Normal if you want to level with friends and decide when to engage in open-world PvP. Choose PvP if you want encounters with the opposing faction to be part of the trip. If roleplay is central to why you're joining, pick Roleplay or Roleplay PvP based on whether you also want that outdoor combat. Check your friends' choices before creating your character. A character on a different ruleset can't join your group.

1. Agree on three things before anyone creates a character

Ask the friends you want to play with for their region, ruleset, and faction. You need all three to match for ordinary adventuring together. “I'm playing Horde” leaves two important questions unanswered. “EU, Normal, Horde” gives everyone enough information to pick the same option.

If your group is coming from Classic, you can skip the debate about individual realm names. Forever organizes players around rulesets within their region. What matters is whether the friends you intend to quest, run dungeons, or join a guild with chose the same ruleset and faction. Write the choice in your group's chat so someone who installs a day later can find it.

2. Choose the ruleset for the time between fights

Think about how you spend an ordinary evening. If you want to read quest dialogue, gather materials, or finish a route in a short session, Normal lets you control when you flag for outdoor PvP. If you enjoy calling for help when an enemy appears at a quest hub, the PvP ruleset makes those encounters part of the experience. For a roleplaying guild, decide whether the group wants the same risk before choosing between the two roleplay options.

Blizzard can temporarily limit new character creation for a faction on a PvP ruleset to manage population balance. If the faction your friends picked is unavailable, check with them before choosing the other one. Creating on the opposite faction just to get through the screen can leave you with a character that can't join them.

3. Select the ruleset in Forever

1. In Battle.net, launch World of Warcraft: Forever.
2. On your first login, choose the Classic or Enhanced experience preset if prompted. This sets options such as visuals and interface preferences.
3. At the ruleset screen, select the card your group agreed on. Double-check Roleplay versus Roleplay PvP if the names look similar at a glance.
4. Create a character on the faction you agreed to play. Before spending the evening leveling, have someone send a party invite to make sure you can play together.

The preset and the ruleset have different consequences. You can adjust individual visual or interface options later. Blizzard's launch rules do not offer ordinary character transfers between the four launch rulesets. If you've already made a character on the wrong one, create another character on the intended ruleset before investing more time in the first.

4. Check the basics if you can't join a friend

Compare the exact ruleset labels shown to each of you. A friend on Roleplay PvP is in a different ruleset from a player on PvP, even if both chose Horde. Once those labels match, confirm the game region and faction. Finally, ask your friend for the full two-part character name when entering the invitation. Matching one detail is easy, so go through them in order instead of guessing which selection caused the problem.

Hardcore is a separate ruleset planned for after launch. If you're choosing among the four launch options today, make the decision around the character and friends you intend to play with now. For more on how the rulesets handle language preferences and faction restrictions, see our Rulesets & Realms reference.