WoW Forever Launch Week Guide: What to Do First

By Expos.GG Team · 2026-11-08

A practical plan for your first week in World of Warcraft: Forever: settings, ruleset, class, professions, the new dungeons, dual spec at 40 and getting to 60 before raids open on December 9.

WoW Forever launches on November 4, 2026, and the first week is when the world is most crowded and when you set up the character you'll keep for years. A good first week isn't about rushing. It's about not wasting hours on choices you'll undo later.

Here is a step-by-step plan, from the first login screen to a level 60 character ready for raids on December 9.

Step 1: Choose your Experience Preset

On your first login, Forever asks you to choose an Experience Preset before anything else:

- Enhanced: high-definition models, quest markers and objective areas on the map, one combined bag, transmog, strafing on the keyboard and a centralized UI layout. - Classic: standard-definition models, no quest markers or objective areas, separate bags, no transmog, keyboard turning and the classic UI layout.

If you want to level quickly, pick Enhanced. Blizzard also recommends it when you're unsure. Quest markers alone save a lot of time. The preset only sets your starting options, and you can switch any of them back under Game Menu → Options. You'll only see this screen once.

Step 2: Choose your ruleset with your group

There is no realm list in WoW Forever. You choose a Ruleset: Normal, PvP, Roleplay or Roleplay PvP. Each ruleset is one large world for your whole region. Agree on the ruleset and faction with your friends or guild before you create characters, because that decides who you can play with. Hardcore comes later. Our rulesets guide goes into detail.

Step 3: Choose a class you'll still enjoy at 60

Talent trees and specs have been rebalanced so every class is viable, and there are six new race and class combinations: Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, Undead Paladin, Human Hunter, Gnome Priest and Dwarf Shaman. There's also the new Skyborne race, who can be Shaman on the Horde or Mages on the Alliance.

Pick for the long term. Ask yourself whether you want to tank, heal or deal damage in raids, whether you enjoy playing solo, and whether you'll PvP. Our Skyborne and race/class guide helps you choose.

Dual spec unlocks at level 40 from your class trainer for 10 gold. After that you can swap between two specs at any time outside combat and battlegrounds. That makes "a leveling spec now, a raid spec later" an easy plan.

Step 4: Choose your professions on day one

!Adventurers resting around a campfire at night with crafting tools, herbs and ore laid out beside them

Professions matter from day one in Forever:

- Gathering (Herbalism, Mining, Skinning) pays from level 1 and gives you gold for training and your mount. - Cooking is the base of the new Camping system. A Basic Campfire becomes a shared campsite. Nearby players can each add one profession-crafted Camp Feature, up to three in total. Sitting or crafting there for at least a minute gives you its buffs. - Crafting professions pay off later, once you have materials and gold to invest.

A common launch-week setup is two gathering professions while you level, then switching one to a crafting profession at 60. If you'd rather not grind skill points, Expos.GG can level any profession from 1 to 300.

Step 5: Use the new dungeons while leveling

Forever adds nine new five-player dungeons between level 13 and level 60. They start with The Hall of Thanes (13–18) and Ruins of Lordaeron (15–22) and end with Blackmaw Hold (55–60) and Shaper's Terrace (58–60). Running each once at the right level gives you quest rewards and gear upgrades that make questing faster afterwards. See the full dungeon list with level ranges.

Step 6: Plan your route to 60

Forever adds four new zones and more than 1,000 new quests. Riverglades alone has more than 150 for the mid-30s to mid-40s, so the zones are fresh even for Classic veterans. Our WoW Forever leveling guide covers how to plan your route by level range. Some quick tips for launch week:

- Starting zones will be packed for the first few hours. Group up for kill quests instead of competing for every spawn. - Sell everything grey and keep your bags clear. Gold is tight until you reach your mount. - Do dungeons that come with quests, so you collect the quests before you go in. - Rest at campsites with other players whenever you stop. The buffs are free.

Step 7: Start the Legacy System early

The Legacy System is new and account-wide. It rewards exploring, completing Legacy Challenges and trying different classes and professions, and unlocks Legacy Perks and Legacy Rewards. You don't need alts: every advantage can be unlocked on a single character. Check the challenges early so you aren't repeating content later to tick them off.

Step 8: Hit 60 before December 9

!A lone armored hero looking up at a distant mountain summit at sunrise

Raids open on December 9, 2026: Barrow Deeps for 10 players, Hyjal Summit for 20 and Onyxia's Lair for 40. That gives you five weeks from launch. A realistic plan is:

1. Weeks 1–3: level to 60, running dungeons as you pass their level ranges. 2. Week 4: farm the endgame dungeons (Blackmaw Hold, Shaper's Terrace, Stratholme and Scholomance) for pre-raid gear. 3. Week 5: stock consumables, find a group or guild and complete anything needed for Onyxia's Lair.

Read the WoW Forever raids guide for the details.

If you can't put the hours in

Launch week doesn't line up with everyone's job or family life. Expos.GG takes pre-orders for:

- Leveling 1–60: any range, Piloted or Remote control, standard speed or fast with two boosters. - Professions 1–300: standalone, with the skill-up materials included. - Pre-raid gear for one or two specs. - Dungeon clears: single runs, the three endgame dungeons, or all nine new ones. - Raid spots for December 9.