Choosing Your Character Name and Ruleset in WoW Forever

World of Warcraft Forever is different from every other version of the game when it comes to servers and character names. These differences can significantly affect your choice of server, character name, and faction. The most notable changes are realmless rulesets (megaservers), first and last names, and faction lock on PvP servers.

Guide Contents

• Regions in WoW Forever
• Servers in WoW Forever
• Which Ruleset Should You Choose in WoW Forever?
• Character Names in WoW Forever

How Regions Work in WoW Forever

Regions in WoW Forever work the same as in other versions of WoW. You need a separate WoW account for each region, and if you have multiple WoW accounts, you can choose the one you want to launch from the drop-down menu above the Play button in battle.net when you go to launch the game.

New World of Warcraft accounts are created on the battle.net website. You can have multiple WoW accounts under a single battle.net account. Note that each WoW account has its own progress and needs its own subscription, nothing is shared between WoW accounts. Because a single account cannot exist in multiple regions, each region requires a separate subscription and does not share progress.

In WoW Forever Beta, there is only one region, but full launch will have the usual region set with local servers.

How Servers Work in WoW Forever

Servers, or Realms, in World of Warcraft Forever are region-based megaservers based on rulesets.

When you create a character, you are asked to choose a ruleset: Normal (PvE), PvP, RP, or Hardcore. Each of these exists as a separate server within the region, e.g. Normal-EU is one big server. Other versions of WoW split players to a large number of Realms, but in WoW Forever, you play on the same server with everyone else in your region who has selected the same ruleset.

Layering: The megaservers are made possible by layering: you do not actually see all players in the world. Layers are added and removed dynamically depending on player numbers. Factors that affect the players you see in the world also include your chosen language preference in the settings, your guild, and players you have grouped up with previously.

The only interaction with players from other rulesets happens on PvP Battlegrounds. Hardcore players are completely separate until their character dies, at which point that character cannot continue on Hardcore, but can be moved to any other ruleset. No other transfers between rulesets are possible.

Which Ruleset/Server Should You Choose in WoW Forever?

The majority of new players should choose Normal. It is the most forgiving environment to learn the game and also generally for playing at your own pace.

Normal Ruleset:

• In most areas, other players cannot attack you
• You can opt-in to PvP combat with /pvp - this is a toggle that must be undone with another /pvp command if you wish to stop
• You also become flagged for PvP combat if you enter an area that belongs to the other faction, such as their capital cities, or if you attack a target flagged for PvP, such as faction town guards
• The PvP flag is removed after 5 minutes of no player-vs-player combat
• Dedicated PvP Battlegrounds exist and can be queued into

PvP Ruleset:

• You are automatically flagged for PvP in all areas that are not sanctuaries or owned by your faction
• You can expect to get jumped on, ganked, and corpse-camped while questing - and you can freely do that to others
• You can only have characters on one faction: if you have an Alliance character on the PvP ruleset, you cannot create a Horde character on the PvP ruleset in the same region

RP Ruleset:

• RP ruleset mainly follows Normal rules
• You are expected to roleplay your character
• The roleplay expectations include your character name, so no funny puns as names
• RP ruleset is generally the most chill and social environment, provided that you roleplay your character

Hardcore Ruleset:

• Hardcore ruleset mainly follows Normal rules
• Your character has one life: if you die, your character cannot continue on the server
• Dead hardcore characters can be transferred to other rulesets and continue there
• Battlegrounds are not available in Hardcore
• If you consent to PvP and die in PvP, your character is dead
• Hardcore is not available at launch

Character Names in WoW Forever

All characters in World of Warcraft Forever must have a first name and a last name. No other WoW servers have had two-part names before.

Rules for Character Names in WoW Forever

There are some rules you must follow for your character name in WoW Forever:

• Each name has to be 2-12 characters long
• You cannot use the same character three times in a row
• Numerals and most special characters are not available, including apostrophes and hyphens
• Accented letters can be used, such as öäåá
• There is a large list of invalid names that includes various curse words, obscenities, real-life trademarks, and in-game titles - you cannot use words like McDonalds, King, or Sergeant as part of your name
• All character names are unique region-wide, even across rulesets! The name you use on the Normal ruleset in the EU region is not available to anyone, including yourself, on the PvP ruleset in the EU region. It is, however, available in the US region.

Even if your name passes the technical requirements, it may still be inappropriate. Offensive or obscene names are not allowed. Names that confuse or impersonate a real person are also not allowed. Even if you are able to create a character, you may later be forced to change your name or, more rarely, even get your account banned for some of the worst imaginative uses of the naming system.

Naming Your Character On The RP Ruleset

If you are on the RP ruleset, the naming rules are more strict, as the name has to be a believable name for a person in the imaginary world. Outside of the RP ruleset, character names can be witty puns and not namelike, as long as they are not offensive. Wash Yurback and Melee Hunterelf are perfectly valid names on a non-RP ruleset.

Can You Change Your Name In WoW Forever?

It is currently not possible to change the name of your character in World of Warcraft Forever. Blizzard sells paid character name change services on Modern realms and on the Progression versions of Classic realms, but no such service is available on Classic Era servers or in World of Warcraft Forever.