Two screens before Azeroth
Nobody wants to burn their first night in a new Azeroth wondering whether a menu just locked them out of something. What this fixes: the second-guessing at the two choices World of Warcraft: Forever puts in front of you before you play. Who it’s for: anyone logging in for the first time, or coming back after years away. Blizzard lists Windows and Mac, and says the game is included with an active World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time.
Timing first. Blizzard’s launch post puts the go-live at 3:00 p.m. PST on November 4 (23:00 UTC), which is 1:00 a.m. on Thursday 5 November in South Africa. Blizzard’s table also lists 11:00 p.m. UK time on November 4 and 12:00 a.m. on November 5 in Central Europe.
Pick a look before a world
The first time you log in, Blizzard says you’ll be asked to Choose Your Experience Preset, and you make that choice before selecting your Ruleset. There are two: Classic, which Blizzard describes as “a more traditional presentation with simpler visuals, standard character models, and fewer modern interface features enabled by default,” and Enhanced, “an updated presentation with higher visual fidelity and additional interface features enabled by default.”
| Starting setting | Classic | Enhanced |
|---|---|---|
| Character models | Standard Definition | High Definition |
| Quest points of interest and objective blobs | Off | On |
| One-bag | Off | On |
| Transmog | Off | On |
| Keyboard binds default | Camera turning | Strafe movement |
| Screen UI layout | Classic | Centralized |
Here’s the part that makes it low-stakes. Blizzard calls the preset “a convenient starting point rather than locking in your choices,” and says you can change its individual settings later under Game Menu > Options. Its return-player guide also points to the Options Menu under System – Preset. After your first log-in you won’t see the screen again, so the Options menu is where changes happen.
Character models are a separate, per-character call. Each time you create a character you can choose High Definition (HD) or Standard Definition (SD) models and animations. Blizzard says that choice affects only appearance, not abilities or progression, and you can change it later in the Options Menu or at a Barbershop in game.
Our pick: Enhanced, for new and returning players alike. It’s Blizzard’s own answer if you’re unsure (“start with Enhanced”), and because the individual settings stay changeable, we see no reason to start with fewer helpers and then hunt for them. If nostalgia is the whole reason you’re back, Classic is the preset built for that, and the per-character HD or SD option means you can try both looks without redoing anything else.
A ruleset instead of a realm list
The second screen replaces the realm list. Blizzard says your journey starts with a Ruleset, and that each one “functions as a broad player ecosystem rather than a single traditional realm.” Four are available at launch:
- Normal: focus on adventuring and fighting monsters, with player-versus-player combat available at your discretion.
- PvP: focus on player-versus-player combat, with the risk of being attacked by opposing players through much of the open world.
- Roleplay: a community with naming and behavior rules for players who want to immerse themselves as characters in a fantasy world.
- Roleplay PvP: strict naming conventions and behavior rules, focused on player-versus-player combat; Blizzard says you are almost always at risk of being attacked by opposing characters.
Hardcore, the ruleset where Blizzard says a character’s journey can end with death, is listed as coming later. Blizzard’s launch post says it will become available sometime after launch, and its starter guide says details and timing will be shared later.
The rule to take seriously is about grouping. Blizzard says characters can group, join guilds, run dungeons and raid only with players on the same Ruleset and faction. If you’re playing with friends or a guild, agree on both before anyone creates a character.
Normal is the easy yes
Our pick: Normal. Blizzard’s starter guide says that if you’re unsure where to begin, Normal “offers a welcoming place to learn,” and since PvP is available at your discretion rather than constantly in play, we think that’s the right default for a first character. The Blizzard pages we read don’t say whether a Ruleset can be changed later, so this is the one choice that deserves a minute of thought. The preset doesn’t.
Returning players with a crew should let the group decide, not the individual. If your old guild is PvP people, PvP is the answer, because a mismatch stops you grouping at all. If you’re on your own, Normal costs you nothing you’d miss. Roleplay and Roleplay PvP are for people who want the naming and behavior rules; if that’s you, you already know.
If you’re juggling more than one MMO this winter, we also argued that FFXIV’s Evercold slipping three weeks was a trade worth taking.
Blizzard’s launch post says level 60 players get three raids on December 9: Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia’s Lair. That’s five weeks of levelling to settle on a crew, and we’d spend the first evening agonising over neither screen.
Details from Blizzard’s launch post, return-player guide and new player’s starter guide, checked 4 November 2026.
