System guide

WoW Forever servers and rulesets

Players choose a ruleset instead of a traditional realm: Normal, PvP, Roleplaying, or Hardcore after launch.

By · Last verified

  • Confirmed realmless structure and ruleset choices
  • 1 open question

© Blizzard Entertainment. Official World of Warcraft: Forever asset.

Before choosing a ruleset with friends

Agree on a ruleset and faction if you intend to group. Blizzard says cross-ruleset grouping is unavailable and Horde and Alliance remain separate. Blizzard says Hardcore arrives sometime after launch.

What Blizzard has described

  • Players can group, run dungeons, and raid with others in the same ruleset; cross-ruleset grouping is not supported.
  • Horde and Alliance remain separate for grouping.
  • Hardcore is a separate ecosystem; a character that dies can transfer to another ruleset, including PvP.
  • Collections and Legacy Points are account-wide across rulesets, with Hardcore as the exception described in the recap.

Not known yet

  • The recaps do not publish a launch realm list, rollout plan, or every transfer rule.

This guide records the checked sources as of 2026-09-16. It is not a complete rules manual or a substitute for later patch notes.

Sources

Claims on this page are limited to these records.

  1. Blizzard EntertainmentChecked
    World of Warcraft: Forever Deep Dive Panel Recap