WoW Forever Beta: Level Cap 30 Since Oct 1, Ends Oct 21, How to Get In

The World of Warcraft: Forever beta opened on 17 September 2026 and closes on 21 October 2026, 5 weeks in total. Blizzard calls 21 October the last full day of testing, and its roadmap image shows 22 October. Blizzard has not published the closing hour. The level cap was 20 at the start and rose to 30 with the 1 October build.

30 is half of a 60-level game. The beta is a look at the 1st 30 levels: the reworked classes, the new starting-zone quests and the 1st 4 new dungeons. Launch follows 2 weeks after the beta closes, on 4 November at 3:00 PM PST, and every plan in this guide is measured against that date.

Blizzard raised the beta population cap again on 27 September. These are the dates left before launch.

Date	What happens
8 October, 6:00 PM PDT	PAX Aus keynote with a deep dive on a new Forever dungeon
17 to 18 October	The Forever Open: a 1v1 duel tournament on the beta PvP ruleset, level 30 Horde characters, a prize pool of 100,000 dollars
20 October	Invite-A-Friend codes start going out by email
21 October	Last full day of the beta
27 October to 3 November	Early Name Reservation, up to 3 characters
4 November, 3:00 PM PST	Launch worldwide: 23:00 UTC, 00:00 CET on 5 November

Beta access comes 2 ways. Guaranteed access ships with the Skyborne Epic Pack ($59.99), the Warcraft Forever Collection ($79.99) and the physical Collector's Edition ($150) digital code. Bundle buyers can see up to about 30 minutes of delay and may need a launcher restart.

There is also a free Battle.net opt-in. Players who have opted in can be selected, and invitations go out regularly through the test. The Heroic Pack ($29.99) does not include guaranteed beta. A subscription alone does not either.

The Collector's Edition code needs a WoW game account and works once per game account. It cannot be redeemed on an account that already has beta. Pack contents side by side: the editions guide. Dollar math: WoW Forever price.

The Warcraft Forever Collection stays on sale until 11 January 2027. The Collector's Edition box ships in February 2027.

The 1 October build opened the level 30 content. 3 new dungeons sit inside the cap: Hall of Thanes under Ironforge at 13 to 18, Ruins of Lordaeron at 15 to 20 and Excavation Site: Wetlands at 26 to 31. City of Dalaran is 28 to 33, so a level 30 sees its start. The 5 new dungeons above 33 stay closed, and so do the Riverglades, Hyjal and the raids.

The same build opened Razorfen Downs from level 25 and Uldaman from level 30. The classic dungeons below them were already open: Ragefire Chasm, Wailing Caverns, The Deadmines, Shadowfang Keep, The Stockade, Blackfathom Deeps, Gnomeregan, Razorfen Kraul and Scarlet Monastery.

Skyborne characters start on Zephras Isle, levels 1 to 12, and join the shared world from there. Every beta account owns a pack, so every beta account can create 1. Skyborne pick Horde or Alliance at creation and play Warrior, Hunter, Rogue or Druid on both sides, Shaman on the Horde and Mage on the Alliance.

Beta progress does not carry to launch. Characters, gold, professions and Legacy Points are gone when the test ends on 21 October. Everyone starts at level 1 on 4 November, on a fresh character with a fresh name.

The 1st thing that persists is name reservation on 27 October, 6 days after the beta closes, with any pack. Names go to whoever reserves them 1st, up to 3 characters. Every name is a given name plus a surname, and only the full pair must be unique in your region. The name you used in beta is not held for you. How the 2-part names work: the name reservation guide.

Invite codes are a launch benefit too. They are emailed from 20 October, and each lets a friend play Forever from 4 to 11 November without a subscription. A code is not a beta key.

Whatever level you reach in the beta, your launch character starts from 1, about 150 hours of play from 60. The raids open 5 weeks after launch, on 9 December.

Use the beta for the questions a trailer cannot answer.

• Class feel. 6 new combos are in: Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Undead Paladin. Every class was reworked, so a Classic main plays differently at 30. Warriors now gain 100% more Rage from critical strikes. At level 20, Priests get Fear Ward and Devouring Plague, Warriors get Victory Rush and Hunters get Aimed Shot.
• Talent trees. Same rows as Classic, with a new 16-point milestone. Divine Spirit, Blessing of Kings and Improved Mark of the Wild sit on the baseline kit. Talent resets cost 1 silver on the beta, so every spec is cheap to try.
• Legacy perks. Every tester gets 16 Legacy Points in a coming week. 16 is the most 1 character can spend at launch, so a full perk build is testable without leveling alts.
• Racials. Each Classic race ships 2 active racials and 2 passives in Forever. Dwarf Stoneform now cuts physical damage taken. Undead Will of the Forsaken removes Charm, Fear and Sleep and no longer grants immunity.
• Camping. A Basic Campfire opens a campsite with vendors, repairs and 1-hour buffs. The 1st profession objects come at skill 20.
• Combat pacing. Blizzard aims at 10 to 15 seconds per ordinary mob for a solo player. Check it on your class.
• Dungeons. Since 1 October, dungeon quests give 50% less of their extra XP. Mob XP inside is low, so beta groups skip trash and go from boss to boss. Clear each 1 time for the quests and the blue drops. Repeats pay little.
• Group finder. Forever has no Dungeon Finder. You list a group and invite players by hand. Observed on the beta since 1 October: every listing picks a playstyle, Learning, Relaxed, Competitive or Carry Offered.
• PvP. Honor costs rose about 50% on 1 October, and the Honor cap is now 25,000. Rank Points climb the 14 ranks with a weekly cap. The new 15v15 battleground, Battle for the Darkspear Islands, is for levels 30 to 60.

Skip riding tests: Blizzard has not published the riding level or its gold cost. Skip gold farming you expect to keep, because the beta economy closes on 21 October. On live servers, the one thing that gets an account in trouble is a large amount of gold arriving from nowhere. That means a hand trade from a seller, gold by mail or gold dumped through the auction house. Our gold never arrives that way. A Pro farms it on your own character through normal play. How it works: how to buy WoW Forever gold safely.

The beta ends on 21 October. Name reservation opens on 27 October and closes on 3 November. Launch is 4 November at 3:00 PM PST with a level cap of 60. That is 23:00 UTC, and midnight CET on 5 November in Europe. Every region opens at that moment, and Forever has no early access. The raids open on 9 December: Barrow Deeps for 10 players, Hyjal Summit for 20 and Onyxia's Lair for 40 on Blizzard's roadmap slide. Korea and Taiwan get them on 10 December, local time. Blizzard has not announced the unlock hour.

1 to 60 is about 150 hours of play. On your own at 3 hours a night that is 7 weeks, so a launch-day character reaches 60 around 24 December, 2 weeks after the raids open. The beta is where those hours get checked. Since the 1 October build, dungeon quests give less extra XP, and open-world quests carry the climb. We re-check the 1 to 60 figure on the beta on 20 September, 6 October and 22 October, and a placed pre-order never goes up.

The class you settle on in beta is the class you reserve on 27 October and level from 4 November. Fastest classes and the route by bracket: the leveling speed guide.

We do not sell beta access. If you own the Epic Pack or the Collection, coaching at $29 an hour puts a Pro on your talent build and your dungeon routes before launch. You play in your own beta client, on your own character.

If your account has beta access and you would rather test at 30 than level to it, beta leveling puts a Pro on your beta character. 1 to 30 takes about 4 days with 1 booster, and you can pick any bracket on the slider. Orders close on 17 October, so a full run ends before the beta does. Beta characters are wiped on 21 October.

How a Pro plays your character. Every order runs in our own gaming hubs, built to deliver services safely under physical supervision. Each buyer gets a dedicated PC that plays only that buyer's account. It connects through a unique residential IP address in your own city, a real home connection. To the game, the Pro looks exactly like a family member playing from home in your city. Play is by hand, with no software, bots or automation. 2FA stays on, we ask for the code in chat, and the Pro plays in appear offline. Remote control (Parsec) keeps your login on your own PC for +30%. We guarantee the safety of your account.

For launch day, leveling opens in the builder: Custom order from $49, full 1 to 60 at $299 with 1 booster in 14 days or $420 with 2 boosters in 7 days.