WoW: Forever opens on November 4 at 3:00 p.m. PST (midnight CET on November 5, 23:00 UTC). Some choices you make in the first minutes stick with your character for good. Here is our list.
1. Preset: Classic or Enhanced
On first login you pick an experience preset. Classic gives original models, no quest markers on the map, separate bags and the classic interface; Enhanced gives HD models, quest markers, one combined bag, transmog and a centered interface. Both can be changed later, and the model choice is per character.
Our take: if this is your first time in this world, Enhanced; Blizzard says the same. If you played Classic, try the Classic preset for the first ten levels. Finding a quest objective yourself is half the charm, and you can switch whenever it stops being charming.
2. Ruleset: the one choice you cannot undo
Normal, PvP, Roleplay or Roleplay PvP; Hardcore comes later. You only group, run dungeons and raid with players on the same ruleset and faction, and there is no switching: a new ruleset means a new character. On PvP, an account plays one faction only.
Our take: pick the ruleset your friends or your guild picked. If you have neither, Normal for a calm start, PvP if world PvP is the reason you are back. The new camping system makes PvP rulesets more interesting: enemy players can find your camp.
3. Race and class
Six new combinations: Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman and Gnome Priest for the Alliance, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Undead Paladin for the Horde, plus the Skyborne (Shaman on the Horde side, Mage on the Alliance side, and Druid, Hunter, Rogue and Warrior on both). See our racial ranking and the class pages.
4. The first half hour
- New spells are not added to your action bars automatically any more. Open the spellbook (P) after every training visit.
- Budget for training. Every class pays between 206 and 207 gold in total for class abilities from 1 to 60.
- Learn Cooking early. At skill 1 your Cooking Fire becomes a Basic Campfire, and sitting at a camp with friends' Camp Features gives real buffs.
- Your first Legacy point usually comes at level 25 (or at 150 in a crafting profession). Our Legacy perk guide has our picks.
- Talents. Open the calculator and plan your first ten points before you hit level 10.
5. Expect a rough first night
Every launch has queues and disconnects, and Blizzard has said it will avoid big tuning changes before the raids open, apart from bugs and outliers. Do not reroll because your class feels weak at level 12. The first real balance pass comes once players are past level 30.