World of Warcraft: Forever Launches November 4 With a New Arena and Two Raids

World of Warcraft: Forever launches on November 4, Blizzard Entertainment has said. The launch is set for 3:00 p.m. PST, according to Blizzard's What's Next panel recap. The game is an online role-playing game where thousands of players share one persistent fantasy world.

The run-up has its own calendar. Upgrade pre-purchases run from October 19 through November 2, according to Blizzard's WoW news page. Early name reservations open on October 27 and close on November 3, and let players claim names for up to three characters. The Midnight 12.1.5 content update is available from October 27 through November 3.

Blizzard also held a stress test on October 21. A stress test is a trial session that shows how servers cope with heavy traffic. Anyone could join without a subscription, Game Time (a prepaid playtime card), an invitation or beta access.

The headline addition is Riverglades, a new zone that players can enter around level 36. Blizzard released a video, "Your Leveling Journey Past 30", that walks through the area and its roots in Warcraft 2, the earlier strategy game in the series. Riverglades is contested. The Brotherhood of the Horse holds it for the Alliance, and the Boulder Rock ogre clan holds it for the Horde, according to GameSpot.

Deep in Boulder Rock territory sits the Bloodmasters Ring. Blizzard describes it as a fighting ring where players prove their strength against the ogres' best brawlers. Wowhead first reported the arena and its Ring of Blood style.

The idea has a long history in the game. In The Burning Crusade, the Ring of Blood quest chain had players assemble a full group in Nagrand, battle boss after boss, and rise through the ranks to become champion. Later arena-style quests followed: the Amphitheater of Anguish in Wrath of the Lich King and the Crucible of Carnage in Cataclysm. The Ring of Blood itself returned in Warlords of Draenor.

For players who reach the top end, Onyxia's Lair requires attunement, a set of steps that unlocks entry. In Forever, that attunement comes through the Drakefire Amulet, and Blizzard warns players to bring fire resistance gear. Two new raids, which are group challenges for larger teams, also arrive with the game. Barrow Deeps has eight bosses and entrances in Mount Hyjal, Winterspring and Blackmaw Hold. Hyjal Summit has 13 bosses.

Blizzard's news page says the Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair unlock on December 9. The same page lists nine new dungeons, which are shorter group instances, spread across the Eastern Kingdoms and Kalimdor. Their level ranges run from 13 to 60. A new Camping system lets players build shared campsites, beginning with the Cooking profession's Basic Campfire. Blizzard has also published a class deep dive on the Paladin.

Between the name reservations in late October and the launch on November 4, the next fixed dates are clear. The raids follow on December 9.