WoW Forever name reservation: how it works for guilds

When does WoW Forever name reservation open?

On 27 October in North America and Europe, and on the morning of 28 October in Korea and Taiwan. Each region opens at its own local time, so Europe actually opens three hours before North America. The window closes on 3 November, the day before launch.

Region	Opens (local)	Same moment in UTC
Europe	Tue 27 Oct, 18:00 CET	Tue 27 Oct, 17:00
North America	Tue 27 Oct, 1:00 p.m. PDT	Tue 27 Oct, 20:00
Korea	Wed 28 Oct, 07:00 KST	Tue 27 Oct, 22:00
Taiwan	Wed 28 Oct, 07:00 CST	Tue 27 Oct, 23:00

The times come from Wowhead’s name reservation article. Europe’s clocks went back on 25 October, so 18:00 CET is 17:00 UTC.

If your guild is in North America, here is that opening moment around the world. The top row is your own clock.

The closing time on 3 November isn’t in the announcement we’ve read. Treat 3 November as the last day and don’t leave it to the final evening.

Who can reserve a name?

Only owners of the Skyborne Heroic Pack, the Skyborne Epic Pack, or the Warcraft Forever Collection (the Digital Upgrade or Collector’s Edition). Everyone else makes their characters at launch, on 4 November at 3:00 p.m. PST.

That means not everyone in your guild will reserve. Some members will have their names held a week early, and others will be racing for theirs on launch evening. Plan for both.

How many names can I reserve?

3 characters in total, across all rulesets. It’s not 3 per ruleset and not 3 per faction. If a member reserves 2 characters on Normal and 1 on PvP, they’re done.

For a guild, that makes the order of decisions matter:

1. Ruleset. Characters on different rulesets can’t group, so this comes first. See WoW Forever rulesets explained.
2. Faction. You can’t group across factions, and on the PvP ruleset an account is one faction only, per Wowhead’s no-realms article.
3. Main, then alts. With 3 slots, most members reserve their main and up to 2 alts. Ask what they plan to play before they spend them.

How do names work without realms?

Each player has two names, and together they identify the character uniquely in the region. Forever has no realm list, so names aren’t unique per server any more. The combination has to be free across the whole region, and names are first come, first served.

If your guild wants a naming theme, such as a shared second name or a style for first names, agree it before the window opens. Two officers trying for the same name at 1:01 p.m. is an avoidable argument.

What if the name I want is taken?

Change one of the two names. Because a character is identified by the pair, a first name that’s gone with one second name may still be free with another. That’s also why a shared guild second name is risky as a theme: if the first person to try it gets it, everyone else needs a different first name to go with it, and the popular ones go fast.

Have 2 backups ready for every character before the window opens, written down somewhere you can paste from. Typing alternatives under time pressure is how people end up with a name they don’t like for years.

How do I reserve a name, step by step?

Install WoW Forever from the Battle.net app, open it during the window, and create the character as normal. The steps, per Wowhead:

1. Open the Battle.net app and select World of Warcraft.
2. Open the Game Version menu above the Play button.
3. Pick World of Warcraft: Forever and press Install.
4. Once the window opens for your region, launch it, choose your ruleset, and create your character.

You can’t play the character until launch. The beta closes on 23 October and its characters don’t carry over, per Wowhead’s beta closing news, so a name you used on the beta isn’t held for you.

What should a guild agree before reserving?

The ruleset, the faction, who plays what, and any naming rules, in that order. Tick these off as you go. Your progress saves in this browser, and the button copies the list for your guild’s Discord.

The main and alt question is worth asking now. Forever adds new race and class combinations and the Skyborne race, so members may change their minds about what to roll. Forever’s Legacy system also rewards levelling more than one class, so expect alts to come up. Write the guild’s rule down before launch. Our main and alt policy guide has a template.

What happens after reservation closes?

The window closes on 3 November, and WoW Forever launches the next day, 4 November at 3:00 p.m. PST. US clocks go back on 1 November, which is why the reservation times above are in PDT and launch is in PST. The rest of what to settle is in the WoW Forever guild checklist. Before launch evening, install the free GuildPro app so the addons are in place when the servers open.