7MMO
Moderator
World of Warcraft Forever is finally here, and the gates to this alternate version of Azeroth open at 3 PM PST / 6 PM EST. All the signs from the beta are pointing to Forever being one of the biggest launches in Warcraft history, with so many people testing the game that developers claimed it put up "the craziest numbers" they've seen in 17 years.
Even after expanding the level cap in the beta, it was still capped at level 30, and most people – outside of some promotions – had to buy an expensive Skyborne pack to get in. Once the live servers go up, the only barrier to playing WoW Forever is going to be an active WoW subscription or a friend code. (And there are going to be a lot of friend codes out there.)
But while WoW Forever promises to be a huge launch and a return to form for many WoW fans, the real test is going to be how well the servers hold up. I've been playing Blizzard's games my entire life, and it's pretty much a given that something is going to go wrong when Blizzard flicks the switch to open up the game. Even last week, when Blizzard opened its name reservation system, European players couldn't get in for hours, and American players were greeted with long server queues and disconnects. So, I expect the full launch to be, well, spicy.
But I'm going to be in the trenches, trying to get in myself and keeping an eye on the community to find all the cool stuff people are talking about, and gathering all of that here. So, whether you're stuck at work while the servers go up, or you're inevitably frustrated by the servers buckling under the weight of millions of MMO fans, stay tuned for all the fun. Live updates are below.
World of Warcraft Forever Live Blog
All times are in EST
5:00 pm: The servers are scheduled to go online in about an hour, and just in the last couple of days there's been a lot happening for WoW Forever. For instance, in response to the patch notes that went out Monday night, the Shaman class discord shut down in protest of the changes, something that happened with ret Paladins last year in Midnight.
Still, the biggest question on my mind ahead of the launch is 'how will the servers handle the load?' Even in the best case scenario, I expect some pretty beefy server queues that we'll have to sit through. And, as a reminder, there are new Nvidia graphics drivers, so if you're on a Team Green card, take this hour before launch to update your drivers.
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