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
6:36 pm: Just killed enough zombies to finish the first quest, there are just so many people in Tirisfal right now. But, while the launch seems to have gone smoothly for most people, I've started seeing some players that are having trouble getting online. Some people are also reporting that the characters they reserved aren't there anymore.
6:30 pm: IGN's review in progress from Len Hafer just went live! There's obviously no verdict yet, but it seems good so far.
6:23 pm: If you're still getting gray rulesets bug, it seems like most people have been able to fix it by closing the game and re-entering the queue. I know it sucks to have to sit in line again, but it seems like the queues are going pretty quick so far. But, of course, that could change.
6:13 pm: Wait, I'm in! Looks like the server is at least working for me, and there's a veritable army of Undead here in Tirisfal Glades. Even in the forums, people seem pleasantly surprised by how quick the server queue went. But there are still some people who are getting kicked offline as soon as they get to the character select screen.
6:10 pm: Blizzard is aware of the problem with 'Rulesets' not being available, and BlizzardCS has reported it to the devs. Hopefully it's a quick fix. But even though it seems like people are going to have to wait a while to get in, it is kind of nostalgic to sit here waiting for the server queue. And I don't seem to be the only one who thinks so.
6:05 pm: I'm back in the queue, but this time with 2,135 people ahead of me. I just went to the forums to check if other people are having problems, and the forums are down. Let me know down below if you're able to get in.
6:00 pm: And here we go, World of Warcraft Forever is live, and I was immediately greeted by a login queue. But only with 128 people ahead of me. Not bad! Lets see if I get in. Well, I got in, but all the rulesets are 'temporarily unavailable.' Cool.
5:50 pm: Servers are up in 10 minutes, or at least they're supposed to be. But with the level of excitement that people have for WoWF, I wouldn't be surprised if the servers struggle for a little bit. But no matter what happens, remember, you will get in eventually.
5:36 pm: The first legendary weapon in World of Warcraft Forever is a healing weapon called Taldramir, The Whispering Wood. It's cool enough that Blizzard is showing love to healers, but apparently it also had it made in real life, too. I'm getting ready for the launch by logging into retail just one more time before Forever kicks off in earnest.
And, of course, the first thing I see is someone in trade chat saying "alright kids see you in a couple months or years depending on how good Forever is"
5:15 pm: We're 45 minutes out, but people already seem excited to get in.
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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