WoW Forever: how to join the beta, open until 21 October

Blizzard opened the WoW Forever beta on 17 September. It runs until 21 October, which Blizzard calls the last full day of testing, before it begins final preparations for launch. WoW Forever itself launches at 23:00 UK time on 4 November, which is midnight on 5 November in Central Europe. Blizzard says that over the course of the test it will invite community veterans, press, fansites, friends and family to try what is coming and share their feedback.

There are 2 ways in. Sign-ups for the beta are open: players who opt in can be selected, and Blizzard says invitations will go out regularly throughout the test. A selected player gets an email invitation, and their Battle.net account is already flagged for access. The other way is to pre-purchase an eligible WoW Forever digital bundle that includes beta access; Blizzard names the Skyborne Epic Pack and the limited-time Warcraft Forever Collection. For buyers, Blizzard says access may take up to 30 minutes to appear, and the launcher may need a restart. It also warns about phishing: anyone unsure whether an invitation is genuine should log in to their Battle.net account and check that a WoW Forever beta licence is listed under Your Game Accounts.

To install the beta, open the Battle.net desktop app and select World of Warcraft. In the Game Version menu above the Play button, choose World of Warcraft: Forever Beta, listed under In Development, then click Install; Blizzard advises updating graphics drivers first. In the first couple of days, many testers in Europe reported lag and disconnections, and some said the game was unplayable. On 21 September Blizzard said it had changed how connections from the EU region are routed to the beta, and added that some problems, such as those at a player's own internet provider, are outside its control.

At the start the level cap is 20, and Blizzard says it will rise to 30 later in the beta. In an interview published on 13 September, 4 days before the beta opened, Blizzard's associate production director Clay Stone said this would happen a couple of weeks in, and that the cap would then stay at 30 for the rest of the beta. As of 24 September, Blizzard has not announced the day. In week 1, testers can play the new Skyborne race and its zone, Zephras Isle; 2 new dungeons, Hall of Thanes for levels 13 to 18 and Ruins of Lordaeron for levels 15 to 20; and all zone content up to level 20.

More zones, dungeons and the new battleground will open as the test goes on. Blizzard also says that at a later point it will open the servers for several hours so that anyone can play the beta, an event it calls a Server Slam. It says it will share details closer to the time, and as of 24 September it has not given a date.