The WoW: Forever beta level cap is 20 in week one and rises to 30 later in the test, which runs September 17 – October 21, 2026. Week 1 opens the Skyborne race, Zephras Isle, every zone up to level 20, and two new dungeons: Hall of Thanes (13–18) and Ruins of Lordaeron (15–20). Blizzard has not dated the raise to 30.
Forever beta at a glance
| Beta window | September 17 – October 21, 2026 |
| Level cap, week 1 | 20 |
| Level cap, later | 30 (date not announced) |
| Zones open in week 1 | Zephras Isle (Skyborne start, 1–12) plus all zones up to level 20 |
| New dungeons in week 1 | Hall of Thanes (13–18, beneath Ironforge, Alliance; Horde can enter) and Ruins of Lordaeron (15–20, Horde; Alliance can enter) |
| Coming later in beta | More zones, more dungeons, the Darkspear Islands 15v15 battleground, a "Server Slam" open to everyone for a few hours |
| Access | Skyborne Epic Pack or Warcraft Forever Collection (instant), or opt-in sign-up with invite waves |
| Install | Battle.net app → World of Warcraft → Game Version "World of Warcraft: Forever Beta" (In Development) |
When does the beta cap go up to 30?
Blizzard's September 17 beta post says the cap "starts at 20 and rises to 30 later" and stops there — no date, no patch note. The sensible reading is that the raise lands alongside the next content drop (more zones and dungeons), since a 30 cap without new places to level would be pointless.
What the 30 cap would unlock is easier to guess from the launch layout: City of Dalaran is a 20–35 dungeon, and the Riverglades start in the mid-30s, so the second phase most likely means Dalaran and the original 20–30 zones rather than the new Eastern Kingdoms leveling zone. Treat that as inference, not confirmation.
What can I actually do in beta week 1?
Roll a Skyborne (Windshaper for Horde, High Order for Alliance) and play Zephras Isle from 1 to 12, or roll any other race and level through the original starting zones to 20. Try the two new race/class combos in the 20 band — Forsaken Paladin and Dwarf Shaman — and test the reworked Paladin, the only class with published changes so far.
Dungeon-wise, Blizzard named only Hall of Thanes and Ruins of Lordaeron for week 1. Both are open to the opposite faction. The original dungeons in that level band (Ragefire Chasm, Wailing Caverns, Deadmines, Shadowfang Keep) all return in Forever, but Blizzard did not list them in the week-1 note, so check in-game rather than assuming.
Does my beta character carry over to launch?
Blizzard has not published a statement on beta character retention. Standard beta practice is a wipe before launch, and Forever's official dates put character creation on October 27 – November 3 (up to three names, any upgrade pack) — a separate step from the beta. Play the beta to test, not to get ahead.
Will my PC run the Forever beta?
The one hard requirement Blizzard published is a GPU with RGBA16F UAV support in compute shaders. That means AMD GCN 1 (2012), NVIDIA Maxwell (2014) or Intel Skylake (2015) and newer. A Radeon HD 7850, GTX 750 Ti, GTX 9xx or Intel HD 530 will start the client (still below minimum spec); a Radeon HD 6950, GTX 760–780, GTX 8xxM or Intel HD 6000 will not. Full system requirements are not out yet.
Known issues on day one included a LUA error at the barber chair, the friends list disabled, the minimap drawn off-screen and a Waylaid Crate stacking bug — expect patches through the test.
If you would rather skip the grind once Forever goes live on November 4, PewPewShop takes pre-orders now: Forever Leveling 1–30 from EUR 11? — no: Forever Leveling 1–30 from EUR 13, and the Launch-Ready Pack (1–60, pre-raid gear and 500g) from EUR 219, played by vetted human boosters with a long zero-ban record. Coaching runs through the new dungeons are available too.