WoW: Forever FAQ: Login Errors, Known Bugs and Refunds

Ten days in, WoW: Forever's launch night got good press: after the beta's queuing trouble, PC Gamer's headline the next morning called it "buttery smooth." It has also had a faction lock, a server hiccup that ate people's class training, a mistaken ban wave and a known-issues list Blizzard has not touched since November 5. This page collects what Blizzard has actually said about each of those, from its official forums, hotfix page and support pages, so you can tell a known problem from a "you" problem. Where Blizzard has not answered, it says so.

Checked against Blizzard's forums and hotfix page on November 14, 2026. Forum times below are converted to Pacific time (PST).

Where Blizzard tracks Forever problems

There are four places worth bookmarking, and they do different jobs:

Blizzard's own wording on the known-issues thread is that it "is not a comprehensive list" and "will be updated regularly." It has not been updated since November 5, and some of its entries have since been touched by hotfixes, so read it together with the hotfix page. Our hotfix tracker keeps the hotfix side in one place.

Can't log in or can't play

WOW51900309 error. On November 10, a Blizzard support agent answered a player with this error by saying it "sounds like you just need to pick up the latest client update." The steps: restart the Battle.net desktop app so it prompts you to update; if it does not, make sure Battle.net is not still running in the background, or restart your computer. The same agent said on November 10 and again on November 12 that they believed the current client was version 1.60.1.70888.

You have Game Time but the game says you don't. Check which WoW license you are launching. Blizzard's "Return to Azeroth" post says that if you have more than one WoW account, you pick the active one in a second dropdown under Game Version. On November 10 a support agent found exactly this on a player's account: Game Time on one license, the Skyborne Heroic Pack on another with no Game Time.

Your friend's Invite-A-Friend code stopped working. That is the end of its window, not a bug. Blizzard's upgrades post says Invite-A-Friend launch codes give access without a subscription or Game Time from November 4 through November 11, 2026, PST. On November 12 a support agent said they believed the one-week codes had "just recently expired." To keep playing, the invitee needs a subscription or Game Time.

Everything was laggy or dropping on the evening of November 11. On November 11 at about 5:23 p.m. PST, a Blizzard support agent told a player that "we have been experiencing a DDOS for all games" and that Blizzard was "in the process of mitigating it." Blizzard has not posted a fuller account of it on the forums we checked.

Servers misbehaved on the afternoon of November 9. Blizzard says the Forever servers "experienced issues" on Monday, November 9, between 1:17 and 2:17 p.m. PST. Two fixes came out of it, covered in the launch-fixes table below.

For anything else, the Customer Support thread links Blizzard's general WoW technical troubleshooting article and its UI reset article, and reminds you to update addons, "especially true during launch." Our addons guide covers where Forever addons live and which ones have Forever builds.

Faction unavailable on the PvP ruleset

If character creation refuses your faction on a PvP ruleset, Blizzard is doing that on purpose. Blizzard's ruleset post said before launch that PvP rulesets would use a system like Season of Discovery's, "where new character creation could be temporarily limited for a faction."

Then, on the evening of November 9 (PST), community manager Kaivax posted "PvP Faction Balance Updates - November 10." The key points, in Blizzard's words where it matters:

• How bad the imbalance is: "even the most extreme case in a region is currently at roughly a 55/45 split, that is not as close as we want it to be."
• What changed: character creation now looks at "the overall state of faction balance in each region's PvP rulesets," with a goal of "as close to a 50/50 faction balance as possible."
• Who is affected: it "will become increasingly difficult to create characters on the more populous faction in each region – currently Horde on North American PvP rulesets or Alliance in EU Roleplay-PvP."
• It can flip: "As everyone settles and shifts, these may flip to the other side."

Blizzard gives no date for when the restriction lifts. Your options: try again later, roll the other faction, or play a different ruleset. Two rules make that last choice matter. You cannot move a character between rulesets later; Blizzard's ruleset post says you make a new one. And on the PvP ruleset Blizzard says you can only create characters for one faction. Our PvP guide covers what each ruleset means for open-world PvP.

Empty cities, crowded zones and missing party members

Forever has no realm list, and Blizzard controls how many players share a zone. It has adjusted that in both directions since launch.

Empty cities. On launch night (November 4, about 10:35 p.m. PST), Blizzard's Aggrend said the team was "aware of some issues with certain areas not feeling as populated as they should" and would be "tweaking some numbers tomorrow."

Overcrowded zones. Five days later it went the other way. The November 9 hotfixes "Lowered the population of players in various zones where there was significant congestion," with "an even bigger change on the PvP ruleset" after players said they felt overcrowded. Blizzard says it will keep adjusting.

You are in a party but cannot see your friend. First, check the hard rule. Blizzard's "What's New" post says characters can group, join guilds, run dungeons and raid together "only within the same Ruleset and faction." If you are on the same ruleset and faction and still apart, Kaivax's first troubleshooting step on November 5 was a blue message in the lower right of the screen after you accept the invite. Clicking it should offer a "Refresh Now" button. He posted this as questions to players (does the message appear, does Refresh Now put you together), so treat it as the first thing to try, not a guaranteed fix.

Bugs on Blizzard's known-issues list

This is the full list from the November 5 thread, with what the hotfix page says since. If an entry is not in the right-hand column, no hotfix through November 13 mentions it.

Two things to know before you plan around this. "Not mentioned" does not mean "still broken": the list is nine days old, and a fix can land without the list being edited. And the PvP vendor entry matters if you are saving Honor. Check that a PvP vendor is actually selling before you assume your Honor can be spent today.

One more live problem, from the hotfix page rather than the list: on November 11 Blizzard disabled the Item Restoration service "while we investigate and address a critical bug." No hotfix through November 13 says it is back. Until one does, an item you sell or delete may be gone for good. Our November 10-11 hotfix breakdown has that update.

Launch problems Blizzard says it fixed

The training refund is the easy one to miss. If you trained on the afternoon of November 9 and your new spells vanished, check your mailbox for the gold.

On the bans, read the scope carefully. Support's "false positive" answer was about the accounts banned and then overturned within minutes that day. It is not a statement about every Forever ban. Blizzard's anti-RMT rules, including the Temporary Economy Holds that freeze trading, are in our gold-making guide.

Subscription, Game Time and refunds

What you need to play. Blizzard: "Access to WoW: Forever is included with an active World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time." The Skyborne race needs the Skyborne Heroic Pack or higher. Our explainer covers the editions.

The 30 days in the Epic Pack and Warcraft Forever Collection. Blizzard's upgrades post says these add "30 days of World of Warcraft Game Time added to your account starting November 4," and that play after that needs a subscription or more Game Time. On November 3 (PST), a support agent said this Game Time "doesn't require activation" and was meant to switch on around the launch. Counting 30 days from November 4 puts the end in early December, before raids open on December 9. Check the exact date on your account's Games & Subscriptions page.

Refunds. Blizzard has no Forever-specific refund rule that we could find. Its general Refund Policy (last updated July 8, 2024) covers purchases from the Blizzard Shop, the Battle.net app or in-game:

What the policy does not do is name the Skyborne packs or the Warcraft Forever Collection, and Forever's pre-purchase window ended at launch. So we cannot tell you which row Blizzard applies to them. Ask through support. The policy also excludes Korea, Japan and mainland China, and purchases from other stores follow that store's rules. Blizzard Gear Store orders have a separate refund policy.

How to ask. On November 11 a support agent said to use the Refund option on the support site rather than a general category like "Not Listed Here." The first step is automated: it checks your recent purchases and can refund an eligible one immediately. If it cannot, it lets you open a ticket.

Game Time does not move between regions. On November 13 support told a player who had bought three months of NA time while trying to change region that "transferring time is not an option, the only thing we can do is refund the purchase."

Account questions support has answered

Name changes. On November 10, a support agent said "We do not currently have a service that allows for the name to be changed," and that names usually change only when one breaks the Code of Conduct. If you want a paid name change added, support pointed players to the Forever Discussion forum or the in-game suggestion option.

Playing in Oceania from an EU account. Support said on November 12 that "Australia is part of the North American region," and that characters and WoW licenses cannot be moved between the EU and NA regions. To play on Oceanic servers from Europe, you would need a North American license. On November 13 support added that you can create a Starter Account in the NA region from Account Management, under Games & Subscriptions, and subscribe on it.

Posting on the official forums. As of November 11-12, support said "the forums do not currently recognize Forever characters," with no date for a fix. The workaround Blizzard gave is to post with a modern WoW or Mists of Pandaria Classic character on a license with active Game Time, logging into that character in game first if the forum does not list it.

Ticket waits. On November 13, support acknowledged that ticket times are elevated. The reason given was a jump in contacts after "an extremely popular version of World of Warcraft" was announced, went into beta and launched, which staff numbers cannot match overnight. For refunds, the automated Refund option above avoids most of that wait.

What Blizzard has not answered

• When the faction lock lifts. Blizzard's November 9-10 post gives a goal (50/50) but no date.
• Whether the known-issues list is current. It still reads "Updated Nov. 5." Blizzard has not said whether PvP vendors, the Razorfen Kraul cauldron or the "Vorsha the Lasher" quest are fixed.
• When Item Restoration returns.
• Whether Skyborne packs are refundable. The refund policy does not name them.
• What happens to Invite-A-Friend characters. Blizzard's pages say the code covered November 4-11 only. They do not say what becomes of a character made on it, beyond needing a subscription or Game Time to keep playing. If you are new to the game rather than stuck in it, start with our first 10 levels guide instead.