WoW: Forever stress test is tomorrow: start times, how to join for free, and what gets wiped

One day to go. Tomorrow, Wednesday, October 21, Blizzard opens the doors to the WoW: Forever stress test - and this time anyone with a World of Warcraft account can get in, no beta invite needed. It's the last big public test before launch on November 4, and the first time the servers will face a crowd of this size.

Here's when it starts where you live, how to get in, what Blizzard wants you to do once you're there, and why you shouldn't get attached to the character you make.

WoW Forever stress test start times: 19:00 CEST Europe, 2:00 p.m. PDT Americas and Oceania, 06:00 KST Korea and 05:00 CST Taiwan — Stress test start times by region.

The short version

When: Wednesday, October 21. Europe starts at 19:00 CEST, the Americas and Oceania at 2:00 p.m. PDT. Korea and Taiwan start early on Thursday, October 22.
Who: anyone with a WoW account. No subscription, Game Time, invite or beta access.
How long: a few hours. Blizzard says it may end earlier or run later.
What happens to your character: it's deleted. Everything made on the test servers is wiped before name reservations open on October 27.
The closed beta goes offline shortly before the test and comes back shortly after.

Start times

Blizzard lists these start times for each region:

Europe: 19:00 CEST on October 21 (17:00 UTC)
Americas and Oceania: 2:00 p.m. PDT on October 21 (5:00 p.m. EDT, 21:00 UTC)
Korea: 06:00 KST on October 22 (21:00 UTC on the 21st)
Taiwan: 05:00 CST on October 22 (21:00 UTC on the 21st)

So Europe goes first, four hours ahead of everyone else. There's no fixed end time. Blizzard only says the test lasts a few hours and that "the test window may end earlier or run later as needed."

It was meant to be Monday

The test was first set for Monday, October 19. On October 16, Blizzard moved it back two days. Community Manager Kaivax wrote:

Please note that we will do the Stress Test on October 21, not two days earlier as previously stated.— Kaivax, Blizzard Community Manager

Blizzard didn't give a reason, and MMORPG.com called it simply "a slight delay". If you had cleared Monday evening for it, you now need Wednesday instead.

How to join

You don't need anything except a Battle.net account with World of Warcraft on it. In Blizzard's words, "Anyone can take part and no subscription, Game Time, invitation, or beta access is required." Do this today, so you aren't downloading while everyone else is already in:

Update your graphics drivers.
Open the Battle.net app and update it if it asks.
Pick World of Warcraft, open the Game Version menu and choose World of Warcraft: Forever Stress Test under In Development, then install it.
When the test starts, press Play, choose one of the test realms, make a character and log in.

Tip: install the client tonight. The test only runs for a few hours, and the first hour is when the most players try to log in at once - WoWSoD Pro advises you to expect a queue then.

What the test is for

This isn't a preview event. Blizzard wants as many people as possible on the servers at once, to "help us put the servers through their paces", and it asks players to bring friends and guildmates along. According to GameSpot, Blizzard's announcement calls it a chance to help with "our discovering of issues that would have otherwise happened on launch day".

Two things make this one matter more than a usual stress test. First, WoWSoD Pro reports that it runs on "the production hardware Forever will use at launch." Second, Forever has no realm list at launch. As Blizzard Watch explains, every player in a region on the same ruleset - PvP, PvE or RP - shares one world. Tomorrow is the first real test of that system with the doors wide open.

So do what you'd do on launch night: make a character, quest, group up, trade and chat. The more normal traffic the servers see, the more problems Blizzard can find now instead of on November 4.

Don't get attached

Nothing you make tomorrow survives. Blizzard says "all created characters, names, and guilds will be wiped from the Stress Test servers" once the test ends, before Name Reservations open on October 27. That includes the name you grab, so don't use the test to claim one.

Early name reservation runs from October 27 to November 3 for players who pre-purchase the Skyborne Heroic Pack, the Skyborne Epic Pack or the limited-time Warcraft Forever Collection. Names are first-come, first-served, and Blizzard warns that "desired names cannot be guaranteed".

Timeline: stress test moved to October 21; beta offline before the test; stress test; servers wiped and beta back; name reservations October 27; launch November 4 — From the stress test to launch.

What about the beta?

Beta testers lose access for a while. "The beta will be taken offline shortly before the Stress Test begins", Blizzard says, and it's expected back shortly after the test ends. Blizzard hasn't said what level cap the stress test uses. The closed beta itself has been capped at level 30 since the October 1 build.

Our take: Blizzard Watch puts it well: stress tests "are often a subpar time to actually play." Go in expecting queues, lag and maybe a disconnect or two - that's the test doing its job. If you want to try the game for free, though, it's a good chance to see a starting zone, try a class you're curious about and get a feel for the new Skyborne before you commit to a main on November 4.

Get ready for launch

Since your stress test character won't last, use it to try things. Plan your main's build in the talent calculator, look up any quest you run into in our quest guides, and check where any item comes from in the item database. On launch day, paste your armory link into Find Upgrades to see your best gear for every slot.