PvP in WoW Forever: battlegrounds, Honor, ranks, and gear

The biggest change from Classic is that Honor and rank are separate. Honor is your wallet; rank gives you access to purchases. Your rank increases through your own Rank Points, with no effect from other players' results, so the all-night leaderboard grind for High Warlord is a thing of the past.

Labels in this guide: "Classic" means a rule from the original game; "Forever" means confirmed by Blizzard; "beta data" means it may change before the November 4, 2026 release.

There are no realms, only rulesets: Normal, PvP, and Roleplay at launch, with Hardcore coming after release. Each ruleset is one shared world per region. See our news article on rulesets replacing realms for details.

• You do not need the PvP ruleset for battlegrounds. Players on Normal and Roleplay can queue, and opponents come from every ruleset except Hardcore. Choose the PvP ruleset only for open-world fighting, where you are flagged automatically.
• PvP ruleset. You are automatically flagged in contested and enemy territory. Your account can have only one faction here, and Blizzard promises to control faction imbalance as it did in Season of Discovery, by temporarily restricting character creation.
• Normal and Roleplay. PvP is optional: use /pvp or your portrait menu. Under Classic rules, your flag stays active for another 5 minutes after you turn it off, and healing a flagged player flags you too.
• Hardcore. Flagging is manual, according to Icy Veins. PvP Legacy Challenges cannot be completed here and will be replaced by mode-specific challenges, so battlegrounds apparently will not be available on Hardcore.
• Who owns each zone? Icy Veins says that "everything above level 15 is contested," but client data still marks the Barrens (10–25) as Horde territory, along with Durotar, Mulgore, Tirisfal Glades, and Silverpine Forest. Alliance territory includes Elwynn Forest, Westfall, Loch Modan, Dun Morogh, Teldrassil, and Darkshore. Contested territory includes Stonetalon Mountains, Ashenvale, Thousand Needles, Hillsbrad Foothills, Alterac Mountains, Stranglethorn Vale, and several higher-level zones.
• Where fights happen (based on Classic experience): Tarren Mill versus Southshore in Hillsbrad Foothills, the Crossroads in the Barrens, and Stranglethorn Vale. This has not been verified in Forever, and on the beta, chases often end at zone borders (see the note below). World PvP objectives have not been announced for Forever.
• Sanctuaries. Client data marks Zephris Isle, the Skyborne starting area, as a sanctuary. PvP restrictions do not make hostile guards safe: since October 15, outdoor Dalaran NPCs attack Horde characters regardless of their sewer-key quest progress.
• Honor from player kills is officially confirmed. Blizzard has not published rules for gray-level targets or repeated kills. Classic awarded no Honor for gray targets and progressively less for repeat kills.
• The Legacy perk High Alert helps you detect stealthed enemies (Rogues and Druids) as though you were 1–2 levels higher, but it does not work in battlegrounds.

There are four battlegrounds, with 10-level brackets (10–19, 20–29, and so on, with level 60 separate). Team sizes and level requirements for Warsong Gulch, Arathi Basin, and Alterac Valley come from Icy Veins and match Classic. Blizzard has officially specified only Darkspear Islands: 15v15, levels 30–60.

The table above describes the release plan. The beta has fewer options:

• Only Darkspear Islands is open. Since early October, you can only queue for Darkspear Islands, and only from level 30: a level 26 player was refused. You cannot queue for Warsong Gulch, Arathi Basin, or Alterac Valley. All four appear in the client data and the Icy Veins and Wowhead guides, but Blizzard has not said whether Gulch, Basin, and Valley will open on November 4.
• Experience from matches has not been confirmed for Forever. Classic battlegrounds did not award experience, so do not plan to level through matches. Mark turn-in quests do award experience, up to 1,500 per turn-in at levels 30–39.
• Group queue limits, according to client data: up to 10 players for Gulch, 15 for Basin and the Islands, and 5 for Valley.
• Also in the client: Battle for Gilneas with level 10–60 brackets, a second Warsong Gulch map, and a random battleground option. Blizzard promised "more battlegrounds later" but has said nothing about these specifically. Treat them as unconfirmed datamining findings.

Visit your capital, find the battlemaster for the battleground you want (see the table below), and join the queue. You can keep leveling while you wait: an invitation window appears when your turn comes (this is how Classic works; Forever-specific details are unavailable). The beta has no queue button you can use from anywhere, and testers say the game returns you to your previous location after the match.

Stormwind coordinates use Forever's updated map. Wowhead still shows the old locations for older NPCs, so look nearby if you cannot find anyone at the listed spot.

Capital cities are not your only option:

• Darkspear Islands: straight from your base. The Horde has the Darkspear Raiders camp on the Merchant Coast in the Barrens, north of Ratchet (around 65, 35). The Alliance uses Northwatch Hold, also in the Barrens (63.4, 58.6). Both have a battleground portal and a quartermaster.
• At the battleground entrance portal. According to Wowhead's guide, you can queue there too. Horde: Mor'shan Rampart in the Barrens (Gulch), Hammerfall in Arathi Highlands (Basin), and Alterac Mountains. Alliance: Silverwing Grove in Ashenvale (Gulch), Refuge Pointe in Arathi Highlands (Basin), and Alterac Mountains.
• Dalaran. In the Underbelly beneath the city: Gulch - "Techs" Rickard Rustbolt, Basin - Minzi the Minx, Valley - Sai, Islands - Bimble Sparkfingers. This is an Alliance location. Since October 15, Horde characters are attacked in the outdoor city even after completing the sewer-key quest chain. The dungeon remains accessible, but Horde players should use another battleground queue location.

Honor (Honor Points in the client) is your wallet for PvP gear. Honor and Rank Points are separate currencies. You cannot exchange one for the other, and spending Honor does not affect your rank.

• Defeating players, both in the world and in battlegrounds (officially confirmed).
• Completed matches, with a bonus for winning. Blizzard has evened out Honor gains across battlegrounds so that Alterac Valley is not the only efficient choice, as it was in Classic.
• PvP quests. Turning in 3 Darkspear Islands marks gives 30 Honor at levels 30–39, 40 at 40–49, 50 at 50–59, and 100 at 60. Seasonal Field of Honor quests also award Honor.
• Battleground holiday weeks: the featured battleground awards extra Honor and Rank Points for a week. Wowhead lists holiday weeks for the Islands, Basin, and Gulch, but there is no schedule.
• The cap is 25,000 Honor. Blizzard has not mentioned a weekly Honor cap. The total cap rose from 15,000 in the October 1 beta build; most PvP items and seals became roughly 50% more expensive at the same time. Honor earned beyond the cap is lost, so spend some as you approach 25,000.
• Honor per kill has not been published. One tester reached the cap playing only Darkspear Islands.
• The Legacy perk For Great Honor adds 2–10% Honor (5 ranks, requiring 5 points in the same tree). Plan it in the Legacy calculator.

Rank matters for three things: epic upgrades to the rare set (from rank 8), war mounts (rank 11), and epic weapons (rank 14). The other rewards are smaller leveling extras.

Rank is a personal progress bar, like reputation. You do not spend Rank Points: they fill the bar, and each threshold grants a new rank and access to its rewards. Gear and weapons cost Honor; according to Wowhead data, tabards, potions, the battle standard, and mounts still cost gold. Blizzard itself has confirmed the weekly point cap and the PvP tab in the character window (C). Wowhead and Icy Veins report from client data that points do not decay when you skip a week and that they reset at the end of a season; this has not yet been officially stated.

Battlegrounds and PvP quests award points. Blizzard and the client tooltip name only matches and quests. The currency description mentions "Gadgetzan Tasks," but what these are and whether they relate to Field of Honor is unknown. Icy Veins briefly says that world PvP also awards Rank Points, but its own sources section lists only battlegrounds and Gadgetzan tasks, so do not count on points from world kills. The points awarded for a win or a loss have not been published.

Your rank cannot get ahead of the season week: the first week caps you at rank 3, while week 10 allows rank 14. The thresholds below come from client 1.60.1 data and match Icy Veins' table; the numbers may change.

Forever PvP runs in seasons. According to Icy Veins, each season brings a new set of rewards, and the previous season's rewards are no longer obtainable once it ends. Blizzard has not yet said whether you keep your rank title.

The start date and duration of the first season have not been announced. The roadmap lists a "PvP season update" among the major spring and summer 2027 updates. Icy Veins expects seasons to last longer than 10 weeks, probably 20–25.

Field of Honor is a seasonal journey of weekly quests. They award Honor and Rank Points, and the quests for weeks 4, 7, and 10 each grant a Legacy Point (Field of Honor: Week 4 and the later milestones). Each Legacy Point is awarded once per account: that is 3 points total, not 3 every season. Blizzard's PvP progression article promises that Field of Honor quests will remain available in later seasons too. Their quest giver is not yet known.

PvP has 12 Legacy Challenges in total, each worth one point per account:

• 5 for ranks: ranks 3, 7, 10, 13, and 14. One season is enough.
• 4 for Exalted reputation with one side of each pair: Frostwolf Clan or Stormpike Guard, the Defilers or the League of Arathor, Warsong Outriders or Silverwing Sentinels, and Darkspear Raiders or the Theramore Expeditionary Force.
• 3 for Field of Honor: weeks 4, 7, and 10. Plan how to spend your points in the Legacy calculator.

Forever PvP gear is designed for levels 55–60. The beta caps at level 30, while the rare set requires 55, so nobody has been able to buy it yet: vendors, prices, and verified requirements are unavailable. Here is what the item data shows:

• The rare Premier set has item level 60, requires character level 55, and does not require a rank. You pay with Honor, plus battleground marks for some pieces. One example is the Shaman's Premier Ringmail Chestpiece: Shamans in Forever have three PvP sets, for healing, melee, and spellcasting.
• Epic gear requires the same rare item plus an upgrade seal, such as the Premier Emboldened Chest Seal. Seals require level 60 and a rank: bracers and belt at rank 8, boots at 9, gloves at 10, shoulders and legs at 12, and helm and chest at 13. Epic pieces have item level 65 and higher stats: the Shaman's Premier Warlord's Ringmail Armor gives 34 Stamina versus 25 on the rare version. Item data does not support Icy Veins' suggestion that epic upgrades are cosmetic only.
• Rank 14 weapons, such as the Premier High Warlord's Blade, have item level 65 and require character level 60 and rank 14.
• The rank 2 PvP trinket is most likely the new Greater Insignia of the Horde: it removes all movement-impairing effects and loss-of-control effects, has a 5-minute cooldown, works for every class, and has no level requirement in the beta tooltip. The old class-specific insignias are also in the database, so this is not final.
• Smaller rank rewards: the Premier Sergeant's Cape (rank 3) and Premier Senior Sergeant's Insignia necklace (rank 4) require level 55; the Combat Healing Potion (rank 5) requires level 35. The Horde Battle Standard (rank 7) grants your party 15% more maximum health within 45 yards for 2 minutes, with a 10-minute cooldown, and only works in battlegrounds. The Russian item description incorrectly says "damage"; the English version says maximum health.
• Rank 11 mounts for the Horde include the Horn of the Black War Wolf, Black War Kodo, and others. They require level 40, riding skill, and rank 11; Wowhead's beta data lists a price of 100 gold.

Marks are used for turn-in quests and as part of the price of top PvP items. A win awards 3 battleground marks, a loss 1 (according to Wowhead), and winning also grants bonus Honor. All marks are soulbound, and since the October 15 build they stack to 30 instead of 20. This is the stack size, not confirmation of a total carrying limit.

Turn marks in to a Horde Warbringer, or an Alliance Brigadier General for the Alliance. They stand near capital city battlemasters and battleground entrances. Convenient locations near queues include Orgrimmar (80.7, 30.5), Thunder Bluff (around 58, 77), Undercity (58.3, 97.9), and Stormwind (81.2, 38.5).

Each battleground has one reputation faction per side. Mark turn-in quests and victory quests increase reputation, the Diplomat Legacy perk adds up to 10%, and reaching Exalted with one faction from each pair awards a Legacy Point. The old factions' rewards in the game data match Classic (beta quartermaster inventories are almost empty; see the next section): Warsong Outriders gear comes in tiers from level 18, with epic leggings and a battle tabard at Exalted; the Defilers and League of Arathor have tiers from 28–58 and epic shoulders at Exalted; Alterac Valley offers level 55–60 items.

• Gulch: Battle of Warsong Gulch, from level 10, awards experience and reputation. Repeat turn-ins at levels 10–19 give 50 reputation in Forever instead of 100.
• Basin: Conquering Arathi Basin, from level 20.
• Islands: Conflict at Darkspear Islands (no Russian title in the beta), from level 30. At levels 30–39, the first turn-in gives 150 reputation, 30 Honor, and 1,500 experience; subsequent turn-ins give 100 reputation and 30 Honor each. Wowhead lists Honor rewards only for the Islands quests.
• Valley: Invaders of Alterac Valley, from level 51. Also from 51, For Great Honor takes 3 marks each from Gulch, Basin, and Valley per turn-in.

The short answer: there is almost nothing to buy with Honor before level 55. The blue set, rank-reward cape, and necklace require level 55; seals and rank 14 weapons require level 60.

What battleground quartermasters will actually sell will only become clear at launch. Wowhead's Forever database lists 81 items for Kelm Hargunth, all bought with gold rather than Honor or marks, with reputation requirements. On the beta, however, he sells just one item: we checked in-game. The table below therefore reflects the game files and is a reference, not a price list.

At levels 10–54, build battleground reputation through mark turn-in quests. Honor accumulates along the way, but caps at 25,000; any excess is lost. One tester reached the cap playing only Darkspear Islands, so there is little point chasing Honor at low levels.

The Alliance follows the same pattern through Illiyana Moonblaze of the Silverwing Sentinels and the Theramore Expedition quartermaster. Their items have different names; we have not cross-checked the selection.

The islands lie off the coast of Dustwallow Marsh. This is a 15-versus-15 battleground for levels 30–60, with four capture points and a flag in the center. The more points your team controls, the faster it earns points; carrying the central flag to a base your team controls adds more. The first team to reach 2,000 wins. Icy Veins and Wowhead compare the map to Eye of the Storm from Burning Crusade, with its four bases and central flag. Classic had no battleground like this.

Quartermaster Creeg Bothunk (65.0, 34.6) takes gold, not Honor:

• Friendly: seal trinkets such as the Darkspear Voodoo Seal, Darkspear Islands Field Ration from level 25, bandages requiring First Aid, and healing and mana potions from level 35. Stronger potions, for level 45 onward, require Honored. Consumables only work on the Islands.
• Honored: cloak, pendant, and rings, such as Insurgent's Band.
• Revered: weapons, including the two-handed Darkspear Raider's Reaper.
• Exalted: epic gloves and shoulders for every armor type, such as Raider Gauntlets and Darkspear Shoulderpads, plus the Darkspear Battle Tabard after a short quest chain. The chain itself is not yet in Wowhead's database.
• On the beta, level 28 items disappeared from the quartermaster around the time the battleground opened. Whether they will return for launch is unknown.
• The victory quest. For the Horde, Nizook Boof (65.0, 34.8) offers The Battle for Darkspear Islands!, which has no Russian title on the beta: win a match and return for 200 reputation. The Alliance quest giver is Brelinda McFarry at Northwatch Hold (63.4, 58.8). It is not yet known whether the quest is repeatable.
• Capture points in the client data are Ruins, Camp, Shipwreck Cove, and Abandoned Tower. That these are the four bases is our inference: the October 8 notes fixed the "capture point at Shipwreck Cove."
• Buffs, according to testers: restoration in the center, speed with a shorter approach for the Alliance, and berserking between each side's two bases.
• The water is dangerous: sharks patrol it, and Fear effects can send you into the sea. There is little cover, so ranged combat is stronger than melee on the beta, and some testers consider the map more favorable to the Alliance.
• The name. The Russian client uses both "Dark Spear Islands" at capital-city battleground officers and "Black Spear Islands" for the zone, mark, and Dalaran battleground officer. These are two Russian variants of the same Darkspear Islands battleground name.

Before level 55, PvP is about reputation, marks, and combat practice rather than gear. Here is a level-by-level plan and what to keep in mind:

• 10–19. Warsong Gulch is closed on the beta; Blizzard has not said whether it will open immediately at launch. Turn in marks for experience and reputation. The game files list gear for gold and reputation at Kelm Hargunth from level 18, such as Outrider's Bow, but he sells one item on the beta, so the selection will become clear at launch. Alliance players follow the same route through the Silverwing Sentinels.
• 20–29. Arathi Basin becomes available. The Defilers and The League of Arathor have gear from level 28.
• 30+. Darkspear Islands. Horde players should head to the Merchant Coast: Nizook Boof (65.0, 34.8) offers the victory quest, the Horde Warbringer (64.8, 35.0) takes marks, and the quartermaster is nearby. For the Alliance, the victory quest giver, Brelinda McFarry (63.4, 58.8), and quartermaster are at Northwatch Hold. Turn marks in to an Alliance Brigadier General in a capital city or at battleground entrances: Wowhead does not yet list one at Northwatch.
• Ranks from the first week. If Rank Points can be earned at low levels, as Blizzard has announced no level restriction, rank 2 at 1,650 points will unlock the Greater Insignia of the Horde. How many points a match awards is unknown, so treat this as a bonus rather than a plan.
• Save Honor for level 55, but you cannot stockpile more than 25,000: excess Honor is lost. Before 55, work on battleground reputation; we will find out what quartermasters sell for it at launch.
• Playing in a group. Testers report that groups larger than 5 cannot queue on the beta. You cannot form a group across rulesets; see how to play with friends for more.
• Do not leave mid-match. The Deserter debuff exists in Forever, but its duration has not been announced. In Classic, leaving prevented you from queueing for 15 minutes.
• Critical strikes. Since the October 8 build, critical strikes against players are no longer weakened. Read the news article for details.
• Lower spell ranks. Spell ranks far below your level benefit less from spell power and trigger talents less often, as officially announced on October 1.
• Sap. A bug was fixed: using Sap on a PvP-flagged target now flags the Rogue again, as it does in Classic.
• Racial abilities are changing on the beta. Will of the Forsaken no longer grants 5 seconds of immunity to Fear and Charm; it only removes the effect. Blizzard revised racials on October 15, including those of Orcs and Trolls, and values may still change before launch. For class advice, see the Rogue, Warrior, and Hunter pages.