Warlockguy wins The Forever Open: the final and the builds

Warlockguy won The Forever Open, beating Neepzen 3–1 in the grand final. The organiser’s bracket also records Neepzen winning their earlier upper-bracket meeting 2–1, followed by Warlockguy beating Cdewx 2–0 in the lower final.

The final reversed their earlier meeting: Neepzen had sent Warlockguy into the lower bracket, but Warlockguy returned to win the championship. The organiser’s completed bracket records the scores and links each competitor’s talent build.

Two warlocks, the same totals, different choices

If you came away wanting to try the finalists’ builds, open their individual links in the bracket. Both are labelled 5/21/0, but the linked allocations differ. Those three numbers are not enough to reconstruct either build, and a tournament win does not establish a universal levelling or dungeon setup.

Use the ForeverAtlas talent calculator to examine your own choices, then compare them with your current beta tree. The bracket’s build links open an external calculator; they are not ForeverAtlas import links.

The result belongs to this event’s particular duel rules. The finals used a single best-of-five championship without a bracket reset, with class, item and preparation restrictions. The dated rule record below explains that context; it is no longer a call to check in or submit a build.

Historical preparation and rule record

The following sections preserve the advice published before the October 18 finals. The event has finished. Read them as tournament history, not current entry instructions.

The finals have their own rules now. Do not use the earlier 1am CT build-submission deadline: the organiser has replaced it with a readiness time and a ban on talent changes after summons. For viewers, the official finals bracket is the place to follow pairings and results.

October 18: be ready an hour before play

The October 18 finals field has 36 competitors, four per class. Players must be online on their confirmed tournament character by 9am PT / 11am CT / 16:00 UTC / 18:00 CEST. There is no separate finals check-in. Duels are scheduled for 10am PT / noon CT / 17:00 UTC / 19:00 CEST.

The current finals rules require no talent-build submission. Players cannot change talents after being summoned to the dueling area and cannot leave it to visit a trainer. The same tournament character is required; no class, race or character substitution is allowed except an official correction.

Check your allocation in the talent calculator before summons, then compare it with your actual beta tree. Keep your stream, VOD and designated Discord voice channel ready. The current finals rules take priority over older preparation advice.

What the bracket and sudden death mean

The finals use double elimination. Upper-bracket matches are best-of-three; lower-bracket matches are best-of-one except the best-of-three lower final. The championship is a single best-of-five with no bracket reset. Between duels, players have one minute to prepare and cannot wait for cooldowns.

Warriors may begin a duel with at most 20 Rage. Goblin Sapper Charges may be carried for sudden death but used only in sudden-death duels. Once sudden death starts, each player has a total allowance of three food and three water for the rest of that match, not a fresh allowance each replay.

These are narrow tournament exceptions, not permission to use other banned items. Read the complete finals list before bag inspection.

The community-run WoW Forever beta event spans October 17–18, with a $100,000 USD prize pool. Registration is closed. Its deadline was October 2 at 10am Pacific / 17:00 UTC / 19:00 CEST. No late-entry route is announced.

Qualifier preparation — historical October 16 guidance

The entry rules required a new Horde character on the PvP ruleset, created within the registration window that opened September 27 at 11am Pacific, with the surname Foreverpvp. An older beta character was not eligible. The qualifier requirements were to reach level 30 and complete the October 17 check-in window below. This section records that earlier stage; it is not a new finals check-in or payment request.

The qualifier date was October 17. The finals guidance above supersedes earlier finals preparation instructions.

October 17 check-in and payment record

Check-in is October 17, 9–10am CT / 14:00–15:00 UTC / 16:00–17:00 CEST. The 15 gold in-game entry fee must now be mailed from your confirmed Tournament Character to the character named Tournament Gold. It must be received and verified before check-in closes at 10am CT / 15:00 UTC / 17:00 CEST. The organisers warn that mail can take an hour or more.

The October 16 advice was to keep evidence of the recipient, amount and sending character, and ask a Tournament Admin about the conflict between confirmation timing and mail delay. It did not establish an early check-in option or late-payment exception.

The qualifier confirmation rule locked the character and qualifier build immediately. Late check-in was not accepted; the scheduled qualifier start was noon CT / 17:00 UTC / 19:00 CEST.

The earlier finals build-submission and Live Tracking guidance is retained in our source history. Use the October 18 finals requirements above and the organiser’s current instructions.

Read the organiser’s current finals rules before competing.

The finals arena is not a public travel destination

In the October 15 official podcast, Blizzard described a separate Hyjal crater arena for the day-two top 32. It will not be freely accessible: staff will help get participants there.

That was the developer’s October 15 plan. The newer organiser finals rules now specify 36 competitors, as described above.

If you qualify, follow the organisers’ instructions instead of trying to find a route into Hyjal. The developers also described Soul Shard and reagent vendors, but a cooldown-reset NPC was only offered if the tournament needs it. Do not treat that as a guaranteed part of your preparation.

The original discussion, from 54:23, concerns this beta event. Blizzard said the area was not ready for the shipping game; it is not an announcement of a permanent public arena.

Prepare for these rules, not an ordinary duel

The following rules were already in the earlier organiser guidance and remain relevant; read the current finals version for the complete requirements:

• Use class self-buffs. Campfire buffs, world buffs, protection potions, Magic Dust, Slumber Sand and Furbolg Medicine Pouch are banned.
• Finish talent changes before summons. The finals no longer require a submitted build; the current prohibition begins when you are summoned.
• Know your opener. Stealth classes have priority; warriors get an opener against non-stealth opponents. Stealth mirrors have no guaranteed opener, and assigned openers have a 25-second limit.
• Do not pre-HoT, pre-trap or sacrifice a demon before the duel. Shamans may begin with up to four totems, but totems that would interrupt a Stealth class or Warrior’s uncontested opener must wait until after that opener.

Competitors must stream their matches and retain the VOD. This is a preparation summary, not the complete rules: read the linked document again before competing.

Before you finish gearing: amended item and pet rules

The October 18 finals rules now make a specific exception for Sapper Charges. Use the current finals item list before inspection; an item missing from this summary is not automatically allowed.

Check summons and clear banned items from your bags

The rules ban damage-dealing non-equippable pet summon items that can move, including Spider Swarm and Compact Harvester Reaper Kit. Dog Whistle and Goblin Land Mine are explicitly permitted. Quest and dungeon rewards above item level 45 are banned, but containers and bags above that level are allowed. Profession items and tools requiring skill 226 or higher are banned. The prohibited list includes Student Fodder, Deviate Fish, Whimsyfin, Flash Bomb, Green Leaf Tea, Minor Magic Resistance Potion, Crystal Basilisk Spine, Green Whelp Armor, Gnomish Mind Control Cap. Goblin Sapper Charges may be carried for sudden death, but cannot be used in normal duels. Other prohibited items may not be equipped for a match or kept in your bags during inspection.

Check your equipment and bags before inspection. These restrictions apply to this tournament; they do not mean Blizzard has removed the items or banned them throughout the beta.

Review your opener and pre-duel buffs

Only your own class buffs are permitted: another player of your class cannot supply them. Warlocks may use only their own Healthstones; non-Warlocks may not use Warlock Healthstones. Before the duel, pets must stay beside their owner in the default follow position; they cannot be positioned in advance.

For an assigned stealth opener, the opponent must stand still until the first offensive action, including ability or trinket use. Assigned openers have a 25-second window; delays caused by the opponent do not count against it. Pre-HoTs are banned, but applying Power Word: Shield before the duel is permitted. Transmog must be disabled during the tournament.

The class-priority rules above still apply: stealth mirrors have no guaranteed opener. Read the full rules again before competing, as organisers may amend them.

The current prize split

The dedicated prizes page, re-read October 3, credits TimTheTatman’s contribution for the earlier prize-pool increase.

The current Forever Open rules list a $100,000 USD total, with $50,000 for the champion and $5,555 for the highest-placed player of each class. The champion’s class award goes to the second-highest-placed player of that class. Tied class placements divide the class award evenly.

The current rules resolve the mismatch observed October 1, when the general rules page still showed the earlier $50,000 total. This clarification does not announce another contribution or a larger prize pool.

Use the talent calculator to work through your allocation and the beta guide to check access. Watch for further organiser updates before committing to a strategy: these are community tournament rules, and the game is still in beta.