WoW Forever PvP Glossary

Plain definitions of the PvP terms and abbreviations used in our guides. New in Forever: the Skyborne race, Legacy perks, the Darkspear Islands battleground, a 16-point milestone talent and PvP seasons.

Sources checked

Oct 22, 2026

Tested in game

Not yet

Updated

Oct 22, 2026

Honor, ranks and rewards

Item effects are from Wowhead's Forever item database; the rank each reward needs is Blizzard's.

Battle standard

A Rank 7 item for battlegrounds only. It places a standard with 1,500 health that raises the maximum health of party members within 45 yards by 15% for 2 minutes. Cooldown: 10 minutes. Rewards

Elite gear

Icy Veins' name for the epic PvP armor set. You get each piece by upgrading the matching blue piece with that slot's Emboldened Seal. Slots unlock one or two at a time from Rank 8 to Rank 13. Rewards

Emboldened Seal

The item that upgrades a blue PvP piece to its epic version. Each slot has its own seal and rank requirement; the chest seal needs Rank 13 and level 60. Rewards

Field of Honor Journey

Each season's PvP Journey of weekly tasks; the beta game files hold one quest a week for 10 weeks. Blizzard says the tasks award Honor and Rank Points, and the ones that give a Legacy point stay available in later seasons. Weeks 4, 7 and 10 each give a Legacy point. Honor and Rank Points

Holiday week

A week when a battleground is highlighted and gives extra Honor and Rank Points. Blizzard has not said how much extra. Honor and Rank Points

Honor

The currency you spend at PvP vendors. You earn it by defeating players, completing battlegrounds and finishing PvP quests. You can hold 25,000, up from 15,000 before October 1. Honor and Rank Points

Insignia

The Rank 2 PvP trinket. The Greater Insignia of the Alliance or of the Horde removes all movement-impairing and loss-of-control effects on you, on a 5-minute cooldown. Rewards

Marks of Honor

A separate token for each of the four battlegrounds. Some PvP items cost marks as well as Honor, and Blizzard raised their stack size to 30 on October 15. Icy Veins and Wowhead report 3 marks for a win and 1 for a loss. Honor and Rank Points

Premier

The name on Forever's PvP gear. Blue pieces are Premier plus the material, such as the Premier Chainmail Helmet. Epic pieces add a rank title, such as the Premier Field Marshal's Chainmail Helm. Rewards

Rank

Your PvP standing for the season, from 1 to 14. Each rank gives a title and unlocks rewards to buy with Honor, from a tabard at Rank 1 to epic weapons at Rank 14. PvP ranks

Rank 14 (R14)

The top rank: Grand Marshal for the Alliance, High Warlord for the Horde. It takes 24,750 Rank Points in total, and the weekly cap allows it from week 10 of a season. PvP ranks

Rank Points (RP)

Points that raise your rank, earned from battlegrounds and PvP quests. You never spend them. Icy Veins reports that they reset when the season ends. Honor and Rank Points

Season

The PvP ranking period. Each season includes a Field of Honor Journey, and Icy Veins reports that your rank resets when it ends. Blizzard has not announced how long a season lasts. PvP ranks

Weekly cap

The highest rank each week of a season allows: Rank 3 in week 1, rising to Rank 14 in week 10. Points earned above it do not raise your rank that week. PvP ranks

Battlegrounds and world PvP

Alterac Valley (AV)

The 40 vs 40 battleground, for levels 51 to 60. Battlegrounds

Arathi Basin (AB)

A 15 vs 15 battleground about holding bases, from level 20. Battlegrounds

Battleground (BG)

A team match against the other faction, with a goal to win. Forever has four: Warsong Gulch, Arathi Basin, Alterac Valley and Darkspear Islands. Players from different rulesets meet in them, except Hardcore. Battlegrounds

Battlemaster

The non-player character who queues you for battlegrounds, found in every major capital city. Icy Veins and Wowhead place them in Stormwind Keep, Orgrimmar's Valley of Honor and Dalaran's Underbelly. Blizzard's October 15 notes say Horde characters are attacked on sight in Dalaran, so use Orgrimmar instead. Darkspear Islands also has a portal at your faction's Barrens base: Northwatch (Alliance) or Merchant Coast (Horde). Battlegrounds

Bracket

The level range you are matched in, such as 20 to 29. Most battlegrounds use 10-level brackets plus one for level 60; Alterac Valley has a single 51–60 bracket. Battlegrounds

Contested zone

Territory where PvP-ruleset characters are flagged automatically. Icy Veins reports this covers nearly every zone above level 15; Blizzard has not published a zone list. PvP basics

Darkspear Islands (DI)

Forever's new 15 vs 15 battleground off the coast of Dustwallow Marsh, for levels 30 to 60. Teams score by holding four capture points and by carrying a central flag to a base they hold. The first team to 2,000 points wins. Darkspear Islands

Flag carrier

The player holding a battleground flag. In Warsong Gulch you capture the enemy team's flag; in Darkspear Islands you carry the central flag to a base your team holds. Darkspear Islands

Flagged

Open to attack by the other faction, and able to attack them. On the PvP ruleset this happens automatically in contested and enemy zones; on other rulesets you turn it on with /pvp. PvP basics

PvP

Player versus player: fighting other players. PvP basics

Ruleset

The rules you pick instead of a realm: Normal, PvP, Roleplaying or Hardcore (after launch). On Normal, world PvP is optional; the PvP ruleset adds open-world fighting in contested territory. PvP basics

Warsong Gulch (WSG)

The 10 vs 10 capture-the-flag battleground, from level 10. From level 10 to 19 it is the only battleground. Battlegrounds

World PvP

Fighting in the open world instead of a battleground. PvP basics

Combat terms

Durations are first-rank values from Wowhead's Forever spell database.

Bane

A damaging Warlock effect separated from utility Curses: Curse of Agony and Curse of Doom are now Banes. Each Warlock can keep one Bane on a target. Anything that removes or blocks Curses also works on Banes. Warlock guide

Crowd control (CC)

Effects that stop or limit what you can do: stuns, roots, snares, fears, incapacitates and silences. Combat mechanics

Diminishing returns (DR)

When the same kind of control hits one target again soon after, it lasts less time. Blizzard's October 8 notes confirm this for the Hunter talent Entrapment. Forever's full groups and timings are not published. Combat mechanics

Dispel

Removing an effect with a spell: a harmful one from an ally or a helpful one from an enemy. Examples are Dispel Magic (Priest), Cleanse (Paladin), Remove Curse (Druid) and Purge (Shaman). Combat mechanics

Interrupt

Stopping an enemy's cast, which also locks that school of magic for a few seconds: Kick 5 sec, Pummel 4 sec, Counterspell 10 sec. Blizzard says Hunters, Druids and Paladins have no interrupt, though Wowhead's data gives Bear Form Feral Charge one. Combat mechanics

Proc

An effect that triggers on its own, by chance or when a condition is met, such as Omen of Clarity or Arcane Concentration. Spells cast at ranks far below your level have a lower chance to trigger them. Combat mechanics

Pushback

Damage you take while casting delays the cast or shortens a channel. Talents such as Twilight Focus (Holy Priest) and Eye of the Storm (Elemental Shaman) resist it. Combat mechanics

Silence

Stops you casting any spell for a few seconds, unlike an interrupt, which locks one school. Examples are Silence (Shadow Priest, 5 sec) and Spell Lock (Felhunter, 3 sec). Blizzard's October 7 Mage preview says one point in Improved Counterspell now always adds a short Silence. Combat mechanics

Races, talents and Legacy

Dual Specialization

A second set of talents you can switch to. It opens at level 40, above the beta's level 30 cap. You change talents at a class trainer in a major city. Class guides

Eureka!

The Gnome racial, on a 2-minute cooldown. Blizzard changed it on October 15 to an 8-second buff with no charges, retaining its damage and resource-cost effects and adding Power Word: Shield support. Exact spell coverage still needs checking. Races

For Great Honor

A Legacy perk in the Resourcefulness tree that increases the Honor you earn from PvP. Blizzard gives no percentage. PvP preparation

Legacy

Forever's account-wide progression system. Legacy challenges earn Legacy points, which buy Legacy perks and unlock cosmetic rewards. Most players unlock it when their first character reaches level 25. PvP preparation

Legacy perk

A character bonus bought with Legacy points, from three trees: Professions, Adventure and Resourcefulness. Each character spends its own points, up to 16 at launch, and changes perks at a class trainer. PvP picks include For Great Honor and Talented. PvP preparation

Legacy points

One point per Legacy challenge, shared by all your characters except Hardcore ones. PvP gives 12: Ranks 3, 7, 10, 13 and 14, Exalted with each of the four battleground reputations, and Field of Honor Journey weeks 4, 7 and 10. PvP Legacy points

Milestone talent

A one-point talent at 11, 16, 21 or 31 points in a tree; Blizzard's previews call them gold medal talents. The 16-point milestone is new in Forever. At the beta's level 30 cap you have 21 points, enough for a 21-point talent but not a 31-point one. Class guides

Skyborne

Forever's new race, on both sides: High Order Skyborne (Alliance) and Windshaper Skyborne (Horde). Both have Walk on Air, Wind Blessed and Elemental Insight; High Order adds Read Ley Line and Windshapers add Skysight. Both can be Druids, Hunters, Rogues or Warriors; High Order can also be Mages, and Windshapers Shamans. Races

Talented

A Legacy perk in the Adventure tree that gives you talent points up to 5 levels early. At level 30 that means a few more than the usual 21. PvP preparation

Beta, data and interface

Beta

Forever's pre-launch test, capped at level 30 since October 1. Blizzard's October 20 announcement plans the beta's closure for October 23, 2026 at 10 a.m. PDT; launch is November 4, 2026.

Cooldown Manager

Forever's built-in cooldown tracker. It shows key cooldowns and buffs from your action bars and buff bar in a display you can move. It is off by default: turn it on in Options under Gameplay Enhancement. Since October 8 it supports every class, racials and trinkets. October 15 notes say different ranks of a spell now share one entry. PvP controls

Datamined

Read from the game files rather than announced by Blizzard. Our guides take many ability levels, cooldowns and item effects from Wowhead's datamined Forever database. Beta values can change before launch.

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