[Game Install] World of Warcraft: Forever on Linux

Jump to: Before you start Install Lutris Install Battle.net First Battle.net launch Choose Forever First launch Troubleshooting Freeze fixes Login spinner Installer errors After an update Ask for help

Sources checked October 8, 2026.

Want to try World of Warcraft: Forever without switching back to Windows? This guide outlines a Battle.net setup using Lutris, followed by troubleshooting for the Forever beta. Compatibility can change between updates: record the client build and runner version when testing.

Before you start

You need a Battle.net account with access to the relevant Forever test. Blizzard’s beta announcement says invited players download through Battle.net and can confirm their beta license in their account. Installing a launcher does not grant beta access. Blizzard’s announcement

Use a local Linux drive for the launcher and game. Lutris’s Battle.net documentation recommends Ext4 and warns against installing Battle.net on NTFS. It also requires working Vulkan-capable graphics drivers. Leave enough free space for the size shown by Battle.net plus updates. Lutris documentation

1. Install Lutris

Lutris manages Windows game installations and their compatibility layers. If your software manager supports Flathub, search for Lutris and check that its application ID is net.lutris.Lutris.

With Flatpak and the Flathub remote already configured, the terminal alternative is:

flatpak install flathub net.lutris.Lutris

Open Lutris from your application menu. Official Flathub listing

2. Install Battle.net through Lutris

The screenshots below show the installation on PikaOS 4 using Lutris.

Visit the Lutris Battle.net installer page and choose its Wine installer. Allow your browser to open Lutris. If it does not open, search for Battle.net within Lutris.

Select Install beside Wine Standard.
Choose Wine Standard in Lutris.
Choose a dedicated installation folder on your Linux drive, such as ~/Games/battlenet, then select Continue. Choose the shortcuts you want.
Choose your installation folder and shortcuts.
Leave the installer source set to Download and select Install. Allow Lutris to prepare the Wine environment.
Download the Battle.net installer through Lutris.
When the Battle.net installer appears, choose your language and select Continue.
Choose your language in the Battle.net installer.
Keep the default Battle.net installation location inside the Wine environment and select Continue. The option to launch Battle.net at computer startup is optional.
Keep the default location inside the Wine environment.

Close Battle.net before logging in

When Battle.net opens for the first time at the end of installation, close it without logging in. Let Lutris finish the installation and return to its library. Then launch Battle.net from its new Lutris entry and sign in. Continue launching it through that same entry.

Launch Battle.net from its installed Lutris entry.

3. Select the Forever client

In Battle.net, open World of Warcraft and inspect the game-version selector. Choose WoW: Forever - Beta. If your account has access and the Install button is enabled, select Install.

Select WoW: Forever - Beta from the Game Version menu.

If it is missing: verify the account license and current test availability before changing Wine settings. A launcher workaround cannot replace account entitlement.

Keep launching this Battle.net installation through the same Lutris entry. Creating another Wine environment can leave you with a second launcher that cannot see the first installation.

4. Try the first launch conservatively

At the character screen, start with low graphics settings. A player’s installation report describes entering with the overall graphics slider at 1, then adjusting individual options afterward. That is a reported workaround, not a universal requirement. First-hand installation report

Troubleshooting

It freezes when entering the world

Try Secondary Lighting: Fair and disable Optional GPU Features, if those controls exist in your current build. Change one setting at a time. Players reported these changes helping with particular beta freezes; results differed between systems. A separate report reproduced freezes under both DirectX 11 and 12, so switching APIs alone is not a guaranteed solution. First-hand freeze report and replies

If you can reach Battle.net settings, try disabling launcher hardware acceleration. Lutris troubleshooting

The installer or update agent fails

Check your distribution’s graphics-driver documentation, including required 32-bit Vulkan libraries. Reboot after driver changes. If a DNS filter or proxy is blocking Blizzard domains, check its logs rather than disabling all protection. Lutris troubleshooting

The game stopped working after an update

Record the last working and first failing client builds. Disable addons temporarily and retry. Change only one variable at a time so you can tell what helped. Preserve your addon settings and screenshots before resetting any game configuration.

Asking for help

Include your Linux distribution, GPU, driver version, Lutris version, Wine/Proton runner, client build, and exact error. Remove account names and tokens from logs before sharing them. Avoid deleting the whole Wine prefix as a first troubleshooting step: it contains the launcher, game installation and settings.

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