WoW Forever gold buying: what Blizzard's rules say about a gold ban

WoW Forever gold buying is against Blizzard's rules, and yes, you can get a gold ban for it. Blizzard says accounts involved in generating, selling, buying or receiving illicit gold in Forever can lose the gold, be suspended or be closed permanently. It says it was already acting on accounts during the beta.

Confirmed, from Blizzard's Actions Taken Against Botting and RMT post (1 October) and its support article Gold Buying: A Destructive Transaction.

What Blizzard says happens

• Buying gold for real money breaks the EULA.
• The gold gets removed, and your account gets actioned, possibly with a permanent ban.
• Blizzard says the companies selling gold also hack accounts and run bots, often on stolen accounts, and may target past buyers.

Forum users trade stories about how long suspensions last. Blizzard doesn't publish a fixed scale in the pages we've read, so we don't repeat them.

You can get caught without paying anyone

Blizzard warns about these, so check before you accept gold:

• Don't accept gold in the mail or from a random trade unless you know who sent it. Sellers sometimes dump gold on strangers to hide it.
• Keep trade agreements in in-game chat. Sellers try to move you to other apps to hide the deal.
• Only take gold from the character that made the agreement, not their "friend" or alt.
• Don't trade gold across WoW versions with anyone you don't trust. Blizzard says that isn't a supported transaction, and everyone involved can be actioned if any party bought gold or is a seller.
• Don't take large sums from someone you don't know, unless it's a crafting or trade deal you made with that character in game.

Why not to risk it

Your Forever characters and Legacy progress all sit on the account you'd be risking. Our opinion: a head start on launch week isn't worth that.

Making gold the normal way

You don't need much to stay ahead while leveling. Gold basics covers gathering and what to sell, and professions shows what pays.

Is there a WoW Token in Forever?

Unknown. Blizzard points to the WoW Token as the safe way to buy gold in WoW generally, and we haven't seen a Blizzard statement on whether it's available in Forever. Check in game after launch.

We don't link to, or review, any gold sites. If someone whispers you an offer, report them in game.