From 2 a.m. to around 7 a.m. Beijing time on November 5, you will not be able to log in to WoW: Forever. That is the final pre-launch maintenance: Blizzard's launcher announcement schedules it for 10 a.m. PST on November 4 — "scheduled maintenance beginning on Wednesday, November 4th, 10:00 AM (PST)" — the estimated length is about five hours, and the official opening hour stays at 3 p.m. PST on November 4 (6 p.m. EST), which is 07:00 Beijing on November 5 and lines up with the November 5 global launch date on the China-published calendar. Wowhead relayed the plan in the early hours of November 3 Beijing time.
Five hours is an estimate, not a promise
Three facts are official: the maintenance starts at 10 a.m. PST, it is estimated at about five hours, and the gates target 3 p.m. PST. Launch-day congestion is a series tradition, and Wowhead's write-up flags both directions — the window may stretch past five hours, or, if the work goes quickly, end early and let you in ahead of schedule. How an extension would be announced, how long it could run, and any per-realm or per-region arrangements were not announced. Wowhead says it will keep its own post updated, so that page is worth one more look before you settle in to wait.
Two deadlines left before the doors open
Pre-download is open to every player, explicitly including those who never pre-ordered a Skyborne pack and spent the whole beta on the outside. The install path is the one laid out in our launch overview (read it here): install the Battle.net desktop app, pick WoW: Forever in the game list, and hit install. The client's download size was not announced — starting after the maintenance ends only puts one more download ahead of your login.
The more urgent item: name reservation closes at 23:59 Beijing time on November 3, the last hard deadline before the servers go down. If you haven't locked a name yet, tonight is the night; our earlier piece covers the strict name-collision checks that came with reservation (read it here).
Set the alarm for 07:00, keep patience for 07:30
07:00 Beijing is the opening target, not a guarantee you'll be standing in a capital city at 07:01 — with the stated possibility of an extension, treat anything after 07:30 as the realistic window. The reverse also holds: if Blizzard finishes early, you may get in ahead of the clock. Both possibilities are on the table, and all the officials gave is an estimate.
Once you're through the gates, the next hard date is December 9, when the first three raids — Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair — open on the same day and the raid-calendar math begins. Tonight, lock the name, start the download, set the alarm, and get some sleep.