World of Warcraft: Forever launches with nine classes and nine playable races, the eight original races plus the new Skyborne, which can join either faction. That adds up to 56 race and class combinations, according to Blizzard’s official WoW: Forever races and classes article. Six of them are new to original Azeroth: Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, Undead Paladin, Human Hunter, Gnome Priest and Dwarf Shaman.
Below are the full WoW Forever races and classes tables for both factions, every Skyborne racial with Blizzard’s latest numbers, the racials Blizzard has published for the other races, and our opinion on the best class to start with. For the launch hour in your time zone, see our WoW Forever release time guide.
Table of Contents
Quick answer
- Classes (9): Druid, Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, Warrior. No new class.
- Horde races: Orc, Tauren, Troll, Undead, Windshaper Skyborne.
- Alliance races: Dwarf, Gnome, Human, Night Elf, High Order Skyborne.
- Paladin and Shaman are no longer locked to one faction: Undead can be Paladins, and Dwarves can be Shaman.
- Skyborne classes: Druid, Hunter, Rogue and Warrior on both sides, plus Shaman (Horde only) or Mage (Alliance only).
- Skyborne isn’t free: it needs the Skyborne Heroic Pack ($29.99 on the Battle.net Shop) or a higher upgrade.
- Our pick for a first character: Hunter for solo leveling, Paladin or Druid if you want to tank or heal in dungeons.
WoW Forever races and classes: every combination
Blizzard’s two tables, rewritten as one row per race. A race can only play the classes listed; “new” marks the combinations original World of Warcraft never had.
| Race (faction) | Classes available | Count |
|---|---|---|
| Orc (Horde) | Hunter, Mage (new), Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, Warrior | 6 |
| Tauren (Horde) | Druid, Hunter, Shaman, Warrior | 4 |
| Troll (Horde) | Hunter, Mage, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock (new), Warrior | 7 |
| Undead (Horde) | Mage, Paladin (new), Priest, Rogue, Warlock, Warrior | 6 |
| Windshaper Skyborne (Horde) | Druid, Hunter, Rogue, Shaman, Warrior | 5 |
| Dwarf (Alliance) | Hunter, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman (new), Warrior | 6 |
| Gnome (Alliance) | Mage, Priest (new), Rogue, Warlock, Warrior | 5 |
| Human (Alliance) | Hunter (new), Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Warlock, Warrior | 7 |
| Night Elf (Alliance) | Druid, Hunter, Priest, Rogue, Warrior | 5 |
| High Order Skyborne (Alliance) | Druid, Hunter, Mage, Rogue, Warrior | 5 |
Each faction has 28 combinations. Humans and Trolls have the most options (seven classes each), and Tauren have the fewest (four).
Which races can play each class
The same data turned around, so you can pick a class first and then a race:
| Class | Horde races | Alliance races |
|---|---|---|
| Druid | Tauren, Skyborne | Night Elf, Skyborne |
| Hunter | Orc, Tauren, Troll, Skyborne | Dwarf, Human, Night Elf, Skyborne |
| Mage | Orc, Troll, Undead | Gnome, Human, Skyborne |
| Paladin | Undead | Dwarf, Human |
| Priest | Troll, Undead | Dwarf, Gnome, Human, Night Elf |
| Rogue | Orc, Troll, Undead, Skyborne | Dwarf, Gnome, Human, Night Elf, Skyborne |
| Shaman | Orc, Tauren, Troll, Skyborne | Dwarf |
| Warlock | Orc, Troll, Undead | Gnome, Human |
| Warrior | All five | All five |
Blizzard showed these Horde heroes with its race and class tables; the new Horde pairings are Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Undead Paladin. Image: Blizzard Entertainment
The six new race and class combinations
Blizzard announced the six new pairings in its WoW: Forever Deep Dive recap and says more are planned for future updates. Two of them matter most for group play:
- Undead Paladin gives the Horde its first Paladin. The class can tank, heal or deal melee damage.
- Dwarf Shaman gives the Alliance its first Shaman.
- Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, Human Hunter and Gnome Priest add more race choices to classes that were already on both factions.
Paladins are the class Blizzard has explained in most detail so far. They get Holy Strike at level 6, Consecration becomes a baseline spell at level 20, and casting Judgment no longer uses up your Seal. Protection gets Seal of Fury, which makes Judgment taunt. Blizzard also lists what Paladins still can’t do: they have no interrupt and no slow, and their taunt still goes through the Seal and Judgment system.
Skyborne classes, factions and racials
The Skyborne are a new race of windswept elves from Zephras Isle, a floating island that serves as their own level 1-12 starting zone. When you create one, you choose a side. Horde characters become Windshaper Skyborne and can play Shaman. Alliance characters become High Order Skyborne and can play Mage. Both can also be Druids, Hunters, Rogues and Warriors, and Skyborne Druids get their own new shapeshift forms. Details come from Blizzard’s Meet the New Skyborne post.
Skyborne class options: Shaman is Horde-only, Mage is Alliance-only. Image: Blizzard Entertainment
Each Skyborne version has three shared racials and one of its own. The numbers below come from the final racial pass in Blizzard’s WoW Forever beta development notes (October 26-27), which changed several values from the September reveal:
| Racial | Who gets it | Effect (latest official values) |
|---|---|---|
| Walk on Air (active) | Both | Glide downward through the air for 10 seconds; 90-second cooldown (was 2 minutes) |
| Wind-Blessed (passive) | Both | 2% melee, ranged and spellcasting Haste (1% at reveal, briefly 3% in beta) |
| Elemental Insight (passive) | Both | 5% more damage to Elementals |
| Skysight (active) | Windshaper (Horde) | 15% movement speed for 15 seconds, usable while moving. Used at an Elemental Convergence, it also grants “Charged” for 1 hour, which raises the bonus to 30% |
| Read Ley Line (active) | High Order (Alliance) | 50% more Health and Mana regeneration for 15 seconds, usable while moving. Used at a Ley Line, it grants “Attuned” for 1 hour, which raises the bonus to 100%. Can’t be used while Innervate is active |
Charged and Attuned last through death but are removed when you enter a raid. Blizzard hasn’t published cooldowns for Skysight or Read Ley Line, and these are beta-cycle values, so launch tuning could still differ. Skyborne access comes with the Skyborne Heroic Pack ($29.99), Skyborne Epic Pack ($59.99) or Warcraft Forever Collection ($79.99) on the Battle.net Shop. The base game is included with a WoW subscription.
WoW Forever racials: what Blizzard has published so far
Blizzard says every race now has two active and two passive racial abilities, tuned to give a similar amount of offensive power. It has not yet posted a complete launch list with numbers for every race. The table below only includes racials named in official Blizzard posts and patch notes. Where Blizzard gave no numbers, we haven’t added any, and we left out datamined values.
| Race | Racials Blizzard has detailed |
|---|---|
| Human | Ruthless: +1% critical strike chance (replaces Sword Specialization). Human Spirit: +10% Spirit. Will to Survive (no details yet) |
| Dwarf | Stoneform: removes Bleed, Poison and Disease effects, gives immunity to them and reduces Physical damage taken. Find Treasure: works alongside other tracking and can find extra items in most chests. Artisan’s Precision: +1% hit chance with spells and attacks. Big Game Hunter: more damage against Beasts |
| Gnome | Eureka!: an 8-second buff that cuts Mana, Rage or Energy costs (10% in the October 1 notes) and adds a damage bonus. Also works on Power Word: Shield |
| Night Elf | Quickness: the movement speed bonus now stacks with other speed effects |
| Orc | Blood Fury: 2-minute cooldown. Shatter Curse: dispels Curses and Banes, 5% less Magic damage taken. Command: +5% Hunter and Warlock pet damage (Axe Specialization removed) |
| Tauren | War Stomp: 90-second cooldown. Cultivation: 15-minute cooldown. Endurance: +5% Health. Plainsrunning: +2% movement speed per stack up to 60%, as long as you keep moving |
| Troll | Berserking: lasts 15 seconds. Regeneration: 20% health regeneration bonus |
| Undead | Will of the Forsaken: removes Charm, Fear and Sleep but no longer grants immunity. Cannibalize: restores Mana as well as Health. Underwater Breathing: unchanged. Touch of the Grave: attacks can drain life, 15-second internal cooldown |
In its October 26 notes, Blizzard said it now puts “racial identity” first, so some races will be slightly better than others at certain roles. It also said weapon specialization racials will stay out of the game, so future loot tables don’t push races toward “required” weapon types.
Best class to start in WoW Forever (our opinion)
This section is GamingRoute’s editorial opinion, not Blizzard guidance. The game isn’t out yet, so it doesn’t rank classes for raids or PvP. Any “tier list” published before launch is a guess.
Blizzard says an ordinary creature should take a solo player about 10-15 seconds to defeat, and that dungeons stay tactical, with crowd control and threat still mattering. Leveling is a big part of the game here, so our picks favor classes that are comfortable to play alone and easy to group with:
| If you want… | Our pick | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Easy solo leveling | Hunter | Fights from range while a tamed pet takes hits. Eight of the ten race options can play it, on both factions |
| Dungeon invites (tank or healer) | Paladin (Alliance or Undead) or Druid | Both can tank, heal or deal damage. Paladins get Holy Strike at level 6 and baseline Consecration at 20, which should make early leveling smoother |
| Horde healer or hybrid | Shaman | Heals and deals damage. Shaman totems such as Windfury and Strength of Earth are now raid-wide, so groups value them |
| Something brand new | Skyborne Shaman or Mage | A new race, a new 1-12 zone and racials built for casters. Needs the Heroic Pack |
| A pure damage dealer | Mage or Warlock | Strong ranged damage and crowd control (Polymorph, Fear, Banish), which Blizzard says still matter in dungeons |
The Alliance side gains Human Hunter, Gnome Priest and Dwarf Shaman. Image: Blizzard Entertainment
Race picks for each class (based on the published racials)
- Hunter or Warlock: Orc, because Command adds 5% pet damage.
- Mage: Gnome for Eureka!’s cheaper spells, or High Order Skyborne for Read Ley Line’s mana regeneration plus 2% Haste.
- Shaman: Windshaper Skyborne for Haste and Elemental Insight, or Troll for the 15-second Berserking. On the Alliance side, Dwarf is the only option.
- Healers (Priest, Paladin): Human for +10% Spirit, Undead for Cannibalize’s mana, or Dwarf for Stoneform.
- Warrior or Rogue: Dwarf for +1% hit, Human for +1% crit, or Orc and Troll for their damage cooldowns.
Racials are small bonuses. Your class, and playing with friends, matter far more than your race, and Blizzard’s new player’s starter guide encourages you to try another class if your first choice doesn’t click.
Before you create your character
- Agree on a Ruleset and faction with friends. You can only group, run dungeons and raid with players on the same Ruleset (Normal, PvP, Roleplay or Roleplay-PvP) and faction. Hardcore comes after launch.
- Names have two parts and must be unique in your region. Our WoW Forever name reservation guide covers the rules.
- HD or SD models are a per-character look you can change later. They don’t affect abilities.
- WoW Forever comes out the same week as several other big releases; see games coming out this week. Blizzard tested its servers in the October stress test.
FAQ
Can Horde play Paladin in WoW Forever?
Yes, but only as Undead. Undead Paladin is one of the six new combinations. On the Alliance side, Dwarves and Humans can still be Paladins.
What classes can Skyborne be in WoW Forever?
Druid, Hunter, Rogue and Warrior on either faction. Horde Windshaper Skyborne can also be Shaman, and Alliance High Order Skyborne can also be Mage.
Is Skyborne free in WoW Forever?
No. WoW Forever itself is included with a WoW subscription, but the Skyborne race needs the Skyborne Heroic Pack ($29.99) or a higher upgrade edition.
Does WoW Forever have new classes?
No. It has the nine original classes. What’s new is six race and class combinations, the Skyborne race, and reworked talents and abilities for every class.
What is the best class in WoW Forever?
Nobody can rank classes reliably before launch. In our opinion, Hunter is the easiest class for solo leveling, and Paladin, Druid and Shaman are the most flexible picks for groups.
Sources: Blizzard (Create the Hero You Want to Be: race and class tables), Blizzard (Meet the New Skyborne), Blizzard (Deep Dive panel recap), Blizzard (What’s Next panel recap), Blizzard (WoW Forever beta development notes, updated October 26-27), Blizzard (New Player’s Starter Guide), WoW: Forever official site, Battle.net Shop. Checked November 2, 2026, 12:00 UTC.
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