What are the new race and class combinations in WoW Forever?

Forever adds Undead Paladin, Orc Mage, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman and Gnome Priest, plus the Skyborne races on both factions. Troll Warlock has a starting quest in the game files, but our data does not list it as playable yet.

What is the best race for leveling in WoW Forever?

There is no single best race: your class and your route matter far more. Undead and Orc are strong Horde picks, Human and Night Elf are strong Alliance picks. The table on this page gives our pick for each class.

Can Undead be Paladins in WoW Forever?

Yes. Undead Paladin is one of the new combinations of Forever. It starts with its own class quest in Tirisfal Glades and has its own trainers, so it levels like any other Horde paladin from level 1.

Do racials still give weapon skill in WoW Forever?

No. In the Forever client the weapon racials of Humans, Orcs and Dwarves give critical strike chance with all spells and attacks while you wield swords, axes or maces, instead of extra weapon skill as in Classic.

Which racials help most while leveling?

Movement speed racials such as Quickness and Plainsrunning, regeneration racials such as Cannibalize and Rapid Regeneration, and escapes such as Will of the Forsaken save the most time over a full 1 to 60 run.

WoW Forever races, racials and class combinations

Every race of WoW Forever with its racial abilities, the race and class combinations you can create, and the best race for each class.

Race and class combinations

Which classes each race can play in WoW Forever. Combinations marked New did not exist in Classic.

Horde

Class	Orc	Undead	Tauren	Troll	Windshaper Skyborne
Warrior	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓New
Paladin	–	✓New	–	–	–
Hunter	✓	–	✓	✓	✓New
Rogue	✓	✓	–	✓	✓New
Priest	–	✓	–	✓	–
Shaman	✓	–	✓	✓	✓New
Mage	✓New	✓	–	✓	–
Warlock	✓	✓	–	✓New	–
Druid	–	–	✓	–	✓New

Alliance

Class	Human	Dwarf	Night Elf	Gnome	High Order Skyborne
Warrior	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓New
Paladin	✓	✓	–	–	–
Hunter	✓New	✓	✓	–	✓New
Rogue	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓New
Priest	✓	✓	✓	✓New	–
Shaman	–	✓New	–	–	–
Mage	✓	–	–	✓	✓New
Warlock	✓	–	–	✓	–
Druid	–	–	✓	–	✓New

✓ playable · New: new in WoW Forever · Guide coming soon: no leveling guide for this class yet

Best race for each class

Our pick for leveling, one per faction. The class matters far more than the race: when in doubt, pick the race you like.

Class	Horde	Alliance	Why
Warrior	Orc Horde guide	Human Alliance guide	Orc: shorter stuns and a burst of attack power. Human: a stun break and more critical strikes with swords.
Paladin	Undead Horde guide	Human Alliance guide	Undead: a fear break and health and mana regained from corpses between pulls. Human: a stun break and more Spirit.
Hunter	Troll Horde guide	Night Elf Alliance guide	Troll: an attack speed burst and more damage against beasts, the most common enemies. Night Elf: stealth while standing still and faster movement.
Rogue	Undead Horde guide	Human Alliance guide	Undead: a fear break, health drain on hits and regeneration from corpses. Human: a stun break and stealth detection.
Priest	Undead Horde guide	Human Alliance guide	Undead: a fear break and corpse regeneration that also restores mana. Human: more Spirit and a stun break.
Shaman	Orc Horde guide	Dwarf Alliance guide	Orc: shorter stuns and a burst of attack and spell power. Dwarf: less physical damage taken and removal of poisons, bleeds and diseases.
Mage	Undead Horde guide	Human Alliance guide	Undead: a fear break and corpse regeneration that restores mana between pulls. Human: more Spirit and a stun break.
Warlock	Undead Horde guide	Human Alliance guide	Undead: a fear break, health drain and corpse regeneration. Human: a stun break and more Spirit.
Druid	Tauren Horde guide	Night Elf Alliance guide	Tauren: more health, an area stun and speed that builds while moving. Night Elf: stealth while standing still, more dodge and faster movement.

Races and racial abilities

OrcHorde

Racial abilities

Blood Fury — Increases Attack Power and Spell Power by 10% for 15 sec.
Hardiness — Duration of Stun effects on you reduced by 20%.
Command — Damage dealt by Hunter and Warlock pets increased by 5%.
Shatter Curse — Instantly removes all Curses and Banes, and reduces all Magical damage taken by 5% for 8 sec.

Classes

Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Shaman, MageNew, Warlock

UndeadHorde

Racial abilities

Underwater Breathing — Underwater breath lasts 300% longer than normal.
Will of the Forsaken — Instantly removes all Charm, Fear and Sleep effects.
Cannibalize — When activated, regenerates 7% of total Health and 7% of total Mana every 2 sec for 10 sec. Only works on Humanoid or Undead corpses within 5 yds. Any movement, action, or damage taken while Cannibalizing will cancel the effect.
Touch of the Grave
- Warrior, Paladin, Rogue: Your spells and attacks have a 20% chance to drain Health from the target, up to 5% of your maximum Health.
- Priest, Mage, Warlock: Your spells and attacks have a 30% chance to drain Health from the target, up to 5% of your maximum Health.

Classes

Warrior, PaladinNew, Rogue, Priest, Mage, Warlock

Class spells reserved for this race

Touch of Weakness (Priest, level 10)
Dark Sacrifice (Priest, level 30)

TaurenHorde

Racial abilities

War Stomp — Stuns up to 5 nearby enemies for 2 sec.
Endurance — Total Health increased by 5%.
Cultivation — Cultivate a nearby herb, growing a duplicate you can harvest without requiring Herbalism skill. Each herb may only be cultivated once.
Plainsrunning — Gain 2% increased movement speed every 5 sec spent moving, up to a maximum of 60% increase. Taking damage or standing still will reduce this effect.

Classes

Warrior, Hunter, Shaman, Druid

TrollHorde

Racial abilities

Berserking — Increases casting and attack speed by 10%.
Regeneration — Health regeneration rate increased by 20%. In addition, 20% of total Health regeneration will continue during combat.
Beast Slaying — Damage dealt versus Beasts increased by 5%.
Rapid Regeneration — Regenerate 50% of your maximum Health over 6 sec. Any movement, action, or damage taken will cancel the effect.

Classes

Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Shaman, Mage, WarlockNew

Class spells reserved for this race

Hex of Weakness (Priest, level 10)
Shadowguard (Priest, level 20)

Windshaper SkyborneHordeNew in WoW Forever

Racial abilities

Walk on Air — Glide downward through the air for 10 sec while controlling your direction of travel.
Skysight — Attempt to draw power from a convergence of elements and receive its blessing, increasing your movement and mounted movement speeds by 15% for 30 sec. If an elemental convergence is nearby, you will become Charged for the next 1 hr and the effect of this ability will be increased by 100%.
Elemental Insight — Damage dealt versus Elementals increased by 5%.
Wind Blessed — Increases your spellcasting, melee, and ranged Haste by 2%.

Classes

WarriorNew, HunterNew, RogueNew, ShamanNew, DruidNew

HumanAlliance

Racial abilities

Ruthless — Increases your critical strike chance with all spells and attacks by 1%.
The Human Spirit — Spirit increased by 10%.
Perception — Dramatically increases stealth detection for 20 sec.
Will to Survive — Instantly removes all Stun effects.

Classes

Warrior, Paladin, HunterNew, Rogue, Priest, Mage, Warlock

Class spells reserved for this race

Divine Grace (Priest, level 18)
Feedback (Priest, level 20)

DwarfAlliance

Racial abilities

Find Treasure — Allows the dwarf to sense nearby treasure, making it appear on the minimap and sometimes increase treasure found.
Stoneform — Instantly removes and grants immunity to all Bleed, Poison, and Disease effects, and reduces all Physical damage taken by 10% for 8 sec.
Artisan's Precision — Increases your chance to hit with all spells and attacks by 1%.
Big Game Hunter — Damage dealt versus Beasts increased by 5%.

Classes

Warrior, Paladin, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, ShamanNew

Class spells reserved for this race

Desperate Prayer (Priest, level 10)
Chastise (Priest, level 30)

Night ElfAlliance

Racial abilities

Shadowmeld — Activate to slip into the shadows, reducing the chance for enemies to detect your presence. Lasts until cancelled or upon moving. Using this ability in combat discourages enemies from attacking you, but increases the cooldown to 2 min.
Quickness — Dodge chance increased by 1% and movement speed increased by 2%. Night Elf Rogues and Druids are harder to detect in Stealth as if they were 1 level higher.
Wisp Spirit — Transform into a wisp upon death, increasing movement speed by 75%.
Elune's Light — Increases your critical strike chance with all spells and attacks by 10% for 15 sec.

Classes

Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Druid

Class spells reserved for this race

Starshards (Priest, level 10)
Elune's Grace (Priest, level 20)

GnomeAlliance

Racial abilities

Escape Artist — Instantly escape the effects of any movement impairing effect and gain immunity to those effects for 3 sec.
Expansive Mind
- Priest, Mage, Warlock: Maximum Mana increased by 5%.
- Warrior: Maximum Rage increased by 5%.
- Rogue: Maximum Energy increased by 5%.
Engineering Specialization — Your gnomish ingenuity reduces the rate of engineering devices failing or backfiring when you use them by 20%.
Eureka!
- Rogue: Your non-periodic damaging abilities have their Energy cost reduced by 10% and deal 10% more damage for 8 sec.
- Warrior: Your non-periodic damaging abilities have their Rage cost reduced by 10% and deal 10% more damage for 8 sec.
- Mage: Your damaging abilities have their Mana cost reduced by 10% and deal 10% more damage for 8 sec.
- Warlock: Your non-periodic damaging abilities have their Mana cost reduced by 10% and deal 10% more damage for 8 sec.
- Priest: Your non-periodic damaging or healing abilities have their Mana cost reduced by 10% and deal 10% more damage or healing for 8 sec.

Classes

Warrior, Rogue, PriestNew, Mage, Warlock

Class spells reserved for this race

Contingency Plan (Priest, level 30)

High Order SkyborneAllianceNew in WoW Forever

Racial abilities

Walk on Air — Glide downward through the air for 10 sec while controlling your direction of travel.
Read Leyline — Attempt to tap into the power of a nearby leyline, increasing your Health and Mana regeneration by 50% for 15 sec. If a leyline is nearby, you will become Attuned for the next 1 hr and the effect of this ability will be increased by 100%.
Elemental Insight — Damage dealt versus Elementals increased by 5%.
Wind Blessed — Increases your spellcasting, melee, and ranged Haste by 2%.

Classes

WarriorNew, HunterNew, RogueNew, MageNew, DruidNew

Racial abilities and descriptions come from the WoW Forever client (build 1.60.1.70790).

WoW Forever keeps the eight races of Classic, adds the Skyborne as a ninth playable race for each faction, opens several race and class combinations that never existed in 2019 and reworks almost every racial ability. This page sums up what changed, which combinations you can create and how much your race really matters while you level from 1 to 60.

What changed in Forever racials

The biggest change is the end of weapon skill racials. In Classic, Humans, Orcs and Dwarves gained extra weapon skill with some weapon types. In the Forever client, Sword Specialization, Axe Specialization and Mace Specialization give a flat critical strike chance to all spells and attacks while you hold that weapon instead. The elemental resistances of Classic no longer appear among the racials of the client, and every race gets at least one new ability:

Human: Will to Survive removes all stun effects, next to Perception and The Human Spirit.
Dwarf: Big Game Hunter adds damage against beasts, and Stoneform now also reduces physical damage taken.
Night Elf: Elune's Light gives a short critical strike burst, and Quickness adds movement speed.
Gnome: Eureka! makes the next few abilities cheaper and stronger, and Expansive Mind now has a rage and an energy version.
Orc: Shatter Curse removes curses and reduces magic damage taken; Blood Fury raises both attack power and spell power.
Undead: Touch of the Grave sometimes drains health with your attacks, and Cannibalize now restores mana as well as health.
Tauren: Plainsrunning builds movement speed the longer you keep moving.
Troll: Rapid Regeneration restores half of your health over six seconds, as long as you stand still and take no damage.

These are beta observations taken from the current client build: the values shown in the race sections above are read from the game data and may still change before launch.

New race and class combinations

Forever adds Undead Paladin, Orc Mage, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman and Gnome Priest. Each one has trainers and class quests in its starting area, so it levels like any other combination. Troll Warlock has a starting quest in the game files, but our data does not list it as playable yet. The Skyborne are new races on both sides: the High Order Skyborne for the Alliance and the Windshaper Skyborne for the Horde. They can play Warrior, Hunter, Rogue and Druid, plus Mage on the Alliance side and Shaman on the Horde side. Their racials help you travel: Walk on Air lets you glide down from heights, and Wind Blessed adds a little haste.

How much race matters for leveling

Less than your class, your talents and your route. Racials are worth a few percent of speed at best, while a good route saves hours. Pick the race you enjoy and the faction your friends play. If you hesitate, the table of picks above lists the race we would choose for each class, with a link to the matching class guide.

The racials that help most while leveling are the ones that save time between pulls or keep you alive:

Speed: Quickness, Plainsrunning and Skysight cut the walking time between quests.
Regeneration: Cannibalize, Rapid Regeneration and Read Ley Line shorten the downtime after each fight.
Stealth detection: Perception helps against rogues and stealthed enemies on PvP servers.
Escapes: Will of the Forsaken, Will to Survive, Escape Artist and Stoneform get you out of a bad pull.

Priest racial spells

Priests still learn spells that depend on their race, and some of them are new in Forever. Gnome Priests learn Contingency Plan, a holy ward, at level 30. Undead Priests get Dark Sacrifice, which trades health for mana, next to Touch of Weakness. Dwarves get Chastise and Desperate Prayer, Humans get Divine Grace and Feedback, Night Elves get Starshards and Elune's Grace, and Trolls get Hex of Weakness and Shadowguard. The race sections above list them with the level at which the trainer teaches them.

Go further

Once you have picked a race, follow the leveling guide for your class, or compare the factions with the Horde and Alliance pages.

Frequently asked questions

What are the new race and class combinations in WoW Forever?: Forever adds Undead Paladin, Orc Mage, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman and Gnome Priest, plus the Skyborne races on both factions. Troll Warlock has a starting quest in the game files, but our data does not list it as playable yet.
What is the best race for leveling in WoW Forever?: There is no single best race: your class and your route matter far more. Undead and Orc are strong Horde picks, Human and Night Elf are strong Alliance picks. The table on this page gives our pick for each class.
Can Undead be Paladins in WoW Forever?: Yes. Undead Paladin is one of the new combinations of Forever. It starts with its own class quest in Tirisfal Glades and has its own trainers, so it levels like any other Horde paladin from level 1.
Who are the Skyborne?: The Skyborne are the new playable race of WoW Forever, one per faction: the High Order Skyborne for the Alliance and the Windshaper Skyborne for the Horde. Their racials focus on travel and haste, like gliding with Walk on Air.
Do racials still give weapon skill in WoW Forever?: No. In the Forever client the weapon racials of Humans, Orcs and Dwarves give critical strike chance with all spells and attacks while you wield swords, axes or maces, instead of extra weapon skill as in Classic.
Which racials help most while leveling?: Movement speed racials such as Quickness and Plainsrunning, regeneration racials such as Cannibalize and Rapid Regeneration, and escapes such as Will of the Forsaken save the most time over a full 1 to 60 run.