WoW Forever has 56 race and class combinations, 28 per faction, against 40 in Classic. Six are new for the original races: Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, Undead Paladin, Human Hunter, Gnome Priest and Dwarf Shaman, and the new Skyborne race adds ten more. The biggest change is that both factions can now play all nine classes: the Horde gets paladins, the Alliance gets shamans. Here is every combination from Blizzard's announcement, checked against the beta client (build 1.60.1.70009).
Horde races and classes
| Race |
Classes |
| Orc |
Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Shaman, Mage, Warlock |
| Undead |
Warrior, Paladin, Rogue, Priest, Mage, Warlock |
| Tauren |
Warrior, Hunter, Shaman, Druid |
| Troll |
Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Shaman, Mage, Warlock |
| Windshaper Skyborne |
Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Shaman, Druid |
Trolls have the widest choice on the Horde side, with seven classes. Tauren keep their four, the same as in Classic.
Alliance races and classes
| Race |
Classes |
| Human |
Warrior, Paladin, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Mage, Warlock |
| Dwarf |
Warrior, Paladin, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Shaman |
| Night Elf |
Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Druid |
| Gnome |
Warrior, Rogue, Priest, Mage, Warlock |
| High Order Skyborne |
Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Mage, Druid |
Humans match Trolls with seven classes, and Night Elves keep exactly their Classic list.
The six new combinations
- Undead Paladin: the Horde's first paladins, so playing the class no longer means joining the Alliance. Plan one in our paladin talent planner.
- Dwarf Shaman: the mirror image, and the only Alliance shamans. Our shaman talent planner covers the class.
- Orc Mage and Troll Warlock: each race gains the caster it was missing, so both now have mages and warlocks.
- Human Hunter: humans can now tame pets.
- Gnome Priest: the first gnome healer, since gnomes had no healing class in Classic.
Which races can play each class
| Class |
Races |
| Warrior |
All ten |
| Rogue |
Every race except Tauren |
| Hunter |
Every race except Undead and Gnome |
| Mage |
Orc, Undead, Troll, Human, Gnome, High Order Skyborne |
| Priest |
Undead, Troll, Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome |
| Shaman |
Orc, Tauren, Troll, Windshaper Skyborne, Dwarf |
| Warlock |
Orc, Undead, Troll, Human, Gnome |
| Druid |
Tauren, Night Elf, both Skyborne |
| Paladin |
Undead, Human, Dwarf |
Paladins stay the rarest class, open to three races. Warriors are the only class every race can play.
Racial traits that change the pick
Each race brings four racial traits, and Blizzard says some were updated to fit the wider class choice. A few stand out with the new combinations:
- The Orc's Blood Fury increases Attack Power and Spell Power by 10% for 15 seconds, as useful to an Orc Mage as to a Warrior.
- The Troll's Berserking increases casting and attack speed by 10% for 10 seconds.
- The Gnome's Expansive Mind increases maximum Mana, Rage or Energy by 5%, and Eureka! lowers the cost and adds 10% damage or healing to the next three spells or abilities, which suits a Gnome Priest.
- The Dwarf's Stoneform grants immunity to bleeds, poisons and diseases and reduces physical damage taken for 8 seconds.
Our racial traits guide lists all of them with the beta client's exact numbers.
Skyborne: the faction is chosen at creation
The Skyborne are one race split in two, and you pick the side when you create the character. Windshaper Skyborne join the Horde and can become Shamans, while High Order Skyborne join the Alliance and can become Mages. Both can play Warrior, Hunter, Rogue or Druid. The race and its starting zone, Zephras Isle, require the Skyborne Heroic Pack or a bigger upgrade, as our Skyborne guide explains.
Once you have picked a race and a class, you can reserve the name between October 27 and November 3 with an upgrade, and play from launch on November 4.
