WoW Forever: Best Race for Every Class (Launch Racials) 

Launch for World of Warcraft: Forever is November 4, and Blizzard’s final racial pass of October 26 set the racial values for it. If you’re planning your main, picking the best race in WoW Forever is a more open question than it has been at any point in Classic’s history. Blizzard rebuilt every racial: each race now has two active abilities (one combat cooldown, one utility tool) and two passives. The old weapon skill bonuses are gone, and several races picked up damage cooldowns they never had.

That means the old answers (Orc warrior, Human rogue, Undead for anything PvP) deserve a second look. Below is our pick for every class on both factions, based on the racial values Blizzard set for launch: the October 15 beta build plus the October 26 changes. For what changed inside the classes themselves, see our WoW Forever class changes guide.

A note on the numbers: Effect sizes come from Blizzard’s development notes; cooldown lengths come from the beta client as listed by Icy Veins. Blizzard announced the October 26 changes after the beta closed, so nobody has tested them in game yet. We’ll check every value against the live game in launch week. Updated September 25 with the racial changes from the September 24 beta build. Updated October 2: Eureka! no longer affects periodic effects since the October 1 build, which doesn’t change any pick. Updated November 2: rewritten for the October 15 build and Blizzard’s October 26 racial pass. The weapon specializations are gone for good: Humans now get Ruthless (1% crit with any weapon) and 10% Spirit, Dwarves Artisan’s Precision (1% hit), Orcs Command (5% pet damage). Eureka! is now an 8-second cooldown, Skyborne haste is 2% and Plainsrunning builds to 60%. That changed our picks for Alliance Warrior, Paladin, Rogue, Priest and Mage, and for Horde Hunter and caster Shaman.

Quick Picks: Best Race per Class

Warrior

Alliance: Dwarf for PvE, Human for PvP. With the weapon specializations gone, the Alliance warrior choice comes down to 1% hit against 1% crit. Dwarf’s Artisan’s Precision adds 1% hit with spells and attacks, and as in Classic, hit is usually worth more than crit until you reach the hit cap, especially for dual-wield Fury. Human’s Ruthless adds 1% crit with any weapon, and Will to Survive, an instant stun break, decides a lot of PvP fights. Night Elf is the burst alternative: Elune’s Light gives 10% crit for 15 seconds, and warriors turn crit into rage.

Dwarf is also the tank pick. Stoneform makes you immune to bleeds and poisons and cuts physical damage taken for 8 seconds, which works like an extra defensive cooldown, and the extra hit means fewer missed attacks while you build threat.

Horde: Orc for DPS, Tauren for tanking. Blood Fury (10% more attack power for 15 seconds) is back on a 2-minute cooldown since October 26, and 20% shorter stuns keep Orc the safe pick it always was, even without Axe Specialization. Tauren tanks get 5% more health and War Stomp, an AoE stun on a 90-second cooldown that buys breathing room when a pull goes wrong.

Paladin

Alliance: Human for Holy, Dwarf for Protection and Retribution. Holy paladins get mana while casting from Spirit through the Reverence talent, and The Human Spirit now adds 10% Spirit, plus Ruthless’s 1% crit. Stoneform is a panic button for plate tanks, and Dwarf’s 1% hit makes Seal of Fury’s Judgement taunt and every Retribution swing land more often. Human still works for Retribution if you value the stun break in PvP.

Horde: Undead, the only option. Undead Paladin is the first Horde paladin in the vanilla setting and one of the headline new combos in Forever. The kit fits well for PvP: Will of the Forsaken breaks fear, charm and sleep, which are exactly the effects that shut down a healer. Expect to see a lot of them.

Hunter

Alliance: Night Elf. Elune’s Light (10% crit for 15 seconds) is the strongest damage racial available to Alliance hunters, and Quickness adds 2% dodge and 2% run speed, which stacks with other speed bonuses since October 15. Dwarf is now a close second and the better leveler: Artisan’s Precision adds 1% hit and Big Game Hunter 5% damage against beasts, and a lot of the open world is beasts. Human hunters are new in Forever; Ruthless’s 1% crit helps, but the rest of the kit does little for a ranged class.

Horde: Orc, with Troll close behind. Command is back since October 26 (5% more pet damage), and Blood Fury’s attack power boost now runs on a 2-minute cooldown, so Orc gets the most out of a hunter whose pet does a real share of the damage. Troll’s Berserking (10% haste, 15 seconds since October 26) and Beast Slaying (5% damage against beasts) remain a strong pair for raids and farming.

Rogue

Alliance: Dwarf for PvE, Human for PvP. With the weapon specializations gone, the choice comes down to Dwarf’s 1% hit against Human’s 1% crit. For a dual-wielding rogue, hit is usually worth more until the hit cap, as in Classic, and Stoneform clears poisons and bleeds. In PvP, Human wins: Will to Survive breaks stuns and Perception spots other rogues. Night Elf stays an option for burst, since Elune’s Light works with any weapon and Shadowmeld is still useful for open-world ambushes.

Horde: Orc for PvE, Undead for PvP. Blood Fury, on a 2-minute cooldown since October 26, is the best damage cooldown on the Horde side for a rogue; with Axe Specialization gone, the gap to Troll’s Berserking is small. In PvP, Will of the Forsaken remains the best answer to warlock and priest fears. One change to note: in Forever it’s an instant break, no longer a short immunity.

Priest

Alliance: Human for Holy and PvP, Dwarf for Shadow. Healing in a vanilla-style game is a mana game, and The Human Spirit now adds 10% Spirit (it was 5%), the biggest regeneration bonus any race has. Add Ruthless’s 1% crit and the stun break, and Human leads for Holy and Discipline. Gnome is still a good healer: Expansive Mind adds 5% maximum mana, and Eureka!, an 8-second buff since October 15, makes direct heals 10% cheaper and 10% stronger for the big healing moments. Gnome priests are new in Forever. For Shadow, Dwarf’s 1% spell hit is worth more than either, because a Shadow priest’s damage has to land.

In Classic, some priest spells depended on race, most famously the Dwarf-only Fear Ward, which made Dwarf the default raid priest. According to Icy Veins’ beta class data, Fear Ward is available to priests of every race in Forever. Blizzard hasn’t confirmed that officially yet, but if it holds, the old reason to roll a Dwarf priest is gone.

Horde: Troll for PvE, Undead for PvP. Berserking’s haste (15 seconds since October 26) means more heals in the moments that matter. Undead’s fear break is still the best defensive racial for a Horde priest in battlegrounds.

Shaman

Alliance: Dwarf, the only option. Dwarf Shamans are the other headline combo, and the racials fit: Stoneform against melee pressure, and Artisan’s Precision’s 1% hit for Enhancement and Elemental, whose damage has to land.

Horde: Orc for Enhancement, Troll or Skyborne for Elemental and Restoration. Blood Fury on a 2-minute cooldown suits a two-handed Enhancement shaman, even without the old Axe Specialization. Casters get more from haste, because Blood Fury’s 10% spell power only boosts the part of a spell’s damage that scales with spell power. Troll’s Berserking gives 10% haste for 15 seconds on a 3-minute cooldown, about 0.8% averaged over a long fight, while Horde Skyborne’s Wind Blessed gives 2% all the time. On paper that puts Skyborne ahead if you own a pack; Troll is the free pick, and Berserking still lines up with burst windows. Tauren (5% more health) is fine if you prefer the look.

Mage

Alliance: Gnome, with Skyborne as the PvE alternative. Gnome keeps the mana edge with 5% more maximum mana, and Escape Artist works like a second Blink in PvP. Eureka! is now a burst tool: for 8 seconds, non-periodic spells cost 10% less and hit 10% harder, on a 2-minute cooldown in the beta data. Alliance Skyborne mages get 2% permanent haste, which is more raw damage over a long fight, plus Read Ley Line between pulls; if you own a pack and mostly play PvE, they’re the stronger pick on paper. Human is a fair choice too: Ruthless adds 1% crit and Will to Survive breaks stuns.

Horde: Troll for PvE, Undead for PvP. Orc mages are new, and Blood Fury boosts spell power, but for the reason explained under Shaman, haste wins for casters. In PvP, Undead’s fear break decides too many matchups to pass up.

Warlock

Alliance: Gnome. Expansive Mind’s bigger mana pool and Eureka!’s burst window help any caster, and Escape Artist gets you out of warrior slows and frost nova roots, the warlock’s biggest PvP weakness. Human is the alternative, with its stun break and Ruthless’s 1% crit.

Horde: Troll for PvE, Undead for PvP, Orc as the all-rounder. Troll warlocks are new in Forever, and Berserking makes them the raid pick. Orc deserves a mention: Command adds 5% demon damage since October 26, Blood Fury boosts spell power every 2 minutes, and Shatter Curse now dispels curses and banes and cuts magic damage taken by 5% for 8 seconds, a neat counter to enemy warlocks.

Druid

Alliance: Night Elf for Feral, Skyborne for Balance and Restoration. Cat damage leans heavily on crit, which makes Elune’s Light the strongest burst option. Casters get more from Skyborne: 2% permanent haste is exactly what a Moonkin or healer wants, and Read Ley Line adds 50% health and mana regeneration between pulls, or 100% for an hour after you use it at a ley line. Skyborne druids are new, and so is the Walk on Air glide, which is simply fun in the open world. Skyborne require a paid pack, so if you don’t want to spend extra, Night Elf is the free alternative.

Horde: Tauren for Feral, Skyborne for Balance and Restoration. 5% more health is a meaningful passive for bear tanks, and Plainsrunning now builds up to 60% run speed on foot (since October 26; it no longer affects mounts), a big help before your first mount. Caster druids get the same haste argument as on the Alliance side.

What Changed From Classic Racials

• Weapon specializations are gone. Humans get Ruthless (1% crit with any weapon) and The Human Spirit now gives 10% Spirit; Dwarves get Artisan’s Precision (1% hit with spells and attacks); Orcs get Command back (5% more Hunter and Warlock pet damage). Blizzard said on October 26 that weapon-type racials won’t return, so future loot tables aren’t judged by “required” weapon types.
• Night Elves get Elune’s Light (10% crit for 15 seconds). Quickness adds 2% dodge and 2% run speed, and the speed stacks with other bonuses since October 15.
• Gnomes get Eureka!: since October 15 an 8-second buff that makes non-periodic spells and abilities 10% cheaper and 10% stronger (2-minute cooldown in the beta data). Expansive Mind raises maximum mana, rage and energy by 5% instead of Intellect.
• Tauren finally get Plainsrunning, which builds to 60% run speed since October 26 and no longer affects mounts, and Endurance is back to 5% health only. Cultivation (15-minute cooldown since October 15) grows bonus herbs anyone can pick, as long as your level is at least the herb’s required Herbalism skill divided by 5.
• Undead: Will of the Forsaken is now an instant break instead of a short immunity. Touch of the Grave is new: a chance on hit to drain health (30% for casters, 20% for Paladins, Rogues and Warriors), with a 15-second internal cooldown since October 26.
• Orcs get Shatter Curse (dispels curses and banes, 5% less magic damage for 8 seconds), Hardiness shortens stuns by 20%, and Blood Fury is on a 2-minute cooldown.
• Trolls keep Berserking (10% haste, 15 seconds since October 26) and get Rapid Regeneration (50% of maximum health over time) as a new active. Regeneration lets 20% of health regeneration continue in combat.

New Race and Class Combinations

Six race/class combos are new in Forever:

• Human Hunter
• Dwarf Shaman
• Gnome Priest
• Orc Mage
• Troll Warlock
• Undead Paladin

The new Skyborne race is available to both factions and starts on the Zephras Isles. Skyborne can play Druid, Hunter, Rogue and Warrior on both sides, plus Mage on the Alliance and Shaman on the Horde. They can’t be Paladins, Priests or Warlocks. Both versions share Walk on Air, Wind Blessed (2% haste since October 26) and Elemental Insight (5% more damage to elementals). Alliance Skyborne get Read Ley Line, Horde Skyborne get Skysight. One catch: Skyborne aren’t included in the subscription. You need the Skyborne Heroic Pack ($29.99) or a bigger pack to play them. Our WoW Forever editions comparison shows what each pack includes.

FAQ

What is the best race in WoW Forever?

It depends on your class and on PvE versus PvP. For raw PvE damage, Orc and Troll lead the Horde side (Orc for melee and pet classes, Troll for most casters), while Dwarf (1% hit) and Night Elf (Elune’s Light) lead for the Alliance. Skyborne’s 2% permanent haste makes them a strong caster pick on both sides if you own a pack. For PvP, Human (stun break) and Undead (fear break) are still the top picks.

Can Horde players be Paladins in WoW Forever?

Yes, but only as Undead. Orcs, Tauren and Trolls can’t be Paladins.

Which classes can the Skyborne play?

Druid, Hunter, Rogue and Warrior on both factions, Mage on the Alliance and Shaman on the Horde.

Are WoW Forever racials final?

Blizzard called its October 26 changes a final pass on racials before launch, made after the beta closed on October 23. Nobody has tested those values in game yet, so we’ll check them against the live game in launch week and update the picks if anything differs.

Sources: Blizzard’s beta development notes (October 15 build and October 26 racial changes), Blizzard’s beta announcement, racial cooldowns as catalogued by Icy Veins and Method, and the race/class list from Warcraft Tavern. Key art: Blizzard Entertainment.