WoW Forever Races and Racial Abilities
World of Warcraft: Forever keeps the eight original races, adds a ninth, and reworks almost every racial. This page covers which classes each race can play and how racials changed as a whole; each race has its own page with the full racial comparison.
Racial values come from the BlizzCon 2026 demo and may change in the beta (September 17). Last reviewed: .
New in Forever
The Skyborne, the new race
The Skyborne are an elven people from Zephras Isle, a floating island with its own level 1–12 starting zone. They share one ancestry but pick a faction at character creation, and that choice sets one class and one racial.
- High Order (Alliance): can be Mages; racial Read Ley Line.
- Windshaper (Horde): can be Shamans; racial Skysight.
- Both factions: Warrior, Hunter, Rogue and Druid, with Druid forms made for the race, plus Walk on Air, Wind Blessed and Elemental Insight.
- Unlock: Skyborne Heroic Pack ($29.99) or a higher edition.
All WoW Forever races
Human
AllianceNew Hunter option, a stun break in Will to Survive, and sword crit in place of weapon skill.
Dwarf
AllianceThe Alliance's only Shaman, a reworked Stoneform, and a mace racial in place of Gun Specialization.
Forever portrait not released yetNight Elf
AllianceNo new class, but a new crit cooldown in Elune's Light and a Shadowmeld that hands threat back when it ends.
Gnome
AllianceNew Priest option with two Gnome-only spells, plus Eureka! and an Expansive Mind that helps every class.
Orc
HordeNew Mage option, a Blood Fury with Spell Power and no healing penalty, and Shatter Curse.
Undead
HordeThe Horde gets Paladins, Cannibalize restores Mana, and Touch of the Grave is new.
Forever portrait not released yetTauren
HordePlainsrunning builds speed as you run, Endurance adds Hit, and Cultivation grows herbs for anyone.
Troll
HordeNew Warlock option for seven classes in all, a flat Berserking and a Rapid Regeneration heal.
Skyborne
Alliance or HordeThe new elven race, Alliance (High Order) or Horde (Windshaper), unlocked with the Skyborne packs.
Race and class combinations in WoW Forever
★ marks a combination that is new in Forever. Class names link to each class's talent calculator.
| Race | Faction | Warrior | Paladin | Hunter | Rogue | Priest | Shaman | Mage | Warlock | Druid |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Human | Alliance | ✓ | ✓ | ★ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||
| Dwarf | Alliance | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ★ | |||
| Night Elf | Alliance | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Gnome | Alliance | ✓ | ✓ | ★ | ✓ | ✓ | ||||
| Skyborne (High Order) | Alliance | ★ | ★ | ★ | ★ | ★ | ||||
| Orc | Horde | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ★ | ✓ | |||
| Undead | Horde | ✓ | ★ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||
| Tauren | Horde | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | |||||
| Troll | Horde | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ★ | ||
| Skyborne (Windshaper) | Horde | ★ | ★ | ★ | ★ | ★ |
Which races can play each class
| Class | Alliance | Horde |
|---|---|---|
| Warrior | Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome, Skyborne | Orc, Undead, Tauren, Troll, Skyborne |
| Paladin | Human, Dwarf | Undead ★ |
| Hunter | Human ★, Dwarf, Night Elf, Skyborne | Orc, Tauren, Troll, Skyborne |
| Rogue | Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome, Skyborne | Orc, Undead, Troll, Skyborne |
| Priest | Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome ★ | Undead, Troll |
| Shaman | Dwarf ★ | Orc, Tauren, Troll, Skyborne |
| Mage | Human, Gnome, Skyborne | Orc ★, Undead, Troll |
| Warlock | Human, Gnome | Orc, Undead, Troll ★ |
| Druid | Night Elf, Skyborne | Tauren, Skyborne |
What changed for racials
Across the eight Classic races, the demo shows 14 new racials, 16 changed and 11 that are no longer racials, counting Priest racial spells.
- Resistance racials are gone. Undead Shadow Resistance, Tauren and Night Elf Nature Resistance, Dwarf Frost Resistance and Gnome Arcane Resistance (+10 each in Classic) are not in the Forever demo.
- Weapon racials now give crit instead of skill. Orc axes (+1% crit), Human swords (+2%) and Dwarf maces (+1%) replace the old +5 weapon skill bonuses. Human Mace Specialization, Dwarf Gun Specialization and the Troll bow and throwing specializations are gone.
- New active abilities: Shatter Curse (Orc), Rapid Regeneration (Troll), Will to Survive (Human), Elune's Light (Night Elf) and Eureka! (Gnome). Tauren gain Plainsrunning, and Undead gain Touch of the Grave.
- Profession racials do something new. Tauren Cultivation grows herbs anyone can pick, and Gnome Engineering Specialization makes devices more reliable. Neither adds skill points any more.
- Some Classic trade-offs are removed. Orc Blood Fury no longer cuts your healing received, and Troll Berserking no longer depends on low health.
Blizzard says it wants racials to feel more distinct from race to race and said its Deep Dive panel would go into detail. These pages still use the demo values until that breakdown is checked.
The six new race and class combinations
| Combination | Faction | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Undead Paladin | Horde | Horde Paladins without waiting for Blood Elves; shown in the Forever launch cinematic. |
| Dwarf Shaman | Alliance | The Alliance's only Shaman option, since Skyborne Shamans are Horde. |
| Troll Warlock | Horde | Berserking and Rapid Regeneration on a Warlock. |
| Orc Mage | Horde | Blood Fury now adds Spell Power, so it helps casters too. |
| Gnome Priest | Alliance | Comes with its own Priest spells: Confounding Flash and Contingency Plan. |
| Human Hunter | Alliance | Will to Survive and Perception on a Hunter. |
Racials worth a look for each class
Demo values, for shortlisting a race before beta numbers settle. It isn't a tier list.
- Warrior: Orc (axe crit, shorter stuns), Human (sword crit, stun break), Dwarf (mace crit, Stoneform), Tauren (+1% Hit, War Stomp), Troll (Berserking, Rapid Regeneration).
- Paladin: Human (stun break), Dwarf (Stoneform, mace crit), Undead (Will of the Forsaken, Touch of the Grave).
- Hunter: Dwarf (Big Game Hunter), Troll (Berserking), Night Elf (Elune's Light, Shadowmeld), Tauren (Plainsrunning), Human (Will to Survive).
- Rogue: Human (sword crit), Orc (axe crit; Forever Rogues can reportedly use axes), Night Elf (Shadowmeld, Elune's Light), Undead (Will of the Forsaken).
- Priest: Most Priest races have their own racial spells in the demo; see each race page.
- Shaman: Orc (Blood Fury now adds Spell Power), Tauren (+1% Hit), Troll (Berserking), Dwarf (Stoneform), Skyborne (Haste, Skysight).
- Mage: Gnome (Eureka!, +5% Mana), Troll (Berserking), Orc (Spell Power from Blood Fury), Undead (Cannibalize restores Mana), Skyborne (Haste, Read Ley Line).
- Warlock: Gnome (Eureka!, +5% Mana), Orc (Blood Fury, Shatter Curse), Undead (Touch of the Grave), Troll (Berserking).
- Druid: Tauren (Plainsrunning works in Bear Form), Night Elf (Elune's Light, Shadowmeld), Skyborne (unique forms, Haste).
WoW Forever races FAQ
Can the Horde play Paladins in WoW Forever?
Yes. Undead can be Paladins, the first Horde Paladin option in Classic-era WoW.
Can the Alliance play Shamans?
Yes, as Dwarves. Skyborne Shamans are Horde-only (Windshaper).
Are racial resistances gone?
None of the +10 resistance racials appear in the BlizzCon demo. The beta will show whether that holds.
Are these racials final?
No. Values come from the BlizzCon 2026 demo. Blizzard said its Deep Dive panel would detail racials, and the beta starts September 17. These pages are updated as numbers change.
Still unconfirmed
- Final racial values and cooldowns (demo build only)
- Troll Priest racial spells, and whether other Classic Priest racial spells remain
- Skyborne druid form names
- Whether Skyborne can later be unlocked without a purchase