WoW: Forever has ten race options: the eight original races plus the new Skyborne, who can join either the Horde (Windshaper Skyborne) or the Alliance (High Order Skyborne). Six race and class combinations are new: Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, Undead Paladin, Human Hunter, Gnome Priest and Dwarf Shaman. The table below is copied from Blizzard's official tables.
Showing all 10 races.
| Race | Druid | Hunter | Mage | Paladin | Priest | Rogue | Shaman | Warlock | Warrior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orc | – | ✓ | ✓new | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Tauren | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | – | – | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| Troll | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓new | ✓ |
| Undead (Forsaken) | – | – | ✓ | ✓new | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Windshaper Skyborne | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ |
| Human | – | ✓new | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| Dwarf | – | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓new | – | ✓ |
| Night Elf | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | ✓ |
| Gnome | – | – | ✓ | – | ✓new | ✓ | – | ✓ | ✓ |
| High Order Skyborne | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | – | – | ✓ | – | – | ✓ |
✓ = playable. new = combination added in WoW: Forever. Skyborne require the Skyborne Heroic Pack or a higher edition.
What changed for races
Blizzard reworked racial abilities so that every race has two active and two passive racials, tuned to give a similar amount of offensive power while keeping each race's signature utility. Some examples from the official deep dive:
- Dwarf Stoneform still removes and blocks Bleeds, Poisons and Diseases, but its defensive part now reduces Physical damage taken instead of adding armor. Find Treasure can stay active alongside other tracking.
- Undead Will of the Forsaken still removes Charm, Fear and Sleep but no longer gives immunity. Cannibalize now restores mana as well as health.
- Weapon specializations for Orcs (axes), Humans (swords) and Dwarves (maces) now add spell and ability crit chance rather than weapon skill.
Racial abilities for every race
Horde
| Race | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Orc | Blood Fury: Increases Attack Power and Spell Power by 10% for 15 seconds. Shatter Curse: Immunity to Curses and Banes and reduce Magical damage taken for 8 seconds. | Axe Specialization: Axes increase spell and ability critical chance by 1%. Hardiness: Stun durations decreased by 20%. |
| Tauren | War Stomp: Stuns nearby enemies for 2 seconds. Cultivation: Grow bonus herbs that don't require herbalism to gather. | Plainsrunning: Gain increased movement speed the longer you stay moving. Endurance: Total Health increased by 5% and Hit Chance increased by 1%. |
| Troll | Berserking: Increases casting and attack speed by 10% for 10 seconds. Rapid Regeneration: Regenerate 50% of maximum Health over time. | Beast Slaying: Damage to Beasts increased by 5%. Regeneration: 10% of Health regeneration continues during combat. |
| Undead (Forsaken) | Will of the Forsaken: Removes Charm, Fear, and Sleep. Cannibalize: Consume corpses to regenerate 35% Health and Mana over time. | Underwater Breathing: Breathe 300% longer underwater. Touch of the Grave: Sometimes drain health with your attacks. |
| Windshaper Skyborne | Walk on Air: Glide downward through the air for 10 seconds. Skysight: Receive an Elemental Blessing increasing run speed by 10%. | Wind Blessed: 1% increased melee, ranged, and spellcasting Haste. Elemental Insight: Damage to Elementals increased by 5%. |
Alliance
| Race | Active | Passive |
|---|---|---|
| Human | Will to Survive: Remove Stuns. Perception: Detect Stealthed enemies for 20 seconds. | Sword Specialization: Swords increase spell and ability critical chance by 2%. The Human Spirit: 5% increased Spirit. |
| Dwarf | Stoneform: Immunity to Bleeds, Poisons, and Diseases and reduce Physical damage taken for 8 seconds. Find Treasure: Track nearby treasure chests. | Mace Specialization: Maces increase spell and ability critical chance by 1%. Big Game Hunter: Damage to Beasts increased by 5%. |
| Night Elf | Elune's Light: Increases critical chance by 10% for 15 seconds. Shadowmeld: Gain Stealth while immobile. | Quickness: 1% increased Dodge chance and 2% increased run speed. Wisp Spirit: 75% increased run speed while dead. |
| Gnome | Escape Artist: Brief Immunity to Roots and Snares. Eureka!: Reduced cost and 10% increased damage or healing on next 3 spells or abilities. | Expansive Mind: Maximum Mana, Rage, or Energy increased by 5%. Engineering Specialization: More reliable engineering devices. |
| High Order Skyborne | Walk on Air: Glide downward through the air for 10 seconds. Read Ley Line: Activate a ley line to gain 100% increased Health and Mana regeneration. | Wind Blessed: 1% increased melee, ranged, and spellcasting Haste. Elemental Insight: Damage to Elementals increased by 5%. |
How to read this for your class choice
- Horde Paladin: only Undead. Alliance Shaman: only Dwarf, since High Order Skyborne cannot be Shamans.
- Druids are available to Tauren, Night Elves and both Skyborne factions.
- Mages are available to every Horde race except Tauren and Windshaper Skyborne, and to Gnomes, Humans and High Order Skyborne on the Alliance side.
- Troll and Human have the widest choice, seven classes each.
- On the PvP ruleset you can only create characters for one faction, so decide your faction before you reserve names.
We have not ranked the "best race" for each class. Racial values are known, but how much each one matters depends on final tuning and gear. Blizzard designed the racials to give each race moments where it shines, such as Dwarf and Troll bonus damage against Beasts or Skyborne bonus damage against Elementals.
Related guides
Sources
Facts on this page come from the sources below: official Blizzard posts unless marked as a secondary source. If Blizzard changes something, we update the page and the date above.
- Create the Hero You Want to Be in World of Warcraft: Forever (2026-09-23)
- WoW: Forever Meet the New Skyborne (2026-09-23)
- World of Warcraft: Forever Deep Dive Panel Recap (2026-09-14)
- Pre-Purchase World of Warcraft: Forever Upgrades (2026-09-13)