Human is the best Warlock race on the Alliance in WoW Forever, while the Horde splits: Orc for raids and Undead for PvP. Only five races can be Warlocks, Troll among them for the first time, and the October 26 racial update decided the order. Orcs got Command back, so their demons hit 5% harder. Gnome lost ground because Eureka! does not touch damage over time. Below, we compare all five races for Affliction, Demonology and Destruction, for PvP and for leveling, and show how to get the most out of each racial.
A Warlock looks at racials differently from other casters. Much of your damage comes from damage over time and from your demon, so a racial that boosts only direct spells is worth less, and one that boosts the pet is worth more. Life Tap also scales with Spirit in Forever, which turns a Spirit racial into a Mana racial.
The table grades each race on a simple scale: S is the top pick, A is close behind, B gives up a little more. Treat the grades as launch rankings: in raids the five races sit within a couple of percent of each other.
| Race | Faction | Key racials for a Warlock | PvE | PvP | Leveling |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orc | Horde | Blood Fury, Command, Shatter Curse, Hardiness | S | A | A |
| Undead | Horde | Will of the Forsaken, Touch of the Grave, Cannibalize | B | S | S |
| Troll | Horde | Berserking, Rapid Regeneration, Beast Slaying | A | B | A |
| Human | Alliance | Ruthless, The Human Spirit, Will to Survive, Perception | S | S | B |
| Gnome | Alliance | Eureka!, Expansive Mind, Escape Artist | A | A | B |
Skyborne cannot be Warlocks. Every race and class combination is in our WoW Forever races and classes chart.
Three races can play a Warlock on the Horde side: Orc, Undead and Troll. Orc leads for raid damage, Undead is the PvP and leveling pick, and Troll is new to the class in Forever.
Orc is the Horde pick for raid damage and the best race for Demonology. Command came back on October 26 and makes every demon deal 5% more damage, from the Imp to the Voidwalker. Blood Fury adds 10% Spell Power for 15 seconds, and since October 27 it is back on a 2-minute cooldown, so you can use it in almost every burst window. Shatter Curse removes Curses and Banes and cuts Magic damage taken by 5% for 8 seconds, which matters most in a duel with another Warlock.
Undead is the PvP and leveling pick. Will of the Forsaken breaks fear, charm and sleep, the main control of enemy Warlocks and Priests, and it also frees you from a Succubus Seduction, which is a charm. Touch of the Grave gives your spells a 30% chance to drain Health from the target, at most once every 15 seconds since October 27, and it triggers on the cast, not on damage over time ticks. While leveling, Cannibalize restores Health and Mana on humanoid and undead corpses.
Troll Warlock is new in Forever. Berserking adds 10% casting speed for 15 seconds, up from 10 seconds since October 27, but it does not speed up damage over time or channeled spells, so it fits Destruction and Demonology, where you cast Shadow Bolt most of the fight. Beast Slaying adds 5% damage against Beasts, and Rapid Regeneration heals 50% of your Health over 6 seconds after a fight, which pairs well with Life Tap.
On the Alliance side the choice is between Human and Gnome. Human is the best all-round pick, while Gnome stays strong in PvP but falls behind in raids.
Human is the Alliance pick for raids and PvP. Ruthless adds 1% crit to every spell, damage over time included, and no longer depends on your weapon. The Human Spirit adds 10% Spirit, up from 5% since October 26, and because Life Tap converts Health into Mana based on your Spirit, every tap gives more Mana. In PvP, Will to Survive removes every stun once per 3 minutes, and Perception reveals Rogues before they open on you.
Gnome was the default Alliance Warlock for most of the beta and still has a lot to offer. Escape Artist removes every slow and root and makes you immune to them for 3 seconds, so you can keep your distance from Warriors and Rogues, and Expansive Mind raises your maximum Mana by 5%. The catch is Eureka!: for 8 seconds it makes your spells cost 10% less and deal 10% more damage, but only spells that do not tick. Affliction gets almost nothing from it. Destruction, which casts Shadow Bolt, Soul Fire and Incinerate, gets the full effect.
The best race shifts with your spec. This section sums up the picks, so you can go straight to your own plan.
Human and Orc lead. Affliction deals most of its damage over time, so Ruthless crit on Corruption and Bane of Agony ticks and Blood Fury Spell Power count, while Eureka! and Berserking barely touch your damage. Undead is the PvP Affliction pick, because Will of the Forsaken keeps you casting through enemy fears.
Orc is the best Demonology race by a margin, since Command adds 5% damage to the demon that carries the spec. A Demonology Warlock who tanks small dungeon pulls with the Voidwalker also gets more threat from the same bonus. On the Alliance, Human wins with Ruthless and more Mana from Life Tap.
Warlock tanking with Torment and Searing Pain is covered in our WoW Forever tank tier list.
Destruction is the one spec where Troll and Gnome catch up. Troll speeds up Shadow Bolt and Incinerate casts with Berserking, and Gnome makes them cheaper and stronger with Eureka!. Orc and Human stay just as good, so pick by faction and taste.
Undead and Human are the PvP picks. Undead breaks the fears that decide Warlock and Priest fights, and Human breaks the stuns of Rogues and Warriors. Orc is a strong third with Hardiness and Shatter Curse, and Gnome keeps melee away with Escape Artist.
Undead levels fastest: Cannibalize and Touch of the Grave cut the time you spend drinking and resting. Orc and Troll follow, Orc because the demon kills faster and Troll because Rapid Regeneration refills Health after a fight. On the Alliance, both races level at the same pace.
The fastest route to 60 is in our WoW Forever Warlock leveling guide, and your demons come from the WoW Forever Warlock class quests.
Blizzard reworked every race in the October 15 beta build and made a final pass on October 26, with cooldown changes added on October 27. These are the changes that matter for a Warlock.
No racial changed in the class hotfixes of October 30 and 31. The only Warlock change there moved Improved Drains from Wrack to Drain Mana. Every racial with exact numbers is in the tool below.
All class and racial changes are collected on our WoW Forever patch notes page.
A Warlock racial is worth the most when it lands on the right spell. These habits make the difference.
Demons, Banes and talents are explained in our WoW Forever Warlock guide.
These guides cover the rest of the Warlock class and race choice for every class.
These are the questions players ask most about choosing a Warlock race.
Human on the Alliance, Orc on the Horde for raids and Undead on the Horde for PvP.
Orc for raids, because Command makes your demon deal 5% more damage and Blood Fury is back on a 2-minute cooldown. Undead for PvP, because Will of the Forsaken breaks fear and charm.
Human. Ruthless adds crit to every spell, damage over time included, and The Human Spirit makes Life Tap give more Mana. Gnome is a good second for Destruction and PvP.
Yes. Troll Warlock is one of the six new race and class combinations in Forever. It is a good Destruction race thanks to Berserking.
For PvP and Destruction, yes. For Affliction it fell behind, because Eureka! does not affect damage over time.
No. Only Human, Gnome, Orc, Undead and Troll can be Warlocks.
No. The damage gap between the races is a couple of percent at most, far less than gear, talents and how well you keep your spells rolling.
