WoW Forever Races and Classes

Every race in WoW Forever can still play every class it could in Classic, and six races picked up a class they never had: Undead Paladins, Dwarf Shamans, Human Hunters, Gnome Priests, Orc Mages and Troll Warlocks. That means Paladin and Shaman are no longer locked to one faction, and the Horde finally has a Light-wielding plate class. On top of that comes the new Skyborne race, which can join either side: as High Order Skyborne on the Alliance it can be a Mage, as Windshaper Skyborne on the Horde a Shaman, and both branches can be Warriors, Hunters, Rogues and Druids. Altogether there are 56 race and class combinations at launch on November 4, 16 more than in Classic.

Below you will find the full race and class chart with every new combination marked, the classes of every Alliance and Horde race, the races that can play each class, where the six new combinations start and how their class quests differ, which combinations are still impossible, and the questions players ask most before character creation.

All Race and Class Combinations in WoW Forever

WoW Forever has ten playable race options and the same nine classes as Classic. Eight races are the Classic ones, and the Skyborne count as two options at character creation, because the faction you pick changes their class list. The chart shows every pair: "Yes" for a combination Classic already had, "New" for one added in Forever, and "No" for one you cannot create.

That makes 46 combinations on the eight Classic races and five on each Skyborne branch, 56 in total. Warrior is the only class every race can play, while Paladin has the fewest options with three races and Druid follows with four.

The tool below shows the classes and all four racials of any race. Pick a race to see what it brings to each class.

This guide only shows what is possible. To see which race is strongest for your class in raids, PvP and leveling, read our WoW Forever race tier list.

What Is New Compared with Classic

Classic tied classes to race and faction: Paladins were Alliance only, Shamans were Horde only, and Humans were the one Alliance race without Hunters. Forever keeps all 40 Classic combinations and adds 16 new ones. Six of them go to the Classic races, one per race, and the other ten belong to the Skyborne.

The six new combinations on Classic races are free for every player and open at character creation from day one. The Skyborne need the Skyborne Heroic Pack or a higher edition.

Two races got nothing new. Night Elf and Tauren keep exactly their Classic class lists, so there is still no Night Elf Mage, Tauren Paladin or Troll Druid. Druid itself gained only the two Skyborne options.

A new class option is not the only change. Every class got reworked talents and new spells as well, and our WoW Forever class changes overview goes through them class by class.

Alliance Races and Classes

The Alliance has five race options. Humans now play seven of the nine classes, more than any other Alliance race, and the Dwarf is the only race in the game that can be both a Paladin and a Shaman.

Every Alliance class now has at least two races except Shaman, which only the Dwarf can play, and Paladin stays with Human and Dwarf. Druid has two Alliance options, Night Elf and High Order Skyborne.

Horde Races and Classes

The Horde also has five race options. Trolls now play seven classes, as many as Humans, and the Undead are the only Horde race with Paladins.

With Undead Paladins in the game, every class is now open to both factions. Paladin is the narrowest Horde class with one race, while Shaman, Hunter and Warrior each have four or five Horde options.

Which Races Can Play Each Class

If you already know your class, this table gives you the race list for each faction. The number in the last column counts both Skyborne branches separately.

Priests are the one class where the race also changes the spellbook: every Priest race learns two spells of its own at levels 10 and 20. Our WoW Forever Priest racial spells guide goes through all six races.

The Six New Race and Class Combinations

Each new combination starts in its race's usual starting zone. At level 1 the first quest giver hands you a class letter that sends you to your trainer, and three of the six got a brand-new trainer for it. After that, most of them follow the normal class quests of their faction, with a few exceptions that are worth knowing before you create the character.

Undead Paladin

The Undead Paladin has the most new content of all six. You start in Deathknell in Tirisfal Glades, where Shadow Priest Sarvis gives you A Difficult Path and sends you to Aramis Hammerhand in the chapel. Around level 10 your class story moves to Bandarion Keep, the new Forsaken Paladin hub in the Whispering Wood, the north-west corner of Tirisfal that Forever opened up.

At level 18 Danitha Morr in Bandarion Keep starts the Undead weapon quest with Diplomatic Incident. The chain runs through Silverpine Forest and three dungeons and ends with the elite worgen Old Fire-Eye and the two-handed sword Wolfsbane at level 20, the Horde counterpart to Verigan's Fist for Human and Dwarf Paladins. The details are in our WoW Forever Paladin weapon quest guide.

Forsaken Paladins also get their own skeletal horses instead of the Alliance ones: Summon Warhorse at level 40 and the epic Summon Forsaken Charger at 60. The quests that teach them have not been published yet. One small habit pays off while leveling: eat with Cannibalize on a humanoid or undead corpse instead of sitting down with food.

Dwarf Shaman

The Dwarf is the only Alliance Shaman, and it is the one new combination whose class quests are new from start to finish. Sten Stoutarm at Anvilmar gives you Archaic Rune for the new trainer Teo Hammerstorm, who also starts your Call of Earth at level 4: you collect 2 Iceclaw Bear Pendant from the Frostmane trolls south of Anvilmar in Dun Morogh and commune with an earth spirit on a marked hill for the Earth Totem.

The Fire Totem quest at level 10 is the hard one. The Dwarf Call of Fire runs through Dun Morogh and Loch Modan, from Bruegs Kindleborn to Braldir Ashmantle, and its middle steps are quest level 14, so the kobolds and troggs are several levels above you. Bring a friend, and heal up before you drop into Bruegs' cave, because the fall can kill a low-health character. The Water Totem chain at 20 starts with Eldrun Stormbreaker in Ironforge, continues with Norric Lochthane in Loch Modan and has nine quests across five zones, and the Air Totem at 30 comes from Veyric Thunderhame in Arathi Highlands.

Per the beta files, Dwarf Shamans also have their own totem models. Every step of all four chains is in our WoW Forever Shaman totem quests guide.

Human Hunter

Humans start in Northshire Valley in Elwynn Forest, and at level 1 Marshal McBride gives Human Hunters A Scribbled Letter for the new trainer Tordrin Sternblade inside Northshire Abbey. Your next Hunter trainer is Josephine Carson, another new trainer, in Goldshire, and later ranks are in Stormwind City. There is no separate Human pet quest: you tame your first pet at level 10 like every Hunter, and the Prowler wolves of Elwynn Forest are an easy first pet close to Goldshire.

Ruthless gives a Human 1% critical strike chance with all spells and attacks after the October 26 racial pass, and in Forever your pet inherits your critical strike chance. Our WoW Forever Hunter leveling guide covers the first pets for every race.

Gnome Priest

Gnome Priests start in Coldridge Valley in Dun Morogh next to the Dwarves. Sten Stoutarm gives you Hallowed Memorandum for Branstock Khalder at Anvilmar, the same trainer Dwarf Priests use, and Kharanos is your next stop. The class quests are the normal Alliance Priest ones.

What makes the combination new is the spellbook. Gnome Priests learn Confounding Flash at level 10, a 3-second confuse on up to five enemies within 8 yards that breaks on damage, and Contingency Plan at level 20, a ward that gives an ally an absorb shield and a heal over time the next time they drop below 35% Health. Both spells are new in Forever, and Eureka! now also strengthens Power Word: Shield.

Orc Mage

Orc Mages start in the Valley of Trials in Durotar. Gornek gives you Glyphic Parchment for Mai'ah, the Mage trainer the Trolls share. After the valley, your next Mage trainer is Un'Thuwa in Sen'jin Village, not in Razor Hill, so plan your route through southern Durotar. The class quests are the normal Horde Mage ones.

The Orc brings Blood Fury to a caster for the first time, since it raises Spell Power as well as Attack Power, and Hardiness shortens stuns on you by 20%. Our WoW Forever Mage leveling guide has the full route.

Troll Warlock

Troll Warlocks start next to the Orcs in the Valley of Trials. Gornek gives you the new Tainted Tablet for Nartok, and from there you share the Orc quest for your first demon: as in Classic, you start without a pet and earn Summon Imp with Vile Familiars from Ruzan by killing Vile Familiar in the cave north-east of the valley. Your next trainer is in Razor Hill.

Later demon quests are the one open point. The Forever game data opens the Orgrimmar Voidwalker chain and the Undercity Incubus chain to Trolls, but still lists the Undercity Voidwalker chain and the other Horde demon quests for Orcs and Undead only, which may change after launch. For the Voidwalker at level 10, plan on Skull Rock in Durotar, the Orgrimmar version, and bring one or two other players: the Burning Blade cultists there stand close together and the stash is at the very back. Every chain is in our WoW Forever Warlock class quests guide.

The starting areas, class letters and trainers for every race are also mapped in our WoW Forever starting zones guide.

Skyborne Classes by Faction

The Skyborne are the new race of WoW Forever, elves from Zephras Isle who can fight for either faction. The faction you pick at character creation also picks the fifth class: the Alliance High Order can be Mages, the Horde Windshapers can be Shamans, and both can be Warriors, Hunters, Rogues and Druids. No Skyborne can be a Priest, Paladin or Warlock.

Both branches start on Zephras Isle, where High Order characters pick up Coming of Age from Ailee Farheart, and both share three racials, Walk on Air, Wind Blessed and Elemental Insight. The fourth one depends on the faction: Read Leyline for the High Order, Skysight for the Windshapers. Windshaper Shamans also earn their first totems on the isle, starting with Call of Earth from Windshaper Boro at level 3. The race is not part of the base game: you need the Skyborne Heroic Pack or a higher edition.

Our WoW Forever Skyborne classes and racials guide covers the packs, the racials and which class suits each branch.

Race and Class Combinations That Are Still Not Possible

Forever opened 16 new combinations, but many long-requested ones are still missing. These are the ones players ask about most:

• Troll Druid and Night Elf Mage are not in the game. Druid stays with Night Elf, Tauren and the two Skyborne branches.
• Tauren Paladin is not playable. The Undead are the only Horde Paladins.
• There is no Horde Skyborne Mage and no Alliance Skyborne Shaman, so a Skyborne gets one of the two classes, never both.
• Skyborne cannot be Priests, Paladins or Warlocks on either faction.
• Combinations that later retail expansions added, such as Gnome Hunter, Dwarf Mage or Night Elf Shaman, are not part of Forever at launch.

No further race and class combinations have been announced for Forever, so plan your character around the 56 that exist at launch.

Tips for Choosing a Race and Class Combination

The chart tells you what is allowed, but a few practical points from the beta decide how the first evenings feel.

• Your starting zone is fixed by race, not by class. An Orc Mage starts in Durotar and an Undead Paladin in Tirisfal Glades. You can travel to another starting zone and quest there from level 1, but class quests always send you back to your own trainers.
• Expect crowds where the new combinations start. With every new Dwarf Shaman and Gnome Priest beginning in Coldridge Valley, the first hubs of Dun Morogh will be packed at launch, so group up for kill quests.
• Plan the Dwarf Shaman Call of Fire as a group quest. Its mobs are about four levels above you at level 10.
• As an Orc Mage, leave the Valley of Trials towards Sen'jin Village for your next trainer, not Razor Hill.
• As a Troll Warlock, find a group for the Skull Rock Voidwalker quest, since the Undercity version may not be offered to Trolls, and take the Undercity route for the Incubus at level 20, which is open to all three Horde Warlock races.
• Decide the Skyborne faction by class. If you want a Skyborne Shaman you have to be Horde, and a Skyborne Mage has to be Alliance. Once the character exists, the faction and its class list are set.
• Do not reroll for racials alone. Racials add a few percent at most, so the class you enjoy matters far more than the race.

If you are still choosing a class, our WoW Forever tier list for classes and specs ranks every spec for PvE and PvP.

More WoW Forever Race and Class Guides

These guides cover the next steps after you pick your race and class.

WoW Forever Races and Classes FAQ

These are the questions players ask most often about races and classes before character creation.