WoW Forever Classes and Races: All Combinations

WoW Forever launches with nine classes and nine distinct playable races, but Blizzard isn't simply preserving the old Vanilla race restrictions. Familiar combinations remain alongside major additions such as Undead Paladin, Dwarf Shaman, Human Hunter, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, and Gnome Priest, while the new Skyborne race can join either faction with a slightly different class roster depending on which side you choose. If you're already planning a character for the WoW Forever Global launch, this is the complete race-and-class setup you can build from.

Jump To Section:
All WoW Forever Classes and Races
Horde Race and Class Combinations
Alliance Race and Class Combinations
New Race and Class Combinations
Skyborne Classes Explained
Which Races Can Play Each Class?

All WoW Forever Classes and Races at Launch

WoW Forever has nine classes at Global launch: Warrior, Hunter, Mage, Rogue, Priest, Warlock, Paladin, Shaman, and Druid. There are also nine distinct playable races: Orc, Tauren, Troll, Undead, Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome, and the completely new Skyborne.

Skyborne are the unusual one because the race isn't permanently Horde or Alliance. You choose a faction, and that decision changes one available class: Horde Skyborne can become Shamans, while Alliance Skyborne can become Mages.

The larger departure from Vanilla is that Blizzard has loosened some of the old race and faction restrictions without throwing them away entirely. Paladin can now cross over to the Horde through Undead, Shaman reaches the Alliance through Dwarves, and several other races gain combinations that weren't available in original WoW Classic.

Horde Races and Classes in WoW Forever

Orc
Classes: Warrior, Hunter, Mage, Rogue, Warlock, Shaman
New in WoW Forever: Mage

Orc Mage is the important addition here, giving Orcs a conventional spellcaster option they didn't have in original WoW Classic.

Tauren
Classes: Warrior, Hunter, Druid, Shaman
New in WoW Forever: None

Tauren are one of the races Blizzard has largely left alone. Their four-class selection remains recognizable from Classic, including the familiar Druid and Shaman options.

Troll
Classes: Warrior, Hunter, Mage, Rogue, Priest, Warlock, Shaman
New in WoW Forever: Warlock

Troll Warlock joins an already large selection, leaving Trolls with seven different classes for the WoW Forever Global launch.

Undead
Classes: Warrior, Mage, Rogue, Priest, Warlock, Paladin
New in WoW Forever: Paladin

Undead Paladin is easily one of the headline combinations in Forever. More importantly, its existence means Paladin is no longer an Alliance-exclusive class, changing one of the oldest faction distinctions from Vanilla WoW.

Horde Skyborne
Classes: Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Druid, Shaman
Faction-specific class: Shaman

Horde Skyborne trade the Mage option available to their Alliance counterparts for Shaman. Otherwise, both versions of Skyborne share Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, and Druid.

Alliance Races and Classes in WoW Forever

Human
Classes: Warrior, Hunter, Mage, Rogue, Priest, Warlock, Paladin
New in WoW Forever: Hunter

Human Hunter finally becomes an option in WoW Forever, leaving Humans with seven available classes at Global launch.

Dwarf
Classes: Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Paladin, Shaman
New in WoW Forever: Shaman

Dwarf Shaman is the Alliance counterpart to Undead Paladin in terms of breaking an old faction restriction. Alliance gains access to Shaman without Blizzard simply opening the class to every race.

Night Elf
Classes: Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Druid
New in WoW Forever: None

Night Elves retain their original Classic roster and remain one of the relatively small number of races capable of becoming a Druid.

Gnome
Classes: Warrior, Mage, Rogue, Priest, Warlock
New in WoW Forever: Priest

Gnome Priest is new for Forever and gives Gnomes access to a class capable of filling a dedicated healing role.

Alliance Skyborne
Classes: Warrior, Hunter, Mage, Rogue, Druid
Faction-specific class: Mage

Alliance Skyborne receive Mage instead of Shaman. That one substitution is the class-availability difference between the Alliance and Horde versions of the new race.

The New Race-Class Combinations Change More Than They Look

There are six new combinations among WoW's returning races at Global launch: Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, Undead Paladin, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, and Gnome Priest. These are worth remembering separately because they're exactly the combinations longtime Classic players are most likely to assume still aren't possible.

Undead Paladin and Dwarf Shaman are the biggest changes to me because they alter faction identity rather than merely giving a race another option. Paladin and Shaman historically helped distinguish Alliance from Horde in Vanilla. Forever keeps both classes relatively selective but lets each cross that old faction boundary through one race.

Human and Troll also end up with especially broad rosters at Global launch, with seven classes available to each. That doesn't inherently make either race better, but it does give players who choose their race first far more room to settle on a class afterward.

I prefer this approach over simply letting every race play everything. Forever opens character creation substantially while still leaving enough restrictions for your race choice to mean something beyond which character model you like.

Skyborne Have a Different Rule Than Every Other Race

Skyborne are completely new to WoW Forever, but their most interesting feature for character creation isn't simply that they're a new race. They're the only race whose available classes change depending on the faction you choose.

Horde Skyborne
Classes: Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Druid, Shaman

Alliance Skyborne
Classes: Warrior, Hunter, Mage, Rogue, Druid

Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, and Druid are therefore safe choices regardless of faction. A Skyborne Shaman requires Horde, while a Skyborne Mage requires Alliance.

Skyborne cannot currently become Priests, Warlocks, or Paladins at the WoW Forever Global launch. So while the race is unusually flexible because it can join either side, it isn't intended to be a universal race that can become anything.

Which Races Can Play Each WoW Forever Class?

If you've already decided what class you want to play, there's no reason to work through every race individually. Start with the class and eliminate whatever isn't compatible.

Warrior
Orc • Tauren • Troll • Undead • Human • Dwarf • Night Elf • Gnome • Horde Skyborne • Alliance Skyborne

Warrior has no racial restriction to worry about. Every playable race can roll one.

Hunter
Orc • Tauren • Troll • Human • Dwarf • Night Elf • Horde Skyborne • Alliance Skyborne

Undead and Gnome are the returning races left without Hunter, while Human Hunter is one of Forever's new combinations.

Mage
Orc • Troll • Undead • Human • Gnome • Alliance Skyborne

Orc Mage is new for Forever. Skyborne only gain Mage access after choosing Alliance.

Rogue
Orc • Troll • Undead • Human • Dwarf • Night Elf • Gnome • Horde Skyborne • Alliance Skyborne

Rogue is nearly universal, with Tauren as the only race unable to choose it.

Priest
Troll • Undead • Human • Dwarf • Night Elf • Gnome

Gnome Priest is the new Forever addition, while neither version of Skyborne has access to Priest at Global launch.

Warlock
Orc • Troll • Undead • Human • Gnome

Troll Warlock is the new combination within this group.

Paladin
Human • Dwarf • Undead

Undead brings Paladin to the Horde, but the class remains one of the most racially restricted choices in Forever.

Shaman
Orc • Tauren • Troll • Dwarf • Horde Skyborne

Dwarf brings Shaman to the Alliance, while Skyborne only receive Shaman access on the Horde side.

Druid
Tauren • Night Elf • Horde Skyborne • Alliance Skyborne

Druid remains relatively restricted, although the arrival of Skyborne gives both factions another racial option for the class.

For the WoW Forever Global launch, I'd still choose your class first unless you're already completely committed to a race. Your class determines the combat and role you'll actually spend the game playing, while the expanded Forever roster leaves most classes with several racial choices. Skyborne are the main exception because picking Horde or Alliance directly determines whether Mage or Shaman is available.