Which class should you play in World of Warcraft: Forever?

No class matches that combination. These are all the pairings on Blizzard’s race and class chart; Blizzard says more combinations are planned for future updates.

• Warrior

  Tank · Damage

  Melee

  Rage, plate at 40, and three stances. The main tank of Classic raiding, and a melee damage dealer that scales with gear.

  Read the Warrior guide

  Who can play it in Forever

  • Human
  • Dwarf
  • Night Elf
  • Gnome
  • Orc
  • Undead
  • Tauren
  • Troll
  • Skyborne new
  • Skyborne. Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap, Blizzard — race and class chart, Wowhead — Skyborne First Look
  • Combined hit and crit chances let Warriors, Hunters and Rogues “benefit when improving the reliability of tools such as Taunts, Poisons, and Traps.” Talent trees keep their rows with milestone talents at 11, 21 and 31 points and a new one at 16. Confirmed Blizzard — Deep Dive panel recap
  • Rage from taking damage now ignores Armor and absorbs such as Power Word: Shield, and Rage from dealing damage is fully normalized to the speed of the weapon that hit. Tactical Mastery (level 14) and Victory Rush (level 20) are baseline, Thunder Clap works in Defensive Stance, and Shield Wall, Retaliation and Recklessness each keep their own cooldown. Protection’s new Vanguard talent lets Charge be used in Defensive Stance, and Arms gets Weaponmaster, one talent in place of the four weapon specializations, and Spearing Strike, which dismounts its target. Confirmed Blizzard — Class Deep Dives: Priest and Warrior Wowhead — Class Highlights for Warriors, Rogues and Shamans
  • Since the October 1 beta build, a basic attack that crits generates 100% more Rage, Fury’s Dual Wield Specialization no longer raises off-hand Rage, and Arms’ Spearing Strike needs Battle Stance rather than a two-handed weapon. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 1 Blizzard — Warrior Updates in Today’s Beta Build, October 1
  • The same build reworks Fury: Whirlwind always strikes with both weapons without a talent, and Raging Blows instead cuts the Rage cost of Cleave and Whirlwind by 3. Boundless Rage and Improved Cleave are gone, Lingering Rage, Furious Precision and Gore Drinker are new, Flurry now requires Death Wish rather than Enrage, and Bloodthirst’s Attack Power ratio rises to 45%. Protection is reordered to give Warriors without a shield a way into its middle rows, so it could serve as a PvP secondary specialization. Confirmed Blizzard — Warrior Updates in Today’s Beta Build, October 1 Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 1
  • Since the October 15 beta build, Battle Shout reaches the whole raid and Slam is no longer pushed back by damage. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 15

• Paladin

  Tank · Healer · Damage

  Melee · Hybrid

  Mana, plate, blessings and auras. Classic’s Alliance-only holy knight, raid-healing more often than not; Forever gives the class to the Forsaken.

  Read the Paladin guide

  Who can play it in Forever

  • Human
  • Dwarf
  • Undead new
  • Undead: one of the six new combinations in Blizzard’s Deep Dive recap; their journey starts at Bandarion Keep in Tirisfal Glades. Blizzard — Deep Dive panel recap, Blizzard — race and class chart, Blizzard — Found Photos panel recap, Battle.net Shop — product page, Wowhead — Undead Paladins Coming to Forever, Blizzard — Collector’s Edition post
  • Paladins gain Holy Strike at level 6 (an instant Holy weapon strike on a 12-second cooldown), Seals are no longer consumed by Judgment, Consecration is baseline at level 20, and Blessing of Kings is baseline. Seal of Fury gives Protection a tank Seal that favors fast weapons, grants small absorbs and makes Judgment a taunt. Paladins still lack an interrupt and a slow. Confirmed Blizzard — Deep Dive panel recap
  • Forsaken Paladins begin “deeply mistrusted by other Forsaken” at Bandarion Keep in the Whispering Wood of Tirisfal Glades, and at level 60 ride their epic charger “in the name of Retribution” where Alliance Paladins ride for Redemption. Confirmed Blizzard — Found Photos panel recap Blizzard — Collector’s Edition post
  • Since the October 1 beta build, Holy Shield adds 30% block chance and Redoubt 4 to 20% by rank, and Retribution’s Champion of the Light turns 20/40/60% of Intellect into spell damage. Its old tooltip claimed healing, which Blizzard says it never gave. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 1
  • The final class deep dive gives Paladins Twist of Light, Retribution’s new 31-point gold medal talent that replaces baseline Seal Twisting, and Templar’s Bulwark, Protection’s new 21-point one: an instant ability on a 5-minute cooldown that shields for 100% of max health for 8 seconds and applies Forbearance. Seal of Fury’s Judgement taunt reaches 10 yards, twice the 5 yards of Warrior Taunt or Druid Growl. Talents open at level 10, gold medal talents land at 11, 16, 21 and 31, and Dual Specialization unlocks at 40. Confirmed Blizzard — Class Deep Dives: Paladin
  • Since the October 15 beta build, Blessing of Salvation and Greater Blessing of Salvation are Salvation and Mass Salvation, which no longer exclude other blessings, and Revoke removes them. Reckoning stores up to 4 charges for your next swing, Consecration’s coefficient per tick falls to 0.042 and Champion of the Light gives 10, 20 or 30% of Intellect as Spell Damage. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 15

• Hunter

  Damage

  Ranged · Pet

  A ranged attacker with a tamed pet, traps and the best kiting in the game. Classic’s easiest class to level and one of its most gear-independent.

  Read the Hunter guide

  Who can play it in Forever

  • Dwarf
  • Night Elf
  • Orc
  • Tauren
  • Troll
  • Human new
  • Skyborne new
  • Human: one of the six new combinations in Blizzard’s Deep Dive recap. Blizzard — Deep Dive panel recap, Blizzard — race and class chart
  • Skyborne. Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap, Blizzard — race and class chart, Wowhead — Skyborne First Look
  • Human Hunters are one of the six new race and class combinations. Combined hit and crit chances help Hunters improve the reliability of Traps, and spellcaster weapons no longer compete with theirs for level-up upgrades. Confirmed Blizzard — Deep Dive panel recap
  • Aimed Shot is baseline for every Hunter at level 20 and no longer shares a cooldown with Arcane Shot. Traps work in combat on a 30-second cooldown, Foxes are a new pet family with their own ability, Trickster’s Dance, and each tree gains new gold medal talents, such as Summon Hawk (Beast Mastery), Lone Wolf (Marksmanship) and Strider Kick (Survival). Marksmanship’s 31-point one, Sniper Shot, needs Trueshot Aura and is a 4-second cast on a 15-second cooldown that hits harder than Aimed Shot. Confirmed Blizzard — Class Deep Dives: Hunter and Druid Blizzard — Class Deep Dives: Hunter and Druid, Nethaera’s correction
  • Since the October 1 beta build, pets have Aggressive mode back in the spellbook’s pet tab, Marksmanship’s Sniper Shot reaches 45 yards and adds 10 yards to the next 3 shots, and Survival’s Deflection gives 1 to 5% parry. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 1
  • Since the October 15 beta build, Auto Shot fires only after you have stood still for 0.5 seconds, Trueshot Aura reaches the whole raid, fire traps scale with Attack Power, and a Fire Trap and an Ice Trap can be out at once. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 15

• Rogue

  Damage

  Melee

  Energy, combo points, stealth and poisons. Pure melee damage with lockpicking on the side; strong from the first dungeon to the last raid.

  Read the Rogue guide

  Who can play it in Forever

  • Human
  • Dwarf
  • Night Elf
  • Gnome
  • Orc
  • Undead
  • Troll
  • Skyborne new
  • Skyborne. Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap, Blizzard — race and class chart, Wowhead — Skyborne First Look
  • Combined hit and crit chances help Rogues improve the reliability of Poisons, in Blizzard’s words. Every class keeps Classic’s talent-tree structure with a new 16-point milestone talent. Confirmed Blizzard — Deep Dive panel recap
  • Energy now regenerates continuously, Subtlety’s Cutthroat can let Rogues use Ambush outside Stealth, and Combat’s new Hack and Slash talent covers different weapon types. Confirmed Wowhead — Class Highlights for Warriors, Rogues and Shamans
  • Every Poison has more charges and can share a weapon with a temporary enchantment such as a Sharpening Stone, Sap no longer breaks Stealth, and Rogues can now learn one-handed axes. Mutilate, Assassination’s 21-point talent, costs 60 Energy, needs a dagger in each hand and awards 2 combo points, and Venom, its 31-point finisher, raises Poison damage and the chance to apply Poisons. Confirmed Blizzard — Class Deep Dives: Rogue and Warlock
  • Since the October 1 beta build, a missed Expose Armor keeps your combo points, and Subtlety’s Setup adds combo points only to the target you dodged or resisted. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 1
  • On episode 2 of the Forever podcast, Kris Zierhut said Rogues should out-damage every other class against a single target in a standstill boss fight, leaving mechanics aside. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW: Forever Podcast Ep.2, Speedrunning Classes Wowhead — Rogues Will Have the Highest Single-Target Damage
  • Since the October 15 beta build, poisons no longer trigger on targets attacking you, Sap no longer triggers weapon procs, and Cold Blood is spent when Mutilate crits. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 15

• Priest

  Healer · Damage

  Ranged

  Cloth, mana, and the deepest healing kit in Classic, with Shadow as a real damage spec. Each race gets two racial priest spells.

  Read the Priest guide

  Who can play it in Forever

  • Human
  • Dwarf
  • Night Elf
  • Undead
  • Troll
  • Gnome new
  • Gnome: one of the six new combinations in Blizzard’s Deep Dive recap. Blizzard — Deep Dive panel recap, Blizzard — race and class chart
  • Gnome Priests are one of the six new race and class combinations. Divine Spirit becomes baseline for the class rather than a talent, and bonus healing on gear now also grants a third as much bonus damage. Confirmed Blizzard — Deep Dive panel recap
  • Every Priest, whatever the race, can learn Fear Ward and Devouring Plague at level 20, Divine Spirit comes baseline at 30, and Shadow Word: Death arrives at 32 as a new baseline ability. Each race’s two Priest racial spells were “fully re-evaluated,” and Gnome Priests get two new ones, Confounding Flash and Contingency Plan. Confirmed Blizzard — Class Deep Dives: Priest and Warrior
  • Since the October 1 beta build, Devouring Plague can crit, Inner Focus no longer raises crit on periodic effects, and Shadow Weaving always applies. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 1
  • Since the October 8 beta build, the low ranks of Smite (1 to 4), Lesser Heal (1 to 3) and Heal (1 and 2) grow more evenly, so each new rank is an upgrade. Discipline’s Penance does less damage and healing, fixing a bug that treated it as a 3-second channel, has its mana costs adjusted (rank 1 costs 50% more) so that it stays more efficient than the Heal and Greater Heal family, and heals more at ranks 2 and 4. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 8
  • Since the October 15 beta build, Devouring Plague’s cooldown is 24 seconds and Shadow Word: Death’s 18. Shadow loses Improved Fade and Shadow Infinity and gains Dark Inspiration, which raises the party’s Spirit after Mind Blast or a full Mind Flay, and Vampiric Embrace’s cooldown is 30 seconds. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 15

• Shaman

  Healer · Damage

  Melee · Ranged · Hybrid

  Totems, mail, and a choice between healing, elemental spells and two-handed melee. Classic’s Horde-only class; Forever opens it to Dwarves and Horde Skyborne.

  Read the Shaman guide

  Who can play it in Forever

  • Orc
  • Tauren
  • Troll
  • Dwarf new
  • Skyborne (Horde) new
  • Dwarf: one of the six new combinations in Blizzard’s Deep Dive recap; listed on the Battle.net Shop. Blizzard — Deep Dive panel recap, Blizzard — race and class chart, Battle.net Shop — product page
  • Skyborne: Horde-aligned Skyborne only. Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap, Blizzard — race and class chart, Wowhead — Skyborne First Look
  • Horde-aligned Skyborne “embrace elemental traditions and gain access to the Shaman class.” Confirmed Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap
  • Combined hit and crit chances are meant to help hybrid specializations “such as Retribution Paladins and Enhancement Shaman,” and spellcaster weapons now carry spell damage and healing. Confirmed Blizzard — Deep Dive panel recap
  • Restoration gains Riptide, which strengthens Chain Heal, and Elemental gains Lava Burst, which deals bonus damage to a target with Flame Shock. Confirmed Wowhead — Class Highlights for Warriors, Rogues and Shamans
  • Totems now cost 1.0 second of global cooldown instead of 1.5, totems that give a lasting buff stay up 5 minutes instead of 2, and a new tracker shows each active totem’s remaining time. Every Shaman learns Call of the Elements at level 20, which opens a totem bar and drops a preset of four totems, one per element, in a single cast; Call of the Spirits at 30 and Call of the Ancestors at 40 add a second and third preset, and Totemic Projection at 22 moves totems already placed. The four weapon imbues — Frostbrand, Flametongue, Rockbiter and Windfury Weapon — last 60 minutes instead of 5 and no longer clash with temporary weapon enchantments, and Fire Nova is now a spell that erupts at the Shaman’s current Fire Totem. Confirmed Blizzard — Class Deep Dives: Mage and Shaman Blizzard — Nethaera’s follow-up edits to the Shaman section
  • Elemental loses its Elemental Mastery talent. Blizzard says it kept the spec’s damage from being raised to the right level in PvE without making it much too strong in PvP, so Elemental gets new spells instead. Confirmed Blizzard — Nethaera’s note on Elemental Mastery’s removal
  • Restoration loses its Nature’s Guidance talent. Confirmed Blizzard — Nethaera’s follow-up edits to the Shaman section
  • Since the October 1 beta build, Disease Cleansing Totem lasts its full 5 minutes and Totemic Recall restores mana as intended. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 1
  • Since the October 8 beta build, the low ranks of Lightning Bolt (1 to 5) grow more evenly, so each new rank is an upgrade. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 8
  • Blizzard’s short on Enhancement builds the spec around two-handed weapons only, with a 3-minute cooldown that raises attack speed, an effect that cuts Lightning Bolt’s cast time and Mana cost, and spell damage and healing that grow with Intellect. Confirmed Wowhead — Blizzard’s Enhancement Shaman short
  • PvP gear now reaches specializations that used to lack options: Shaman get separate healer, melee and caster PvP sets. Confirmed Blizzard — How PvP Progression in World of Warcraft: Forever Works
  • Since the October 15 beta build, Grace of Air, Strength of Earth, Windfury and Flametongue Totems reach the whole raid. Elemental Mastery is Elemental’s 31-point gold medal talent and Lava Burst its 21-point one, Chain Lightning costs about 35% less mana, and Fire Nova is weaker and cheaper. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 15

• Mage

  Damage

  Ranged

  Cloth, mana, Frost and Fire, portals and conjured food. The ranged damage benchmark of Classic, with crowd control every dungeon wants.

  Read the Mage guide

  Who can play it in Forever

  • Human
  • Gnome
  • Undead
  • Troll
  • Orc new
  • Skyborne (Alliance) new
  • Orc: one of the six new combinations in Blizzard’s Deep Dive recap; shown in the announcement trailer. Blizzard — Deep Dive panel recap, Blizzard — race and class chart, Game Informer, PC Gamer
  • Skyborne: Alliance-aligned Skyborne only. Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap, Blizzard — race and class chart, Wowhead — Skyborne First Look
  • Alliance-aligned Skyborne “pursue the arcane legacy of their ancestors and gain access to the Mage class.” Confirmed Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap
  • Frostfire Bolt arrives at level 40, a spell that counts as both Fire and Frost, with a 3-second cast that hits up front and then leaves a debuff that deals damage over time and slows movement, always using the Mage’s higher Fire or Frost bonus. Comprehension, a minor tradeskill only Mages have, deciphers scrolls looted from creatures, and Arcane Blast returns as a new talent whose stacks raise the damage of the Mage’s other spells. Confirmed Blizzard — Class Deep Dives: Mage and Shaman
  • Since the October 1 beta build, Fire’s Hot Streak is called Heating Up, Combustion has 3 charges again, and no Mage scroll from Comprehension can be cast while moving. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 1
  • Since the October 8 beta build, the low ranks of Frostbolt and Fireball (1 to 5) and Arcane Missiles (1 to 3) grow more evenly, so each new rank is an upgrade, and Impact no longer triggers from Flamestrike’s periodic damage. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 8
  • Since the October 15 beta build, Frost Blast, learned at 24, slows by 40% and takes Frostbolt’s talents. Arcane Blast is a 1.5-second cast that stacks Spell Damage from Intellect, Arcane Wrath is a new 16-point gold medal talent, Critical Mass takes 5 points and Fire Power is a 3-point talent. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 15

• Warlock

  Damage

  Ranged · Pet

  Cloth, mana, curses, damage over time and a demon at your side. Summons and soulstones make a Warlock the friend every group wants.

  Read the Warlock guide

  Who can play it in Forever

  • Human
  • Gnome
  • Orc
  • Undead
  • Troll new
  • Troll: one of the six new combinations in Blizzard’s Deep Dive recap. Blizzard — Deep Dive panel recap, Blizzard — race and class chart
  • Troll Warlocks are one of the six new race and class combinations. Spellcaster weapons now grant spell damage, and Undead Cannibalize restores Mana as well as Health, which Blizzard names as useful for Warlocks. Confirmed Blizzard — Deep Dive panel recap
  • Curse of Agony and Curse of Doom become Banes, which sit apart from Curses: each Warlock can keep only one Bane on a target, and Curse of Shadows is gone. Firestone and Spellstone become weapon imbues that can share a weapon with a temporary enchantment such as Wizard Oil, and demons now draw on the Warlock’s own stats. Confirmed Blizzard — Class Deep Dives: Rogue and Warlock
  • Since the October 1 beta build, Affliction’s Soul Harvesting is called Soul Harvest and gives its 50 or 100% mana regeneration, Hellfire can crit, and pets have Aggressive mode back. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 1
  • Since the October 8 beta build, the low ranks of Shadow Bolt (1 to 4) grow more evenly, so each new rank is an upgrade, and a Warlock’s current pet is stunned while a new one is summoned. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 8
  • Since the October 15 beta build, Grim Reach (replacing Malediction) and Destructive Reach add 10 or 20% range to Affliction and Destruction spells, and Shadow Mastery gives 2 to 10% more Shadow damage. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 15

• Druid

  Tank · Healer · Damage

  Melee · Ranged · Hybrid

  Shapeshifting covers every role: Bear tanks, Cat and Moonkin deal damage, and Restoration heals. Classic’s two-race class gains a third.

  Read the Druid guide

  Who can play it in Forever

  • Night Elf
  • Tauren
  • Skyborne new
  • Skyborne: with sky-blue Bear, Cat, Travel and Moonkin forms made for the race. Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap, Blizzard — race and class chart, Wowhead — Skyborne First Look
  • Skyborne Druids get “new Skyborne druid forms created specifically for the race.” Wowhead’s first look showed sky-blue Bear, Cat, Travel and Moonkin forms and no Tree form. Confirmed Blizzard — What’s Next panel recap Wowhead — Skyborne First Look
  • Improved Mark of the Wild becomes baseline for the class rather than a talent; Blizzard names it alongside Divine Spirit and Blessing of Kings as key buffs that no longer cost talent points. Confirmed Blizzard — Deep Dive panel recap
  • Shapeshifted Druids can drink potions, keep weapon enchants and procs working, open most doors and use racials such as Shadowmeld and War Stomp without leaving form. Most Engineering bombs still can’t be used in form, though Blizzard points to new SAF-T and EZ-Thro recipes that can. Nature’s Grasp (level 10) and Omen of Clarity (level 20) are baseline, Feral gains Lacerate at level 42, and Revive, an out-of-combat resurrection, arrives at level 12. Confirmed Blizzard — Class Deep Dives: Hunter and Druid
  • Since the October 1 beta build, Tiger’s Fury and King of the Jungle are gone. Feral’s new Shifting Power turns 55% of base mana into 40 Energy in Cat Form, every shapeshift form is immune to Disarm, and Bear Form and Dire Bear Form gain 75% more Rage from critical strikes. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 1
  • Since the October 8 beta build, the low ranks of Wrath (1 to 5) grow more evenly, so each new rank is an upgrade. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 8
  • Since the October 15 beta build, Moonkin Aura (spell crit only) and Leader of the Pack (melee and ranged crit only) reach the whole raid, Furor keeps your Energy through bear forms, and Shred is learned at level 20. Confirmed Blizzard — WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, October 15