WoW Forever Classes: All 9 Classes, Specs and Races

WoW Forever has the nine classes of Classic: Warrior, Paladin, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Shaman, Mage, Warlock and Druid. No new class is in the game at launch. Every class keeps three talent trees and 51 talent points at level 60, but every one of them was reworked, and six race and class combinations are new.

WoW Forever classes at a glance

Class	Talent trees (31-point talent)	Playable races
Warrior	Arms (Mortal Strike); Fury (Bloodthirst); Protection (Shield Slam)	Alliance: Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome, Skyborne. Horde: Orc, Undead, Tauren, Troll, Skyborne.
Paladin	Holy (Light’s Vigil); Protection (Holy Shield); Retribution (Twist of Light)	Alliance: Human, Dwarf. Horde: Undead.
Hunter	Beast Mastery (Bestial Wrath); Marksmanship (Sniper Shot); Survival (Lacerating Strikes)	Alliance: Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Skyborne. Horde: Orc, Tauren, Troll, Skyborne.
Rogue	Assassination (Venom); Combat (Adrenaline Rush); Subtlety (Thousand Cuts)	Alliance: Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome, Skyborne. Horde: Orc, Undead, Troll, Skyborne.
Priest	Discipline (Power Infusion); Holy (Prayer of Mending); Shadow (Shadowform)	Alliance: Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome. Horde: Undead, Troll.
Shaman	Elemental (Elemental Mastery); Enhancement (Rage of the Farseer); Restoration (Riptide)	Alliance: Dwarf. Horde: Orc, Tauren, Troll, Skyborne.
Mage	Arcane (Arcane Power); Fire (Combustion); Frost (Ice Barrier)	Alliance: Human, Gnome, Skyborne. Horde: Orc, Undead, Troll.
Warlock	Affliction (Wrack); Demonology (Demonic Pact); Destruction (Incinerate)	Alliance: Human, Gnome. Horde: Orc, Undead, Troll.
Druid	Balance (Moonkin Form); Feral Combat (Berserk); Restoration (Wild Growth)	Alliance: Night Elf, Skyborne. Horde: Tauren, Skyborne.

The Skyborne, the new high elf race, can be Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Mage or Druid on the Alliance side and Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Shaman or Druid on the Horde side.

Which WoW Forever class fits your role

Blizzard’s WoW Forever class deep dives describe what each class is for. Warriors, Paladins and Druids tank, Shamans can tank for short stretches, Paladins, Priests, Shamans and Druids heal, and every class can deal damage:

Class	Roles	In Blizzard’s words
Warrior	Tank, damage	“Any party or raid is happy to add a Warrior as either a tank or damage dealer.”
Paladin	Tank, healer, damage	Highly effective tanks, competitive damage dealers and “the strongest single-target healers in the game”
Hunter	Damage	“Hunters only have one combat role, damage, but can utilize their pet as a tank in solo and small group play.”
Rogue	Damage	The highest potential single-target melee damage, and welcome in any group for Stealth and control
Priest	Healer, damage	“Priests continue to be the most versatile healer in World of Warcraft”
Shaman	Healer, damage, temporary tank	Melee or spell damage dealers and healers of parties or raids
Mage	Damage	“Mages will always be useful to a raid or party for their unique buffs”
Warlock	Damage	Damage that now competes with other spellcasters, while “depending on their demon pets for protection”
Druid	Tank, healer, damage	“They are fully capable tanks and damage dealers”, and powerful healers with a smaller toolkit than Priests

Can a Shaman tank in WoW Forever?

Only in a limited way. Blizzard says Enhancement Shamans keep “their unique ability to generate high threat and serve as a temporary tank in small group gameplay”, and the Enhancement talents support it: Improved Stormstrike gives Stormstrike a chance to reset each time you dodge or parry, and Spirit Weapons, formerly Parry, is still in the tree. Shamans wear mail and can use a shield, but Blizzard does not present them as a main tank next to Warriors, Paladins and Druids. Try it in the WoW Forever Shaman talents calculator.

New race and class combinations

WoW Forever adds six combinations that Classic did not allow: Gnome Priest, Human Hunter and Dwarf Shaman for the Alliance, and Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Undead Paladin for the Horde. Shamans and Paladins are no longer tied to one faction each: Dwarves can be Shamans and the Undead can be Paladins. See every racial ability on the WoW Forever racials page.

How much did each class change?

Paladins gained the most new talents, 18, while Warlocks and Druids changed the most overall: each kept only two talents exactly as they were in Classic. Rogues and Mages changed the least. The WoW Forever class changes page lists every new and removed talent by class, and each class talent calculator above marks new and changed talents when you turn on Compare to Classic.

Choosing a class

The WoW Forever races and classes table above is a starting point. Open a class to read all of its talents with every rank, plan a build for the level you are at, and use the Legacy Talented option to see how early your talent points arrive.

Questions players ask about WoW Forever classes

Is there a new class in WoW Forever?

No. WoW Forever launches with the nine Classic classes and no new class. In late September an alleged Blizzard survey, shown to some players in the Battle.net launcher, asked about eleven class ideas such as Monk, Death Knight, Demon Hunter, Bard and Necromancer. Blizzard has not announced any of them for WoW Forever.

How many new race and class combinations are there?

Sixteen, if you count the new race. Six are new pairings for Classic races (Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Undead Paladin), and the Skyborne add ten more: Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Mage and Druid for the Alliance, and Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Shaman and Druid for the Horde.

Which classes are the most played in the beta?

Blizzard has not published class numbers. Third-party tracking by classicplus.io, reported by MMORPG.com in mid-October, counted over a million beta characters, with Hunter the most popular class and Warrior, Paladin and Druid close behind. Character counts are not player counts, and a beta is not launch, so treat this as a hint of what your realm may look like rather than a ranking of class strength.

Which class is best for solo leveling and tanking dungeons?

Warriors, Paladins and Druids are the three full tank classes, and all three can level in a damage spec and switch with dual specialization at level 40. Druids add stealth, healing and travel forms for solo play, Paladins add self-healing and plate armor, and Warriors are welcome in any group as a tank or damage dealer, in Blizzard’s words. Open each class above to compare their talents level by level.