THE SHORT ANSWER WoW Forever adds 6 new race and class combos: Gnome Priest, Dwarf Shaman, Human Hunter, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Forsaken (Undead) Paladin. The new Skyborne race also adds its own combos, but it needs a paid pack. Racials changed a lot during the beta. The numbers in this guide match Blizzard’s latest notes, posted October 26 and 27, 2026, and are checked as of November 3, 2026.
In the original classic, many combos were simply off limits. Humans could not be Hunters, Gnomes could not be Priests, and the Horde had no Paladins at all. Forever opens those doors. Below you will find each combo, why it is fun to level, and the racial abilities that make it special. At the end there is a full, up to date list of racials for every race.
The Six Combos in One Table
| Combo | Faction | Why Players Are Talking About It |
|---|---|---|
| Gnome Priest | Alliance | Two brand-new Priest racials, a bigger mana pool and the Eureka! burst |
| Forsaken Paladin | Horde | The Horde’s first Paladin, with its own undead mount look |
| Dwarf Shaman | Alliance | The only Alliance race that can be a Shaman |
| Human Hunter | Alliance | A new Hunter option with extra Spirit for mana and a crit boost |
| Orc Mage | Horde | Blood Fury burst on a class built for big damage |
| Troll Warlock | Horde | Faster casting with Berserking and strong health regeneration |
All six are included with your subscription. You do not need a pack for any of them.
Why These Combos Are Fun to Level
Leveling is where you spend the first 60 or so hours, so the racial matters more than you might expect. A good racial changes how a fight feels. Here is what stands out for each combo:
- Gnome Priest: You get a larger mana pool and a burst window that makes heals and spells cheaper. Confounding Flash gives you a panic button when things go wrong.
- Forsaken Paladin: You can break Fear and Charm on demand, and Touch of the Grave adds a small steady heal on hit. It is also just a great look.
- Dwarf Shaman: Stoneform clears bleeds, poisons and diseases. Added hit chance helps melee Enhancement land its attacks. Big Game Hunter helps against the many beasts you fight early on.
- Human Hunter: The Spirit bonus helps your mana come back between fights, and Perception shows hidden enemies.
- Orc Mage: Blood Fury lets you open a tough pull with extra spell power. Hardiness shortens stuns.
- Troll Warlock: Berserking speeds up your casts, and faster health regeneration means less waiting between fights.
Gnome Priest
The Gnome Priest is the combo with the most new tools, so it gets the most room here.
Why it is exciting. Gnomes could never be Priests in the old version. Now they get two Priest-only racials that no other race has, on top of the normal Gnome racials.
The two special Priest racials
| Racial | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Confounding Flash | Confuses up to 5 enemies within 8 yards for 3 seconds. Taking damage breaks the effect. |
| Contingency Plan | Places a 15 second Holy ward on an ally. If that ally drops below 35% health, they gain a 155 point shield and heal for 300 over 15 seconds. One ward per target. |
These numbers come from the BlizzCon demo. Blizzard has made small tweaks since, such as letting Contingency Plan critically heal and updating the look of Confounding Flash, so expect minor changes.
The shared Gnome racials
| Racial | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Eureka! | For 8 seconds, your damage and healing abilities cost about 10% fewer resources and deal or heal about 10% more. It also works with Power Word: Shield. You cannot use it while stealthed or invisible. |
| Expansive Mind | Raises your maximum Mana, Rage or Energy by 5%. |
| Escape Artist | Removes movement-impairing effects and grants a few seconds of immunity to them. |
| Engineering Specialization | Cuts device backfires by about 20%. |
How they work together. Eureka! is a short burst. Pop it before a hard pull or a heavy healing moment and every cast costs less and hits harder. Expansive Mind gives you more mana to start with. Contingency Plan works like a safety net for a tank or friend, and it is often compared to Guardian Spirit from later versions of the game. Confounding Flash steps in when you are in trouble.
A note on Eureka!. It has been changed several times in the beta. It started as a stronger, longer effect with several charges. Today it is an 8 second buff with no charges. Even so, it remains one of the best-known Gnome tools.
Fear Ward for all. Fear Ward is now part of the base Priest kit for everyone, so it is no longer a Dwarf perk.
Why it is fun to level. Healing and damage both get cheaper during Eureka!, so you can spend more time fighting. Escape Artist helps you get out of roots. Priests are slower solo levelers, so a mana bonus and a safety button help a lot.
Other Priest racials for comparison
| Race | Priest-Only Racials |
|---|---|
| Dwarf | Chastise, Desperate Prayer |
| Gnome | Confounding Flash, Contingency Plan |
| Human | Divine Grace, Feedback |
| Night Elf | Elune’s Grace, Starshards |
| Troll | Hex of Weakness, Shadowguard |
| Undead | Dark Sacrifice, Touch of Weakness |
Skyborne cannot be a Priest.
Forsaken Paladin
Why the hype. In classic, Paladins were Alliance only. In Forever, the Undead (also called the Forsaken) can be Paladins. Blizzard showed off the combo in a video in late September, and the beta files hint at special mounts. Those are undead horses with visible bone and decay, but with golden armor and Holy Light ornaments. The mix of rotting horse and shining armor is the part players talk about most. Blizzard has also said it will update the Forsaken Paladin’s intro quest. Details on how to get the mounts have not been shared.
Their racials
| Racial | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Touch of the Grave | Gives a chance on hit to drain health from the target, up to 5% of your maximum health. Paladins get a 20% chance. Casters get 30%. Internal cooldown is 15 seconds as of October 27. |
| Will of the Forsaken | Removes Charm, Fear and Sleep on use. It cannot be used while under Scatter Shot. |
| Cannibalize | Restores health and mana from a nearby Humanoid or Undead corpse. |
| Underwater Breathing | Much longer breath underwater. |
Why it is fun to level. Paladins already feel sturdy in plate. Add a drain on hit and a corpse-powered recovery, and you rarely need to stop between pulls. Will of the Forsaken is a great answer to Fear from mobs and casters. And you get to be a holy knight who looks like the undead.
Another good Paladin race. If you prefer the Alliance, Human is a strong Paladin choice too.
Dwarf Shaman
Why the excitement. Alliance players could never be Shamans in the classic edition. In Forever, the Dwarf is the only Alliance race that can pick the class. (Skyborne Shamans exist, but only on the Horde side, and Skyborne needs a paid pack.) That means every Alliance player who wants to use totems, Windfury and Lightning Bolt now has a path to do it, with no pack needed.
Dwarf Shamans also get their own look. Their totems have a gold and silver metal design with feathers, and they have their own totem quests.
Their racials
| Racial | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Stoneform | Removes bleeds, poisons and diseases, and reduces physical damage taken for a short time. Cooldown is about 3 minutes. |
| Find Treasure | Shows chests on your minimap, and gives a chance at extra items from most chests. |
| Artisan’s Precision | Adds 1% hit chance with attacks and spells. |
| Big Game Hunter | Extra damage against Beasts. |
Artisan’s Precision is new. It replaced Earth Fury on October 26, making dwarfs a sought after race in the Alliance ranks.
Why it is fun to level. Enhancement Shamans fight in melee, so a bit of extra hit chance means fewer misses. Early zones are full of beasts, so Big Game Hunter pays off fast. Stoneform helps against poisons and bleeds that tend to hurt early. And one-button totems with saved sets make the class smoother than it ever was. Dwarf Shamans begin in Dun Morogh.
Human Hunter
What changed. Humans finally take up their wooden bows to take up arms.
Their racials
| Racial | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Ruthless | +1% critical strike chance (was 2% until October 26). |
| The Human Spirit | +10% Spirit (was 5% until October 26). |
| Perception | Detects stealthed enemies for 20 seconds. |
| Will to Survive | Removes stuns. |
Why it is fun to level. Hunters use mana for shots and abilities, so the larger Spirit bonus brings mana back faster between fights. Will to Survive helps against stuns, and Perception helps with sneaky enemies and PvP. Night Elf Hunters get an active crit boost, so Humans are the steadier option.
Orc Mage
What changed. Orcs can now harness the arcane, fire and frost elements of magic and not just as shamans.
Their racials
| Racial | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Blood Fury | +10% Attack Power and Spell Power for 15 seconds. Cooldown is 2 minutes (it was raised to 3 and then put back on October 27). |
| Shatter Curse | Dispels Curses and Banes and reduces magic damage taken by 5% for 8 seconds. |
| Hardiness | Reduces stun duration by 20%. |
| Command | Boosts Warlock and Hunter pets only, so Mages do not use it. |
Why it is fun to level. Mages already melt packs of enemies. Blood Fury lets you open with more damage on a big pull, and it comes back often. Hardiness helps with the stuns that kill fragile casters.
Troll Warlock
What changed. Trolls bind the shadow demons to do their bidding.
Their racials
| Racial | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Berserking | +10% casting and attack speed. Lasts 15 seconds as of October 27 (it was 10). |
| Regeneration | +20% health regeneration, including in combat. |
| Beast Slaying | +5% damage to Beasts. |
| Rapid Regeneration | A heal-over-time style recovery. Sources disagree on the exact numbers. |
Why it is fun to level. Warlocks stack damage over time, so faster casts make every rotation stronger. Troll health regeneration keeps you topped up between fights, which helps a class that spends health on Life Tap. Beast Slaying helps with early-zone wildlife.
Skyborne Combos
Skyborne is the new race, and it has its own class combos, separate from the six above.
| Faction | Skyborne Classes |
|---|---|
| Alliance (High Order) | Druid, Hunter, Mage, Rogue, Warrior |
| Horde (Windshaper) | Druid, Hunter, Rogue, Shaman, Warrior |
They cannot be Paladins, Priests or Warlocks. The race needs the Skyborne Heroic Pack ($29.99) or higher. See our cost article for what each pack includes.
Every Racial, Updated for November 3, 2026
These are the latest values from Blizzard’s beta notes, including the final tuning posted October 26 and 27. Blizzard can still change racials with hotfixes after launch.
Alliance
| Race | Racials Right Now |
|---|---|
| Human | Will to Survive (removes stuns); Perception (detect stealth, 20 sec); Ruthless (+1% crit); The Human Spirit (+10% Spirit) |
| Dwarf | Stoneform (about 3 min cooldown); Find Treasure (chests on map, bonus items); Artisan’s Precision (+1% hit); Big Game Hunter (extra damage to Beasts) |
| Night Elf | Elune’s Light (+10% crit for 15 sec); Shadowmeld; Quickness (+1% dodge, +2% run speed, stacks with other speed); Wisp Spirit (+75% run speed as a ghost) |
| Gnome | Escape Artist; Eureka! (8 sec, about 10% cheaper and stronger); Expansive Mind (+5% max resource); Engineering Specialization (about 20% fewer backfires) |
| Skyborne (High Order) | Walk on Air (glide 10 sec, 90 sec cooldown); Wind Blessed (+2% haste); Elemental Insight (extra damage to Elementals); Read Leyline (+50% health and mana regen for 15 sec, or +100% while Attuned) |
Horde
| Race | Racials Right Now |
|---|---|
| Orc | Blood Fury (+10% AP and spell power, 2 min cooldown); Shatter Curse (dispel Curses and Banes, 5% less magic damage); Command (+5% Hunter and Warlock pet damage); Hardiness (stuns 20% shorter) |
| Undead (Forsaken) | Will of the Forsaken (removes Charm, Fear, Sleep); Cannibalize; Underwater Breathing; Touch of the Grave (20% for Paladins, Rogues and Warriors, 30% for casters, 15 sec internal cooldown) |
| Tauren | War Stomp (stun, 90 sec cooldown); Cultivation (bonus herbs, 15 min cooldown); Plainsrunning (+2% speed per stack, up to 60%, no mounted bonus); Endurance (+5% health) |
| Troll | Berserking (+10% haste, 15 sec); Regeneration (+20% health regen); Beast Slaying (+5% vs Beasts); Rapid Regeneration |
| Skyborne (Windshaper) | Walk on Air; Wind Blessed (+2% haste); Elemental Insight; Skysight (+15% run speed for 15 sec, or +30% while Charged) |
Resistance racials from classic, such as Frost Resistance and Shadow Resistance, were removed.
Attuned and Charged. If a Skyborne uses Read Leyline at a Ley Line, they gain Attuned for 1 hour. Using Skysight at an Elemental Convergence grants Charged for 1 hour. Both survive death. Both are removed when you enter a raid.
What Changed and When
| Date | Change |
|---|---|
| Sept 24 | Eureka! changed to a 10% resource discount. Touch of the Grave no longer breaks crowd control. |
| Oct 1 | Eureka! no longer benefits periodic effects. |
| Oct 8 | Fixed Will of the Forsaken being unusable while asleep or charmed. |
| Oct 15 | Big racial pass: Eureka! became an 8 second buff with no charges, Touch of the Grave set to 20%/30%, Human, Dwarf, Orc, Tauren, Troll and Skyborne all updated. |
| Oct 26 | Final tuning: Ruthless 2% to 1%, Human Spirit 5% to 10%, Earth Fury replaced by Artisan’s Precision, Savage removed and Command returned, Plainsrunning doubled, Endurance cut to health only, Skyborne Read Leyline and Skysight reworked. |
| Oct 27 | Blood Fury cooldown back to 2 minutes, Berserking raised to 15 seconds, Touch of the Grave internal cooldown cut to 15 seconds. |
Gnome and Night Elf racials have not changed since October 15.
What to Pick
| If You Want | Try |
|---|---|
| A healer with extra tools | Gnome Priest |
| A Horde knight in plate | Forsaken Paladin |
| To play Shaman on the Alliance | Dwarf Shaman |
| A Hunter with strong mana recovery | Human Hunter |
| Big burst damage | Orc Mage |
| Fast casts and sturdy health | Troll Warlock |
Pick the combo that looks like fun to you. A racial is a small bonus. The look and feel of your character matter more.
Questions Players Ask
Can the Horde play Paladin in WoW Forever? Yes. The Undead (Forsaken) can be Paladins in Forever.
Can Alliance players be Shamans? Yes. Dwarves are the only Alliance race in Forever that can be Shamans. Skyborne Shamans exist too, but only on the Horde side.
Are the new combos free? Yes. The six combos come with your subscription. Only the Skyborne race needs a paid pack.
What are the Gnome Priest racials? Confounding Flash and Contingency Plan, plus the Gnome racials Eureka!, Expansive Mind, Escape Artist and Engineering Specialization.
Did the racials change recently? Yes. The most recent changes came on October 26 and 27, 2026.
Will racials change again? Possibly. Blizzard can still adjust them with hotfixes after launch on November 4.
Which new combo is best? There is no best. Gnome Priest has the most unique tools, and Forsaken Paladin and Dwarf Shaman have the most buzz.
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