WoW Forever Classes and Races: 9 Classes, 6 New Combos and the Paladin Rework

World of Warcraft: Forever launches on 4 November 2026 at 3:00 PM PST with the 9 Classic classes: Warrior, Paladin, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Shaman, Mage, Warlock and Druid. There is no new class. Blizzard reworked every class and every talent tree. Its stated goal is that all 27 talent trees earn a dungeon or raid spot, with different strengths and weaknesses for each.

Blizzard has described 1 class in full so far, the Paladin. The other 8 classes get the game-wide changes below and their new race options. Blizzard says more class and race details are coming in videos and articles.

The reworks matter most at level 60. That is where the new tank tools, the merged stats and the baseline raid buffs get used, and the 1st raids open on 9 December 2026, 5 weeks after launch.

All 6 combos come with a normal subscription. The Skyborne race is the only paid unlock in Forever, and Blizzard says more combos are planned for later updates.

2 of the 6 change the faction map. Dwarf Shaman is the 1st Alliance Shaman that needs no special race. Undead Paladin brings the Paladin to the Horde with its own story. Forsaken Paladins are sent to Bandarion Keep in the Whispering Wood of Tirisfal around level 10, and they get their own epic mount quest at 60. Human Hunter, Gnome Priest, Orc Mage and Troll Warlock add a class to a race that never had it.

Every race also has new racials: 2 active and 2 passive, budgeted so no race is pushed toward the same strengths. Blizzard has detailed the Dwarf and the Undead sets because of the 2 new combos. The full tables are on the Dwarf Shaman and Undead Paladin guides.

The full grid of which race can play which class is in the race and class combinations guide.

Skyborne is the new playable race, and it is the 1 race behind a purchase. The Skyborne Heroic Pack at $29.99 or higher unlocks the race and its starting zone, Zephras Isle, levels 1 to 12. A Skyborne picks Horde or Alliance at character creation, and the class list follows the faction.

The split follows the lore. Horde Skyborne work with the Earthen Ring, so they can be Shamans. Alliance Skyborne follow the arcane legacy of their ancestors with the Kirin Tor, so they can be Mages. Skyborne Druids get new forms made for the race. There is no Skyborne Paladin and no Skyborne Priest.

If you want an Alliance Shaman or a Horde Mage without the pack, the free answers are Dwarf Shaman and Orc Mage. The full race guide is here.

4 game-wide changes apply to all 9 classes, in Blizzard's own words from its Deep Dive panel.

• Talents. 3 trees and 7 rows, as in Classic. The 1-point gold talents sit at 11, 21 and 31 points, plus a 4th at 16. Many talents are unchanged from patch 1.12, many are improved, and new ones are added.
• Buffs. Blessing of Kings, Divine Spirit, Improved Mark of the Wild and Improved Battle Shout are no longer talents. The bonuses are baseline, so nobody spends points to be allowed into a raid.
• Stats. 1 hit stat covers melee, ranged and spells, and crit is merged the same way. Weapon skill gives less per item. Healing power now includes 1/3 of bonus spell damage, and classes that heal or deal damage with mana get mana back from Spirit in combat.
• Combat. On your own, an ordinary creature takes roughly 10 to 15 seconds to kill. Dungeons need crowd control, and a tank holds threat on 3 or 4 targets at once.

The 3 baseline buffs remove the old tax on Paladins, Priests and Druids. A Holy Paladin is picked for healing. The 5-point buff talent is gone. The merged hit stat is the quiet change: a Retribution Paladin or an Enhancement Shaman caps 1 stat for swings and spells alike. Every change per class is on class changes.

Paladin is the class Blizzard rebuilt 1st, because it had the biggest gap in Classic: no taunt and 1 button before level 20. 4 changes apply to every Paladin. Holy Strike arrives at level 6, an instant Holy weapon strike on a cooldown of 12 seconds. Judgment no longer consumes the seal. Seal of Fury is the new tank seal, and its Judgment taunts the target at 10 yards. Consecration is baseline at 20 and deals heavy damage to the 1st 4 enemies that enter it.

Each tree got named talents. Light's Vigil gives Holy a party heal through 1 ally. Swift Judgment resets the taunt for Protection once a minute. Twist of Light gives Retribution seal twisting without an addon. Blizzard also kept 2 holes on purpose: Paladins still have no interrupt and no slow.

The full change list by spec, the 3 Paladin races and a leveling plan are on the Paladin guide.

Forever reworked every class, so the only reference for leveling speed is Classic. Mage and Hunter are the fastest, about 8% under the average time. Warrior is the slowest, about 12% over it. Priest and Druid are about 5% slower than average. Paladin, Shaman, Rogue and Warlock sit in the middle. We re-check these figures on the beta as the reworked classes settle.

A class of average speed needs about 150 hours of play from 1 to 60 on a quest-led route. The XP curve is unchanged from Classic, dungeon mob XP is reduced and the 1st run of each dungeon's quests pays more. So the class matters less than the route: a Mage saves about 12 hours over the 150, a Warrior adds about 18.

The date that matters is 9 December 2026, when Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair open. The full route by level bracket is on power leveling.

Whether you roll a Classic class, a new combo or a Skyborne, these are the 3 calendars from level 1 to 60.

3 things help before Blizzard publishes the rest of the class posts. Coaching at $29 an hour: a Pro walks your class through the published changes and says plainly what Blizzard has not published yet. The 2 builder links, Undead Paladin and Dwarf Shaman, run the same 1 to 60 route with the class set in advance. And the chat on this page: name your faction and role and you get a class pick and the week you hit 60.

Every leveling order can be cancelled for a full refund before the 1st session. We re-measure the leveling hours for each class on the beta, and a placed pre-order keeps its price.