What race and class combos exist in WoW Forever?
Blizzard's Create the Hero page posts 2 tables: 
Horde and 
Alliance. Every cell is an X or empty. An X means you can create that race and class. An empty cell means that combination is unavailable on the published launch matrix.
The 9 classes are 
Druid, 
Hunter, 
Mage, 
Paladin, 
Priest, 
Rogue, 
Shaman, 
Warlock and 
Warrior. The 10 races are the Classic 8 plus Skyborne Windshaper on Horde and Skyborne High Order on Alliance.
Launch is 4 November 2026 at 3:00 PM PST, and the 1st raids open 5 weeks later, on 9 December 2026.
Class overviews sit on classes. Racial kits sit on racials.
Every X on these tables is from Blizzard's Create the Hero post. This page does not fill empty cells with guesses from older expansions.
Your new combo at 60 before the raids
A booster levels any combo with an X on the matrix, Gnome Priest and Orc Mage included.
WoW Forever Power Leveling & Gearing
Horde race and class matrix
| Race | Druid | Hunter | Mage | Paladin | Priest | Rogue | Shaman | Warlock | Warrior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orc | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||
| Tauren | X | X | X | X | |||||
| Troll | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||
 Undead | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||
| Skyborne (Windshaper) | X | X | X | X | X |
Blank cells are empty on Blizzard's table. They are unavailable at launch on this matrix.
Orc gains Mage as a new combination. Undead gains Paladin. 
Troll gains Warlock. Windshaper Skyborne adds Shaman on top of the shared Druid, Hunter, Rogue and Warrior set.
Tauren still has no Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue or Warlock. Undead still has no Druid, Hunter or Shaman.
Alliance race and class matrix
| Race | Druid | Hunter | Mage | Paladin | Priest | Rogue | Shaman | Warlock | Warrior |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Dwarf | X | X | X | X | X | X | |||
| Gnome | X | X | X | X | X | ||||
| Human | X | X | X | X | X | X | X | ||
| Night Elf | X | X | X | X | X | ||||
| Skyborne (High Order) | X | X | X | X | X |
Dwarf gains Shaman. 
Gnome gains Priest. 
Human gains Hunter. High Order Skyborne gains Mage on top of shared Druid, Hunter, Rogue and Warrior.
Night Elf still has no Mage, Paladin, Shaman or Warlock. Gnome still has no Druid, Hunter, Paladin or Shaman.
Blizzard has not published Blood Elf, Draenei or any other post-Classic race for Forever. The matrices show only the Classic 8 plus Skyborne.
The 6 new race and class combinations
Blizzard names 6 combinations that were not in Classic 1.12. More are planned for future updates. Blizzard has not dated those later rows yet.
With these 6, Paladin and Shaman are no longer tied to 1 faction: the Undead Paladin plays for the Horde and the Dwarf Shaman for the Alliance.
| New combo | Faction | What the matrix unlocks |
|---|---|---|
| Gnome Priest | Alliance | New healer and Shadow race with Eureka! and Mana passives |
| Human Hunter | Alliance | New Hunter race with Will to Survive and Perception |
| Dwarf Shaman | Alliance | Alliance Shaman with  Stoneform and Mace Spec |
| Orc Mage | Horde | New Mage race with Blood Fury and Hardiness |
| Troll Warlock | Horde | New Warlock race with Berserking |
| Undead Paladin | Horde | Horde Paladin with  Will of the Forsaken |
Each combo still uses that race's published 2 actives and 2 passives. Blizzard posted the class deep dives in late September and finished its class highlight videos for all 9 classes on 6 October. Class trees sit on talents.
Gnome Priest detail also sits on Priest racials. Dwarf Shaman detail sits on Shaman.
Copy the combo name into character creation exactly as published. The client will only offer classes that carry an X on your race row.
Whichever combo you create starts at level 1, and 1 to 60 is about 150 hours of play.
The 6 new combos level at their class speed, so an Undead Paladin or a Dwarf Shaman lands on these calendars within a few days.
Skyborne faction extras on the matrix
Skyborne is the new playable race. You choose Horde or Alliance at creation. Start zone is 
Zephras Isle, levels 1 to 12.
Shared classes on both variants: Druid, Hunter, Rogue and Warrior. Windshaper (Horde) also lists Shaman. High Order (Alliance) also lists Mage.
Neither variant lists Paladin, Priest or Warlock. Windshaper has no Mage. High Order has no Shaman.
Windshaper actives include Walk on Air and Skysight. High Order actives include Walk on Air and Read Ley Line. Both share Wind Blessed (+1% haste) and Elemental Insight (+5% versus Elementals).
Blizzard is reworking the HD Skyborne Druid forms: a less soft look, more fur detail and toned-down colors. Standard-definition Skyborne models and Druid forms arrive in early 2027. Until then Skyborne is the only race without an SD option.
Skyborne requires a Skyborne upgrade pack. On the US Battle.net shop the Skyborne Heroic Pack costs $29.99, the Skyborne Epic Pack $59.99 and the Warcraft Forever Collection $79.99. Edition contents sit on editions.
Class pages for every column
Lock the race cell. Then open the class page for leveling, racial fit and 
raid role.
Talent milestones for all 9 classes sit on talents. Interactive layout sits on the talent calculator.
Who sits where on a tier board is a separate question on tier list. That board stays provisional while the beta runs to 21 October.
How to read an empty matrix cell
An empty cell on Create the Hero is a settled no for launch. That race cannot select that class on the published table.
Cells Blizzard has not shown at all belong to races outside the 10-row set. Blood Elf, Draenei and the later expansion races have no published row. On 11 October Blizzard said it has no plans to add races from the WoW expansions at this time.
When Blizzard says more combinations are planned, that promise has no date and no name list yet. On 1 October some players got a Battle.net survey about 11 class ideas, among them Monk, Demon Hunter, Death Knight, Tinker, Bard and Necromancer. Blizzard has announced no new class, and Forever launches with the 9 classes on this matrix. Do not roll a Night Elf waiting for Paladin on day 1.
If your goal is a healer on Alliance tomorrow, Gnome Priest and the older Human, Dwarf and Night Elf Priest rows are the published options.
If your goal is Horde Paladin, Undead is the published new row. Human and Dwarf remain the Alliance Paladin rows.
Which new combo to level now
Blizzard published no ranking of the 6 new combinations. Pick from the role you want on 9 December.
Alliance early picks. Dwarf Shaman fills a faction hole. Gnome Priest adds a Mana-leaning healer race. Human Hunter adds a stun-break Hunter.
Horde early picks. Undead Paladin is the headline Holy and tank story. Orc Mage adds Blood Fury to Mage. Troll Warlock adds Berserking to Warlock.
Skyborne is a paid race unlock with its own start isle. It is a 7th story if you already own the pack. It sits beside the Classic 8.
Whatever you roll, the raids open 5 weeks after 4 November. Read leveling and power leveling before you camp the login queue.
Why your combo needs 60 before 9 December
Forever launches on 4 November 2026. Any combo, new or old, needs 
level 60 to join the raids that open on 9 December 2026. A new combo still climbs the same 150 hours to 60.
The matrix only settles who you can roll. Leveling, the 9 new dungeons, new zones and professions still fill the calendar.
Name reservation runs 27 October to 3 November 2026 with any upgrade, the Heroic Pack included. You can reserve up to 3 characters, 1st come 1st served. Every name is a given name plus a surname, and the full name must be unique in your region.
Pre-order leveling is $299 with 1 booster or $420 with 2 boosters. Regular is $399 / $599. A human Pro plays your character by hand in our own gaming hubs, on a PC dedicated to your account and a unique residential IP in your city. To the game, it looks exactly like a family member playing from home.
For release timing and beta caps, read release date and beta.
Undead Paladin and Dwarf Shaman presets in our store follow the same matrix. They do not invent races Blizzard left empty.
From the source
Official“Full Horde and Alliance race and class matrices, including Skyborne Windshaper and High Order rows.”
Official“Six new race and class combinations: Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, Undead Paladin, with more planned.”
Official“Skyborne chooses Horde or Alliance at creation. Zephras Isle levels 1 to 12. Faction-gated Shaman or Mage extras.”
Official“Launch November 4, 2026. New raids unlock December 9. Skyborne faction class extras restated.”
Report“Blizzard to TechRadar Gaming: no plans to add races from the WoW expansions at this time; Forever has its own continuity and builds on the Warcraft RTS lore first.”
FAQ
- Fact update: on 11 October Blizzard said it has no plans to add races from the WoW expansions at this time.
- Fact update: the class survey is dated late September.
- October refresh: Paladin and Shaman on both factions, the class highlight videos for all 9 classes, Skyborne SD models in early 2027, the 1 October class survey, 2-part names in name reservation, 2 new FAQs and how our Pros play your account.