This WoW Forever class tier list is provisional. It ranks the nine Classic classes for the September 17 beta on three stated criteria: solo leveling speed, dungeon utility from 13 to 60, and expected value in the first raid tier that unlocks December 9. The evidence is Blizzard's Deep Dive and What's Next recaps, the BlizzCon build and the Wowhead and Icy Veins readouts, and every row says which of those it rests on.
Paladin is the only class with a published Forever kit. For the other eight, Blizzard has said every spec was updated and has printed almost nothing else, so those placements lean on the Classic 1.12 kit plus press readouts of the demo build, and they will move as beta data lands. We re-rank weekly.
How we rank (and why this tier list is provisional)
Nobody has a real WoW Forever tier list yet, and that includes us. Blizzard has printed one full class kit and zero damage or healing numbers, and the beta has not opened. So this list is built the only honest way: stated criteria, graded evidence, a re-rank every week.
| Criterion | What we measure | Evidence on September 16 |
|---|---|---|
| Solo leveling speed | Kill speed on ordinary mobs, 1 to 60 | Blizzard's target: roughly 10 to 15 seconds per ordinary mob, every class |
| Dungeon utility 13 to 60 | Taunts, interrupts, crowd control, buffs, threat | Blizzard: threat and crowd control matter, no level scaling; Paladin kit official, the rest Classic 1.12 |
| First-tier raid value | Barrow Deeps (10) and Hyjal Summit (20), December 9 | Sizes and date official; no tuning numbers for any class |
Three rules keep the grades honest. S needs at least one official Forever change that moves the criterion, in Blizzard prose or on the @Warcraft account. A placement built on a Wowhead or Icy Veins readout of the BlizzCon build is labelled press and caps at A, because a demo build changes in beta. One built on the Classic 1.12 kit plus Blizzard's all-specs-updated statement is labelled Classic precedent and also caps at A. No DPS spec gets an S until a damage number exists.
The classes and races overview covers who can roll what.
WoW Forever leveling tier list: S, A, B, C for solo 1 to 60
Leveling matters first because you cannot skip it: Blizzard's Clay Stone told Destin there are no plans for anything like a WoW Token or a boost, and dual spec is not announced, so the tree you level in is the tree you bring to dungeons. The grade is for solo questing.
| Class | Tier | Why (one line of evidence) | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
 Paladin | S | Holy Strike at level 6 (instant, 12-second cooldown), seals no longer consumed by Judgement, Consecration baseline at 20: Classic Retribution's dead early levels are fixed | Official |
 Mage | A | Fastest solo leveler in Classic; Blizzard names Polymorph as crowd control that matters, kit not yet published | Classic precedent |
 Hunter | A | Pet tanking made Hunter Classic's easiest solo class; Human Hunter is official, the ranged kit not yet published | Classic precedent |
 Shaman | A | Enhancement named for itemization help, caster weapons grant spell damage (official); Lava Burst and Rage of the Farseer are an Icy Veins readout | Official + press |
 Warlock | A | Pet plus drain kit was top-three in Classic; Banish and Fear named as crowd control that matters, kit not yet published | Classic precedent |
 Druid | B | Improved Mark of the Wild baseline frees points; bear and cat changes not yet published, Skyborne forms are a Wowhead readout | Official + press |
 Priest | B | Divine Spirit baseline (official); Shadow was mid-pack in Classic, nothing Shadow-specific yet published | Official + Classic precedent |
 Rogue | B | Merged hit and crit helps every melee gear up; nothing Rogue-specific published | Classic precedent |
 Warrior | C | Slowest solo leveler in Classic, no published Forever change; the only official Warrior line is that Skyborne Warriors exist | Classic precedent |
Two things could reorder this table in beta week 1. If Blizzard's 10 to 15 seconds per mob target closes the Classic gap between Mage and Warrior, the C tier disappears. And Wowhead reported on September 15 that Blizzard designers told The Sun dungeon mob XP was lowered and dungeon quest XP raised, so solo quest pace counts for more; the leveling guide covers routes. Paladin sits alone at S because its evidence is Blizzard prose: the Paladin guide walks the kit level by level.
Best tank in WoW Forever: 13 to 60 dungeons and the first raids
Blizzard's dungeon philosophy is official and blunt: threat matters, crowd control matters, and there is no level scaling. That favours tanks with a real taunt and predictable threat.
| Tank | Tier | Why | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Protection Paladin | S | Seal of Fury is a tank seal: its Judgement taunts and grants small absorb shields; Consecration baseline at 20; the @Warcraft post promises Taunt and other tools for Protection tanking | Official |
| Protection Warrior | A | Classic's default tank with Taunt and an interrupt; no published Warrior change, so A on the 1.12 kit | Classic precedent |
| Feral Druid (bear) | B | Baseline Improved Mark of the Wild frees points; bear threat and mitigation changes not yet published | Official + Classic precedent |
One honest caveat on the S grade: Blizzard also said the Paladin still has no interrupt and no slow, so the group still wants a Warrior, Rogue or Mage for kicks and Polymorph. The grade is for holding the pull, not for solving every mechanic.
For the raid column, Barrow Deeps is a 10-player raid and Hyjal Summit is 20, both unlocking December 9, and no tank tuning numbers exist yet, so this is a dungeon tier until then.
Best healer in WoW Forever
Two official rules change healing before a single spell is read. Bonus healing now includes bonus damage, so a healer in healing gear can quest. And Blessing of Kings, Divine Spirit and Improved Mark of the Wild are baseline, so no healer is brought only for a buff.
| Healer | Tier | Why | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holy Paladin | S | Holy Shock on a 10-second cooldown, Light's Vigil as a party-wide heal, Infusion of Light, Reverence keeping Spirit regen active while casting; the @Warcraft post names strong single-target and a new AoE heal | Official |
| Holy or Discipline Priest | A | Classic's strongest raid healer; Divine Spirit baseline is the only published change, Gnome Priest is a new official combo | Official + Classic precedent |
| Restoration Shaman | A | Icy Veins reports Riptide in the Restoration tree and Call of the Elements dropping four totems in three seconds; press only, so A is the cap | Press |
| Restoration Druid | B | Baseline Improved Mark of the Wild; nothing published on Rejuvenation, Regrowth or Swiftmend | Official + Classic precedent |
Choosing between the hybrids? The Shaman class guide separates Blizzard prose from demo readouts line by line.
DPS tier list: melee and casters (no S yet)
No DPS spec gets an S: Blizzard has published no damage numbers for any class. It has published direction, and direction separates A from B.
| Spec | Tier | Why | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Retribution Paladin | A | Twist of Light swaps seals without a swing-timer addon, Vindication and Champion of the Light are published talents, and the @Warcraft post promises damage tweaks for Retribution | Official |
| Enhancement Shaman | A | Named by Blizzard for itemization help; Rage of the Farseer as the 31-point capstone is an Icy Veins readout | Official + press |
| Elemental Shaman | A | Caster weapons grant spell damage (official); Lava Burst at 31 points, Lightning Overload and a 2.5-second Lightning Bolt are press | Official + press |
| Mage | A | Classic's top raid caster; Polymorph named as crowd control that matters; Orc Mage is a new official combo | Classic precedent |
| Warlock | A | Banish and Fear named as crowd control that matters; Troll Warlock is a new official combo; kit not yet published | Classic precedent |
| Rogue | B | Merged hit and crit simplifies melee gearing; nothing Rogue-specific yet published | Classic precedent |
| Hunter | B | Human Hunter and the Master Hunter's Spellsword quest reward are official; ranged kit and pet changes not yet published | Official combo + Classic precedent |
| Fury or Arms Warrior | B | Classic's top melee in full raid gear, but no Forever change is published | Classic precedent |
| Shadow Priest | B | Divine Spirit baseline helps a caster group; Shadow itself has no published line | Official + Classic precedent |
| Balance or Feral Druid | C | Classic's weakest raid DPS and nothing published changes it; the all-specs-updated statement is the only hope | Classic precedent |
Hybrids sit above the pure classes for now because the hit and crit merge and spell damage on caster weapons are the two published itemization changes, and both help hybrids more than a Rogue or Warrior with clean gear paths. That flips the moment a Warrior or Mage kit is printed.
PvP is not graded here. A 15-versus-15 Darkspear Islands battleground and a PvP ruleset are official, but honor rewards, arenas and any Rank 14 equivalent are not announced, so a PvP tier would be invented; see the PvP guide.
New race and class combos: which are worth rolling?
Blizzard added six free race and class combos plus the Skyborne race, Horde-side for Shaman and Alliance-side for Mage, sold with the Heroic Edition at $29.99. Only two of the six have racial details in Blizzard prose.
| Combo | Faction | Why it matters | Evidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Undead Paladin | Horde | Will of the Forsaken now removes Charm, Fear and Sleep instead of granting immunity; Cannibalize restores mana too; Touch of the Grave adds a life drain; own level 60 epic mount quest | Official |
| Dwarf Shaman | Alliance | Stoneform gives physical damage reduction; Mace Specialization adds crit to all spells and abilities with a mace; Find Treasure stacks with Find Herbs and Find Minerals | Official |
| Human Hunter | Alliance | Master Hunter's Spellsword from the Nesingwary quests is official; the Human racial changes are an Icy Veins demo readout | Official quest + press racials |
| Gnome Priest, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock | Alliance / Horde / Horde | Official combos; Blizzard's written articles do not detail the Gnome, Orc or Troll racial reworks | Official combo |
| Skyborne Shaman / Skyborne Mage | Horde only / Alliance only | Heroic Edition race; Wowhead reports Skysight (10 percent run speed) for Windshapers and Read Ley Line (regen) for the High Order | Official race + press racials |
No racial listed here changes a class's grade, because the grades rest on class kits. The racials guide has the per-race tables, and the Undead Paladin, Dwarf Shaman and Skyborne pages cover those combos and the edition gate.
What changes at level 30, at launch and on December 9
A tier list for a game that is not out yet has a shelf life measured in patch notes. These dates re-rank it.
| Milestone | Date | What it does to the list |
|---|---|---|
| Beta opens, level 20 cap | September 17 (the cap is Clay Stone in the Destin interview, not a Blizzard article) | The 11-point milestone talents become visible; leveling pace 1 to 20 becomes measurable |
| Cap raised to 30 | Not announced | The 21-point milestones unlock; mid-level dungeon utility gets its first test |
| Beta ends | October 21 | Last read of the trees before launch tuning |
| Launch | November 4, 3:00 p.m. PST | The 31-point capstones (Lava Burst and Rage of the Farseer are press names) come online, then 51 points at 60 |
| First raids unlock | December 9 | Barrow Deeps (10) and Hyjal Summit (20) make the raid column measurable |
| Hardcore ruleset | After launch, no date | Survivability re-ranks everything |
The launch time is 3:00 p.m. PST (one Blizzard article printed the daylight-time zone by mistake). And because it drives the leveling column: dual spec is not announced and the respec cost is not published, so the tree you level in is the tree you tank or heal in.
How to use this tier list (and what not to do with it)
A tier list is a starting point, not a verdict.
- Pick the role first, then the class. A B-tier healer you enjoy will out-level an S-tier tank you log out of at 23.
- Do not reroll on a press readout. Every Shaman capstone on this page comes from the Wowhead and Icy Veins calculators, not from Blizzard, and can change in beta; the talent calculator guide explains what each one is reading.
- New to WoW? Paladin is the safe pick precisely because it is the only class where the whole kit is public.
If you would rather have someone do the reading, an LFCarry Pro can coach you at $29 per hour, build your tree and set a route around the new dungeon XP split. If you want to skip the grind, leveling 1 to 60 is $259 as a pre-order, refundable before the session starts, and first dungeon clears run from $9; the power leveling guide explains how a session works. We revisit this page weekly; the changelog shows what moved and why.
From the source
Official“World of Warcraft: Forever Deep Dive Panel Recap — talent trees keep the Classic row count with milestone talents at 11, 16, 21 and 31; Blessing of Kings, Divine Spirit and Improved Mark of the Wild are baseline; hit and crit are each one stat; the Paladin kit named on this page.”
On X“The Light's greatest fighters sharpen their skillsets in WoW: Forever 🛡️ ❗ Taunt & other tools for Protection tanking 💢 Damage tweaks to make Retribution melee competitive ❤️🩹 Strong single-target & new AOE heal for Holy”
Report“No WoW Token or Boosts and the Future of Forever — Destin Interview with Blizzard. Clay Stone: “No plans for anything like a WoW Token or a boost.” Beta starts at a level 20 cap and moves to 30.”
Report“Shaman Class Overview — read off the BlizzCon build: Lava Burst is the 31-point Elemental capstone, Rage of the Farseer the Enhancement capstone, Riptide sits in Restoration, and Call of the Elements drops four totems in three seconds.”