How to choose your class in WoW Forever

2026-11-04 · ForeverDB

All nine WoW Forever classes can level, run dungeons and fight in PvP. Start from the role you want, then check what Forever changed for each class before you pick.

WoW Forever opens tonight at 23:00 UTC, and the question we see most is which class to play. Every one of the nine can level, run dungeons and fight in PvP, so there's no wrong answer. The useful questions are which role you want in a group and how you like to fight. Forever has also changed every class from Classic, so old advice only gets you part of the way.

Not sure yet? Take the class quiz Twelve quick questions on how you like to play, one at a time. You get the three classes and specs that suit you best, with the best races for each from the Forever client's racials. Take the class quiz

Start from the role

Roles, resources, pets and stealth from the Forever client's class data, as used by our class quiz.

Tanks and healers rarely wait long for a dungeon group, while damage dealers are the bulk of every queue. That's how it has gone in every version of the game, though Forever's numbers aren't known yet. If you enjoy solo levelling, the classes with a pet (Hunter and Warlock) have been the classic easy picks, because the pet takes the hits while you deal the damage.

What Forever changed, class by class

These are the headline differences from Classic, as of Blizzard's launch notes posted on 3 November. Those notes moved talents around in every class, and the game client our talent calculator reads doesn't have all of them yet, so for the next few days trust the notes where the two disagree.

Warrior

Arms is the two-handed spec, Fury dual-wields and Protection tanks with a shield. Blizzard corrected Sunder Armor's threat on every rank, and Fury gained Furious Precision at 20, which makes your off-hand land more often. Mortal Strike is still the Arms talent at 40.

Paladin

The Paladin gained the most. Judgement no longer uses up your seal, and Holy Strike is a new strike you train at level 6. Protection gets Seal of Fury at 10: its Judgement taunts, and with a shield its swings give you small absorb shields. Late hotfixes rewrote much of all three trees. Each now has a new talent at 40 (Shieldsworn for Protection, Unsealed Wrath for Retribution), and Holy gets Oath of Light at 25. Plan your talents again once you're in the game.

Hunter

Beast Mastery puts much of its damage through the pet and Marksmanship is the pure shooter. Survival is the one to watch: from level 30 it becomes a melee spec, with Aspect of the Beast, Lacerate and the Strider Kick talent. Humans can be Hunters for the first time.

Rogue

Every Rogue gets Shank at 24, a quick off-hand strike that builds Energy, and Poised at 18, which makes your first Energy ability out of combat cheaper. The launch notes rebuilt all three trees around them. Assassination's Mutilate is now a level 40 talent and Venom, at 30, strengthens your poisons after a Shank. Combat's Improved Eviscerate is now called Coup de Grace. Subtlety's new top talent is Death Mark, a finisher that stores part of your damage and releases it 6 seconds later.

Priest

Discipline heals by preventing damage, and Penance is its level 30 talent. Holy is the throughput healer, with Holy Nova at 20. Binding Heal has left the Holy tree: Holy Binding takes its place and heals you for half of every Flash Heal you cast on someone else. Shadow gets Shadowform at 40. Gnomes can now be Priests.

Shaman

From level 20, Call of the Elements puts all your totems down in one cast, and Totemic Recall gives back part of their mana. Lava Burst is gone from Elemental in the launch notes: Call of Thunder, more critical strike chance for Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning, takes its place, and Lightning Bolt hits much harder than in the beta. Enhancement's Stormstrike (25) and Restoration's Riptide (40) are talents. Shaman has no tanking spec. Dwarves can be Shaman, and so can Horde Skyborne.

Mage

Arcane is built around Arcane Blast, a level 20 talent: each cast adds spell damage and makes the next one cost more, and you spend the stacks on Arcane Missiles. A late hotfix trimmed the bonus per stack and made the stacks cheaper. Fire leans on Fireball, Fire Blast and Ignite, and Frost gets Ice Lance as a level 20 talent. Orcs can be Mages, and so can Alliance Skyborne.

Warlock

Some curses are now Banes, such as Bane of Agony, and Destruction gets Bane of Havoc at 30, which copies part of your damage onto a second target. Affliction's talent at 40 is Wrack, and Demonology plays through its demon. Trolls can be Warlocks.

Druid

Every Druid can bring a dead player back with Revive from level 12, though not in combat. Restoration's talent at 40 is Wild Growth, Balance waits until 40 for Moonkin Form, and Feral's top row has Primal Bite, a high-threat bite, and Shifting Power, which turns Mana into Energy. Late hotfixes reworked the Restoration and Feral trees, so plan them again once you're in the game.

If you can't decide

• Take the class quiz: a few questions on how you like to play, matched against the client's class data.
• Look at the tier lists players vote on, for levelling, damage, tanks, healers and PvP. They were rated at the beta's level cap, so treat them as a guide.
• Pick a race you like the look of. Racials matter most in PvP and raiding, and which race to play has our picks for each class.
• Blizzard's own advice in its starter guide is to try another class if your first choice doesn't feel right.

Then tell us what you went for in the class poll on our forum.

Sources

• WoW Forever Beta Development Notes, updated November 2 (Blizzard)
• Return to Azeroth in World of Warcraft: Forever (Blizzard)
• New Player's Starter Guide: Welcome to World of Warcraft: Forever (Blizzard)
• Class quiz (ForeverDB, from the client's class data, build 1.60.1.70707)
• WoW Forever's last-minute class reworks, checked against build 70707 (ForeverDB)
• Massive talent tree changes to Druids and Paladins (Wowhead)