The six new race and class pairs
WoW: Forever opens six creation-screen options that did not exist before: Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, Undead Paladin, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, and Gnome Priest. Blizzard named all six together in the 13 September 2026 Deep Dive recap and the 22 September 2026 "Create the Hero" post, alongside the new Skyborne race.
Three go to the Horde (Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, Undead Paladin) and three to the Alliance (Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Gnome Priest). Undead Paladin is the bigger shift: in every Classic-rules version of WoW, Paladin has been Alliance-only, so this is the first time the Horde gets one at all. Human Hunter closes a different gap: Humans have never had a Hunter option in a Classic-based release, even though the class has existed since 2004.
Blizzard's published chart covers the full grid, including familiar pairings such as Orc Warrior and Night Elf Druid as well as the new six. More combinations are planned for later updates.
Which classes can Skyborne play?
Skyborne is a new race, not a new pairing, and it splits by faction. Horde-aligned Windshaper Skyborne can become Druid, Hunter, Rogue, Shaman, or Warrior. Alliance-aligned High Order Skyborne can become Druid, Hunter, Mage, Rogue, or Warrior. Blizzard's marketing calls out Shaman for Windshaper and Mage for High Order as the signature roles, but the published chart shows five classes open to each side, not one.
The split tracks the lore: Windshaper Skyborne descend from shen'dorei high elves who gained elemental skysight from the wind spirits of Skywall, which is why Shaman fits their story, while High Order Skyborne descend from the arcane Highborne scholars of Eldre'Thalas, which is why Mage fits theirs. Neither line can be Paladin, Priest, or Warlock, and Horde Skyborne cannot be Mage while Alliance Skyborne cannot be Shaman. No race, old or new, opens all nine classes: even Troll and Human, the broadest options, cover only seven.
What changes beyond the portrait
Gnome Priests get two racial spells no other Priest race has: Confounding Flash, which confuses up to five nearby enemies for three seconds, and Contingency Plan, a Holy ward placed on an ally. Dwarf Shamans get no race-only spell, just the standard Shaman kit, arriving as totems themselves go through a rework: on the 24 September 2026 beta build, Tranquil Air Totem, Windfury Totem, and Grace of Air Totem stopped stacking together even across different shamans in the same group, and Flametongue Totem stopped stacking with itself or with Windfury Totem.
Undead Paladins get an early reward of their own, the two-handed sword Wolfsbane, from a class questline that opens at level 18 at Bandarion Keep in Tirisfal Glades. The dedicated Wolfsbane guide below has the walkthrough.
Picking a pair before launch means squinting at a screenshot of Blizzard's chart. The Wowdee add-on will grey out any class your chosen race cannot play, built from that same published chart rather than a guess from Classic memory, so you only ever see combinations that are actually live.
Still to come
Not yet settled by our sources or tested in game:
- Any race and class pairing added after the 22 September Create the Hero post.
- Starting zones for the other five new pairs, if they differ from the race's existing start.
- Whether the Undead Paladin's Wolfsbane class quest changes again before launch.
Sources
Beta notes are dated because Forever is still changing.
- Blizzard: Create the Hero, 22 September 2026Names the six new combinations and gives the full race/class availability chart, including the two Skyborne lines; confirms no race has all nine classes (Troll and Human top out at seven).
- Blizzard: Deep Dive Panel Recap, 13 September 2026Confirms the same six combinations and that more are planned for future updates.
- Blizzard forums: Beta Development Notes, 24 September to 1 October 2026Confirms the totem stacking changes added in the 24 September 2026 build, still active as of 1 October: Tranquil Air, Windfury, and Grace of Air Totem no longer stack across shamans in the same group, and Flametongue Totem no longer stacks with itself or Windfury Totem. No new race/class combinations are mentioned beyond the announced six plus Skyborne.
- Icy Veins: Gnome Race Guide for WoW Forever, 17 September 2026Names and describes the two Gnome Priest-only racial spells, Confounding Flash and Contingency Plan, as Priest racials rather than talent-tree choices.
- Wowhead: Confounding Flash spell pageConfirms Confounding Flash's effect (confuses up to 5 within 8 yards for 3 seconds) and that it sits in the Priest Discipline Abilities category.
- Blizzard forums player walkthrough, 26 September 2026Player report: the Wolfsbane quest chain starts at Bandarion Keep in Tirisfal Glades and runs through Deadmines, Blackfathom Deeps, and Shadowfang Keep before the final fight with Old Fire-Eye.