WoW Forever Skyborne classes and new combos for raids
The Skyborne and six new race and class combos in WoW Forever, on one grid. What they change for a raid roster, and how to ask your guild who is rolling what.
In this post
The Skyborne are a new race for both factions, and Blizzard has confirmed six new race and class combinations for WoW Forever: Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Undead Paladin. Horde can now have Paladins and Alliance can have Shamans, and Paladins can tank. For a raid leader, the question is what your members will actually roll, so ask them before launch.
What classes can the Skyborne play?
Warrior, Hunter, Rogue and Druid on both factions, plus Shaman for the Horde and Mage for the Alliance. The Horde Skyborne are the Windshaper, and the Alliance Skyborne are the High Order, per Wowhead’s race and class combinations guide.
| Class | Horde (Windshaper) | Alliance (High Order) |
|---|---|---|
| Warrior | Yes | Yes |
| Hunter | Yes | Yes |
| Rogue | Yes | Yes |
| Druid | Yes | Yes |
| Shaman | Yes | No |
| Mage | No | Yes |
The Skyborne start on Zephras Isle, a new zone for levels 1 to 12, according to Wowhead’s zones guide.
What are the Skyborne racials?
Every Skyborne can glide, gets a little haste, and hits elementals harder. Each faction then gets one racial of its own.
| Racial | Who | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Walk on Air | Both | Glide for 10 seconds |
| Wind Blessed | Both | +3% haste |
| Elemental Insight | Both | +5% damage to elementals |
| Skysight | Horde | +10% run speed |
| Read Ley Line | Alliance | +100% health and mana regeneration |
Racials can still change before launch. Check the Forever class guides on Wowhead for the current numbers before anyone picks a race for a racial alone.
Which new race and class combinations are in WoW Forever?
Six, confirmed by Blizzard: Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Undead Paladin, with more planned. The grid shows them next to the combinations those races already had in Classic, and the Skyborne options.
Which combos change what a raid can bring?
Two of them change raids the most: Undead Paladin gives the Horde Paladins, and Dwarf Shaman gives the Alliance Shamans. For years each faction had one of those classes and not the other. In Forever both factions can have both, so a raid leader no longer plans around a class the other side has and you don’t.
Undead is the only Horde race that can be a Paladin, so a Horde guild that wants Paladins needs members willing to play Undead. And Paladins can tank and taunt in Forever, which gives you another tank option on either faction.
The other four mostly widen choice within a class your faction already had:
- Gnome Priest: another Alliance race for Priests.
- Human Hunter: another Alliance race for Hunters.
- Orc Mage: another Horde race for Mages.
- Troll Warlock: another Horde race for Warlocks.
Those matter for the player more than the raid. They don’t add a class to your faction, but they may move someone from “I’ll play my favourite race” to “I’ll play the class we need”.
Which faction gets which new option?
Each faction gets four new options, counting the Skyborne class that only it can play.
| Alliance | Horde |
|---|---|
| Human Hunter | Orc Mage |
| Dwarf Shaman | Troll Warlock |
| Gnome Priest | Undead Paladin |
| Skyborne Mage (High Order) | Skyborne Shaman (Windshaper) |
If your guild hasn’t settled its faction yet, this table is worth a look first. On the PvP ruleset an account is one faction only, so a member who wants a Dwarf Shaman and a guild that’s going Horde need to talk before name reservation.
Forever also gives every class new skills and talents. What each class brings to a raid is a question for the class guides and the Forever tier lists, and it will settle as people play. We aren’t going to guess at it here.
How do I find out who is rolling what?
Ask every member for their main and their likely alts by class and spec, before launch, and keep the answers in one place. New combinations make people change their minds. Someone who has played a Mage for years may roll a Paladin because they finally can. You want to know that in October, not on the first raid night.
Ask three things:
- Your main’s class and spec.
- Any alts, and what role they’d play.
- How sure you are, or “undecided”.
Ask for alts as well. Forever’s Legacy system gives account-wide points for levelling each class, so alts are rewarded, and your missing healer is often on somebody’s alt list.
GuildPro’s /rostercall posts a sheet in Discord with My Main and My Alts
buttons. Each member picks a class and spec for their main and up to 5 alts, or
Undecided, and nobody needs an account to answer. The sheet lists tanks and
healers, then melee and ranged by class, each with a count, so a new Undead
Paladin tank shows up where you’d look for one.
How /rostercall works.
Do the new combos fill our roster gaps?
Count it. Put in the tanks, healers and damage from your roster call, and see whether the new options close a gap or just move people around. This is a rule of thumb, not a law. Forever’s 40-player raid is Onyxia’s Lair, and boss mechanics for it aren’t announced yet, so treat the ranges as a starting point.
A rough rule of thumb for a 40-player raid is 4 to 6 tanks and 10 to 13 healers, with the rest on damage. Count your members’ mains by role and compare. If you’re short of tanks, a Paladin can now tank on either faction. If you’re short of healers on the Horde side, look at who might play an Undead Paladin; on the Alliance side, a Dwarf Shaman.
Run it twice: once with mains only, and once counting alts who’d play a needed role. If the second number closes the gap, you know who to talk to. If it doesn’t, your recruitment post should name the role you’re missing.
The first raids open on 9 December at 10, 20 and 40 players. For what each one needs, see our roadmap for raid leaders.
Should a guild ask members to roll a specific class?
Ask, don’t assign. People stay with a guild because they enjoy their character. A raid that needs one more healer is easier to fix with a volunteer alt than with a member who resents their main.
What works for most guilds:
- Publish the gaps, not a list of orders. “We’re short of 2 tanks and 3 healers” lets people choose.
- Let alts count. A member who’ll level a Paladin as an alt for raid nights is worth knowing about.
- Write the rule down. If the guild expects a main to be raid-ready and alts to come second, say so before launch. Our main and alt policy guide has a template.
Once you know who’s playing what, the comp builder is where the roster turns into raid groups. The rest of what to settle before launch is in the WoW Forever guild checklist.
FAQ
What classes can the Skyborne play in WoW Forever?
Warrior, Hunter, Rogue and Druid on both factions, plus Shaman on the Horde side (Windshaper) and Mage on the Alliance side (High Order).
What are the new race and class combinations in WoW Forever?
Blizzard has confirmed Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman, Orc Mage, Troll Warlock and Undead Paladin, with more planned. Undead is the only Horde race that can be a Paladin.
Can Paladins tank in WoW Forever?
Yes. Paladins can tank and taunt in Forever, per Blizzard's announcement as summarised by Wowhead.
Do the new combos change what a raid needs?
They change who can fill a role, not how many of each role you need. Count your tanks, healers and damage from what members plan to play. Our guild checklist covers the order.