The nine Classes of World of Warcraft: Forever are the same ones vanilla launched with in 2004, and they look nothing like what we have in Retail more than 20 years later. But Forever reimagines the vanilla experience, and Blizzard wants to “upgrade” how the Classes feel this time around.
The goal is for Classes to feel as balanced as possible without ruining how interesting their playstyles are, so Forever had a starting roster that felt rather nostalgic but still new enough to be unpredictable. But since Classes are made to feel and play differently from each other, you’d eventually be drawn to certain Classes for specific playstyles.
Table of contents
The release Classes at a glance
| Class | Description | Specs | Role | Known for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Druid | Shapeshifter that can play into any role | Feral that does DPS as a cat or tank as a bear Restoration for excellent heals and revives Balance where spells alternate between Nature and Arcane | Healer or Tank | Can fill any role that’s missing in groups |
| Hunter | Ranged survivalist with a pet, as well as the occasional traps and tracking | Beast Mastery for pet-themed damage Marksmanship to focus on long-range attacks Survival for traps and other trickeries | DPS (Ranged, Melee) | Steadiest gold farmer and decent soloist, courtesy of pet |
| Mage | The epitome of a glass cannon | Arcane is raw magic with great mana sustain Fire for burst damage Frost for slows, stuns, and freezes | DPS (Ranged) | Excellent for open-world AOE PVE as well as group utility |
| Paladin | The very pinnacle of divine protection | Holy for single-target healing Protection for holy-themed tanking Retribution for melee damage | Healer or Tank | Forgiving first class due to their durability and access to heals, plus they have decent raid buffs |
| Priest | Holier-than-thou healers, except if they use the shadows | Holy for pure healing Discipline for shields with some damage (Penance) Shadow for damage over time | Healer | Easily the strongest raid healer |
| Rogue | Stealthy melee assassins | Subtlety to open devastating combos from stealth Assassination for poison-themed bursts Combat for sustained blade fighting | DPS (Melee) | Excellent soloist, great for PvP and soloing rare bosses |
| Shaman | Master of all elements, with totems and a bit of melee mixed in | Restoration for water-based healing and totems for support Elemental for magic DPS with lightning and fire spells Enhancement to go for melee with magically-enhanced weapons | Healer | Easy healer to pick up and play if you want a Priest-esque character with some damage variety |
| Warlock | Brooding caster who loves their demonic pets, curses, and damage over time | Demonology to summon demonic friends Affliction if you’re all for DoTs Destruction for classic magic DPS via shadow and fire attacks | DPS (Ranged) | Summons and low-risk farming |
| Warrior | Built to hit and be hit, runs on pure unadulterated Rage | Arms if you want big 2H hits Fury if you’re into nonstop dual-wielding attacks Protection for the classic shield-based tanking | Tank | Safest pick for tanking, as they’re so straightforward to use |
All Classes in Forever have something to offer, and they’re all versatile enough to offer more than two playstyles (through Specializations) even if they seem to be locked to a specific role. Staples you’re likely familiar with include:
- Mages are the traditional glass cannon. They can dish out a lot of damage, and they also come with some of the best utility and stuns in the game. Mages remain popular gold farmers for how easy they can take care of mobs.
- Rogues remain the go-to Class for anyone who wants to hit fast, hit hard, and get away before someone pokes them. They’re naturally strong in PvP and are often go-to DPS for raids.
- Warriors are the classic tanks that soak in as much damage and hit back for just as much. If you want an uncomplicated Class, the Warrior is a good starting point.
- Priests are the strongest healers in the game, but are also the most tedious to level up. Their damage spec is one of the scariest to deal with in PvP, as it provides them with healing and crowd control.
Some Classes also provide some variety due to their mechanics:
- Druids are the only Class that can tank, heal, and dish out damage from any range. With the Restoration spec, you get a regular revive for party members.
- Hunters come with a Pet, so it can tank while you shoot from afar. You also get Feign Death that lets you cancel aggro or rest in between fights without worrying about unruly attackers.
- Paladins are formerly Alliance-only, but the Horde can now play them through the Undead. They remain the most beginner-friendly Class, as they can tank and heal.
- Shamans are formerly a Horde exclusive, but the Alliance can now play them through the Dwarves. They received a couple of reworks, but they remain a constant pick as totems supply a lot of party-wide buffs, and their Enhancement spec makes them one of the few spellcasters who can hold their own in melee.
- Warlocks can summon demons and use debuffs as well as spells that deal damage over time. Whereas the Mages like their burst damage, Warlocks like to deal pain that healing can’t keep up with.
The go-to gold farmers in WoW: Forever
| Class | The farming style | The method | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hunter | Single Target, Gathering | Pet tanks, and you can Feign Death (General) to escape bad fights, then go through gathering routes quickly | No way to pull a lot of mobs at the same time, ammo costs a lot, and you need a lot of bag space |
| Rogue | Single Target, Stealth | Skip trash mobs and head straight to rare bosses | Disguise Chest trick already nerfed, so no going straight to chests, and stealthing straight to bosses requires planning |
| Mage | Mob pulls (small) | Spec dedicated to control packs (Frost) | Frost nerfs mean Mages can’t pull bigger mobs like before, but they’re still effective in open-world farming |
| Paladin | Mob pulls (small) | Self-healing and extra damage-on-hit make them work through small mobs fast | Consecration nerf means Paladins have a smaller room to work with for mob farming |
| Warlock | Mob pulls, Gathering | Demon tanks, while you support with damage-over-time, with a health-for-mana regen for longer fights | No native stealth or fast movement, so hard to travel past pesky mobs |
| Druid | Single Target, Stealth, Gathering | Can stealth their way past trash mobs, with a dedicated transformation for gathering | Slow kill speed since they don’t have effective AOE |
| Warrior | Mob pulls | Pull large mobs, then hit them with big AOEs, then defenses refill Rage | No natural sustains, crowd controls, and gathering support so they’re useless for farming outside dungeons |
| Shaman | Single Target, Gathering | Self-healing and can hold their own in melee, with fast traveling spell | Speed boost spell now tied to a spec (Enhancement), no mass AOE in general |
| Priest | Single Target | Self-heals and transitions to wand (ranged attack) to avoid spending mana outside heals | Slowest solo Class to level up |
Gold is not an easy currency to acquire in your Forever experience, especially as you level up (sometimes even with an alt!). Before you get your first Gold piece, you need to get through your Coppers and Silvers first. And with some of the game’s best gear, consumables, and materials locked behind a lot of Gold, you’d want to get as much Gold as fast as possible.
In principle, here’s how you often farm Gold in Forever, and this extends to the core World of Warcraft experience:
- Mob pulls: Drag enemies to one spot and kill them with rotations that emphasize burst and AOE. The stronger the attack, the more potent the damage
- Single-target kills: DPS powerhouses zoom past mobs and target powerful elites and mini-bosses to secure a lot of Gold and much-desired loot for selling
- Gathering: Use Professions to gather a lot of materials to sell, or use said materials to craft items to sell, or even offer your services for a price
Standout Gold farmers
Among the Classes, here are standouts when it comes to Gold farming:
- Hunters can reliably fight enemies in raids and in the open world at the same time. Their Pet can tank for them, and Feign Death gets them out of sticky situations. Theoretically, you can Feign Death while your Pet takes care of the problem, so you barely have to eat in between pulls. And time not used pulling is time not used getting Gold.
- Rogues (and Druids, via Cat Form) can sneak past trash mobs and search for rare bosses that just spawned and fight them solo. They can use stuns (Gouge, Kidney Shot) and interrupts (Evasion, Kick, Riposte) to stop them from ever being too big of a threat. Kill them, get the rewards, then repeat the dungeon.
- Mages remain the game’s best mob pullers despite the slow nerf on their Frost spec, so they can pull smaller groups. They can freeze with Frost Nova, then burst with Arcane Explosion and Blizzard.
- Paladins no longer have the power that Consecration had in the beta, but they remain as durable as ever. They come with their own heals and hit back with Retribution Aura, so they’re still serviceable for clearing small mobs in raids.
- Druids have a Travel Form that helps them traverse the open world much faster than most other Classes, making them the best Class for Profession-based Gold farming.
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Best PvE Classes in WoW: Forever
Of the rulesets in Forever, you might find yourself gravitating towards the Normal or PvE experience first. This is where most standard-fare open-world adventuring, and where raids and dungeons attract the most number of players. Besides Level 60, getting geared up for these PvE experiences is part of your capstones as you reach the higher levels.
There’s always room for pretty much any Class in a PvE party, but you might find some Classes preferred over others due to their inherent capabilities. Here’s a quick breakdown of where Classes usually fit in a PvE group:
Hybrid roles
| Class | Role | Why do groups want them | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shaman | Healer, DPS (Melee, Ranged Caster) | Strong group healing at the onset, with totems that buff the whole group | Their healing kit arrives late, so you won’t use this early on |
| Priest | Healer, DPS (Ranged Caster) | Strongest straightforward healer across the board | Slow to level alone, so their healing spec is often dual-specced at Level 40 |
| Druid | Tank, Healer, DPS (Melee, Ranged Caster) | Can fill for whatever role, coupled with a combat revive and mana recovery | Signature spell (Wild Growth) is now slower to cast, which lowers their overall heal-per-second |
| Warrior | Tank, DPS (Melee) | The default tank with group-wide damage increase | The default tanking Class, so there’s a lot of them |
| Paladin | Tank, Healer, DPS (Melee) | Blessings and auras stack buffs over time | Tanking spec specifically doesn’t seem as effective in the beta |
You’d sometimes want a Class that is the best at something, but there are Classes with specs versatile enough to let them adjust combat strategies on the fly. These are hybrid roles, and some Classes excel at them:
- Shamans have totems that whip out different buffs as long as they’re nearby, like Windfury for melee attack speed, Mana Tide for Mana, and Grounding Totem to soak crowd control. Warriors often prefer having Shamans to help them level up due to how useful they are, and Restoration Shamans are expected to give more buffs instead of standard heals.
- Priests remain the strongest healers in the game, especially with Prayer of Healing providing nifty party-wide AOE recovery and Power Word: Fortitude raising everyone’s base Health. Priests often start as Shadow Priests, so they practice their crowd control before they dual spec at 40.
- Druids are the very definition of a “fill” role. They can go Feral Druid to tank on Bear Form, and heal with almost any spec. They’re more in-demand now, especially since Rebirth is an in-combat revive.
- Warriors are the most common tanks, with Battle Shout and Sunder Armor offering damage buffs. They’re superior to the Paladin in terms of defense.
- Paladins might not be as tough as Warriors, but these holy knights offer heals as well as unique Blessings and Auras. Each Paladin spec offers a unique Aura, so raids often want one of every Paladin to get the most out of those perks.
Damage is still its own category
| Class | Role | Why do groups want it | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mage | DPS (Ranged, Caster) | Unmatched in group utility (portals, food, water) with decent damage | So useful it competes for a slot in the DPS queue |
| Warlock | DPS (Ranged, Caster) | Damage over time and emergency healing make them an effective dedicated damage caster | Effective DPS, but they compete against a lot of other Warlocks for the role |
| Rogue | DPS (Melee) | Excellent single-target damage dealer | Crowded for melee DPS specifically |
| Hunter | DPS (Melee, Ranged) | Pet pulls mobs while traps provide extra utility | Everyone who wants a straightforward damage Class is a Hunter |
Compared to hybrid roles, damage in PvE is allocated to Classes whose sole focus is to dish out as much DPS as possible. They are often glass cannons in that respect, so it’s the job of hybrid roles to make sure they remain alive long enough to actually kill mobs and demolish bosses.
Mages and Warlocks remain the strongest in the DPS caster categories, and your party can’t go wrong with either:
- Mages specialize in AOE and bursts, so they’d pull in mobs and eliminate them quickly, on top of providing food, water, and portals. Oh, and the occasional Polymorph (turn into a sheep).
- Warlocks like their DOTs, and they can also provide Healthstones, plus bring everyone to the raid location.
The same goes for Rogues and Hunters, but for melee DPS:
- Rogues excel in targeting single enemies, so they’re a good fit to fight bosses.
- Hunters can pull in mobs with their Pets and can use traps for extra utility, so they can sub-tank.
The best healers for WoW: Forever beginners
| Class | Ideal spec | Healing at a glance | The catch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Priest | Holy for direct heals, then go for Discipline if you want shielding and some damage | Straightforward reactive healing across two specs for variety | Painful to quest as full Holy Ideally go for Discipline or Shadow to wand (ranged attack) between heals, then dual spec into Holy at Level 40 |
| Shaman | Restoration can bounce heals between allies with the occasional totem for support, or you can go for Enhancement for healing in between attacks | Easiest mana management with a few buttons | Start questing as Enhancement so you can deal damage while still providing decent heals |
| Druid | Restoration provides early heals and revives with decent heal over time | Smooth leveling curve due to its balance of damage and heals | Proactive healing style can take time |
| Paladin | Holy has big single-target heals | Simplest kit and hardest healer to kill | Healing is very underrated at low levels |
There’s no use working hard to fight in a dungeon when you’re dead as soon as the boss dishes out its AOE. And this is also the reason why the pressure’s on for healers to do their work properly, as it’s painfully obvious when the healers aren’t pulling the numbers they need since everyone else runs away to heal on their own. That, or a party wipe.
Thankfully, if you’re looking to train as a healer, you only really have four Classes you can focus on:
- Holy Priest has the basic healing kit, and Discipline Priest has the shields and Penance that can heal allies or hurt enemies. You can level up as a Shadow Priest or stick with Discipline first, but it’s going to be a slow journey. It won’t be as painful as the grind for full Holy, though, so ideally you just dual spec this at Level 40.
- Restoration Shaman has Water Shield and totems that solve the lack of Mana that most casters suffer from. Sadly, you start getting your useful heals (Chain Heal, Riptide) at Level 40, so you’re better off doing Enhancement first, then dual-speccing to Restoration later on.
- Restoration Druids do something called proactive healing, where they dish out heals over time so the heals cancel out whatever damage arrives. Some of their basic heals and revives arrive early on, so you can practice healing while still being strong enough to fend for yourself.
- Holy Paladin has the simplest healing kit, but they’re better thought of as a “tank that doesn’t need healing” instead of a PvE healer. They’re independent enough that healers can skip them in the queue, as they can handle themselves for the most part.
The best Classes for PvP in World of Warcraft: Forever
If you want to sink your teeth into PvP in Forever, you might notice that you’re getting into not one playstyle but actually three different types of mechanics. When you turn on your World PvP, anyone from another faction can fight you wherever, so if you can’t handle surprises, then you’re a goner.
Alternatively, there are PvP matches you can prepare for. Battlegrounds are faction-based matchups on instanced maps with point-based mechanics. Then there are duels, which are pretty much arranged fights between you and someone else.
The suggestions below will be based on what we can theorycraft with the Talent Trees, and what can be observed with Level 1 to 30 fights. Until we get to the real endgame in a couple of weeks, we can’t be 100% sure.
The best picks for World PvP
| Class | Ideal spec | World PvP playstyle |
|---|---|---|
| Hunter | Marksmanship or Survival | Attacks from afar, so hard to counter and chase, and could leave the Pet and traps to do the dirty work when caught |
| Druid | Feral | Sneaks up with stealth, can shapeshift out of slows, and enjoys self-healing for prolonged fights |
| Rogue | Subtlety | Ambush with stealth and stun targets to oblivion, perfect for ganking in the wild |
| Mage | Frost | Freezes and slows can make for debilitating ambushes, then shatter burst for maximum damage and Polymorph for salt on the wound |
World PvP happens in the open, so the most ideal PvP Classes to take on enemies in the wild are the ones equipped for surprises.
Marksmanship/Survival Hunters specialize in long-range ambushes, which means they can run if they feel like they’re overwhelmed. With Track Humanoids on the map, they can set up slows and traps so targets never reliably reach them. And with Dismember, Sonic Blast, and Viper Sting in the mix, Hunters can pick targets easily… assuming they strike first. If Hunters are jumped on, they hardly have any way to disengage.
Druids and Rogues use the same formula here, in that they strike from the shadows and overwhelm enemies to submission:
- Subtlety Rogues can stunlock foes and use Cheap Shot, Gouge, and Kidney Shot to score kills before they can counter. The only danger here is if their target has allies, as the Rogue can’t take on many foes at once.
- Feral Druids attack from stealth in Cat Form and switch to Bear if they need the durability, with heals accessible from both. Even when punished with a prolonged duel, the Druid can outlast most opponents, but they don’t have the same DPS as the Rogue even in stealth.
The Frost Mage is interesting, as they’re only as devastating as the movement debuffs they can dish out. In theory, a Mage controls PvP with freezes and slows, then finishes with Ice Lance and Frostbolt. But if a target knows their mobility, the Mage can find it difficult to keep up.
The best Classes for duels
| Class | Ideal spec | World PvP playstyle |
|---|---|---|
| Warlock | Demonology | Use a Felhunter to silence opponents, then share damage with it as well as enjoy lifesteals for survivability |
| Rogue | Subtlety | Open from stealth and stun-lock the target, killing them first before they can get a counter in |
| Priest | Discipline | Tire the opponent by soaking damage, shortening CCs, and slowly killing them |
| Shaman | Enhancement | Use totems for sustained buffs while keeping up the momentum with both melee and spell attacks |
Suppose you want the kind of PvP where someone invites you to a fight, and you duke it out fair and square, tournament-style. That means the Classes to choose are ideally built to target just one threat and defend against attacks that target only you. In that case, great Class picks would be:
- Demonology Warlocks don’t hard-spec on Demonology per se, but rather take spells that absorb as much damage as possible, like dividing with the Pet (Soul Link), lifesteal (Siphon Life), and damage reduction (Molten Skin). This lets you slow-burn the opponent into submission with punishment while you remain in top shape.
- Subtlety Rogues remain PvP staples, with the familiar combo of going into stunlocks (Cheap Shot, Blind, Kidney Shot), stealth (Vanish, Preparation), and finishing from out of stealth (Garrote, Ambush).
- Discipline Priests like punishing opponents in duels, since they’re built to outlast opponents. Imagine starting with uninterrupted casting with protection (Power World: Shield), then forcing enemies to get away from melee (Psychic Scream). When fighting spellcasters, they can drain Mana (Mana Burn) as well. For damage, they have a spell attack that can alternate as a heal (Penance).
- Enhancement Shaman has the fury of a spellcaster in melee range, so on top of melee, that enhances specific spells (Stormstrike), you have a casting interrupt (Earth Shock), a slow (Frost Shock), and a damage soaker (Grounding Totem).
The must-haves for Battlegrounds
| Class | Ideal spec | Battlegrounds playstyle |
|---|---|---|
| Priest | Discipline | Powerful group-based healing perfect to ensure DPS maintains their damage numbers |
| Druid | Restoration | Powerful healing on top of nifty combat revives can ensure the team doesn’t leave the battlefield unless it’s absolutely necessary |
| Hunter | Marksmanship or Survival | Track players around the map and take kills from afar, then set traps and slows to delay them from the objective |
| Paladin | Holy | What they lack in group healing, they more than make up for in tanking and survivability. |
Depending on the map, Battlegrounds are either capture the flag (Warsong Gulch), resource races (Arathi Basin, Darkspear Islands), or large-scale battles (Alterac Valley). Their objectives might differ, but the setup is the same – you’re all part of a team. This means the best Classes are both team players and built to kill:
- Discipline Priests outshine Holy Priests in PvP, as teams need defense just as much as healing. Penance is a nifty counter, but it’s also a very accessible instant heal when other spells are on cooldown. Not to mention, they have damage absorption with spells like Power Word: Shield. Compared to the reactive Holy spec, Discipline Priests can contribute some damage to progress the fight further.
- Restoration Druids become assets in team play as they have unparalleled mobility compared to other healers, especially when shifting forms is an effective CC-killer, and Bear Form turns them into tanks when attacks do start hitting them. Their heals over time aren’t as potent as the Priest’s, but Druids can get healing anywhere it’s needed.
- Marksmanship Hunters can stop big damage dealers with their kit, and they can stay far enough from being struck back. Sniper Shot ensures all your other attacks have increased range, with Freezing Trap and Scatter Shot leaving opponents open for the kill. Viper Sting is especially cruel to casters, as it drains their Mana, rendering them useless.
- Holy Paladins are unsung heroes as they tank even in PvP, and what they lack in interrupts and stopping casters in their tracks is the fact that they can pretty much outlast any threat. They can interchange anti-CCs (Blessing of Freedom) and damage immunity (Blessing of Protection, Divine Shield), as well as an emergency heal-or-strike (Holy Shock).
World of Warcraft: Forever is available for PC and macOS.
