WoW Forever races and passives
The Skyborne are two races, one per faction, and they are not the only change to racial passives: all 8 Classic races carry something here they do not carry in Classic Era, and some have lost a passive. 27 passives in all are new.
Read from the WoW Forever beta client, build 1.60.1.70658, published 2026-10-28. The beta moves; these numbers move with it.
Every race at a glance
| Race | Faction | Classes | New passives | Gone |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High Order Skyborne new | Alliance | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Windshaper Skyborne new | Horde | 5 | 5 | 0 |
| Dwarf | Alliance | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| Gnome | Alliance | 5 | 5 | 1 |
| Human | Alliance | 7 | 2 | 3 |
| Night Elf | Alliance | 5 | 2 | 2 |
| Orc | Horde | 6 | 2 | 2 |
| Tauren | Horde | 4 | 1 | 1 |
| Troll | Horde | 7 | 1 | 2 |
| Undead | Horde | 6 | 2 | 1 |
A passive counts as new when the race did not carry a passive of that name in Classic Era. The Skyborne are new outright, so all of theirs are.
High Order SkyborneAllianceNew race
Classes: Druid, Hunter, Mage, Rogue, Warrior.
| Passive or ability | In Classic Era? | What the client says it does |
|---|---|---|
| Elemental Insight | New | Damage dealt versus Elementals increased by 5%. |
| Read Leyline | New | Attempt to tap into the power of a nearby leyline, increasing your Health and Mana regeneration by 100%. Lasts 30 sec if no leyline is nearby, and 15 min if one is found. |
| Skysight | New | Attempt to draw power from a convergence of elements and receive its blessing, increasing your movement and mounted movement speeds by 10%. Lasts 30 sec if no elemental convergence is nearby, and 15 min if one is found. |
| Walk on Air | New | Glide downward through the air for 10 sec while controlling your direction of travel. |
| Wind Blessed | New | Increases your spellcasting, melee, and ranged Haste by 3%. |
Windshaper SkyborneHordeNew race
Classes: Druid, Hunter, Rogue, Shaman, Warrior.
| Passive or ability | In Classic Era? | What the client says it does |
|---|---|---|
| Elemental Insight | New | Damage dealt versus Elementals increased by 5%. |
| Read Leyline | New | Attempt to tap into the power of a nearby leyline, increasing your Health and Mana regeneration by 100%. Lasts 30 sec if no leyline is nearby, and 15 min if one is found. |
| Skysight | New | Attempt to draw power from a convergence of elements and receive its blessing, increasing your movement and mounted movement speeds by 10%. Lasts 30 sec if no elemental convergence is nearby, and 15 min if one is found. |
| Walk on Air | New | Glide downward through the air for 10 sec while controlling your direction of travel. |
| Wind Blessed | New | Increases your spellcasting, melee, and ranged Haste by 3%. |
DwarfAlliance
Classes: Hunter, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Shaman (new), Warrior.
| Passive or ability | In Classic Era? | What the client says it does |
|---|---|---|
| Big Game Hunter | New | Damage dealt versus Beasts increased by 5%. |
| Earth Fury | New | Increases your critical strike bonus to damage and healing by 2%. |
| Find Treasure | Already there | Allows the dwarf to sense nearby treasure, making it appear on the minimap. Lasts 0 sec. |
| Stoneform | Already there | Instantly removes and grants immunity to all Bleed, Poison, and Disease effects, and reduces all Physical damage taken by 10% for 8 sec. |
No longer on this race in the beta client: Frost Resistance, Gun Specialization.
GnomeAlliance
Classes: Mage, Priest (new), Rogue, Warlock, Warrior.
| Passive or ability | In Classic Era? | What the client says it does |
|---|---|---|
| Eureka! | New | Your non-periodic damaging abilities have their Energy cost reduced by 10% and deal 10% more damage for 8 sec. |
| Eureka! | New | Your non-periodic damaging abilities have their Mana cost reduced by 10% and deal 10% more damage for 8 sec. |
| Eureka! | New | Your non-periodic damaging or healing abilities have their Mana cost reduced by 10% and deal 10% more damage or healing for 8 sec. |
| Eureka! | New | Your damaging abilities have their Mana cost reduced by 10% and deal 10% more damage for 8 sec. |
| Eureka! | New | Your non-periodic damaging abilities have their Rage cost reduced by 10% and deal 10% more damage for 8 sec. |
| Engineering Specialization | Already there | Your gnomish ingenuity reduces the rate of engineering devices failing or backfiring when you use them by 20%. |
| Escape Artist | Already there | Instantly escape the effects of any movement impairing effect and gain immunity to those effects for 3 sec. |
| Expansive Mind | Already there | Maximum Mana increased by 5%. |
| Expansive Mind | Already there | Maximum Energy increased by 5%. |
| Expansive Mind | Already there | Maximum Rage increased by 5%. |
No longer on this race in the beta client: Arcane Resistance.
HumanAlliance
Classes: Hunter (new), Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Warlock, Warrior.
| Passive or ability | In Classic Era? | What the client says it does |
|---|---|---|
| Ruthless | New | Increases your critical strike chance with all spells and attacks by 2%. |
| Will to Survive | New | Instantly removes all Stun effects. |
| Perception | Already there | Dramatically increases stealth detection for 20 sec. |
| The Human Spirit | Already there | Spirit increased by 5%. |
No longer on this race in the beta client: Diplomacy, Mace Specialization, Sword Specialization.
Night ElfAlliance
Classes: Druid, Hunter, Priest, Rogue, Warrior.
| Passive or ability | In Classic Era? | What the client says it does |
|---|---|---|
| Elune's Light | New | Increases your critical strike chance with all spells and attacks by 10% for 15 sec. |
| Quickness Passive | New | — |
| Quickness | Already there | Dodge chance increased by 1% and movement speed increased by 2%. Night Elf Rogues and Druids are harder to detect in Stealth as if they were 1 level higher. |
| Shadowmeld | Already there | Activate to slip into the shadows, reducing the chance for enemies to detect your presence. Lasts until cancelled or upon moving. Using this ability in combat discourages enemies from attacking you, but increases the cooldown to 2 min. |
| Wisp Spirit | Already there | Transform into a wisp upon death, increasing movement speed by 75%. |
No longer on this race in the beta client: Nature Resistance, Shadowmeld Passive.
OrcHorde
Classes: Hunter, Mage (new), Rogue, Shaman, Warlock, Warrior.
| Passive or ability | In Classic Era? | What the client says it does |
|---|---|---|
| Savage | New | Increases your critical strike chance with all spells and abilities by 1%. |
| Shatter Curse | New | Instantly removes all Curses and Banes, and reduces all Magical damage taken by 5% for 8 sec. |
| Blood Fury | Already there | Increases Attack Power and Spell Power by 10% for 15 sec. |
| Hardiness | Already there | Duration of Stun effects on you reduced by 20%. |
No longer on this race in the beta client: Axe Specialization, Command.
TaurenHorde
Classes: Druid, Hunter, Shaman, Warrior.
| Passive or ability | In Classic Era? | What the client says it does |
|---|---|---|
| Plainsrunning | New | Gain 1% increased movement speed every 5 sec spent moving, up to a maximum of 30% increase. Taking damage or standing still will reduce this effect. In addition, you move 3% faster while mounted. |
| Cultivation | Already there | Cultivate a nearby herb, growing a duplicate you can harvest without requiring Herbalism skill. Each herb may only be cultivated once. |
| Endurance | Already there | Total Health increased by 5% and critical strike bonus to damage and healing increased by 2%. |
| War Stomp | Already there | Stuns up to 5 enemies within 8 yds for 2 sec. |
No longer on this race in the beta client: Nature Resistance.
TrollHorde
Classes: Hunter, Mage, Priest, Rogue, Shaman, Warlock (new), Warrior.
| Passive or ability | In Classic Era? | What the client says it does |
|---|---|---|
| Rapid Regeneration | New | Regenerate 50% of your maximum Health over 6 sec. Any movement, action, or damage taken will cancel the effect. |
| Beast Slaying | Already there | Damage dealt versus Beasts increased by 5%. |
| Berserking | Already there | — |
| Regeneration | Already there | Health regeneration rate increased by 20%. In addition, 20% of total Health regeneration will continue during combat. |
No longer on this race in the beta client: Bow Specialization, Throwing Specialization.
UndeadHorde
Classes: Mage, Paladin (new), Priest, Rogue, Warlock, Warrior.
| Passive or ability | In Classic Era? | What the client says it does |
|---|---|---|
| Touch of the Grave | New | Your spells and attacks have a 20% chance to drain Health from the target, up to 5% of your maximum Health. |
| Touch of the Grave | New | Your spells and attacks have a 30% chance to drain Health from the target, up to 5% of your maximum Health. |
| Cannibalize | Already there | When activated, regenerates 7% of total Health and 7% of total Mana every 2 sec for 10 sec. Only works on Humanoid or Undead corpses within 5 yds. Any movement, action, or damage taken while Cannibalizing will cancel the effect. |
| Underwater Breathing | Already there | Underwater breath lasts 300% longer than normal. |
| Will of the Forsaken | Already there | Instantly removes all Charm, Fear and Sleep effects. |
No longer on this race in the beta client: Shadow Resistance.
What this means for a build
Racial passives are part of a class build, and the trees they feed are new too — classes and talents has those. The talent calculator on this site is Classic Era's, where these racials are the 1.12 ones: see the Classic Era class guides for what each race brings today, and what changes in WoW Forever for the rest.