WoW Forever Racial Tier List: Best Races for PvE and PvP

Racials have changed a TON in WoW Forever, which makes your choice of race mean more than it did in Classic. Each race brings a different mix of damage, survivability, utility, mobility and PvP tools, with some racials being significantly stronger depending on the type of content you’re doing.

This WoW Forever Racial Tier List ranks every race separately for PvE and PvP. The PvE rankings focus on things like damage, their utility in both raids and dungeons, as well as how valuable each racial package is across different classes. The PvP rankings put more emphasis on crowd control (CC), crowd control breaks, defensives, mobility, burst potential and racials that can directly swing a fight both defensively and offensively.

Keep in mind that these rankings are NOT set in stone. We still haven’t played at Level 60, so all the boss mechnanics are unknown and Blizzard has been adjusting racials and the class balance. Your class and spec also matter! A race ranked lower overall can still be an excellent choice for a specific build. Check out our Class Guides to see the best Race for your Class.

Use these tier lists as a general look at which race has the strongest racial packages currently available, rather than a rule saying you have to play a specific race.

S Tier

Human - Ruthless gives you 1% Crit Chance to ALL of your spells and abilities and the big thing here is just how universal that is. There’s no weapon requirement anymore, there’s no specific target type and there’s no cooldown you need to line up. You just get 2% Crit and that is MASSIVE for so many specs. Most classes that have Crit talents requires TWO talent points to be able to even get that much crit chance!

Humans also get 10% Spirit from The Human Spirit, which is more valuable for some classes than others, but even those without a specific benefit still get the much needed health and mana regen from it. That’s useful while leveling, in dungeons, in raids, on melee, casters, basically everywhere. Will to Survive is obviously more of a PvP focused racial, but will still come in handy when a mob stuns or an annoying boss mechanics that stun.

Again, we're not saying that means Human is guaranteed to be the best race at 60. But based on what we know right now, Human looks insanely strong.

Skyborn - At first I was hesitant to put them in S Tier, but they get one of the most subtle, yet strongest racials in the game; Wind Blessed. This gives you 3% passive Haste. That’s just an incredibly strong racial for PvE. You don’t need to press anything. You don’t need to line it up with a cooldown. You don’t need to be fighting a specific mob type. You just have 3% more attack speed, ranged attack speed, or casting speed depending on what you’re playing. If you compare that to Trolls racial Berserking which grants 10% attack speed for 10 seconds, this is a flat 3% haste permanently, which shows its value. That’s the kind of racial that should scale well across a ton of classes and specs. Both Factions Read Leyline and Skysight are also quite helpful as racials as well. Giving Mana and Health regen with Read Leyline from High Order Skyborne, and some always helpful Skysight for Windshaper Skyborne.

A Tier

Orc - Orcs have one of the most complete offensive packages in the game. Blood Fury gives you an on demand Attack Power and Spell Power cooldown, which means very Class gets something out of it. Even with the recent change moving it from a two minute cooldown to three minutes a 15 second burst window is still extremely strong. Melee can use it. Tanks can use it. Casters can use it. Healers can use it. Literally everybody. And because it’s percentage based, it’ll naturally continue scaling as your character gets stronger throughout the game.

And if that wasn’t enough, Hunter and Warlock demons and pets do an extra 5% damage! When you pair that with Blood Fury and the more niche, but still very useful, Shatter Curse reducing incoming Magical damage, it’s easy to see why Orc is rated so high.

Night Elf - Night Elf has a really strong overall PvE package. Elune's Light gives you a massive 10% Critical strike chance for 15 seconds, allowing for some crazy burst from many classes. And Shadowmeld acts as a fade, helping reduce threat slightly. Combine that with Quickness, giving you passive movement speed in addition to that defensive value. I think movement speed gets underrated in these conversations because it doesn’t show up cleanly on a damage meter. But being able to move faster between mechanics, reposition faster, get back into range faster and spend less time doing nothing absolutely has slept on value in real encounters.

I don’t think the package is quite as universally strong as Human, Skyborne, or Orc, but it’s still very good.

Gnome - Gnomes started off as one of the hot topics for races when Beta first launched, but with all the changes since then it’s fallen off a little bit. That said, it’s still one of the races I could easily see moving higher depending on how Level 60 actually plays out. Eureka! gives you a strong burst window where your spells and abilities deal more damage or healing while also costing fewer resources. Expansive Mind gives you 5% more of your primary resource, whether that’s Mana, Energy, or Rage, and Escape Artist can actually be surprisingly useful even in PvE with how many mechanics can slow or root you.

The biggest reason I’m keeping Gnome in A instead of S is that Eureka!’s value is going to depend more heavily on your class and how well that window lines up with what your spec is trying to do. Blizzard removing DoTs from Eureka definitely made it a lot less attractive for Warlock, especially Affliction, but even with that change I still think we’re going to see plenty of Gnomes running around.

So for now, they’re chillin in A Tier.

B Tier

Troll - Troll has some really good situational PvE tools. Berserking gives you a pretty strong offensive cooldown that increases your attack speed and casting speed by 10% for 10 seconds, although it’s much weaker than the Classic version. Beast Slaying can be extremely strong when it actually applies and you’re fighting Beasts, and the regeneration racials Rapid Regeneration and Regeneration are both very nice for giving you some extra sustain, but they’re also very situational. The issue is consistency. You’re not always fighting Beasts, and Berserking isn’t equally valuable for every class or spec and is significantly worse than it used to be.

So I don’t think Troll is BAD, it’s just not nearly as good as the races listed above.

Tauren - Tauren lost the 1% Hit they had earlier in beta, which definitely brought their PvE value down quite a bit. But they still have a pretty solid package, if you plan to Tank. You’ve got extra Health, increased critical damage and healing from Endurance, War Stomp a huge utility stun, and Plainsrunning for movement. Some of that is more useful outside of a raiding scenario, but it still contributes to the overall PvE package.

It’s definitely more valuable for tanks, which is a big reason Tauren lands in B Tier instead of C. The extra Health is extremely useful as a tank who's constantly taking damage, and War Stomp’s AoE Stun can be surprisingly helpful in many PvE encounters. I just don’t think Tauren is universally strong enough to compete with the races above it, so we've got them in C Tier for now.

C Tier

Undead - Undead isn’t bad at all, but I think a lot of its strongest value is more PvP focused. It was very sought after at the start due to the infamous Touch of the Grave, but Blizzard hit it pretty hard with the recent change to how often it can proc, viciously nerfing this previously overpowered racial from a 1sec inner cooldown to to 25 seconds. Will of the Forsaken is incredible, but it obviously depends on encounters actually having Fear, Charm, or Sleep mechanics that matter. Typically there aren’t too many times you end up getting one of those mechanics in a raiding scenario, but there are a couple that come to mind. Cannibalize has nice sustain value if you can find someone to munch on, but I don’t think the full package is as consistently useful for PvE as the races above it.

There are definitely classes and encounters where Undead could look better, but for an overall PvE list, I’ve got it in C Tier.

Dwarf - Stoneform is fantastic utility and there are absolutely going to be MANY times where you’ll get value out of this in a PvE setting. Being able to gain 10% Physical Damage reduction, while also removing Bleeds, Poisons, and Diseases is insanely valuable. Earth Fury also gives you 2% increased Critical Damage and Healing, which is much weaker than the flat Crit Chance some of the other races are getting. Like we said earlier, Dwarves do have Stoneform and if a raid has an important Bleed or Poison mechanic, it could suddenly feel like an S Tier racial for that fight. However If it doesn’t, then you’re mostly left with the 2% Crit Damage and Healing and the ability Find Treasure.

I just think the races above it currently have PvE racials that are either stronger or more universally useful.

S Tier

Human - Will to Survive is one of the strongest PvP racials in the game, letting you break out of any Stun every three minutes, which can obviously save your life in a ton of situations. The other MASSIVE reason Human lands in S Tier is Ruthlessness. This was recently changed from Sword Specialization, so you no longer need to have a Sword equipped to get the benefit. Now you just get a flat 2% Crit Chance, which is one of the strongest offensive racials in the game and has value on basically every class. Humans also still have Perception, giving you a huge Stealth detection cooldown to help catch Rogues and Druids before they get the opener.

That combination of one of the best defensive PvP racials, one of the strongest offensive passives, and great anti Stealth utility makes Human an easy S Tier.

Undead - Undead is probably the easiest placement on the entire list, and it really comes down to Will of the Forsaken. It’s arguably one of the best PvP racials in the game, letting you instantly break out of Fear, Charm, and Sleep effects every two minutes. That’s absolutely massive with how common Fear effects are in PvP, along with more niche stuff like Slumber Sand. Cannibalize can also be extremely useful whenever you’ve got a body nearby, giving you a way to recover between fights without burning resources. Touch of the Grave has been toned down with the new 25 second internal cooldown, but it’s still free damage and healing that can absolutely come in handy. 

Will of the Forsaken alone is enough to make Undead an S Tier PvP race, and everything else is basically extra.

A Tier

Orc - Orcs have gone through quite a few changes compared to their Classic version, and those changes are enough to knock them out of S Tier for me. That said, they’re still in a really good spot. The big new addition is Shatter Curse, which removes all Curses and Banes from you while also reducing Magical damage taken for eight seconds. That gives Orcs a really strong defensive tool against certain classes and matchups. Hardiness also changed from Classic. Instead of giving you a chance to completely resist Stuns, it now reduces the duration of all Stun effects by 20%. It’s definitely not as crazy as the old version, but it can still make a big difference against classes that rely heavily on Stuns.

Where Orcs really shine, though, is with their offensive racials. Blood Fury gives you a massive boost to both Attack Power and Spell Power for 15 seconds, while Savage adds another 1% Crit Chance on top of that. That combination of strong offensive pressure, solid anti magic utility, and reduced Stun duration is enough to keep Orc comfortably in A Tier.

Gnome - Next up in A Tier is Gnome, and this one has a really strong PvP package. Escape Artist lets you break out of movement impairing effects and gives you three seconds of immunity afterward, which is obviously huge in PvP. Then you’ve got Eureka!, usable every two minutes, giving you 10% more damage for eight seconds while also reducing your Mana, Rage, or Energy costs by 10%. It’s a really solid offensive cooldown that gives you both extra pressure and better resource efficiency at the same time.

Expansive Mind adds another 5% to your maximum Mana, Rage, or Energy, and Engineering Specialization is actually a pretty big deal here too. Since Engineering is so common in PvP, having a lower chance for Engineering items to fail or backfire is genuinely useful. Overall, Gnome has one of the most complete PvP racial packages in the game, which is why I’ve got it comfortably in A Tier.

B Tier

Tauren - War Stomp is obviously the big one here and the main one people typically choose Tauren for, giving you an AoE Stun that can interrupt casts, set up kills, or just give you enough breathing room to survive. With the cooldown now at 90 seconds, you’re going to have access to it often. Endurance also makes Tauren naturally tankier by increasing their Health by 5%. The added Critical Damage and Healing, while not the biggest help in the world, does give them some offensive value on top of that. Then you’ve got Plainsrunning, which gives Tauren some extra mobility that can be really useful in Battlegrounds and the open world.

None of these racials individually feel as ridiculous as something like Will of the Forsaken or Will to Survive, but Tauren has a decent PvP Package. You’re harder to kill, you’ve got an AoE Stun, extra offensive value, and additional mobility, which is enough to put Tauren comfortably in B Tier.

Troll -  Troll has some useful PvP racials, but most of them are a little more situational than the races above it. Berserking can give you a nice burst window with increased attack and casting speed but how strong that is really depends on your class and spec. Rapid Regeneration can also be useful if you can actually get the channel off without getting hit and their passive Regeneration gives them a bit of extra sustain over longer fights.

So Troll definitely isn’t bad, and Berserking can be strong on the right class, but the overall PvP package just doesn’t have the same level of impact as something like Will of the Forsaken, Will to Survive, Escape Artist, or War Stomp. That’s why I’ve got Troll in B Tier.

Dwarf - Stoneform is obviously the big reason to consider them for PvP, letting you remove Bleeds, Poisons, and Diseases while also giving you some extra strong defensive value for 8secs. Against the right classes, that can be REALLY strong and can completely swing a fight. Earth Fury also gives you 2% increased Critical Damage and Healing, which is a nice offensive bonus, but it’s not quite as universally impactful as something like Human’s flat Crit Chance or Orc’s Blood Fury. But it is better than nothing.

The problem with Dwarf is that a lot of its PvP value is matchup dependent. When Stoneform is good, it’s REALLY good. When it isn’t, the rest of the racial package doesn’t bring enough to compete with the races higher on the list. So Dwarf definitely has some strong situations, but overall I’ve got it in B Tier.

C Tier

Night Elf - Night Elf doesn’t have much when it comes to truly game changing PvP tools, which is why I’ve got them lower. Elune's Light’s Light gives you a huge 10% Crit window for 15 seconds, and Quickness gives you Dodge along with passive movement speed, which is always useful. Shadowmeld has some niche value too by reducing the chance enemies detect you, but it’s not some full Vanish or combat reset. Overall, there are useful pieces here, but nothing that competes with Will of the Forsaken, Will to Survive, Escape Artist, or some of the stronger PvP racials above it.

So for PvP, Night Elf stays in C Tier.

Skyborn - 3% passive Haste from Wind Blessed is definitely nice, and it’s always going to have some value in PvP, but it’s more of a steady passive offensive bonus than something that’s going to completely swing a fight. Walk on Air has some niche utility for battlegrounds or possibly if you’re chasing someone down in the open world, and the faction specific racials can help with either regen or movement depending on which faction you’re playing, but neither one really compares to the kind of immediate PvP impact you get from things like a Stun break, Fear break, Root immunity, or War Stomp.

Skyborne is probably one of those races I’d rate much higher for PvE than PvP. The racials are good, they’re just not especially oppressive in a PvP setting. So for overall PvP value, I’ve got Skyborne in C Tier.