The best race for every class.
Every race in Forever has two actives and two passives, and six new race and class combinations opened up, so the Classic answers no longer hold. These picks are reasoned from the demo racials, with the number that decides each one. Numbers can move in beta; the shape of the argument will not.
Warrior
Horde: Orc · Alliance: Night Elf
OrcDPSBlood Fury is 10% Attack Power for 15 seconds on a 2 minute cooldown, Axe Specialization adds 1% crit with an axe, and Hardiness cuts stun duration by 20%. The best Warrior racial kit in the game.
TaurenTankingEndurance is 5% health and 1% hit, and War Stomp is an 8 yard stun for 2 seconds. Both are tank stats, and the stun buys a pull back when it goes wrong.
Night ElfDPSElune's Light is 10% crit with all attacks for 15 seconds on a 3 minute cooldown, the Alliance answer to Blood Fury, plus 1% dodge and 2% run speed from Quickness.
HumanDPS with a swordSword Specialization is 2% crit while a sword is equipped, more than any other weapon racial, and Will to Survive breaks stuns on a 3 minute cooldown.
DwarfTankingStoneform now cuts physical damage taken by 10% for 8 seconds and clears bleeds, poisons and diseases. That is a tank cooldown on a 3 minute timer.
Paladin
Horde: Undead · Alliance: Human
UndeadAll rolesThe only Horde Paladin. Will of the Forsaken breaks Charm, Fear and Sleep, Cannibalize now returns mana as well as health, and Touch of the Grave drains on 5% of spells and attacks.
- HumanHealing and Retribution
The Human Spirit is 5% Spirit, which now matters because Reverence and the itemization change feed regen. With a sword, Sword Specialization adds 2% crit to spells and abilities alike.
- DwarfTanking
Stoneform is 10% physical damage reduction plus bleed, poison and disease immunity for 8 seconds. Mace Specialization is 1% crit for the one-hander you will be holding anyway.
Skyborne cannot be Paladins on either side.
Hunter
Horde: Troll · Alliance: Night Elf
TrollPvE and levelingBerserking is 10% attack and casting speed for 10 seconds, Beast Slaying is 5% damage against Beasts, and 10% of your health regen continues in combat. Half of what you kill on the way to 60 is a Beast.
- OrcPvP
Blood Fury adds 10% Attack Power, Hardiness shortens every stun, and Shatter Curse strips Curses and Banes with 15% magic damage reduction.
Rogue
Horde: Orc · Alliance: Night Elf- OrcPvE
Blood Fury is 10% Attack Power on demand and Hardiness makes you 20% harder to stun-lock in return.
- UndeadPvP
Will of the Forsaken breaks Fear, Charm and Sleep, Cannibalize refills health between fights, and Touch of the Grave drains on 5% of attacks. Still the duel race.
- TrollSustained damage
Berserking is 10% attack speed for 10 seconds, which stacks with Slice and Dice.
Priest
Horde: Undead · Alliance: Gnome- UndeadHealing
Cannibalize now restores 7% mana every 2 seconds for 10 seconds off a corpse, Will of the Forsaken breaks Fear, and the Undead class racial Dark Sacrifice converts health to mana on a 10 minute cooldown.
- TrollShadow
Berserking is 10% casting speed, and the Troll class racials Shadowguard and Hex of Weakness are both damage and PvP tools.
GnomeHealingExpansive Mind is 5% mana, Eureka! makes your next 3 heals cost half and heal 10% more, and the Gnome class racial Contingency Plan is a proactive ward. Gnome Priest is new and it is the mana race.
- Night ElfShadow
Elune's Light is 10% spell crit for 15 seconds, and the Night Elf class racial Starshards is now a channelled 816 damage nuke on a 30 second cooldown at 38.
- HumanSpirit healers
The Human Spirit is 5% Spirit and the Human class racial Divine Grace removes Weakened Soul.
Shaman
Horde: Orc · Alliance: Dwarf- OrcEnhancement
Blood Fury is 10% Attack Power and Spell Power on the same button, which is exactly how the new Enhancement scales. Axe Specialization adds 1% crit.
- TrollElemental and Restoration
Berserking is 10% casting speed for 10 seconds and Rapid Regeneration channels back half your health.
- TaurenPvP
War Stomp stuns five targets, Endurance is 5% health and 1% hit, Plainsrunning ramps your run speed.
- DwarfEverything
The only Alliance Shaman. Stoneform is 10% physical reduction plus bleed, poison and disease immunity, and Mace Specialization is 1% crit with the mace you will use.
Skyborne Windshapers can be Shamans on the Horde side, with 1% haste and a glide; a paid race, not a better one.
Mage
Horde: Orc · Alliance: Gnome- OrcPvE
Orc Mage is new, and Blood Fury is 10% Spell Power for 15 seconds on a 2 minute cooldown. Shatter Curse clears Curses and cuts magic damage taken by 15%.
Warlock
Horde: Orc · Alliance: Gnome- OrcPvE
Blood Fury is 10% Spell Power on demand. Shatter Curse is a curse and bane cleanse with magic damage reduction, which matters in a game where Warlocks use Banes.
- UndeadPvP
Will of the Forsaken breaks Fear, Cannibalize returns mana, and Touch of the Grave drains on 5% of casts.
- TrollHaste
Troll Warlock is new. Berserking is 10% casting speed and Regeneration keeps Life Tap honest.
Druid
Horde: Tauren · Alliance: Night Elf- TaurenTanking and PvP
Endurance is 5% health and 1% hit, War Stomp is a 2 second stun on five targets, and Cultivation grows herbs without the profession.
Skyborne (Windshaper)CastersWind Blessed is 1% haste on everything, Walk on Air is a glide, and the forms are unique. Paid race, and 1% haste is a small edge.
- Night ElfEverything
Elune's Light is 10% crit with all spells and attacks for 15 seconds, Shadowmeld stealths Druids as if one level higher, and Quickness is 1% dodge for bears.
Skyborne (High Order)CastersWind Blessed is 1% haste and Read Ley Line doubles regen for 15 minutes near a ley line. Paid, and a small edge.
How these were picked
Offensive actives first (Blood Fury, Berserking, Elune's Light, Eureka!), then survival actives for tanks and PvP (Stoneform, War Stomp, Will of the Forsaken), then the passive that matches the class's resource (Expansive Mind, The Human Spirit, Cannibalize's mana). Weapon specializations only count when the class will realistically hold that weapon.
Blizzard said racials were tuned so the offensive value is comparable across races. The gaps here are small on paper and get smaller once the beta rebalances. Pick the race you want to look at for six months if the pick above is not the one you like.
Sources
Racial text from the BlizzCon demo via talentsforever.com (CC BY 4.0); race and class combinations from Blizzard's Deep Dive recap. The full list is on the racials page, with Wowhead tooltips.