Anyone still stuck on the Horde or Alliance question for World of Warcraft: Forever has one more thing to factor in. Blizzard Entertainment has published a final racial ability tuning pass ahead of the game's November 4 launch, and it changes the math for Humans, Dwarves, Tauren, Orcs and the new Skyborne.
The timing matters for anyone who has been using faction breakdown videos to make their pick. Leveling and theorycraft creator Kargoz put out a racial-by-racial comparison a few days before the update, and his verdict at the time was that the Alliance package looked stronger overall. Several of the numbers in that video have now moved, so here is what changed and how it shakes out.
Why Blizzard Changed The Racials Again
Community manager Kaivax explained the reasoning on the official forums. Some players felt the new racial traits were too generic, while others worried certain races were objectively stronger than the rest. Blizzard said its final pass leans toward racial identity, which means some races will naturally be a little better at certain roles.
Where generic bonuses had replaced role or class focused racials, those changes are being rolled back. The one big exception is weapon specializations like Human Sword Specialization or Orc Axe Specialization. Blizzard said "it is not healthy in the long run for future raid and dungeon loot tables to be evaluated through the lens of 'required' weapon types," so those are staying out of the game.
Every Racial Change At A Glance
| Race |
Before |
After |
| Human |
Ruthless: 2% crit, Human Spirit: 5% Spirit |
Ruthless: 1% crit, Human Spirit: 10% Spirit |
| Dwarf |
Earth Fury: 2% crit damage and healing |
Artisan's Precision: 1% hit with spells and attacks |
| Tauren |
Plainsrunning: 1% per stack, 30% max, works mounted. Endurance: Health plus hit and crit damage modifiers |
Plainsrunning: 2% per stack, 60% max, no longer works mounted. Endurance: 5% Health only |
| Orc |
Savage: 1% crit |
Command: 5% Warlock and Hunter pet damage |
| Skyborne |
Wind-Blessed: 3% haste. Read Leyline: 100% regen. Skysight: 10% speed |
Wind-Blessed: 2% haste. Read Leyline: 50% regen for 15 seconds, 100% while Attuned. Skysight: 15% speed for 15 seconds, 30% while Charged |
The Skyborne Get A Location-Based Twist
The Skyborne changes are the most interesting part of the update. Read Leyline and Skysight are weaker by default, but both now reward players for visiting certain spots in the world. Using Read Leyline at a Ley Line grants a buff called Attuned for one hour, which brings the regen boost back up to 100%. Using Skysight at an elemental convergence grants Charged for one hour, which doubles the movement speed bonus to 30%. Both buffs persist through death.
Read Leyline also cannot be used while Innervate is active, so Skyborne Druids will not be able to stack the two.
So Which Faction Comes Out Ahead Now?
Kargoz's original argument for the Alliance leaned heavily on Human and Dwarf throughput. That edge has been trimmed. Humans lose half of their crit bonus, and Dwarves trade a crit damage bonus for a flat 1% hit chance, which is still very good for melee and casters who struggle to reach the hit cap early on. Human Spirit doubling to 10% is a big deal for healers and anyone who drinks a lot while leveling, though.
On the Horde side, the news is more mixed. Orcs lose their flat crit, but Command coming back makes Orc the clear pick for Hunters and Warlocks who lean on their pets. That lines up nicely with how strong pet scaling has become in WoW: Forever. Tauren, meanwhile, lose the hit chance and crit damage riders on Endurance but now get up to 60% movement speed from Plainsrunning. That is a massive leveling and world PvP tool, even if it no longer stacks with mounts.
The reaction from Horde players in forum and comment threads has been rough, with many arguing the faction has lost almost all of its raw combat stats. Others have pointed out that Tauren could now outrun Druids in travel form. Blizzard has not said whether more changes are coming before launch, so treat this as the launch state for now.
Here is a quick cheat sheet based on the new numbers:
- Pet Hunters and Demonology Warlocks: Orc is the obvious Horde pick thanks to Command.
- Healers and Spirit-hungry casters: Human now has one of the best passive regen bonuses in the game.
- Melee chasing hit cap: Dwarf's Artisan's Precision gives a permanent 1% hit.
- Gatherers and world PvP fans: Tauren Plainsrunning makes them the fastest runners on foot.
Plan Your Character Before Launch
The good news is that there is still time to make a choice. Early Name Reservation for WoW: Forever pack owners opens this week and runs through November 3, and you can check the start times for your region here. Each eligible account can reserve up to three characters, so there is room to hedge your bets across both factions.
If you are leaning Horde for PvP, keep in mind that Blizzard has already confirmed it will not protect low-level players from ganking on PvP realms, so a Tauren running at 60% speed might be the best escape tool in the game.
World of Warcraft: Forever launches on November 4 at 3:00 p.m. PST and is included with a World of Warcraft subscription or Game Time.
Are you sticking with your original faction pick after these changes, or did the racial tuning push you to switch sides?
Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.