WoW Forever Racial Changes: October 26–27 Tuning
The WoW Forever Racial Changes from October 26 and 27 alter racial abilities prior to the game’s launch. This tuning affects two Alliance races, four Horde races, and the Skyborne. Blizzard prioritizes racial identity in these changes and allows individual races to have a slight advantage in specific combat roles rather than making all options equal in power. The benefits of the bonuses now also depend on conditions such as where you use the ability or whether you enter a raid.
WoW Forever Racial Changes on October 26 and 27
Blizzard published the racial changes on October 26 and 27 in the official WoW Forever Beta Development Notes thread on behalf of community manager Kaivax. Both posts came out before the WoW Forever launch on November 4. The thread title does not show the full revision history of the first of them. Each post covers its own set of changes:
- Post 7 from October 26. The main pass with new values and an explanation of the developers’ reasoning.
- The addendum from October 27 in Post 8 added changes for Orcs, Trolls, and the Undead and clarified the rules for Attuned and Charged.
- The current version of Post 7 includes the points from the addendum because Blizzard moved them into it.
Kaivax explains that the final tuning prioritizes racial identity. That's why some races will receive a slight advantage in certain combat roles. The developers are also reviewing the remaining passive bonuses in this tuning to ensure they do not skew results or limit player preferences. Talk of a “final pass” does not rule out further changes after launch.
Human and Dwarf
Human racials are changing the ratio of critical chance to Spirit. Dwarves in the October 26 update lose Earth Fury and receive a new passive ability (Artisan's Precision), which increases hit chance.
| Racial | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
| Ruthless | +2% to crit | +1% to crit |
| Human Spirit | +5% to Spirit | +10% to Spirit |
| Earth Fury | +2% to critical damage and healing | none |
| Artisan's Precision | none | +1% to hit chance for spells and attacks |
Artisan's Precision increases the hit chance for both spells and attacks. The developers consolidated hit chance for spells, melee, and ranged attacks back in the September Deep Dive. Humans in this new tuning receive more Spirit and lose some of the critical strike chance from Ruthless for spells and attacks with any weapon. It’s impossible to determine the best choice for a caster from this information without sims.
Tauren, Orc, Troll, and Undead
The tuning affected four Horde races in WoW Forever and brought them seven changes. Tauren and Orcs received the main portion of the adjustments in the main list from October 26, along with the return of Command from the WoW Classic kit. The October 27 addendum added changes for Blood Fury, Berserking, and Touch of the Grave.
| Ability | Race | Before | After | Date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plainsrunning | Tauren | 1% per stack, up to 30%, plus mounted speed | 2% per stack, up to 60%, without mounted speed | October 26 |
| Endurance | Tauren | 5% Health and 2% to critical damage and healing | 5% Health without other modifiers | October 26 |
| Savage | Orc | +1% to crit | none | October 26 |
| Command | Orc | none | +5% to pet damage for Hunters and Warlocks | October 26 |
| Blood Fury (cooldown, min.) | Orc | 3 | 2 | October 27 |
| Berserking (duration, sec.) | Troll | 10 | 15 | October 27 |
| Touch of the Grave (internal cooldown, sec.) | Undead | 25 | 15 | October 27 |
Three changes from the addendum affect various timers. Blood Fury now receives a shorter cooldown (the interval between two uses). The effect of Berserking for Trolls now lasts longer thanks to the new duration. Touch of the Grave for Undead can trigger more times per fight because the developers have reduced the internal cooldown (the minimum interval between two procs of the passive effect).
What Command Changes for Pet Classes
Command adds 5% to pet damage for Hunters and Warlocks in WoW Forever. This bonus does not equal 5% of the character’s total damage, because it enhances the pet and does not affect the Hunter’s or Warlock’s own attacks or spells. The 5% increase also does not create a DPS ranking for specializations. Blizzard has not provided any specific calculations.
Orc Hunters and Warlocks receive a pet damage bonus from Command in the open world, dungeons, and raids without any specific conditions. Kaivax’s post does not describe such a bonus for other classes. The Command description also does not mention Shaman elementals or Druid abilities.
Skyborne Actives and Buff States
Skyborne racials function on three levels in the final tuning. Wind-Blessed remains a passive Haste bonus. Read Leyline for the High Order on the Alliance side and Skysight for the Windshaper on the Horde side function as active abilities for 15 seconds after each use. The active Innervate prevents you from casting Read Leyline and replaces its effect with a stronger one. Attuned and Charged states enhance these abilities for 1 hour.
| Element | Type | Duration | Before | After |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wind-Blessed | passive | none | 3% Haste | 2% Haste |
| Read Leyline | active | 15 sec. | +100% to Mana and Health regeneration | +50% to Mana and Health regeneration |
| Attuned | state | 1 hour | Post 7 and the addendum do not give the previous value | Read Leyline grants +100% |
| Skysight | active | 15 sec. | +10% to movement speed | +15% to movement speed |
| Charged | state | 1 hour | Post 7 and the addendum do not give the previous value | Skysight grants +30% |
Players receive both states at specific locations in the world. The source is your own active ability at the right spot (Read Leyline at a Ley Line for Attuned, or Skysight at an elemental convergence for Charged). Your buff from the state lasts 15 seconds after each activation, so there is no hour-long continuous effect. We recommend relying on Attuned and Charged outside of raids. Both states survive death but disappear upon entering a raid (clarification from October 27).
Why Weapon Specializations Stay Out
Weapon specialization racials in WoW Forever will not return even after this tuning. Blizzard is rolling back some of the generic replacements for role- or class-specific bonuses. Kaivax cited Human Sword Specialization and Orc Axe Specialization as exceptions to this rollback. The developers do not want players to evaluate the loot tables of future raids and dungeons in the long term based on a “mandatory” weapon type for their race. But the team acknowledges the strong fantasy appeal of these specializations.
Wowhead’s entries for WoW Forever describe Sword Specialization and Axe Specialization as a bonus to critical chance when a character is wielding a sword or axe. Ruthless and Savage replaced them back in the beta. Blizzard described weapon skill itself in the Deep Dive as a working mechanic that gear gives to a lesser extent. Kaivax’s post does not list specific items from future raids.
Race Choice Before Launch
Race choice in WoW Forever prior to launch relies on the current list of changes from this tuning. We recommend comparing options within your own class and role, as Kaivax mentions that individual races have an edge in specific combat roles. Five criteria help you make a decision without relying on a tier list:
- Class and role determine the usefulness of each bonus, from the Dwarf’s hit to the Tauren’s Health.
- Pet damage and overall DPS. Command boosts Hunter and Warlock pets and does not add 5% to the character’s total DPS.
- Passives and states. Attuned and Charged require a specific location in the world and enhance each use of their active.
- Race fantasy rests on appearance, starting zone, and racial abilities.
- Blizzard does not publish sims or ratings based on the new values.
Whether to reroll due to this tuning remains your decision and is not mandatory. Our services do not change the race of your current character. The ChaosBoost team levels up a new character in WoW Forever via Character Leveling Boost if you have chosen a different race or class for them yourself.
