Horde or Alliance? Choosing Your Faction in WoW Forever

Decide this first: your ruleset

• Horde and Alliance can't group up. Groups, dungeons, raids, mail and guilds only work within the same ruleset. Battlegrounds can mix rulesets, except Hardcore (coming later). official
• PvP ruleset: only one faction per account. Factions can also be temporarily locked for new characters. official If you play PvP, you're committing to one side, so ask your friends before you create a character.
• The rule applies only to PvP. On Normal, Roleplay and (later) Hardcore you can play both factions. official
• All rulesets compared: Rulesets and names

What's new for both factions

Six new race and class combinations official

• Alliance: Gnome Priest, Human Hunter, Dwarf Shaman
• Horde: Orc Mage, Troll Warlock, Undead Paladin

The Skyborne, a new race for both sides official

• You choose the faction yourself. On the Horde side they're the Windshapers (Druid, Hunter, Rogue, Shaman, Warrior), on the Alliance side the High Order (Druid, Hunter, Mage, Rogue, Warrior).
• They start on Zephras Isle (levels 1–12).
• Note: the Skyborne are a paid race. You need at least the Skyborne Heroic Pack. Skyborne guide

Races and their racials (beta, build of Oct 15)

All racials side by side: Races and classes · Our pick for every class: Best race for every class

The world: what's different by faction

• Dalaran: Horde characters are attacked on sight in the city of Dalaran. The dungeon “City of Dalaran” stays open to them. official (notes of Oct 15)

How to choose

1. Friends first. You can't group with the other faction, and on PvP you can't switch per character. Play where your friends play.
2. Then your class. Every class exists on both sides now, so your class no longer forces a faction. Unsure about the class? Which class suits me?
3. Then the race you like. Racials are small bonuses. You'll look at your character for hundreds of hours.
4. Planning PvP? Take a look at honor, ranks and the new battleground: PvP

What we don't know yet

• Which faction is bigger: there are no numbers yet. We won't guess.
• Faction change: not announced.

More WoW Forever Guides

• Beginner's guide
  Getting started in WoW Forever: picking a class, leveling route and checklist.
• What's New in WoW Forever?
  Every change compared to Classic at a glance.
• Forever vs. Classic
  Every difference, topic by topic, with sources.
• Rulesets and Names
  Normal, PvP, RP, Hardcore and name reservation.
• Races and Classes
  Skyborne and every race and class combination.
• Raids
  Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia from Dec 9, 2026.
• PvP
  Honor, rank points, ranks 1–14 and the new battleground.
• Legacy System
  65 challenges, three trees, cosmetic rewards.
• Which class suits me?
  Quiz with 8 questions and a class recommendation.
• BiS lists
  The best gear for every class and playstyle.
• Dungeons by level
  Which dungeon fits your level, plus the raids.
• Professions 1–300
  Leveling routes for every profession with materials and a shopping list.
• Best professions
  Which profession suits which class.
• Making gold
  Honest ways to earn gold, no buying, no bots.
• Release and Countdown
  Every date up to the raid launch.
• Editions and prices
  All editions, prices and what the subscription includes.
• Roadmap
  Dates and phases through 2027, confirmed or open.
• Name generator
  First and last names for every race, with a rules check.
• Class quests
  Every class quest chain for each class, by level.
• Class trainers
  Where every class finds its trainers, with coordinates.
• Macros
  Ready-made macros for all nine classes to copy.
• Dungeon quests
  Every quest to pick up before each dungeon as a checklist.
• Quest Chains
  Every quest chain by zone, in the right order.
• Librams and Arcanums
  All eight librams with materials, costs and bonuses.
• Tier list
  The strongest classes and specs by role.
• Skyborne guide
  The new race: factions, racial abilities and starting zone.
• Hardcore
  What is confirmed and what is still open.
• Onyxia attunement
  Every attunement quest as a checklist.
• Launch time worldwide
  When WoW Forever launches in your time zone.
• Dates and countdown
  All dates up to launch and beyond, with a calendar.
• Server status
  Servers, queues and known issues during launch week.
• What to do at which level?
  Zones, quests and dungeons for every level.
• Riding
  Required level, cost and mounts.
• Attributes and stats
  What Strength, Stamina, Armor and more actually do.
• Camping
  Every camp object and what it does.
• Lockpicking
  Rogue guide, skill 1–300.
• Pick Pocket
  What rogues can steal and where.
• Best addons
  The best addons for leveling, raids, PvP and gold.
• Install addons
  How to get addons into WoW Forever.
• Reputation
  Every faction with its rewards and the quests that grant reputation.
• Launch checklist
  Your day-one checklist for WoW Forever.
• Legacy planner
  Plan the perk trees and tick off all 65 challenges.
• Patch notes
  What changes in the game data from build to build.
• Dungeon leveling
  Dungeon leveling: new dungeon XP, carries, the group finder and dungeons by level.