Race tier list · Beta
WoW Forever race tier list
Choose a class and spec to rank its eligible races by simulated DPS. Each comparison keeps the preset gear, talents and rotation fixed.
Choose your class
Mage specialization
Only specs with a completed race comparison are selectable. Each uses one fixed preset build.
6 eligible races · 31 / 20 / 0 build
Arcane Mage
Experimental race tiers · 2.57% spread from the top
Level 60 character against a raid-boss target · 120 ± 15 seconds · Empty trinket slots
60 is the endgame character cap. The enemy target is simulated at level 63 for boss combat calculations; this is not a higher player level.
Tiers use the unrounded gap from the highest mean DPS: S ≤ 1% · A > 1% to 2% · B > 2% to 4% · C > 4%. Bands describe this beta preset only, not confirmed game balance or statistical significance. Empty tiers are omitted.
S tier
Within 1%
1Human
Highest mean in this model
551.6 DPS
± 0.8
Spirit and sword critical strike are included; the benefit depends on the equipped weapon and build.
2Skyborne (High Order)
0.78% behind · 4.3 DPS
547.3 DPS
± 0.8
Attack and cast speed are included. High Order regeneration is not implemented; elemental damage is inactive on this target.
3Gnome
0.82% behind · 4.5 DPS
547.1 DPS
± 0.8
Known modelling issue: Eureka boosts all damage, but only spell casts consume charges. This can inflate melee results. Extra rage and energy capacity is not modelled.
4Troll
0.92% behind · 5.1 DPS
546.5 DPS
± 0.8
Berserking uses the engine's fixed haste implementation. Beast damage is inactive on this target.
A tier
Over 1% to 2%
5Undead
1.05% behind · 5.8 DPS
545.8 DPS
± 0.8
Touch of the Grave assumes a 5% proc chance, 2.5% to 5% of max health damage, no crits and no internal cooldown. Beta behavior is unverified.
B tier
Over 2% to 4%
6Orc
2.57% behind · 14.2 DPS
537.5 DPS
± 0.8
Blood Fury and axe critical strike are included. The fixed preset controls cooldown timing.
± shows an approximate 95% confidence interval for mean DPS from random simulation variation. Overlapping ranges are a caution, not proof of a tie. These intervals do not include uncertainty from missing or incorrect game mechanics. Bars start at zero.
Available beta builds
Race comparisons by class and spec
Explore all 18 preset builds below. Each link opens its race tier list with the same controlled settings. Specs without a simulated preset are not ranked.
Warrior
- Fury Warrior races10 eligible
- Protection Warrior races10 eligible
Paladin
- Protection Paladin races3 eligible
- Retribution Paladin races3 eligible
Hunter
- Marksmanship Hunter races8 eligible
Rogue
- Assassination Rogue races9 eligible
- Combat Rogue races9 eligible
Priest
- Shadow Priest races6 eligible
Shaman
- Elemental Shaman races5 eligible
- Enhancement Shaman races5 eligible
Mage
- Arcane Mage races6 eligible
- Fire Mage races6 eligible
- Frost Mage races6 eligible
Warlock
- Affliction Warlock races5 eligible
- Demonology Warlock races5 eligible
- Destruction Warlock races5 eligible
Druid
- Balance Druid races4 eligible
- Feral (Cat) Druid races4 eligible
How to read the results
A controlled race swap,
within a limited model.
A race can lead on this preset and fall behind with different gear, fight length or rotation. Utility, PvP and healing are outside this comparison. Creature-specific bonuses are inactive on the neutral target.
Every race uses the same p1.bis.gear.json equipment, 31/20/0 talents, mage_arcanerotation, professions, buffs, consumes, encounter and random seed. Only the race field changes. Rotations are the current presets, not separately optimized for each race. Racial cooldown use follows those presets and the engine's cooldown logic.
Equipment also stays fixed across factions. Some presets contain faction-restricted items, so treat the gear as a shared stat template, not an equipable loadout for every race.
Eligible race and class combinations come from the pinned Forever engine, including separate High Order and Windshaper Skyborne variants. Each specialization entry represents one preset build, not every talent arrangement within the class.
This page is a precomputed snapshot. It may use a different engine build from the live spec tier list. Compare races within this table; do not treat its DPS as directly interchangeable with another board.
Exact build and simulation settings
- Engine commit
- 0eb921c12cd3ce6501a915cd602726100bc46a78
- Generated (UTC)
- 2026-09-21T04:34:39Z
- Preset race / talents
- Gnome · 050215003100311531-2305003202003-
- Iterations / random seed
- 10,000 / 1179603525
Full baseline engine request below. Each variant replaces only raid.parties[0].players[0].race with its engine race enum. Includes exact item IDs, enchants, buffs and rotation. Request SHA-256: 4b6327f08ecc02c7ec8f6f93538596a091e16f3010e9eb6ad5d28298cbbccff5.
{
"encounter": {
"duration": 120,
"durationVariation": 15,
"executeProportion20": 0.2,
"executeProportion25": 0.25,
"executeProportion35": 0.35,
"targets": [
{
"damageSpread": 0.3333,
"id": 213336,
"level": 63,
"minBaseDamage": 3000,
"name": "Level 60",
"parryHaste": true,
"stats": [
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
805,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
3731,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
127393,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0,
0
],
"swingSpeed": 2
}
]
},
"raid": {
"buffs": {
"arcaneBrilliance": true,
"divineSpirit": true,
"giftOfTheWild": "TristateEffectImproved",
"manaSpringTotem": "TristateEffectRegular",
"moonkinAura": true
},
"debuffs": {
"judgementOfWisdom": true
},
"parties": [
{
"players": [
{
"buffs": {
"blessingOfWisdom": "TristateEffectImproved"
},
"class": "ClassMage",
"consumes": {
"defaultConjured": "ConjuredDemonicRune",
"defaultPotion": "MajorManaPotion",
"firePowerBuff": "ElixirOfGreaterFirepower",
"flask": "FlaskOfSupremePower",
"food": "FoodRunnTumTuberSurprise",
"frostPowerBuff": "ElixirOfFrostPower",
"mainHandImbue": "BrilliantWizardOil",
"manaRegenElixir": "MagebloodPotion",
"spellPowerBuff": "GreaterArcaneElixir",
"zanzaBuff": "CerebralCortexCompound"
},
"distanceFromTarget": 20,
"equipment": {
"items": [
{
"enchant": 1509,
"id": 16795
},
{
"id": 18814
},
{
"id": 11782
},
{
"id": 13386,
"randomSuffix": 1965
},
{
"enchant": 1891,
"id": 14152
},
{
"enchant": 1883,
"id": 16799
},
{
"id": 13253
},
{
"id": 19136
},
{
"enchant": 1509,
"id": 16915
},
{
"enchant": 911,
"id": 16800
},
{
"id": 19147
},
{
"id": 19147
},
{
"enchant": 2504,
"id": 17103
},
{
"id": 10796,
"randomSuffix": 1965
},
{
"id": 15283,
"randomSuffix": 1959
}
]
},
"mage": {
"options": {
"armor": "MoltenArmor"
}
},
"name": "arcane-mage",
"profession1": "Engineering",
"race": "RaceGnome",
"reactionTimeMs": 100,
"rotation": {
"priorityList": [
{
"action": {
"autocastOtherCooldowns": {}
}
},
{
"action": {
"castSpell": {
"spellId": {
"spellId": 12051
}
},
"condition": {
"and": {
"vals": [
{
"cmp": {
"lhs": {
"currentManaPercent": {}
},
"op": "OpLt",
"rhs": {
"const": {
"val": "15%"
}
}
}
},
{
"cmp": {
"lhs": {
"remainingTime": {}
},
"op": "OpGt",
"rhs": {
"const": {
"val": "20s"
}
}
}
}
]
}
}
}
},
{
"action": {
"castSpell": {
"spellId": {
"rank": 8,
"spellId": 25345
}
},
"condition": {
"auraIsActive": {
"auraId": {
"spellId": 44404
}
}
}
}
},
{
"action": {
"castSpell": {
"spellId": {
"rank": 11,
"spellId": 25304
}
},
"condition": {
"or": {
"vals": [
{
"cmp": {
"lhs": {
"auraNumStacks": {
"auraId": {
"spellId": 30451
}
}
},
"op": "OpGe",
"rhs": {
"const": {
"val": "3"
}
}
}
},
{
"cmp": {
"lhs": {
"currentManaPercent": {}
},
"op": "OpLt",
"rhs": {
"const": {
"val": "40%"
}
}
}
}
]
}
}
}
},
{
"action": {
"castSpell": {
"spellId": {
"spellId": 30451
}
}
}
}
],
"type": "TypeAPL"
},
"talentsString": "050215003100311531-2305003202003-"
}
]
}
]
},
"simOptions": {
"iterations": 10000,
"randomSeed": "1179603525",
"ruleset": "RulesetForever"
}
}Choosing a race in WoW Forever
What is the best race for my class and spec?
Select your class and spec to see which eligible races lead this preset simulation. There is no confirmed best race from this beta model: gear, talents, rotation and fight length can change the order, and incomplete racial mechanics can outweigh the gaps. Check each race's coverage note before choosing.
Does this show the highest parsing races?
No. These results come from the wowsims Forever engine, not raid logs or the retail SimulationCraft engine. They compare simulated damage with a fixed build. They do not measure player performance, race popularity or the highest raid parses.
What do the race tiers mean?
S is within 1% of the highest mean DPS for the selected preset, A is over 1% to 2% behind, B is over 2% to 4% behind, and C is more than 4% behind. Every race can land in S when results are close. These bands describe this snapshot, not confirmed game balance.
How is this different from the spec tier list?
This page changes only race within a single preset build. The WoW Forever DPS tier list compares different spec presets. Use that page to explore specs and this page to compare races for your chosen build. Their engine snapshots can differ, so compare DPS within each board.
Make the next comparison yours.
Run a Forever sim with your own gear and talents.