There was a time when choosing your race in World of Warcraft was a fairly innocent affair. You picked an Orc because you liked enormous shoulder armor, a Troll because their running animation looked wonderfully ridiculous, or a Tauren because being a seven-foot walking cow with a gigantic axe seemed like an excellent way to spend your evenings.
Then somebody invented damage spreadsheets.
Twenty-two years later, Blizzard is still trying to solve the problem.
With World of Warcraft: Forever launching November 4, the developers have announced another substantial round of racial ability changes. The October 26 update, followed by additional adjustments on October 27, reverses several earlier beta decisions, restores familiar abilities and significantly changes the advantages of choosing certain races.
Orcs are getting Command back, Troll Berserking will last 50% longer, and Undead characters will benefit from more frequent Touch of the Grave activations. Tauren, meanwhile, are losing their remaining offensive bonuses from Endurance in exchange for a considerably faster version of Plainsrunning.
And judging by the reaction on Blizzard's forums, not every Tauren is particularly interested in becoming a very large, very fast pedestrian.
Orcs Get Command Back, and Trolls Finally Have Something to Celebrate
Perhaps the most interesting reversal concerns Orcs.
Earlier this month, Blizzard replaced traditional weapon specializations with broader bonuses. As we explained in our coverage of Forever's October 15 racial overhaul, Orcs lost their old Axe Specialization and received Savage, granting 1% additional critical strike chance.
That bonus is now disappearing.
Instead, Blizzard is bringing back Command, the familiar racial ability that increases pet damage by 5% for Orc Hunters and Warlocks. Blood Fury is also receiving a welcome improvement, with its cooldown reduced from three minutes to two.
The result is an interesting mixture of buffs and compromises. Orc Hunters and Warlocks gain a recognizable offensive advantage through Command, while other Orc classes lose the universal benefit of Savage. The shorter Blood Fury cooldown gives them something in return, but the changes are not an automatic improvement for every Orc character.
Blizzard's explanation is that racial identity should matter. Some races should naturally be better suited to particular roles, rather than every race receiving a slightly different version of the same generic statistical bonus.
It is a perfectly reasonable philosophy until you discover that your favorite racial ability only benefits two classes.
Orc Warriors, Shamans, Mages and Rogues cannot make use of Command's pet damage bonus. That has already become a point of contention among players who believe the ability is too restrictive.
For anyone still deciding which character to play, our guide to choosing your main class in WoW Forever is worth revisiting. These late adjustments are another reminder that picking a character purely because of beta damage rankings is rather like buying a house because you liked the weather on Tuesday.
Trolls have received a more straightforward improvement.
Berserking now lasts 15 seconds instead of 10, giving players 50% more duration from one of the race's most recognizable combat abilities. That should provide more opportunities to benefit from its attack and casting speed bonuses during longer encounters.
Undead characters also gain a useful adjustment. Touch of the Grave's internal cooldown falls from 25 seconds to 15 seconds, allowing the effect to become available more frequently. It is not a complete redesign, but it makes the racial considerably less restricted by its internal timer.
These changes arrive while Blizzard is also rebuilding individual class identities. Our earlier look at Forever's Druid, Warlock and Priest redesigns demonstrated how much effort is going into making different specializations feel distinct.
The racial changes follow the same philosophy, although that philosophy becomes considerably more controversial when players start comparing the numbers.
Tauren Can Run Faster Than Ever, but Players Want Their Damage Back
Tauren have received what might be the most entertaining racial ability adjustment in the entire update.
Plainsrunning now grants 2% movement speed per stack instead of 1%, raising its maximum bonus from 30% to an impressive 60%.
That sounds wonderful. A Tauren traveling across the Barrens can eventually build up enough speed to make ordinary running feel positively prehistoric.
There is, however, a catch.
Plainsrunning no longer increases mounted movement speed, and its bonus must be built up through continuous movement. Players testing the ability have pointed out that stopping, taking damage or interrupting movement can quickly undermine its usefulness.
In other words, it is excellent for traveling along a road. It is considerably less impressive when somebody hits you with a Frostbolt.
The more serious controversy concerns Endurance.
Blizzard has removed its additional hit chance and critical damage modifiers, leaving the racial with a straightforward 5% increase to maximum Health.
That is still a meaningful defensive benefit, especially for tanks. But it provides no direct offensive advantage for Tauren Warriors, Shamans, Druids or Hunters.
And that is where the disagreement begins.
On Blizzard's official forums, Tauren players have argued that Plainsrunning does not compensate for losing an offensive racial. Some want the previous 1% hit chance restored, while others believe Endurance should receive an additional secondary-stat bonus.
Other players disagree, pointing out that 60% additional running speed can be extremely valuable while leveling, especially before acquiring a mount.
Both arguments have merit because they concern fundamentally different activities. A racial that makes the journey through the Barrens considerably faster does not necessarily improve performance against a raid boss. Equally, a small increase to damage may look attractive on a spreadsheet while providing very little practical benefit during hundreds of hours of outdoor questing.
Tauren have already experienced their share of racial controversy during Forever's beta. We previously covered how Blizzard had to redesign Cultivation after players exploited the ability to harvest valuable herbs in high-level zones.
Now Endurance and Plainsrunning have become the new subjects of debate.
There is something wonderfully appropriate about the largest race in the Horde finding itself at the center of an argument over whether it should be stronger or simply run faster.
Humans, Dwarves and Skyborne Are Changing Too
The final racial adjustments extend beyond the Horde.
Humans receive a reduction to Ruthless, which now grants 1% critical strike chance instead of 2%. Their Human Spirit racial, however, becomes more powerful, increasing Spirit by 10% rather than 5%.
Dwarves are losing Earth Fury, the previous bonus to critical damage and healing. In its place comes Artisan's Precision, granting 1% additional hit chance with spells and attacks.
That last adjustment has attracted particular attention because Tauren players have just lost their own hit-related benefit. Blizzard is effectively moving away from one form of racial optimization while introducing another potentially attractive bonus for classes that care about reaching hit thresholds.
It also highlights an old Warcraft problem. Racial weapon specializations once influenced the equipment players were expected to use. Blizzard now wants to avoid having future raid loot judged according to whether a particular race gains an unfair advantage from swords, axes or maces.
That sounds sensible until the alternative becomes another statistical advantage that theorycrafters immediately begin calculating.
Forever's new Skyborne race is also receiving substantial adjustments.
Wind-Blessed now grants 2% Haste instead of 3%. Read Leyline provides 50% additional Health and Mana regeneration for 15 seconds, while Skysight provides 15% additional movement speed for the same duration.
However, using those abilities at special locations in the world grants stronger hour-long effects. Attuned increases Read Leyline's regeneration bonus to 100%, while Charged increases Skysight's movement bonus to 30%.
Blizzard has clarified that these special effects persist through death but disappear upon entering a raid.
That is a particularly important restriction. It prevents the strongest versions from becoming another mandatory preparation ritual for organized raiders, who already have quite enough things to collect before somebody finally pulls the boss.
The decision is also significant because, as we previously reported, Skyborne access is tied to a $29.99 upgrade package. Blizzard must balance the race carefully to avoid making a paid character option appear stronger than the alternatives.
There is already another debate surrounding whether Skyborne belong visually in Classic Azeroth. Blizzard has acknowledged those concerns and announced proper Standard Definition models for the new race.
Apparently, creating a new playable race requires considerably more work than giving it pointy ears and an interesting starting zone.
Blizzard Is Choosing Racial Identity Over Perfect Balance
The most revealing part of Blizzard's October 26 announcement is its explanation of the design philosophy.
The developers no longer appear interested in giving every race an equally useful collection of generic bonuses. Instead, they want racial identity to create meaningful differences, even when certain races naturally perform better in particular roles.
That approach fits the broader direction of Forever.
As we explored in our complete guide to what's changing in WoW Forever, Blizzard is attempting to preserve the recognizable identity of original Azeroth while modernizing systems that became unnecessarily restrictive.
The developers have already made similar decisions with classes. Fear Ward is no longer restricted to Dwarf Priests, as we explained in our breakdown of the new Priest and Warrior systems. Blizzard wants racial flavor to matter without allowing one particular race to become practically mandatory for an entire class.
But creating distinctive races without producing obvious winners is considerably harder than it sounds.
For PvP, abilities such as War Stomp, Will of the Forsaken and Blood Fury can influence individual encounters in ways that simple damage rankings never fully explain. For raiders, offensive passives and cooldown timing may become more important. And for players simply traveling through Azeroth, a movement bonus can be worth considerably more than another percentage point on a character sheet.
That is why no single list of racial rankings can adequately describe every playstyle.
It is also why these changes are arriving at a particularly sensitive moment. Players are already beginning to settle on their characters, and newcomers preparing for Forever's November 4 launch have only a short time left to reconsider their choices.
Blizzard describes this as a final tuning pass, although the October 27 additions demonstrate that the details can still change.
Whether the updated racial abilities will produce healthier competition remains uncertain. Their actual value will depend on class combinations, encounter design, equipment and the way players use them once Forever reaches level 60.
For now, Orc Hunters and Warlocks have a familiar reason to celebrate, Trolls have longer Berserking windows, and Undead players gain more frequent opportunities to trigger Touch of the Grave.
Tauren, meanwhile, have a rather more philosophical question to consider.
Is being able to run across the Barrens at remarkable speed a fair exchange for losing a little damage?
Some players certainly think so.
Others would apparently prefer their enormous cow to stop running and hit something.
And somewhere at Blizzard headquarters, another spreadsheet is probably being opened.
Sources: Blizzard's official WoW Forever beta development notes, updated October 26–27, and community feedback on the October 26 racial changes.
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