WoW Forever Alliance vs Horde: Which Faction Should You Pick?

In original Classic, picking a faction locked you out of a class: Paladins were Alliance-only and Shamans were Horde-only. World of Warcraft: Forever removes that. Every class is now available on both factions, so the choice comes down to racials, dungeons, community and how you want to play.

Quick answer

• Pick Horde if: you mainly care about PvP strength, want more Shamans around you, or like strong “panic button” racials such as Will of the Forsaken and Shatter Curse.
• Pick Alliance if: you want Human’s stun break, Night Elf Shadowmeld tricks, or Dwarf Stoneform, and you prefer racials that reward skilled play.
• Pick either if: you mostly do PvE. Class balance matters far more than faction there.

Classes are no longer faction-locked

Class	Alliance races	Horde races
Paladin	Human, Dwarf	Undead (new)
Shaman	Dwarf (new) only	Orc, Tauren, Troll, Skyborne
Mage	Human, Gnome, Skyborne	Orc (new), Undead, Troll
Warlock	Human, Gnome	Orc, Undead, Troll (new)
Hunter	Human (new), Dwarf, Night Elf, Skyborne	Orc, Tauren, Troll, Skyborne
Priest	Human, Dwarf, Night Elf, Gnome (new)	Undead, Troll

Paladin is the one that’s still lopsided: there are two Alliance races and only one Horde race. Shaman is even more lopsided the other way: four Horde races against just one on Alliance (Dwarf). In group PvP, Horde will usually have more Tremor and Grounding totems.

Racials: the real difference

Horde racials are mostly strong defensive answers that work on autopilot:

• Will of the Forsaken breaks Fear, Charm and Sleep.
• Shatter Curse gives curse immunity and reduces magic damage.
• Hardiness makes stuns shorter.
• War Stomp is an area stun.
• Rapid Regeneration heals you without food.

Alliance racials are more situational but have higher potential:

• Will to Survive breaks stuns.
• Shadowmeld drops attackers mid-fight.
• Stoneform cleanses bleeds, poisons and diseases.
• Escape Artist breaks roots and snares.
• Elune’s Light gives a crit burst.

Forum players sum it up well: Horde racials “lower the skill floor”, Alliance racials “raise the skill ceiling”. Full list: every racial.

Faction dungeons

Two of Forever’s nine new dungeons are rooted in one faction’s home:

• Hall of Thanes (13–18) sits beneath Ironforge, in a dwarven burial chamber overrun by Dark Iron dwarves and undead. Horde players have to find their own way in.
• Ruins of Lordaeron (15–20) pits the Forsaken against the Scourge in the old capital. Alliance players need to find a way in.

All 9 dungeons →

Skyborne play on both sides

The new Skyborne race splits into two factions. The High Order (Alliance) can be Mages and get Read Ley Line. The Windshapers (Horde) can be Shamans and get Skysight.

Rulesets: the PvP one-faction rule

Forever has no realms. You pick a ruleset instead: Normal, PvP, Roleplaying, or Hardcore (coming after launch).

• On the PvP ruleset, each account can only have characters of one faction. Choose carefully.
• Blizzard will use faction-balance limits like Season of Discovery’s, so the more popular faction may face temporary limits on new characters.
• Horde and Alliance still can’t group together.

Rulesets explained →

Our pick

If you’re undecided, play where your friends are. Forever puts everyone on one big ruleset per region, so community matters more than ever. If you’re truly solo and PvP-focused, Horde has a slight edge right now. For PvE, pick the race whose racial best fits your class and don’t worry about the rest.

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Sources: Forums: Horde will stomp Alliance in PvP, Blizzard: Choose your ruleset, Warcraft Tavern: race/class combos, Hall of Thanes reveal (OutputLag), racial tooltips via Wowhead.