Horde or Alliance? Friends, races and classes to weigh before you reserve a name

Early Name Reservation begins on 27 October, and for many players the first decision is an old one: Horde or Alliance? A creator video published on 23 October offers its own Horde-versus-Alliance verdict. That is one player’s preference. These are the questions that should decide it for you.

Start with your people

Blizzard’s ruleset article sets out the basics. Horde and Alliance cannot group together, and players cannot group across rulesets either, so your friends need to share both your faction and your ruleset.

On the PvP ruleset, an account can create characters for only one faction, so there your first choice also decides your alts. Whether that rule applies identically on the new RP-PvP ruleset has not been confirmed.

Then check the race and class you want

Forever reshuffles some old certainties. Blizzard’s character overview names new race-and-class combinations, among them Orc Mages and Undead Paladins. The new Skyborne race appears on both sides: Windshaper Skyborne are Horde-aligned and can become Shamans, while High Order Skyborne are Alliance-aligned and can become Mages. The same overview says some racial traits have been updated.

So a combination you remember as faction-locked may not be any more, and a racial you remember may not work as it used to. Check the options in character creation, and read racial descriptions in the launch client rather than relying on memory.

Weigh racials carefully

Racials attract strong opinions, and they have kept moving. On 26 October, after the beta closed, Blizzard announced a final pass on racial traits for Humans, Dwarves, Tauren, Orcs and Skyborne; our roundup lists every change. Read Leyline, which beta players on the forums had called a must-pick for healers, had its base regeneration bonus cut from 100% to 50%, as covered in Is Read Leyline as strong as players say?.

Forum claims that one race is a must-pick are worth reading, but they are not measurements, and a claim about a beta racial may describe a version that no longer exists.

What not to decide on

There is no reliable measure yet of which faction will be more popular in Forever. Pick the side where your friends, your preferred class and the race you enjoy playing line up. The class guides and talent planner are drafts, but they are a place to start.