The best Priest race in World of Warcraft: Forever is Undead on the Horde and Gnome on the Alliance. Undead gets the strongest caster passive on its side plus Mana from health, and Gnome Priests, new to Forever, get a cost-cutting burst racial that works with Power Word: Shield and an emergency ward no other race has. Human is the best Alliance alternative for healers, and Dwarf for PvP.
Priests matter more than most classes here, because every Priest race gets two spells only that race can learn. Below are all of them, the racials that affect a Priest, and our picks for healing, Shadow and PvP. Spells come from Blizzard’s Priest and Warrior deep dive, and racials from the October 26 final racial pass and earlier beta notes in the same thread.
Which Races Can Be Priests
| Faction | Priest races |
|---|---|
| Horde | Troll, Undead |
| Alliance | Dwarf, Gnome, Human, Night Elf |
Gnome Priest is new to WoW Forever. Neither Skyborne faction can be a Priest, and Tauren and Orcs still cannot either.
One change shapes every pick: Fear Ward and Devouring Plague are now baseline for all Priests at level 20, regardless of race. In the original game those were Dwarf and Undead exclusives, so neither race “needs” to be picked for them anymore.
Every Race-Only Priest Spell
| Race | Spell 1 | Spell 2 |
|---|---|---|
| Undead | Touch of Weakness (unchanged) | Dark Sacrifice: trade your own health for Mana over time, scaling with Spirit |
| Troll | Hex of Weakness (unchanged) | Shadowguard (unchanged) |
| Gnome | Confounding Flash: confuse up to 5 nearby enemies for 3 seconds (breaks on damage) | Contingency Plan: a 30-second ward that, if the target falls below 35% health, shields and heals them over time |
| Human | Divine Grace: instantly heal a friendly target below 50% health and remove Weakened Soul | Feedback (unchanged) |
| Dwarf | Desperate Prayer (unchanged) | Chastise: damage and a 2-second root, Humanoids only |
| Night Elf | Starshards: much more damage, now on a 30-second cooldown | Elune’s Grace: melee and ranged attacks have a 50% lower chance to hit you for 15 seconds or 3 misses |
Two of these stand out for healers. Contingency Plan stacks with Renew and Power Word: Shield, so it is a free safety net on a tank before a big hit. Divine Grace removes Weakened Soul, which lets a Discipline Priest shield the same target again sooner.
Best Horde Priest Race
Undead is our pick. Touch of the Grave has a 30% chance to activate for casters, the highest rate any class gets, and its internal cooldown fell to 15 seconds in Blizzard’s final pass. Blizzard’s notes say it fires when Shadow Word: Pain is cast, though not on its ticks, and it no longer breaks crowd control. Cannibalize now restores Mana as well as Health, Dark Sacrifice turns health into Mana, and Will of the Forsaken removes Charm, Fear and Sleep, which is huge for a healer in PvP.
Troll is the damage-minded alternative. Berserking now lasts 15 seconds for 10% casting and attack speed, and Regeneration lets 20% of health regeneration continue in combat. Its two Priest spells are unchanged from the original game, which makes it the only Priest race with nothing new in its race-only spells.
Best Alliance Priest Race
Gnome is our pick. Eureka! is an 8-second buff that cuts the cost of Mana abilities (a flat 10% discount, per Blizzard’s beta notes) and boosts your spells, and Blizzard made it work with Power Word: Shield. One limit matters: Eureka! no longer benefits periodic effects, so it helps Flash Heal, Greater Heal, Penance and Mind Blast rather than Renew or Shadow Word: Pain ticks. Expansive Mind adds 5% maximum Mana, Escape Artist frees you from roots and snares, and Contingency Plan is the best race-only Priest spell for healing.
Human is the healer’s alternative. Human Spirit now adds 10% Spirit after the final pass, which feeds Mana regeneration, Ruthless adds 1% critical strike chance (useful with Divine Aegis and Inspiration, which trigger from critical heals), and Divine Grace is a free emergency heal. Will to Survive breaks stuns.
Dwarf is the PvP pick. Stoneform grants immunity to Bleeds, Poisons and Diseases and reduces Physical damage taken, Artisan’s Precision adds 1% hit chance, and Chastise roots a melee attacker. Desperate Prayer remains a strong self-heal.
Night Elf gets Elune’s Light (10% critical strike chance for 15 seconds), Shadowmeld, and Elune’s Grace, which cuts melee and ranged attackers’ chance to hit you by 50%. Starshards now hits much harder on a 30-second cooldown, which helps while leveling.
Our Picks by Priest Spec
| Spec or goal | Horde | Alliance |
|---|---|---|
| Holy or Discipline healing | Undead | Gnome or Human |
| Shadow damage | Undead or Troll | Gnome or Night Elf |
| Leveling | Undead | Night Elf or Gnome |
| PvP | Undead | Dwarf or Gnome |
Before You Lock In
- Plan your healing role first. Our best healer class guide compares Priest with the other three healers.
- Pick your ruleset. On the PvP ruleset you get one faction per account; our ruleset guide explains it.
- Leveling a caster alt too? See our best Mage race and best Warlock race guides, and our race and class combos guide for every class.
Every guide we have is on our World of Warcraft hub.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Gnomes be Priests in WoW Forever? Yes. Gnome Priest is one of the six new race and class combinations, with Confounding Flash and Contingency Plan as its race-only spells.
Do Dwarves still get Fear Ward? Every Priest now learns Fear Ward at level 20, so it is no longer a Dwarf exclusive.
Can Skyborne be Priests? No. Neither Skyborne faction can be a Priest at launch.
What is the best Horde healing Priest race? Undead, for Touch of the Grave, Mana from Cannibalize and Dark Sacrifice, and Will of the Forsaken.
Does Eureka! work with Renew? No. Blizzard’s beta notes say Eureka! no longer benefits periodic effects, so Renew’s ticks are not boosted.
Will racials change after launch? They can. Blizzard reworked racials several times during the beta, so we will update this guide if launch patch notes change the numbers.