In the Battle.net launcher on September 24–25, 2026, Blizzard showed a closed survey with 11 class concepts beyond the classic nine. This is research, not an announcement: at launch on November 5, 2026, there will still be nine classes, and Blizzard explicitly warned that the listed concepts won't necessarily appear in the game.

At the launch of World of Warcraft: Forever, on November 5, 2026 at 02:00 Moscow time, the game won't get any new classes — players will have access to the same nine classes as in Classic: warrior, paladin, hunter, rogue, priest, shaman, mage, warlock, and druid. But on September 24–25, 2026, in the Battle.net launcher, some players saw a closed survey with concepts for another 11 classes. Blizzard asked them not to share the link or screenshots, but the discussion on the official forum and in videos has already happened.

What's known about the survey

• The survey was hidden and not shown to everyone. According to players, the page appeared on the Forever page in the Battle.net launcher on September 24 and was already gone by September 25.
• The fact that the survey appeared was confirmed by major community sites. Blizzard separately warned participants not to publish the link, screenshots, or description.
• In the survey itself, Blizzard wrote that this is research, not a vote: the concepts on the list won't necessarily appear in the game.
• Details about the content are only known from participants' retellings. There's no list from a "reliable source" — only player retellings and their discussions.

The 11 concepts: where they came from

Roughly all 11 concepts can be divided into three groups by origin: some players have already seen them in modern World of Warcraft, some came from the Warcraft universe and old games, and some look entirely new.

Familiar from modern World of Warcraft. These classes have already appeared in the game after Classic — in Wrath of the Lich King, Cataclysm, Legion, Battle for Azeroth, and so on. For Forever they would be adapted to level 60.

• *Monk* — a combat style familiar from Mists of Pandaria; the survey lists it as "tank, healer, melee."
• *Demon Hunter* — glaives, metamorphosis, and leaps, as in Legion.
• *Death Knight* — a lighter version of the hero class from Wrath of the Lich King, simplified for Forever.

Familiar from the Warcraft universe and old games. These concepts draw on existing heroes and factions, but have never appeared as a separate class.

• *Warden* — Elune's guards like Maiev Shadowsong from Warcraft III; described as jailers and bounty hunters, with tank and melee roles.
• *Necromancer* — a mage who raises the dead; up to six undead minions, "Bone Spear," and corpse explosions.
• *Illusionist* — a sorcerer with phantoms and mirror copies; the survey notes that the class learns to create illusions of slain creatures.
• *Bard* — a musician and storyteller whose songs heal and support allies; the survey also lists a "support" role.

Entirely new or experimental. These concepts have appeared less often in the series or appeared only very recently.

• *Tinker* — an engineer in a combat mechanical suit; if the suit is destroyed, the pilot jumps out, repairs it, and returns to battle.
• *Rune Knight* — a warrior who weaves runes into body and weapon; fights with fists and polearms. Different versions of the survey list it as Rune Knight, Runemaster, Runesmith, or Metalborn.
• *Witch* — dark alchemy, cauldrons, and rituals; some spells cost the witch's own health.
• *San'layn* — a blood elf turned undead, master of blood magic.

Most concepts in the survey have multiple roles listed — for example, tank and healer, or damage and support. This hints that Blizzard is thinking not just about a new class, but about new niches within familiar roles.

What it means

Forever is already announced as "Classic with new content": the new Skyborne race, reworked talent trees, new dungeons and raids, an expanded profession system. The very fact that Blizzard is asking players about classes beyond the nine means the roster is planned to expand — and that this will happen after the November 5 launch, not at launch. Blizzard runs surveys regularly, and not everything from the surveys makes it into the game: history knows cases where concepts stayed at the research stage.

In practice

• At launch, Forever will have nine classes, nothing new: warrior, paladin, hunter, rogue, priest, shaman, mage, warlock, and druid.
• If Blizzard confirms even one new class, we'll break it down separately — with archetypes, legendaries, and its place on BiS lists.
• For now, stick to the current Forever tier list and the guides for the nine available classes: no new niches until the official announcement.