Blizzard has not confirmed Warlock tanks or Mage healers for WoW: Forever. The only new roles announced at BlizzCon 2026 are for Paladins: a tanking seal, stronger group healing and a full Retribution kit. Warlock tanking and Mage healing were Season of Discovery rune experiments; whether anything like them reaches Forever is unknown until Blizzard says so.
Roles in WoW: Forever — confirmed vs unknown
| Topic | Status (as of September 13, 2026) |
| Warlock tank | Not announced. No tanking spec, seal or rune for Warlocks was shown. |
| Mage healer | Not announced. Mage remains a caster DPS in everything Blizzard has published. |
| Paladin tank | Confirmed: a dedicated tanking seal, plus more group healing and a full Retribution suite. |
| Class roster | The nine Classic classes: Warrior, Paladin, Hunter, Rogue, Priest, Shaman, Mage, Warlock, Druid. No new class. |
| Class revamp | Every class and specialization is being reworked; talents move away from +1–2% filler nodes; talent points from level 9 via the Legacy perk, still 51 max. |
| Season of Discovery runes | Nothing about runes or a rune system in Forever has been published. Treat it as unknown. |
| New race/class combos | Forsaken Paladin, Dwarf Shaman, Skyborne (Warrior, Hunter, Rogue, Druid; Horde Skyborne Shaman, Alliance Skyborne Mage). |
| Next official info | Blizzard's live WoW Q&A on September 17, 2026 at 18:00 BST (10:00 PDT) on the Warcraft Twitch and YouTube channels. |
Did Season of Discovery actually have Warlock tanks and Mage healers?
Yes. That is where the search comes from. Season of Discovery bolted a rune system onto Classic Era and used it to open roles the 2004 game never had: Warlocks tanked through a Metamorphosis rune, Mages healed with Arcane-based runes such as Regeneration and Mass Regeneration, Shamans picked up a tanking rune in Way of Earth, and Rogues got Just a Flesh Wound. Those roles were real, raid-viable and popular.
None of that is a statement about Forever. SoD was a limited season on separate realms; Forever is a permanent third game version built by the Classic team. They share a developer lineage and an audience, not a confirmed feature list.
Will SoD runes carry over to WoW: Forever?
Unknown, and worth being blunt about. Blizzard has said all classes and specs are revamped and talent trees are being cleaned of tiny percentage fillers, but it has not shown a rune system, engraving, or any borrowed-power layer for Forever. It also has not said what happens to Season of Discovery realms once Forever launches on November 4, 2026.
The panel line that matters here: "nothing is off the table, not even new classes." That leaves the door open for hybrid roles later, through patches rather than expansions, since Forever stays at level 60 for good. It is not a promise that Warlock tanks or Mage healers arrive at launch or at all.
Which new roles are confirmed for Forever?
Paladin is the one class with a clearly announced role expansion: a seal built for tanking, better group healing, and a complete Retribution toolkit rather than the half-finished 2004 version. Add the two new race combos, Forsaken Paladin and Dwarf Shaman, and both factions now field every hybrid the original game gated by race.
For everyone else, expect reworked specs of the roles you already know. Druids keep their bear/cat/tree/boomkin flexibility (Skyborne Druids get sky-blue forms), Shamans and Priests heal, Warriors tank, Warlocks and Mages deal damage. If that changes, it will come from Blizzard, not from a leak.
Where should I watch for a real answer?
The September 17, 2026 live Q&A is the first place Blizzard will take player questions on Forever's classes. Beta runs September 17 to October 21 with a level 30 cap, so datamined talent trees and any rune-like system will surface fast if they exist. Name reservation opens October 27 (up to three characters with an upgrade pack), and launch is November 4 at 3 p.m. Pacific, included with a normal subscription.
If you would rather spend launch week playing than theorycrafting, PewPewShop offers Forever pre-orders handled by vetted human players: leveling 1–60 from EUR 25 (Forsaken Paladin and Dwarf Shaman included), dungeon leveling from EUR 40, and coaching on the revamped specs once the trees are live. No bots, no cheats, and a long zero-ban record.