Start your Forever roster with the roles your players want to cover, then check buffs, kicks and group placement. Both factions can bring Paladins and Shamans, several old buff talents are baseline, and some useful effects still stop at your five-player subgroup.
This is roster preparation from announced rules and the current Forever talent tooltips, not a tested best raid comp. Beta tuning and encounter requirements can change it.
Plan for the right raid size
The December 9 roadmap lists Barrow Deeps (10 players), Hyjal Summit (20) and Onyxia's Lair (40). Pick the size your regular group can field; Blizzard has not given a required tank/healer split for these raids.
Ask each player for a main role and an off-role they're willing to gear. Keep that separate from attendance: an off-spec helps you change the lineup, but it doesn't replace a missing player. Leave your final role split open until the encounters are known. The raid overview tracks the announced schedule.
Both factions can use Paladins and Shamans
Undead Paladins bring Paladin support to Horde. Dwarf Shamans bring Shaman support to Alliance. You no longer have to pick a faction to choose between those classes.
That gives your guild more combinations to try, but it doesn't mean Horde and Alliance can raid together. Everyone still needs the same faction and ruleset. Settle that before people start characters; the server and ruleset guide covers the grouping restrictions.
Don't recruit an old buff spec by habit
Blizzard names Blessing of Kings, Divine Spirit and Improved Mark of the Wild among the former talent effects that are now baseline. Those buffs no longer justify spending the old talent points by themselves.
A Holy or Ret Paladin can bring Kings without taking the old Protection talent. A Priest doesn't need the old Divine Spirit talent to bring that buff. Pick their spec for the job you need them to do, then check the rest of its utility in the class guides.
Place party effects where they help
These examples come from the current Forever talent descriptions. They are not a complete buff list.
| Effect | Who it helps | Group-placement advice |
|---|---|---|
| Moonkin aura / Leader of the Pack | Party members in range; the two crit effects are exclusive | Don't put both Druids together just to add the two crit buffs. If you bring both, consider spreading their coverage. |
| Trueshot Aura | Ranged AP for party members in range | Put ranged AP users with the Hunter. Don't count it as a melee AP buff. |
| Vampiric Embrace | The Shadow Priest's party, through their Shadow damage | Put the Priest with a group that can use the healing. It doesn't replace an assigned healer when damage spikes. |
| Mana Tide Totem | Group members in range | Keep the players who need the mana in that group and within reach for the cooldown. |
| Light's Vigil on an ally | The marked ally's party when the Paladin triggers it with Holy Shock | Mark someone in the group that needs the heal. The whole raid doesn't get it from one mark. |
The Druid crit auras are especially easy to misread coming from Classic: the Forever tooltips describe general crit and explicitly say they are exclusive with each other. Stacking a Feral and a Balance Druid in one group does not stack those two effects.
Read more in the Balance, Feral Cat, Marksmanship, Shadow, Resto Shaman and Holy Paladin guides.
Cover the gaps in the actual group
With Seal of Fury active, a Paladin's Judgement becomes a taunt. Paladins still lack an interrupt. If your tank is a Paladin, assign dangerous casts to someone who can kick rather than assuming the tank covers them.
The same goes for control. Blizzard still expects Polymorph, Banish, roots and similar tools to matter in dungeons. Choose who handles a marked mob before pulling, and keep that target out of the group's AoE. Which control works depends on the enemy; having a class on the roster is not enough if its control can't affect that target.
For raid preparation, write down the jobs you need covered—kicks, dispels, tank swaps and recovery cooldowns—alongside the players who can actually do them. Check their chosen builds before counting a talent-based tool.
Camping fills some buff gaps
Campsite stat buffs do not stack with their matching class buffs. Use them to cover a missing effect, not as a second copy of a buff your group already has.
That can help a leveling party without every buffing class. It doesn't replace the class's kicks, control or other support. Coordinate who brings which camp objects through the Camping guide before spending everyone's contribution cooldown.
Before your group starts leveling
- Agree on faction and ruleset.
- Record main roles, possible off-roles and regular availability.
- Check party-only effects when arranging groups.
- Assign kicks and control around the people actually attending.
- Share profession choices and compare useful camp contributions.
- Keep fixed raid role counts and class-stacking plans open until there are encounters to test them against.