Alliance · RACE GUIDE
Gnome
Gnomes bring an escape from movement impairments, a larger class resource pool and more reliable engineering devices. Eureka adds a brief cost-and-output window with class-specific details. Forever also opens the Priest class, making its healing and shield interactions worth checking separately.
THE RACE BEHIND THE TOOLKIT
Meet Gnome
Gnomeregan's engineers lost their underground home to a trogg invasion. Living among the Dwarves, the Gnomes continue to support their Alliance allies.
Their ingenuity appears in both practical and combat abilities. Engineering Specialization reduces failures and backfires, while Expansive Mind enlarges the resource their class uses. Escape Artist and Eureka require active timing: one answers movement impairments, the other creates a short ability window.
What this means while you play
- Escape Artist removes movement-impairing effects and grants three seconds of immunity to them. Its description does not make it a general Stun or Fear removal.
- Expansive Mind raises maximum Mana, Rage or Energy, whichever your class uses. Engineering Specialization reduces device failures and backfires; it is not described here as extra Engineering skill.
- Eureka is an eight-second buff, and the October 15 notes explicitly add Power Word: Shield support. Periodic effects do not benefit, as confirmed by the October 1 notes; channeled spells do not count as periodic effects for this rule.
Practical interpretation of the listed abilities; this is not a damage ranking.
THE ABILITIES YOU BRING WITH YOU
Racial abilities
Inspect an icon for its full text. Open History to inspect earlier official changes.
Instant, 2 min cooldown. Instantly escape the effects of any movement impairing effect and gain immunity to those effects for 3 sec.
Maximum Mana, Rage or Energy increased by 5%, whichever your class uses.
Your gnomish ingenuity reduces the rate of engineering devices failing or backfiring when you use them by 20%.
Instant, 2 min cooldown. For 8 sec, your non-periodic damaging abilities cost 10% less (Mana, Rage or Energy) and deal 10% more damage. For Priests, your non-periodic damaging or healing abilities cost 10% less Mana and do 10% more damage or healing. Periodic effects get nothing from it; a channeled spell is not periodic. Also benefits Power Word: Shield.
History
Official update · 2026-10-15 Eureka!: Now an 8 second buff with no charges. Same effect on damage and ability costs. Now also benefits Power Word: Shield. Source ↗
Official update · 2026-10-01 Eureka! no longer benefits periodic effects at all. Channeled spells do not count as periodics. Source ↗
Earlier export text
Instant, 2 min cooldown. For 8 sec, your non-periodic damaging abilities cost 10% less (Mana, Rage or Energy) and deal 10% more damage. For Priests, your non-periodic damaging or healing abilities cost 10% less Mana and do 10% more damage or healing. Periodic effects get nothing from it; a channeled spell is not periodic. The Mage's own tooltip is the one that leaves out non-periodic.
Historical snapshot; the official update above takes precedence.
BUILD YOUR CHARACTER
Choose a class
The class combinations recorded for Gnome in the Forever export.
Need help choosing a playstyle? Find your class →
CLASSIC → FOREVER
What changed?
Escape Artist
Classic reference- Classic reference
- 1 min cooldown
- Forever
- 2 min cooldown
Classic reference Escape the effects of any immobilization or movement speed reduction effect.
Forever Instant, 2 min cooldown. Instantly escape the effects of any movement impairing effect and gain immunity to those effects for 3 sec.
Expansive Mind
Classic reference- Classic reference
- Passive
- Forever
- Passive
Classic reference Intelligence increased by 5%.
Forever Maximum Mana, Rage or Energy increased by 5%, whichever your class uses.
Engineering Specialization
Classic reference- Classic reference
- Passive
- Forever
- Passive
Classic reference Engineering skill increased by 15.
Forever Your gnomish ingenuity reduces the rate of engineering devices failing or backfiring when you use them by 20%.
Eureka!
unknown- Classic reference
- Timing not recorded
- Forever
- 2 min cooldown
No Classic starting racial record in this reference.
Forever Instant, 2 min cooldown. For 8 sec, your non-periodic damaging abilities cost 10% less (Mana, Rage or Energy) and deal 10% more damage. For Priests, your non-periodic damaging or healing abilities cost 10% less Mana and do 10% more damage or healing. Periodic effects get nothing from it; a channeled spell is not periodic. Also benefits Power Word: Shield.
PRIEST ONLY
A second racial spellbook
These spells belong to Priests of this race. Other classes do not receive them.
Spell text from the beta client. Which race gets which spell was first seen in the demo.
Confounding Flash
3% of base mana, 0.5 sec cast, 2 min cooldown. Confuses up to 5 enemies within 8 yds for 3 sec. Any damage taken will break the effect.
Recorded ranks & learning levels
- Class ability · level 103% of base mana · 0.5 sec cast · 2 min cooldown
Confuses up to 5 enemies within 8 yds for 3 sec. Any damage taken will break the effect.
Reviewed class reference 2026-10-30; server hotfixes through 2026-10-30. Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0.
Contingency Plan
30 yd range, Instant, 10 min cooldown. Place a Holy ward on an ally for 30 sec. The next time this ally takes damage dropping their Health below 35%, they will gain a shield absorbing 926 damage and begin healing for 670 Health over 15 sec. A target may be affected by only one Contingency Plan.
Recorded ranks & learning levels
- Rank 1 · level 2030 yd range · Instant · 10 min cooldown
Place a Holy ward on an ally for 30 sec. The next time this ally takes damage dropping their Health below 35%, they will gain a shield absorbing 155 damage and begin healing for 125 Health over 15 sec. A target may be affected by only one Contingency Plan.
Reviewed class reference 2026-10-30; server hotfixes through 2026-10-30. Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0. - Rank 2 · level 3030 yd range · Instant · 10 min cooldown
Place a Holy ward on an ally for 30 sec. The next time this ally takes damage that drops their Health below 35%, they will gain a shield absorbing 290 damage and begin healing for 200 Health over 15 sec. A target may be affected by only one Contingency Plan.
Reviewed class reference 2026-10-30; server hotfixes through 2026-10-30. Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0. - Rank 3 · level 4030 yd range · Instant · 10 min cooldown
Place a Holy ward on an ally for 30 sec. The next time this ally takes damage that drops their Health below 35%, they will gain a shield absorbing 467 damage and begin healing for 280 Health over 15 sec. A target may be affected by only one Contingency Plan.
Reviewed class reference 2026-10-30; server hotfixes through 2026-10-30. Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0. - Rank 4 · level 5030 yd range · Instant · 10 min cooldown
Place a Holy ward on an ally for 30 sec. The next time this ally takes damage that drops their Health below 35%, they will gain a shield absorbing 596 damage and begin healing for 510 Health over 15 sec. A target may be affected by only one Contingency Plan.
Reviewed class reference 2026-10-30; server hotfixes through 2026-10-30. Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0. - Rank 5 · level 6030 yd range · Instant · 10 min cooldown
Place a Holy ward on an ally for 30 sec. The next time this ally takes damage dropping their Health below 35%, they will gain a shield absorbing 926 damage and begin healing for 670 Health over 15 sec. A target may be affected by only one Contingency Plan.
Reviewed class reference 2026-10-30; server hotfixes through 2026-10-30. Talents Forever, CC BY 4.0.