The Forge Race Tier List (2026)

Burned through 300+ race rerolls to figure out which races actually matter in this The Forge race tier list. Most tier lists online just copy stats without real testing. I’ve taken every race through World 2 and the new Frostspire Expanse content to see how they perform when it counts.

Race choice in The Forge isn’t just about raw stats. It’s about how those bonuses translate to actual survival in the Volcanic Depths, whether you can afford that next pickaxe upgrade, and if you can actually farm the ores you need without dying constantly.

The Winter Expansion added three new races: Vampire (Epic), Felynx (Legendary), and Archangel (Relic at 0.1% drop rate). Archangel is now the rarest and arguably best race in the game. The community went crazy when someone posted their Archangel roll on Discord.

Need free rerolls? Check out The Forge codes for 20 free rerolls from working codes.

Quick Rankings

S+-Tier (Best in Game): Archangel

S-Tier (Must Have): Angel, Demon

A-Tier (Excellent): Dragonborn, Minotaur, Felynx

B-Tier (Solid): Golem, Shadow, Orc, Undead, Vampire

C-Tier (Niche): Dwarf, Goblin, Elf

D-Tier (Reroll): Zombie, Human

S+-Tier Race

Archangel (Relic, 0.1% Drop Rate)

The Winter Expansion introduced Archangel as the new rarest race. At 0.1% drop rate, most players will never see it. But if you do? You’ve won the game.

Archangel combines the best of Angel with even stronger bonuses. The luck boost is higher, the mobility is better, and you get additional defensive passives. I’ve seen maybe 3 Archangels in 200+ hours of play.

Best for: Lottery winners. If you roll this, never reroll again.

S-Tier Races

Angel (Mythical, 0.5% Drop Rate)

+50% Dash Distance, +20% Movement Speed, +25% Jump Boost, +30% Luck, Infinite Stamina below 20% HP

Angel is broken. Not in a bad way, but in a “this race trivializes most content” way. The 30% luck boost alone makes ore farming feel like cheating. I was pulling rare ores from basic rocks that normally give you nothing.

But here’s what really makes Angel special: that infinite stamina when you’re low on health. Can’t count how many times this saved me during boss fights. You’re at 15% health, getting chased by three Bombers, and suddenly you can dash forever. It’s like having a panic button that actually works.

The mobility is insane too. +50% dash distance means you can cross entire cave sections in two dashes. Combined with the movement speed, you’re basically untouchable if you play smart.

Best for: Everything. Seriously, if you roll Angel, stop rerolling.

Demon (Mythical, 0.5% Drop Rate)

+20% Physical Damage, +20% Fire Damage, +20% Attack Speed, Cursed Aura (10% weapon damage AoE), Teleport dash with hellfire

Demon is the pure damage option. Where Angel excels at survival and farming, Demon just melts everything. That +20% to both physical and fire damage stacks multiplicatively with weapon enchants, so you’re looking at massive damage numbers.

The Cursed Aura is sneaky good. Doesn’t sound like much, but when you’re fighting groups of enemies, that passive AoE adds up fast. I’ve had kills where the aura finished off enemies I wasn’t even targeting.

Devil’s Finger (the teleport dash) took me a while to get used to, but once you master it, it’s incredible for both offense and defense. You can teleport behind enemies, drop the hellfire circle, then teleport away before they can react.

Best for: Players who want maximum damage output and don’t mind a higher skill ceiling.

A-Tier Races

Dragonborn (Legendary, 1.5% Drop Rate)

+20% Max Health, +12% Physical Damage, 40% burn chance (30% weapon damage over 3 seconds)

This is the race I recommend most people aim for. At 1.5% drop rate, it’s actually obtainable without spending your entire weekend rerolling, and the stats are genuinely good.

The burn effect is what makes Dragonborn special. It’s not just the damage, it’s the psychological effect on other players in PvP. Nobody wants to fight someone whose attacks set them on fire. In PvE, the burn helps finish off enemies that try to run away.

What I appreciate about Dragonborn is how balanced it feels. You get decent health, solid damage, and a useful passive without any major downsides. It’s not flashy like the Mythical races, but it gets the job done.

Best for: Players who want a strong, well-rounded race without gambling for Mythicals.

Minotaur (Legendary, 1.75% Drop Rate)

+20% Health, +20% Size, Bull’s Fury (+30% Movement Speed and Physical Damage when below 50% HP)

Minotaur is the comeback king. I’ve won so many fights that looked hopeless because Bull’s Fury kicked in at the perfect moment. The problem is, you have to get low on health for it to activate, which means you’re always playing with fire.

The size increase is both good and bad. Good because your weapon reach is better. Bad because you’re a bigger target. In tight cave spaces, being larger can actually work against you.

Best for: Aggressive players who don’t mind high-risk, high-reward gameplay.

Felynx (Legendary, 1.5% Drop Rate)

New Winter Expansion race. Felynx is a cat-like race with agility bonuses. Faster movement, better dodge chance, and bonus damage on quick attacks.

The playstyle is hit-and-run. Dash in, deal damage, dash out. Works great with daggers and katanas. Not as tanky as Dragonborn but more mobile.

Best for: Players who like fast, agile combat styles.

B-Tier Races

Golem (Legendary, 1.25% Drop Rate)

+30% Health, +30% Size, Heavy Hitter (+15% Attack Speed for Heavy Weapons), 50% chance to reduce damage by 25%

Golem is the tank race, but tanking in The Forge isn’t as valuable as you’d think. Most dangerous attacks either one-shot you regardless of health or can be avoided entirely with good positioning.

The Heavy Hitter passive is nice if you’re using colossal swords or hammers, but it locks you into specific weapon types. The movement speed penalty hurts more than you’d expect, especially in World 2 where positioning matters.

Best for: Players who want to face-tank everything and don’t mind being slow.

Shadow (Epic, 6% Drop Rate)

+15% Movement Speed, +10% Attack Speed, +5% Physical Damage, 15% dodge chance, -10% Health

Shadow is glass cannon done right. The dodge chance is unreliable, but when it procs, it feels great. The movement speed helps with positioning, and the attack speed is noticeable with faster weapons.

The health penalty is rough though. You’re constantly one mistake away from death, which makes Shadow stressful to play in harder content.

Best for: Skilled players who can avoid damage through positioning.

Orc (Rare, 8% Drop Rate)

+10% Physical Damage, +15% Health, +10% Size, -10% Stamina and Movement Speed

Orc is… fine. It’s a decent early game race that you’ll outgrow quickly. The damage and health bonuses are nice, but the movement penalties feel bad, especially coming from a faster race.

Best for: Early game players who need something better than Human.

Undead (Rare, 9% Drop Rate)

-12% Health, Reflect 10% damage, Second Chance (restore 50% HP when below 10%, 5-minute cooldown)

Undead is weird. The health penalty hurts, but Second Chance has saved me more times than I can count. The problem is the 5-minute cooldown. You get one panic button per boss fight, and that’s it.

The damage reflection is barely noticeable. Don’t pick Undead for that.

Best for: Players who like having an emergency button, despite the drawbacks.

Vampire (Epic, 5% Drop Rate)

New Winter Expansion race. Vampire has lifesteal on attacks and bonus damage at night. The lifesteal is actually useful for sustain during long mining sessions.

Downside: reduced effectiveness during day cycles. Not a huge deal since you’re in caves most of the time anyway.

Best for: Players who want built-in sustain without relying on weapon traits.

C-Tier Races

Dwarf (Epic, 7% Drop Rate)

+15% Mining Damage, +5% Better Forging, 20% chance for +50% rock damage, -20% Height, -5% Movement Speed

Here’s the thing about Dwarf. It’s the best mining race in the game, but mining isn’t combat. If you’re serious about ore farming, Dwarf is incredible. For everything else, it’s terrible.

I keep Dwarf in my second race slot and switch to it when I’m doing dedicated mining sessions. Then I swap back to my combat race for actual gameplay.

Best for: Dedicated miners who use multiple race slots strategically.

Goblin (Rare, 10.5% Drop Rate)

+15% Movement Speed, +10% Dagger Attack Speed, 12% Shop Discount, -15% Health and Size

The shop discount is genuinely useful for expensive pickaxe upgrades, but the health penalty makes Goblin too fragile for serious content. Like Dwarf, this is a utility race you swap to when needed.

Best for: Buying expensive equipment, then swapping back to a real combat race.

Elf (Uncommon, 15% Drop Rate)

+7% Luck, +15% Stamina, +5% Height

Elf bonuses are so small they’re barely noticeable. The luck boost is nice in theory, but 7% isn’t enough to make a real difference in ore drops.

Best for: Rerolling immediately.

D-Tier Races

Zombie (Uncommon, 14% Drop Rate)

-25% Max Health, +2% health regen every 5 seconds, 15% chance to convert damage to health

That -25% health penalty is crippling. The regen and damage conversion can’t make up for being constantly one-shot by everything. Plus, Zombie locks you out of certain content areas.

Best for: Nothing. Reroll immediately.

Human (Common, 25% Drop Rate)

+3% Luck, +3% Experience

Human is the starting race and it shows. The bonuses are pathetic compared to any other race in the game.

Best for: Rerolling as soon as you get your first race reroll.

Reroll Strategy

Getting good races takes patience.

For Mythical Races (Angel/Demon): Expect 200+ rerolls minimum. I got my Angel on roll 247, and that was lucky according to the math.

For Legendary Races: 50-100 rerolls is typical. Dragonborn is your best bet at 1.5% drop rate.

For Epic Races: 15-30 rerolls should get you Shadow or Dwarf if you want them.

Don’t waste Robux on rerolls. Use The Forge codes for free rerolls, complete Captain Rowan’s questline in World 2, and claim level rewards. I got most of my rerolls without spending a single Robux.

Best Race Combinations

Once you unlock additional race slots:

Slot 1 (Combat): Angel, Demon, or Dragonborn

Slot 2 (Utility): Dwarf for mining or Goblin for shopping

Slot 3 (Backup): Whatever Legendary you can get

The key is having a dedicated combat race and swapping to utility races only when needed. Don’t try to find one race that does everything. Specialization works better.

Quick Recommendations

If you’re new: Aim for Dragonborn (1.5% drop rate), balanced and obtainable

If you’re patient: Go for Angel (0.5% drop rate), best overall race

If you want damage: Demon (0.5% drop rate), pure DPS monster

If you’re casual: Any A-tier or B-tier race works fine

Always reroll: Human and Zombie, they’re genuinely bad

The Forge Race Tier List (2026)

Quick Rankings