On October 8, in the third episode of the official WoW Forever podcast, senior game designer Josh "Aggrend" Greenfield said the team is reviewing racial abilities. He described Orc and Troll active racials as potentially too strong, while racial weapon bonuses may be reworked or replaced. If you are choosing a race for its numbers, it is worth waiting before deciding.
What was said on the podcast
The episode focused on dungeons, but the discussion opened with racials. Greenfield said Orc and Troll active abilities may currently be a little stronger than they should be. He did not specify which ones.
Icy Veins assumes he means the Orc's Blood Fury and the Troll's Berserking: these are the only two abilities that directly affect damage and healing. On the beta, Blood Fury grants 10% attack power and spell power for 15 seconds, while Berserking grants 10% attack and casting speed for 10 seconds.
The same site suggests that the second active racials for Orcs and Trolls could also be nerfed: Shatter Curse for Orcs and Rapid Regeneration for Trolls. That is the writers' speculation, not a statement from the developers.
Weapon racials may be replaced
The second point concerns passive weapon bonuses. In WoW Forever, these already work differently from Classic: they grant critical strike chance instead of weapon skill. For example, the Orc's Axe Specialization adds 1% critical strike chance to abilities and spells while wielding an axe.
Greenfield said the team is considering replacing these bonuses with something else. Warcraft Tavern reports that they could be changed again or removed entirely. What might replace them is still unknown.
When to expect changes
According to Icy Veins' account, Greenfield said changes would probably not make the beta build released during the week of the podcast, but would start appearing the following week. Wowhead also expects changes in the week after the podcast, meaning mid-October. Warcraft Tavern is more cautious, referring to future beta updates without a date. The developers did not give any new numbers.
All of this concerns the beta: we will get a clearer picture of launch racials closer to November 4. The podcast also mentioned updated Skyborne models, though they will not arrive in the game until early next year. Check the news section for the latest changes.
October 15 update: no racial changes have arrived on the beta yet. Since October 8, there have only been client builds without in-game changes, and no new developer notes. Builds with notes previously arrived on Thursday evenings, so the next one could appear as soon as October 15.