WoW Beginner Guide - Race Selection

Let's face it, selecting a the right race is probably going to be your first big decision in World of Warcraft, and since there are 8 different races that you can select from plus an additional 4 if you own Cataclysm, it is not going to be easy. At first you might feel a bit swamped with all these decision making, with there being 8 races and all. But it's really not that bad, because even if you choose the wrong race all hope is not lost.

You see, a lot of new WoW players doesn't always know which race they want to play, and make mistakes and Blizzard is well aware of that. So, what they done is to allow players to be able to change their race even if they have already reached level 85. However this isn’t free; it is a service that you need to pay for. Note: the race you want to change to must be in the same faction; otherwise you'll have to pay for faction plus racial change.

Which means, if you don't have to change your race don't because it's not cheap. Just take some time and read this brief WoW guide and pick the right race right now!

Choosing the Right Race for You

In the old school World of Warcraft days back when it was just release, there was only 8 races that can be choose. But over the period of the last 6 years Blizzard has release 3 different expansion packs and 2 of them had added an extra 4 races to the game. This means that there are a total of 12 races in WoW right now, however 4 of them that comes with the new expansion can only be played if you actually own the expansions.

Ok then, let’s us discuss how and what to look for when choosing the right race for you. In general, there are 3 aspects that you should look at when you choose your race. First and the most important is whether the race supports the class you want to play.

The second condition when choosing your race is to compare each races starting attribute and racial abilities. Lastly, you you'll probably want to choose a race that is on the same faction as your friends because if you choose the opposite faction as your friend then you won't be able to play with them in game. Anyway, here is a breakdown of all the races by faction.

Alliance Races

Human - Humans are able to play DK (Death Knight), Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Priest, Rogue, Warlock, and Warriors. Their overall base attribute/stats are very even which makes them ideal for all their playable classes. So, for human I say any class would be good, but my personal favorite is Paladin or Warrior.

Dwarf - Dwarfs are able to pretty much play all of the classes with the exception of Druid which makes them one of the only 2 races in the game the is able to play 9 out of 10 classes. Generally speaking as a Dwarf your best choices of classes would be Warrior, Priest, or Paladin, but I have met many good Dwarf Rogues during PvP due to their high Stamina and Stoneform.

Night Elf - The playable races for Night Elfs are Priest, Rogue, Warrior, Mage, Druid, Hunter, and DK. Night Elfs have relatively low strength but very high Agility, so in my opinion their most idea classes would be Druid, Hunter, and Rogue.

Gnome - Gnome are tiny and funny looking in my opinion. Gnomes have pretty high Intellect and Agility as starting attributes but pretty low Strength. They are able to play as Mage, Warrior, Warlock Death Knight, Rogue, Priests, and Warrior. Personally I would recommend that you stay away from play Gnome Warrior or Death Knight, and stick to Rogue, Warlock, Mage, and Priests.

Draenei (Requires “The Burning Crusade”) - Draenei the blue alien looking race. They are able to play as Warrior, Mage, Hunter, Shaman, Priests Paladin, and Death Knight. Overall Draenei has pretty average base attributes like the humans, but they do have slightly higher Spirit. My personal recommendation for Draenei would be Death Knight, Paladin, Priest, and Shaman.

Worgen (Requires “Cataclysm”) - Worgens are the new comers of the Alliance faction. They are pretty much the human race who has be bitten by Werewolves (I don't know the exact lore). Anyway, Worgen are able to play Priest, Rogue, Warrior, Mage, Druid, Hunter, Warlock, and DK. They have high Strength and Agility which makes them ideal race for classes such as Rogue, Hunter, Warrior, Druid, and Death Knight.

Horde Races

Orc - Overall Orcs has high Strength, Stamina, and Spirits as their base attributes. Orcs are able to play as Rogue, Warrior, Mage, Hunter, Warlock, DK, and Shaman. Personally I think Orcs makes some of the best Warrior in the game, but they also make very good Shamans and Death Knights.

Forsaken (Undead) - The playable classes for Forsaken are Priests, Rogue, Warrior, Mage, Hunter, Warlock, and DK. Forsaken have relatively average base stats with very high spirit. Personally I would play any race as Forsaken but if you must choose I would go with Warlock, Rogue, and Mages.

Tauren - If you're planning play as Taurens then you're able to play as Warrior, Druid, Hunter, Shaman, Paladin, and DK. Overall Taurens have decent Stamina and Spirit, but they have very high Strength. Most Tauren classes I have seen are Druid, but they would also make good Shaman, Warrior, Paladin, Priests, and DK as well.

Troll - The playable classes for Trolls are Priests, Rogue, Warrior, Mage, Druid, Hunter, Warlock, Shaman, and DK. They have pretty average base attributes with slightly lower intellect, but it’s not a big deal. Overall I would play any playable class for Troll with the exception of Mages and Warlock.

Blood Elf (Requires “The Burning Crusade) - Like the Draenei, Blood Elfs are newly added Horde race during the Burning Crusade expansion. They are able to play as Priests, Rogue, Warrior, Mage, Hunter, Warlock, Paladin, and DK, and have pretty high starting Intellect and Agility. Personally I would recommend that you play as Blood Elf Mages, Rogues, Warlocks, and maybe Hunters.

Goblin (Requires “Cataclysm”) - Like the Worgens Goblins are a new race in WoW due to the release of the Cataclysm expansion pack. Goblins have high intellect and Agility, and are able to play as Priests, Rogue, Warrior, Mage, Hunter, Warlock, Shaman, and DK. If you're going to play as Goblin you can pretty much play most of their playable races with the exception of DK and Warrior.

That’s all the 12 playable races in World of Warcraft. I would like to point out that although I have mention base attribute as a primary factor for choosing your race, but really it's not. Racial traits are in fact more significant but I really don’t have the time to cover every little thing in this Comprehensive WoW race guide at my other World of Warcraft Guide Site.