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After my wife read the first article on choosing your class, she came and told me that she liked the description of the rogue and was intrigued by being able to use poisons. Then she said, “So… if I play a rogue, what else do I get to choose? Are all rogues the same or what?” I told her that there are 6 or 7 different races that allow you to play a rogue and each one has different racial abilities, for instance, the Night Elf has the highest agility, while the Troll can increase his attack speed…. At this point, I noticed her eyes had glazed over and she was staring off into space. I paused in my excited recitation of the different races… she looked at me blankly and said, “Write me an article.”

So, ok, here we go.

Choosing Your Race

Now that you’ve got an idea of what class you want to play, the next thing to do is to choose what race you want your character to be (and thereby what side you’re going to fight for). There are two main factions in WoW: The Alliance and The Horde. The Alliance is made up of Humans, Dwarves, Night Elves, Gnomes and the Draenei. The Horde consists of Orcs, Trolls, Tauren, Undead and Blood Elves. It’s important to note that the two sides cannot interact in any way* – no quests, groups, guilds, talking, trading or anything else. So if you are trying to play with certain people, say some real life friends, make sure to get on the same server and the same faction.
*Except, you know, killing each other.

If you don’t have anyone in particular that you want to play with, then it’s going to come down to which race (or faction) you like better. Each race has different abilities and bonuses that complement certain classes, but to be honest there are no racial abilities that will make or break a class. So if you want to stop reading this now and go and make your character based totally on who you think looks the coolest, then that’s perfectly fine. On the other hand, if you want to see how racial abilities can match up and complement the different classes, then read on.

Alliance

Humans

Classes Available – Warrior, Paladin, Rogue, Mage, Warlock, Priest.

Humans match up well with any melee class, due to their sword and mace skill bonus. They also have an increase to Spirit which primarily benefits Priests and healing Paladins, but will help any mana user to some extent. Humans also have the Diplomacy trait which increases all reputation point gains by 10% — this is an excellent bonus to any class, as many items and keys are dependent on your reputation with different factions at the higher levels.

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Gnomes

Classes Available – Warrior, Rogue, Mage, Warlock.

Gnomes have good racial bonuses for all four of their classes. For the melee classes, they have the excellent (and underrated) Escape Artist, allowing them to dispel any movement impairing effects cast on them in both PvE and PvP. For the casters, they have the Expansive Mind trait, which increases intellect by 5%. This is more noticeable at the lower levels, but it does scale with gear bonuses, and so continues to be a benefit at higher levels, albeit to a lesser extent.

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Dwarves

Classes Available – Warrior, Paladin, Rogue, Hunter, Priest.

Dwarf Priests are one of the more sought after Alliance characters, because of their Fear Ward ability (which is shared with the Draenei in the Burning Crusade). Dwarves also match up well with the hunter class, due to their Gun skill bonus. The Stoneform ability is useful for both warriors and rogues, but less so for paladins, as they can already Purify to remove poison and disease.

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Night Elves

Classes Available – Warrior, Rogue, Hunter, Druid, Priest.

If you want to play an Alliance Druid, then I hope you like loooong pointy ears because this is your only option. Night Elves have an increase to their dodge chance, which is good for any melee class, but is a particularly good bonus for tanks (warriors and bear-form Feral Druids). They also have the highest base agility of any Alliance race, which helps Hunters and Rogues, who get their Attack Power from their Agility stat. They do not have any traits that specifically help the Priest, but they do have Shadowmeld and Wisp Spirit, both of which, although situational, can be a complement to any class.

Special Note: Please, for the love of all that’s holy, do not roll a Night Elf hunter. I know I’m as guilty as anyone, but the insanity has to stop somewhere. Seriously.

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Draenei

Classes Available – Warrior, Paladin, Shaman, Hunter, Mage, Priest.

All Draenei have the Gift of the Naaru which will make them the only warriors, hunters and mages with any healing abilities. So they’ve got that going for them… which is nice. The Draenei also have a hit chance bonus for melee classes (and hunters) and a spell hit chance bonus for casters (including the shaman). The bonus is also shared with the Draenei’s party members. As noted previously, the Draenei Priests get Fear Ward. And, lastly, if you want to play an Alliance Shaman, then I hope you like the funky-Smurf-on-HGH look, because this is your only option.

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Horde

Orcs

Classes Available – Warrior, Rogue, Hunter, Shaman, Warlock.

The orc’s resistance to stuns can be useful to any class, although the melee classes will probably see more use from it. Orc Hunters and Warlocks receive a 5% increase to pet melee damage, which is great for any talent spec, but can be quite significant when coupled with the Beast Mastery or Demonology trees. Orcs also have the Blood Fury ability which will primarily help the DPS classes.

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Tauren

Classes Available – Warrior, Hunter, Shaman, Druid.

Tauren have a 5% increase to their max HP, which will help every class, but warriors and Feral Druids in particular. The Tauren also have the Warstomp ability, which can also help every class, but Shaman and Hunters especially, as those two classes have no other stun methods available. If you want to play a Horde Druid, then I hope you have a deep seated love for cows, because this is your only option.

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Trolls

Classes Available – Warrior, Rogue, Hunter, Shaman, Mage, Priest

The Troll’s Berserking ability can complement every class, but since the amount of your health left determines the casting/attack speed increase, the melee classes will probably get more benefit from it as they are usually in the thick of the battle. Likewise, the trolls’ increased regeneration will help every class, but primarily the melee classes. Trolls also match well with the Hunter class due to their increase in the Bow skill.

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Undead

Classes Available – Warrior, Rogue, Mage, Warlock, Priest.

The Undead have two primary racial abilities – the powerful Will of the Forsaken, giving them immunity to fear, sleep and charm effects, and Cannibalize, allowing them to consume dead bodies around them to recharge their health (Ed. Note – Ewww.). Neither of these abilities is geared toward any specific class, but can be a help to all of them. The exception is Priests, who already have healing abilities, and so will not need to use Cannibalize much at all. The Undead also have their underwater breath increased by 300%, which can be used by all classes, but will be wasted on the Warlock, as they have the Unending Breath spell.

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Blood Elves

Classes Available – Paladin, Rogue, Hunter, Mage, Warlock, Priest.

The Blood Elf racial abilities center on their addiction to magic and, appropriately, allow them to drain mana from their foes and silence them. These are both good abilities (potentially excellent in PvP), although I’ve found the process for using them together to be a little difficult to master. They are not geared towards any particular class but can be a benefit to all. If you want to play a Horde paladin, then I hope you like magic-addicted, somewhat effeminate elves, because this is your only option.

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There we go… that’s everything you need to know to roll your character. Part Three of the NGtW can be found here.

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