There are dozens of threads on this forum that discuss the pros and cons of each race depending on their class and end game goals.

However, one thing that isn't clear is the percentage of players who are opting for a particular race in order to min/max vs those that are simply going with a race that is visually appealing to them. I'm hoping this poll will give us some insight into this divide.

Ally Druid only comes in NE. Race choice was EASY

I know Humans are BiS for Warriors, but I'm going Night Elf to match my wife who'll be a NE Priest. She could give 2 craps about BiS race, lol, and I'm just happy she plays. My brother is also going NE as a hunter, so we have a pretty awesome team.

Definitely in for the models and race, couldn't give a fig about racial/class optimisation. xD

I just always thought Undead versions of the characters I wanted were coolest.

Warlock: Undead obv. Decayed decrepit looking being, totally fits the aesthetic. Also the lock from the cinematic that made me want to be a warlock was undead

Rogue: What's cooler than a fucking Zombie using stealth tactics to assassinate people?

Priest: Undead. Priest. The dichotomy explains itself.

My first toon, back in late 2006, was an undead rogue. You know, a kid's hype to become second Grim.
I hated Alliance, couldn't stand anything about them.

One week-end, we got extra drunk discussing WoW and I was dared to try a Night Elf female. I sobered up next day, played it a bit and never looked back. :)

I'd say tauren for both the war stomp & the slightly larger range male tauren get due to their extra size.

^ yeah it really makes things easy when you decide to roll Druid.

I originally picked gnome warrior to one-up a buddy of mine back in high school. My first character ever was a Tauren warrior because it was the biggest so logic dictated that it had to be the best. And as a big dude playing offensive line on a footbaIl team, I just had to be the biggest character with a big axe. I only got it to like level 5 or 10 or something before all my buddies all decided to roll Alliance instead of Horde. My friend decided to be a smartass and make a damn gnome warrior with a pink handlebar mustache and spiky pink hair. I had to beat him and make something even more rediculous, and the only thing that could beat that pink handlebar mustache was a 2'10" warrior with pink ponytails. I created it as a joke but it's got 1,700 hours /played now so it kind of stuck.

So my primary motivation to pick gnome was to spite a friend and one-up his attempt to have the most ridiculous character possible. I guess this falls under the category of 'Models & Animations'.

I know humans are stronger warriors, and I wish they weren't. But I've got momentum going on now, I can't switch over to human at this point. I'm too attached to this character to change it after 15 years

I'm just going with what I like, even if it isn't the ideal choice in terms of min maxing.

Falcon wrote: ↑

5 years ago

I know Humans are BiS for Warriors, but I'm going Night Elf to match my wife who'll be a NE Priest. She could give 2 craps about BiS race, lol, and I'm just happy she plays. My brother is also going NE as a hunter, so we have a pretty awesome team.

There's some opportunity to camp out in the wild with all 3 of you shadowmelded and just wait for some horde to run by to gank. Having the ability for an entire group to stealth can make for some fun times.

pan0phobik wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Warlock: Undead obv. Decayed decrepit...

I kinda picture an undead warlock as the Grim Reaper!

PvE Oriented abilities, for Human it also translates to PvP thanks to the weapon skill and Perception, however lackluster it may be.

Definitely looks.

And I have, in my mind, one race assigned to a specific class in my mind. I will only ever play a troll mage. Nothing else.

At the same time, I'll only ever play a human female warlock. Etc. etc.

Needs an option for "Starting zone"

Black Monarch wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Needs an option for "Starting zone"

Yeah that hadn't even occurred to me. I added that as an option and enabled re-voting.

Why does the starting zone matter? You can pretty much start out wherever you want - sometimes there are some inconveniences with certain class trainers, but even then you can always pick up skills in a capital city like stormwind.

Pippina wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Why does the starting zone matter? You can pretty much start out wherever you want - sometimes there are some inconveniences with certain class trainers, but even then you can always pick up skills in a capital city like stormwind.

Yeah I thought so too. But @Falcon also mentioned that he opted for NE in order to join his wife in the same starting zone, so I figured I may just have a blind spot that should nevertheless be represented in the poll.

rijndael wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Pippina wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Why does the starting zone matter? You can pretty much start out wherever you want - sometimes there are some inconveniences with certain class trainers, but even then you can always pick up skills in a capital city like stormwind.

Yeah I thought so too. But @Falcon also mentioned that he opted for NE in order to join his wife in the same starting zone, so I figured I may just have a blind spot that should nevertheless be represented in the poll.

There's a pretty good shortcut to getting out to Teldrassil that involves climbing a mountain in Dun Morogh and dropping into the Menethil Harbor graveyard. You can get there without having to corpse hop your way through the wetlands. Even a human can get there pretty quick by hopping on the deeprun tram from stormwind to ironforge, stepping outside, going up and over the mountaintop. No wall walking or any fuckery involved either.

For me its generally aesthetics and lore.

Female Undead Priest, it was an easy choice, i just cant play a troll. My alt will be a male Undead Warlock because i dont like male orcs in cloth and i dont like females looks.

I'd roll Human regardless of it being the best race for Warriors or not, I just want that Gucci bonus reputation.

Pippina wrote: ↑

5 years ago

There's some opportunity to camp out in the wild with all 3 of you shadowmelded and just wait for some horde to run by to gank. Having the ability for an entire group to stealth can make for some fun times.

This is definitely part of the plan! Mwhahahaaaa!

For me it adds up, as in when I start making a character I usually have a concept in mind, and I look into stuff like what race would work best. Occasionally I come up with a character's backstory/personality first, then I work that into a class. Either way, I definitely take time to research what's better, and try to make conscious choices towards making the best character I can. At the end of the day, I really couldn't care less if I was minmaxed though.

Wow, lots of roleplayers here.

Despite my brain screaming Orc I'll be a Tauren warrior. Part of the reason I'm suffering a warrior is for the awesome gear, and who isn't guilty of clicking on Tauren warriors in Org?

i took much time to deliberate between human and gnome for a mage. although my first character was a gnome mage back in the day AND they have the (slight) intellect advantage, i'm still going to roll human. after years of playing gnome, i started to really want to see the gear im wearing. so i eventually went humie and never went back since.