So with the rumours of TBC abounding after Blizzard's last survey, of course we're all going to be rolling a Draenei or Blood Elf alt on launch! Wondering what the split is going to be like so thought I'd put a poll up.
Personally I was a really big fan of the Draenei starting zone Azuremyst/Bloodmyst - it was such a huge change in aesthetics and atmosphere from the Classic zones. The otherworldly feel of the crashed spaceship and the mutated nature mobs really made it feel new and exciting:
And here's a pic of the Blood Elf starting zone for those who want their memory jogged:
I won't be basing my choice off of racial traits but they did play a big role in TBC so here they are summarised for anyone wandering (this is taken from a blue post from 2006, before release by the way so values may differ on Classic release):
Blizzard Entertainment
TBC Draenei Racials
Gemcutting
Racial Passive
Jewelcrafting skill increased by 15.
Shadow Resistance
Racial Passive
Shadow Resistance increased by 10.
Heroic Presence
Racial Passive
Increases chance to hit by 1% for all party members within 30 yards.
Blessing of the Naaru
40 yd range
1.5 sec cast - 3 min cooldown
Heals the target of 50 damage over 15 sec.
The above Heal value is indicative of a level 1 character as value will scale with level.
Blizzard Entertainment
TBC Blood Elf Racials
Arcane Affinity
Racial Passive
Enchanting skill increased by 15.
Magic Resistance
Racial Passive
All resistances increased by 5.
Mana Tap
30 yd range - 30 sec cooldown
Drains 50 mana from your target and charges you with Arcane energy for 10 min. This effect stacks up to 3 times.
Arcane Torrent
Instant - 2 min cooldown
Silence all enemies within 8 yards for 2 sec. In addition, you gain 5 Rage/12 Mana/20 Energy for each charge of Mana Tap currently affecting you.
The above Mana value is indicative of a level 1 character as Mana values for this ability will scale with level.
Looks to me at first glance anyway that BE seem to benefit more for PvP with he silence and mana drain/stacking buff whereas D is more for solo PvE and group content with the hit buff and solo-scaling heal.
There's also current progress to consider... personally starting as D is the most attractive but at the same time I won't be able to make use of any of my mainly Horde gold bank and mats that I've farmed up. Then again, starting completely fresh has its own benefits too :) They may actually start us out all fresh on the TBC server...
