Best Races For Warriors In World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft gives players various compelling options for character creation, and in the spirit of most RPGs, some races fit better with certain classes than others. With so many different races to choose from, especially in the most recent retail version of the game, players can build a variety of different characters.

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Warriors are a popular class, thanks to their roles as either Tanks or DPS, and it’s exciting for beginners or veteran players to jump into a brand-new character and take up their adventures from a different angle. Veteran players may wish to defy expectations by finding a new challenge in making a race not normally suited to Warriors and making them top-tier fighters. For beginners, certain races could be used to create a Warrior that levels up more easily than others.

Updated January 11, 2025 by Kristy Ambrose: As World of Warcraft continues through its 20th-anniversary events and specials, the game that made MMORPGs a major player in the video game universe still dominates the field. There are currently several versions of the game on various servers; Classic: Cataclysm, vanilla Classic, Classic: Season of Discovery, and retail World of Warcraft. All of the following races are only available in the retail version, but the Warrior role is present in all of them in a melee-damage or tank role, and are highly customizable.

12

Mechagnome

How To Unlock: Complete The Quest Chain On The Isle Of Mechagon

• Ideal Warrior Abilities: Combat Analysis, Mastercraft, Emergency Failsafe

The Mechagnome race is a fantastic choice that became playable in World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth expansion. Coming with a great toolkit that gives them a lot of versatility, their abilities as a race make them some of the very best Warriors to be found in the game.

Mechagnomes come with the racial ability Combat Analysis, which allows them to analyze data and increase their primary stat every five seconds while in combat, stacking a huge number of times and making them brutally tough by the end of a prolonged fight. It’s important, especially for warriors, to be able to last in a longer fight and they are the perfect race for this.

Mastercraft is ideal for Blacksmiths and Miners, providing the Mechagnome with a personal anvil and a working forge. They also have the Emergency Failsafe ability, which gives them back a large volume of health when they fall low.

11

Mag’har Orcs

How To Unlock: Speak To Eltrigg At The Orgrimmar Embassy

• Ideal Warrior Abilities: Ancestral Call and Savage Blood

An obvious choice for a Warrior, the hulking Mag’har Orc race was part of the lore introduced in The Burning Crusade expansion but it wasn’t until the Battle for Azeroth that they became playable. These Orcs have some similarities to their green Azerothian cousins, one example being their racial mount, the vicious Mag’har Direwolf.

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Ancestral Call allows the Mag’har Orc to call on the spirits of their ancestors and gives them extra power. Savage Blood reduces the duration of certain pesky damager-over-time conditions, which include Poison, Disease, and Curses.

10

Earthen

How To Unlock: Follow A Diplomatic Mission To The Isle Of Dorn

• Ideal Warrior Abilities: Titan Wrought Frame, Ingest Materials, and Azurite Surge

They might resemble Dwarves, but the Earthen are a much older race and date back to the Azerothian era of the Titans. The Earthen are the ideal Warrior race, starting with the armor buff granted from Titan Wrought Frame, which gives them a 10% increase in AC for every equipped piece. Ingest Materials allows the Earthen to use Azerite as food when everything else runs out, which is handy for leveling as well as Tanking.

Azurite Surge is great for melee fighters. It’s a spell that creates an energy surge in front of the urchins that pushes back enemies. Earthen has a variety of abilities that would benefit several classes, such as Quiet Contemplation and Wide-Eyed Wonder, but for Warriors, the extra armor, food options, and melee damage options are the best.

9

Kul Tiran

How To Unlock: Follow The Quest That Starts In The Stormwind Embassy

• Ideal Warrior Abilities: Brush It Off, Haymaker, Rime of the Ancient Mariner

The Kul Tiran race of humanity is similar in some ways to the human race in World of Warcraft, but there are a few key differences. Kul Tiran are heavier and look even better when taking on the Warrior due to the bulky nature of the armor in the game.

They also have some great abilities that help them learn skills faster, which is useful across all roles and classes. Brush It Off improves versatility and restores hit points faster, and Rime of the Ancient Mariner gives them extra resilience against Frost and Nature damage. The racial ability Haymaker allows them to stun an enemy with a huge punch, matching the style of warriors in-game.

8

Dwarf

How To Unlock: One Of The Original Classic Races

• Ideal Warrior Abilities: Stoneform, Might of The Mountain, Frost Resistance

A race that, despite their diminutive size, seems like they are always destined to be known for their fighting ability. Dwarves are another Alliance race that is well-known even to casual fans of the World of Warcraft franchise. Dwarf culture is all about their weaponry, and the gruff style of the Dwarven characters makes it easy to play them as realistic warrior characters.

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Abilities such as the Stoneform help negate damage to dwarves from bleeding, poison, and disease damage, and Might of the Mountain increases critical strike chance and healing. This makes them a lot more durable, particularly in tactical PvP situations where they can be a real pain to bring down. Plus, role-playing as a Dwarven Warrior is a whole heap of fun.

7

Tauren

How To Unlock: One Of The Original Classic Races

• Ideal Warrior Abilities: War Stomp, Brawn, Endurance

The Tauren are a race on the horde side of the factions available in World of Warcraft. For players trying to get the best look for a warrior-class character, the Tauren is a great option. These hulking figures give off the perfect impression of a strong race, and while their society feels more tranquil than that of others, their lore makes it easy to build a character as a more spiritually focused Warrior.

Apart from the right look, Tauren is another great faction to play as a Warrior in PvP situations due to abilities like Endurance, which is great for health regeneration, and War Stomp, which is great for interrupting the attacks of enemies, stunning them in the process. Brawn gives them increased critical strike damage and healing, similar to the Dwarven Stoneform.

6

Forsaken

How To Unlock: One Of The Original Classic Races

• Ideal Warrior Abilities: Will of the Forsaken, Cannabilize, Shadow Resistance

Also known as the Undead, this faction is exactly what first-time players would expect them to be. The Forsaken are excellent in a number of ways for the Warrior class, particularly in a PvE setting due to their Will of the Forsaken, which helps them avoid being adversely affected by charms, fear spells, and more. They’re naturally resistant to Shadow damage, which is nice for melee fighters who have to deal with casters.

Another brutal but wonderful trait of the Undead is their Cannibalize ability, which allows them to regenerate health at 300% for a time. This is an incredible way to help either the Undead character individually or help get a party out of a difficult battle where they are all in danger.

5

Orc

How To Unlock: One Of The Original Classic Races

• Ideal Warrior Abilities: Blood Fury, Hardiness

Orcs are the nemesis of the Human race in World of Warcraft. Since the earliest days of the franchise, the majority of the lore has focused on the Human versus Orc conflict and the other races of Azeroth taking sides in the battle. This being the case, the Orcs have some of the best lore in the game and some of the best looks for warrior-class characters.

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From abilities like Blood Fury, which helps to increase their attack power, to passive traits like Hardness that make them great for crowd control, Orcs are excellent in PvE and PvP situations, both as warriors. Orcs have the look and the skills, making it easy to imagine a new Orc character becoming a great Warrior.

4

Night Elf

How To Unlock: One Of The Original Classic Races

• Ideal Warrior Abilities: Shadowmeld, Quickness, Touch of Elune

One of the best Warrior options when players are doing a lot of solo gaming in PvE situations, the Night Elf has certain abilities that can be hugely helpful, but only in this more specific style of play. Though their dark, foreboding world doesn’t make them seem like an Alliance faction, they are, and they can be worth trying out.

With fun lore and abilities like Shadowmeld, which allow them to drop out of combat at a moment’s notice to avoid losing health, Night Elves can be a genius choice for Warrior-class characters, although they lose aggro, making them less of a great choice for playing in a group. Quickness makes it easier for them to avoid attacks, which is ideal for a tank, and Touch of Elune increases Haste at night and Critical strike chance in the daytime.

3

Pandaren

How To Unlock: Included In The Mists of Pandaria Expansion

• Ideal Warrior Abilities: Bouncy, Epicurian, Inner Peace, Quaking Palm

Players had been asking for a neutral race for some time before the Mists of Pandaria expansion gave them a whole new continent to explore and another race to discover. The Pandaren made a brief appearance as The Brewmaster hero in Warcraft 3.

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The neutral Pandaren have some very useful buffs that are great for several classes, but they’re especially useful for a Warrior. Bouncy halves all falling damage, Epicuran doubles the benefit the Pandaren Warrior gets from food buffs, and Quaking Palm can stun an enemy in melee range. Inner Peace improves the rate of rested XP gained, which could be the most important ability for level progression.

2

Highmountain Tauren

How To Unlock: Follow The Quest Chain That Starts In The Orgrimmar Embassy

• Ideal Warrior Abilities: Bull Rush, Mountaineer, Rugged Tenacity

The Highmountain Tauren have a lot in common with their counterparts in Mulgore, who also make fine Warriors, starting with how good they look in heavy armor. They also have several unique abilities that benefit most classes in general and Warriors specifically.

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Being from a culture close to the land, the Highmountain Tauren have skills that include Pride of Ironhorn, which means greater yields from mining in less time. Waste Not, Want Not ensures better harvests of meat and fish.

The Warrior-specific skills include Bull Rush, which allows the Highmountain Tauren to charge forward, pushing enemies in melee range in front of them, and Rugged Tenacity, which reduces damage from all attacks. Both skills are ideal for a melee DPS or Tank build.

1

Human

How To Unlock: One Of The Original Classic Races

• Ideal Warrior Abilities: Will To Survive, Human Spirit

Sometimes it is easiest to start simple. While the various strange races that are almost unheard of outside World of Warcraft can be enticing and fun, with unique lore behind them within the world of Azeroth, the Human race is one of the best for a simple warrior-class character for a couple of different, important reasons.

Humans have great racial feats and stat bonuses for PvP, making them one of the most notable races in the game for fighting against other players. Secondly, the human lore for Warriors is some of the very best in the game. Despite all the fascinating races there are to explore, humans have got some of the best there is in their eternal struggle against the Orcs and some of the most nicely designed areas to kick-start the journey of a new character.

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November 23, 2004