One of the biggest decisions you’ll make when playing World of Warcraft: The War Within is what character to roll for your next adventure.
Character creation is immersive and rich in the game, and there are plenty of options to choose from. While it does come down to personal taste at the end of the day, there are certain playable races that stand out as the best picks for every class in the game.
Here’s our complete guide to picking the best race for each class in World of Warcraft: The War Within, covering everything from racial abilities to lore.
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The best race for each class in The War Within
Before we hop into the best race and class combos to take into your first Delve in The War Within, it’s important to note that the Evoker is missing from this list.
The Evoker class is currently limited to just the Dracthyr race – introduced back in Dragonflight – but we’ll be sure to update this guide if it ever opens up in the future. Check out our deep-dive into everything you need to know about Dracthyr Evokers here.
Best Rogue race: Night Elf
While Night Elves may typically be associated with nature-focused classes like Druids and Hunters, they make exceptional Rogues.
In terms of racial abilities and skills, Night Elves have access to Shadowmeld, which is a secondary Stealth that can prove invaluable when hiding from enemies. On top of this, they have boosts to their dodge chance and movement (especially when in Stealth), along with faster attacks during the night.
The Night Elf models lend themselves to the dynamic style of attack that Rogues favor, too. They’re both elegant and deadly, and they look perfectly at home dual-wielding ornate daggers while hiding in the shadows.
Best Druid race: Worgen
Worgens are already shapeshifters to an extent, and Druids take this a step further by giving them access to new forms like Cat Form and Travel Form.
Alongside this, Worgens have the Running Wild racial which activates their ‘true form’, putting them on all fours and allowing them to zip across the map with 200% movement speed. Worgen Druids have fantastic mobility, making them lethal in a PvP environment.
If you’re keen on interesting World of Warcraft lore, Worgens stand out as one of the most natural picks for this class.
In Silverpine Forest, the Gilneas Liberation Front disguised themselves in their Bear Form to confuse the enemy. Once slain, the bears would be revealed as Worgens. With their curse originating in the dream, too, it’s safe to say that Worgens are likely to have an affinity towards the class.
Best Mage race: Blood Elf
Continuing the lore theme, the Blood Elf race ties into the Mage class perfectly, albeit in a morbid way. It’s another race-class combo that’s worth considering if you want to build a character with a rich and vibrant backstory.
In terms of handy racials, Blood Elves have access to Arcane Torrent, which lets them strip enemies of a beneficial effect and restore a decent chunk of mana.
On top of this, they get an Arcane damage reduction, boosted Enchanting, and a small Critical Strike boost too, making them a worthwhile pick for players who enjoy a heavy-hitting ranged DPS style of play.
Best Shaman race: Orc
Orcs are a strong pick for Shamans thanks to their deep lore ties. With notable characters like Thrall and interesting factions like the Dark Shaman or the Guardians of the Vault to pull inspiration from, Orc Shamans feel like a natural pick.
This is a lore-based pick more than an ability-based pick, but that doesn’t mean that Orc Shamans are lacking in their skills.
The notable racial ability here is Blood Fury, giving melee and ranged attack power a boost for 15 seconds. This can be invaluable when playing as a Shaman, no matter which spec or Hero Talent you end up picking.
Best Demon Hunter race: Night Elf
Night Elves are a perfect fit for the edgy Demon Hunter class. They come with plenty of extra customization options and have the ideal build for the class armor. Lorewise, this pick makes sense as well.
The Shadowmeld ability comes into play once again here, giving a mobile and lethal class the ability to sit unnoticed until the ability is canceled or until movement begins. It can make a huge difference when trying to find the right time to strike.
Best Warrior race: Gnome
What’s better than charging into battle as a Tank that’s hard to keep track of? While their size does make them somewhat hard to play, the Gnome Escape Artist Racial makes them a worthwhile pick, especially if you’re a PvP fan.
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Escape Artist means that a Gnome can escape from any stun or movement-impacting ability, making them lethal in the Arena. Gnome Warriors are both fun to play and watch in battle, and they’re an uncommon pick overall.
Best Monk race: Pandaren
When the Pandaren were released back in 2012 alongside the Mists of Pandaria expansion, they were released alongside the new Monk class. If you’re a lore loving player, this is a must-try combo to add to your roster of alts.
After being cast into slavery and unable to use weaponry, the Pandaren focused on harnessing their Chi and learning to fight without the aid of additional tools.
The Pandaren Racial Ability ‘Quaking Palm’ also lends itself to the mythos of this Race incredibly well, giving you the chance to send the recipient off to sleep for four seconds to give you time to attack, heal, or escape.
Best Warlock race: Orc
For fans of the World of Warcraft lore who want to play something with a more morbid background, Orc Warlocks are the best pick.
Aside from the obvious lore ties for this race-class combo, Orc Warlocks are incredibly powerful thanks to the Orc racial abilities.
Blood Fury and Hardiness are helpful enough, boosting attack power for 15 seconds and reducing the duration of stun effects by 20%, but the Command ability is the most important here. It applies a flat buff of 1% to the damage dealt by pets.
1% might not seem like much, but in end-game content, this ability can be immensely helpful during tricky boss battles.
Best Death Knight race: Troll
While they may not look like an obvious match for Death Knights, Trolls have racial abilities that make them a perfect pick.
Regeneration means that the user’s health regeneration gets a 10% increase, which can happen during combat, and Berserking gives a 15% Haste boost for 10 seconds. These abilities work in perfect tandem to make the Death Knight in question even tankier than usual.
Alongside this, Da Voodoo Shuffle is a handy movement-based ability that reduce how long movement impairing effects last for by 20% overall. Death Knights aren’t known for their mobility, so this ability helps to make them more viable for settings like Battlegrounds.
Best Hunter race: Night Elf
Alongside Druids, Hunters are the most ideal pick for the Night Elf fans in the community. They have strong narrative ties and brilliant animations, and the Night Elf toolkit offers thematically appropriate abilities.
Hunters spend a lot of time deeply immersed in nature, which matches the Night Elf background perfectly. The Beast Mastery spec feels particularly appropriate, letting Hunters work alongside their four-legged (or no-legged) friends.
The Shadowmeld racial is once again useful here, especially when soloing content, and the nature resistance combined with the additional dodge chances thanks to Quickness make Night Elf Hunters a powerful – if slightly obvious – combination.
Best Paladin race: Lightforged Draenei
Would there really be another pick for the best Paladin race? Lightforged Draenei are arguably one of the most interesting Allied Races in the game, and their racial abilities make them the perfect fit for the hammer-wielding class.
Alongside an experience buff for killing demons and an easy way to access a Forge, Lightforged Draenei get two Holy-infused racial attacks.
Light’s Judgement is a powerful AoE attack, and Light’s Reckoning is an active-upon-death attack that causes the toon to erupt in holy light, damaging enemies and healing allies. The latter makes them incredible for PvP, and they have an additional 1% Holy damage resist, too.
Best Priest race: Void Elves
While many races work well for Priests, the most thematically impressive is the Void Elf – and not even just for Shadow Priests, although this combo does work fantastically.
Shadow Priests and Void Elves have a lot in common lore-wise, and a Void Elf in Shadowform casting looks incredible. The transmog potential is through the roof with this race-class.
The Void Elf ability Preternatural Calm is a huge bonus for Priests, meaning that their casts are not interrupted when they are hit by an enemy. For Healers in high-pressure environments, this is an immensely useful ability.
For further inspiration on which classes and races you should try out in World of Warcraft: The War Within, make sure to check out our tier lists for the best Tanks, DPS, and Healers, and carefully choose the best Hero Talent for your needs, too.
