Best Race/Class combinations, from a lore perspective

[Drewbacca]

So I usually like to make my race/class selections from a lore standpoint. I usually don't factor in racials too much. So, I've been thinking about how the Pandaren factor into this whole thing. I figured that I'd bring it to the forums. Basically, I wanted to see what you thought the ranking for races for each class was. If enough people respond, I'll update the rankings.

I updated the rankings based on the suggestions so far. Last update: 4/5/12 at 07:39 CST

Death Knight
Human
Orc
Forsaken
Blood Elf
Dwarf
Troll
Goblin
Worgen
Gnome
Night Elf
Tauren
Draenei

Druid
Night Elf
Tauren
Worgen
Troll

Hunter
Night Elf
Dwarf
Troll
Tauren
Blood Elf
Human
Orc
Pandaren
Worgen
Draenei
Goblin
Forsaken

Mage
Blood Elf
Human
Night Elf
Draenei
Forsaken
Gnome
Pandaren
Goblin
Dwarf
Worgen
Troll
Orc

Monk
Pandaren
Dwarf
Human
Tauren
Troll
Blood Elf
Night Elf
Draenei
Forsaken
Orc
Gnome

Paladin
Human
Draenei
Dwarf
Blood Elf
Tauren

Priest
Human
Draenei
Night Elf
Forsaken
Blood Elf
Dwarf
Troll
Pandaren
Worgen
Tauren
Gnome
Goblin

Rogue
Orc
Forsaken
Troll
Gnome
Goblin
Human
Worgen
Blood Elf
Night Elf
Pandaren
Dwarf

Shaman
Orc
Tauren
Troll
Draenei
Dwarf
Pandaren
Goblin

Warlock
Orc
Forsaken
Human
Blood Elf
Goblin
Troll
Worgen
Gnome
Dwarf

Warrior
Orc
Human
Tauren
Dwarf
Night Elf
Worgen
Forsaken
Pandaren
Draenei
Troll
Blood Elf
Goblin
Gnome

[Deleted]

Warlock:
I'd put Orc on first ( the orcs where the first playable race to become warlocks, Guldan, Nerzul...) Human 2nd Medivh.. Then Blood Elf/Undead then the same order you did.

Cant really say if there's an order for the warrior or rogue class... I guess Orc would be first in Rogue for the Shattered Hand Clan and because of Garonna.

In Mage I'd put Night Elf first as they were the original Mages...then Blood Elf and so on.

In Paladin I'd put Dwarf over Tauren, as they joined they order of Silver Hand.

[Demetrion]

You might want to revise some of the rankings and spread them to specs. Draenei were the first priests, but the first priests who started practicing shadow magic were Forsaken.

And yea, while we are at it, change Undead to Forsaken. I hate when people start comparing them like that >_<

I'm to lazy to make my own ranking list, but your is kinda interesting. I found some flaws in it and if you could explain why:

Death Knight: Now here depends which Death Knights you take. If it's pre Arthas, then orcs should be the first choice, but if it's about post Arthas, humans should be first then the rest should follow in any order.

Rogue: how come worgen is the first? Savage beasts are everything but not subtle. Yes they are wolfs they are hunting from the shadows but still their savage nature can't really allow them that much subtlety. And to see pandaren above forsaken is just absurd..

[Kuniku]

why are tauren so low on the huntard list? they're a hunting race . . .

[Deleted]

If some races aren't listed, they're pretty much equal (in my view).

Death Knight
1. Human
2. Orc
3. Blood Elf

Druid
1. Night Elf
2. Tauren
3. Troll
4. Worgen

Hunter
1. Blood Elf
2. Dwarf
3. Night Elf
4. Tauren
5. Troll

Mage
1. Human
2. Blood Elf
3. Gnome
4. Night Elf
5. Draenei

Monk
1. Pandaren
2. Dwarf
3. Human
4. Troll
5. Undead

Paladin
1. Human
2. Draenei
3. Dwarf

Priest
1. Draenei
2. Human
3. Undead
4. Night Elf

Rogue
1. Goblin
2. Undead
3. Gnome
4. Troll
5. Human
6. Blood Elf

Shaman
1. Orc
2. Troll
3. Dwarf
4. Tauren

Warlock
1. Orc
2. Undead
3. Blood Elf
4. Human
5. Goblin
6. Gnome

Warrior
1. Orc
2. Human
3. Dwarf
4. Worgen
5. Tauren
6. Draenei
7. Pandaren

[Aronaz]

Alright, so im going after the looks and abit lorewise.

Death Knight - Human
Druid - Tauren
Hunter - Night Elf
Mage - Human
Monk - Pandaren
Paladin - Human
Priest - Human
Shaman - Troll
Rogue - Undead
Warlock - Undead
Warrior - Orc

[Drewbacca]

Good comments so far. I guess my main goal was to see where people thought the Pandaren fit in. I'll update the first post as soon as i get home from vacation. As for some responses...

Death Knights: I was considering this post-Arthas, as that is what your character generally is. I see alot of people putting humans first, but what about Forsaken? They're both undead.

Druids: There's pretty much agreement except whether Worgen or Trolls go first. I considered the whole Scythe of Elune storyline more relavent than the lore behind the Trolls. Remember, Worgen started out as just another Druid form.

Hunters: There's alot of ranking the Blood Elves and Dwarves high. I think this is because of the archers and riflemen in the previous games. However, remember that a hunter is not merely a ranged attacker, but also one who is in tune with the animals.

Mages: There's not a ton to change here, except how high the Night Elves should be.

Monks: I tried to think which races seemed to fit best with hand-to-hand combat and drinking. For some reason, a Tauren monk seemed ridiculous to me. I then thought about the dynamic between the Pandaren and other races. Do you really see the Forsaken or Blood Elves allowing some talking panda to come in and teach them a whole new way to fight?

Paladins: Here you have to weigh if you like the newer lore for the Horde races, or if you like the older, but less fleshed out Dwarf lore.

Priests: I was gonna divide it by specs, but that would have left 34 different lists.

Rogues: I have been putting the Worgen high because they're stealthy and fight with two hands. Fist weapons make sense for them, and that fits well with a rogue. I also was ganked too many times by a Son of Arugal. As for Pandaren being over Forsaken, I agree with you. I just saw the "swashbuckler" description for a Combat Rogue, and thought that fit a Pandaren.

Shaman: Not a ton of disagreement here.

Warlocks: Seems like Orcs here the best. I just thought a Forsaken Warlock made alot of sense when I made the list.

Warriors: I know it makes sense for all of the races, but which ones does it fit the best?

[fartman69]

I think belfs should be the higest for mages on your list imo.

[Prokne]

Death Knight
Human(w/ Orc soul) - Teron Gorefiend

Druid
Night Elf - Malfurion Stormrage

Hunter
Dwarf
Human
If it was actually a ranger class the answer would be blood elf.

Mage
Blood Elf
Human
The highborne taught humans magic but Medivh is the most powerful mage in the history of the game. Or you could say Eredar but they arent playable.

Monk
Pandaren

Paladin
Human

Priest
Human - WC1
Blood Elf - WC3

Rogue
Orc - Garona Halforcen

Shaman
Orc - Nerzhul

Warlock
Orc - Guldan
Also could be Eredar.

Warrior
Anyone can be a warrior except gnomes because they are too weak.

[Sefr0n]

Death Knight
Orc
Human
Blood Elf
Forsaken

Druid
Night Elf
Tauren
Worgen
Troll

Hunter
Tauren
Troll
Night Elf
Blood Elf
Dwarf
Orc

Mage
Draenei
Blood Elf
Human
Night Elf
Forsaken

Monk
Pandaren

Paladin
Human
Draenei
Dwarf

Priest
Draenei
Night Elf
Human

Rogue
Night Elf
Troll
Goblin
Orc

Shaman
Orc
Tauren
Troll
Draenei
`
Warlock
Orc
Forsaken
Blood Elf
Goblin
Human

Warrior
Night Elf
Orc
Dwarf
Tauren
Human

[Mormolyce]

I really don't understand Undead DKs from a lore standpoint. They're... un-undead?

I'm not sure when Arthas even got the chance to find some Forsaken warriors, deem them suitable and kill them (again) and raise them from the dead (again) as death knights.

[Cthulhu 2020]

Death Knight
Undead - This class doesn't really have an iconic race, other than death knights are undead, so if you can be undead x2...

Druid
Night Elf - The first druid was a night elf.

Hunter
Night Elf - Just because of the night elf archers from WC3.

Mage
Blood Elf - First mages were high elves, but since those aren't a playable race, next best thing.

Monk
Pandaren - What else would be the iconic monk?

Paladin
Human - First paladin was a human.

Priest
Dwarf - Vanilla players will get this.

Rogue
Gnome

Shaman
Orc

Warlock
Orc - First warlock was an orc's spirit put into a human body.

Warrior
Tauren - They're huge!

You might want to revise some of the rankings and spread them to specs. Draenei were the first priests, but the first priests who started practicing shadow magic were Forsaken.

First shadow priest was actually a dwarf, during the war of the three hammers, long before Arthas even started turning people into undead.

[Tanoran]

Too lazy to create an entire list but if I was to flip it and pick the best class for each race it would go like this:

Human Paladin
Dwarf Hunter
Night Elf Druid
Gnome Mage
Draenei Shaman
Worgen Rogue

Orc Warrior
Troll Hunter
Undead Warlock
Tauren Druid
Blood Elf Mage
Goblin Rogue

[Scummer]

Here's my take on best lore per class.

Death Knight
Human

Druid
Night Elf

Hunter
Blood Elf/ Dwarf

Mage
Human/Blood Elves

Paladin
Human/Draenei

Priest
Human/Draenei

Rogue
Forsaken

Shaman
Orc/Draenei (Broken particularly because of their struggle that lead to shamanism)

Warlock
Orc

Warrior
Human/Orc

[Prokne]

Warlock
Orc - First warlock was an orc's spirit put into a human body.

The first death knights were the souls of dead warlocks that Guldan put into the bodies of dead human knights. Guldan was the first warlock(he was once a shaman) who was given his power by Sargeras. Guldan then taught other shamans how to use demon powers to become warlocks.

[DOORF]

Paladin-Tauren

[Tides]

I would roll Taurens up higher on the list on Monks and Hunters.

Taurens in my minds are a very tranquil and "zen" people :P Fits monks well no?
Also, Taurens.. Plainswalkers, living off the land.. How is that not a Hunter right there?`

Edit: My List :P

Death Knight -----> Human ---> Orc ---> Dwarf

Druid -----> Night Elf ---> Tauren

Hunter -----> Night Elf ---> Tauren ---> Troll

Mage -----> Blood Elf ---> Human ---> Undead

Monk -----> Pandaren ---> Tauren ---> Human

Paladin -----> Draenei ---> Human ---> Dwarf

Priest -----> Draenei ---> Human ---> Blood Elf

Rogue -----> Orc ---> Troll ---> Human

Shaman -----> Orc ---> Tauren ---> Troll

Warrior -----> Orc ---> Human

Warlock -----> Orc ---> Human



In General Orcs and Humans have natural affinities for alot of the classes i would say. They are natural picks for almost all of them imo

[Snipersteve]

panda errything, +300 stats = lol.

[Okacz]

Lorewise:

Death Knight: Human
Druid: Tauren
Hunter: Dwarf
Mage: Blood Elf
Monk: Panda
Paladin: Human
Priest: Night Elf
Rogue: Gnome
Shaman: Orc
Warrior: Orc
Warlock: Troll

[Drewbacca]

I updated the rankings based on what people have said so far. It's basically an average of where people have suggested things go. One class I'd like more feedback on is the Monk class. I know there's not a ton of lore yet, but how do you think the races would pan out?