Deciding on Shaman race solely based on looks

[Shockeye]

Tusks, plus lack of shoes, always work well with gear! Tusks make everything look better.
What bothers me about the male Troll model is the skinny limbs looking like crap in a lot of gear. You need to get bulky gear to make the character look good. I always wanted the option to use the "burly" Troll model we see on many of the mob NPC Trolls. They look fantastic.

For both genders of Trolls, I like the female model a lot more, but love the male animations. The idle crouch is the best idle animation in the game

[seasawl0l]

Tauren! Big, big shoulders big weapons, badass!

This. I never like orcs, trolls are decent

[Dristereau]

If I had to make a Horde Shaman it would have to be Orc or Tauren Male for the Cannons which are the CM Shoulders they have
If had to choose between Orc Female and Troll I'd go with Orc. Just because I think Troll Models currently look crap, especially the Females. Could wait til updates I guess

[Synche]

This is a question I am asking myself as well.

Thinking of boosting a shaman once I pickup WoD (at some point) and either going to go with a Dwarf or Panda, however Dwarf racials win out by far so most likely going to go with that.

[Rodrigo]

Male Pandaren !!! When MoP came out, I gave up my Troll Shaman for an amazing Panda right way !!!!

[Wyrden]

This combination brings out the WoW racist in me.

Pandaren warrior are the worst. Or pandaren hunter in full T16. Plate on a mountain of fat is disgusting.

On topic: male troll or fem orc. I don't like fem troll casting animation.

Male troll ele shaman here, with full crafted pvp set (blue version). One of the best set ever. See it on Ceppa @ well of eternity EU

[Emophia]

If you're going to wear pants and be enhance female orc is 100% the right choice. Wearing a kilt as enhance? Then go male orc. Both are also great as ele.

Trolls look nice in kilts as well but they have the worst melee animations in the game, you can go ele/resto with them though.

Pandaren warrior are the worst.

Pandaren anything is the worst.

[Shockeye]

Pandaren are a good leveling race. At least for me... I have a tendency to fall of cliffs and things, so the damage reduction from falling was really handy! Plus the extra food buff makes lower quality food much more appealing for leveling.

And I like the male Pandaren emotes... A lot.

[madokbro]

The problem I have about female characters is that I can't play the game and fantasize about my own character at the same time, they are a constant source of distraction. I remember what I've been through while playing the last Tomb Raider game.

If you have better self control, definetely go for the female orc. Great looks, great animations, they are practically made for this.

[Deleted]

If you have to play lesser faction, it does not mean you should play lesser races instead of TROLL POWAH!

[Deleted]

I never understood how Enhancement Shamans could play female races, it looks way too unrealistic, especially with Draenei and Troll females.

[Jigatwat]

I play a female goblin but will probably end up going female troll depending on the art when released.

[Aleksej89]

Use the 3d model viewer on wowhead (select a shaman item set) and see how all the races look in shaman gear.

Assuming new models look similar to old models:

Orc or Tauren look awesome for Horde.

Trolls looks absolutely horrible - ugly feet that can not be hidden by any boots, huge hunchbacks, arms that are twice as long as they should be, tusks that pierce through all helmets, skewed shoulders.
Any shaman set you try to assemble on the troll males will be absolutely ruined - the only thing that works is the "half naked" Vol'jin approach.

Goblins are too small, you won't be able to decently display your shoulders or your weapons.

For alliance i definitely recommend Pandaren, since Draenei look awful (very similar problems to trolls, especially on females with gigantic legs) and dwarves suffer from the same midget shoulder/weapon issues as goblins.

So either Tauren, Orc or Panda - but check the models in wowhead for yourself.

[Redlokyldoreifanggore]

If you're feeling like having a fire, wind, and water-wielding demon, then draenei are the way to go. Whether its the seductive swagger of the females or the intimidating bulk of the males, a draenei will provide you with all your pseudo-ferocity needs. (Try red / fiery armors with the hunter T13 lookalike helm)

Want to go the gentle giant or fierce native route? Get a tauren, find some leather-looking mail armor, get some native-looking weapons and shield and go tomahawk the hell out of alliance. Nothing says shaman like a crazed bull-man throwing fire and lightning at you! [I recommend the shield with a bull hoof from the S. Barrens quest (dunno name off the top of my head) along with the Axe of the Speaker from the class-specific Shadowfang Keep quest]

Want a more royal / western looking shaman? Try a dwarf with some bloodforged armor and a tiara / crown of some kind. Go show those uncouth scum in the horde who owns that valley! (Seriously though, a femdwarf with bloodforged, the red shattered sun exalt shield, and a red/orange mace looks great)

Want a cajun / african shaman? Go full troll, mon. Clean da streets of ZA and ZG and outfit yaself with all da skulls, voodoo dolls, and shrunken heads ya can imagine. (The red or purple set with the big shaman symbol on the head always looks great)

Or perhaps you want a far-east shaman? Never you fear, the pandaren in their water and wind-themed armors will make you feel like one with the land. (Just about any set looks decent on the pandaren, though I prefer the 85-90 questing green mail armors)

The classic shaman is a popular one of course. The green skin and hunched back of an orcish spiritualist will supply you with all your RP needs, not to mention a slew of armors specifically tailored to show that you are the true leading race of the horde. Lok'tar Ogar! (Just about any set looks good, especially vanilla and BC sets)

And then there's goblins... Don't roll a goblin. (Goblins just have too awkward of bodies for shaman sets and mail pieces in general)



Highly recommend you pick a mail transmog you really feel like working towards and then choose your race from that. Remember that WoWhead has updated the old models with the future WoD ones (dwarves, male tauren, gnomes, etc.)