The Warcraft universe is inhabited by many races of sentient and sapient beings. These races speak many different languages, have different homelands and racial traits, and can pursue different classes.
Though most races are native to the world of Azeroth, some have arrived from other worlds, such as Draenor. The armies of the Burning Legion are culled from many worlds throughout the Twisting Nether.
Currently, there are two playable factions in World of Warcraft, the Alliance and the Horde, and each is comprised of six very different races who can play a variety of different classes.
In Warcraft lore, race often has the same definition as species.[1] Occasionally, within a race/species are groups called subspecies/subraces[2][3][4] Note that use of race may not always denote seperate species however (and may refer to ethnicities/subraces/subspecies within species)[citation needed] .
Playable races and classes
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| Faction | Race | 
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Str | Agi | Sta | Int | Spi |
| Alliance
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  Human
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20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | ||
  Dwarf
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25 | 16 | 21 | 19 | 19 | ||
  Night elf
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16 | 24 | 20 | 20 | 20 | ||||
  Gnome
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15 | 22 | 20 | 23 | 20 | |||||
  Draenei
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21 | 17 | 20 | 20 | 22 | ||||
  Worgen
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23 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 19 | ||||
Neutral 
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  Pandaren
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| Horde
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  Orc
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23 | 17 | 21 | 17 | 22 | |||
  Undead
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19 | 18 | 20 | 18 | 25 | ||||
  Tauren
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25 | 16 | 21 | 16 | 22 | ||||
  Troll
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21 | 22 | 20 | 16 | 21 | ||
  Blood elf
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17 | 22 | 20 | 23 | 18 | |||
  Goblin
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17 | 22 | 20 | 23 | 18 | ||||
The Horde currently has 56 possible race/class combinations, and the Alliance has 55.
Base stats do not include the bonus scores from classes. The class bonuses are:
| Attribute | Priest | Rogue | Warrior | Mage | Druid | Hunter | Warlock | Shaman | Paladin | Death Knight* |
| Strength | +1 | +3 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +88 | ||||
| Agility | +3 | +3 | +53 | |||||||
| Stamina | +1 | +2 | +1 | +1 | +1 | +2 | +79 | |||
| Intellect | +2 | +3 | +2 | +2 | +1 | +9 | ||||
| Spirit | +3 | +2 | +2 | +1 | +2 | +2 | +1 | +22 |
*Death knight bonus stats represent a level 55 character.
Expansion races
World of Warcraft's first expansion, The Burning Crusade, brought Blood Elves for the Horde, and Draenei for the Alliance into the game as playable races. The third expansion, Cataclysm, introduced Worgen for the Alliance and Goblins for the Horde. It also added a number of new race/class combinations.
"Subraces"
Subraces (aka subspecies)[3] are generally considered lesser groups within a main race/species. However, even these subgroups can be considered separate races or species themselves in some cases.
- Dwarf sub-races can include Wildhammer, Ironforge, or Dark Iron dwarves.[5]
- The various types of trolls are usually considered separate subraces, though occasionally separate races.[6][7][8][5] The terms appear to be interchangeable to Blizzard.
- Aesir and vanir are considered two of the Giant's various subraces.[9]
See also
- Lists
- Creatures - all species (including non-sapient)
- Factions
- Languages
- Racial traits
- Mounts
- Small Pets
- Species
- Background and analysis
References
- ^ Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game, 38
- ^ Alliance & Horde Compendium, 22
- ^ a b World of Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game, 50
- ^ Horde Player's Guide, 10
- ^ a b Alliance Player's Guide, 82, 86
- ^ The Last Guardian, ??
- ^ Manual of Monsters, ??
- ^ Horde Player's Guide, 143
- ^ Tribunal of Ages, 107
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