March 21, 2005 - In Blizzard's World of Warcraft, players may choose among eight playable races. Massive and bull-like, the Tauren are normally peaceful nomads devoted to maintaining the sanctity and balance of nature. During the invasion of the Burning Legion, they allied with the fierce Orcs, who came to Azeroth from their native world, Draenor. Later, the Trolls of the Darkspear tribe joined this coalition after an Orcish leader saved them from extermination. None of these have much good will toward the Undead, but align with them, albeit rather tenuously, against a common enemy, the Lich King. These four comprise the Horde faction.

The industrious Dwarves, once disinclined to leave their mountain citadel, Ironforge, now scour the far corners of Azeroth for signs of their ancient beginnings. They have staunch friends in their Gnomish cousins; the two have become even closer since the latter were driven from their techno-city of Gnomeregan. Both are friendly with the Humans of Stormwind, which stands as the last bastion of that species' civilization. Reclusive immortals who favor the hours of darkness, the Night Elves are honorable and just, but still hesitant to trust the 'lesser races' with whom they are allied. This quartet makes up the Alliance.

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#31 Should You Play a Warrior? (for all)
As you might expect, the Warrior class is definitely best suited to a front-line melee role. What may come as at least a bit of a surprise is that this isn't due to being able to deal massive amounts of damage. You can certainly lay some hurt on your enemies, just not as rapidly as a Mage or even a Rogue. However, you can wear heavier armor types, which reduce net injury. This does make the class relatively dependent on maintaining a high armor rating. Stamina bonuses are important since they affect hit points. Opinion is divided on how to balance Strength and Agility; emphasizing the former helps you hit harder while the latter produces more critical hits. A significant portion of play revolves around managing a stat called rage, which powers many of your special moves. Most groups will want a Warrior or two. Soloing is viable, but there are probably better alternatives if you intend to adventure alone.

The Warrior is the only class available within all of the game's eight races. The initial attribute differences are pretty minimal, and after you've gained some level, easily offset by choosing equipment with the bonuses you prefer. So, you can play whichever race you prefer with basically no concern that another selection would have been better.

#32 Warrior Weapon Considerations (for all levels)
There's no apparent consensus on using a two-handed weapon vs. a single-handed one plus shield. I've found no real reason to prefer either set-up. Actually, I've been known to carry both so I can switch whenever the mood strikes me; this does cost a couple of inventory slots that could be used for more loot. In general, I tend to use the two-handed weapon when I take on a magic user, going for a quicker kill.

As for weapon type, there seems to be a fairly widespread feeling that good swords and axes are easier to obtain than maces. If you're going to solo a lot, you may want to learn a ranged weapon for situations where you want to pull a single enemy away from others. If so, don't bother with a quiver or ammunition pouch. You'll probably only get one shot in before switching to melee anyway, so the reduced reload time they give you is not worth the reduced space for carrying loot.


[You can follow the progress of Blizzard's latest hit both here and at our World of Warcraft Vault where we have a more community-oriented perspective. - Ed.]