Under the Microscope: The Alliance Races

Hello again faithful followers of the WoW after the install blog. Today we are going to begin part one of our under the microscope series. These volumes are designed to cover in full the basics of character creation and the pros and cons of the multitude of options therein. As you probably already know the world of Azeroth pits the Alliance against the Horde in a struggle for dominion of that planets fate. After selecting a realm, the process of character creation begins. A few simple choices to start are you a male or female character? After milling over the gender issue then we come to race. Today I’m going to cover the aspects and starting locations of the alliance races. The alliance currently consists of five races, seeking to bring justice and order to the war torn world of Azeroth: The noble humans, the adventurous dwarves, the enigmatic night elves, the ingenious gnomes and the honorable dranei.

The humans are the youngest of Azerothian, race ambitious and well skilled in the arts of combat and sorcery. Their optimism and ambition have led them to build some of the greatest kingdom’s the world has ever known. Human characters gain the advantage of increased stealth detection, increased spirit, bonus reputation gains, increased expertise with swords and maces, and can break out of movement impairing effects (via the skill “every man for himself”). Human characters begin their questing near the capital city of Stormwind, in Elwynn Forest at a small monastery known as Northshire Abbey.
Once only desiring the sound of stone and the discovery of earthen treasures, the dwarves are unchallenged with their mastery of the earth. Grand carpenters of stone and gem alike once rumors abound of a god-like race that had given the dwarves life and a mysterious birthright, the dwarves poured from their caves in search of ancient knowledge and artifacts. Dwarven characters gain stoneform (a skill that removes all poison, disease, and bleed effects plus increased armor for a period of time), increased critical chance with guns, resistance to frost damage, treasure finding (a track-like skill) and expertise with maces. Dwarven characters begin their questing near the capital city of Ironforge, in Dun Morogh at a small campsite known as The Vale.

The night elves are an ancient race thousands of years old founding a vast empire in their past, however their insidious use of primal magic brought about their ruin. For years the elves lived in seclusion grieving their loss until the return of their greatest enemy the Burning Legion. Having no choice the elves purged from seclusion take up the fight for the fate of Azeroth. Elven characters are granted shadowmeld (this works just like stealth except you cannot move), they are more difficult to hit, and they enter a wisp form when dead, and are resistant to nature damage. Elven characters begin play in Shadowglen part of the great tree of Teldrarassil.

The gnomes are a curious bunch indeed, tinkerers and fast talkers. Once hailing from the great steam driven kingdom of Gnomeregan, the gnomes were forced to flee and abandon the city after a massive trogg invasion. Now they provided the dwarven lands with their ingenuity and cunning for machine. Gnomish characters gain the ability to removing speed altering effects, increased intelligence, resistance to arcane magic, and increased engineering skill. As with the dwarves the gnomes also begin questing in Dun Morogh in the Vale.

Driven from their home world of Argus the Dranei for eons evaded the siege of the Burning Legion. Settling on a world with shamanistic orcs called Draneor. Eventually the legion corrupted the orcs and war between them and the Dranei broke out some eventually escaped to Azeroth where the fight was brought to their people once more. Dranei characters received an increased jewelcrafting skill, they also receive Gift of the Naaru (a heal over time skill useable on yourself or others), Heroic presence (which allows an increased chance for you and part members to hit with spells and weapons), and finally are resistant to shadow damage. Dranei characters begin their questing on Azuremist Isle in the Ammen Vale which is close to the capital city of The Exodar.

Well that wraps it up for the alliance races, stay tuned to after the install for further coverage in our under the microscope series. Next time we will be covering the races of the Horde, and moving further into the character creation process with an in depth look into the various classes, builds and character development. Until then keep your eyes to the sky and purse full of coins.