Every race inWorld of Warcraft: Classiccomes with four pre-determined Racial Abilities.WoW Classicplayers don’t necessarily have to take these abilities into account in most other versions of the game, but in vanilla WoW, these small bonuses can end upbeing incredibly strong by the endgame.
SomeWoW ClassicRacials are not very memorable, or provide small stat bonuses that you will barely notice in combat. But some of the bestWoW ClassicRacial abilities cancompletely change up your approachor the classes you choose as each Race, or even become a regular part of your combat rotation.
Shadowmeld Effects
The Night Elf racial ability Shadowmeld is one of the race’s most iconic. ThisWoWRacial ability lets Night Elves enter Stealth while standing still. This is invaluable on PvP servers and in Hardcore mode, but it’s also great in PvE when you see a Son of Arugal or other zone mini-boss enemy approaching.
Because Warriors, Hunters, and Priests cannot normally Stealth, this is agreat addition to these Night Elfclasses' toolkits. But it’s also great for Rogues and Druids because it passively enhances their existing Stealth abilities, reducing the chance of being seen.
Sword Specialization Effect
The Human racial abilities Mace Specialization and Sword Specialization serve the same purpose but for two different weapon skills. Asa Human inWoW Classic, you get a basic +5 to both Mace and Sword skills.
This might not seem like much, but at max level, this translates to a pretty noticeable extra chance to hit with melee weapons. If you want to play as a Human inWoW Classic, pick a class that can take advantage of this bonus, like Warrior, Rogue, or Paladin.
Cultivation Effect
Two races get Racial abilities inWoW Classicthat boost their skill with certain professions. Gnomes get Engineering Specialist, which boosts Engineering by 15 points, and Tauren get Cultivation, which boosts Herbalism by 15.
Of the two, the Gnomes' extra Engineering skill is more powerful, as it means being able to craft higher-level gear faster than other classes. But Cultivation is handy because it reduces the chance of a failed harvest andboosts your material gainsfrom the start.
Stoneform Effects
The Dward racial ability Stoneform is one of the best defensive Racials inWoW. When activated, Stoneform grants the Dwarf character full immunity to all Bleed, Disease, and Poison effects for the duration of 8 seconds. It also boosts Armor by 10% for this period, too.
Because of this one Racial,Dwarves make for excellent Tanksfor the Alliance. If things get hairy, or you are facing enemies that can inflict these effects, a Dwarf tank can take it all head-on and come out on the other side with barely a scratch.
Will of the Forsaken Effects
Escape Artist, a Gnome Racial ability, and Will of the Forsaken, an Undead Racial ability, both serve the same purpose: breaking CC. Gnomes are able to breakanyeffect that impairs Movement Speed or completely immobilizes them, while Undead can become immune to Charm, Fear, and Sleep effects – which are extremely common in much of the game’s mid-to-late game content.
Of the two, Escape Artist is the most useful across the board, but there are moments when anUndead character can ignore an incoming Fear(or a Raid-wide Fear) that can keep you out of trouble. Essentially, Escape Artist will break most CC while Will of the Forsaken his more specific, but still powerful.
Berserking Effects
TwoRaces available to Horde players(Orcs and Trolls) both have a similar activated ability that empowers themselves in different ways. The Orc Racial ability Blood Fury increases Melee Attack power but reduces incoming Healing, while the Troll Racial ability Berserking increases Casting & Melee Attack Speed based on your current HP total.
Of the two, Trolls come out on top because Blood Fury can only affect Melee damage, while Berserking affects both casters and melee specs. If you are playing a Melee DPS class, though, the Orcs' 25% boost to Attack Power is hard to pass up.
Diplomacy Effects
The Human Racial ability Diplomacy was recently removed fromWorld of WarcraftinThe War Within, but inWoW Classic, players can see what makes this racial ability just so useful. Diplomacy simply increases all incoming Reputation gains by 10% – which saves a lot of time when grinding out Reputation for certain parts of endgameWoWcontent.
Think of it like this:as a Human inWoW, when others have to kill 10 enemies to get a certain amount of Reputation, you only have to kill 9. This Reputation bonus also applies to Quest Reputation rewards. You won’t notice it, but over time, your Reputation bonus will add up and you will end up saving a ton of time grinding.
War Stomp Effects
War Stomp is the bestWoW Classicracial ability because it grants all Tauren classes a way to Interrupt enemies. Mostclasses inWoW Classicdon’t have an Interrupt ability, which stops enemy spellcasts or Stuns them to prevent abilities. But no matter which class you choose, all Tauren characters get War Stomp and a way to prevent opponents from doing what they want to do – a really underrated skill in the vanilla game.
War Stomp is a powerful addition to a Tauren Warrior or Druid’s Tanking toolkit because it can affect up to 5 enemies in the nearby area, not just the target. But no matter what kind of Tauren you make, War Stomp is an invaluable ability that you will likely end up using as often as your Class cooldown abilities.
