Tauren or Orc?

[Alien_Newborn]

I'm at this point about 95% sure that I'm gonna get WoW for Christmas (and if I don't, I'm still gonna buy it anyways), so I've been thinking ahead. Of all the races to choose from, I'm positive I'm going for either an Orc or a Tauren, but I'm really torn over which one to choose. If someone could gimme a breakdown of both of the races (what they're good at, what they're not good at, what types of classes they can be, etc.) I would really appreciate it.

Looking forward to cleaving some skulls either way,
TP

[Galuf the Dwarf]

As far as Orcs go, I can say this
- Available classes: Warrior, Shaman, Hunter, Rogue, and Warlock.
- Special traits:
1) +5% damage from Hunter pets or Warlock minions
2) +5 points to Axe skill (applies to both 1-handed and 2-handed axes) (Axes can be used by Warriors, Shamans or Hunters)
3) +15% resistance against stun effects
4) Blood Fury (increases damage for 15 seconds, but healing decreases by half for the duration and, IIRC, after it for a short time)
- Suggested classes: Warrior, Hunter, or Warlock.


Tauren
- Available classes: Warrior, Shaman, Hunter, and Druid.
- Special Traits:
1) +5% health (this includes both initially and at every level-up
2) +10 Nature Resistance
3) War Stomp (2-second stun stun to up to 5 enemies in a 8-foot radius around your character)
4) +15 bonus to Herbalism profession (a MUST if you want to harvest herbs for money or make potions w/ Alchemy)(suggested for Shaman or Druid, since this means they can make their own mana potions and/or potions for other people).
- Suggested classes: Warrior, Shaman, or Druid.

Does that help?

[Skuld]

The stats on the two races only differ in a few points so there's not a whole lot of difference there:

Race Str Agi Sta Int Sp Armor Health
Orc 26 17 24 17 23 36 80
Tauren 28 15 24 15 22 32 84

As Galuf said you have to pay attention to racial traits, based on that you want in a character.

ORC
Blood Fury - (active) Increases base melee attack power by 25% for 15 sec and reduces healing effects on you 50% for 25 sec.
Hardiness - (passive) 25% resistance to stun and knockout effects.
Command - (passive) Pet melee damage increased by 5%.
Axe Specialization - (passive) Orcs get +5 to Axe skill.

TAUREN
War Stomp - (active) Activate to stun up to 5 opponents within 8 yards - lasts 2 sec - 2 min cooldown
Endurance - (passive) Max Health increased by 5%
Cultivation - (passive) 15 skill bonus to Herbalism
Nature Resistance - (passive) All Tauren get +10 Nature Resistance

Also something to take into accounts are the native mounts. Tauren have the Kodo and Orcs have the Wolf. Personally I like the Wolf because you get to reminisce about the Raiders from Warcraft I. You can get other races mounts later on via building reputation, but these are your first options.

[Therion]

Playing a Night ELf druid I know that warstomp (the tauren active racial ability) can save your life. It can interrupt spells and abilities, allow you to cast a spell (or bash away without being hit yourself), prevent a foe from running away for a short time.. and it can affect more than one character.

But both tauren and orcs have quite good racials.

[AllegraFade]

wanna make a tank pick a tauren. from what ive heard people only pick taurens as warriors perhaps shamen or druids as well... its them or night elves on the opposing faction

orcs make the best warlocks apparently due to stun resisence. orc basically means your well geared to most classes available other than warrior

[Caden]

I do believe orcs are geared to warrior. The warrior has been the orc's main class since the first warcraft game. How does +25% attack power not help the warrior class the most?

[Darth Valthri]

I do believe orcs are geared to warrior. The warrior has been the orc's main class since the first warcraft game. How does +25% attack power not help the warrior class the most?

because there are always the egotistical idiots who think any and all AP should go to hunters, rogues, and feral druids, and all warriors are allowed to have is anything plate with only +str/+sta/+def. personally, i think that's a load of crap.

[Chanak]

It's not the fault of players how Blizzard has designed endgame play. They have pigeonholed Paladins into healbots, Warriors into Protection tanks...blah, blah, blah.

@Darth Valthri: I'm not sure how "egotistical idiots" are stealing AP from warriors and giving it to other classes. Care to explain that? Out of the classes you named, none of them can wear plate armor.

[Darth Valthri]

i'm simply stating that they think that all AP should go to them because it makes them more powerful, and the thought of someone else having any AP makes them less superior to any other class. and i realize they can't wear plate, what i meant was that they feel that any gear they can use that has AP should go to them, regardless of who else can use it. mind you, i've grouped with rogues/hunters who think something (usually a weapon) should go to them instead of me (being a pally or warrior as the group's tank) simply because i'm supposed to be tanking and not doing any damage. the stupidities of some people, i tell ya..

[Caden]

anything plate with only +str/+sta/+def.

1 str boosts your ap by 2.

If you're at least giving the warriors the +str gear, then you are indirectly giving them ap as well.

Fury build warriors tend to go after ap as well, I think. Since they have a skill that deals damage equivalent to 45% of their ap. The orc's +25% ap would help a warrior class the most, but of course it would help other classes too. The tauren would make a slightly more defensive warrior, though.

[Darth Valthri]

maybe so, but when was the last time you've seen a fury warrior as a tank? i've been with one in a group to BRD when i was playing my pally. he was 52 or 53ish. we ended up having to switch me to being the main tank. fury warriors are terrible tanks, and that's all ppl want warriors for: tanking. just like most people want pallies for healing, but we can tank fine, jsut like warriors can do excellent dmg given enough good gear. so when you have warriors specced to do dmg rather than take dmg and you have other classes sucking away the gear, you've got an almost-useless warrior. that's half the reason i switched from mostly arms/partly prot to all prot: i couldnt dish out high dmg, and i couldnt take massive dmg, but i had to go at least partly protection as a backup OT. switched to mostly arms, partly fury for BC, but havent lvled past 62 lol.

now that my rambling is done, i just don't think that warriors should be getting screwed out of some gear with dmg just because someone thinks that they aren't supposed to be doing much.

[Caden]

The fury tree is built mainly for soloing. So of course, when you're in a group, people are not going to want fury warriors. The game isn't just about grouping, though.

[Darth Valthri]

true, but if you spend the whole game soloing, your gear is most likely going to suck huge

[Caden]

Why not just respec everytime you group and solo? You don't have to be a defensive or fury warrior all the time.

[Darth Valthri]

you mean respec to do a group run somewhere, then respec to solo-style when you're done? i'd rather carve a hole in my pocket. it'd have the same effect, and it'd be a lot easier on yourself.

[Chanak]

The mechanics of group play - and thus instances - revolve around three general positions in group/raid: healer, tank, and damage-dealer (DPSers, as most of us call them). A further sub-category of significant importance is Crowd Control, or CC. Typically the damage-dealing classes handle crowd control, as healers and tanks have no ability in that area (an exception being a Priest's ability to shackle an undead mob, or use Mind Control on a mob...but then a Priest can deal damage via a Shadow spec). That is how Blizzard has designed group play in WoW, and there's no really no way around it for the most part.

Classes and gear have their limitations. A Paladin's ability to deal damage above level 40 in groups is severely handicapped compared to other classes, resulting in two possible roles: healer, or tank. A Warrior can deal damage but at a disadvantage: their defense suffers, and they have no CC abilities. A druid can heal, deal both spell damage and melee damage, and tank...but their lack of CC ability indoors puts them at a disadvantage, and so in groups/raids usually occupy 2 roles: healer or tank. Etc.

A number of factors are at play here that conspire to make Rogues the preferred melee DPSer, mages and warlocks the preferred "clothie" ranged DPSers, warriors and feral druids the preferred tanks, and priests and paladins the preferred healers. Shamans face prospects similar to paladins. Druids do very well at healing but are handicapped in their ability to bring dead group members back to life, and so usually aren't found much in groups until raid-level and endgame. Don't get me wrong here: a friend of mine heals with his druid for our guild runs in Outland instances and we usually do just fine, but if his rez is on its 30 min cooldown, dead group members must hoof it from the graveyard. Other than that his heals are more than adequate to carry us through bosses like Murmur.

A rogue will generally perform better than a warrior in a melee DPS role in a group for several reasons. First and foremost is their ability to bring CC to a group, an all-important utility that is required in many encounters. Secondly, the rogue class is designed to deal melee damage as their primary role, and as such have better defenses and threat-reducing abilities in that capacity. In contrast a warrior cannot offer a group CC, and sacrifices defenses in order to dual-wield in Berserker stance or wield a two-handed weapon in Battle Stance. Also, a warrior has no ability to shed threat from themselves should they gain it...other than dying or being bubbled by a paladin. Threat management and crowd control is of such importance in high-end content that it is easy to see why warriors are often passed up in the role of melee DPS. They simply do not do as well as rogues in that capacity. Pure damage numbers are not the only consideration for the position.

As tanks, however, Warriors are arguably the best in the game. It is what the warrior class is designed for in groups, and their primary purpose there. A warrior has abilities to attract aggro and increase their threat, meaning they make the best target for a beating in a group. Their high health and excellent armor, plus the ability to block with a shield, make them ideally suited as tanks.


Feral druids come in a close second, with Paladins bringing up the rear. I have tanked instances with all three. All things considered, it is easier for a warrior to tank. However, since the primary job of a tank is to attract attention and take a beating, warriors aren't the only ones who can do the job successfully. A Paladin tank can generate threat quickly, but having less health than a warrior or feral druid they are a bit more vulnerable to heavy hitters. A feral druid is an excellent tank since in Dire Bear form their health and armor are on par with a Protection Warrior.

In groups warriors do not do very well in a melee DPS role, through no fault of a player. Group and solo play are different animals altogether.

[Darth Valthri]

As tanks, however, Warriors are arguably the best in the game. It is what the warrior class is designed for in groups, and their primary purpose there. A warrior has abilities to attract aggro and increase their threat, meaning they make the best target for a beating in a group. Their high health and excellent armor, plus the ability to block with a shield, make them ideally suited as tanks.

i agree with the "arguably". my paladin can hold aggro relatively well (no where as easily as i could on my warrior (glory be to sunder armor), but still fairly well), and as prot spec i find i can take a fairly hefty beating. when i was ret, i wasn't doing all that well, so i decided to try a prot/partly holy spec. haven't dropped it since. the ability to fight off 4-5 avg-dmg mobs at the same lvl as me is great. grabbing aggro from mobs is a bit of a pain (excluding undead), but once i do, i've found that i become their favourite dance partner.

[Caden]

you mean respec to do a group run somewhere, then respec to solo-style when you're done? i'd rather carve a hole in my pocket. it'd have the same effect, and it'd be a lot easier on yourself.

No, I don't mean respec every five minutes. More like respec every 5 days. Spend a few days doing a bunch of group runs to get armor on a protection build, then respec fury to do some solo questing.

[Darth Valthri]

oooohhh.... ok then yeah that makes a bit more sense.

[Vai'Lutra]

Tauren look big though.

On a purely ornamental note:

Tauren are bigger and their mounts are bigger.
not that means anything it just makes you look bigger =)