The Humans of Stormwind
World of Warcraft has been around for a long time now, and its setting is one of the most complex, developed worlds for a game. The current iteration of the Warcraft universe began 15 years ago, but the previous RTS games that built the world we see in-game span about another 10 years past that, with Warcraft: Orcs & Humans which came out in 1994. People have grown up in this world and spent much of their lives chasing murlocs and hunting the next shiny epic piece of gear.
I’m going to be doing a series of articles not for the seasoned Warcraft player, there’s plenty of sites for that, filled with endless debates on the moral nature of Sylvanas Windrunner or if Garrosh Hellscream/Lord Garithos did anything wrong. I want to lay out some simple aspects of the game for new players, who might find this world a little daunting to enter at first. There will be an introduction to the races and classes, without going into exhausting details on the mechanics or number-crunching, so you can get a feel for a race or class and from there explore further into Azeroth.
First off, we have to start with the one race we all know better than any other in the Warcraft universe, because we are them; Humans.
Playable humans in World of Warcraft hail from one of the many human kingdoms, Stormwind. Stormwind was the most southern of the human kingdoms. Alongside Lordaeron, Gilneas, Stromgarde, Alterac, Dalaran, and Kul Tiras, Stormwind was one of the successor states of the Empire of Arathor, which collapsed about 1,200 years before the original Warcraft.
Prior to the empire, early humans found themselves constantly locked in a war for survival against various forest troll tribes, from the Witherbark tribe to the large Amani Empire, humanity’s struggle against trollkind led to their eventual unification and the creation of the Arathi Empire on the northern continent of Lordaeron. After the empire balkanized into 6 kingdoms, the surviving royal family of Arathor left Strom and journeyed to the southern continent, passing the Dwarven lands ruled by Ironforge and settling in the south, founding the most isolated human kingdom; Stormwind.
Over time, Stormwind prospered as agriculture spread through the surrounding lands in Elwynn Forest, Westfall, the Red Ridge Mountains, and Duskwood (then called Brightwood). The Kingdom of Stormwind enjoyed a placid period of growth, until a portal opened up in the distant, murky swamp called the Black Morass, southeast of the kingdom. Out of this portal emerged a bloodthirsty horde of large, green-skinned aliens, bent on the slaughter, pillage, and desecration of everything they encountered; the Orcish Horde.
The aftermath of the First War with the Horde left Stormwind destroyed, with the remnants of its army and refugees fleeing north under the protection of Stormwind’s greatest hero, Lord Anduin Lothar, to the lands where the rest of the human kingdoms dwelled in Lordaeron. This would in turn lead to creation of the Alliance of Lordaeron, where Lordaeron, Stromgarde, Dalaran, and Kul Tiras joined forces, along with the Dwarves of Ironforge, the Gnomes of Gnomeregan, and the High Elves of Quel’thalas, to create the first iteration of what we would know of as the Alliance. The Kingdom of Alterac would refuse to join, believing the Horde’s victory inevitable, and even colluded with the Orcish invaders. Gilneas believed themselves strong enough to defend their land alone, and as such refused to join. This was a decision that was to have massive ramifications of Gilneas in time. However, the Alliance went on to defeat the Horde, and went on to rebuild Stormwind.
World of Warcraft begins with a Stormwind that is once again ascendant. Much of the devastation wrought by the Horde has been repaired, and Stormwind once again stands as humanity’s southernmost bastion, ever watchful to make sure they are not surprised by another orcish invasion through the Dark Portal.
Humans have a broad range of classes available to play. They can be warriors, paladins, death knights, hunters, rogues, monks, mages, warlocks, and priests. Among the most iconic of humans are their paladins of the Silver Hand. In addition, many notable mages have been humans as well.
Humans have three racial bonuses, these are:
1. The Human Spirit: Human adaptability gives them 2% extra secondary stats (crit, haste, mastery) from all sources. This means any piece of gear or spell buff or food that gives a secondary stat boost will be a little stronger for a human.
2. Diplomacy: Humans are inquisitive and outgoing, always exploring and interacting with every race they meet. This gives them an advantage on their reputation gains with every faction they encounter. They will gain a 10% bonus to reputation whenever doing anything that builds reputation, be it other races in the Alliance or in the myriad of organizations and factions you will encounter across Azeroth and the cosmos.
3.Every Man for Himself: The uncanny human ability to get themselves out of trouble gives them the ability to shrug off stuns instantly (with a cooldown for use)
Humans are a very popular choice for World of Warcraft players as they have strong racials for building reputations with factions, and Every Man for Himself has always been popular for the PvP aspects of the game (though it has been weakened and nerfed over the years). They also have a number of iconic characters in the lore, from paladins like Uther Lightbringer, Tyrion Fordring, and Turalyon to famed mages like Medivh, Antonidas, and Khadgar, to the tragic Death Knight Arthas, one of Warcraft’s most iconic villains. And as you play your way through the expansions of World of Warcraft, you will learn the earliest history of the humans, and their heritage as Children of the Titans, along with Dwarves, Gnomes, and other races. You can’t go wrong with a human in World of Warcraft, so grab a sword and fight the Horde!
I’m going to be doing a series of articles not for the seasoned Warcraft player, there’s plenty of sites for that, filled with endless debates on the moral nature of Sylvanas Windrunner or if Garrosh Hellscream/Lord Garithos did anything wrong. I want to lay out some simple aspects of the game for new players, who might find this world a little daunting to enter at first. There will be an introduction to the races and classes, without going into exhausting details on the mechanics or number-crunching, so you can get a feel for a race or class and from there explore further into Azeroth.
First off, we have to start with the one race we all know better than any other in the Warcraft universe, because we are them; Humans.
Playable humans in World of Warcraft hail from one of the many human kingdoms, Stormwind. Stormwind was the most southern of the human kingdoms. Alongside Lordaeron, Gilneas, Stromgarde, Alterac, Dalaran, and Kul Tiras, Stormwind was one of the successor states of the Empire of Arathor, which collapsed about 1,200 years before the original Warcraft.
Prior to the empire, early humans found themselves constantly locked in a war for survival against various forest troll tribes, from the Witherbark tribe to the large Amani Empire, humanity’s struggle against trollkind led to their eventual unification and the creation of the Arathi Empire on the northern continent of Lordaeron. After the empire balkanized into 6 kingdoms, the surviving royal family of Arathor left Strom and journeyed to the southern continent, passing the Dwarven lands ruled by Ironforge and settling in the south, founding the most isolated human kingdom; Stormwind.
Over time, Stormwind prospered as agriculture spread through the surrounding lands in Elwynn Forest, Westfall, the Red Ridge Mountains, and Duskwood (then called Brightwood). The Kingdom of Stormwind enjoyed a placid period of growth, until a portal opened up in the distant, murky swamp called the Black Morass, southeast of the kingdom. Out of this portal emerged a bloodthirsty horde of large, green-skinned aliens, bent on the slaughter, pillage, and desecration of everything they encountered; the Orcish Horde.
The aftermath of the First War with the Horde left Stormwind destroyed, with the remnants of its army and refugees fleeing north under the protection of Stormwind’s greatest hero, Lord Anduin Lothar, to the lands where the rest of the human kingdoms dwelled in Lordaeron. This would in turn lead to creation of the Alliance of Lordaeron, where Lordaeron, Stromgarde, Dalaran, and Kul Tiras joined forces, along with the Dwarves of Ironforge, the Gnomes of Gnomeregan, and the High Elves of Quel’thalas, to create the first iteration of what we would know of as the Alliance. The Kingdom of Alterac would refuse to join, believing the Horde’s victory inevitable, and even colluded with the Orcish invaders. Gilneas believed themselves strong enough to defend their land alone, and as such refused to join. This was a decision that was to have massive ramifications of Gilneas in time. However, the Alliance went on to defeat the Horde, and went on to rebuild Stormwind.
World of Warcraft begins with a Stormwind that is once again ascendant. Much of the devastation wrought by the Horde has been repaired, and Stormwind once again stands as humanity’s southernmost bastion, ever watchful to make sure they are not surprised by another orcish invasion through the Dark Portal.
Humans have a broad range of classes available to play. They can be warriors, paladins, death knights, hunters, rogues, monks, mages, warlocks, and priests. Among the most iconic of humans are their paladins of the Silver Hand. In addition, many notable mages have been humans as well.
Humans have three racial bonuses, these are:
1. The Human Spirit: Human adaptability gives them 2% extra secondary stats (crit, haste, mastery) from all sources. This means any piece of gear or spell buff or food that gives a secondary stat boost will be a little stronger for a human.
2. Diplomacy: Humans are inquisitive and outgoing, always exploring and interacting with every race they meet. This gives them an advantage on their reputation gains with every faction they encounter. They will gain a 10% bonus to reputation whenever doing anything that builds reputation, be it other races in the Alliance or in the myriad of organizations and factions you will encounter across Azeroth and the cosmos.
3.Every Man for Himself: The uncanny human ability to get themselves out of trouble gives them the ability to shrug off stuns instantly (with a cooldown for use)
Humans are a very popular choice for World of Warcraft players as they have strong racials for building reputations with factions, and Every Man for Himself has always been popular for the PvP aspects of the game (though it has been weakened and nerfed over the years). They also have a number of iconic characters in the lore, from paladins like Uther Lightbringer, Tyrion Fordring, and Turalyon to famed mages like Medivh, Antonidas, and Khadgar, to the tragic Death Knight Arthas, one of Warcraft’s most iconic villains. And as you play your way through the expansions of World of Warcraft, you will learn the earliest history of the humans, and their heritage as Children of the Titans, along with Dwarves, Gnomes, and other races. You can’t go wrong with a human in World of Warcraft, so grab a sword and fight the Horde!
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