Class lore This article explains why certain class es are available to the various race s open to player character s . " For a more general analysis of the lore behind each class , see : Alliance . Humans . Paladin : Human knights founded the original order of Paladins , the Silver Hand , during the Second War . Though the Hand suffered greatly during the Third War , Paladins still fight on in the defense of humanity . Mage : During the war with the trolls , prior to the orc ' s arrival via the Dark Portal , high elven mages agreed to teach one hundred humans the arcane secrets of magic . After the war had been won , the humans and small number of high elves founded the Mageocracy of Dalaran . Dalaran fell soon after the start of the Third War , but by that time , mages had spread to human cities all over Azeroth . Warlock : Since the destruction of Dalaran , there is no longer any major body of mages — like the Kirin Tor — to regulate the use of magic . Though frowned upon by society , many mages have turned to demonic magic in pursuit of knowledge , power or revenge against the Legion . Priest : Humans have long followed the Holy Light , and it plays a major role in their society . Priests exist to guide their people in the ways of the Light . Dwarves . Paladins and Priests : The dwarves were introduced to the Holy Light by humans and have adopted it as their religion . After the Third War , the humans began allowing dwarves into the Knights of the Silver Hand to repopulate the shattered order . Hunters : The dwarves have long been renowned for their brilliant marksmanship and skill with guns . In recent times , the foundation of an Explorers ' League has spread dwarven adventurers all across the globe . Gnomes . Mage : With their intuitive and curious minds , the gnomes have great interest in all the sciences of Azeroth , and the arcane is no exception . Warlock : In the same way as humans became warlocks , sometimes a gnome ' s pursuit of knowledge leads them down more dangerous paths of magical study . Night elves . Druids : After the destruction of the Well of Eternity the night elves turned away from the use of the arcane and became wardens of the world they had almost destroyed . The druids were led by Cenarius ' s first night elf student , Malfurion Stormrage . The druid order was made only of males until the end of the 3rd War . The loss of druids during that war has led to some females entering the fold . Hunter : Being defenders of nature , the elves are keen hunters . The closeness to nature which the night elves cultivate gives them a strong bond to animals , and elven archers have long defended Ashenvale from enemy invaders . Priest : The night elves worship the Moon Goddess , Elune . The Priestesses of Elune have recently begun accepting males , just as the druids have with females . Mage : Former servants of the enigmatic Shen ' dralar , Highborne magi are some of the most powerful on Azeroth . Lending their services to Tyrande Whisperwind and Darnassus during Cataclysm , the Highbourne magi hope to repair their relationship with their kin . Draenei . Priests and Paladins : Having been taught the ways of the Holy Light from the naaru , the draenei are a very religious race and priests are very important to them . They have long employed holy warriors in their fight against the Legion . Amongst the draenei , Priests and Paladins are known as Anchorites and Vindicators , respectively . Shaman : The draenei were taught about shamanism by Nobundo , a Broken shaman . Mage : The draenei / eredar are extremely intelligent and have a natural affinity for magic in all its myriad forms ( according to the official Burning Crusade website ) . Horde . Orcs . Hunters : Being feral in nature , the orcs are natural hunters . The shamanistic culture the orcs practiced before the demons included the practice of taking on animals as lifelong companions . Shaman : Having returned to their shamanistic roots , the orcs are important shamans of the New Horde . Thrall used his powers as a Shaman to revitalize the orcs after they were all but lost to the demon taint . Warlock : A few orc warlocks pledge themselves to Thrall and the New Horde . Many of these warlocks still work for the Shadow Council or one of its sub - organizations , such as the Burning Blade , but some are genuinely loyal to Thrall . They are constantly being watched by Thrall ' s suspecting eyes . Tauren . Druid : Being in tune with nature and their Earthmother , the tauren are very druidic . Now that the night elves have come out from their centuries of hiding , the tauren have been re - exposed to druidic powers . They had practiced the druidic arts side by side with night elves during the War of the Ancients but it had fallen out of practice . Hunter : Hunters play an important role in tauren society , both for keeping the tribe sustained and in following the sacred rites of the Great Hunt . Shaman : With their spirit walkers and nature / totem - based religious practices , Tauren make ideal candidates for the way of the Shaman . Troll . Hunter : Trolls are well known and respected for their prowess as hunters . Vol ' jin , leader of the Darkspear tribe of trolls that joined the Horde , is a Shadow Hunter . Priest : The trolls worship their primal Loa gods . Troll priests are feared for their voodoo hexes . Mage : The trolls have faced major defeats at the hand of mages twice in history . A cunning and adaptable race , they have since shown a talent for the Arcane Arts themselves . Shaman : Before joining the Horde they were witch doctors who excelled in the powers of the wards and alchemy study , so a kind of shaman has always existed among the trolls , but only recently have the trolls begun to study the shamanistic arts , which they were taught by the orcs , and in conjunction with their voodoo magics trolls make up the Shaman class quite well , and are teaching their arts to other trolls and orcs as well . Warrior : The trolls can be berserkers . They are a bloodthirsty sect of trolls dedicated to the total annihilation of their hated enemies . As a fury Warrior with dual wielding , trolls can be a wild killing machine . Druid : Many of the loa are powerful nature spirits , so as with shaman , there should be no surprise that there are troll druids . Troll druids are more focused on the living creatures than shaman who are more focused on the elements . Forsaken . The undead retain whatever Class they were from life , so undead can be any class humans can be . Paladins , however , are immune to the plague and therefore none became Undead unless infected willingly . Priests : Most of the undead have abandoned the Light , which has seemingly abandoned them . Many Forsaken now follow the Shadow , a twisted reinterpretation of the Light , one that supports ruthless pursuit of power . Blood elves . Paladin : See Blood Knight . Priests : Though the elves have suffered much since they first adopted the way of the Light from humans , a number are still faithful to the true ideals of their religion . Mage : They have been natural spellcasters since they were Highborne . Hunter and Rogue : In the Second War , the elves were represented by the Elven Ranger , bowmen and scouts . The two classes of Hunter and Rogue represent the two sides of this training . Warlock : The blood elves have turned to the Burning Legion as a method of obtaining mystical energy , as can be seen by the massive demonic crystals in their towns . The path of the Warlock is simply another way of harnessing the demonic forces .