trying to decide between the 2 races. i’d be mainly resto but i will play all 3 specs. i am trying to push all content as well meaning PvP and PvE content.
which of the 2 would be best for pushing both content and by pushing i mean pushing to my max potential not say just a +15 key or Heroic raiding or low rated pvp. i mostly PvE but i am also trying to learn how to PvP as well mainly arena’s i can do RBG’s just fine otherwise.
which of the 2 would overall benefit me in this situation as i know they both are not amazing for both situations rather 1 is good at PvP and vice versa.
I believe 100% you should always pick the race you enjoy the aesthetics and lore of the most. Use Wowhead’s Dressing Room feature to try out different Mail / Shaman armor sets on the Orcs, Trolls, Taurens, Goblins, Pandaren, and Vulpera (and all allied race variants). Some of the bulkier sets look weird on the smaller characters, or on hunched over ones.
Also factor in the other quality of life perks, such as Goblin remote bank access, Highmountain Cooking/Fishing boons, Mag’har Orc flight speed bonus, etc. Both Tauren also have back-equipped totems via Heritage Armor, reinforcing the Shaman look and feel.
PvE
They’ve done a pretty decent job getting all the racials to a relatively even spot, so one race or another doesn’t make a difference in PvE DPS/HPS.
For reference, see how similar the DPS numbers are between all races on Bloodmallet:
https://bloodmallet.com/index.html#shaman_enhancement?data_view=races
Swap between ST and AOE, Enhancement and Elemental: all four charts depict that all the races doing the same amount of DPS. Keep in mind, however, that the Orcs, Darkspear Troll, Vulpera, etc have to use their racial almost on cooldown / in encounters with frequent burst windows to maximize their DPS.
PvP
Yes, some racials seem to be better in PvP than others, but if you can’t stand looking at your character you aren’t going to be PvPing with it anyway.
- Orc Stun reduction is often seen as pretty awesome, but I feel it’s overrated. You are being hit by multiple types of CC that don’t share DR (e.g. Stun vs Incapacitate vs Disorient vs Root) so shaving off 0.5 to 1 second from the type of CC you are likely going to use your Gladiator’s Medallion (e.g. “trinket”) to break out of anyway isn’t that game-changing.
- Mag’har Orc reduces Poison and Disease effects from Rogues and DKs, which is decent (Warlock Curses, too, but you can Cleanse Spirit if you want to burn a GCD/some mana).
- Zandalari Regeneratin’ can be pretty useful if you can pillar hump or otherwise get away to heal. You also have some flexibility in the passive bonus you get with Embrace of Loa.
- Darkspear Troll Root/Snare reduction is also nice, though Ghost Wolf / Spirit walk (Enh) / Spiritwalker’s Grace (Resto) reduce its value a tiny bit.
- For two expansions, Tauren War Stomp was a Shaman’s only CC ability. Today it doesn’t seem to hold as much value, but I could be wrong.
- Highmountain Tauren Rush seems really nice, specifically for melee ranged Enhancement Shamans. We are one of the few melee specs that lacks an instant cast, targeted stun ability, and when combined with Sundering, Cap Totem, and Wind Shear it can help you lock down quite a few types of enemies. The bonus passive Versatility is nice as well.
- I have no experience with Vulpera, Pandaren, and Goblin.
3 Likes
Troll for pve
Orc for pvp.
Unless you doing top of the edge content, just pick the race you like the most.
Trolls just scream shaman to me. Completely subjective though
orc orc orc orc orc
in terms of pve damage orc sims around 500 dps lower than troll in most pve content
however orc hardiness is WAY too good to give up in structured rated pvp
even though alliance racials are 99% of the time better for most comps, rsham is one of the very few specs that benefit from being horde simply since orc is the only competitive non nelf/human racial in the game
i genuinely don’t think i’ve ever qd into a troll shaman above 2k though that’s not the direct cause obviously but
whenever i q into a troll anything in arena i can say without even looking they’ll have a mid range purple io and will throw the game in some way out of inexperience
PvE is so close it’s negligible, PvP if you care about the top end of things orc fares well due to stun reduction.
That’s it. Play what you want to is my answer.
Orc is always the correct answer 
It’s not the opinion you asked for but I’m all for Tauren Shaman. Half is because they are my favorite race and the other is giant totem on my back. Now if Blizz would just give me a totem as a weapon I could die happy.
I chose high mountain for mine. The aoe stun coupled with the stun totem is a rad combo. Heritage armor looks super cool too.
If I were a min maxer though, I’d go troll for PvE, orc for PvP.
Luckily for me, I’m not so I get to choose cool races.
You guys spelled “goblin” weird.
<3 Rocket Jump <3
When I originally made my shaman, he was a troll. Eventually race changed to orc and enjoyed him more. Ended up faction changing to play with friends on alliance. Abandoned him as a drenei as soon as he got capped 2 weeks after BFA started. picked him back up when i came back to the game 6 months ago and IMMEDIATELY changed him back to orc and will now never make him anything else. Orc as shaman is one of the most solid esthetically and cannonically appropriate race/class combos in the game to me, right up there with Human Paladin and Night Elf Druid.
So they say…
Orcs, Anti-stun
Trolls, Haste CD
Goblins, Rocket Jump
Vulpera, Bag Space (and seducing someone else’s significant other because it’s weird like that and they like the weird stuff)
