Percentages of nearly wiped out races?

Lore Story Forum
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I am trying to remember how many races faced extinction and rebounded. High Elves suffered 90% extinction in Quel’thelas and their holdings outside of their nation survived, and 10% of those within Silvermoon and it’s surrounding areas.

80% for gnomes in Gnomeregan, but had populations in Kul’tiras, Stormwind and Ironforge, but suffered huge losses.

Night Elves we know our the majority dead, but unknown percentage wise.

Humans lost Stormwind, Lordaeron, Gilneas, Stromgarde, and Theramore have all recently been driven to near extinction. Theramore was obliterated off the map. Lordaeron with the Scourge and the Horde-Alliance conflict should be mostly a refugee population. Stormgarde during Cataclysm also suffered huge losses with their prince being killed same with Gilneas. So perhaps humanity is 10 or 20% of the original population that existed say 30 years ago? I cant imagine there being much of a human presence in the fashion that existed before the First War.

Then we have Night Elves… How many are left? Not nearly enough, but still able to field a military or rather what remains is mostly military. The civilian population should be bordering on extinction. I would hazard they suffer nearly the same losses as Thalassian elves? So maybe 90% of their civilian population destroyed?

Draenei I know were about 80% lost and they purposefully made it look like they were almost all wiped out by sacrificing so many at the battle of Shattrath and Karabor. The survivors hid in Zangarmarsh. So we know they’re just now recovering.

Tauren were nearly wiped same goes for trolls. Orcs were repeatedly decimated by the wars on Draenor and later the wars on Azeroth. So I cant imagine the horde prime races being anywhere near the same population levels of their Alliance counterparts just because their numbers were smaller on the onset of their genocides and/or war losses. I would wager maybe 20% of their original populations before the First War. Again, the Horde side have far less details of numbers.

Forsaken suffered a lot during the Fourth War and took the brunt of losses in Darkshore. I cant imagine them having a significantly large population. I would imagine Nightborne to be more numerous and same for Highmountain Tauren. Maybe they’re numbers are greater than Mag’har Orcs, but I would guess not by much.

I would guess that goblins and dwarves being the most populous races on Azeroth. Humans in spite their losses would be next. Then I would be guessing beyond that. Since the debate of Kaldorei losses made me wonder about percentages and losses. Anyone have any good ideas of who remains after all these wars?

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Couple things. One is that Theramore was mostly evacuated before it was ‘wiped off the map’. Some of its citizens were taken as prisoners, but many were later rescued and released.

The other thing is it was the Darkspear trolls that were nearly wiped out. The other tribes, while nowhere near their original strength from years of war, still manage to thrive for the most part with the exception of the Drakkari and the Dark Trolls, which are considered extinct. Although the Zandalari are also considered to be in decline, the bulk of their forces survived the siege of Dazaralor, thanks in part to the Alliances diversion tactics, so among the Horde Trolls in general may be the most numerous race at this point.

The Goblins of Kezan lost a large portion of their numbers during Cataclysm when Deathwing caused the volcano to erupt, but the Bilgewater are just one of many cartels that were on the surface and there’s been no word on if the Undermine (the goblin capital) remained intact or not.

The Dwarves have lost many over the years, but they probably are the most populated race among the Alliance now thanks to the three clans reuniting.

The only race that might be more numerous than the dwarves or trolls is the Pandaren, although it’s hard to pin down exactly how numerous they are meant to be, with the threat of the Sha put to rest there aren’t many threats that they have to contend with that they have not been dealing with for thousands of years already.

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The city was and if I remember correctly Garrosh intercepted the ships with the refugees and made them fight for their lives and used them as target practice.

When it comes to the trolls it feels like with the many raids into their lands and the wars since Vanilla. I’m surprised there are any trolls left. Amani were raided twice in Zul’Aman and huge numbers wiped out. Zul’Gurub was raided twice and their leadership wiped out. The Sunken Temple worshippers of Hakkar were raided and devestated in part by the green dragons and adventurers, Ferraki were basically wiped out during the Cataclysm and Mists of Pandaria with the sand trolls abandoning their capital due to the loss of water and goblin encroachment. I remember reading that the goblins of Tenaris had all but turned much of the desert into a city. What remained relocated to Zandalar or remained at the very edges of Tenaris. Then there were the Drakkari… not many left after the Scourge and the Zandalari campaign. The few ice trolls that remained had become island hoppers.

So if we consider the losses of the Zandalari, and all other other troll nations I think they are among the Horde’s most numerous people just by virtue of their ability to reproduce.

Goblins rebound faster than any other race on Azeroth. I remember reading that they breed like rabbits and the only reason Azeroth isn’t utterly dominated by the goblin cartels is because they also happen to have the highest mortality rates of any race on Azeroth and only because they enjoy pyrotechnics a little too much…

I agree on the Pandaren probably being the most numerous and stable race in game. Cant imagine them not thriving. I really wish we the books on the Eastern Kingdoms and the new one on Kalimdor had a census record or something to base the recovery of the races of Azeroth.

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Do we? Has it been stated that the majority of those who existed had been slain in the Burning and the War of Thorns?

I hazard to guess more kaldorei were killed by their own Queen, Azshara. And the ensuing Sundering.

That was in Anduin’s internal monologue. While the High King can speak for the Alliance, he can not speak for the objective narrative.

That is his opinion.

As with the kaldorei, the eredar are likely responsible for the most deaths of their own people.

The greater part of the eredar sided with Sargeras.

Kiljaeden of Argus pursued the Draenei, and he corrupted the Orcs in the MU.

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It’s a Crapsack World, as per the Trope. Not nearly as bad as Warhammer 40k where entire planetary populations have been lost due to rounding errors.

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Basically! Feels like the next big bad will be worse than the last. Cant imagine a worse villain than Zovaal who on paper should be the ultimate bad guy. I just feel like he’s a missed opportunity. I cant imagine there being life on Azeroth or anywhere in the universe when the mortality rate and the recent wars seem to be killing people faster than can reproduce.

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It has been stated that the Night Elves are near extinct after the burning, and it’s only logical since all their 3 zones were wiped out.

See above.

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Dalaran? They’re one of the three races (alongside High Elves and Humans) who do rotations as guard NPCs

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Cant forget Dalaran. Now that I think of it. If it weren’t for Dalaran the High Elves and Gnomes wouldn’t be able to rebound as strongly as they have. For a small city state it really is a refuge for many people.

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Is it assumed that none from the Scourge regained free will?

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This entire statement is wrong.

Blizz said the Night Elves were nearly wiped out. Which means they avoided actually being wiped out. That doesn’t speak to numbers, that only speaks to the point that they were not wiped out.

If I am “nearly wiped out” by a drunk driver… that means I narrowly avoided being wiped out. It doesn’t necessarily mean 90% of my body is destroyed and only 10% remains. I could be completely free of injury, because I moved out of the way.

The only thing Blizzard confirmed by saying the Night Elves were “nearly wiped out” is that they do in fact exist, and were not wiped out. Apparently, some posters who ignore the lore, like you, needed to be reminded.

The they out right prove this statement wrong :

Blizz never said they were wiped out. They said the opposite. They said “nearly”, which means it could have occurred but did not.

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You said the statement is wrong and then went ahead to prove it right in your next sentences

Yea, because there were a handful of night elves elsewhere in Azeroth, doesn’t change anything about the fact that they had their 3 zones wiped out where they lived and then their souls obliterated.

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That is your head canon and Blizzard outright contradicts you. Blizzard outright said they were “nearly” wiped out- which means they were not wiped out.

I have to thank Blizz for confirming you are always wrong when you post about their race being wiped out.

Blizzard included the word “nearly” with good reason. Because they were not wiped out. They avoided being wiped out. If they had actually been wiped out, Blizzard would not have included the word “nearly”.

If you want to ignore words the Devs used because they demolish your head canon, be my guest. But the fact that your head canon is outright disproven by Devs will likely be pointed out.

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Uh I don’t know what you’re saying.

If the Night Elves got wiped out in their 3 main zones and only the handful of Night Elves elsewhere in Azeroth survived, then they are nearly wiped out.

And this is exactly what happened.

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If “ifs” and “buts” were candy and nuts, we’d all have a merry Christmas.

More head canon from you. That is not stated anywhere in the lore.

The only instance of Blizzard using the term “wiped out” is by stating the Night Elves were not wiped out - because they were nearly wiped out.

Blizz did not say “oh they were actually wiped out in every place except a few who weren’t there” - that is purely your baseless head canon and conjecture.

Thank you Blizzard, for proving how wrong these posters are. The Night Elves were not wiped out.

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Yes it is, it even happened on screen if you played the game. The Horde rushed through Ashenvale and Darkshore, killing soldiers and civilians alike and then burned Teldrassil, killing the Night Elves’ population in the process.

Now all that’s left of the Night Elves are those few that were elsewhere in Azeroth at the time, which are “far too few” and it makes them near extinct and you can’t argue against that since it was stated in an interview that they are nearly wiped out.

And they also can’t recover from it because their souls are also obliterated, so no revival.

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That’s more of your lies and false head canon. Blizzard out right said they were not wiped out.

And we later see imprisoned Night Elf survivors.

The numbers aren’t clear, nor is the scale.

The only reference we have from a Dev is that they were nearly wiped out. Which means they were not wiped out.

Teldrassil is the only place one could argue was close - but even then, we don’t know the numbers.

In Elegy, the Night Elves rescued from Teldrassil pour out of Stormwind - and in the BfA mission tables, the Alliance is still saving people who miraculously survived.

It could be anywhere between 1% and 99% that fell . But to say it is a majority is unproven headcanon.

It may end up being that a few thousand were killed, and a hundred thousand survived.

I certainly can, because you are wrong.

The Dev didn’t say “nearly extinct.”

The Dev said “nearly wiped out.”

Those are two different phrases with two different meanings. Their deliberate use of “nearly wiped out” proves that they avoided being wiped out.

It just goes to show that some Posters who purport to be Night El fans will ignore the Devs, and invent their own head canon, the make things worse than the lore actually is.

Untrue. There are Night Elf survivors being rescued from Teldrassil in BfA, and Night Elven survivors imprisoned in Darkshore.

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I’m not sure if you’re trolling me or if you genuinely don’t understand the comment.

We have:
“Nearly wiped out”
“Far too few” remaining
“Destroyed as a nation, if not as people”

That doesn’t even make sense with the comment “nearly wiped out”

Which are the same.

And again, since the writers don’t want Night Elves as part of WoW anymore, it’s obvious that they will also never recover with their souls obliterated and them having nowhere to go.

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Eh, wouldn’t go that far. They’ll end up like the worgen, perpetual hobos blizz will use when they bother to remember they exist as a playable race

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Yes - we have the Devs outright contradicting you, because they never said the Night Elves were wiped out. They included the word “nearly”, to show that they did infact survive as a people.

That was Anduin’s perspective. If even one Night Elf died, he might think too few remained, because the one who died should not have.

That doesn’t mean anything when trying to guess at numbers.

“Anduin thinks too few remain” does not equal anything other than that.

That was Sylvanas’s perspective and goal - and she failed at both. As per the Devs, who confirmed that the Night Elves were “nearly” wiped out - and thus, not wiped out.

No. They are different. That shows one reason you fail to grasp the lore - you fail to grasp words, in general.

I am content with using the words Blizzard did when discussing the lore. You extrapolate with head canon.

More baseless conjecture. They outright discuss an interaction between Tyrande and Sylvanas. The Night Elves are a part of WoW in the future.