Ladies and gentlemen, after a half-hour of writing, here is the definitive and totally not subjective racial aesthetic tier list.
S Tier
Goblin
Bruh, I love the Goblins. Yes, they’re u̶g̶l̶y sexy. Yes, they’re dirty. But they have so. Much. Character. Goblins are the comedy relief race, except they also have a history and lore that kinda matters! Goblin transmogs are hands down the most unique in the game, quests with Goblins are the most fun in the game, their architecture is the most recognizable of any in the game, and I was totally not paid to put Goblins at the top.
Nightborne
This is probably what a lot of people wanted out of a magic-focused Elf race that the Blood Elves just didnt give to them. Suramar is hands down the most beautiful city in the game, and their magitech rivals the Draenei in uniqueness. Only thing keeping them from being the absolute best is probably the fact that my eyes hurt after absorbing so much bright purple and lavender.
Draenei
If anything good came out of WoD, it made the Draenei infinitely more interesting. I love the more simple Draenei architecture imposed with the crazy magitech stuff that they of course still have. The Exodar (and I guess all of Tempest Keep by extention) still looks gorgeous. I wish their nature as exiles and engineers stood out more, instead of them just being Light-fearing Paladins and Priests all day every day.
A Tier
Troll (Zandalari)
Placement is for reasons similar to the Darkspear Trolls, except with a lot more gold and a lot more intrigue. That, and the fact that they are still a defined civilization and not just leeching off of a larger coalition, which is nice. Glad they finally gave the Zandalari some character after making them (and the Mogu, but they’re not playable) boogeymen for so long.
Dwarf
It’s super cliche to have Dwarves living in underground fortresses, but Blizzard just went all-in on it. Ironforge is a huge, cozy mountain city, and it seems everywhere else Dwarves are present in the Eastern Kingdoms, a similar underground city thing is nearby. I appreciate how much they made them stand apart from Humans, despite looking pretty similar. Their huge archaeology kick and titan connections make them pretty respectable as well.
Dark Iron Dwarf
Spicy Dwarves. They live under the volcano. mehhhh kinda wished they just made dark iron a customization option instead of a whole new race. still cool tho
Mag’har Orc
Despite how bland it all started to seem as WoD dragged on, the architecture of the various Mag’har clans was actually super interesting. The brutal savagery mixed with what seemed like a rushed need to industrialize kinda resonated with me.
B Tier
Troll (Darkspear)
When I think of a Troll, say, from Dungeons & Dragons, I think of a total monster, some malformed Giantkin living under a bridge and eating scum. Not some rasta voodoo spiritualists who are probably secretly evil. They did something different. I like it. Thanks, Blizzard.
Tauren (Also Highmountain Tauren)
I’ll be honest, I don’t see a lot of Native American imagery in fantasy settings, which is sad because I think it’s super interesting, especially when combined with the magical stuff that makes their spiritualism come to life.
Lightforged Draenei
Similar to regular Draenei, but worse. They don’t get the Draenor bonus points that the regular Draenei get, and their crystals hurt to look at due to literally being lightbulbs.
C Tier
Undead
Normally I would place the Undead a lot lower for being so… generic evil zombie, but I like the fact that they’ve become kinda self aware about it in recent times. (e.g. Nathanos demanding the player go collect chains and purple cloth to make his outpost look more ‘forsaken’) That, and I love how creative the Blizzard art teams are in trying to make them look super gothic without looking full-on evil.
Kul Tiran
Placement is for similar reasons to regular Humans, except instead of Medieval European, it’s… Colonial British. Still more interesting to a fantasy setting, so it’s up a few pegs.
Night Elf
Druidic forest Elves, huh? The huge tree is (was) pretty cool, but everything else about them just feels super done before. Amazonian people with glowing eyes living in a giant tree and worshiping some forest god, fighting back against industrialization? Okay, Ferngully.
…still looks cool tho
Human
Medieval European architecture. Either I’ve seen this before in a history book, or my /played should be a lot higher.
Nah, I mean, it’s a fantasy cliche to have Humans living in wood and stone towers and fortresses, but I kinda wish Blizzard did something a little more interesting with it. Average.
D Tier
Blood Elf
The blood Elves have Gnome-syndrome; as in, their aesthetic would be super interesting, except all references to their aesthetic have been pushed aside. Think of the last time you saw actual Blood Elf architecture except for your last Sunwell mog run. It’s beautiful (which is why it’s above Worgen and gnomes) but it’s been made totally irrelevant.
Worgen
The Worgen have Gnome-syndrome; as in, their aesthetic would be super interesting, except all references to their aesthetic have been pushed aside. Still a step above Gnomes since their racial units and faction leader are a lot more relevant in current content.
Gnome
I appreciate what they tried to do with the Gnomes, living in an underground mechanized wonderland, but the total lack of Gnome appearances in WoW lore has kinda made their aesthetic meld with Humans and Dwarves. If they were more relevant, easily A tier, but as for right now they don’t really seem to have an identity anymore outside of being small and bug-eyed.
E Tier
Orc
Spikes. Red and spikes. None of the cool tribalist stuff from their ancestry on Draenor, just… red and spikes. Come on, Orcs, get the Garrosh out of your aesthetic. We’re 3 expansions removes from him being the Warchief. Freshen up.
Pandaren
I might be biased, but the fact that they made Monk nothing but “HEY LOOK AT THIS ASSET FROM MOP” just grinds my gears to no end. Pandaria is a gorgeous continent, but their architecture is just… insert Chinese dynasty here. Their personalities are just some weird mixture between Night Elves and Dwarves. Blah. The more I write, the more I realize that nobody actually likes Pandaren.
F Tier
Mechagnome
Landfill Gnomes. Yeah, sure, I guess they have an actual capital city underneath that landfill, but I’m pretty sure that everybody who doesn’t play a Mechagnome just associates them with that landfill. So, yeah. Landfill Gnomes.
Vulpera
Bruh, they brought Fiona back for WoD, why didn’t they bring her back for BfA? Why did we have to deal with these desert rats with no personality? Why?
Void Elf
Do they even have an aesthetic? Their faction leader just looks like a hunter most of the time, their heritage armor is just… emo belly-dancer chic, and the capital city is a rock in space. What?
Addendum: Void Elves are just a mess in general.
