I’d love to see them as their own AR of course, but I don’t see why they can’t be unlocked as a customization option for Tauren as well.
Especially after the Man’ari scenario.
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My attitude towards Taunka falls in line with most ‘allied races’ that are just recolors with different racials. They could just be extra customization options for the parent race.
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While true, the differences in their culture and people and with the precedent of the Highmountain, who are agruably as little changed or less so than the Taunka, I think they should be their own AR preferably or at least Blizzard needs to find some way to better let us represent the sub groups made into customization with either changes/modifications to racials or entirely new ones.
I’ll live with the Taunka as mere customization but I won’t be nearly as happy about it as I would with them being an Allied Race in Full.
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With Gilgoblin customization recently datamined, it seems like we could be seeing more rounds of races becoming playable as Customization Races…which have felt more like monkey’s paw wishes than anything else with their implementation.
A lot of Customization Races just feel…flat. From feeling like the parent race cosplaying and LARPing as them to things like Darkfallen having a skin and eye color both paired together while not being able to be used for Death Knights. My fear for a race that lives in the deep ocean suddenly being able to drown in a puddle of water rises with the discovery of Gilgoblin cosmetics.
And with that, I feel like Taunka could become a Customization Race, but as I mentioned before, there are a number of problems I see with it:
-I’m assuming it would be one or two skins for males with one head that may barely get customization options, assuming that it can wear helms in the first place.
-Female Taunka may just get one skin and look like female Tauren still as opposed to looking unique like male Taunka do.
-They’ll likely still refer to themselves and be referred to as Tauren, which is very silly. If I have a Taunka character, I want to be called a Taunka. Not a Tauren.
Among several other problems I could list for yet another thesis paper I could type.
As such, I think it’s important for Taunka fans to discuss their views on them as a Customization Race and what they would want out of it. Believe me, I would much prefer them as a full race, but it seems like the chances of that is sadly dwindling.
I’m hoping that if Taunka become a Customization Race, that they are able to keep some sort of identity and be referred to as such. Seeing as other Customization Races have gotten questlines to unlock them, it’s possible we could see that with Taunka as well.
Hoping for the best for playable Taunka, but I still worry about them and other races treated in a lackluster way Customization Races have been treated lately.
—28 days until Blizzcon starts (Nov. 3rd)!—
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Well it’s just datamining so nothing is sure about this for now.
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I’d lump Highmountain in with them as an extra customization. Same with Mag’har for Orcs, Dark Irons for Dwarves, Mechagnomes for Gnomes and so on.
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Wait… Gilgoblin customization was recently datamined?
Man’ari have a fel colored Gift of the Naaru, so Blizzard is willing to use the customizations as a trigger for the playable character in question. So if Gilgoblin do become a customization, that skin could be the trigger for them not having water breathing or something.
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In thinking about how the Man’ari have a fel version of the Gift of the Naaru racial, I kind of wonder if Blizzard could expend that customization skin trigger for NPCs. For example in the event that Taunka become a customization skin, using it could serve as a trigger for quests to refer to players as a Taunka over a Tauren.
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Allied races were a dumb concept from the beginning. They were a way to sell the idea that you were getting a new race without Blizzard putting in the traditional extensive work of giving you a real race (a racial faction capital, zone, starter quests, NPCs, and so much more).
I do think Taunka should be an unlockable or freely available racial customization for Tauren players that they should be able to choose in the barber shop and at the character creation screen.
Mulgore could be an ancestral homeland to all such races, that or they could move to highmountain.
Yes it’s a recent datamining.
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Taunka should get a place in the Horde council because they are a part of the Horde since WotLK. A Taunka ambassador with some Taunka warriors could be nice thing in Orgrimmar too.
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So with World of Warcraft: the Last Titan, maybe we will finally get Taunka as playable race because we will come back to Northrend.
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Earthen being added opens the door for a lot of these classic asked-for races to come along and be playable as AR. I say keep the hype up, everyone. Support for Taunka!
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Some exciting news for us with the reveal that WoW: The Last Titan will take us back to Northrend.
With the willingness to add more ARs such as Earthen, I envision our return to Northrend being the ideal time to add our Horde-aligned Taunka into the game.
Even if not playable, Taunka likely will appear in the expansion! Just got to keep positive and voice our desire to see them added going forward.
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The Q&A thread has opened and I asked some questions on behalf of a few race request megathreads, including this one with a recent edit. I’ll post a link to the post and the question I asked for this megathread below:
“Since we’re going to return to Northrend in the future, will we see the Taunka again and have them assist us with whatever will be going on on that continent, given that they joined the Horde in WotLK and also kinda owe us for helping them?”
Worth a try, even if it will likely not get answered.
With the Allied Race system being utilized again, I see no reason why Taunka can’t be a full race instead of a Customization Race. Despite being part of the Horde still, they could still be added with the Allied Race system.
I have quite a lot more to say on the Allied Race system and other announcements in the various race request megathreads. I just need to have the time to sit down, gather my thoughts, and convert it to text on the computer screen. I’ll be sure to post more in here when I can, since playable Horde Taunka chances have risen considerably.
Will post more when I can! 
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In one of the latest interviews a dev says they “know which races they want to introduce in midnight and the last titan”.
Of course doesnt gurantee he is referring to playable races, but I feel like its likely!
If many of these races, including Taunka, were to be added this saga is the time to do so.
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I hope they add the Taunka as a full AR. At this point there isn’t an excuse.
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I’m still hoping that Taunka would be their own race instead of being slapped onto Tauren and having them cosplay and LARP as Taunka instead. I see no reason not to go for them as a full race (Allied or Core) given the whole Earthen thing.
On another note, tt does sound like Northrend will be getting revamped from the recent Q&A video released:
"Clearing up any misconceptions - there’s no time travel in Midnight/The Last Titan. We recently healed the timeways in Dawn of the Infinite and have no reason to revisit that anytime soon. When Metzen said returning to the Old World, he meant seeing how familiar lands have changed and telling new stories within them. They want to ensure that future WoW storytelling keeps iconic settings relevant - we told the story of Northrend and the Lich King 15 years ago, keeping it stale and unchanging doesn’t really benefit the Warcraft universe.
So yes, we will be returning to the lands of Silvermoon, Quel’Thalas, and later Northrend - we’ll see how they’ve changed over time, expand, and reimagine them, but there’s no time travel, only moving forward. Those older spaces will also be updated to allow dynamic flying, with a seamless transition from EPL to the Ghostlands, etc."
So it is a pretty good opportunity to have Taunka given the Tuskarr treatment with an upgrade their models (male and female) and other forms of fleshing out while having a role in a return to Northrend, which I would think would be pretty likely.
Hopefully we’ll see more of them and other races we could work with on Northrend, like San’layn and such. Will keep an eye out on more things of Taunka interest to report!
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Happy US Thanksgiving! 
Hoping the Taunka get to enjoy Pilgrim’s Bounty someday!
Whatever your plans are today, please have a fun, happy, and safe holiday!
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Long time since the Taunka joined the Horde. Can’t wait to see them as a full Allied Race now that all races are on the table regardless of similar skeleton or culture.
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