Help me out here, RP fans, as someone struggling slightly with an inferiority complex:
In a world where actual magic exists, where the power of nature and the elements is up for grabs, where the Light itself with answer prayers, or chaos can be called upon to corrupt an enemy…how are you satisfied deciding to be really good with a sword, instead?
Perhaps magic is not for everyone. Some people study it for years in magical academies. Others just want to embrace the sword and axe and fight against hordes of monsters.
Think of the following:
The Horde and the Alliance doesn’t have the resources necessary to teach magic to all it soldiers. They need cannon fodders to be in their front lines. That’s my opinion.
The use of such power, in any universe (and Warcraft is no exception), comes at a price. Some of these consequences that we’ve seen so far are:
In order to effectively wield any of these powers, a tremendous amount of time/effort is required to master said power. For those characters who obtain a great amount of power in such a short time, the tremendous time/effort is replaced by a tremendous sacrifice (which usually ends badly… eventually).
We do use magic. We stamp our foot down, and clap to the heavens demanding thunder. Vwalah ~ Thunder Becons, hence why we call it ‘Thunder Clap’! 
I like how you put it that way about the repercussions in wielding such power in which certain restrain, control and understanding must be present at all costs.
Arcane/Fel = Pride & lust for more power (Requires humility & excessive study to maintain your pace)
Void = Hysteria and insanity (Maintain control, don’t tap too much into it, compose yourself)
Light = Promising and beautiful, yet it shows one single path all other paths are deemed bad, thus leading to one-narrow minded ignorance and arrogance (Light is light, it knowns neither sacred nor profane, it just is)
Elemental = Basically you become tether to the elements and must do what you can to please them in order to borrow their power, otherwise risk losing it.
Druidism = Servitude, forget yourself, nature is the bigger matter.
Death = You are souless and damned like Sylvanas and Dks alike, therefore your negative emotions and thoughts are heightened, developing deeper hatred for the living
Interesting responses, and I guess I did ask a negative question, and so got negative responses. Let’s look at the other side for a minute then.
Why choose warrior? You’re a young person in Azeroth and you’re about to begin your “training” in whatever class you choose - what leads you down the warrior’s path?
A lot of it is availability and cost. Your common citizen of Stormwind would not be able to pay for tutelage under a Mage to learn the arcane arts. Paladins are champions of virtue and the original group were hand-selected from among knights of Lordaeron. If knighthood in Azeroth mimics the Medieval Ages, then knights were either family of nobles or other such notable and influential persons.
However, you asked ‘why’ rather than ‘why not’. A lot of decisions about taking the Warrior’s Path could be heritage and honor. A son might learn the sword because their father was a swordsmen, and his father before that, and so on and so forth.
Another might be ability to self train. Its a lot easier to learn how to how sharp stick make bad guy dead on you own than it is to discover how to channel latent magic ability.
So far warriors are dumb, poor, lowly born, and cannon fodder.
Surely someone out there has a positive light/story on why to be a warrior? (Heritage and honor are at least a good start.) I have some ideas of my own, but I’d love to hear more.
Swords, and weapons in general, definitely have their place.
The main reason is that magic is difficult and hard to master, and not everyone may even have the cognitive or spiritual aptitude to achieve proper control over it.
Then of course is the fact that martial ability is a very valuable skill to have. You could be a powerful mage with the power to destroy a whole house with a single spell, but if you suddenly find yourself jumped or with an enemy on-top of you, there may be no room or time to cast your more powerful spells, and your speed, strength and skill will determine whether or not you survive.
Most magi will generally recognize their limitations, and if they are smart, have an escort of warriors to protect them on the battlefield. Even if you are a mighty, powerful archmage, a single dagger or arrow in the right place can be enough to end you.
But I think the most important reason of all why warriors are still viable; even on more higher power level settings; is due to potent magical weapons and armor. Even if you are just a normal flesh and blood mortal, your martial skill when combined with the right magical equipment and items can make you a threat even to supernatural enemies like demons and undead.
For instance, in the novel Illidan, it is heavily implied that Warden Maiev’s enchanted weapons and equipment allows her to punch far above her own weight class, and face opponents a normal night elf should have no right to beat.
A warrior will be defined by their weapon and armor, especially in a High Fantasy setting.
Edit: The monk class implies that it is possible to exceed the limits of what should be possible for a mortal body in-universe. Some of this might apply to fighters in general.
There may be some overlap in what I’m about to say with what’s already been said, but whatever. These are also pretty much my barely filtered thoughts.
To an extent I think it very much comes down a few things; preferences, environment and to some extent personality. Not everyone is going to have the aptitude or even inclination to learn a magical discipline. Not everyone wanting is going to have access.
In some cases one might even outright distrust magic. In many cases one could see magic as false power; something that isn’t genuinely owned. Learning and master a more overtly physical skill could be seen as true power; something gained and maintained by one’s own means. Of course technically the same could be said of a lot of the magical disciplines, especially arcane, but I digress. A career warrior may seek to achieve and surpass personal limitation under their own efforts, their own personal power; the innate and natural powers of the body and mind. To such individuals learning how to triumph over magic-users would just be another obstacle to overcome and reach that goal. Magic is just another weapon, another tool; every tool has its limits.
Power comes in many forms, and like-wise people are bound to recognize and acknowledge power in different ways. Flashy lights that melt flesh or heal wounds are just one form of what could be seen as power.
I’ve got an axe made of flint that can cleave through solid steel and dragonscale. Either I’m using a magic axe, or I’m so bad that I break the laws of physics.
Not everyone is capable of using magic and not everyone is especially skilled at it if they can. Yes, if you want to be the most powerful person in existence, magic is going to be involved. There’s no way around the importance of magic in a magically potent setting. Yes, magic is immensely more powerful than a mundane soldier. A buff man with an sword is going to get messed up if he goes up against a sorcerer throwing fire at him constantly. The warrior class does not represent a mundane soldier. They have their own supernatural powers distinct from spellcasting.
If you want to be strong, maybe you should extrapolate from the supernatural warrior archetypes. If you don’t… Well, not every story is about being the strongest ever! Most people do social RP as far as I know anyway >.o
Me simplify.
Stomp hard, lightning strike.
Magic? Maybe.
Fun? Yes.
Care? No.
You’re going to tell Varian, the man who one shot a Fel Reaver with a single flying sword stroke that he’s not magical?
Warriors have their own kind of magic, fueled by rage.
Aside from some of the other responses people have given, some of it could be cultural. Some might shun magic just because of the stigma. Technically, a lot of “magic” has ended up blowing up the world.
But from a more practical sense? A mage (stand-in for “magic user”, not the class, specifically) is always going to be limited by whatever rules govern that kind of magic. A connection to the Light, or the Void, or the elements, or nature, or something like that. If that’s not present, then they’re left with whatever they have left. And most mages skip leg day, if you catch my drift.
A warrior, though? It doesn’t matter. You can take away their enchanted armor, their thrice-blessed titanforged sword, and their aegis crafted from the scales of the Ancients. You can take away their Stormwind-issued shield and sword. You can take away whatever they found on some gnoll or kobold, whatever third rate outfitting they found that they found in desperation. You could take away all of that, beat them unconscious, and leave them in chains. Because even in that state? They could still tackle you and choke you to death with those shackles.
Magic is a crutch. And you can walk on your own feet.
Aside from that, someone culture can venerate combat. Orcs and dwarves do, I think. And there’s nothing like punching a mage in the face, right?
Joking aside, there are plenty of instances of mages getting taken down by “mundane” weapons and fighters. Remember, magic doesn’t automatically make blades bounce off of your skin…except when it does, because magic is weird and finicky.
That’s another reason. You swing an axe made by and elf, a dwarf, a Tauren, an orc? It doesn’t the same thing. You ask a mage, a warlock, a shaman, and a druid to start a fire? It’s always some different thing. There’s no consistency. Even amongst them, there’s no consistency. Can you put out that fire, mage? No, I’m a mage that makes fires. Can you teleport us somewhere else? No, I’m a warlock, I can only summon, not send.
Warriors can depend on strength and steel, on training and temperament. They’re the first ones in, the last ones out, and part of a legacy that’s greater than themselves.
That’s a reason, I guess?
That’s why I prefer the races who are naturally stronger and faster for warrior.
Rohart used to be a human hunter, but after the curse, he found out he could do a lot more damage using swords due to the increased strength and speed. He’s more a pissed off worgen than a traditional warrior.
Plus you can always get enchanted swords and armor to justify cutting up demigods every friday night
I’ve built the idea of this character from the stance that they just don’t need magic to kill you.
Lets remember that Warriors in game use heavily enchanted Armor and weapons that give them super-human capabilities. They can jump, in armor with weapons, across a field and charge at silly speeds at their enemies. A common warrior moves like a juggernaut in a suit of reinforces plate-steel that has to be heavy. Yet the have the strength to move an swing aroud like it’s nothing.
As far as the mentality of this character and why she doesn’t cast spells (lets be honest, she use magic weapons and armor and even enchants her weapons to be more deadly) is more to do with her being a hard head about not needing some crutch like magic to kill things and smash enemies so the rest of the squishy ones can kill it.
Think about the image of being a Prot Warrior, using a massive wall of metal to beat things to death with while screaming and jumping around.
I think what seperates a Warrior from say a Paladin or a Druid is a sense of self reliance and some kind of need/want to prove that they don’t need a crutch like those other classes.
I look at rage as its own group of magic… similar to chi but on the opposite side of the spectrum…
The thing that allows us to use these abilities that normal footmen and grunts cannot. That allows us to take a hit that would kill lesser warriors.
Rage… the thing inside us that allows us to push past the normal limitations and allows us to stand up against the Mages of this world
Warriors are THE bastions of strength and skill. We’re not just simple soldiers or guards, we are the berserkers, the Mountain Kings, the Blademasters, the ebodiment of strength. Our numbers count Varian Wrynn, Grommash and Garrosh Hellscream, Magni and Muradin Bronzebeard, Cairne and Baine Bloodhoof, even Mekkatorque was a Warrior
My hunter, Rohk, may not be a warrior but I think he has what you’re looking for.
Rohk was born fairly small for a Revantusk troll. He also had a bit of an issue with authority and wasn’t favored by any of the loa of his tribe. So he was weak, unblessed, and generally disliked by the elders of his tribe and expected to not do great things.
There were two ways he could go. He could accept his fate as fodder. Someone who would live and die an uneventful life. Possibly as just one of many headhunters who would die in service to better men.
Or he could go his own way.
Rohk chose the second option. He rejected the loa who played favorites and he rejected being the servant of some great warlord. He left (was banished) his tribe to make his own destiny.
He struggled and worked himself into the ground to perfect what skills he did have. Skill with a bow. Skill with a spear. Skill with animals and his knowledge of traps. Eventually he started to pick up engineering and became fascinated by it not because it was a skill he had any deep talent in but because it was only limited by his own ingenuity. You don’t need special talent or a loa’s blessing to set things on fire!
Rohk made himself great. He became an expert in goblin engineering and mastered the martial techniques of different warrior cultures to turn himself into a lethal weapon. He defeats the blessed and the holy through his own skill and strategic intelligence. A well placed bomb can kill any man, be it mage or shaman.
That, to me, is why you play a non-magical class. You’re the underdog. You weren’t born with blessings or supreme talent but through hard work and more than a little out-of-the-box thinking you made yourself their peer.