I always saw them as medieval footmen and knights but the BFA cinematic and a lot of the new appearances and armor makes them seem like a hybrid with Greek hoplites.
Whichever design is coolest at the time blizzard is making them.
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Greek hoplites? I didnât get that impression. They do feel more medieval to me.
Sort of medieval fantasy, with some renaissance Italian style, or yes âinspired by ancients like Greekâ armor sets.
Their cuirass for example are entirely a Warcraft thing. Likely more âmedievalâ, but nothing really that existed. The armor itself is more late medieval, 14-15 hundreds perhaps?
Their helmets seem to me like a barbuta, or directly inspired from contrarian sort of helm. Great helm doesnât seem to fit.
Note this only applies to the timeline from WC3 on.
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So while not medieval historian, the adaption they took for the Warcraft movie was this: https://images.beastsofwar.com/2015/07/Human-Stormwind-Knights.jpg
To me, that kinda says 15th century Germanic/Western Europe and is probably the closest example weâll get to something connected to the historical world. Even the helmets are, kinda, right for the period. Of course this all presupposes wealth and rarity as the majority of soldiers, infantry, whatever, were not wearing this at the time. Even the link describes them as Knights, which seems more fitting.
Your average footman, historically, was much more a chain-mail kinda person. Maybe they had some sparse plated armor and their gambeson, but it was largely chain-mail, sword, shield, which isnât really represented in game. What we see is the archetypal high medieval low renaissance European knight/heavy infantry. Which, taking out the anything goes in fantasy rules, means Stormwind is extremely wealthy.
The only really odd piece is the helmet and its sleeker Greek/Corinthian design from like, 5th century BC mixed in with stuff from 1000 years later, though the eye slit nose guard design did stay. Gotta see of course and breath of course.
So what do they use? To put it in simplified terms, High Medieval/Low Renaissance Gothic heavy infantry. Though the cinematic heavy plated solider with a pike and shield really throws it all off, historically at least. The pike could kinda stay, replaced with a maul or halberd, but the shields are just a no go. Nobody be phalanxing in 1500.
Not a typical German style at all for the time, but I agree with the rest of your comment.
Expect for that one. Not the Stormwind Footsolders a least. Gothic is a very stylized type of armor.
The helmet is still an effective design and helmets similar to those were actually used during this time period.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbute
Yeah. not a specialist here so just doing my best. Could have been a century off too. Either way, yeah, the in-game helmet just seems out of place the rest of the armor worn. I think they got a little close with one of the Warfront designs that takes a bascinet approach but I think thats the closest they get to keeping inline with a heavy infantry look/feel.
The âmodernâ variant would be called âpike and shotâ: A formation which combined firearms, pikes and at least for the German Landsknechte heavy two-handed-swords. The arquebusiers would fire on the enemy, before falling back behind the pikeman. If the line was broken veterans (with aforementioned two-handed-weapons or even sword and shield) would jump into the fray. The formation was mostly created to counter the heavy cavalry other nations employed during that time and proved to be quite effective.
This type of combat style would funnily enough probably be extremely useful for Stormwind infantry. A charging tauren or orc is not all that different from heavy cavalry and the reach of pikes/halberds would give a human some advantages against an orc.
(Obviously using a shield with a halberd somewhat defeats its entire purpose of using leverage, but this is probably more the âfantasyâ-aspect of Warcraft.)
This is the armor the soldiers were ingame. Sadly, the blue T3-helmet-variant is not available (like so many itemsâŚwhy?).
https://img7.uhdpixel.com/wp/7y/0/alliance-army-world-of-warcraft-battle-for-azeroth-y7028.jpg
And this is how they look in the cinematic. I say this is quite close actually all things considered. Obviously ingame the leather has been replaced with a chainmail, but overall pretty well done.
To be honest: I actually love this design, because it gives you the feeling that Stormwind is actually advancing and is not stuck in a medieval stasis. They moved away from their older armor and sword and shield and instead took up more modernized and probably better suited tactics, weapons etc.
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I get ya. I was more referring to a elongated bascinet look they took here, just seemingly without the hinges: https://www.wowhead.com/guides/arathi-warfront-armor-and-weapon-transmog#screenshots:abc:14
Still, take away the plume or tail or whatever you want to call it and yeah, it more or less fits. Just seems like there would be better examples to use. Then again, its a game and looks cool so 
Usually generic Stormwind soldiers who use ranged weaponry trend towards crossbows, I think?
You see guns too but Crossbow is the main one yes.
Around Wrath of the Lich King most Stormwind soldiers started to use guns instead of crossbows. Just some examples from the top of my head:
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The 7th Legion soldiers for example all used guns (with the exeception being the night elven sentinels).
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The soldiers in the Southern Barrens also use them, as well as in Highbank in the Twilight Highlands.
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The Stockade guards in the revamped dungeon also use rifles.
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During the quest to get the Kingslayers you can find Stormwind City Guards with guns instead of crossbows.
Though human soldiers in Arathi also appear as âAlliance Arbalestâ with a crossbow so who knows really? Especially since Blizzard still forces these stupid âWarcraft 3 unitsâ on us with all dwarves being rifleman, all humans footman, all orcs grunts etc.
Yes, but then you canât have armored knights running around with shields and swords anymore.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/633333989427380237/736117684097253476/guns_win.jpg
Funny enough with their great eyesight and reflexes, elves would be outstanding marksmen/women with rifled guns.
I donât know, a charging Orc could probably be stopped by pikeman, yeah, but Tauren? Theyâre on another level, something thatâs not often shown. Tauren have incredible strength, speed, and endurance even for beings of their size.
Thatâs sort of something I wish Blizzard would show more, as a way to balance out Alliance having strong characters. Pound for pound, the Horde wins out massive in terms of physical superiority, as the only Alliance races who can contend even somewhat, like Draenei, lack the same numbers. Also imagine a bowshot from a Tauren⌠that arrow would break the damn sound barrier.
Granted, this advantage is now mitigated since they decided to give us big Kul Tirans who are giant sized for reasons⌠sighâŚ
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Japanâs Sengoku jidai says hi. It really all depends on availability, strength of the guns etc. etc. In the long run you are right, short term perhaps not necessarily.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/d6/36/eb/d636eb9222ac1a55f67efe102511b798.jpg
The problem here is basically the game play in WoW. WC3 for example gave you those differences (well to some degree).
I get the gameplay aspect, itâs just that making Kul Tirans giant kind of mucks with a lot of prior lore and chips away at the niche the Horde occupies.
Yeah I agree itâs kind of weird having sort of half-ogres there.
Tauren and Ogres should still be bigger though⌠I guess?
Is a rare case of extreme self-imposed isolation with the geo-location to make it work. They are a really poor example. Especially since WoW has things like machine guns, cartilage bullets, rifled artillery, and freaking airplanes. Not to mention magic that makes said technology look old-fashioned.
With that much of a technology gap, the only way youâd possibly win is if you have the bodies to win through attrition. Add magic to the mix, its basically like clubbing seals.
Not at all a poor example. In fact they were pretty keen on getting the newest weapon technology and even in Europe everything took itâs time.
Of course if thanks and gattling guns are a thing knights become usless. Thatâs why itâs fantsy.
in other universes there are at least some explanations for those things. In WoW not so much, I agree.
âEvery timeâ mages fight against knights this should be the end of it.
https://gamepedia.cursecdn.com/wowpedia/thumb/1/17/Troll_Wars_magi.jpg/1200px-Troll_Wars_magi.jpg
Donât forget there were, or are other types of helmets used by Loraderon and Stormwind troops.
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/401408743511818241/736126567742308422/hum.png
Even this helm seem anachronistic for full plate though.
Also: It really as itâs benefits if soldiers faces arenât complete covered. Mostly for breathing during hand to hand combat and travel.
I said specifically in the BFA cinematic