Breakfast Topic: Bad Guys?
by David Nelson 
Dec 11th 2006 at 8:00AM
When I first started playing Warcraft games, way back in high school, I always chose the humans in multiplayer. Why? Well, I was a pretty straight laced fellow, and the humans were the good guys! The orcs were terrible, evil folks who allied themselves with the equally as nasty trolls. And ogres. Why would I want to associate myself with that? Then after Warcraft III hit, the line was completely blurred between the good and bad. The orcs didn't seem so terrible, and boy, those humans sure did screw things up. The storyline in World of Warcraft has really done nothing to change that blurred line. Which leads me to my question for you folks...is there any true villain race or faction in WoW? Sure, the Undead seem kind of creepy, and they send you off on some truly questionable quests, but they are counterbalanced by the Tauren, who I think may be the most virtuous race in the game. And for some reason, don't the humans seem a little shady? Onyxia fools them and hangs out in their capital city and, in all honesty, I think they stuck it to Van Cleef. Come the expansion...what about the Blood Elves? They surely don't seem as nice and docile as their Night Elf cousins.
So what do you guys think? Which WoW race is the most evil? Which one the most noble?
Filed under: Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
DÖT Dec 11th 2006 8:12AM
It humans are diffinitly the most evil, I mean isn't that true in life as well? I play on the Alliance and I have played Horde and the only reason I don't play Horde is because I don't like the quests...and because, except the Undead, non of the races can breath very well under water.
Tachyon Dec 11th 2006 8:23AM
Most evil race in WOW? I vote for Gnomes! They pretend to be some kind of little happy folk, but then they stab you in your knee just to grin in your face directly.
Most noble race? Tauren, unless they see a gnome (that's what they got warstomp for) ;)
morkins Dec 11th 2006 8:27AM
Most 'Evil'? The Trolls, without question.
The Orcs are moody and don't shy away from a fight, but are basically just trying to rebuild their shattered civilisation
The Undead are nasty, vengeful gits (who wouldn't be) and are very twisted, but again, are just trying to carve their own little niche whilst fighting Scourge and Alliance.
The Tauren are peace loving, noble folk who are only allied with the Horde cus they met them first.
The Dwarves are noble and just
The Gnomes are loopy and crazy, but are not evil
The Night Elves are too stupid and poncy to be evil. Damn tree hugging hippies
Humans are like humans everywhere (and in real life). They have the capacity for good and they generally want to be good, but they can also be the most cunning, vengeful nasty b@stards around...
But the Trolls...they are mean, spiteful little buggers who'd sooner gut you than look at you. They are viscious, horrible people. But they look damn cool. ^^
Blood Elves are the closest things to Vampires in WoW - leaching magic to sustain themselves. They aren't evil, so much as addicts willing to do anything to get their 'fix'
And the Draenei are the ultimate good guys. Seriously. They make Nelfs look like crack dealers in comparison...
Devynista Dec 11th 2006 8:26AM
The Undead aren't misunderstood -- they are definitely evil. They want to kill and re-animate everyone on the planet, don't they?
I'd say the Tauren are by far the most noble.
The thing I like about Warcraft though is that there isn't a clear alignment for any faction. There are good and bad apples in both barrels.
Luclan Dec 11th 2006 8:35AM
i too vote gnomes, lil knee biting bastards look so darn cute when they /wave, then they run by you and eviscerate your shins and game over.
Shalkis Dec 11th 2006 9:04AM
Hmm.. One thing that needs to be taken into account is the variation in morality in each of the races. For example, both humans and orcs have really heroic (Lothar, Jaina, Thrall, Broxigar) and villainous characters (Arthas, Garithos, Gul'dan, Blackhand). So as races, they are in the middle in the morality-o-meter.
The more interesting cases are the ones where some individuals skew the race as a whole. For example, the Night Elves get a lot of bonus points for all the treehugging, but offset it with xenophobia and screwing the world over at the Sundering and the War of the Shifting Sands. Dwarves are jolly whenever they are not stripmining others' lands. Forsaken and the Blood Elves use their past as an excuse to do lots of evil, although there are exceptions (like Leonid Bartholomew the Revered or Apothecary Dithers).
Trolls? There's a difference between being chaotic and being evil. Troll can be brutal, yes. However, the exceptions here are the Darkspears and the Zandalar. The Zandalar never got corrupted by Hakkar, and the Darkspears redeemed themselves in order to join the Horde. Also, being the dominant humanoid species on the planet and then getting kicked back to a few villages can teach you a lot about humility. Trolls also get some bonus points for their evercontinuing fight against the Aqir.
And although the Tauren also have the Grimtotems, I'd say that they are the most noble of the playable races. They share the treehugging with the Night Elves, but they are very tolerant of others as well.
As for the most villainous.. I'd say that it's a dead heat between the Forsaken and the Blood Elves. I've only seen a few of the Blood Elves' quests, so I can't say how bad it will eventually get, though.
Swiftlydead Dec 11th 2006 9:39AM
Thanks to Lord of the Rings - every third character in WoW is a night elf huntard named some variation of the name "Legolas," and they all hate the horde because they have a man crush on the limp-wristed-sally actors they had play Legolas and Aragorn.
Theadrick Dec 11th 2006 9:42AM
In this order:
1. Humans: As a whole, not necessarily evil... but have produced some of the most evil individuals on Azeroth (Arthas anyone?)
2. Forsaken: For reasons others have stated
3. Blood elves: Vengeance gone bad
4. Trolls
5. Orcs: Still a great number of evil/possessed orcs around.
6. Dwarves
7. Gnomes
8. Night Elves
9. Tauren: Grimtotem tribe keeps them from being "least" evil.
10. Dranei: Though I really don't know too much about them
Sylythn Dec 11th 2006 9:50AM
Ok, the forsaken are clearly evil in their methods to get rid of the humans invading "their" lands...but I wonder...
The Forsaken consider the lands they occupy as theirs, because they're part of the original human habitation that was killed/reanimated by the plague. So don't they have a right to stay there?
If the humans weren't there trying to kill them every day, would the Forsaken be bothering to find a new plague that could wipe them out? I doubt it - I can't see the Forsaken taking out the Scarlet Crusade and then deciding to march on Ironforge - it just doesn't add up.
And the Scarlet Crusade has some seriously dubious ways of "saving the human race and reclaiming their land"...bit too much genocide in their plans if you ask me.
And yes, Gnomes are evil little bastards - but if your home was turned into a giant radioactive nightmare, wouldn't you have some bitterness against the tall ones?
Matt Park Dec 11th 2006 9:52AM
If you go simply by NPC's (i.e. don't count Van Cleef, Grimtotems, Burning Blade) I think the Horde has the best (Orcs, Tauren, Trolls) and worst (Undead, Blood Elves) races, while the alliance has a bunch of mediocre ones. Let's take a closer look, shall we?
Humans: ruled by a Boy King who's completely controlled by Onixia. They're also a bunch of xenophobic bastards who directly caused the exile of the Blood Elves.
Dwarves: Generally ok, but they're more concerned about digging up the past than anything else . . . oh, and their heir is controlled by Ragnaros.
Gnomes: A bunch of dumbasses who nuked their own city in order to kill some low-level troggs.
Night Elves: A bunch of holier-then-thou assholes who are screwing up nature rather severely by planting a new tree of life just so they can get their immortality back.
Draenei (damn that's hard to spell): I admit, they seem to be pure, unadulterated goodness. Sort of dissapointed that blizzard hasn't given them any dark marks . . .
Orcs: somewhat savage, but noble race that's just trying to carve out a home in Kalimdor. Sure they get brutal when they're fighting, but they're usually not the aggressor.
Trolls: They're trying to survive after damn near being wiped out by the elves + theramore. I've never seen anything bad from them.
Tauren: In tune with the earth, probably the most lofty race in WoW, other than Draenei.
Undead: Attempting to concoct a plague to wipe out all other species in Azeroth. Yeah, that gets you goodwill points.
Blood Elves: Addicted to magic, and will do ANYTHING, no matter how unspeakable, to attain it.
Prauche Dec 11th 2006 9:54AM
"except the Undead, non of the races can breath very well under water."
Why should ANY race other than Undead be able to breathe or have BETTER underwater breathing than any other?
Vogen The D0rf Hunter Dec 11th 2006 4:18PM
Blood Elves and Forsaken are evil every way you slice it. Blood Elves thrive off of demonic magic and will pay through the nose and kill to get it- while Forsaken feel absolutely nothing except the urge to kill everything around them.
Humans are the biggest screw ups by far. They're a diverse race with a diverse variety of problems.
Dwarves are good for the most part, however they have some greedy leaders in the Senate, and some less-than-trustworthy miners. However, with the exception of them, the Alliance Dwarves mean best.
Tauren and Draenei are the only 100% good races. They both have great reverance for preservation and foreign policy. I'd bet they'd actually get along very nicely.
Orcs are good for the most part. However, there are always the dregs of society, in their case the Shattered Hand, the Ogrimmar Warlocks est. Thrall has made a good effort to get rid of the taint though.
Darkspear Trolls are a mix of good and bad. They have their really good peeps, and their pure evil ones.
Night Elves are prehaps even bigger screw ups than the Humans. They're the reason the Legion even knows we exist, and they started the practice of magic (which has caused more bad than good).
There's always the Warlocks and Rogues but most of the Gnomes are good. They've just suffered a huge loss (of their city) which for the thousandth time they did NOT do to test radiation on Gnomes. They did it to wipe out the Troggs, and the entire idea was made by a psycho trying to take over the city. He took advantage of Mekkatorque's trust. Plus, what better would you have done in that situation?
morkins Dec 11th 2006 10:12AM
Guys, the Draenei aren't all sweetness and light! Don't forget that two of WoW's biggest baddies; Archimonde and Kil'Jaeden, are Draenei!
And the Gnomes aren't evil. The Gnomes stood alone against the Trogg invasion even though they knew they couldn't possibly win because by asking for help, they would have diverted Alliance troops from the battle against the Scourge and they believed doing so would probably lose the war. That's why they were so readily accepted by the Dwarves as refugees. The Gnomes are selfless and brave, if not a little crazy.
Can you tell I have two level 60 Gnomes???
lethial Dec 11th 2006 10:30AM
Agree with #12 completely. If you actually study upon the history of gnomes, you will find that they have been very helpful and giving to the alliance (remember the gnomish subs in WC2? :) ) And when they needed help... Well that is another story...
But gnomes are definitely wacky though...
Oh and the most evil has to be Blood Elves... They are more evil than undead because they are far more stuck up.
Doc Dec 11th 2006 10:55AM
Has anyone noticed that the humans are racist bastards? The entirety of the Alliance is humans, little humans, littler humans, and hawt humans who are a different species but probably sexually compatible.
And yes, it's been stated in the lore that the Forsaken are trying to make a new plague that will kill everyone but them.
jpc Dec 11th 2006 5:20PM
None of the playable races are all bad. Some of them are all good; tauren and gnome. All the other races have bad guys. Orcs, humans, Night elf (remmeber who made the new corrupted world tree etc), troll, dwarf (those guys in Uldaman who are consumed with building living rock), ... etc. The Blood elf and draenei haven't done anything evil yet. The Draenei have som big bad guys on their side, but those guys were possessed by demons, c'mon, cut'em a break. And of course the Blood elves were pissed, if you played TFT you know how prince Kael'Thas was basically treated like a punk by the humans (one of the evil things they've done).
Tim Engelbart Dec 11th 2006 11:10AM
In spite of what other people say in here: the Draenei aren't all that good. I mean, they're pretty racist towards Broken. Broken and Draenei can Do you believe that discrimination is noble? I do not.
It's like making fun of indigenous cultures.
Theadrick Dec 11th 2006 11:20AM
That leaked BC cinematic really reaffirmed the evil-ness of Blood elves, when she destroyed that little wisp like creature to get it's magic.
theMouse Dec 11th 2006 12:10PM
I think evil is always a matter of perspective.
Case in point:
The forsaken. If you look at it from a non-forsaken point of view. Its pretty evil, dark and twisted. Creating a poison to kill all life and turn them into the forsaken.
But from the forsaken point of view. How are more forsaken made? Because of who they are how many hum them down and attempt to remove them from the earth?
So from the forsaken point of view make a poison that will kill the ones who are trying to destroy them and at the same time procreate, in a manner of speaking. Not at all evil.
Donner Dec 11th 2006 12:34PM
I think this is kinda dumb I mean come on this is a sterotype of every race. Humans really are not the most evil from what many people say if you going to say what the most evil race to play is its prolly the Forsaken if your going sterotype, and really forsaken arent a race their just undead humans.
The untimate evil is either the Burning Legion or the Scourge Im not sure which is worse their both evil.