The Night Elves are considered to be among the first races awakened in World of Warcraft: Classic. These nimble characters are a popular choice among players, and the only way of playing a Druid in the game.

Lore

For a long time, Night Elves lived as immortals that focused their study to magic, allowing it to become loose in the world well over a thousand years before the first events of Warcraft: Orcs & Humans. This careless use of magic is what attracted the Burning Legion to Azeroth, leading to a massive war that resulted in the Night Elves banishing the Legion, but at the cost of their homeland becoming shattered and sunk beneath the sea.

Throughout the events that took place between Orcs and Humans, the Night Elves remained isolated away atop mount Hyjal, until the Legion’s next invasion brought them out of slumber. Those Night Elves that survived the old conflict now consider it their duty maintain the save and balance of the natural world.

Racials

Despite being a popular choice among players, the racial abilities of Night Elves are mediocre, at best.

Nature Resistance — Nature Resistance increased by 10.

Quickness — Chance to dodge increased by 1%.

Shadowmeld — When activated, this ability will put you into a form of stealth, making enemies less likely to detect you. This effect will be cancelled as soon as you move.

Wisp Spirit — Your movement speed while dead is increased by 50%.

Wisp Spirit almost feels as though it were created with the assumption that a player is going to die so often, they should get a bonus to their run back to their corpse. It is not exactly a vote of confidence.

Quickness is by no means a bad passive to have, particularly when Tanking as a Druid relies upon dodge, but otherwise is not nearly as good as some other racial abilities available for other classes.

Available Classes For Night Elves

In total, Night Elves have access to five classes in World of Warcraft: Classic.

  • Druid — As Night Elves are the only race capable of playing an Alliance Druid, one must play this race. Unfortunately, only Quickness benefits Feral and Tanking Druids, but only marginally. Hunter — Shadowmeld can be great for setting ambushes in PvPm lying in wait or near a group of allies to give off a false sense of advantage to the opponent. Priest — Dwarves are the superior option if one wants to play a Priest. Rogue — Night Elves are perfectly average as Rogues. Humans are superior for PvE thanks to their racial abilities, and Gnomes for PvP thanks to Escape Artist. Warrior — Once again, Night Elves seem to be perfectly average, but there are better options for this class.

The points above may sound as though they are harsh criticisms of Night Elves when paired with a certain class. Instead, the objective is only to consider these points in reference to the highest levels of play. Only the most elite levels raiders would consider these points as absolute deal breakers. Most players are not likely to ever have an issue with a Night Elf in any off these classes and will be able to progress through most of the game without noticing any deficiencies.

Racial Mount

Night Elves are provided with Sabers as their mounts, which fit perfectly with their agile themes and swift, fluid like movements. They may not look exactly like Battle Cat form He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, but they’re close.

Reins of the Spotted Frostsaber — 80 gold, 72 with reputation discount

Reins of the Striped Frostsaber — 80 gold, 72 with reputation discount

Reins of the Striped Nightsaber — 80 gold, 72 with reputation discount

Reins of the Swift Frostsaber — 1000 gold, 900 with reputation discount

Reins of the Swift Mistsaber — 1000 gold, 900 with reputation discount

Reins of the Swift Stormsaber — 1000 gold, 900 with reputation discount

Despite having mediocre racial attributes, Night Elves remain a popular choice for their aesthetic appearance in the game. Once Blood Elves were released with the launch of the first expansion, Burning Crusade, we saw a large shift over to that race. For now, if one is looking to play a race who has lore rooted in ancient history that dates back to the creation of the world, and the preservation of all things nature, they need look no further than Night Elves.