The Best Races for Paladins – A Passionate gamer‘s Definitive Guide
If you want to play the ultimate holy warrior, a blood elf is hands-down the best race for a paladin in 2023. With their Arcane Torrent racial providing on-demand holy power, blood elves edge out competitors in raw throughput across all types of content.
However, optimal race selection deeply depends on your faction, specialization, gameplay style, and even the specific expansion or module…
Deciphering the Data: Paladin Racials Ranked for WoW
World of Warcraft offers the widest variety of race options for aspiring paladins. But with so many choices spanning Alliance, Horde, tanks, healers, and DPS, what race truly reigns supreme?
Analyzing simulation data from the past 3 expansions compared to blueposts, theorycrafting, and thousands of player testimonials on forums like Icy Veins and Wowhead, I definitive ranked WoW races for paladins below.
Best Alliance Races
Humans remain the gold standard for Alliance holy warriors…
Best Horde Races
On the Horde side, blood elves stand shoulder-to-shoulder with Alliance humans for top paladin race…
Best Races for Retribution
When it comes to dealing pure holy damage, these 3 races pull ahead for retribution paladins…
Best Races for Protection
Protecting your allies demands excellent defensive racials, which these tanks excel in…
Best Races for Holy
Healing your group to victory is easier for these races, who dominate raw healing throughput…
Optimizing Your Skyrim Paladin: Race Comparison
Elder Scrolls games offer fewer race options, but choice still plays a key role in building the ultimate dragon-slaying paladin. Let‘s see how Skyrim‘s races compete:
Nord: The Nord bonuses to frost resistance and hardy stamina serve well for heavy armor paladins. Their battlecry power consistently turns close battles against powerful foes like dragon priests.
Imperial: robust gold bonus improves ability to purchase best weapons and armor quickly. Voice of the Emperor o useful to pacify enemies when overwhelmed.
Breton: Excellent mage killers thanks to high magic resistance. Dragonskin power gives combat regeneration to further specialization against magic foes.
Based on analysis of expert build guides, community recommendations, and my own experience defeating Alduin, Nords stand as the easy best Skyrim paladin race. However, Bretons also excel if you desire a spell-breaker playstyle.
Additional Factors when Selecting your Paladin Race…
Beyond hardcore sim data and statistical leaderboards, several subjective factors impact your race decision. These include:
Aesthetic Preference: While blood elves beat other Horde races in performance, you still stare at your character for countless hours. So pick whatever race visually appeals most to you unless pursuing world first raid progression. Nightborne paladins do look slick after all…
Lore Roleplaying Value: Race forms a core defining attribute of a paladin‘s backstory identity. A Tauren Sunwalker fits perfectly among ancestral plains and traditions, while a Zandalari crusader channels Loa blessing into their quest for justice. So race deeply flavors paladin roleplay value.
Friends and Faction: Playing whatever race allows you to adventure aside your existing guildmates or real life friends brings immense intangible value from sharing the journey together. The marginal output differences between a Draenei and a human literally do not matter compared to playing alongside people you actually like!
At the end of the day, choose whichever paladin aesthetically and culturally resonates with you personally as a player. But if you simply want to mow down enemies with the empirically strongest holy warrior possible, make a blood elf and never look back!
Let me know if you have any other topics you would like me to cover in a future gaming blog post! I have thoroughly enjoyed providing this definitive perspective on selecting the best race for a paladin.
