How to Unlock Allied Races in World of Warcraft

Lee Stanton February 26, 2021

One of the main reasons World of Warcraft is so exciting is the diversity of its population. The game never gets boring, as it constantly offers players something new to explore. Allied races in WoW are essentially modifications of the main races – with slightly different appearances and traits. Currently, there are 10 of them, meaning that it’s possible to unlock each one if you are determined enough.

In this guide, we will provide instructions on unlocking allied races in the World of Warcraft. Additionally, we will answer some of the most common questions related to races in WoW.

How to Unlock Allied Races in World of Warcraft

To unlock allied races in WoW, you first have to get specific achievements for each one. Follow the instructions below to gain access to all allied races in the game:

Make sure to reach level 50 of a faction corresponding to the allied race you want to unlock.
To unlock the Nightborne race, earn the ‘’Insurrection’’ achievement. To do that, complete the Suramar storyline. Then, complete a recruitment quest that can be found at the Horde Embassy. Once you earn the achievement, you will get Shal’dorei Tabard and Nightborne Manasaber.
To unlock the Void Elf race, earn the ‘’You Are Now Prepared’’ achievement by completing the Argus campaign. Then, complete a recruitment quest that can be found at the Stormwind Embassy to get the Ren’dorei Tabard and Starcursed Voidstrider. The recruitment quest becomes available after completing The Ghostlands and Telogrus Rift quests.
To unlock the Lightforged Draenei race, earn the ‘’You Are Now Prepared’’ achievement by completing the Argus campaign. Then, complete a recruitment quest that can be found at the Stormwind Embassy. It will become available after the completion of The Lightforged, Forge of Aerons, and For the Light quests. Once you complete it, you will receive Lightforged Tabard and Lightforged Felcrusher.
To unlock the Highmountain Tauren race, earn the ‘’Ain’t No Mountain High Enough’’ achievement by completing the Highmountain storyline in full. Then, pick up a recruitment test at the Horde Embassy. You will then receive Highmountain Tabard and Highmountain Thunderhoof.
To unlock the Dark Iron Dwarf race, earn the ‘’Ready for War’’ achievement by completing war campaigns in Kul Tiras and Zandalar. After completing a recruitment quest, you will earn Tabard of the Dark Iron and Dark Iron Core Hound.
To unlock the Mag’har Orc race, earn the ‘’Ready for War’’ achievement by completing war campaigns in Kul Tiras and Zandalar. Then, pick up a recruitment quest at the Orgrimmar Embassy to receive Tabard of the Mag’har Clans and Mag’har Direwolf.
To unlock the Kul Tiran Human race, complete the 8.0 and 8.1 War campaign components and the main quests of Kul Tiras – Loremaster of Kul Tiras, The Pride of Kul Tiras, and A Nation United. Then, pick up a recruitment quest at the Stormwind embassy to receive Tabard of Kul Tiras and Kul Tiran Charger.
To unlock the Zandalari Trolls race, earn the ‘’Tides of Vengeance’’ achievement by completing the 8.0 and 8.1 War campaign components. Then, complete the main storylines of Zuldazar zones and all quests of Allies of the Horde: Zandalari storyline. Once you complete the mentioned quests, you will get the Allied Races: Zandalari Troll achievement and earn Tabard of the Zandalari and Zandalari Direhorn.
To unlock the Mechagnome race, earn the ‘’Mechagonian Threat’’ achievement by finishing the entire Mechagon storyline. After successful completion of a recruitment quest, you will get Mechagonian Tabard and Mechagon Mechanostrider.
To unlock the Vulpera race, earn the ‘’Secrets in the Sands’’ achievement by finishing the entire Vol’dun storyline. After you complete the recruitment quest, you will get Tabard of the Vulpera and Caravan Hyena items.

Tip: once you unlock a new race, you can create characters of that race.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Allied Races Playable?

Yes, but you have to recruit allied race characters to your cause first to play them. Void Elf, Lightforged Draenei, Dark Iron Dwarf, Kul Tiran, and Mechagnome races can be recruited to Alliance. Nightborne, Highmountain Tauren, Mag’har Orc, Zandalari Troll, and Vulpera races can be recruited to Horde.

Can You Buy Allied Races in WoW?

No, the purchasing option is not available for allied races. To unlock them, you have to meet all requirements.

What Are the New Allied Races in WoW?

The Vulpera and Mechagnome races have been added to WoW in 2020. Even though no new allied races are planned to be added to the game in the foreseeable future, the Shadowlands expansion pack features a wide range of new races that may become available as playable characters one day. The list includes Stewards, Stoneborn, Faun, and Kyrian.

What Is the Fastest Way to Unlock Allied Races in WoW?

There is no easy way to unlock allied races in WoW – however, in the Shadowlands expansion pack, requirements are different from previous game versions. In this patch, you don’t have to achieve level 50 of a related faction – you only have to complete the necessary storyline quests.

For some races, the quest requirements have become easier too. Therefore, if you wish to unlock allied races faster, you may want to consider purchasing the Shadowlands pack.

Can You Unlock All Allied Races on One Character?

The short answer is – no. You have to play for a character corresponding to the allied race faction. However, in the Shadowlands expansion pack, this requirement has been removed, so you don’t have to switch characters.

What Are Allied Races?

Each race differs in terms of available classes. Characters of any race can be hunters, warriors, and death knights. Apart from Lightforged Draenei race characters, any character can become a monk. Priest and rogue classes are available for any character apart from Highmountain Taurens.

Only Kul Tiran, Highmountain Tauren, and Zandalari Troll race characters can become druids. Options for paladins are quite limited, too – this class is only available for Lightforged Draenei, Dark Iron Dwarf, and Zandalari Troll races.

What Are the Racial Traits of Void Elves?

It is well known that each race in WoW has unique traits. Void Elves feature traits that make them more resistant to shadow damage than other races – the Chill of Night trait reduces the damage and the Entropic Embrace trait helps to heal the damage. The Ethereal Connection trait reduces the cost of Transmogrification. The Preternatural Calm trait keeps spells effective even when the character is damaged. Furthermore, Void Elves can teleport to nearby destinations with the use of the Spatial Rift trait.

What Are the Racial Traits of Mechagnomes?

Mechagnomes are a relatively new race in WoW. If you are wondering whether unlocking them is worth your time, you may want to consider their racial traits. Mechagnomes can analyze combat in real-time and become stronger over time while fighting the same enemy. They can also craft tools and open locked chests. Furthermore, Mechagnomes have an Emergency Failsafe trait, that allows them to heal when their health drops to a low level.

What Are the Racial Traits of Dark Iron Gnomes?

Dark Iron Gnomes move slightly faster indoors. They also are less vulnerable to physical attacks than many other races. The main advantage of Dark Iron Gnomes is that they can craft items twice as quickly compared to other races.

What Are the Racial Traits of Vulpera?

Vulpera is another new WoW allied race. Despite their cute look, the racial traits of Vulpera are impressive. Firstly, Vulpera features the Alpaca Saddlebags trait, which increases the size of your backpack – and every WoW player knows how handy this is.

Secondly, Vulpera takes less damage from fire and first strikes from the enemy. Thirdly, they can teleport directly to their camp location. Last but not least, Vulpera can easily change the contents of their Bag of Tricks.

Unlock Them All

Hopefully, with the help of our guide, you will be able to unlock every allied race in WoW. Of course, this isn’t mandatory – you can learn the distinctive traits of each race in advance to select the ones that will benefit you most. The main thing about different races in WoW isn’t their combat techniques or the achievements they bring – it is the unique storyline that makes the game so enjoyable.

What is your favorite allied race in WoW? Would you like the allied races to be easier to unlock? Share your experiences in the comments section below.