Horde race

Tauren

Tauren are large, durable Horde fighters with extra health, a crowd stun and a stacking speed boost, and the natural home of the Horde Druid.

Overview

Tauren is the Horde race for tanks and Druids. Endurance raises total health by 5% and adds 2% to critical bonus damage and healing. War Stomp stuns up to five nearby enemies, which gives a tank or a group a short window to stop or reposition.

Plainsrunning builds up movement speed as you run, up to 30%, and adds a small mounted speed gain. It resets when you stand still or take damage. Cultivation grows a copy of a nearby herb, so anyone can gather it without Herbalism skill.

Tauren can be Warriors, Hunters, Druids and Shamans. Druids can use War Stomp in Bear Form and Cat Form.

At a glance

Faction: Horde
Homeland: Mulgore
Capital: Thunder Bluff
Starting zone: Red Cloud Mesa, Mulgore

Classes

Warrior · Hunter · Druid · Shaman

Racial abilities

Racial	Type	What it does
Cultivation	active	Cultivate a nearby herb, growing a duplicate you can harvest without requiring Herbalism skill. Each herb may only be cultivated once. What to know: Useful for gathering herbs early or filling a gap in a profession. It has little effect on combat.
War Stomp	active	Stuns up to 5 enemies within 8 yds for 2 sec. What to know: Stops a pull, interrupts a caster or buys time. It suits tanks and healers, and it works in Bear Form.
Plainsrunning	passive	Gain 1% increased movement speed every 5 sec spent moving, up to a maximum of 30% increase. Taking damage or standing still will reduce this effect. In addition, you move 3% faster while mounted. What to know: Speeds up levelling and travel. It resets after combat, so it matters most between fights.
Endurance	passive	Total Health increased by 5% and critical strike bonus to damage and healing increased by 2%. What to know: Extra health helps tanks. The critical bonus helps healers and any class that crits often.

Best classes for Tauren

Warrior: Tank: extra health and War Stomp suit the role.
Druid: The usual Horde pick for Feral and Bear tanking, with War Stomp usable in forms.
Shaman: War Stomp and extra health give group utility, mainly for Restoration (likely).

Lore

The Tauren are a shamanistic, nomadic people of Kalimdor. They follow the Earthmother, Mu'sha, and hold that all life is bound together by nature. They count on tribes, hunters and shamans, and they honour the spirits of their ancestors. Many tribes roam the plains of Mulgore and the Barrens.

For ages they fought the centaur, who kept pushing them from the plains. The Tauren tribes struggled until the Horde of Thrall arrived in Kalimdor. Thrall's orcs helped the Tauren defeat the centaur, and the two peoples formed a lasting bond.

The Tauren founded Thunder Bluff on high mesas in Mulgore, and its chieftain is Cairne Bloodhoof, a patient and respected leader. The tribe is slow to anger but fierce in defence of the land and its people.

The Tauren stay in the Horde to keep a safe home for their people. They are close with the orcs, they keep friendly ties with the Darkspear trolls and they tolerate the Forsaken. They do not share the Alliance's view of the world, but they prefer peace and avoid fights they do not need.

Good to know

Druids can use racial abilities without leaving shapeshift form.
Tauren speak Taurahe, and they understand Orcish through the Horde.
The Tauren race has the fewest class options of any Horde race: Warrior, Hunter, Druid and Shaman.

Updated 2026-10-16. Forever is in beta: racials can change with any patch. All races