Tauren (playable)

“

The peaceful tauren—known in their own tongue as the shu’halo—have long dwelled in Kalimdor, striving to preserve the balance of nature at the behest of their goddess, the Earth Mother. Until recently, the tauren lived as nomads scattered throughout the Barrens, hunting the great kodo beasts native to the arid region. - Blizzard intro

”

   
Tauren

	
		
		
	
	
Icon of the Earth Mother
Character classes
Druid, Hunter, Shaman, Warrior,  Death Knight,  Paladin, Priest,  Monk
Main language
Taur-ahe
Secondary language
Orcish
Starting zone
Red Cloud Mesa, Mulgore
Racial leader
 Baine Bloodhoof 
Capital
Thunder Bluff, Mulgore
Population
8,000
Racial mount
 Kodo

This article is about the playable version of the Tauren. For the info on the race in general, see Tauren.

The tauren of Thunder Bluff is a faction of tauren that start in Camp Narache of the Red Cloud Mesa, an area of rolling plains atop the high cliffs in southern Mulgore. They are the Horde tauren player race.

As of the Cataclysm expansion, Tauren are the only playable race that has every Tank and every Healer class availiable to them. No other race, Horde or Alliance, can boast either.

Though the noble tauren are peaceful in nature, the rites of the Great Hunt are venerated as the heart of their spiritual culture. Every tauren, warrior or otherwise, seeks identity both as a hunter and as a child of the Earth Mother. Having reached the age of maturity, you must test your skills in the wild and prove yourself in the Great Hunt.

Background

For countless generations, the bestial tauren roamed the plains of the Barrens, hunted the mighty kodos, and sought the wisdom of their eternal goddess, the Earth Mother. Although split into different tribes, the tauren were united by a common enemy: the marauding centaur. These primitive horse-men terrorized central Kalimdor, leaving only death and suffering in their wake. Although the tauren tribes struggled valiantly for survival against their foes, the relentless centaur attacks continued. Over time, the centaur wiped out the area’s wild game, threatening starvation for the beleaguered tauren. Seeking aid against the centaur, the chieftain, Cairne Bloodhoof befriended Thrall and the other orcs, who had recently journeyed to Kalimdor.

With the orcs’ help, Cairne and his Bloodhoof tribe were able to drive back the centaur and claim the grasslands of Mulgore for their own. For the first time in hundreds of years, the tauren had a land to call their own. Upon the windswept mesa of Thunder Bluff, Cairne built a refuge for his people, where tauren of every tribe are welcome. Over time, the scattered tauren tribes united under Cairne’s rule. There were a few tribes who disagreed about the direction their new nation should take, but all agreed that Cairne was the wisest and best suited to lead them towards the future.

Owing a blood-debt to the orcs for their assistance, the tauren joined Thrall on Mount Hyjal to defend Kalimdor from an invasion by the demonic Burning Legion.

Following the Legion’s defeat, the tauren who helped defend Hyjal returned to their new home in Mulgore. Ruling from the majestic capital of Thunder Bluff, Cairne welcomed tauren of every tribe to this secure refuge. Many tauren who traveled to the capital were content with Cairne’s vision of a peaceful and harmonious future, but at least one tribe felt otherwise. The stern Grimtotem tribe looked upon Kalimdor’s other races as inferior and believed that its matriarch, Magatha, was the only one fit to rule the tauren. Although Magatha constantly disagreed with Cairne over the direction of their nation, the elder crone nonetheless coexisted alongside him in Thunder Bluff without major incident. The Grimtotem tribe did not, however, join the Horde along with Cairne and the tauren under his rule. ^{(WoWMan 183)}

Cataclysm

This section concerns content exclusive to Cataclysm.

For years the tauren flourished throughout Mulgore, but tragedy befell the noble race following the campaign against the Lich King in Northrend. Believing that the reckless new warchief, Garrosh Hellscream, would lead the Horde to ruin, Cairne challenged the young upstart to a duel. The tauren high chieftain fought with a ferocity that belied his age, but an act of betrayal had sealed his fate before the battle had even begun. Unbeknownst to either of the duel’s combatants, Magatha had poisoned Garrosh’s blade. After Cairne was wounded by the tainted weapon during combat, he was immobilized by the poison, and Garrosh was able to slay him.

Following the high chieftain’s death, Magatha’s Grimtotem agents stormed Thunder Bluff and seized the tauren capital as their own. They had also hoped to murder Cairne’s son, Baine, but the young tauren managed to elude his would-be assassins. After formulating a strategy to exact retribution upon Magatha, Baine launched a counterattack and wrested Thunder Bluff from the hands of the treacherous matriarch. Ultimately, rather than spill further blood, Baine banished Magatha and all other Grimtotem who still supported her from tauren lands.

Despite the deadly encounter between Cairne and Garrosh, the tauren have not abandoned their place in the Horde. While many chaotic events have transpired in recent months, Baine has bravely taken up the mantle of tauren leadership and is now focused on ruling just as his wise and benevolent father would have.

Starting info

Starting area intro voice-over

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“

Great tragedy has rocked the Tauren tribes and shaken their once stalwart devotion towards the Horde. A disagreement, between the new orc warchief Garrosh Hellscream and the beloved Tauren chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof, led to a duel that ended in Cairne's death. With his loss, the vile matriarch, Magatha Grimtotem, launched a murderous attack attempting to seize control of Thunder Bluff for herself. However Cairne's brave son, Baine Bloodhoof successfully repelled the attack and banished the surviving Grimtotem to the farthest reaches of the land. Under Baine's hopeful leadership, the Tauren people now seek to heal their wounds and restore the balance between the various factions of the Horde. To this end, a new generation of tauren Sunwalkers has arisen, to lead their people into the light of the new dawn and the promise of rebirth. As a proud tribesman of Mulgore you must uphold the honor of your people and safeguard the lands of your ancestors. - in-game voice-over

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This is the pre- Cataclysm intro.

“

Once a nomadic people, the Tauren roamed the endless plains of the Barrens hunting the mighty Kodo. Scattered across the land, the wandering tribes were united only by their common hatred for their sworn enemy, the marauding Centaur. Seeking aid against the Centaur, the great chieftan Cairne Bloodhoof befriended the savage Orcs who had recently journeyed to Kalimdor. With the Orcs' help, Cairne and his tribe were able to drive back the Centaur and claim the grassliands of Mulgore for their own. Upon the windswept mesa of Thunderbluff, Bloodhoof built a refuge for his people. Over time, the scattered tribes united under a single banner. Though the noble Tauren are peaceful in nature, the rights of the Great Hunt are venerated as the heart of their spiritual culture. As a tribesman of Mulgore, you must test your skills in the wild and prove yourself in the Great Hunt. - in-game voice-over

”

Starting attributes

This section concerns content that is potentially inaccurate. Reason: Possibly outdated since Warlords of Draenor.

	Base	Druid	Hunter	Shaman	Warrior	Death Knight	Paladin	Priest	Monk
Strength	25	26	25	26	28	113	27	25	??
Agility	15	15	18	15	15	69	15	15	??
Stamina	22	22	23	23	24	100	24	22	??
Intellect	15	17	15	16	15	25	15	17	??
Spirit	22	24	23	24	22	44	23	25	??

Character size

The tauren character model is large. The beginning tauren character will not notice this; everything is tauren sized, and is scaled to the tauren point of view. Later, when the character interacts with other races, the difference is evident. Occasionally, tight quarters will hamper a tauren character's movement.

Racial traits

[War Stomp] (2 min cooldown)
Stuns up to 5 enemies within 8 yards for 2 seconds.
[Endurance] - (passive)
Base Health increased by 5%.
[Cultivation] - (passive)
Herbalism skill increased by 15 and you gather herbs faster than normal herbalists.
[Nature Resistance] - (passive)
Reduces Nature damage taken by 1%.

Reasons for racial traits

The tauren are some of the most physically imposing creatures to ever walk the earth.

• Their natural body structure grants them not only great strength, but an incredible Endurance to damage.
• Their immune system is compounded with a deep connection to the natural world, thus they have a passive Natural Resistance to everything from poisons and acids to the weather.
• Being great huntsmen and natural wanderers with a certain natural affinity, the tauren developed a deep knowledge of the botanical life of Azeroth, using it in various shamanistic rituals, as well as for medical treatment. Because of this the tauren are natural herbalists.
• Hunting the kodo and wandering the wilds has not been easy for the tauren, and facing the centaur has made it no easier. All tauren are born with the ability to communicate with the spirits in times of need, beseeching them to shake the earth and stun their enemies. This ability has been nicknamed the War Stomp by the tauren's enemies.

Female tauren healer

Classes

Cairne BloodHoof in Warcraft III

Tauren characters may play as druids, hunters, shamans, warriors, death knights, paladins, priests, and monks.

They were the only Horde race that could play as a druid, though as of Cataclysm, the troll race (together with the worgen for the Alliance) was allowed. They are the only Horde race that cannot have characters of the rogue class. The hypothetical tauren rogue is a common joke among Horde players.

For the tauren, the rogue profession is an alien concept and therefore rare (if not non-existent) among its peoples. ^{(WoWRPG 80)} Renegade Grimtotems possess the rogue and sorcerer class.

Roleplaying a tauren

Tauren are a very tribal and ancestral people, so worship of spirits and ancestors would be part of the roleplaying. Also, their size usually makes them seem a bit more fearsome, though most tauren aren't going to attack a person without good reason. Tauren do not have much of an accent, so you can type out their speech as you would normally.

Mounts

Because of their size, tauren used to have the most restricted selection of mounts of any race. Among the racial mount vendors, the tauren could only use the their own kodo and the orc's dire wolf. From the racial PvP mounts, they could also select the troll's raptor. Mounts beyond these must be hardier, because the ones available to the Horde can all bear a tauren. Oddly, the tauren had no restrictions on flying mounts.
These restrictions were lifted in patch 3.0.8.

Media

Images

This section concerns content exclusive to Warlords of Draenor.

New male tauren model

New female tauren model

Videos

Tauren Intro Cinematic World of Warcraft 4K

Tauren In-Game Intro (World of Warcraft)

Tauren intro

Tauren Intro Movie HD - World of Warcraft Cataclysm

Tauren intro in Cataclysm

Patch changes

• Patch 6.0.2 (14-October-2014): Character models for races from the original game Dwarf, Gnome, Human, Night Elf, Orc, Tauren, Troll, Undead, and Draenei have been overhauled with an increase to fidelity and texture resolution; while retaining the core look and feel of the originals.
  

External links

WoW Official Game Site (US) Tauren

WoW Official Game Site (EU) Tauren