I’m curious about Warcraft lore and which race on Azeroth has existed the longest. Considering everything from native species to Titan constructs and alien arrivals, who came first? For example, how do Trolls, Earthen, Draenei, and races like the Dracthyr or Pandaren stack up in terms of ancient origins? I’d love to see a clear timeline or explanation based on the lore about which races are the oldest, including both playable races and other notable beings.
4 Answers
In terms of playable races, Trolls are usually considered the oldest, since the Night Elves and other elves evolved from them. Lots of lore suggests that Tauren are also very ancient natives. Humans and Dwarves are from Titan-created or Titan-tainted races, which makes them younger than Trolls and Tauren, but still quite old. Orcs and Draenei are alien species that came much later through interplanetary travel. The Dracthyr were engineered by dragons about 20,000 years ago, so they’re fairly recent. So yeah, Trolls or Tauren likely edge out as the very oldest playable races in Azerothian history.
From what I’ve read, the oldest native Azerothian races are Trolls and Tauren, who were around before the Titans even arrived. Trolls, in particular, are seen as one of the original inhabitants. Then you have the Titan-forged creations like the Earthen, Dwarves, Gnomes, and Humans (who evolved from Vrykul). Pandaren are also ancient, predating elven offshoots like the Kaldorei. The aliens like Orcs and Draenei came much later, crashing onto Azeroth in more recent times. The Dracthyr are pretty new, around 20,000 years old since they were created by Dragons after the Titans’ involvement. So if you’re ranking by who’s been around longest, it’s basically Trolls/Tauren first, then Titan constructs, then aliens, with various splits in-between.
Just to add, there’s a lot of overlap and retcons in Warcraft lore, which means pinpointing exact timelines is tricky. For example, Highmountain Tauren only emerged about 10,000 years ago, and humans most likely started spreading after the Sundering. Plus, you have to consider if you’re counting original forms or evolved descendants — like Night Elves are technically trolls evolved over time. Finally, “aliens” like orcs and draenei obviously arrived much later. So depending on whether you’re talking about pure origin or modern form, the answer can shift.
That makes sense! I guess the lore’s definitely deep and sometimes a bit fuzzy on exact timelines.
I’d throw the Earthen pretty high on the timeline since they were created by the Titans early on to reshape Azeroth after defeating the Black Empire. They probably predate even the trolls evolving as we know them, who may have adapted later due to the Well of Eternity. Also, Eredar/Draenei have been around at least 25,000 years, so they’re some of the oldest alien races in the story. But overall, if you’re thinking playable and native races only, Trolls likely top the list followed closely by Earthen creations and then the various elven offshoots. It all depends how you count different evolutionary stages and alien arrivals.
Good point about the Earthen and Draenei timespans. It really is complicated when you consider their origins vs. when they actually got involved on Azeroth.
Thanks for breaking that down! The distinctions between natives, Titan-forged, and aliens definitely help clarify the timeline.