Allied Races in WoW: All 10 & How to Unlock Them

Allied races are 10 alternate playable races in World of Warcraft — five for the Alliance and five for the Horde — first added in the Battle for Azeroth expansion. You unlock each one by building reputation with its parent faction and completing a short recruitment questline, then create a fresh character. Level that character to the cap without a boost and you earn its exclusive Heritage Armor set.

The 10 allied races by faction

Each brings its own racial traits, customization options, mounts, and a themed Heritage Armor set — so the choice is as much cosmetic and roleplay flavor as it is min-maxing.

How do you unlock allied races?

The general path is the same for every allied race: reach the required standing with the associated faction (originally Exalted reputation) and then complete a recruitment scenario or quest chain that formally welcomes them to your faction. Blizzard has streamlined these requirements over the years, dropping or lowering some of the older reputation grinds, so a few of the launch races are now available with little more than a quick questline.

Once unlocked, an allied race appears on your character-creation screen for any character on that account, flagged with its faction.

Do allied races start at level 10?

In current WoW, a new allied race character starts at level 10, ready to head into the leveling flow like any other alt. That starting level has shifted across expansions as Blizzard adjusted the level squish, but the key point holds: you begin low and level up normally rather than jumping straight to endgame.

What is Heritage Armor and how do you get it?

Heritage Armor is a transmog set unique to each allied race (and, later, some core races). You earn it by leveling that character from the start all the way to the current max level without using a paid level boost. Boosting the character locks you out of the set, so if the armor matters to you, level the old-fashioned way.

Are allied races worth playing?

If you enjoy fresh customization, new racials, and a cosmetic reward at the end, yes. The trade-off is time: unlocking plus leveling a brand-new character is a real commitment compared to race-changing an existing one. Pick the race whose look, lore, and racial bonuses you'll actually enjoy staring at for hundreds of hours.

If you'd rather skip the reputation grind or level an allied race toward its Heritage Armor without the slog, PewPewShop offers coaching and play-together progression help from vetted, long-standing human players — a simple rent-a-pro option when you want the reward without the repetition.