need some race clarificationFollow

Hey guys,
I am also a FFXI player quitting to play WoW. Ive been reading some information from this website and other websites and still havent found what im looking for. I would like to know in WoW does it matter which race you choose to play a certain class?

Im looking at the shaman class and wanna play orc. I noticed that the starting attributes are different but when you level up does each race gain differently? Would i get more of one stat than another depending on race?

My problem with FFXI is that if I dont chose the ideal race I automatically get gimped from the get go which is irritating

Well, it kinda matters... I'm not sure of the exact nature of the question, so I'll just answer with both answers.

Not every race can play every class. Look in the class or race descriptions on this site to see what race can play what class. I'd list it for you, but I'm not at home at the moment and I am working on something else at the moment, sorry. ; ;

As for the other way you could have meant the question, I don't think that one race's shaman at a given level would be any better than another race's shaman at the same level [this is an example]. However, I don't know for sure, so I'm hoping someone else can confirm this.

^^

No, WOW is nothing like that. Hell, a gnome warrior at lvl60 will be about same as Nightelf or Orc warrior at lvl60 (difference of like 40 HP - is VERY minimal).

I know what you're talking about in FFXI - taru warrior, or Galkan white mage. WoW any race/class combo is valid (as long as it's allowed in-game: i.e. Undead can not be hunters or shamans, etc).

One thing to consider is that when retail opens, or maybe before then (hopefully) the racial talents for all races will be in.

That is something maybe to consider when choosing a race, but I'm thinking that those will not affect classes so much as gameplay style.