Paladin - Dwarf or Human?

[username17]

I've convinced myself I want to roll a Holy Paladin. But I'm considering the race choice now.

My main focus will be PvE but I'm certain to do some BGs as well.
Since I'm not going tank/dps the extra hit/exp from Sword/mace skills won't have a huge impact (or will it?). I'm weighing Perception/Faction gain against Stoneform.

It's been a while since I've played so I hopped on Feenix's instant 60 server last night and made a 60 Holy Pally to heal in the BGs with. I feel like I wasn't the focus of rogues at all being a plate class. So I'm not sure how much Stoneform would help me in PvP or PvE. If I found myself standing still for any period of time I'd drop a consecration down to deter any rogues from sapping or stabbing me.

Perception doesn't seem all that powerful either since it's an activated ability and not a passive one. And of course it's PvP only when my main focus will be PvE.
To everyone rolling Paladins what are your Race choices and why?

On a side note, this is the Holy spec I have in mind. Please feel free to correct any huge mistakes I've made.
http://db.vanillagaming.org/?talent#sVxubgstVMpc0h

What are your thoughts on switching out some shield talents in Prot for 3% hits to aid in landing Seal of Wisdom/Light on boss mobs? Also, is Imp Concentration Aura worth getting?

[Dessel]

My advice would be to just go for the looks/animations you prefer. Would definitely go for dwarf in that department. Neither perception nor stoneform will make or break your pvp experience. Chances are that rogues will stay clear of you due to your tanky nature, and you'll have bof and bubble to deal with them while waiting for someone to peel them off you. Stoneform is the better of the two as a defensive teamfighter/healer but I wouldn't put any weight to it.

[Trolle]

I'd say, go for looks as well. they have not any racial that will make or break the experience for you

[username17]

Thanks for the feedback guys.
How much faction grinding was there in Vanilla? The only Rep I can remember was the Hydraxian Waterlords. Is it enough to merit rolling human for the 10% boost?

[Hatson]

There's a lot of faction grinding in vanilla compared to later WoW. (Except maybe not BC, that had tons of reps due to heroic keys and awesome item rewards... good times)
Here's some you WILL be grinding if you're a raider:
Hydraxian Waterlords
Cenarion Circle
Argent Dawn
Thorium Brotherhood (maybe)

And then ofc there's the 3 pvp factions if you're a PvPer.
And there's more PvE ones, and then there's the faction ones as well if you want a different mount than whatever race you pick. Human is all around a good pick race, especially if you're going Combat Rogue swords.
But, it's definitely not necessary. The 10% rep increase just speeds things up by.. well, 10%. It's just a bit faster.

[Cousy]

Thanks for the feedback guys.
How much faction grinding was there in Vanilla? The only Rep I can remember was the Hydraxian Waterlords. Is it enough to merit rolling human for the 10% boost?

The only faction grinding you need to do is only really if you're a blacksmith / enchanter. Otherwise it's up to you if you want to grind a faction rep.*

*at some point you'll want CC / AD rep but 10% isn't going to break you. If you're gonna farm 18 hours of rep, you can also farm 20 hours of rep.

[callex]

I'll be going human. Mainly because I BELIEVE they fixed perception (Doesn't work correctly on the instant 60 feenix server, that ability is a game changer in PvP), the rep increase, and Humans just look 20x more badass in paladin gear than dwarves do in my opinion. Plus the casting / attack animations are imo, way better. And, if you plan on EVER going ret, (can you really say that you won't ever try it out?) humans get another good racial for that.

[username17]

I hopped on the Feenix instant 60 server and made a few paladins to see what they looked like in Lightforge. I think Male Dwarven Paladins look best in that set since the shoulders come up over the head. It's like in LoTR, "I'd cut your head off dwarf if it stood but a little higher from the ground". Dwarven pallies can turtle their head in the pauldrons and be safe!
I'd roll female Dwarf but no beards (like in Everquest) so Male it is.

[izix55]

I'll be going human. Mainly because I BELIEVE they fixed perception (Doesn't work correctly on the instant 60 feenix server, that ability is a game changer in PvP), the rep increase, and Humans just look 20x more badass in paladin gear than dwarves do in my opinion. Plus the casting / attack animations are imo, way better. And, if you plan on EVER going ret, (can you really say that you won't ever try it out?) humans get another good racial for that.

My vanilla paladin was also Human. I can tell you for certain perception is an absolute game changer. In theory you won't see a rogue coming if they're clever, in practice it's quite different. You'll often see rogues dismount from your peripherals and stealth, or stealth right in front of you and head directly for you. Getting the jump on that rogue, vs the other way around is a MASSIVE GIGANTIC HUGE RIDICULOUSLY LARGE SAVE YOUR F'ING LIFE REPEATEDLY ADVANTAGE.

I can't overstate this enough, perception saved me in vanilla vs rogues more often than bubble.