World of Warcraft®

A lot of people I RP with seem to think that orcs are as stupid as a rock.

Why though? Sure they don't look like all those beautiful smart races, but they're pretty damn clever.

Their intelligence is on par with humans, they just don't always go around flaunting their brains.

They can be almost all the same classes as humans, sans paladin.

They have mages, which seems to need a lot of intelligence.

So, are they stupid?

They're stereotyped to be meat-head warriors (Like Salem and Rios). They also have the peons, which doesn't help. But the humans have the peasant workers, which are on par with peons, while being seen or used in quests less often. It's just a matter of which uses of each stereotype stuck on them.

"Me not that kind of orc!"

"Mo' wor'?"

If I had a copper...Truth be told, for a race that went from hunters, herders, and nomads to a war machine in a decade or so, the orcs are a lot more cunning and intelligent then most everyone thinks... You think it was demon power and surprise alone that allowed them to drive the Draenei to the brink of extinction in the blink of an eye?

Then enter the Dark Portal. They stepped into a world they knew absolutely -nothing- about, and in short order proved to be the fiercest and most feared military force the collective alliance had ever faced. Even before joining forces with the trolls and goblins, when the humans dwarves and high elves (All at the peek of their respective civilizations) even united, the orcs were able to organize, plan out, and launch a massive blitzkrieg practically overnight.

While not 'smart' in the way a college student or mechanically inclined like a gnome, orcs as a whole bare a military intellect, tenacity, and surgically exact cunning that makes even a handful of grunts a realistic threat against multiple squads of alliance soldiers.

I don't think Garrosh helps, either. Don't get me wrong, I love him. But he lets his emotions get the better of his brain all. the. time.

Eh, I would think of orcs being a lot like dwarves. Rather then actually puzzling something out, they would like it much more if they could just break whatever was in there way with a well-placed hammer blow. This doesn't mean they aren't smart, but I would think that they are more inclined to act aggresively.

Thrall for the win!!!!! He's cool. Not as awesome as Vol'jin though.

Well that depends on what your definition of stupid is.

From what I know orcs are bezerkers, meaning they use their brains out of cleverness to use battleplans to Frack the enemy up. Sadly, they don't rely on their brains... often.

So basically, IMO, no. Orcs can be pretty smart.

It doesn't help this perception that for every Saurfang Blizz puts in like five Garroshes, NPC-wise.

01/16/2011 10:36 PMPosted by Bomber

Eh, I would think of orcs being a lot like dwarves. Rather then actually puzzling something out, they would like it much more if they could just break whatever was in there way with a well-placed hammer blow. This doesn't mean they aren't smart, but I would think that they are more inclined to act aggresively.

I agree. Though, I'd say your average orc is probably more aggressive than your average dwarf. As a race, I figure their aggression runs higher than perhaps any other in WoW. And, it's probably this aspect of orcish nature that gives this false perception of stupidity.

You could argue that what they lack in a traditional understanding of intelligence they make up for in battle savvy. There is a level of awareness needed to fight well, and this probably translates into their tenacity to survive as well.

It's probably just harder for an orc to sit down and study than other races because of this, but not impossible. An orc can learn, as evidenced by the fact they can be mages now. It's just that peons and grunts are more common than shaman, unfortunately.

Still, as far as I know there are many prominent orc figures who needed to have great understanding for their arts. Gul'dan seemed to be an orc version of Medivh, at least in some ways. Nerhr'zul has been *a bit* more successful in eluding in the Burning Legion than Illidan... not sure how much that's saying, but I always figured Illidan was always regarded as powerful and crafty. Then there's Thrall, of course, who is to shamanism what Malfurion is to druidism.

Orcs can be on par with human intelligence and they often prove to be rather crafty on the battle field... but they tend to rely on strength more then their craftyness which gets them in some pretty stupid situations at times. They seem to have a mindset that you only need to be clever if it is necessary. If you can go destroy everything, then go ahead.

And besides, battle field tactics do not equal intillegence as a whole. Why? Because they just don't seem to care about schools and education. Get ready to plow the fields, raise the swine, and kill the alliance. Need tactics? Well I guess we can spare some time to teach you it. But of course there are some orcs that decide that maybe it would be better to learn other ways then their honorable monotone ways. So they got warlocks and mages and engineers and tons of other orc combinations. Course, I'm not an orc fan((not a hater either)) so I'm not to down on their way of life too much. What I see is that they HAVE the potential, just that most of them don't use it on a regular basis.

Historically Orcs are the only race that had to be horde; the Alliance pissed off the others to the point of alienation. If the Orcs led the horde because of a great threat of voilence against the rest they needn't be terribly intelligent but since the other Horde races all chose to ally themselves with the Orcs through respect rather than fear they must have something between the ears. No one ever said that Trolls aren't cunning so if Orcs were just meat-headed doom machines they would naturally have ended up as the warrior class of an essentially Troll culture.

I have the greatest respect for Orcs, were this entirely RP without need of gameplay mechanics I'd probably visit Orgrimmar more often than Stormwind. I certainly would have in Thrall's day. Thrall >>> Varian.

Irony that of all player races, your avatar was a N elf when you posted that, and thanks, I liked old Org (from Thrall's Warchief days) Better then absolutely anywhere... Though I must admit, it's about damn time we got more tavern/bars in the capital. Did you know thunder bluff and UC have no beer/spirits vendors? If I remember correctly, Org for the longest time was the only Horde city you could get ale from. Were as Stormwind has how many taverns?

And yes, this 'off tangent' holds a point: Orcs, and the vast majority of the horde did not need or have ready access to 'liquid courage'... It also helped that our generals were as a result forced to remain sober... Despite the fact Dwarves SOMEHOW make it work...

Peeling the Onion

Orcs seem smarter than many human players.

I counter your onion with an artichoke! The Frostwolf Artichoke

Peeling the Onion

Orcs seem smarter than many human players.

Yet the alliance is still dancing on Alterac Valley.... hmmmmmmm

01/17/2011 11:09 AMPosted by Emenyuu

Though, I'd say your average orc is probably more aggressive than your average dwarf.

SAY THAT AGAIN TALL GUY

People think Warcraft orcs are dimwitted thugs like Warhammer Orkz.

They couldn't be more wrong.