Top 10 Favorite Races in The Elder Scrolls Games

[Pieterwolf]

1. Dunmer ( Main Character in Daggerfall , Morrowind and Oblivion )
2. Nords ( Main Character in Arena and Skyrim )
3. Khajiit
4. Bretons
5. Argonian
6. Redguard
7. Imperial
8. Bosmer
9. Orcs
10. Altmer

I like all of the top 9 races I Just really hate the Altmer.

[10♠]

1. Dunmer
2. Khajiit
3. Redguard
4. Orcs
5. Nords
6. Argonian
7. Bosmer
8. Imperial
9. Altmer
10. Breton

I'm a sucker for desert and nomadic cultures...

[Darkelfguy]

1. Dunmer
2. Breton
3. Bosmer
4. Khajiit
5. Argonian
6. Altmer
7. Imperial
8. Redguard
9. Orcs
10. Nords

I tend to favor more magic-based races more, and the lore also affects my choices, but I generally like all ten races fairly well.

[Pilaf The Defiler]

1 - Imperials, because I identify with their culture and society the most. While Morrowind was my first Elder Scrolls game and my favorite to this day, Cyrodiil feels more like home and the tolerant, cosmopolitan Cyrodilic society feels like the ideals my favorite version of Humanity should strive towards.

2 - Dunmer. Their culture is not comfortable or familiar to me, but their entire design is alien in a really cool high-fantasy way. Morrowind was my first TES experience, and it captured my heart in large part due to the exotic and in-depth lore of Morrowind and its people. Thanks Michael Kirkbride and the others.

3 - Bretons. I enjoy their quirky, squabbling nature. I enjoy that High Rock lore is superficially generic western RPG fantasy but has many complex layers underneath. Something about Bretons is just endearing to me.

4 - Orsimer, mostly because they're the race who refuses to give in or submit. They've been treated as monsters and outcasts by other races since the beginning of time, and even their homeland has been razed to the ground multiple times. Nothing breaks their spirit or devotion to their ways, however.

5 - Nords - They beat out Redguards only slightly. Both races have genocidal tendencies at the worst of times, but the Nords' aesthetic and history interests me slightly more than that of the Ra Gada. It helps that the most recent game in the single player series was set in Skyrim and I spent an immense amount of time there fairly recently. In a few years' time this list may need tweaking.

6 - Redguards, because I enjoy the concept of a fantasy race of darker skinned people who had their own mighty Empire, their own super secret divine magics, and a tendency to not take smack from anyone. These traits alone place them higher than most of the Elven and Beast races on the list, who frankly I don't identify with much.

7 - Argonians - I'll admit, I really love the concept of the Hist and the slightly alien nature of the Saxhleel compared to Nirn's other major races. I also find most Argonian NPCs and historical characters to be quite likeable. I'm just not down with the whole otherkin thing very much. Their culture is a little too alien and unfamiliar to place them higher on my list.

8 - Khajiit. They place higher than the Bosmer and the Altmer because they amuse me. I like their accents, their religion, their culture and history. I enjoy their tongue-in-cheek admittance that most of the stereotypes about them are true. I'm a cat person, too. I also really, really don't like Elves, despite the Dunmer being near the top of my list. Elves are overplayed in fantasy.

9 - Bosmer don't place last mostly because they're not Altmer. The idea of woodland Elves at home in nature is very overplayed IMO, although the Bosmer get bonus points for the things that set them apart, like the Green Pact and their more bestial aspects, like the Wild Hunt or the animal traits (horns, boar tusks, etc.) Hell, they even do the whole "expert Archer Wood Elf" trope that Wood Elves in fiction can't seem to shake, although it has good lore explanations.

10 - Altmer. Because ugh, that's why. Even Kirkbride's hand and the sinister Thalmor aspect of them don't make them bump higher up my list. The idea that an ancient race of High Elves is the earliest culture that all other cultures are based off is just a very tired cliche' in fantasy. It was cool when Tolkien did it, but it's been beaten to death over the past 60 years in every form of fantasy imaginable, and it just doesn't interest me. It doesn't help that so many Altmer characters in this series are total d-bags. I just can't get behind the idea of them, at all.

[OmiChron]

1. Bosmer
2. Altmer
3. Argonian
4. Breton
---
5. Redguard
6. Nord
7. Orc
8. Imperial
9. Dunmer
10. Khajiit

Being an utter amateur - well, not utter, but I'm certainly none too experienced - I've only chose from the first four races. I did play a Nord character for a while, but he looked too much like Hadvar and I wasn't happy with the close combat role he fell into. The top three are on rotation: Bosmer and Altmer depend on my mood, really, in terms of which I prefer in lore, but in terms of gameplay I opt for the former: I'm not too tall myself, so being shorter than most NPCs is a comfort thing, for me.

[tee22]

1. Dunmer
2. Argonian
3. Bosmer
4. Redguard
5. Imperial
6. Khajiit
7. Nord
8. Breton
9. Orc
10. Altmer

I hate orcs and altmer equally I kill all the altmer that I can, Dunmer and argonian are tied for first

[Starfang]

1. Dark Elf
2. Wood Elf
3. Khajiit
4. Redguard
5. Orc
6. High Elf
7. Nord
8. Imperial
9. Argonian
10. Breton

Changing this

1. Redguard/Imperial (because my mains are RG/IMP and imo most aesthetically-pleasing)
2. Wood Elf
3. Khajiit
5. Orc
6. Dark Elf
7. Argonian
8. Nord
9. High Elf
10. Breton

[Gandoril Spellbinder]

1. Altmer/High-Elves: I love Elves and magic, and the combination of the two makes 'em irresistible!
2. Dunmer/Dark-Elves: They also have excellent magic-skills, plus I love their rebellious nature.
3. Orsimer/Orcs: They're actually quite friendly ever since Redgaurd, plus their armours and weapons just look plain wicked in Skyrim.
4. Bosmer/Wood-Elves: I love how they were just so comical prior to Skyrim. Especially Fargoth and Glarthir. They were just way too much!
5. Khajiit: They would rank higher (simply because they're cats) if at least one of them would get their-selves a decent trade (i.e. not turn to thievery)!
6. Argonians: I personally think that they look awesome. Plus water-breathing as an innate ability? Sign me up for some Saxhleel Scuba!
7. Bretons: They only place so high 'cause of their innate magical abilities. That and they're named after a regional-people of France. I love France!
8. Redguards: I love their adventurer mind-set.
9. Imperials: They don't rank last simply because of their ideals of unity, peace, diplomacy, and world order. They'd outrank the Redguards if they believed in democracy (and would rank first if I could find one named either James Kirk, Jean-Luc Picard, Benjamin Sisko, Catherine Janeway, or Johnathan Archer).
10. Nords: I guess I'm really kind of torn on them, as I both love and dislike them for the same reasons: they're brutal, savage, barbaric . . . 'Why, they're practically human.' (~ Agarth, commenting about the Tuatha Deohn, an elitist cult of Winter Fae (faeries), Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning)

[Rajhma]

1. Khajiit - I just love them. Always have, always will. There isn't any real concrete or logical reason(lol, which is rather appropriate actually).
2. Bosmer - I've always been fond of woodsy elvish types and the Bosmer have some really kick ass lore. A Dance in Fire is definitely at or at least near the top of my favorite tes book list.
3. Orsimer - Ever since we had the opportunity to meet the stronghold orcs I've been head over heals in love with them. Its a race of Worfs and I adore them.
4. Argonians - For some bizarre and unforgivable reason I've yet to delve too deeply into Argonian lore, so they are forth for now. But what I know of them I really love. The beast races are bloody fascinating.
5. Redguards - They were mostly background noise to me until they fought the Dominion, and won.. Now they deserve some serious respect.
6. Dunmer - Meh... they are only this far up the list because they are more interesting than the others. But if I'm honest, I'm not very fond of the Dunmer. I think it's their attitudes that bother me. They certainly aren't dull though, it has to be said.
7. Altmer - They have potential to be interesting but so far they've been a bit dry. I'm eager to learn more about them in the future games though.
8. Imperials - I'm biased, I started with Oblivion and because of that Imperials are always a bit more interesting then the rest of the humans.
9. Nords - They only rate above Bretons because they are at the very least a memorable bunch.
10. Bretons - Dull as dirt. I used to forget they even existed. Love the Forsworn though, but they don't really count as Bretons..

[IcarusBen]

1. Imperial
2. Dunmer
3. Orsimer
4. Nord
5. Redguard
6. Breton
7. Khajiit
8. Bosmer
9. Argonian
...
...
9001. Altmer

[The Dread Lord]

Because of lore and culture.
1. Orsimer
2. Redguard
3.Breton
4. Bosmer
5. Argonian
6. Khajiit
7. Dunmer
8. Imperial
9. Nord
10. Altmer

[SairiRM]

1. Dunmer
2. Redguards
3. Bosmer
4. Khajit
5. Orsimer
6. Breton
7. Argonian
8. Nords
9. Imperials
10. High Elves

[Cununculus]

1. Orcs & Khajit

3. Dunmer
4. Nord
5. Argonian
6. Imperial
7. Breton & Redguard (It is not I don't like them, I somehow never play them
9. Bosmer
10. Altmer (I am as anti-Thalmor as I can possibly be)

[SwagMaster]

Redguard. 1-10. Anyone pushing elf = innate magical ability nonsense should be slapped with a wet pork chop and forced to the read magic lore until their eyes bleed.

[Walker Jones]

1. Nord
2. Imperial
3. Dunmer
4. Redguard
5. Bosmer
6. Breton
7. Khajiit
8. Argonian
9. Orsimer
10. Al-you know who.

[Flinchel]

1. Dark Elf
I blame Michael Kirkbride for making Morrowind, the lore, and all of it so intriguing and wonderful.
2. Khajiit
They're anthropomorphic The best thief/stealth race IMO. And the whole race-depending-on-moon-phases is cool.
3. Breton
I really have no idea WHY I like them, I just DO. So sue me.
4. Nord
DOVAHKIIN! DOVAHKIIN! NAAL OK ZIN LOS VAHRIIN
5. Orc
Standard warriors, but have a pretty good backstory.
6. Argonians
Lizard fishes. LIZARD FISHES!!!
7. Imperial
Badass enough to take over the entirety of Tamriel.
8. Redguard
Everyone knows black people are cool.
9. High Elf
No, it's not the Dominion, it's just that Bretons are better for magic.
10. Wood Elves
Generic elves. PEH.

[DreadAdmiralMatze]

1. Argonian
2. Nord
3. Dark Elf
4. Khajiit
5. Redguard
6. High Elf
7. Imperial
8. Wood Elf
9. Breton
10. Orc