Races mean anything
They’re basically cosmetic, pick whatever you like the look of.
They have some race specific utility and elite skills, but they tend to be weaker than the ones you’ll unlock for your profession, so you probably won’t even use them.
Character stats are identical across races.
EDIT: Minion’s answer was better worded than mine, plus I’m new so I didnt know all of the details.
Different looks, different stories and I think that’s about it.
Oh wow OK. Thank you
I personally wouldn’t say any race specializes in any of the available classes out there. However, races have “Racial” skills. For example, Sylvari have skills that can root, they can summon mortar seeds, and so on. I guess if you’d really want a class that could “Kite” from a perspective, you could say using the Sylvari Race excels at being a ranger, but the truth of it is, the root, turrets, etc. Aren’t all too useful, as the root can be broken easily, and the turrets do minimal damage.
You could also say that a Charr could specialize in a Warrior due to some of their racial skills as well.
I personally view all races being the same, and just have different abilities that “could” give an advantage in combat, if they were used properly, however, this applies with almost any class/race you choose. If you use the skills at the right time, it won’t really matter what class you are. An example could be a Sylvari Warrior, though the root, and turrets seem almost useless, you could use root as more of an “Escape Tactic”, rather then using it offensively.
It all comes down to how you choose to play, and use your utility skills.
Only Better…