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Monday, May 26, 2008

What Class Should I Play? - World of Warcraft

There are definitely similarities between the classes in World of Warcraft, but certain types of people will definitely enjoy playing certain types of classes more! Having played through each class a fair bit, and reached 70 on most of them, I thought I'd share my experience to perhaps make someone's choice easier when deciding what to play.

There are 9 different classes, and they are all available on both Alliance and Horde, but only certain races can be certain classes, so if you are really set on a Bloodelf for example, and you were thinking you would try a warrior, well you're out of luck, because Bloodelves cannot be warriors.



So, as I mentioned, if you have your heart set on a certain class, you're going to have a more limited choice as to what class you can play. That said, here is a quick rundown of each of the nine classes.

Warrior: Probably the most basic of all the classes, the warrior. Not to say it does not take a degree of skill to play, which is does if you are to be successful with it. Warriors are good if you like to grind level (kill mobs over and over instead of doing quests) or if you are planning on leveling with friends. They can spec three ways: Arms-high dps & great for leveling, Fury-also high dps, good for pvp (but I don't really recommend fury, I've never been able to play well as fury), and Protection-good for raiding, but pretty ineffective as a solo leveling spec.

Paladin: If you are planning on leveling alone, and are new to WoW, a Paladin is a good place to start. They can do decent dps as the spec Retribution, but you can also effectively heal yourself. They are one of the few classes that when you reach 70, you'll be able to main tank, main heal or dps in raids. Quick rundown of the specs: Retribution-high dmg but depending on how you play your character you may have to drink a fair bit, Holy-almost impossible to level as by yourself, but as a level 70 undoubtedly one of the best healing classes, Protection-very effective leveling class if you grind/AoE level. At 70 they are in high demand and are very effective tanks.

Priest: You will definetly want to be Shadow spected for leveling (unless you are leveling with friends or doing instances in which case holy would be acceptable). There is also the Discipline spec, which can be rather frustrating to level as, but can do decent dps at 70. At 70 they are also very effective healers as Holy, although if you're not careful and pull agro on anything you will basically get one-shotted. You will have to drink A LOT, so patience is a must have!

Shaman: Shamans are a great class if you like being able to do things on your own. With all their totems it's like having a group of three whenever you need it. As leveling I'd recommend Enhancement, which can do high dps but does not burn through your mana. At level 70 Enhancement shamans are usually some of the top dps raid wise. There is Elemental, which is effective dps, but only once you are a high enough level to get all the good talents (I would not recommend it before level 65) Elemental is amazing in PvP. As Restoration, they are very effective healers and are in high demand, but leveling as Resto is nearly impossible by yourself.

Hunter: When people say that playing a hunter is like playing WoW on easy mode, they are correct. A hunter can survive almost any situation they find themselves in and can easily kill an elite three levels above them with only their pet for assistance. Though they are easy, if you are skilled at playing your hunter, they can be the top dps in instances, raids and pvp! The most effective spec for leveling is Beastmastery-Your pet can tank almost anything, destroys mobs, and you still do a fair bit of dmg yourself. Marksman-is high dps on your part, but you'll find your pet will lose agro quickly and you wont be able to take on as many things at once. Also, you will have to drink fairly often. Survival-I am not sure what survival would be good for... there are certain talents I'd recommend grabbing once your finished with one of the other specs, but to level as full survival would not be practical.

Mage: Mages can do amazing dps, and if you are good enough, they can AoE grind like no other. They do burn through mana fast however, so basically no matter what spec you are, you are going to have to drink after only a few pulls. I guess that is why they can make their own water and food. For leveling it is a toss up between fire and frost. As Fire, you will deal a large amount of dmg quickly (so quickly in fact that most of the time a mob will not even reach you before it is dead). Fire is not so handy against more than one mob at a time however, so if you wanted to try out the AoE grinding, you'd want to go with Frost. Frost is more effective too when it comes to handling more mobs at one time by yourself. There is also the Arcane spec, which I would not recommend until 70, and then only partially after specing fire. Then you will do insane dps.

Warlock: Out of all my characters, I'd say the warlock was the easiest to level. They are most effective leveling from 1-50 as either Affliction or Destruction, because you will basically kill things fast enough that it wont matter if your pet loses agro. Once you are able to get the Felguard however, Demonology becomes basically like the beastmastery spec for hunters. You can kill almost anything on your own. I leveled my warlock from 10-70 as affliction, and I did not need to drink that often, and my Voidwalker held agro fine, so I would recommend it for leveling. I am still affliction, and raid wise it does a good amount of dmg.

Druid: Druids are so easy to level if you can manage to get to level 20. At level 20 you get cat form, which does the dps of a rogue, except you can heal yourself. You never have to drink and you kill things fast! So for leveling I'd say GO FERAL! Druids are the other class that, at 70, you can do anything with. As Feral they make excellent tanks and do pretty decent dps, as Restoration they are the best healers in the game, and as Balance they do amazing ranged dps. If you are not sure what you want to do at 70, and are looking for an easy class to level, druids are for you! The only problem with them, is that you are limited to playing either a Nightelf or a Tauren.

Rogue: The rogue is very effective as a dps class, but the main problem with them is everyone and their uncle has a level 70 rogue and is looking for a raid guild... so you'll have to work hard when the time comes to get yourself into a good guild. There are SO many ways to spec your rogue, and they are all fairly effective for leveling, but if you are really serious about them I would suggest checking here for a description of possible builds. The three specs are Assassination, Combat and Subtlety. Personally I am a Combat (swords) rogue.

To give you a bit more help deciding which class is for you, click here to take my What Class Am I Quiz!



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