Warcraft which class to play

This is by no means a comprehensive guide on the classes in World Warcraft—there are plenty of sites out there that do that and each class has its own, invaluable, Discord server. Think of this more as an overview to give newcomers and returning players an idea of how each class and spec plays. It's also worth noting that you can change specialisation at any time at no cost, so it's worth playing around to see which you like best.

If you like smacking things around with swords, the warrior may well be the class for you. All three specs are melee-oriented and wearing plate armour means that even the damage specs can take a hit or two. It's a highly mobile class with a leap and a charge at its disposal and you'll be a welcome addition in group content, thanks to the warrior's Battle Shout buff which provides a party or raid-wide attack power increase.

Arms is a damage spec that uses a two-handed weapon and is probably the easiest of the three specs to level with unless you're planning on levelling through dungeons. It has high damage in both single-target and AoE situations and while it has no self-healing abilities until level 35, it has a number of defensive options available. Even then, it's unlikely that you'll struggle too much due to its high damage output. Fury is a fast warrior spec and can dual-wield two-handed weapons and early on has access to a skill that will restore health as well as deal damage.

They deal high damage, but lack any solid AoE skills at lower levels, making Arms the preferred damage levelling spec, though there's really not much in it. Protection , as the name might suggest, is the warrior's tanking specialisation. It uses a one-handed weapon and a shield and can deal a huge amount of burst AoE damage for a tanking spec. It has great damage reduction abilities and is incredibly mobile but lacks any self-heals and its defensive abilities rely on good resource management.

You can find more detailed warrior information on the Skyhold Discord server. Paladins also wear plate armour and can cover any of three group roles, making them a flexible class to play. They also have a lot of utility while levelling and in group situations with a choice of one of three Auras, an eight-second immunity to all damage as well as a powerful heal that can restore the target's health to full. Retribution is the damage dealing spec and uses two-handed swords, maces or axes.

They rely on Holy Power as their main resource and fair equally well in both solo and group content with good single-target and AoE damage. Thanks to their high damage, heals, and defensive abilities, they're an easy spec to level. Holy is the paladin's healing spec and wields a one-handed sword or mace and a shield. It has high single-target healing making it a good tank healer and their utility is generally sought after in most group content.

They have high survivability thanks to their defensive abilities and plate armour but, as with other healing specs, you would generally avoid levelling as Holy due to their low damage—unless you're planning on levelling solely through dungeons. Protection is the tanking spec and uses a sword and shield. It is potentially a very strong tank with access to immunities, self-heals, and damage reduction abilities though it can suffer if the latter is poorly timed.

This is a good option to level with if you want to play it safe but you'd get much more damage from Retribution and keep much of the utility. You can find more detailed paladin information on the Hammer of Wrath Discord server. Hunters are the main pet class in World of Warcraft. They wear mail armour and have great survivability due to their tanking pets and their Feign Death ability, making them appear dead to enemies and dropping all threat.

At level five, hunters gain the Tame Beast ability, allowing them to capture any tameable animals they come across and keep them as pets. All three specs have a good deal of utility, with various traps and interrupts. Beast Mastery is the first ranged damage dealing spec and uses a bow, crossbow, or gun. It relies heavily on the pet to deal damage and it's a highly mobile spec, able to deal full damage even while moving. It has high damage in most situations and fairs well in both dungeon and raid environments.

Out of all the classes in the game, this is probably one of the easiest specs to level. Marksmanship is also a ranged damage spec and like Beast Mastery, uses a bow, crossbow, or gun but otherwise differs quite dramatically.

The Lone Wolf passive ability means you'll deal 10 percent less damage if you have a pet summoned and a lot of the skills have a lengthy cast time, losing a lot of the mobility that Beast Mastery offers. However, the Marksmanship hunter is capable of high burst damage.

It's viable to level with but you'll need to rely more on traps and kiting enemies to avoid damage. Survival is the melee damage dealing hunter spec and wields a polearm or a staff. It was originally ranged but was reworked to its current form at the beginning of the Legion expansion.

It has high single-target damage and a good degree of mobility for a melee class with its Harpoon ability. Survival is a solid levelling choice and has a good deal of survivability, though Beast Mastery is safer. You can find more detailed hunter information on the Trueshot Lodge Discord server. Rogues are sneaky and best known for their Stealth ability. They wear leather armour and use Energy as their main resource and spend Combo Points to deal big damage to their enemies. They have a good deal of utility including a number of interrupts and stuns and a self-heal on a second cooldown.

Their Shroud of Concealment ability allows a whole group to move undetected for a short time. While rogues are fun to play and elements of levelling can be made much easier with stealth, there are much easier classes to choose from if you're just starting out. Outlaw dual-wields one-handed weapons and relies heavily on good resource management to deal direct damage to enemies. It has strong AoE damage but the overall output can vary because of the RNG element of the Roll the Bones ability which grants a random buff.

Assassination dual-wields daggers to deal damage. It favours the use of poisons and bleeds to take down enemies and you'll need to keep these up for maximum damage. This spec has high, sustained single-target damage and its defensive abilities give a good amount of survivability. Subtlety also uses daggers and relies more on moving in and out of stealth and positioning behind the enemy to maximise its damage.

It has the lowest damage of the three rogues specs and is the most complicated to master, making it suited to more experienced players. You can find more detailed rogue information on the Ravenholdt Discord server. The priest is World of Warcraft's quintessential healer class. It wears cloth armour and uses a staff or one-handed weapon with an off-hand.

It has some pretty dazzling spell effects along with quite a bit of utility, including Leap of Faith which pulls a friendly target to the priest's location. It has two very different healing specs to choose from as well as a third, ranged damage spec. Paladins are holy warriors, channeling their connection with the Light into their weapons. Protection Paladins use the Light to defend their allies, and absorb the damage meant for their party members.

Holy Paladins use the Light to heal targets close to them with big, powerful heals. Retribution Paladins use the Light to play judge, jury, and executioner with their targets, distributing holy righteousness with a two-handed sword or hammer. Priests are cloth-wearing holy mages. Much like the Paladins, the Priests wield the Light to defend and destroy.

Holy Priests are the de facto healers, using the Light to mend allies wounds, whether it be a single target or the whole raid. Discipline Priests damage enemies to heal allies around them. Shadow Priests harness the dark powers of the void to deal sustained damage against their targets.

Rogues are thieves and criminals that hide in the shadows. Masters of stealth, traps, and poisons, Rogues are the assassins and spymasters of World of Warcraft. They are neither seen nor heard, unless they choose to be. Subtlety Rogues are all about sneaking around, cloaking themselves in shadows before they strike their targets down.

Assassination Rogues are all about making their target bleed to death as they slowly poison them. Outlaw Rogues are swashbuckling pirates that use luck to their advantage. Shamans are the elemental sides of Druids. While Druids convene with nature, the Shamans control the very elements themselves.

Shamans use their unique powers to summon storms, heal with rain and smash with rocks. Enhancement Shamans use a weapon in each hand to ignite and pummel their foes with melee damage.

Elemental Shamans use the power of lightning and earthquakes to deal damage from afar. Restoration Shamans harness the power of rushing water to rejuvenate their allies, healing their wounds.

Warlocks use dark and mysterious magic to twist the world around them. They can corrupt and destroy foes, all while summoning a massive army of demons for them to command. Destruction Warlocks are all about hitting enemies hard with fire from range. Affliction Warlocks place damage-over-time spells on targets, creating a high maintenance, high efficiency rotation. Demonology Warlocks spawn legions of demons into the world to attack their foes for them.

Warriors are the typical, brutish, barbaric fighters that every fantasy melee hero dreams of being. Big axes, big armor and whirling blades fill the ability bar for Warrior players.

Arms Warriors are slow and methodical, dealing damage with big hits over the course of a fight. Fury Warriors are extremely fast, asking players to use abilities as quickly as they can push the buttons to force the Warrior into a rage-filled rampage.

Protection Warriors use the traditional sword and board to protect their allies and immobilize their foes. There are a few practices for casual players that can help keep you satisfied with your choice and having fun. Stick with it and hold out for a balance patch. Blizzard usually tries to move things into a balanced state pretty quickly. But even if you stay at the bottom of the meters for weeks, each class has unique tools to offer their groups. The most important thing is that you improve as a player, rather than jumping onto a new character that can theoretically do more damage.

Similar to the message above, looking up a talent calculator is pretty standard practice for late-game World of Warcraft players.

Save that for when you decide to join a guild. Cookie banner We use cookies and other tracking technologies to improve your browsing experience on our site, show personalized content and targeted ads, analyze site traffic, and understand where our audiences come from. By choosing I Accept , you consent to our use of cookies and other tracking technologies. Gaming PlayStation Xbox Nintendo. Movies TV Comics. Star Wars Marvel. Players can unlock additional customizations by obtaining an artifact weapon, doing various Legion content after obtaining an artifact weapon , and obtaining glyphs.

Teleportation: As a druid you also gain the ability at level 22 to teleport to Moon Glade. While it may not sound exciting initially, after you complete the Legion introductory quests, you gain access to the Emerald Dreamway which contains portals to several different natural locations spread across Azeroth. Additionally, your Teleport: Moonglade becomes Dreamwalk which has a different visual effect.

Jack of All Trades: Lastly, one of the biggest perks to being a druid is that you can shapeshift into multiple forms to meet your groups needs, keep yourself alive, or enhance your combat performance, thus allowing you to experiment with all four role types healer, tank, melee dps, and ranged dps. For example, as a non-guardian druid, you can shapeshift into bear form to reduce your damage taken. Interested in learning more about druids? But in truth, I hunt with family. One that I hold close.

I protect them, and they protect me. Hunters with the exception of survival hunters are unique in that they are only ranged class in World of Warcraft that uses arrows and bullets to deal damage instead of spells. Additionally, hunters are also unique in that they can tame a variety of different animals to assist them in combat as well as utilize a variety of different traps to hinder their enemies. Hunters currently have three specializations: Beast Mastery, Marksmanship, and Survival.

Each of the three specializations utilize agility as their primary stat, wear mail armor, and use Focus as a resource to cast their abilities. Description: Beast mastery hunters also called bm hunters are a type of Ranged DPS specialization that utilizes beasts both wild and tamed to hunt prey and assail foes. As a beast mastery hunter, you are equipped with an arsenal of spells and abilities such as Kill Command , Bestial Wrath , and Barbed Shot to have your beasts rip your enemies to shreds, Cobra Shot , Counter Shot , and Multi-Shot to assail your enemies from afar, and Tar Trap and Freezing Trap to hinder your enemies and prevent them from reaching you or escaping.

Beast Mastety hunters are unique in that they can tame all 59 unique pet families including exotic pet types such as hydras, devilsaurs, spirit beasts. For more information about all the pet types you can tame as a hunter, click here. Description: Marksmanship hunters also called mm or marks hunters are a type of Ranged DPS specialization that utilizes arrows, bullets, unique ammunition, and deadly accuracy to assault enemies from a distance. As a marksmanship hunter you are equipped with an arsenal of spells and abilities such as Aimed Shot to snipe your enemies from afar as well as Tar Trap , Freezing Trap , Bursting Shot , and Concussive Shot to hinder your enemies and prevent them from reaching you or escaping.

Pros: - Great all around damage - Strong burst damage Cons: - Spells and abilities sometimes require you to stand still in order to cast i. Aimed Shot - AoE damage is not as strong when more than 5 targets are present. Description: Survival hunters also called sv hunters are a type of Melee DPS specialization that are master survivalists who excel at tracking and traps.

Additionally, survival hunters fight alongside their animal companions in combat, sometimes even coordinating abilities together. As a survival hunter, you are equipped with an arsenal of spells and abilities such as Wildfire Bomb , Raptor Strike , and Carve to viciously assault your enemies at close range, Explosive Trap and Tar Trap to ambush unsuspecting victims, and Harpoon and Wing Clip to ensure that your prey doesn't escape.

Pet Taming As a hunter, one of your biggest perks is the ability to tame pets. Currently, in World of Warcraft, there are a total of 59 unique pet families 47 are tamable by all hunter specs and the other 12 exotic families can only be tamed by beast mastery hunters. For a complete look at all the pet families and hunter pets available click here or I will provide an additional link in the "Hunter Resources" section of this guide. Utility Another big perk of being a hunter is the wide range of utility you to bring to a group.

All three hunter specializations by default learn Tar Trap and Freezing Trap. Additionally, for the two ranged hunter specs beast mastery and marksmanship, they have additional utility with Misdirection to assist in keeping enemies on the tank and off everyone else, and Binding Shot level 40 talent choice for bm hunters to mass root all enemies caught within the shot that try to move out of the ground effect.

Tracking An additional perk of being a hunter is having a wide variety of tracking spells. While some other classes might have one or two tracking spells i. Feral druids have the ability to track beasts and humanoids , hunters have the ability to track a total of eight different enemy types: Beasts, dragonkin, elementals, giants, hidden, humanoids, and undead. Interested in learning more about hunters? Knowledgeable and powerful, mages can assault their foes with raw arcane magic, burn their foes to ash with powerful fire magic, and chill and freeze their enemies to the bone with extremely cold frost magic.

Additionally, mages are also able to conjure refreshments for themselves and allies, provide transport around Azeroth and beyond with teleports and portals, and even temporarily transform their enemies into less harmful creatures with polymorphs. Currently, mages have three specializations: Arcane, fire, and frost. All three specs utilize intellect as their primary stat, wear cloth armor, and use a resource called Mana to cast spells and abilities.

Description: Arcane mages are a type of Ranged DPS specialization that utilizes arcane magic to assail enemies from afar or damage nearby enemies. As an arcane mage, you are equipped with an arsenal of spells and abilities such as Arcane Power , Arcane Barrage , Arcane Blast , and Arcane Missiles to bombard your enemies from afar, Arcane Explosion to damage enemies that dare wander too close to you, and Prismatic Barrier , Slow , and Alter Time to protect yourself and escape from would be assailants.

Pros: - High survivability and mobility - Strong burst damage - Strong AoE Cons: - Single target damage is reliant on cool downs - Weak cleave - AoE requires you to be in melee range - Can run out of mana which can affect dps. Description: Fire mages are a type of Ranged DPS specialization that utilizes powerful fire magic to sear their foes and reduce them to cinders. As a fire mage, you are equipped with an arsenal of spells and abilities such as Combustion , Flamestrike , Pyroblast , and Fireball to decimate your foes from afar with powerful fire magic, and Dragon's Breath , Cauterize , and Blazing Barrier to protect yourself from would-be assailants.

Description: Frost mages are a type of Ranged DPS specialization that utilizes bone-chilling frost magic to freeze their enemies. Frost mages are also unique from the other two mage specs because they can harness the power of water to summon a Water Elemental to assist them in combat.

As a frost mage, you are equipped with an arsenal of frigid frost spells such as Frostbolt , Blizzard , Flurry , and Ice Lance to assail and slow your enemies from afar as well as Ice Barrier , Ice Block , and Frost Nova to protect yourself and stop would be assailants in their tracks.

Portals and Teleportation: One of the biggest perks of being a mage is the vast amount of teleportation and portal spells you have that take not just around Azeroth, but even to other planets! Teleportation and portals spells are acquired primarily through reaching a certain level and seeing the Portal Trainer in major cities of your respective faction. Slow Fall and Invisibility: Some additional perks of being a mage is the ability to slow your falling speed and turn yourself invisible.

With Slow Fall you can jump off anything, apply the spell to yourself, an ally, or both, and glide harmlessly down for as long as the spell lasts spell is recastable at any point in time. Additionally, as mage you also have access to Invisibility which temporarily turns you completely invisible for 20 seconds Arcane has an enhanced version of this effect called Greater Invisibility.

Interested in learning more about mages? I trust you have learned: to fight out of fear or anger is to fight a war that never ends. Face your fears. Calm your hatreds. Find peace within yourself, so that you may share it with the world around you. These are the greatest treasures in life. Surely they In combat, monks use their iron-clad discipline, martial arts skills, brews, ancient healing techniques, and regenerative mists to assist their allies.

Currently, monks have three specializations: Brewmaster, Mistweaver, and Windwalker. While all three specializations wear leather armor, each spec uses different resources to cast their spells and abilities and utilizes different primary stats.

Mistweavers use intellect as their primary stat and use a resource called Mana to cast their spells and abilities. Brewmasters use agility as their primary stat and use two resources called Energy to cast spells and abilities and Stagger to reduce damage taken. Finally, windwalkers use agility as their primary stat and use two resources called Energy and Chi to cast their spells and abilities.

Description: Brewmaster monks are a type of Tank specialization that utilizes powerful and potent brews to fortify themselves and hinder their enemies. As a brewmaster monk, you are equipped with an arsenal of spells and abilities such as Fortifying Brew , Shuffle , Celestial Brew , and Zen Meditation to bolster your defenses and reduce your damage as well as Keg Smash , Breath of Fire , and Blackout Kick to slow your enemies and keep them from attacking your allies.

Additionally, brewmasters are unique in that their taunt effect also temporarily increases the movement speed of the enemy it's used on. While it may sound silly, it allows for enemies and bosses to be positioned quickly. Description: Mistweaver monks are a type of Healer specialization that utilizes ancient healing techniques, regenerative mists, and martial arts to heal allies.

As a mistweaver monk, you are equipped with an arsenal of spells and abilities such as Revival , Essence Font , Enveloping Mist , and Vivify to mend allies wounds with soothing mists, Life Cocoon , Thunder Focus Tea , and Fortifying Brew to bolster yourself and allies, and Reawaken and Resuscitate to bring allies back from the dead. Description: Windwalker monks are a type of Melee DPS specialization that uses martial arts, knowledge of anatomy, and spirituality to pummel enemies into submission while using two resources "energy" and "chi" to cast spells and abilities.

As a windwalker monk you are equipped with an arsenal of spells and abilities such as Spinning Crane Kick , Fists of Fury , and Rising Sun Kick to assail your foes with a series of quick movements, Touch of Karma and Storm, Earth, and Fire to devastate your foes, and Flying Serpent Kick , Disable , and Touch of Death to chase your would-be assailants and prevent them from escaping.

Transcendence: In addition to the large amount of mobility spells and abilities that monks have, monks also have two spells called Transcendence and Transcendence: Transfer which allows them to place part of their spirit in an area that they can teleport to.

A few seconds later, the monk can then transfer themselves back to where they initially were before using Transcendence the first time. Rested Experience Bonus: One of the biggest perks as a monk is the rested experience bonus you get leveling up from level The quest can be completed once daily in addition to every 10 levels from level Zen Pilgrimage: Another perk of playing a monk is having the spell Zen Pilgrimage.

While it may not sound very exciting at first, Zen Pilgrimage can act very similar to a hearthstone without the wait. On the first cast, Zen Pilgrimage takes you to the Peak of Serenity Unless you complete the Legion intro questline for monks and using it again teleports you back to where you previously were. If a player decides to level in Legion content, once the introductory Legion quests are completed, their Zen Pilgrimage spell is modified to teleport them to a phased, fully explorable version of The Wandering Isle Pandaren starter zone that has portals to the Peak of Serenity and Dalaran.

Interested in learning more about monks? But the Light loves us anyway. It loves us for what we sometimes can rise to in rare moments. It loves us for what we can do to help others. And it loves us because we can help it share its message by striving daily to be worthy, even though we understand that we cannot ever truly become so.

On the battlefield, Paladins can be anything from holy warriors who assail their foes with holy magic, steadfast protectors who use the power of the Light to shield both themselves or allies, or healers who bestow blessings to increase their allies combat performance and utilize the benevolent, restorative properties of the Light to mend wounds.

Currently, Paladins have 3 specs: Holy, Protection, and Retribution. While all three specializations wear plate gear and utilize Mana and Holy Power as resources, Retribution and Protection utilize strength as a primary stat and Holy utilizes Intellect. Redemption , and Blessing of Protection. Description: Holy Paladins or Holy Pallies are a type of Healer specialization that utilizes blessings to protect and bolster allies as well as restorative holy magic to mend wounds and cleans diseases.

Additionally, Holy Pallies are unique in that they are the only healer class that can sacrifice a portion of their maximum health to heal allies with Light of the Martyr. Pros: - Strong single target and spot healing - Strong utility - Good survivability Cons: - Difficulty healing spread out targets - Heals from melee range - Limited mobility. Description: Protection Paladins or Prot Pallies are a type of Tank specialization that utilizes the Light to bolster their defenses.

As a prot pally, you are equipped with an arsenal of spells and abilities such as Avenger's Shield , Consecration , and Hammer of the Righteous to go toe to toe with the enemy and keep them off your allies, and spells such as Shield of the Righteous , Guardian of Ancient Kings , Ardent Defender to reduce your damage taken. Pros: - Great utility - Good against magic damage and bleeds - Strong mitigation when damage can be predicted - Strong damage and burst potential when built for Cons: - Susceptible to large amounts of damage outside of Shield of the Righteous active mitigation - Limited uptime on Shield of the Righteous - More susceptible to physical damage compared to other tanks.

As a ret pallly, you are equipped with an arsenal of abilities such as Judgment , Divine Storm , Avenging Wrath , and Templar's Verdict to decimate your foes with the righteous fury of the light, Shield of Vengeance , Divine Shield , Flash of Light to fortify your defenses and heal yourself, and Hammer of Justice , Rebuke , Hand of Hindrance to hinder foes and stop would be assailants in their tracks.

Pros: - Flexible playstyle - Strong burst damage - Good raid utility - Strong survivability Cons: - Limited mobility outside of Divine Steed - Damage is reliant on cool downs. Auras: One form of utility that paladins bring with them is auras. Auras are passive effects that provide a passive benefit to the paladin and their allies. Blessings and Divine Shield: Perhaps one the biggest perks of playing a paladin is the wide variety of defensive cd's that you have.

All paladins have access to a variety of powerful defensive spells such as Blessing of Protection , Lay on Hands , and Divine Shield Which is arguably one the strongest if not the strongest defensive cd in the game.

Two Unique Class Mounts: With the introduction of class mounts in patch 7. While it might sound silly to have two class mounts, I will explain. Divine Steed Customization: As a paladin, it always helps that you have your trusty steed wherever you go with Divine Steed.

You can customize your divine steed spell to match your preferences. Interested in learning more about paladins? Blessed are the valorous, who stand fast in an unjust world. Priests have three specializations: Discipline, Holy, and Shadow. Each of the three specializations utilizes intellect as a primary stat and wears cloth armor.

However, the priest specs differ from each other in that Discipline and Holy are healer specs that utilize Mana as their main resource for casting spells and abilities, and shadow is a DPS specialization that uses a special resource called Insanity. Description: Discipline Priests or Disc Priests, are a type of Healer specialization that utilizes holy magic to shield allies and sear enemies with holy light as well as shadow magic that both heals allies and damages foes.

Disc priests are unique in that they heal allies by dealing damage to enemies aside from their regular healing spells.

Pros: - Unique playstyle - Strong burst healing in raids through absorbs - Strong damage reduction cool downs - Provides absorbs on allies to make it easier for them to be healed Cons: - Requires high skill to play - Requires dealing damage to heal efficiently - Healing requires planning and ramp.

Description: Holy priests are a type of Healer specialization that utilizes holy words and the restorative powers of the holy Light to mend wounds, cure diseases, and transform into a Spirit of Redemption that heals allies for a limited time after the priest perishes.