Classes

"I'm new.. What class should I chose?"

So, you've just picked up the game World of Warcraft, and don't have a clue what it's about? The first thing you see when you've logged in, and chosen a server, is the character creation screen. Depending on what race you will chose, different class options are available. First of all, you should think about what kind of character you want to play.

Do you want to play a barbaric warrior, with heavy armor and weapons, specialized in pounding enemies in a lot different ways, always being in the front of the team? Do you want to play a magical caster, specialized in dishing out as much magical damage as possible in a short amount of time? Are you the rogue kind of person, who likes to remain hidden in the shadows, waiting for the right time to strike down on your prey? Or maybe you like mending other players' wounds? Or maybe you would like to alternate between all of these things?

There are three main roles in the game;

Tank. You're supposed to take all the beating, and prevent other people from taking damage. The warrior is the primary tanking class, although Paladins and Druids may also chose to take on this task, and do it reasonably well.

DPS (Damage). The DPS classes are the ones specialized in doing heavy damage. All of the classes can chose to specialize in this. The pure DPS classes (the classes who cannot perform any of the other roles) are as follows; Rogue, Mage, Hunter, Warlock. The DPS classes can be divided into two categories; melee and ranged. As melee DPS you stay in close range of the enemy, whacking them up front, whereas a ranged DPS class does his damage from afar.

Healing. The healing classes are the ones that can specialize in mending other players' wounds, literally giving them nine lives. The following classes can chose to become purebred healers; Priest, Druid, Shaman, Paladin.

There are some classes who can specialize in any of two roles (Warrior, Priest). Then there are some classes who can specialize in any of the three roles, they are called hybrids (Paladin, Druid, Shaman). The hybrids lacks some of the viability of the other classes, though, but in return they are rather flexible.

The Classes

Druid

Druid is one of the hybrid classes; they can chose to specialize in any of the three roles - or they can chose to be a little of everything. The major feat of the druid class is the ability to shape-shift into different animals. As you level up you will learn how to become a bear, a cat, a sea lion, a cheetah, a bird and so forth.

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Balance Magical Caster, able to become an owl like figure specialized in casting nature damage spells
Feral Combat Physical damage dealer and tank.
Restoration An avid healer, when specialized in this area of expertise, the druid can turn into a tree for better healing.

Be adviced that it is rather slow to level up as a restoration druid, as you are not specialized in doing damage.


Hunter

The hunter is a figure you will mostly see standing in the back of the crowd, shooting arrows or bullets on the enemies from afar, laying traps, and luring the prey into it. They have the ability to tame most of the beasts that can be found in the game, and if fed, the animal will stay with them and fight by their side forever. Would you like to have a bear as best friend? Or a lion? The possibilities are endless. The hunter is an excellent solo class, it's easy to level on your own.

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Beast Mastery A beastmaster hunter knows how to maximize the damage of his pet companion
Marksmanship A marksman hunter is an expert at maximizing his own ranged damage
Survival Specialized in delaying enemies and to survive the most difficult of situations

Mage

The mage is a pure spellcaster, all his damage comes from casting various fire, frost or arcane spells. They're the masters of burst damage and can freeze other players in place, slow them, or even make them incapacitated sheeps! Because of their extremely low armour, they are very vulnerable to physical attacks, so a mage has to make sure to keep their enemies at a distance at all times.

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Arcane Focused on dealing Arcane damage. Not very mana efficient.
Fire Focused on dealing Fire damage.
Frost Frost mages are masters of surviving and kiting foes around, and are quite mana efficient. They also have access to a frost elemental pet which they can summon to aid them once every third minute.

Paladin

The paladin is one of the hybrid classes, meaning that they can fit into many roles would they wish to. They have powerful buffs and auras, and have heavy armour, heals and invulnerability shields to aid them in their battles.

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Holy A holy paladin are specialized in mending his own, and other players', wounds. A healer in plate.
Protection Protection Paladins are specialized in tanking - taking as little damage as possible when struck by an enemy, and preventing the enemies from hitting the paladin's team members.
Retribution A retribution paladin is specialized in close combat, using his two-handed weapon to beat the crap outta' things.

Priest

The priest is a prominent healer, mending wounds, putting out magical shields and increasing the life span of her team. Limited to cloth armour, priests are rather vulnerable and will have to try to keep foes out of melee range to survive. Although excellent healers, a priest may also take on the path of Shadow magic.

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Discipline Survability, mana regeneration, improved buffs.
Holy A holy priest is an Healing expert, improving his healing beyond comparison.
Shadow Doing a large amount of shadow damage, at the same time as he's regenerating the life and mana of everyone in his party.

Be advised that the Shadow specialization is the easiest one to level with, as it's focused on pure damage.


Rogue

Rogues are the experts of striking from the shadows, dealing the first blow, using poisons and position to their advantage. They carry leather armor, can pick locks and move around in stealth to prevent being seen. A rogue uses his abilities which gives him combo points, to a max of 5, which he can use for his special finishing moves. All in all, a shady character.

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Assassination Specializing in poisoning targets, burst damage and combo point regeneration
Combat Specialized in enhancing his weapons, maximising the damage output over time
Subtlety Expert on sneaking up on people from behind, dealing deadly blows from the shadows, and control the battle

Warrior

The warrior is a front figure in any team; specialized in melee (close) combat, physically damaging the opponents with their weapons, or trying to soak up as much damage as possible with their heavy armour.

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Arms Expert at hitting hard, but slow, with big two-handed weapons.
Fury Expert at hitting fast with a one-handed weapon in each hand (dual wield, as it's called).
Protection Skilled at taking as little damage as possible when being hit, and to keep the monsters focusing on them.

Be adviced that it's rather slow to level up as a protection tank, as you are not specialized in doing damage.


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