The Ultimate Classic WoW Class Guide

[Kenneth]

The Ultimate Classic WoW Class Guide

Classic WoW is a different type of beast than retail. Whether you played in current Classic, whether you played private servers, or whether you've never touched vanilla WoW in your life picking a class is kind of hard because of how the game is setup. In Classic WoW leveling is half the battle unlike retail and picking a class, especially for people who haven't played it in a long time, is going to be a commitment to say the least. Nobody wants to hit 40 and realize they hate their class. It is for this reason I am making this guide on Classic WoW. As somebody who has been doing a ton of research on Classic WoW classes the last two months I will give my opinion on each one but also include a ton of sources on each class for both PvP, PvE, Leveling, Rotations, Expectations, and more by people who have Classic down to a science. The best way to browse this guide would be to scroll to a class you're interested and just start clicking and watching. Some classes strive in some areas of the game better than others and some are all around great at everything. If you are going into Classic super casually then this guide might not be for you. Choose whatever class you want and just enjoy the game the way you want. But for all others who plan on doing end game content, leveling optimally, etc this guide is for you.

I will be updating this information as I find more. If you have anything you feel is worth adding to a specific class please drop it in the replies! I would greatly appreciate that.

General

These are some resources I found to be very useful as a first step in not only helping choose a class if you're completely lost on what to choose but also to find information about specific classes.

• The Classic WoW Discord

• The no BS Guide to choosing a Classic Class for PvP by Ohhgee Haptix Gaming

• Class Picking Guide by Madseasonshow

• Picking a Class by Kargoz

• What Class to pick by Frostadamus

• How to make gold class by class by Alexensual

Druid


Class Discord


The druid is an very interesting class in vanilla and is super underplayed. It is a hybrid spec including feral, balance, and restoration. If you wan't to PvE end game you are most likely going to be playing Restoration and maybe Feral if you're willing to farm Gnomeregan before every raid. Balance is super mana heavy and even with enough potions to keep your mana up you won't be doing that great of DPS compared to other similar classes. For early raids most of this doesn't matter as MC/BWL will be cleared by pugs of a ton of specs and classes but later on the class and spec definitely can hold you back if you're not the most optimal one. Also Druid tanking is viable in 5 man PvE content and early raids. I have seen some videos even of it working in certain wings of Naxx! If you do go Druid just expect never to be the best at anything you do but to be more of a support role. You will never top damage meters or healing meters but you will be as useful as the people who are topping those things by helping off tank, innervating, entangling roots on trash, etc. It is a thankless job but somebody has to do it.

In PvP you will most likely be going a mix between balance and restoration. Druids are great for world PvP because of their insane 1v1 potential, stealth for openers, and they can also get away from pretty much any fight once they realize they are losing it. Flag running is also a huge part of Druid PvP as they are probably the best at flag running being so tanky, fast, and self-sustainable. Druid PvP is very fun.

Druids level insanely fast and on some private servers hit 60 even before polished hunter levelers. They have almost 0 down time, do great damage, can be any role in dungeons viably no matter the spec early game, etc. The one downside you might find with Druid in Classic is they can only be either Tauren or Night Elf. Tauren is nice for warstomp which provides a window to get a heal off and Night Elf has dodge percent which could possibly save your life in PvP.

• Pre-Raid BIS Gear by Ebbnflow

• Pros and Cons of Druid in Classic by Ebbnflow

• BIS Gear overall by Taladril

• Druid Classic Discord

• Leveling Guide, Talents, Rotations, Addons by Kargoz
  

• Vanilla flavors by Platinum WoW

• Underdogs of raiding Feral by Hamsterwheel and ShedotheDruid

• Underdogs of raiding Balance by Hamsterwheel

• Dire maul East Farm by Leemo

• Maraudon Farming by Leemo

• Comprehensive Classic Gold Guide by Sinyou

Warrior

Warriors are iconic classes in Vanilla and strive in all areas except leveling. Every single race in vanilla can be a Warrior! The PvE end game for a Warrior usually involves one of two things. Fury DPS or Tanking. Fury DPS is easily a top 3 damage dealer throughout all of end game PvE so finding a raid group will be extremely easy if you go that route. Warrior tanks are also the best tanks in the game for both dungeons and raiding so if you go this route finding groups shouldn't be much of an issue either. The only downside in warrior PvE would be how gear dependent they are and even this is barely anything. Warriors definitely need more gear to shine then most specs and classes but even with not optimal gear as Fury you will probably be out damaging most other specs especially hybrid dps classes.

In Warrior PvP you are a wrecking ball with very low movement abilities. You have charge and intercept but other than that you don't have much. Engineering for PvP is a must. (This goes for basically every class). It can provide you other ways to stop your opponents in their tracks items like Iron Grenade. The Warrior hits like a truck in PvP and if you go Alliance a Paladin is your best friend because if you get Blessing of Freedom it is all over for the enemy because there is no way to get them off of you.

Warrior leveling is by far the hardest there is. You are super gear dependent, you have huge down times, you don't hit hard, you're melee, it is just overall very hard. Unlike retail WoW you are a lot weaker in Vanilla WoW especially while leveling. Not many classes can get away with pulling 2-3 mobs of the same level as them. Warriors pretty much never can. Find a new weapon that isn't the same type as the old one? Got to level up that new weapon skill. Axes are most likely going to be the go to due to the crit you can get with axes in your talents but sometimes the Azeroth gods might bless you with a better sword than you're current equipped axe and you will be off leveling your sword skill all to have it replaced a day or two later. The payoff for this grind is huge because you become almost god like when geared at 60.

• Fury Warrior Pre-Raid BIS by Staysafe TV

• Warrior leveling guide, talents, rotations by Kargoz

• Fury Warrior Rotation and Consumables by Executus Gaming

• Warrior Tanking by Tips Out and Skarm

Priest

Class Discord

The Priest is a great class in Vanilla WoW to pursue. It is a top 5 leveler, its great for PvP and PvE endgame, and it has the iconic Benediction Quest. Priest can be Troll, Undead, Human, Dwarf, and Night Elf. Each of these races get a special unique priest spell. These unique spells actually can help you end game a ton if you choose the right one. For example if you want to heal on alliance as a priest going Dwarf is ideal because Fear Ward is the single best PvE priest race spell in the game. Slap that thing on the tank and he can no longer be feared by a fear mechanic. No other race besides dwarf has this. Priests are insane PvE healers and will be widely accepted into groups and raids at 60. Equipped with shields, stamina buff, top tier healing, and a res is huge. If you want to go Shadow in PvE this is where you might run into issues. Shadow is fine, as are most specs, for dungeons and early raids but they are so mana heavy like balance druid that in later raids guilds usually only bring one and that is only so he can provide a shadow damage debuff to the boss making warlocks do more damage. So if you plan on raiding AQ40 or Naxx going Spriest might not be in your best interest unless you have a guild in line that will give you that 1 Spriest slot. Also priests get the epic quest of Benediction/Anathema. This is a class specific Quest item that drops off Major Domo in MC and puts the Priest on a journey where at the end you get a dope Class Specific staff that can transform into Benediction or Anathema, depending if your Shadow or Healing, on a 30 minute cooldown.

In PvP its a different ballgame for the Shadow Priest. Often noted as the best 1v1 class in PvP the Shadow Priest is an absolute unit. If you see one in World PvP it is nighty night for you unless their monitor is off. The Shadow Priest dishes out insane damage in PvP and is quite tanky as well. As for healing, priests are a top tier PvP healer as well and you should have no issues finding BG Groups as a priest no matter the spec.

Priest leveling is actually insanely good. Turns out wand specialization is an absolute unit of a talent. The priest if played right can have 0 down time while leveling, can heal dungeons and dps dungeons, and more. Just make sure you are keeping that wand up to date with your level because it a core part of your leveling kit.

• Pre-Raid BIS (Holy) by SabotageS from the Classic Discord

• Priest PVE Guide by Tips Out

• Vanilla Flavors Priest by Platinum WoW

• Priest leveling, talents, rotation, wand progression by Kargoz

• Underdogs of raiding Spriest by Hamsterwheel and Rizzanti

• Vanilla WoW Class Guide Priest - PVP, PVE, Gear, profs and more by OrcBit

• Priest farming Dire Maul East Guide by Frostadamus

Rogue

Class Discord


The Rogue is one of the most popular classes in Vanilla and is also one of the most hated. As a rogue you are the master of stealth, the god of annoyance in world PvP, and are even amazing at PvE. Rogues can be played by Dwarf, Human, Gnome, Night Elf, Orc, Troll, and Undead. (Rip Tauren). Rogues end game PvE is pretty great as they are a top 3 damage dealer with the right spec for end game raids. They are have niche farm spots unlike most who farm DM East. The Rogue is just damn good at PvE.

As far as PvP the Rogue also shines. There are a TON of ways to talent you're PvP rogue and the more I look into it the more specs I find which truly change the playstyle. As a rogue in World PvP you have the world at your fingertips. It is your choice to start the fight most of the time due to stealth. With huge opener damage, stuns, vanish, etc the Rogue is a PvP powerhouse. They also shine really well in Battlegrounds as flag defenders and sometimes even flag runners if the opportunity arises. A rogue can 1v1 any class if played well enough and not many specs can say that. The only issue is there will be a ton of rogues so getting into groups in PvP might end up being an issue due to that fact alone.

When it comes to leveling the Rogue is near the bottom unless you are duo leveling. The rogue cannot pull more than one mob most of the time, is gear dependent, has long down times, and more. It is a slightly better version of the Warrior when it comes to leveling. But if you add another class to the mix, even another rogue, things tend to shift. If you can get off backstabs consistently then leveling is going to go super fast for you. This is where that second class comes into play. Everytime they pull threat you get to backstab. Rogue duos can even just backstab bounce off each other and the mobs just get deleted. But if you plan on leveling solo it won't be easy. Also in Classic WoW you need materials for a lot of the stuff you use such as vanishing powder, leveling poisons, and leveling pick pocketing which you will need to do for niche farms at 60.

• Rogue leveling, talents, rotation, weapon progression by Kargoz

• Rogue Deep-Dive by Tips Out

• Vanilla Flavors Rogue by Platinum WoW

• Raiding and PVE Guide by Valreth

• Pre-Raid BIS by ProtCow (list is in description)

• BRD Rogue Farm

Hunters

Class Discord

So you want to be a Hunter in Classic WoW? Great choice. The Hunter in vanilla is amazing at all aspects of the game but at a PRICE! As a Hunter you can be Tauren, Orc, Troll, Night Elf, and Dwarf. In end game PvE the Hunter shines pretty well. They fall off toward Naxx a bit but not enough that it should impact you competing that much unless you're in a super sweaty guild. They are also masters of 5 man content. The Hunter is just a PvE master class when it comes to Vanilla WoW. The Hunter at level 10 also gets a pet which can be the best thing for you or the bane of your existence. Feeding your pet is crucial in Vanilla WoW. Not only does the happiness of the pet impact its damage but if you let it get to upset it will run away on you and you will need to level a new one. Certain pet types are better than others so if you want to min max you might not always get to play with the cutest animal in the wild as your sidekick. Also each pet takes different types of food. This is crucial because some food is a lot harder to come by than others. Also Hunters use ammo in Vanilla. That is right, a very heavy auto attack based class uses on arrow or bullet per attack which means you will need to constantly be stocked up on this ammo in your bags. The last thing you want to happen is run out mid dungeon because there is no quick portal out and back in to the dungeon like there is in retail. Also hunters get the epic quest from Major Domo like the priest. This quest gets you the iconic Rhok'delar, Longbow of the Ancient Keepers which is a class specific bow just for hunters and comes equipped with a nice staff as well.

In PvP hunters are amazing. They have great range, high damage output, and are basically your typical archer on the battlefield. The big thing to note with hunters in Vanilla is blind spots. This means you have to be at a certain distance away to use ranged attacks on the target. What opponents will try to do to you is get in this blind spot and CC you this way you cannot melee them because you are too far but also you cannot shoot them because you are too close. And yes I said melee. In Vanilla melee is very viable as a hunter. Using things like Wingclip for the slow and Raptor Strike for damage are vital parts of the kit. Getting slowed as a hunter can be a rough situation to be in but overall there is no class that a Hunter cannot deal with if played correctly, like the rogue. Usually if you die it is because of a major power difference in your characters or you are just not good. Also there are cheese builds that involve magic damage and arcane shot that have insane one shot potential if you're into that type of thing.

Leveling as a Hunter is amazing and is tied for #1 with Druid. 1-10 can be quite rough for newcomers because you have no pet but once you get that lovely side kick its smooth sailing. Aspect of the Cheetah is also a great movement tool to get from one place to another before being able to obtain a mount at level 40. The hunter has almost 0 downtime as a leveler due to its pet taking most of the damage. Also they are top tier farmers so making gold as a hunter should prove to be easier than most classes if not the easiest.

• Hunter Leveling, Talents, Pets, Rotation by Kargoz

• Hunter pre-raid BIS by Kargoz (it’s toward the end of the slides)

• Hunter PvE Guide by Tips Out

• Vanilla flavors Hunter by Platinum WoW

• Mauradon Farm by Marconiac

• Dire Maul Farm by Cody Mueller

Paladin

Class Discord

The Paladin is an Alliance only class playable by Humans and Dwarves in Classic WoW. This class is very unique in that it has a ton of blessing buffs that you can spec into. The paladin is a plate wearing melee damage hybrid. End game PvE for the Paladin is usually served as Holy. Retribution is just not equipped well enough to raid well and is super mana intensive. Paladin tanks also lack one major spell in vanilla and that is a taunt button making it very hard and also mana intensive to tank as a Paladin. Therefore for most end game content you will be most viable as a healer which seems to be the case for all hybrid classes. Once again this doesn't apply to dungeons and early raids as much due to how much easier they are. As a healer in PvE you will be producing good heals but most importantly blessings. Wisdom, kings, and other blessings are what makes the Paladin a top tier raiding class. The only annoying part of this is these buffs need to be cast on everybody and they cost reagents which cost money and time to apply to all the 40 players. The blessings also only last minutes unlike the hour long buffs compared to other classes. So rebuffing is a constant part of the Paladins kit in PvE.

In PvP the Paladin is interesting. It is pretty damn good for 1v1 due to its sheer survivability but its not anywhere as good as lets say a Warrior, Rogue, Spriest, Mage, or Warlock. It is a very niche thing to play a Paladin in PvP and there are even some cool specs you can go such as shockadin which has great one shot potential.

Paladin leveling is below average overall. Its damage output is mediocre, its downtime is mediocre, it has no speed enhancements, and it is quite boring as you will be auto attacking a ton. One thing that is great is your first mount is free of charge at level 40. You can tank lower dungeons decently therefore you can serve as all roles while leveling but healing will always be ideal in group PvE. Also end game the Judgement set is iconic so you have that to look forward to.

• Leveling, AoE Grinding, Weapon+Shield, Rotation by Kargoz

• Vanilla Flavors Paladin by Platinum Wow

• The light and how to swing it volume 1 by Esfand

• In depth Paladin guide by Mowsen

• The Underdogs of Raiding Ret Paladin by Hamsterwheel and Pudgy

• Holy pre-raid BIS by DejoyTV

Warlock

Class Discord

The Warlock can be played by Gnomes, Humans, Orcs, and Undead. This class is something special in Vanilla WoW as it is one of the best at everything across the board. In end game PvE the Warlock is good until the very end. In both raids and dungeons the Warlock has a great kit for PvE and also can provide summons to players which can cut down on travel times a lot especially while leveling. It shouldn't be hard finding a group as a Warlock either because even though it is so good it is not as played as classes like the Mage or Hunter usually. You are tanky, deal great damage, have utility, and can summon. Overall just amazing for PvE from beginning to end.

In PvP the Warlock also shines. There are so many PvP specs you can go and the Warlock talent tree really allows you to customize to your play style. The best part is some of the best PvE talents work great in PvP so you won't have to switch back and forth everytime you want to do one of the other which is not something most classes can say. Remember there is no dual spec in Vanilla WoW. Want to be tanky with soul link and have your pet take some of your damage? Want to deal burst with Conflag? Or do you want to wither people down with dots as you fear them and use engineering tools to keep your distance? The Warlock honestly has it all.

Leveling is also great as a Warlock. They have good self sustain, low downtime, and even a pet to help you on your way. Like the Paladin you are also gifted your first mount at 40 free of charge! One downside to the Warlock that might be overlooked by casuals is soul shards. Soul Shards are like a Warlock currency that you get from draining the soul of an enemy thats level is close enough to yours that it would give you experience when killed. These soul shards are a huge part of the Warlock because everytime you want to summon somebody , summon a pet, and even some spells require a soul shard to use. Not only is this just something that might serve as a burden but these currencies don't stack and are stored in your bag slots. So you will need to dedicate one bag as a soul shard bag and even Soul Bags don't hold that many spaces. So farming soul shards even at 60 is something you will constantly have to be doing and for some this can be a turn off. Also getting your pets are not as simple as training them they are obtained via quest chains that can be not so easy for some people early on and are time consuming.

• Leveling, Rotation, Talents, Wand Progression by Kargoz

• Deep Dive on Warlocks by Tips Out and Alive

• Pve, PVP, Gear, Profs, Talents, Leveling by Orcbit

• Warlock leveling guide by StaySafe

• How to raid Dire Maul East by Chook Chan

Mage

Class Discord

The mage can be played by Humans, Gnomes, Undead, and Troll. This class is an amazing class for Classic WoW all around the board just like the Warlock. In end game PvE Frost Mages in particular shine from 5 man dungeons while leveling all the way until Naxx as a top 3 dps class for most fights. The mage is easy to play in PvE as well. Arcane is kind of a dead spec as it serves as more of a buffer to either your fire spec or frost spec for PvE. Fire is also never as good as frost but it can be viable in raids without fire resistant mobs such as MC. Mages also provide intellect buff and food and water for everybody. The only downside to this is food and water needs to be made without what we in retail call a mage table. So before every raid you usually have to take some time out to make a bunch of stacks of the highest rank food and water you have which you can only make 5 of at a time. This is the only burden of a mage. Outside of this the mage is a very easy class to play and low responsibility in PvE. It has sheeps for CC, slows and snares as frost, iceblock as a huge defensive cooldown, and more.

In PvP mages also shine in world PvP, dueling, and battlegrounds. The mage is a notoriously great 1v1 class and you can outsmart most other classes if played well. Frost is great because you can raid and PvP with the same spec which is a amazing for people who want to do both. You also have the options of going Fire and even fully arcane for what people call the 3 minute mage which is a 1 shot focused spec. Mages are even great flag carriers in WSG which is something I only learned recently. The only downside is mage is popular. Very very popular meaning it might be hard to get into BG groups because of saturation alone.

Leveling as a mage is also amazing. They are a top 5 leveler as frost with great damage output, cc, low downtime, and the ability to take on more than one enemy really well. If you're really good you can even AoE farm as a mage but I advice not doing this unless you know exactly what you are doing otherwise it might be much slower than if you had just leveled normally. Duo Mage is the fastest duo leveling group as well if you both know how to AoE farm. Another huge perk is the creation of water and food. No needing to go to vendors constantly and purchase food to speed up your downtime. Portals are another great perk of being a mage. A mage has the ability to not only teleport to capital cities but put portals down for others to go to them in higher levels. This is a great advantage as traveling in Vanilla WoW is very long and there are very few shortcuts.

• Mage PVE Guide and pre-raid BIS by Infra#0471 on Discord

• Mage leveling, talents, tips and tricks by Kargoz

• Vanilla Flavors Mage by Platinum WoW

• Mage Guide by Orc Bit

• Addons (these wont work for Classic by Blizzard but the authors might remake them for it so just jotting the names down could be useful)

Pre-Raid BIS by Staysafe TV


Shaman

Class Discord

The Shaman is a Horde only class in Classic Wow. Playable by Tauren and Trolls only. The Shaman is a very cool class being a full hybrid. The Shaman can be either melee dps enhancement, restoration, or elemental. In end game PvE, like most other Hybrids, your best bet is Restoration simply due to how much more viable it is in end game raids. The Restoration Shaman can provide a huge buff as well called Mana Tide Totem which is a huge reason Shaman's are brought to end game raids. Elemental and Enhancement can be used viably in dungeons and raids early on but toward the end it is going to be very hard to find a raid group to take you realistically. But because MC will be so easy the Hammer of Rag enhancement shaman dream is easily obtainable if you're lucky enough to get the drop.

In PvP all 3 specs shine in their own way. Shamans are great healers in PvP as well using their totems for utility and big chain heals keeping groups up. Enhancement is interesting. If you Youtube enhancement PvP you are going to find montages of Windfury Crits on top of Windfury crits and as cool as all that is they are few and far between realistically. As an Enhancement shaman you have insane 1 shot potential but while you are waiting for that 1 shot to occur you are basically just frost shocking, walking up, and auto attacking. It is not always the most fun spec to play in PvP but when that 1 shot happens with Windfury there is no other feeling like it in WoW. Elemental is also a one shot potential powerhouse and some of the biggest crits ever recorded in actual vanilla were with elemental shamans. They are super viable in 1v1 situations as well using things like Grounding Totems to soak an opponents biggest spell.

Leveling for a shaman is above average but not great. Enhancement is usually the route you want to go for leveling and it has very little downtime but the damage and multi mob killing potential is not really there. Some perks are Ghostwolf at level 20 which is a great speed boost to have before you hit 40 and get a mount. Also you are equipped with a 2nd hearthstone and a self res. Shaman's are super durable while leveling but are not always very fast. Totems also require quest chains to obtain and there are a TON of totems in Vanilla WoW. If you want to go Shaman look into which totems you should skip on while leveling because you definitely don't need them all until later at 60. All in all, if you want fat Windfury crits every once in awhile just go Shaman.

• In depth guide for stats, weapon buffs, totem mechanics, etc by Defcamp & Melderon TV

• Leveling, talents, rotation guide by Kargoz

• Vanilla flavors Shaman by Platinum WoW

• PvP and PvE Talents Guide by OrcBit

• Farming DM East as Shaman by Frostadamus

• Enhancement PVE guide including Macros by eukal_

Shaman tank guide by Defcamp & Melderon TV

[LegitSale]

We need more people like you in this community, love your work mate!!!! ++++++REPPP

[lilsniff]

Great summary of all the different info out there!

[eKqN]

Great thread, but many of these videos/BiS guides are wrong and based on bad emulated datas from Private Servers. Still good to look at though.

[Kenneth]

Great thread, but many of these videos/BiS guides are wrong and based on bad emulated datas from Private Servers. Still good to look at though.

Yea i mean theres a ton of good info in them. Some information will be a bit outdated. For example the imp for warlocks HP is super low on real classic compared to how private servers had it so a lot of warlocks got used to using the Imp to grab more mobs while they finished off the one they were on. You can no longer do this cuz the imp will get 1-2 shot pulling the 2nd mob which is a overall huge dps loss.

This is just 1 but honestly until beta is out longer we won't have much more than what is in this thread. Theres also a ton of classic discords that I will be updating the thread with for each class specifically that have a ton of google doc lists for spec bis lists in gear and also talent builds.

[k4ligul4]

Hey Ken, please add this resource to your original post....

Sinyou'''s Comprehensive Classic WoW Gold Guide


I've used some of those farming methods on private servers before, and I can't wait to get rich in wow classic...

[Kenneth]

Hey Ken, please add this resource to your original post....

Sinyou'''s Comprehensive Classic WoW Gold Guide


I've used some of those farming methods on private servers before, and I can't wait to get rich in wow classic...

Will do! Thanks.

[likeablelumberjack]

That was a botch, thanks! what I meant was... consider also adding pros and cons bits like seen on here Screenshot_5.jpg

This should give a better picture on which class is best or bad right from the get go! Great guide though

[Kenneth]

Consider also adding pros and cons bits like in this wow classic guide. This should give a better picture on which class is best or bad right from the get go! Great guide though

Not sure if spam account or complete botched the URL

[TehVoyager]

Great guide, but its pretty frustrating that every link links to a youtube video. some written guides would be absolutely lovely, as they are a lot easier to go back and reference on a second monitor while playing, once the servers open up.

[Kenneth]

Great guide, but its pretty frustrating that every link links to a youtube video. some written guides would be absolutely lovely, as they are a lot easier to go back and reference on a second monitor while playing, once the servers open up.

Understandable. Good news in some of these cases, especially with the Kargoz guides, is that they have google docs in the description. This was more or less a written overview of what to expect as the class you choose and the videos are for the people who wanted to go more in depth with their research. But definitely check out the description to some of the videos you might find a lot of written stuff in there for your class of choice. Also I recently included the Class Discords. I highly recommend using those as well because they all include a #resources tab or something similar with a TON of written information.

[Name0ngod]

Mage guide has a double link to the same video

[athaldor]

Some guy posted a website a few weeks back: Home | Vanilla-Info that seems to present it in a visually more pleasing way