WoW Confidential

One of the great aspects of WoW is the vast amount of choices we have in the game and the unique experiences when choosing these different paths. A major decision everyone faces in the game, after they’ve picked the size of their mustache and hair style, is what class they are going to commit to for the long haul to lvl 70.

Before continuing, be sure your decision to start a character from scratch is really what you want, ask yourself why you are deciding to re-roll (if this is your first time choosing a class, skip to “methods for deciding”).

Reasons for re-rolling:

• Grass is greener on the other side – You feel the pro’s of another class outweigh yours, you were just killed by that warlock or hunter and get this feeling that they are at a much high advantage. Think of it like rock, paper, scissors. When you choose to play rock, and then paper comes around and beats you, you then decide you want to be paper because they beat you, you’ll soon realize that after scissors comes around and cuts you up that this is a poor model for deciding on a class to play.
• Lack of commitment- If your character screen looks something like this – Mage level 15 Hunter level 25 Druid level 32 Warrior level 9, this is probably a problem you have. A lot of classes don’t come to their true potential until level 60 – 70 and that is when their abilities and roles really shine. If you make a decision based on a role you really want to play in raiding at level 70 then stick it out till then as you will most likely enjoy the class a lot more when you have developed it.
• Fotm - Picking a class just because they are what everyone is rolling these days may not be a wise decision, many people do this when a big patch seems to favour a particular class. But when you think about it there will be much less demand for that class since their are more to compete with, and only so many of that class can be brought on raids so be sure not to be left out

• Lost interest in the game- Re-rolling a new character can be a great way to re-live the game in a different way, but another option you have is to simply take a little break from the game, focus on RL stuff and when you come back not only will you miss it, but there may now be a lot more new things you can accomplish with your current character that have just become available.

Ok, you have given it thought and still want to re-roll, lets get to the methods of how to choose a class:

Methods For Deciding

Making a sound decision is important, if your decision was based on an asthetic look of a huge tauren warrior – Ohh man he looks soo cool, look at that armour! I want to wear that, ok I’m going to roll a Warrior.. you may regret that decision after putting in hours and hours of play just to realize you need a group for everything you do and people make fun of you for being a cow. Consider all of these points to make a well rounded decision:

Race

I know some people who only play gnomes… it’s some weird fetish.. but I’ll admit they do look funny and when I play one I can entertain myself all day but just jumping around and doing /dance. but here are some other ways to decide a race

• Some races have advantages to certain classes, if you are more concerned about effectiveness and being the top player then decide your class first before your race, then choose a race depending on what they bring to the table, remember not all the race buffs are “significant” and it is more wise to choose a race that you enjoy playing from a look/role playing perspective than picking one you don’t like because they give you +2% to damage dealt.
• See what class options are available to the race you are set on, you are at least eliminating some other choices here and it will be easier to decide.
• Type of role you want to play in the game

Choose Your Role
Each class has a specialty they were designed for that they bring to the table in PvP and PvE.

• Damage Dealer – Warlock, Rogue, Mage, Hunter
• Healer, support – Priest, Paladin, Druids
• Tank – Warrior, Druid
• Hybrid – Druid, Shaman

Role Play Perspective

From the looks of their armour to the character you are playing, pick one that fits your “fantasy”.

• A huge beast with massive armor and weapons that are bigger than some of the characters
• A fidgety Jewelcrafting gnome who always has a nack for busting out a dance move when he prospects a rare gem.
• An evil dead magician with death magic that sucks the souls out of his enemies
• A pure being who protects the innocent and fights off evil
• A sneaky assassin who takes every opportunity no matter what the cost to others.

Effectiveness

I am expecting a lot of flaming here as this is one of the most highly debated subjects. While there is no “best” pvp class, or best “pve” class, there are certainly ones which are more efficient at certain areas.

• PvP (Arenas, 1on1, teams) – Blizzard has done a good job balancing all the classes to be competitive in the arena and Battlegrounds, while this topic deserves a whole article of its own, a good way to see which classes are best at arena are to review the leader boards of teams and see which classes constantly are in the top percentile of their battlegroup. There is no denying however that a well played rogue or warlock are the best classes for one on one pvp.
• PvE (groups, raids) - Again, blizzard balances the classes so that everyone is needed, but if you look at your chat and constantly see “LF PRIEST AND WARRIOR send tell!!” it gives you an indication of the classes that are the most in demand, contribute to the group and will also never be stranded without a group.
• Leveling – While grouping can be a great way to level and all classes benefit equally, some classes really excel at solo leveling, most notably a hunter. If you enjoy solo leveling and just want to hit 70 as fast as possible, you can see from Joana’s guide that a hunter is the fastest class to level.
• Extra Bonuses – Some classes have unique abilities that you can actually use as leisure to take a break from the grind and raiding, for example rogues can cloak around instances and explore, kill bosses and this is adventurous, Mages can help out people by just hanging around town and teleporting people to their needed destinations while chatting. Check the class abilities and see which ones seem like they have potential for recreational fun when you aren’t raiding.

Still Can’t Decide?

If you are the kind of person who likes the best of both worlds, there are some classes you can pick who can change their roles just from talent points and make exceptionally good healers, and then switch to become a high damage dealer, such as a Shaman. Druids are a great class if you want to switch from being a great healer to an awesome Tank.

Making a sound decision with your class choice can make the game much more enjoyable. Incorporate all these methods to make a well rounded decision to a character that you can grow to level 70 and experience the best content in the game with. Good Hunting.

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