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WoW Rookie: Choose your class!
UPDATE: See our updated guide for Wrath of the Lich King-era classes at WoW Rookie: Choose the right class.The first question many players have when they first tear open their World of Warcraft game box is, "What class should I play?" And I'm afraid that my standard answer to the question is terribly unhelpful, "Why don't you try them and see which one you like best?"I still think that's the best answer (I simply can't know all of your likes or dislikes to simply tell you "Mage" or "Shaman"), but today I'm going to try to give you a more helpful answer by defining the playstyles of each of the nine classes, and making some suggestions on which ones are the most newbie-friendly. So if you're trying to figure out which class might be best for you, read on!
The absolute worst class duo
Our reader Josh wrote to us with an common and practical question, saying that he said that he and his girlfriend are looking forward to starting two new alts together and they would like to know what the best classes would be for leveling exclusively together, with no solo play in between. He said, and I quote: "what would the greatest, most face melting/ass kicking/uber pwnage duo in WoW look like?"Now, fortunately for Josh and his girlfriend, we've actually been asked this question before, and anyways this sort of topic comes up lots and lots and lots of times in one way or another. I'm happy to refer them, and all interested parties of two, back to those posts with comments from our insightful readers. Of course if you feel something has changed since those topics last came up and there's a new best duo in the game, feel free to let us know here!But in order to give this post some kind of interesting spin, how about we advice them what not to do! What would be the absolute worst class combination imaginable for two people to level with? It's not as easy as you think -- As our class encouragement breakfast topics have shown so far, each of the classes has their own form of face melting, ass-kicking uber pwnage, and they all seem to have abilities that complement each other, no matter who they're paired with. Still... there has to be a less-than-optimal combination in there somewhere, right?Ideologically, you'd think that paladins and warlocks just would not mix at all, but no, that's not true! Actually they work great together. From my own experience, I remember practicing as a 2vs2 arena team with a mage friend, who is an excellent player, but we still didn't do very well at all. I know it could be just because I may be a terrible druid, or my gear may not be good enough, but it's actually the only time in this game that I've ever paired up with a friend only to feel that maybe our class abilities didn't complement each other well. I thought that if I could level my rogue to join her we might be a lot more successful, but my friend thought that I just needed more practice. Maybe there is no worst class duo! What's your experience?[Check out the girlfriend's answer in the last panel of this great Penny Arcade comic above, and take it as a warning not to choose for your duo a new class that you like toooooo much, or else you might not be able to resist soloing with it when you have free time and your partner doesn't!]
Reading "The Divine Comedy" ... or playing PSP?
This is certainly one of the most interesting marketing campaigns we've seen in some time. Sony's Italian division has been distributing fake hands that appear to be holding a copy of The Divine Comedy. However, when one flips the fake hands around, one can see instructions on how to play a PSP in class, while looking like a diligent student. We doubt the ploy will work too well ... but it's great to see Sony come up with an ingenious way of promoting PSP play amongst the younger crowd.
Ask WoW Insider: Best DPS class?
Welcome to Friday -- the end of another week and time for another edition of Ask WoW Insider, where we ask the questions you want answered! Last week, we talked about what the best healing class was and this week we're considering a similar topic: the best DPS class. Today's question comes from Stèphanò of Aggramar (US), who writes, simply: Which classes can dish out the most DPS and which ones make the least amount of DPS?Good question -- and I'm betting that our readers are all going to have completely different answers for you. Rogue? Hunter? Mage? Warlock? Readers, which class would you say does the best DPS in Azeroth and beyond?Ask WoW Insider loves getting your questions! If you have a question you'd like our readers to tackle, send them to ask AT wowinsider DOT com!
Breakfast Topic: How did you pick your class?
I don't know about everyone else, but when I picked my first class, it was completely at random. I didn't know anything about what the different classes did, what their utility was in groups, or even the difference between energy and mana. I just went with what looked interesting and tried it out. Sure, I ran into a few classes I didn't enjoy, but I learned a bit about the game playing each one -- and, well, even today, I'm not sure I've really decided on a favorite. But now, if I'm talking to a new player making the same choice, the conversation is all about playstyle and end-game viability. I'm not sure either way is right or wrong -- I know I had a good bit of fun trying everything in order to figure out what I enjoyed best, but if I were starting over, I'd want some advice. (What was I thinking leveling a rogue? All I ever do is sit in Orgrimmar or Shattrath and open lockboxes for people!) But now I'm asking you all -- how did you pick your first class? And if you were going to do it over again, would you pick differently?
Breakfast Topic: Got upgrade?
Leveling up my draenei hunter, I used to keep looking for the next upgraded item I'd be able to use. My most exciting upgrading moment so far came when I reached level 40 and got to put on a full mail set I had bought and put away in the bank just for that moment. Somehow, though, I wasn't able to find many upgrades in my forties, and now starting on my fifties, some of that armor I had saved in the bank is still the best I can find, on the auction or in quests. The surprising thing is that leveling still isn't that hard! Of course maybe it's just because I'm a hunter, and hunters can even level naked if they want to.Still, it makes me wonder just how often we need to try and upgrade our armor leveling up. Is it totally different for the various classes? For example, can a hunter get by with sub-par gear for a long time, while a priest or warrior never could? If you're trying to level a very gear dependent class and just can't seem to find good upgrades, how do you manage?
The fastest class to level with?
Breanni at WarcraftPets.com has spent quite a bit of time evaluating the nine classes of World of Warcraft and ranking them based on DPS, survivability, speed buffs, and downtime. The result? A very informative discussion of the classes comparative strengths and weaknesses. Breanni's list, ranked from slowest to fastest, with some comments of my own: Paladins: Excellent survivablity, but comprably poor DPS, even with a retribution build. Warriors: Good DPS, but moderate downtime (fight, bandage, fight, bandage, fight, bandage). Shaman: Reasonable DPS, but survivability and downtime issues. (How does a Shaman restore their mana? By sitting down to drink every third fight.) Priest: Spirit tap makes downtime no problem, an.d a shadow build provides great DPS -- but not as good as other classes Mage: Great DPS but poor survivability (cloth armor and low HP)and a good amount of downtime (pesky evocation cooldown). Warlock: Capable of similar damage to a mage, but with pets and more health (usually), they have much better survivability. Druid: A feral build provides great potential to do damage (cat form) and absorb damage (bear form). Combine that with healing ability, and you've got a great class to play. Rogue: Excellent DPS and pretty high survivability, too (vanish, evasion, sprint, etc!). Hunter: High damage, neigh unkillable in PvE, and if they ever do get in over their heads, they can feign death and get away without an annoying corpse run. I have to agree with Breanni's choices for the bottom and top of the list, but I think a lot in the middle could be mixed around. (I think Warlock could compete for the number two spot, personally -- but I tend to play Demonology spec, while Breanni leveled with an Affliction spec.) But enough about my opinions -- what do you think is the fastest class to level?
But...we've got personality!
When I started playing WoW two years ago, my first character was a warlock. Not understanding what the warlock class was all about, I built myself a bright sunny blond little lock, and quickly tired of the class. My next character was my mage, and I took to that class quickly and easily, having played similar characters in Neverwinter Nights. But even the mage didn't truly fit my personality. Sure, she is my main character, she's my level 70 and I am proud of what I have accomplished with her. I just don't think I am a mage at heart. I actually think I am a priest. Yesterday I even took the personality quiz on the World of Warcraft MySpace, and I came up as a priest, albeit an undead one. Since then, I have been thinking why is it I love playing my priest so much. She's only 32, doesn't have all the spiffy gear my older characters have. The conclusion I came to is that the priest class fits my personality best. I wouldn't call myself a pacifist, but I really don't like fighting all that much. Given a choice to confront a mob or go around, I choose the second option. Now that I have rolled my priest, I notice that I am much more content sitting at the back of the raid filling up those green bars. I get a feeling of accomplishment knowing that I am helping keep the group going. Thinking of all of this made me curious. I'd love to know, what classes fit your personality best? If you were scanned into the game tomorrow, where would you fit in the world? Or, is there no class that truly fits you?
Breakfast topic: Hand out some buffs
theantipoet asks a great question over on Livejournal:If "you could buff any class -- any class but your own (your main or mains if you've got multiple) -- which class would it be and how would you buff them?"I'll say that if you want cool points on this one, you should stay away from any classes you play regularly-- for me at the moment, that'll be shaman, rogue, and hunter. I really like anti's answer of priests-- they are QQing a lot, but there is no reason they should be DPSing while paladins heal in raids.Personally, I'd hook up prot warriors a little bit-- right now, their DPS is such a joke that the only way they can really play is in instances. I'm not saying that we should give them tons of DPS-- that would mess everything up in PvP-- but just a little extra DPS would let them solo, and wouldn't unbalance PvE groups that much (since it's likely that if the group makeup is right, the prot warrior's DPS will still pale in comparison to your regular DPS class's hits).A buff like that isn't really necessary, but it's an interesting thought experiment to see where you might make positive changes that don't actually affect you. So if Blizzard suddenly gave you the chance to buff any class except your own, what would you say?
Hunter Wiki is collecting hunter know-how
Eldariel on the EU forums has posted something cool for Hunters-- he's created a Hunter Wiki. Originally, it was created to just hold the lost stickied threads from when Blizzard cleaned out the forums a while back, but even though the wiki is still small, a little more loving care will set it on its way to becoming a one stop shop for everything you ever wanted to know about being a hunter.Right now there's only a few pages, but already there's lots of theorycraft, guides to hunter loot and quests, and even a round of hunter-oriented comics (well, some of those are better than others, but it's still a work in progress). They don't have nearly as much pet info as Petopia yet, but being a wiki gives them lots of room to improve.In fact, the wiki format lends itself very well to WoW info, just because this is a social game consisting of a lot of shared knowledge-- WoWWiki has been proving that theory for a while (and they've got lots of hunter info there as well, along with plenty of other necessary information). But it's definitely awesome to see a wiki dedicated to the ins and out of a particular class, and hopefully what Eldariel has built will bring lots more editors and contributors so more hunters can share what they know with at least a little privacy from the prying eyes of others. In fact, where's my Shaman wiki?
WoW Insider Best of 2006: Server, Class, and Guild
The year is almost over, and that means it's time for us to take a look back, and pick some of the best (and worst) of Azeroth in 2006. This year saw a lot of innovation, a lot of whining, plenty of killing (both PVE and PVP), and almost saw the new expansion (we have to save something for next year, right?).Last week, we took your nominations for ten different categories. Over the weekend, the WoW Insider staff deliberated. I'd like to say there was a lot of arguing back and forth, and even some throwing of items around the room at each other, but truthfully things went pretty smoothly (everyone agreed I was right). And so, without further ado, today we present the Server, Class, and Guild of the Year for 2006. Click the link below to see the winners.And come back every day this week, as we award all the other categories, including Player of the Year, Best (and Worst) Blizzard Move of the Year, and even NPC Friend and Enemy of the Year.
Breakfast Topic: The worst thing about being a....
Sure, we all picked our classes for a reason -- perhaps they're the most fun to play, or perhaps they're the most powerful in PvP, or perhaps they've got the best group utility. But no one class is perfect -- no, not even warlocks -- and we all have things we love and hate about our class of choice. As a priest, for me, it's always being expected to heal -- including when I'm out of mana, when I'm sitting down drinking, when I'm not grouped with you, when I'm healing someone else, when I'm dead... Oh, sure, I really do play a priest to heal, but sometimes people's expectations (and the blame that follows) are outrageous! So what do you find to be the worst aspect of your own class?
Breakfast Topic: Worried about your class?
The Burning Crusade is coming -- and with it comes numerous changes for all classes. Some of them are crazy good, and others are, well, more questionable. But with changes coming every day, I'm not sure any class can be positive what to expect. I'm a little concerned -- not that I think my class of choice, the priest, is going to be worthless, but the classes talent options don't seem to sparkle the way some other classes do. And, yes, after playing two priests up to level 60, I'm wondering if I want to play a different class in the Burning Crusade. But I don't think priests came off the worst for the current state of changes -- but who knows what will happen before Blizzard finishes their tweaking. And what about you? Do you have major worries about the state of your class? Or are you keeping up hope?
PvP rank statistics
PlayOn has been collecting some interesting data on PvP in World of Warcraft. And while I'm not sure any of the information provides grounds for conclusion, it's certainly interesting to peek at. Both of these charts take into account sample data from 128,477 unique characters across 5 realms (one RP, two PvE, and two PvP) during one week in October. Above is their chart of average PvP rank for each class -- as you see, shaman takes the top spot and priest the lowest, but there's relatively little difference in rank between the two. (Perhaps suggesting that any class can be competitive with effort? Or simply that more shamans, warriors, and mages PvP?)Then we have average PvP rank for time played. Unsuprisingly, those attaining rank 13 are nearing 80 hours a week of playtime (for reference, the Daedalus Project suggests the average MMO player spends 20 hours a week in game), while those at rank 14 are dropping closer to 60 hours (possibly a sign of no further play efforts after reaching the maximum rank).
Stay on top of classes with assignment planner
I've always thought keeping track of school-related courses, assignments and projects was a little clunky with apps like iCal and Entourage, and apparently Logan Rockmore agrees, so he created assignment planner. Answering the call of students everywhere, assignment planner brings a number of classroom-focused abilities to the time management table, including: * filtering assignments by completion status and type * course and textbook tracking * color-coding assignments based on your criteria * Dashboard widget to quickly monitor assignmentsNaturally, a demo is available, but assignment planner's price is just right: $5 scores you a license for this Universal Binary app.Thanks Ronald
Harvard class invades Second Life
A new Harvard class entitled CyberOne: Law in the Court of Public Opinion will be jointly held in the real Harvard Law School and in the virtual world of Second Life. The course, which starts this week, deals with making persuasive arguments in virtual spaces such as web sites, wikis, and, of course, virtual online universes. While registration for the course is currently full, the virtual classroom and lecture materials will be available to Second Life users at-large during non-class hours.While this isn't the first time a college course has been held in-game, this offering from a school as prestigious as Harvard shows that this trend may be growing. Would you attend a class in a virtual world?[Thanks nsomneia]
Breakfast Topic: Best Arena Group Composition
If you wish to compete in arena PvP matches in the expansion, you'll have to be part of an arena team. Formed and organized similarly to guilds, these teams will have a set membership and a maximum size (4 for 2v2 arenas, 6 for 3v3 arenas, or 10 for 5v5 arenas). So the question is - what's the best class makeup for an arena group? I'm considering a priest/hunter team - but more because my best in-game friend plays a hunter than because I think it's the perfect class combination. I honestly can't decide on the best combination for these arena battles. Would you attempt to stack multiples of powerful classes - a pair or trio of shadow priests, for example. Or try to cover all of your bases with hybrid classes - pairing a druid off with a shaman or paladin. So what do you think the ideal class balance will be for these arena matches - and do you have your dream team ready to go yet?
Breakfast Topic: Best/Worst Class to PvP Against
For myself, I can immediately say that I think the worst is the shadow priest. (Of course, I also play a shadow priest...) Perhaps it is simply because there are some especially wily shadow priests on my server, but they give me fits in battlegrounds. The best to PvP against - that is, the easiest to defeat - is more difficult to pick out. There are specific warriors that I have trouble with (charging, intercepting, breaking fear, striking for huge amounts of damage - and killing me in two or three hits), but others I find to be complete pushovers (quickly taken down in the course of a single psychic scream). Rogues are also hit and miss in my experience - if they don't manage to take me down from stealth, during that initial stun, I can almost always cope with them. All healing classes are annoying, due to their potential longevity (though paladins, of course, are the worst), and I have no strong feelings one way or another on the remaining classes. But what about you? In your experience PvP-ing, what's the best and worst class to find yourself up against?
Warlock's Life Tap in Patch 1.12
This afternoon Tseric posted a surprise in the warlock forums - the the functionality of the skill life tap (which converts health into mana) will be changing in the next patch - to be modified by +spell damage gear. Rank 3 and higher of the spell will now benefit from 80% of your spell damage gear (it's unclear as to whether it will benefit only from +spell damage, or whether it will benefit from +shadow damage), meaning it will both give more mana and take more health. As a warlock myself, this will take a bit of getting used to, as a loss of 400-ish health (which is spammable when necessary) becomes a loss nearly twice that - ouch! However, the reaction on the warlock is overwhelmingly positive (aside from the occasional query "But what about Dark Pact?").
Blood Elf and Draenei Classes Revealed
While there have been unofficial announcements on the classes that would be available to each of these new races, it's only today that we've gotten official word on what each race will be able to play. So, with the release of the Burning Crusade, new Draenei players will be able to choose from warrior, paladin, hunter, priest, shaman, and mage options, while new Blood Elves will be able to pick from paladin, hunter, rogue, priest, mage, and warlock. The biggest surprise here is that Blood Elves won't be able to be warriors - a surprise since the preliminary information on the subject suggested that they would. CM Eyonix tells us that they simply wanted an equal number of classes available to the Draenei and the Blood Elves, so one class had to be cut - and the class that made the most sense was warrior.
