User:Seebs/NewbieGuide/Classes

Classes
The following classes are presented in alphabetical order.

Death Knight
Specs: Blood, Frost, Unholy

Death Knights are a "hero" class -- you can only start one once you have at least one character of level 55. You must have the Wrath of the Lich King expansion pack to play a death knight.

Unlike other classes, the DK talent trees don't entirely determine a role. However, most people view the Frost and Unholy trees as the most viable for tanking. Any tree can be used to build an effective (and possibly EXTREMELY effective) DPS character. Death Knights are not healers, but unlike other non-healers, can heal themselves fairly well in some cases.

Druid
Specs: Balance, Feral, Restoration

Druids are the archetypal hybrid class. Druids have damaging spells, healing spells, and the ability to shift into animal forms. In bear form, druids are effective tanks; in cat form, druids are effective melee DPS. The balance tree favors ranged DPS based on spell usage, while the restoration tree favors healing. Bears and cats are both feral. Druids have excellent support spells, and great flexibility, shifting forms instantly even during combat to change roles. The druid's bear form plays a great deal like a warrior; the druid's cat form plays a great deal like a rogue.

Hunter
Specs: Beast Mastery, Marksmanship, Survival

Hunter is probably the archetypal pet class. The hunter's pet serves as a weak tank (not good enough for most group adventuring content, but great for general adventuring), additional DPS, or even crowd control. Most hunters stand back and attack from range, using a bow or gun, by preference. However, hunters (especially survival hunters) have some melee survivability, and have a number of melee abilities for use when things get rough.

Hunters are exceptionally good at solo exploration. All three specs are based around ranged DPS and pet usage. The Survival spec provides better melee survivability, while Beast Mastery focuses on enhancing the capabilities of the pet. Marksmanship is the pure ranged DPS spec.

Mage
Specs: Arcane, Fire, Frost

Mage is the most flexible ranged DPS class, with a huge variety of spell choices. The mage also has one of the most useful support abilities in the game -- the ability to provide other players with instantaneous magical transportation. (This ability is gained only starting around level 40, so don't count on it right away.) All three specs are pure ranged DPS. Frost offers additional survivability in many cases, while the others may offer improved damage output. Mages are fairly brittle, and an inexperienced mage may die a lot. (Don't worry about it, dying is mostly harmless.)

Paladin
Specs: Holy, Protection, Retribution

The paladin is another hybrid class. Holy paladins are excellent healers, protection paladins are excellent tanks, and retribution paladins are excellent DPS. All three specs can heal some, and paladins are heavily armored, making them unusually hard to kill. Paladins have very good buff spells and abilities.

Priest
Specs: Discipline, Holy, Shadow

Shadow priests are a DPS class. Discipline priests and Holy priests are mostly healers, although some people have built somewhat credible DPS Holy specs. Priests have poor survivability compared to the other healers, because of their very light armor, but a lot of flexibility. Many players regard priest as the best healing class; while this is disputed, there's little doubt that priests are excellent healers.

Rogue
Specs: Assassination, Combat, Subtlety

Rogue is a pure melee DPS class. Subtlety rogues focus on stealth and related abilities, while the other two specs focus more on straight damage output. All three specs are effective DPS. The rogue class has mediocre survivability, but a good selection of ways to avoid or escape combat, especially at higher levels. A subtlety rogue is a great class for a cautious character who likes to scout a situation and carry out a plan. Assassination and combat rogues are great for characters who want to charge into combat and kill things quickly.

Shaman
Specs: Elemental, Enhancement, Restoration

Restoration shamans are a healer class, much like restoration druids. Elemental is a ranged DPS spell-casting class, while Enhancement is a melee DPS class. All three specs have good survivability, with access to healing spells and decent armor. Many people recommend enhancement as a levelling build, but any can be viable. (But be warned: Restoration shamans don't kill things very quickly, so if you level as restoration, you will probably do it slowly.  You will not die much, though.)

Warlock
Specs: Affliction, Demonology, Destruction

Warlocks are often described as sort of a cross between a mage, a hunter, and a shadow priest. Despite this, they're not considered a hybrid class. While hunters tame animals, warlocks summon demons; there is a small selection of demons, each suited to different roles. Affliction warlocks specialize in self-healing and damage-over-time effects, where a spell may take twenty seconds or so to do its damage; they have excellent survivability, but are not exceptionally fast. Demonology favors the warlock's pet. Finally, destruction plays a great deal like a mage -- lots of damage, quickly. All three are viable DPS specs.

Warrior
Specs: Arms, Fury, Protection

Protection warriors are tanks. Arms and Fury are both viable DPS, with Arms tending to be a bit of a hybrid. All three specs have good survivability, and reasonable damage output.