Aoe Dmg Weapons Wow Classic

A spell from Classic World of Warcraft. 15 agility enchants on both weapons for a twink 39 hunter. Affects on weapon and is an AOE proc. Fiery weapon is a. WoW Classic Mage Weapon Skills Mages are able to equip Staves, One-Handed Swords, Daggers, and Wands. All Mages begin their Classic with the Staves and Wand skills learned, and they will need to learn how to equip Daggers and One-Handed Swords.

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One of the highest PvE DPS builds for Raiding in Classic World of Warcraft

You can find all our Pocket Guides for other WoW Classic Classes builds right here: Best WoW Classic Builds

Aoe Dmg Weapons Wow Classic Hunter

If you have just started leveling your Rogue, you may want to check out our Rogue leveling Guide first

Build Overview

Combat Rogue is one of the best DPS Classes in Classic WoW, losing only to Warrior when it comes to pure numbers. His Energy mechanic (in Classic, Rogue gains 20 Energy every 2 seconds) allows him to keep up his DPS even in the longest of encounters, making Sustain not an issue at all. However, in very long fights, Rogue might be forced to reapply his poisons as they have limited charges. This can lead to a slight DPS loss, but it is negligible when compared to a loss caused by running out of resources. He has access to two solid threat-management tools in a form of Vanish and Feint, so he is able to deal steady damage without any real risk of gaining Bosse's unwanted attention (for as long as he pays attention to his Threat meter, of course). Unlike some other Classes/Specs, Combat Rogue performs at the top level throughout all the content Phases, which makes him a solid DPS choice for any Raid Tier. His Utility, while not the best in Raids, can prove to be irreplaceable in smaller groups or in certain Raid encounters, like suppression room in Blackwing Lair. The only real drawback of Combat Rogue is his popularity. Finding a spot in a decent Raiding guild might be a slight problem, but it can be overcome with a little bit of hard work and dedication because solid and dedicated Raiders are always in high demand.

Pros Cons
Very high and stable Damage output Lightly armored Class with rather low HP pool - can die instantly after accidentally pulling aggro in Raid.
Good threat management options Somewhat limited Raid utility
Great Sustain Poisons have a limited number of charges
Scales very well with gear Finding a good Raiding guild might be somewhat difficult because of Rogue's popularity
Very strong in PvP, even in a dedicated PvE build High competition for items in Raids


The Best Race Choice

Note: Here, we will point you only towards the best PvE DPS Rogue Race. If you'd like to know more about other race picks, please check our WoW Classic Beginners Guide, where we dive deep into all available Rogue's race choices for both factions.


Alliance

If you want your Racials to affect your DPS, there is only one choice in Alliance and it is Human. His Sword Specialization gives him a considerable edge over other available allied races. It decreases your chance to miss an attack, reduces enemy's chance to dodge, block, and parry, and most of all reduces glancing blow (glancing blows deal damage reduced in proportion to the difference between Target's defense skill and Attaker's weapon skill) penalty, which is huge for DPS.

If you are going for a Dagger build, the race choice becomes very much open. We recommend Dwarf or Gnome in this case, because of their solid PvP-centred Racials - Stone Form and Escape Artist.


Horde
If Rogues could use Axes in Classic, the choice would be unbelievably simple, but they sadly can't, so it isn't. There are two solid Race choices, that affect DPS, to go for on Horde's side - Orc and Troll, but the power of Undead's Will of the Forsaken can't be overlooked either. Orc's Blood Fury is generally better than Troll's Berserking (the problem with Berserking on a DPS character is the fact that you shouldn't be taking damage, so it will give you only 10% Haste in most situations, which is underwhelming when we take its long CD into consideration). All in all, Orc wins (and he is great for PvP as well), but not as clearly as Human on Alliance's side.

The Best Professions Choice

There is only one profession that makes a real impact in Raids and it is Engineering (Alchemy is also a decent option, but you can buy Flasks, Elixirs, and Potions from other players, which makes it much less impactful). It gives you access to powerful explosives that increase your AoE and Single-Target DPS. On top of that, it lets you create and use Gnomish Battle Chicken Trinket that summons a Guardian Chicken that fights at your side and has a chance on hit to cast a 'Battle Squawk' which boosts Melee attack speed of all Party members by 5%, making it a must-have in every competitive group. The fact that Engineering is also considered the best PvP profession is an added benefit to its power in PvE environment.

At the start, you should pick Mining to supplement your Engineering Skill, you can always switch it to another profession of your liking later on.

Note: If you want to know more about all available professions and secondary skills, please check our detailed WoW Classic Professions Guide.

Statistics Priority

  1. Hit Rating - Increases your chance to Hit a Target. At level 60, with a Weapon Skill of 300, you have a 5% chance to miss with a special attack against a Target of equal level. Against level 63 Boss, who has 315 Defense skill, you need 9% Hit Rating to never miss a special attack. This means that getting 9% Hit Rating is paramount for a Raiding Rogue and should be your first goal when gearing up.
  1. Weapon Skill - Increases your chance to Hit, decreases enemy's chance to Block, Dodge, and Parry, and counteracts Glancing Blow Penalty. As a Rogue, you get 5 Weapon skills in Swords, Daggers, and Fist Weapons with the Weapon Expertise Talent, but you need at least 5 more. These 5 points can be provided by Human's Racial (for Sword Spec) or by Aged Core Leather Gloves (Drop from Molten Core; for Dagger spec).
  1. Agility - Increases your Ranged and Melee Attack Power by 1 AP per 1 Agility (at all levels), improves your Dodge chance by 1% per 14,5 Agility, and Critical Strike chance by 1% per 29 Agility (at level 60). This is your primary stat and you should look for it on all item upgrades after covering Hit Rating and Weapon Skill.
  1. Attack Power/Strength - 1 point of Strength provides Rogue with 1 Attack Power, making these two stats equal. They both increase Damage but have a much lower impact than Agility.
  1. Critical Strike - Increases your chance to deal bonus (critical) damage with all your attacks. Crit is a powerful stat for any rogue, but it gets a bit overshadowed by the fact that Agility provides both Crit Chance and Attack Power.

The Best Talent Builds

Proper Talent allocation is essential for maximizing Damage output. Here, we will describe the most optimal spec and lead you through the Talent Trees level-by-level to explain some choices.

There are two paths to choose - Swords Combat Build and Daggers Combat Build. Swords variant wins on DPS, but one might opt for Daggers setup, as it makes getting solid PvP weapons in Raids much easier.

Note: There are two versions of Daggers Build. The second one is based on the Seal Fate Talent from the Assassination Tree and requires a lot of Critical Strike chance (~30%) to work properly, which is not really achievable before Phase 5 without dropping below 9% Hit Cap, which is unacceptable. We will feature this build as soon as Phase 5 starts.

Swords Combat Rogue PvE DPS Build

Assassination Tree:

  • 5/5Malice
  • 3/3Ruthlessness - This Talent brings some RNG to Rogue's rotation, but the boost that it brings is definitely worth it.
  • 2/2Murder - A lot of the Bosses are either Humanoids, Giants, Beasts or Dragonkin, which makes this Talent a must-have (it is a bit underwhelming in Molten Core, however).
  • 3/3Improved Slice and Dice - Makes your Slice and Dice much more efficient and cheaper to maintain at all times.
  • 5/5Lethality - More Damage from Sinister Strike Crits. This talent scales very well with gear.

Combat Tree:

  • 3/3Improved Gouge - More of a PvP Talent, but it finds some uses in PvE as well.
  • 2/2Improved Sinister Strike - More Sinister Strikes = more DPS.
  • 1/5Lightning Reflexes - This Talent has close to 0 value in PvE, but the point has to go somewhere to unlock higher tier Combat Talents.
  • 5/5Precision
  • 2/2 Endurance - Allows you to Sprint more often, which makes you more mobile and less prone to losing DPS because of encounter mechanics.
  • 2/2 Improved Sprint - Your Sprint now also breaks movement impairing effects, which is essential in some encounters.
  • 5/5Dual Wield Specialization - With this Talent, your offhand Weapon deals 75% of normal Damage instead of standard 50%.
  • 1/1Blade Flurry - Strong DPS Cooldown that also allows you to Cleave your Damage to a second Target.
  • 5/5Sword Specialization - Solid Talent that passively boosts your DPS. Be aware that this Talent's procs will reset your Swing Timer (you should use your abilities immediately after Auro-Attack swings - get a Swing Timer Addon - because of that).
  • 2/2 Weapon Expertise - Weapon Skill increase is very hard to get on Items and this talent provides you with 5 points!
  • 3/3 Aggression
  • 1/1Adrenaline Rush - Very strong offensive Cooldown that increases your Energy regeneration rate by 100% for 15 seconds. Be aware that your Energy will tick for 40 per 2 seconds instead of 20 per 2 seconds when this is active (keep track of your energy levels, or you might waste some of it).

Daggers Combat Rogue PvE DPS Build

Assassination Tree:

  • 5/5Malice
  • 2/2Murder
  • 3/3Improved Slice and Dice
  • 5/5Lethality

Combat Tree:

  • 3/3Improved Gouge
  • 2/2Improved Sinister Strike - you'll want to use Backstab with this build, but this should provide you with more value than 2/5 Lightning Reflexes anyway.
  • 3/3Improved Backstab - Additional 30% Crit chance with Backstab. A must-have.
  • 5/5Precision
  • 2/2 Endurance
  • 2/2 Improved Sprint
  • 5/5Dagger Specialization - even more Critical Strike chance.
  • 5/5Dual Wield Specialization
  • 1/1Blade Flurry
  • 2/2 Weapon Expertise
  • 1/1Adrenaline Rush

Subtlety Tree:

  • 5/5Opportunity - 20% Extra Damage from Backstab, Garrote, and Ambush abilities. We advise you to watch out for your Ambushes at the start of Combat, as you might accidentally pull Aggro with them - just give Tank a while to generate some Threat.

Where to get Pre-Raid/Raid BiS Gear

In order to maximize your DPS, you should aim to assemble the best possible Gear. This applies to both Pre-Raid and each of the Raid Tiers/Phases. Also, remember that it is the armament that gives the highest DPS boost, so you should start by getting the best rogue weapons available. Below, we present you the BiS (Bst-in-slot) list for all equipment slots.

Note1: The list will be updated with new items concurrently with the introduction of new Raids/Phases, so remember to visit this page after new Raid opens for an update on what current best Rogue items in each lot are.

The Best Rogue Items
Weapon (MH)
  • Pre-Raid - Felstriker(Dagger)/Dal'Rend's Sacred Charge(Sword) (Both drop from Warchief Rend Blackhand, Upper Blackrock Spire)
  • Phase 1 - Perdition's Blade(Dagger) (Drop from Ragnaros, Molten Core) / Vis'kag the Bloodletter(Sword) (Drop from Onyxia, Onyxia's Lair)
  • Phase 2 - TBA
  • Phase 3 - TBA
  • Phase 4 - TBA
  • Phase 5 - TBA
  • Phase 6 - TBA
Weapon (OH)
  • Pre-Raid - Dal'Rend's Tribal Guardian(Sword) (Drop from Warchief Rend Blackhand, Upper Blackrock Spire) / Alcor's Sunrazor(Dagger) (BoE World Drop)
  • Phase 1 - Brutality Blade(Sword) (Drop from Garr, Molten Core) /Core Hound Tooth(Dagger) (Cashe of the Firelord, Molten Core)
  • Phase 2 - TBA
  • Phase 3 - TBA
  • Phase 4 - TBA
  • Phase 5 - TBA
  • Phase 6 - TBA
Ranged
  • Pre-Raid - Blackcrow (Drop from Shadow Hunter Vosh'gajin, Lower Blackrock Spire) / Precisely Calibrated Boomstick (BoE World Drop)
  • Phase 1 - Striker's Mark (Drop from Magmadar, Molten Core)
  • Phase 2 - TBA
  • Phase 3 - TBA
  • Phase 4 - TBA
  • Phase 5 - TBA
  • Phase 6 - TBA
Trinket 1
  • Pre-Raid - Hand of Justice (Drop from Emperor Dagran Thaurissan, Blackrock Depths)
  • Phase 1 - Hand of Justice
  • Phase 2 - TBA
  • Phase 3 - TBA
  • Phase 4 - TBA
  • Phase 5 - TBA
  • Phase 6 - TBA
Trinket 2
  • Pre-Raid - Blackhand's Breadth (Quest Reward from 'For the Horde!' / 'General Drakkisath's Demise', Upper Blackrock Spire)
  • Phase 1 - Blackhand's Breadth
  • Phase 2 - TBA
  • Phase 3 - TBA
  • Phase 4 - TBA
  • Phase 5 - TBA
  • Phase 6 - TBA
Neck
  • Pre-Raid - Mark of Fordring (Quest Reward from 'In Dreams', Western Plaguelands)
  • Phase 1 - Onyxia Tooth Pendant (Quest Reward from 'For All To See' / 'Celebrating Good Times', Onyxia's Lair)
  • Phase 2 - TBA
  • Phase 3 - TBA
  • Phase 4 - TBA
  • Phase 5 - TBA
  • Phase 6 - TBA
Ring 1
  • Pre-Raid - Blackstone Ring (Drop from Princess Theradras, Maraudon)
  • Phase 1 - Blackstone Ring
  • Phase 2 - TBA
  • Phase 3 - TBA
  • Phase 4 - TBA
  • Phase 5 - TBA
  • Phase 6 - TBA
Ring 2
  • Pre-Raid - Painweaver Band (Drop from General Drakkisath, Upper Blackrock Spire)
  • Phase 1 - Band of Accuria(Drop from Ragnaros, Molten Core)
  • Phase 2 - TBA
  • Phase 3 - TBA
  • Phase 4 - TBA
  • Phase 5 - TBA
  • Phase 6 - TBA
Head
  • Pre-Raid - Mask of the Unforgiven (Drop from The Unforgiven, Stratholme)
  • Phase 1 - Bloodfang Hood (Drop from Onyxia, Onyxia's Lair)
  • Phase 2 - TBA
  • Phase 3 - TBA
  • Phase 4 - TBA
  • Phase 5 - TBA
  • Phase 6 - TBA
Chest
  • Pre-Raid - Cadaverous Armor (Drop from Multiple Bosses, Scholomance)
  • Phase 1 - Nightslayer Chestpiece (Drop from Golemagg the Incinerator, Molten Core)
  • Phase 2 - TBA
  • Phase 3 - TBA
  • Phase 4 - TBA
  • Phase 5 - TBA
  • Phase 6 - TBA
Legs
  • Pre-Raid - Devilsaur Leggings (Leatherworking Recipe)
  • Phase 1 - Bloodfang Pants (Drop from Ragnaros, Molten Core)
  • Phase 2 - TBA
  • Phase 3 - TBA
  • Phase 4 - TBA
  • Phase 5 - TBA
  • Phase 6 - TBA
Gloves
  • Pre-Raid - Devilsaur Gauntlets (Leatherworking Recipe)
  • Phase 1 - Nightslayer Gloves(Drop from Gehennas, Molten Core)
  • Phase 2 - TBA
  • Phase 3 - TBA
  • Phase 4 - TBA
  • Phase 5 - TBA
  • Phase 6 - TBA
Boots
  • Pre-Raid - Swiftwalker Boots (Drop from Princess Moira Bronzebeard, Blackrock Depths)
  • Phase 1 - Nightslayer Boots (Drop from Shazzrah, Molten Core)
  • Phase 2 - TBA
  • Phase 3 - TBA
  • Phase 4 - TBA
  • Phase 5 - TBA
  • Phase 6 - TBA
Shoulders
  • Pre-Raid - Truestrike Shoulders (Drop from Pyroguard Emberseer, Upper Blackrock Spire)
  • Phase 1 - Nightslayer Shoulder Pads (Drop from Sulfuron Harbinger, Molten Core)
  • Phase 2 - TBA
  • Phase 3 - TBA
  • Phase 4 - TBA
  • Phase 5 - TBA
  • Phase 6 - TBA
Wrists
  • Pre-Raid - Deepfury Bracers (BoE World Drop)
  • Phase 1 - Nightslayer Bracelets (Trash Mobs (BoE), Molten Core)
  • Phase 2 - TBA
  • Phase 3 - TBA
  • Phase 4 - TBA
  • Phase 5 - TBA
  • Phase 6 - TBA
Belt
  • Pre-Raid - Cloudrunner Girdle (Drop from Quartermaster Zigris, Lower Blackrock Spire)
  • Phase 1 - Nightslayer Belt (Trash Mobs (BoE), Molten Core)
  • Phase 2 - TBA
  • Phase 3 - TBA
  • Phase 4 - TBA
  • Phase 5 - TBA
  • Phase 6 - TBA
Back
  • Pre-Raid - Cape of the Black Baron (Drop from Baron Rivendare, Stratholme)
  • Phase 1 - Cape of the Black Baron
  • Phase 2 - TBA
  • Phase 3 - TBA
  • Phase 4 - TBA
  • Phase 5 - TBA
  • Phase 6 - TBA

The Best Enchants and Consumables

Proper enchants and consumables will greatly increase your Damage output. While getting enchants is a one-time-deal, farming consumables might be a real chore, but it is still worth it as numbers clearly show.

Aoe dmg weapons wow classic server
The Best Enchants
Weapon (MH)Enchant Weapon - Crusader (Chance to gain +125 Strength for 15 sec.)
Weapon (OH)Enchant Weapon - Crusader (Chance to gain +125 Strength for 15 sec.)
HeadLesser Arcanum of Voracity (+8 Agility, available from Libram of Voracity Quest in Burning Steppes)
ChestEnchant Chest - Greater Stats (+4 to all stats)
LegsLesser Arcanum of Voracity (+8 Agility, available from Libram of Voracity Quest in Burning Steppes)
HandsEnchant Gloves - Greater Agility (+ 7 Agility)
FeetEnchant Boots - Minor Speed (+8% Run Speed) or Enchant Boots - Greater Agility (+7 Agility)
ShouldersChromatic Mantle of the Dawn (+5 to all Resistances)
WristsEnchant Bracer - Superior Strength (+9 Strength)
BackEnchant Cloak - Lesser Agility (+3 Agility)

The Best Consumables

Instant Poison VI
20% chance of poisoning the enemy, dealing 112-148 Nature Damage instantly. 115 Charges.

R.O.I.D.S.
+25 Strength for 60 minutes. Reward from the Rage of Ages repeatable Quest in the Blasted Lands.

Elixir of the Mongoose
+25 Agility and +2% Critical Strike Chance for 60 minutes. Can be bought on AH or directly from an Alchemist.

Juju Power
+30 Strength for 30 minutes. Reward from a reputable Quest available from NPC Witch Doctor Mau'ari, Everlook, Winterspring.

Juju Might
+40 Attack Power for 10 minutes. Reward from a reputable Quest available from NPC Witch Doctor Mau'ari, Everlook, Winterspring.

Winterfall Firewater
+35 Attack Power for 20 minutes. Drop from Winterfall Furbolgs in Winterpring (this is an alternative for JuJu Might, as the effects don't stack).

Thistle Tea
Instantly grants 100 Energy. Created by Cooking, Recipe can be obtained from 'Kalven's Tower' Rogue Quest.

Grilled Squid
+10 Agility for 10 minutes. Created by Cooking, Raw Squids can be fished, but only during Winter.

Wow Classic Aoe Build

Rotations

In Classic, Rogue follows more of a priority list than a strict rotation. On top of that, the list changes slightly depending on the Weapon (and build) you are currently using)

Note: most of the time, you'll want to use your Cooldowns at the start of combat, so that you'll get a second (and a third in long encounters) charge before the fight ends.

Rogue's opening sequence looks as follows: Dmg file pc.

Opener (Ambush/Garrote, or even Sinister Strike/Backstab - depending on chosen build/situation) ⇒ Slice and Dice ⇒ Adrenaline Rush ⇒ 5x Sinister Strike/Backstab (depending on chosen build/situation) ⇒ Slice and Dice ⇒ Here, standard single-target Priority list kicks in

Please use the following Priority List for sustained Single-Target Damage output:

  1. Maintain Slice and Dice at all times (use it with 5 Combo Points)
  1. Vanish if too high on Threat and there is a danger of pulling Aggro
  1. Adrenaline Rush on Cooldown
  1. Blade Flurry when Adrenaline Rush is active or when multiple Targets available
  1. Eviscerate at 5 Combo Points
  1. Sinister Strike/Backstab as a CP generator (depending on the situation/build)
/
Rogue does not have an AoE Rotation, as he lacks any AoE abilities. When in an AoE situation, use Blade Flurry, throw Grenades (if applicable) and continue with your Single-Target Rotation.

Tips and Tricks for aspiring Rogue Raiders

Aoe Dmg Weapons Wow Classic Server

  1. If you want to deal more Damage and stand out from your Raid competition, Stack Consumables. Spending some additional Gold or a few extra hours grinding might secure you a spot in a Raid, as Raid leaders prefer dedicated and well-prepared players.
  1. Do not ever overcap your Combo Points or Energy, but don't just spam Energy requiring abilities, try to maintain a stable Energy level (60-80).
  1. You should always try to use your Finishing Moves with 5 Combo Points in order to maximize efficiency. Keep track of Ruthlessness procs, as they can change the math slightly (don't just spam 5x Sinister Strike/Backstab into finisher, keep track of your current CP).
  1. Use Macros. You should add a /startattack macro to all your offensive abilities. Other macros, like /cancelaura 'x', Weapon Swaps (/equip 'WeaponName') and even mouseovers (/cast [target=mouseover, exists] AbilityName; AbilityName) are worth considering as well. Weapon Swap macros can be especially useful if you have multiple Weapons, with different Poisons applied, in your bags (you can swap weapons to apply poisons as needed).
  1. Always try to improve. Get an addon that tracks your performance and try to optimize your equipment and rotation.

END NOTE

This Guide should help you to prepare yourself for that legendary Vanilla Raiding Experience and allow you to progress through Raid Tiers efficiently and with a good amount of fun.

We hope that you have found this guide useful and informative. If we have missed a piece of information that is important to you, please let us know!

Please do note that this is an early version of our guide, and we will be happy to receive constructive criticism, that will help us improve it, so leave your suggestions in the comments section below.

Pictures used in this article are the intellectual property of Blizzard Entertainment Inc.

Embarking upon a new adventure in World of Warcraft Classic is an exciting prospect, but the choices you make in character creation will stick with you for the hours of exploration to come. When it comes to choosing your class, there’s a wealth of wisdom available to you from the experiences of veteran players.

Trying to decide which WoW Classic class to play? Classic WoW Leveling from 1-60 takes a considerable amount of time, and there are no ‘trial characters’ in vanilla, so choosing the right class up front is more important than it is on Live. Talents are expensive to swap and gold is hard to come by, so you won’t be changing your Classic WoW class on a whim. Gear frequently does not swap well between specs either, so players who want to play more than one specialization may want to create a second character and level it up to do so.

You’ll have eight classes to choose from, depending on your faction: warriors, priests, mages, rogues, warlocks, shamans for Horde, paladins for Alliance, hunters, and druids. We cover them all below. Note that while we refer to specializations in this guide, they aren’t an up-front selection like they are in contemporary Warcraft. Instead, players choose from packed talent trees, spending a few points here and there in the three specializations available to them. Truly hybrid builds are rare, but do exist.

The best vanilla WoW classes are:

Top pick: Protection Warrior

Warriors are a staple choice for Classic, not because of their damage, but because they are the only realistic choice for tanking in vanilla: monks and demon hunters weren’t in the game initially, paladins are primarily for healing and buffing other players (see below), and druid bears are a joke, comparatively. Warriors are more mobile, better at keeping threat than any other tank class (there’s a reason why ‘wait for three Sunders’ is a tanking meme even today), and fairly beefy when it comes to taking damage. As a bonus, if you’re interested in the full Classic experience, they’re one of the few classes able to create and wield Thunderfury, Blessed Blade of the Windseeker, which is a fun questing experience if you are lucky enough to get the starter drops.

As with all tanking classes in Classic, gameplay is very different than it is on Live. For example, Active mitigation – buttons that you press to reduce damage that comes in, or recover from damage taken – is less emphasized, and in some cases is reduced to just cooldowns that you predictably hit during times of high incoming damage. Instead, keeping threat on the monsters so your damage dealers can unload is a priority, along with whatever tank-swap or other mechanics exist in the fight.

In PvP, warriors do middling damage as either Arms or Fury, and are adept at carrying the flag in Warsong Gulch as Protection.

Top pick: Holy Priest

Dmg

Aoe Dmg Weapons Wow Classic Gameplay

The second in the traditional warrior-mage-priest RPG archetype (sorry rogues), priests are the go-to healers in WoW Classic. They have the most tools to play with, and while druids and paladins offer some refreshing variations on healing gameplay, priests are the powerhouses of the raid and equally viable in PvP.

Holy priests are the strongest healers in the vanilla World of Warcraft for raids, and are nearly unstoppable when paired up with a Protection warrior. In arenas, Disc and Shadow priests are legitimately viable, though they were seen less often in raids back in 2004.

For raids, priests also offer the powerful stamina-boosting Fortitude buff. Dwarven priests give Alliance players the incredibly powerful Fear Ward, which protects a player from receiving the Fear effect. As several major bosses use Fear, including Magmadar in Molten Core, a rotation of Dwarven priests is useful to have.

Holy priest healing styles are a bit different in Classic than in contemporary WoW. Holy Nova is a short-range AoE heal that means you’ll be clumping up with melee or ranged players. There is no Halo, Binding Heal, or pretty much anything that starts ‘Halo’, so instead you’ll be casting a pile of Renews and Greater Heals at various ranks. Your top-of-tree talent is Lightwell, an interactive font of healing that no other players will ever click.

Top pick for single target spell damage: Fire (or situationally Frost) Mage

For single-target damage, mages truly are the ‘glass cannons‘ of Classic Warcraft classes. They can quickly pile on the damage from afar, though they are highly susceptible to death: from fire on the ground, PvP opponents, or even a single mob.

Outstripped by their warlock brethren in terms of AoE damage, mages nevertheless are the consummate casters, able to pour on the DPS; crowd control opponents by turning them into sheep or freezing them in place with Frost Nova; and provide utility to a raid by summoning food or buffing other players’ intellect.

Classic rogues and mages are designed to be counters to each other in PvP, and many rogue-versus-mage contests both in PvE damage and in PvP contests come down to player skill, making both viable in most situations. For survivability, both classes are designed to escape rather than tank incoming damage.

Typically, mages pursue mostly Fire talents in PvE and mostly Frost talents for getting away in PvP, with the exception of the fire-based Molten Core and Blackwing Lair raid instances, where having Frost spells is a huge advantage. Some of these monsters are immune to fire damage altogether.

Contemporary mage players will find that while they miss some of their current utility spells, the gameplay isn’t that much different, as many iconic mage abilities (fireball, pyroblast, frostbolt, arcane missiles) have survived intact for the past 15 years since vanilla Warcraft. Frost mages will miss Ice Lance, but will revel in the power of the spec in fire-boss raids.

Top pick for AoE spell damage: Destruction or Affliction Warlock

Warlocks bring some of the best AoE damage of all the Classic WoW classes, with the ability to annihilate entire groups of creatures – the tradeoff is somewhat less single-target damage than mages and rogues. On the plus side, their ability to apply stack multiple damage-over-time (DOT) spells make them ideal for fights that require a great deal of movement, and makes Affliction the top warlock spec in PvP.

On the down side, the limited number of debuffs on a single creature in Classic WoW means that they may not be able to use all those DOT spells in favour of debuffs cast by other classes, which often makes the difference for whether Affliction or Destruction specs do more damage. Demonology typically lags behind the other two.

In addition: Check out the best WoW Classic addons

For utility, the warlock offers the group healthstones (which do not share a cooldown with potions) and soulstones, which can be used on a player in advance to allow them to resurrect if they die. This is helpful in groups as it allows a tank or healer to fight on, but also as it grants a degree of wipe protection so that the whole group does not have to run back if everyone dies. Warlocks also have the ability to summon group members with the help of two other players. These abilities and others use soul shards, which must be farmed by tediously, individually killing creatures before raids and group outings, and which then take up the majority of the warlock’s bags or fill a special soul pouch. Look, we’re saying the warlock is a powerful class, not a fun one.

Warlocks can banish demons and elementals, which makes them useful for crowd control – including druid ‘tree’ healers in PvP, who are classified as an elemental in tree form. Also in PvP, warlocks make heavy use of fear and Drain Life, allowing them to scare off an opponent and then restore their own health by draining their enemy.

Top pick for melee DPS, PvP and general sneakiness: Subtlety Rogue

Subtlety Rogues have always been superb for PvP, and it shows in their toolkit: Classic WoW rogue classes are loaded with options for crowd control, surprise damage, and avoidance. In PvE they aren’t terrible, but are less dominant, ceding more slots to ranged damage-dealers such as mages and warlocks.

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Soloing as a rogue can be frustrating, as it’s more difficult to escape the loving attentions of an angry monster while still dishing out damage than it is in group play or PvP, and this WoW Classic class is fairly fragile. That frustration wanes as your gear gets better and that super-powerful opening sequence becomes enough to nearly kill your enemy, especially when combined with the multitude of Classic mobs that run when they get to low health. Rogues excel at slowing and then killing those opponents, especially when equipped with the proper poisons on each dual-wielded weapon.

For utility, rogues can open lockboxes, assuming they trained up their lockpicking skills, and they can stealth through monsters to click on items or rejoin their groups while in dungeons.

Best for buffs, battle rez and beauty: Resto Druid

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In WoW Classic, druids have one viable role: healing. We can remember extensive arguments between one druid who wanted to try out raiding as feral and his top guild raid leaders, who all thought he was a little insane – so even if you can make it work, others won’t believe you. If you would prefer to do damage and plan to play more than just casually, you’ll want to choose a direct damage class.

Get a job: Here are the best Classic WoW Professions

As with all hybrid classes, druids are subject to the ‘hybrid tax,’ which reduces their maximum DPS by about 15% compared to pure-damage classes. Realistically, that combined with the half-finished feel of their tanking and DPS specs means that no one ever seriously plays a druid for either role, instead focusing on a more noble pursuit: being a tree.

In Classic, that’s a literal choice, as healing generally puts you into tree form (available on Live only as a glyph). Druid heals haven’t changed all that much over the years, with the heal over time Rejuvenation and Regrowth spells still dominant, while Tranquility reigns supreme for AOE heals.

Druids bring utility to groups in the form of the powerful Mark of the Wild stats-boosting buff (cast one player at a time, using reagents), battle resurrection (using reagents), the Faerie Fire armor-reducing debuff for opponents, and the Thorns buff, which adds to tank threat by causing them to reflect a bit of damage.

If you’re planning on playing WoW Classic more casually, druids are a fun choice; the ability to shift between animal forms and their iconic races (Night Elves for Alliance, Tauren for Horde) make them a hoot for looking at on screen or using for roleplay.

Best for memes, buffs, and one-trick builds: Paladin/Shaman

These two classes are lumped together not because they are in any way similar, but because each is only available to one faction in Classic.

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Shamans are exclusively for the Horde, and their ultra powerful Bloodlust buff makes it a requirement to bring at least one to raids. Their Tremor Totems are the low-rent, not-as-guaranteed equivalent of the Dwarven priest Fear Ward for bosses that cast fear.

In PvP, Enhancement shamans use Windfury buffs (unleashing multiple swings at once with their two-handed weapon), which in patch 1.12, the snapshot Classic uses, can still proc from its own swings, leading to sometimes-ridiculous chains of huge hits against an enemy. In raids, Elemental shamans bring average damage, and typically receive their invitations on the basis of their overall utility.

Paladins are exclusively Alliance in WoW Classic. While Protection paladins do exist for tanking, they’re less popular than the iconic warrior class. Instead, most paladins opt for a healing specialization in raid and a retribution specialization in PvP. In raids, they are valued for their single-target buffs and their ability to bubble, or drop all monster aggression and stop all damage.

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Paladin blessings include the popular Wisdom for mana restoration; their Cleanse handles one disease, one magic, and one poison debuff all at once; and they make excellent out-of-combat resurrectors in raid by staying at a safe distance and rezzing dead players throughout an encounter, making them the ultimate battle rezzer.

Closer to the action, paladin’s provide auras, such as Concentration Aura, which prevents spell pushback on damage to the entire raid.

Best for soloing, pulling raid mobs (on purpose), and running out of bag space: Marksmanship/Hybrid Hunter

Hunters can equip nearly every weapon in the game in both Classic WoW and Live, and they use more of those weapons in Classic than they do today. In addition to a ranged weapon, hunters wield two melee weapons that are typically used just for their stats (or for melee combat if the hunter gets too close to a monster). Back in the day, hunters would roll to win axes, swords, and daggers against damage players from other melee classes who used them, causing some tension in groups and leading to the meme still in effect today that every weapon is a ‘hunter weapon’.

In raids, hunters do reasonable damage overall and are useful for tapping monsters from far away and running them to the main tank/healing/dps group for fighting in the appropriate position.

Hunters use ammunition, which has its own stats, and either takes up space in player bags or requires the use of a quiver, a larger specific bag made just for ammunition and nothing else. In either case, hunters who raid find they have to stuff their inventory nearly to bursting with arrows or bullets and will still run out. Swapping from a bow to a gun or back again can also render some ammo useless.

While hunter pets are not as good at tanking or holding threat from their masters in Classic as they are today, they still make soloing creatures pleasant (if not as overpowered as it is in Live, where a well-geared hunter can easily solo elites.)

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