What's up, dudes! Silvite Soltis back again for another Classic Top-5 List.
Today, I wanted to focus a bit less on the world of WoW Classic, with its zones, music, and dungeons, and take a closer look at something that I believe we all have an even more personal connection with - the classes of the game.
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| The Classes of Classic |
Back in the day, all of us got held up on this question - what should we play? And while the classes, and we ourselves, have changed significantly over the years, I'm sure that some classes still stand out in our minds from back in the day. That being said, this list is purely my opinion, so don't take it personally if you share a different opinion. Instead, leave a comment telling your favorite classes from Classic and why you love them. I look forward to hearing your opinion!
But anyway, let's get right into it. Here are my Top 5 Classes in Classic World of Warcraft...
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#5 - Shaman
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| Tauren Shaman |
Now, you might be wondering why, as someone who played exclusively Alliance back in the day, I have shaman ranked in my top 5. The answer is simple:
Frost Shock and Totems.
I'll be the first to admit, I never played a shaman back in the day, but I was always able to appreciate the crazy amount of utility they brought to groups, as well as their ability to always kill me no matter what. In a later installment of Memories of Vanilla, I'm planning to tell the story of how I tried to gank a shaman flagged for PVP in Felwood (with under half health, by the way), only to have him turn around and mop the floor with me before t-bagging my corpse. It was stupid just how much he could do and it gave me a great respect for the vanilla shaman ever since.
Sure, they might not be the strongest healers or DPS in the game and shaman tanking is kind of a meme at this point, but honestly, shamans are a great class in classic WoW.
#4 - Warrior
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| Tauren Warrior |
Ahh, the class that I hear so much about nowadays from everyone that plays or has knowledge of private servers. The "master-class" as Tips puts it. In a way, he's not wrong - the warrior is an awesome class to play in vanilla. It was my first alt. And though I only got to around level 40 or so before TBC launched, I thoroughly enjoyed every slow, painstakingly earned level.
If you're seriously planning to tank, roll one of these bad boys and get ready for the long grind to 60. But also prepare to have some of the greatest experiences in class quests and weapon upgrades of any class in the game - because you'll definitely feel the improvement as you go.
Also, Mortal Strike is OP. Just saying...
#3 - Mage
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| Gnome Mage |
If you ever played back in the day, you'll know that mages were THE staple DPS class in the game from 2004-2006. I actually don't remember ever running a dungeon without one! Their damage is great, their CC is amazing (Polymorph for the win), and, most importantly, they bring water for your healer! There's literally nothing not to love about the mage!
That being said, mages are definitely glass cannons, so if you plan on playing one, make sure you don't let things hit you too much. But with all the slows and snares they have available, that shouldn't happen too much anyway.
My first real mage was a Draenei that I leveled in 2007, so I missed out on playing a classic mage back in the day, but thanks to all the information I got from Leika about his mage, I knew a lot about them before ever actually playing one. And I really hope to at least casually level one come Classic.
#2 - Warlock
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| Orc Warlock |
My initial first pick for a class back in 2005, the warlock is an amazingly useful class on all fronts. You've got crowd control in the form of Seduce, Banish, and Fear, all of which are great tools for any dungeon group. Though arguably less effective than a mage's polymorph, they are still effective when used carefully and correctly.
Furthermore, warlocks provide excellent buffs and debuffs to dungeons and raids, through their curses, demons, and the like. Curse of Shadows, Curse of Weakness, Blood Pact, Health Stones, and Soulstones all had their places in groups back in the day. Plus, have you ever see a tank go down in a dungeon only to have a warlock's voidwalker appear to taunt the mobs? I did - more times than I can remember, to be honest. It was definitely a different time back in the day.
Add into the mix how great this class was in PVP, the immense lore behind it, and the fact that you can play it as a gnome, and you've got a solid class for Classic WoW.
Honorable Mentions
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| Human Rogue |
Rogue
If you like ninjas and sneaking around, rogue is definitely a fun class. I played around with rogues for a while back in the day, but the highest I ever got one was level 15 or so. Still, it's a solid DPS with a lot of utility (sap, interrupts, and the like). Not really my cup of tea, to be honest, but it's definitely a fun class for a lot of people. Plus, they're the best at ganking people, so......
Paladin
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| Human Paladin |
The buffadin! My brother's favorite class and the one with not one, but two memespecs!
All jokes aside, paladins are crazy cool from a lore perspective and I'm really hyped to play one with my brothers on the weekends when classic comes out. But I know that I'll definitely be healing in the same dress as my priest if I ever get it to 60. Still, there's no better support class in my opinion - those buffs are too good to pass up.
Plus, you know...Judgement set...
Hunter
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| Dwarf Hunter |
Druid
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| Tauren Druid |
The stereotypical "jack of all trades, master of none" class, the druid has historically been known as the least played classic WoW class, which is unfortunate given its unique elements. It's not without reason, however. While the druid has some great utility as a healer, it lacks a proper resurrection spell - having only a battle rez. In raids, this may be fine since you'd have others that can rez as well, but for dungeons or group quests out in the world, this may be an issue if you're lacking anyone else with the ability to rez.
Add in the fact that druid tanks are typically less viable than warriors and that kitty and boomkin DPS is laughable unless you're ultra-hardcore with consumables, and you've just really got a class that doesn't do much.
However, it's not all bad. Personally, I love the lore and the diversity that druids bring to the table. They were one of my favorite classes to run dungeons or PVP with, so they're still really fun as a class in my opinion. That being said, I definitely don't plan to play one in WoW Classic.
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Alright, with all of those out of the way, let's move on to #1. If you've been following me for a while, you can probably guess what it I'm about to say...
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#1 - Priest
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| Troll Priest |
I'm sure I'll get some crap for loving this class, but honestly there's no question in my mind. The priest is my absolute, all-time favorite class in World of Warcraft - and even more so in Classic WoW.
First and foremost, the races you can pick are all unique and engaging - 3 choices on the Alliance side and 2 for the Horde - and each of these races gets unique racial spells:
Dwarves get Fear Ward and Desperate Prayer.
Humans get Desperate Prayer and Feedback.
Night Elves get Starshards and Elune's Grace.
Undead get Devouring Plague and Touch of Weakness.
And finally Trolls get Hex of Weakness and Shadowguard.
At this point, everyone knows that Dwarven racials are the strongest and that most Horde priests go Undead for their strength in both PVP and PVE, but it's just so cool that there's such diversity even among the one class.
Anyway, priests have a ton of other interesting and useful spells beyond their racial abilities too: Mana Burn, Mind Control, Mind Soothe, Inner Fire, and Power Word: Shield to name a few. Each of these spells, while niche, have their own utility and can be useful, or just for fun in the game.
Finally, it is common knowledge that the priest is the absolute best overall healer for the majority of Classic WoW content, losing out only in terms of healing output to paladins only at the late endgame. Sure, priests need to know how to downrank their spells, a skill that I never learned back in the day, but that only adds another element of immersion to the class and really lets one explore the class fully. Plus, everyone really has to downrank for one reason or another (mana, threat, etc.), so it's hardly a priest-exclusive issue.
All in all, for these reasons, as well as my own personal bias towards the class, I feel confident in putting priest as my number 1 class in Classic World of Warcraft.
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I hope you enjoyed reading my top-5 list, but I'd like to know what you all think too! What's your favorite class from Classic World of Warcraft? It was a lot of fun for me to think about the different classes and what I enjoyed, and didn't enjoy, about each one, so I'm looking forward to hearing your comments as well!
If you liked this post, remember to follow my blog by adding yourself to the email list so you don't miss any updates later on! Also be sure to follow me on Facebook and Twitter for other updates, and check out my YouTube channel for video content. But for now...
Take it easy!
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