hi im new whats the best character over all?

[Mikirie]

For a start i recommend a DPS class....Reason????u have only 1 role in the game and that is dps,which is easy mostly.......and very fun!!!!!I would recommend Rogue or Hunter .So when u get the hang of it with dps class and learn more about game,go for something else,maybe Mage,hehehehh!!!!!

[Faendalimas]

I will add a little on the druid, since I have a level 70 druid in end game instances.

As a tank Warriors and Druids are on par with each other, if you know how to play the respective classes they have the same number of taunts and the greater armor of the druid compensates for the warriors block and parry, as its intended to. There are certain bosses where the warrior is a better tank, likewise there are some bosses where the druid makes for a better tank. For example when fighting Midnight in Karazhan the druid is a far better tank on the horse while a warrior does a better job on the rider. However these are specific cases. Overall and in general they are as good as each other.

Paladin tanks have not been given the tools to tank effectively, they can do it, and this will depend alot on the ability of the player, but have limited ability to pull with no significant range attack and have a very hard time re-aquiring agro if it goes wrong. Hence I do not consider them good tanks.

The shape-shifting should not be an issue while the druid is tanking as in Bear form the druid should go in and stay that way, if they have to shape-shift while tanking they usually die and this is the job of the healer to prevent this need. The druid does have one self-heal while in bear form once the feral tree is well set up in general that has been enough for me. With 22k armor unbuffed and 500 def as well as a resilience over 120 I find I am usually not in need of switching while fighting. The druid should never have to shape-shift while tanking as it is not your job to do so. Your job when tanking is get agro, keep agro and take a lot of hits. That is all.

Cheers, Faen

[Rebelkitten]

IMO, Undead Warlock for total awesomeness. Night elf druid is also pretty good(I have a 70 feral druid). A hunter would be awesome as well. Who doesn't want to tame a huge spider and use Beastail wrath on it?..... I miss wow now. Adios!!

[Chanak]

Indeed, as my druid reaches 70 I'm seeing what an outstanding tank she makes. I agree completely with Faendalimas on this subject. Just yesterday I tanked Durn the Hungerer at level 67 and did a fantastic job at keeping aggro, despite two mages unloading in my group. The job of a tank is to keep that aggro, and take the hits. Some bosses have AOEs or will randomly attack other group/raid members, and that's unavoidable, but as a rule the boss should stay on the tank from 100% health till dead. That means no shifting for a feral tank...stay in Dire Bear form and keep applying Mangle, Feral Faerie Fire, Lacerates, etc. If something goes horribly wrong and you just can't get aggro back, you will likely wipe anyway. If your group/raid understands how threat works they will stop attacking the boss in that case, allowing you to growl and gain aggro once again. I've tanked plenty of 5 mans with my feral druid and she is in demand as a tank by the people whom I have tanked for. I look forward to tanking in Kara as well.

[AllegraFade]

i have a lv 55 mage. i chose mage over priest and warlock which i was originally considering.

warlocks are very difficult to control if your new to the game. a lot of warlock i;ve partied with/ observed tend to let their pet/ minion/ whatever you call it to run rampant. ive had to do some pretty quick casting to save a few. also warlocks tend to either prioritise a spell caster class or... a kennelr controlling a list of powerful pets. either way you gain none of the precision of a hunter (my boyfriend plays a hunter with me); or your a 2nd rate caster. DoTs yeah they're useful and warlocks are good in pvp IF played right. their AoEs tho unlike a mage's seem to cause more harm than good but it depends on a player. warlocks also seem to be easy prey if your on a pvp server (you roll a pve server - god help you); plus they have long and excruiating quests to get mounts etc. ive been known to sell items they need at extortionate prices as i know there will always be a market (robes of arcana etc)

my next character's going to be a shadow priest. if you wanna pure healer/ tank paladin is the way to go but they are a you know what to level. shadow priests are good for pve as backup healers and have some good abilities like psyhich scream and shadow form.

for dps i wouldnt recommend a rogue; tbh they abiliy to sneak around one target and wait is annoying. my frost mage is amongst the best in terms of pvp, pve and instances. they dont have the raw dps of a fire mage but i rarely run out of mana plus the enemy never reachs you if you play it right. use it with ice block and ice barrier occupanied by frost snap - your set.

hunters are fantastic as they can sap mana from spell casters, have traps and can train any pet that is named a beast. training anything less than an elite (aside to farm new skills) is a waste of time - your an experienced hunter you want an elite plus they look better generally

[novaline]

Originally Posted by ruscavo

All classes have their strengths and weaknesses, so chose one you like most.

Like getting up close and personal, chose a warriors.
Like stabbing people in the back, chose a rogue.
Like looking after other people, chose a priest.
Like blasting other people with big spells, chose a mage.

The possiblities are there. From your post though, I would say you are best suited to a hunter, but as I said, it's up to you.

i would have to disagree, if ur after a good pvp class then i would suggest a priest, spec shadow and once u hot 40 u will own, warlock demonology/affliction spec is near unbeatable at 70, rogue is a noob class but it is a really fun class to play, warrior is soooo much fun the only thing is warriors are the most gear dependant class in other words u need good gear to own as a warrior, those are the classes i would suggest for a first time player, what ever class u choose tho gl and hf

[Skuld]

For a first class I would recommend a Hunter if you're into farming and getting yelled at in instances when your pet aggros adds. Personally I find Hunters boring. I'm currently leveling a Ret Paladin. Hit 36 last night. Ret DPS is pretty much on par with Arms warrior, plus you can bubble, heal and tank(Prot) multipe mobs better than a warrior/druid provided you keep your mana up from what I'm told.

[Caden]

Doubtful that a Ret Paladin can be on par with an Arms Warrior for DPS. Normally, I wouldn't knock something unless I've tried it, but considering the strong facts that Blizzard designed the Paladin to be the lowest DPS class and an Arms Warrior is the highest DPS Warrior build, I doubt Ret Paladin can dish as much dps as an Arms Warrior.

The Hunter is undoubtable the easiest class and best for soloing. I agree that it seems to be a boring class, which is why I'm attempting to build an effective Melee Hunter. A Melee Hunter can't have as much DPS as a Ranged Hunter, but I hope with the right build, he won't deal too less damage.

A good first class just depends on what you like to do in video games. I'm the Warrior/Priest type.

[Skuld]

I'm just going on what I've read on the forums about the DPS thing. I understand that Paladins were designed as a defensive hybrid, but if you spec right and choose the right gear I don't see why a Ret Pally can't match/beat an Arms Warrior DPS. My 36(35 at the time) Ret Pally did win a duel with a 38 Fury Warrior last night though. We were both geared well. I had a Corpsemaker w/Fiery and he had Sword of Omen w/Fiery and a Speedsteel Rapier w/+3 weap dmg. Also we had been grinding together so he had a BoM from me on him at the time. I did heal twice though.

I thought about a Survival spec melee Hunter before I started this Pally. Let me know how that works for ya. It would definitely solve the problem of running out of ammo in instances that's for sure. What Race/Spec/Pet are you using for your melee Hunter?

[Caden]

I've noticed that a Melee Hunter would benefit from putting a great deal of points into the Beast Mastery tree. Many of the talents in there increase the hunter's chance to dodge, his hp, and damage, not just his ranged damage. I plan to up my dodge, which means more chances to counter with Mongoose Bite, which I hope to increase the damage of with the Orc's Blood Fury spell. Mongoose Bite activates after dodging and is multiplied by Attack Power. Blood Fury raises AP. Thus, my strategy. I've noticed this hunter could walk around with 17% chance to dodge from talents and Aspect of the Monkey alone.

[Skuld]

Doing some research and messing around w/ talent calculator I think Orc would prob be best with the Racial buff to AP and axes. Talent spec as far as I can tell would go something like this 24/0/37
Talent Calculator - World of Warcraft
The problem with this build would be leveling as a melee hunter. You'd probably need to start off BM to get your survivability up before you went down the Survival tree, ironic as that sounds. Leveling you'd still need to use ranged a fair bit I'd gather. Let me know what you think of the spec and any leveling tactics for a melee Hunter. The prospect still intrigues me, but pre-endgame I'm not sure how viable the build would be.

EDIT: The problem I also see here, is that a melee Hunter is like a Prot Pally in that they require all attention on them for abilities to proc. Where in the past you could get by with crap gear and a good ranged weap and ammo, you'll now be much more gear dependent. Could get expensive.

[virpyre]

Proctection paladins are actually very simple to level you just manage your skills, correctly...with my Lv. 70 AOE Paladin (sample of the basic build) I run players through Stratholme all day long, usually have a Lv. 70 Ice mage with me to help out on mobbing though I don't have much trouble since I usually have about 8 to 12 mobs on me at a time.

This is the build I started off with.

Aside from mages, Paladins have the highest potential for AoE grinding, combining their incredible survivability against melee attacks with talent procs that occur when they are the victim of enemy attacks. This build is mainly viable against mainly melee targets only, preferably those that don't disarm (weapon chain is useful), crowd-control, run, or use magic/non-physical ranged attacks. To make this spec viable, Holy Shield and its talent improvement must be obtained. A shield spike, and any other item that causes damage when stuck, or extra weapon swings, is very useful as well. Paladins specced this way can singlehandedly take out 5-6 mobs or 2-3 elites of equal level, and often with full health and mana, due to seal/judgement of light/wisdom.

AOE 0/33/0

Anyway onto the class information for the new player.

Death Knight - Not Avalible
The death knight combines martial prowess with dark, necromantic energies. It will be the first hero class in World of Warcraft; once certain criteria are met (not yet finalized), the player will have the ability to create a new death knight character, which will begin play at a high experience level (possibly somewhere between 55 and 70) with multiple spells and abilities ready to use. They are a hybrid class, being able to be tanks or deal damage. They are a melee class with casting abilities like the Paladin, and can raise Undead minions. Although they will have minions, they will not be a pet class, but have some of their mechanics. They are the only class to use the Rune resource system. It is also notable that the death knights will have their own talent trees like any other current class.

Druid
Druids are versatile hybrids with various shapeshift forms in which they can tank like a warrior (Bear Form), stealth and fight in melee like a rogue (Cat Form), heal like a priest (normal or Tree Form), and cast spells like a mage (normal form or Moonkin Form). As such they are the only class that can fill all 4 main roles. However, unlike other hybrids, druids do not perform several roles at once but instead shift between roles. With talent specialization, Druids can excel at any of their playable roles in a group and/or raid.

Hunter
Hunters are the only class that can effectively use ranged weapons (e.g. bows, guns, or crossbows) as a primary source of damage. Very adept at kiting, they have plenty of tools to allow them to avoid melee combat, where they are fairly weak. Hunters may tame many varieties of beasts to serve as combat pets, which along with an array of scouting, tracking, and survival abilities make them excellent solo characters.The three talent specializations for hunters are Marksmanship, Beast Mastery, and Survival.

Mage
Mages are ranged magic damage dealers with very powerful direct and area effect damage spells, but weak armor and health. They also feature a variety of utility spells, including crowd control, teleportation and group portals to capital cities, and conjuration of food and water. Mages are reliant on mana for almost all of their abilities.

Paladin
Paladins are Holy Warriors and are a hybrid class. They can tank, heal, and do melee damage. The damage they deal is partly melee damage and partly spell damage. Paladins also have very strong group support and buff abilities. They can wear heavy plate armor and carry shields like a warrior, but are also efficient healers, which combine to produce their renowned durability in combat. With talent specialization and equipment selection, paladins can fill the role of tank, offtank, or healer, and excel when called upon to spot-fill all these roles in a group setting. They can even sacrifice themselves to provide wipe recovery when needed. With the release of the Burning Crusade, Paladins are no longer exclusive to the Alliance. Blood elves (Horde) can now play as Paladins.

Priest
Priests are the quintessential healer, and easily the most versatile class in that role, though they may also specialize to become powerful offensive casters. Priests have a wide variety of healing utility spells, along with a few tricks, helpful and otherwise, such as Power Word: Fortitude, Mind Control and the extremely useful Dispel Magic and Cure Disease. Other priests choose to pursue Shadowy arts, gaining the ability to assume Shadowform, increasing their damage output, and at higher levels regenerating mana quickly for their entire party, while sacrificing most of their powerful healing abilities.

Rogue
Rogues excel at dealing melee damage and incapacitating their foes, particularly low health and low armor targets such as casters. Stealth gives them a tactical advantage and allows them to start a fight on their own terms. Other important abilities include lockpicking and the creation and handling of poisons. Also, a huge power is the Rogue's ability to stun and incapacitate for a large period of time. This, paired with the rogue's high Damage gives him a huge edge over his opponent. Rogues do not use mana for their combat abilities. Instead they use energy and generate combo points which are used to execute finishing moves.

Shaman
Shamans are one of the most versatile classes in the game as they can switch seamlessly from offensive caster to healer to melee DPS as needed, though at later levels they often specialize in one of these roles. Shamans can make good support characters, with the ability to step in and fill any role that may be lacking at the moment. Their high burst damage and healing also make them quite good at PvP. They are able to drop stationary totems on the ground which provide a variety of effects, many of which are useful to their entire party. They are unique in that they can provide complete wipe recovery by self-resurrecting and then resurrecting the rest of the party. With the release of the Burning Crusade, Shamans are no longer exclusive to the Horde. Draenei (Alliance) can now play as Shamans.

Warlock
Warlocks enslave demons and call upon dark magic and curses to dominate and destroy their foes. Like hunters, warlocks employ combat pets, but these are summoned demons rather than tamed beasts. They are primarily ranged magic damage dealers with a focus on damage over time in addition to nukes and AoE, but lack the extreme burst damage capabilities of a mage. Demon pets and fear spells give them a variety of tactical options, and they have several utility spells and abilities, including summoning party members and creating healthstones and soulstones.

Warrior
Warriors are close-combat fighters and usually fill the role of primary tank or offtank, as they are able to both withstand and inflict fierce physical punishment and have the most versatile means of generating threat and keeping aggro off other characters. They can also contribute very strong melee DPS when needed. Warrior abilities use rage, which is generated by dealing and taking damage, but decays over time while not in combat. Warriors are highly dependent on their gear, as their ability to deal and take damage is controlled directly by the quality and effects of their weapons and armor.

[Chanak]

The trick with a survival hunter all centers around traps, and melee moves like wing clip, deterrence, etc. A very good, viable Survival hunter combines 40 points in the Survival tree with 21 points in the Marksmanship tree, gaining Scatter Shot. This not only shines in PvP situations, but works in PvE as well. Scatter Shot is a lovely kiting tool, buying you time between Wing Clips, frost traps, and concussive shots. You can also lay a Wyvern Sting on a target if you feel like stopping to bandage up. While they sleep, you bandage up.

Much can be said now about a hunter who invests at least 41 points in the Marksmanship tree. Blizzard has finally gotten around to repairing this tree and I'm quite satisfied with the results. Silencing shot is now actually worth having, and now a Marks-specced hunter will individually do more ranged damage than a Beast Mastery-specced hunter. I always had a problem with that before; it made no sense whatsoever to spec Marksmanship when the same hunter, fully specced in the BM tree, actually did more DPS than if he/she were fully specced in Marksmanship. My own hunter is specced fully in Marksmanship with the remainder in Beast Mastery, to pump both himself and the pet up a bit, and to gain the lovely Focused Fire talent, which gives you +2% to all damage while the pet is active, and a +20% chance for the Kill command to crit. Every little bit helps.

Re Paladins: I'll choose to disagree regarding the DPS of a Ret pally and an Arms/Fury warrior *if* the Ret Paladin in question stacks up on spell damage. Crusader Strike can hit for gobs and gobs of damage if a Ret Pally has stocked up on his spell damage. With the Retribution Aura active and a consecrate running, the damage starts to add up quickly, and not just on one target. With all of this said, I personally feel warrior DPS is more stable and dependable in PvE than Pally DPS. IMO, a Ret Paladin is ideally suited for PvP and is much more iffy in PvE. I have watched Ret Pallies decimate players in PvP enough to know they are not to be underestimated. The stuns, judged seals and Crusader Strikes can wipe the health bar of the beefiest locks and warriors clean in no time.

[blackblade76]

I have a 62 paladin protection spec, and other then being harased with agruments on how ****ty palys can tank I still say pally tanking is fun but hard to level. Palys are a great class all around with healing, dps, and tank, but there is the problem that they don't do much dps nor do they do great as tanks. I say roll a paly then level to about 60 maybe even 58 then switch your talent to be a prot paly (that is if you are playing a pvp or rp/pvp server). It does wonders for your leveling when your the only tank people can find to run dungeons at such a high level you don't even have to do most the quests once youve replaced all your gear in outland (obviously if you can not tell by now I am saying this from a TBC out look and yes im a blood elf paladin). I hope this helps you.

[Yshania]

Originally Posted by Faendalimas

Paladin tanks have not been given the tools to tank effectively, they can do it, and this will depend alot on the ability of the player, but have limited ability to pull with no significant range attack and have a very hard time re-aquiring agro if it goes wrong. Hence I do not consider them good tanks.

The shape-shifting should not be an issue while the druid is tanking as in Bear form the druid should go in and stay that way, if they have to shape-shift while tanking they usually die and this is the job of the healer to prevent this need. The druid does have one self-heal while in bear form once the feral tree is well set up in general that has been enough for me. With 22k armor unbuffed and 500 def as well as a resilience over 120 I find I am usually not in need of switching while fighting. The druid should never have to shape-shift while tanking as it is not your job to do so. Your job when tanking is get agro, keep agro and take a lot of hits. That is all.

Cheers, Faen

Pala tanks are crush immune, very useful against bosses like Prince where prot warrios are reliant on block and parry, and feral tanks reliant on high damage mitigation, lots of dodge and imba healers during phase 2. Palas also have good aggro gain, but need mana to maintain it.

500 defense is way OTT for bear, you could drop a lot of this in favour of stamina/agility gear/gems/enchants (agility improves dodge too and is boosted nicely by Kings, being a base stat) Agi is also very useful for feral dps increasing crit chance. Druids only need 415 defense to be crit immune. My end game PVE druid has 406 def and 50 (something) resilience and is crit immune. She also has 15K HP and 26K armour unbuffed and doesn't need to shapeshift during battle, this would wipe the raid Raid buffed she has 28K armour and 21K HP.

I also have (very nearly) level 70 resto shaman, she is a very effective party healer as well as a competent soloist. Her earthshield gives the tank approx 1000 heal every other time he is hit. From a healers point of view, my experience has found pala tanks easier to take care of than feral or warrior

Ysh