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WoW Classic Class Guides
Welcome to Wowhead's hub for comprehensive Classic WoW Class guides for PvE and PvP content! In addition to our popular
Talent Calculator
, Wowhead has published detailed guides to all WoW classes including recommended talent builds, optimal rotations and abilities, best in slot gear, macros, and addons.
Class Differences between Retail and Classic
The class system has undergone many revisions between Retail and Classic. Here are some of the top changes:
There are
9 classes
, down from 12.
Death Knights, Monks, and Demon Hunters were not available in Classic WoW.
Paladins were limited to the Alliance, while Shaman were limited to the Horde.
You
cannot
change your race, so picking the race/class combo you prefer is very important, as some are strong for DPS.
Priests had unique racials based on their race.
Druids had three talent trees, not four. Feral Combat was used for Guardian and Feral Druids.
Rogues had the Combat specialization, not Outlaw.
Hunters had an elaborate Pet Loyalty system, and Survival was a ranged DPS spec.
Talents and specializations were vastly different:
Instead of picking a specialization within a class, and learning a set of unique abilities, you pick a class and the spec-flavored abilities come from talent points.
The talent system was vastly more complex, with 51 points that can be placed into three trees, with abilities farther down the tree providing more powerful benefits.
The option to dual-spec and save multiple talent builds was not present.
Classic had the concept of Hybrids--roles that offered weaker DPS but had more utility and the capability to perform other roles in a pinch.
Spells had ranks, and more unlocked at higher levels. You had to return to Class Trainers in capital cities to train these higher ranks.
Many stats present in Classic were removed in Retail. Some of these stats were crucial to talent builds, such as abilities that increased Weapon Skill.
Learn more about the biggest differences for each type of role in our article series:
Biggest Changes to DPS in Classic WoW if You've Played BFA
Biggest Changes to Tanks in Classic WoW if You've Played BFA
Biggest Changes to Healers in Classic WoW if You've Played BFA
Classic WoW Class Overviews
There are nine classes in Classic WoW, and in our overviews you will learn what weapons and armor they can equip, unique flavor abilities, trainer locations, tier sets, and links to our class guides.
Druid
Hunter
Mage
Paladin
Priest
Rogue
Shaman
Warlock
Warrior
Depending on the selected class, players can choose the role of a healer, tank, melee DPS or ranged DPS. Our overviews for each role go over key concepts, class strengths, and important stats.
Healing
Tanking
Melee
Ranged
Classic WoW PvE Class Guides
Classic PvE Healing Druid Guide
While not the best healer as far as throughput goes, Healing Druids bring a lot of utility to their groups, like
,
Innervate
, and
, which is the only combat ress available in Classic.
Overview
Talents & Builds
BiS Gear
Rotation & Abilities
Stats
Enchants
Consumables
Macros
Addons
Classic PvE Feral Combat DPS Druid Guide
While you don't deal as much damage compared to a pure DPS class, you do have the opportunity to fill specific niches and provide good raid utility in the form of
,
, and
while DPSing as a Feral Druid.
Overview
Talents & Builds
BiS Gear
Rotation & Abilities
Stats
Enchants
Consumables
Macros
Addons
Classic PvE Tank Druid Guide
While not the best tank during Classic, Druids are still decent off-tanks, able to sustain large amounts of physical damage.
Overview
Talents & Builds
BiS Gear
Rotation & Abilities
Stats
Enchants
Consumables
Macros
Addons
Classic PvE Balance Druid Guide
Balance Druids have a limited damage toolkit, but they are versatile and have strong defensive and utility tools like
Innervate
.
Overview
BiS Gear
Classic PvE DPS Hunter Guide
Hunters are one of the primary DPS in Classic, being widely strong and popular in early phases, both for their DPS potential and their farm capabilities.
Overview
Talents & Builds
BiS Gear
Rotation & Abilities
Stats
Enchants
Consumables
Macros
Addons
Pets
Classic PvE DPS Mage Guide
Mages are one of the most popular caster classes in Classic WoW, famous for their PvP presence, high damage, and amazing utility. Plus one of the most efficient classes for AoE farming.
Overview
Talents & Builds
BiS Gear
Rotation & Abilities
Stats
Enchants
Consumables
Macros
Addons
Classic PvE Healing Paladin Guide
In Classic WoW, Paladins are exclusive to Alliance players and are known for their powerful Blessing buffs and strong healing capabilities. For major raids, each Alliance raid group will run at least four paladins for their buffs alone.
Overview
Talents & Builds
BiS Gear
Rotation & Abilities
Stats
Enchants
Consumables
Macros
Addons
Classic PvE DPS Retribution Paladin Guide
While not the strongest DPS, many players choose to play Retribution due to their sturdiness and powerful cooldowns in the shape of their Blessings. In Classic, Paladins are exclusive to Alliance players.
Overview
Talents & Builds
BiS Gear
Rotation & Abilities
Stats
Enchants
Consumables
Macros
Addons
Classic PvE Healing Priest Guide
Priests are the most versatile healer in Classic, being widely used by dungeon and raid groups alike. They are also unique in being the only class with two separated talent trees dedicated to healing.
Overview
Talents & Builds
BiS Gear
Rotation & Abilities
Stats
Enchants
Consumables
Macros
Addons
Classic PvE DPS Shadow Priest Guide
While most Priests you'll find in Classic will be healing, there are still many that will play as Shadow, with the spec being one of the best PvP ones and having niche use in PvE as well.
Overview
Talents & Builds
BiS Gear
Rotation & Abilities
Stats
Enchants
Consumables
Macros
Addons
Classic PvE DPS Rogue Guide
Rogues are consistently at the top of damage meters, just a hair behind Fury Warriors, because of amazing talents such as Sword Specialization paired with things like the Human Racial Sword Specialization, or paired with a Shaman's Windfury Totem.
Overview
Beginners
Talents & Builds
BiS Gear
Rotation & Abilities
Stats
Enchants
Consumables
Macros
Addons
Classic PvE DPS Enhancement Shaman Guide
Shamans, unique to Horde in Classic, are the kings of utility for groups, with their broad array of totems. While not the best damage option, Enhancement Shamans bring high burst damage, plus they have the strongest buff totems for melee in the game.
Overview
Talents & Builds
BiS Gear
Rotation & Abilities
Stats
Enchants
Consumables
Macros
Addons
Classic PvE DPS Elemental Shaman Guide
Shamans, unique to Horde in Classic, are the kings of utility for groups, with their broad array of totems. While not the best damage option, Elemental Shamans bring high burst damage, plus an option for guilds that don't want to run 8 healing Shamans to cover the whole raid with totem buffs.
Overview
Talents & Builds
BiS Gear
Rotation & Abilities
Stats
Enchants
Consumables
Macros
Addons
Classic PvE Healing Shaman Guide
In Classic, Shamans are exclusive to Horde players and are well known for their healing potential and utility brought by their broad array of totems.
Overview
Talents & Builds
BiS Gear
Rotation & Abilities
Stats
Enchants
Consumables
Macros
Addons
Classic PvE DPS Warlock Guide
While not the best ranged DPS in early stages of Classic, Warlocks are wildly popular due to the utility they bring to their groups, such as Curses, Soulstones, Healthstones, and strong crowd controls like Fear and Banish.
Overview
Talents & Builds
BiS Gear
Rotation & Abilities
Stats
Enchants
Consumables
Macros
Addons
Classic PvE DPS Warrior Guide
DPS Warriors are very popular in Classic WoW, as they scale well with gear and are strong in both PvE and PvP.
Overview
Talents & Builds
BiS Gear
Rotation & Abilities
Stats
Enchants
Consumables
Macros
Addons
Classic PvE Tank Warrior Guide
Warriors are the best tanks for PvE in Classic, with some fights, like the Four Horsemen in Naxxramas, historically requiring up to 8 Warrior tanks.
Overview
Talents & Builds
BiS Gear
Rotation & Abilities
Stats
Enchants
Consumables
Macros
Addons
Classic WoW PvP Class Guides
Learn about the best Classic WoW PvP races, PvP Professions, important PvP abilities, PvP talent builds, stats, and best PvP Gear. We have also created separate guides for Classic dueling and level 19 twinking.
Classic PvP Druid Guides
Feral DPS
Healing
Dueling
Twinking
Classic PvP Hunter Guides
Hunter
Dueling
Twinking
Classic PvP Mage Guides
Mage
Dueling
Twinking
Classic PvP Paladin Guides
Retribution DPS
Healing
Dueling
Twinking
Classic PvP Priest Guides
Shadow DPS
Healing
Dueling
Twinking
Classic PvP Rogue Guides
Rogue
Dueling
Twinking
Classic PvP Shaman Guides
Elemental DPS
Healing
Dueling
Twinking
Classic PvP Warlock Guides
Warlock
Dueling
Twinking
Classic PvP Warrior Guides
Fury DPS
Warrior Tank
Dueling
Twinking
Classic WoW Class Leveling Guides
In these WoW Classic Leveling guides, you'll learn about best questing zones, leveling talents and builds, spells to buy while leveling, ability rotations, best gear, and recommended stats.
Classic WoW Druid Leveling Guide & Best Leveling Spec 1-60
Classic WoW Hunter Leveling Guide & Best Leveling Spec 1-60
Classic WoW Mage Leveling Guide & Best Leveling Spec 1-60
Classic WoW Paladin Leveling Guide & Best Leveling Spec 1-60
Classic WoW Priest Leveling Guide & Best Leveling Spec 1-60
Classic WoW Rogue Leveling Guide & Best Leveling Spec 1-60
Classic WoW Shaman Leveling Guide & Best Leveling Spec 1-60
Classic WoW Warlock Leveling Guide & Best Leveling Spec 1-60
Classic WoW Warrior Leveling Guide & Best Leveling Spec 1-60
Class Quests also play an important role while leveling, as some reward you with powerful items or important abilities:
Druid Class Quest Guide
: Bear Form (10), Cure Poison (14), Aquatic Form (16)
Hunter Class Quest Guide
: Alliance and Horde Pet Tames
Mage Class Quest Guide
: Mage Wands (30-40), Polymorph (60)
Paladin Class Quest Guide
: Redemption (12), Verigan's Fist/Sense Undead (20)
Priest Class Quest Guide
: Priest Racials at 10 and 20
Rogue Class Quest Guide
: Poisons and Thistle Tea (20-24)
Shaman Class Quest Guide
: Earth Totem (4), Fire Totem (10), Water Totem (20), Air Totem (30)
Warlock Class Quest Guide
: Voidwalker (10), Succubus (20), Felhunter (30), Infernal Demon (50), Doomguard (60)
Warrior Class Quest Guide
: Defensive Stance (10), Brutal Armor and Fire Hardened Armor (20-30), Berserker Stance and Whirlwind Weapons (30+)
Sunken Temple Class Quests
are available for every class at 50, awarding players a choice between three items. Some of these items are very powerful, like
Diamond Flask
for Warriors.
