Best Classes for Leveling - WoW Classic Best Class Tier List

Classic Posted 2019/08/23 at 4:09 PM by Rokman

Tiers

Classes in this tier are the absolute best when it comes to fulfilling a specific role. Likely, these classes are the most desired for their proficiency in Raiding or Battlegrounds.

Classes in the A tier are typically well above average when compared to other Classes for this specific role. A Classes will typically have some unique advantages through Spells and Abilities or specific Talents that give them a leg up on their competition.

B tier Classes are average for that role. They do exactly what is needed of them, can sometimes be interchanged with other Classes in their tier, without skipping a beat.

C tier Classes are noticeably below average at fulfilling a particular task. Typically, when a group is looking for another member, they might wait to invite a C tier Class, in case a slightly better Class becomes available.

D tier Classes are usually Classes that aren't really designed to excel in a particular role or task. More often than not, there is a better Spec that Class could re-roll, to improve that Classes viability.

Best Classes for Leveling in Classic WoW

Mage, Hunter

Warlock

Rogue, Druid, Shaman

Priest, Paladin

Warrior

MageWarriorWarriorMageMageMageHunterHunterFeign DeathHunterHunterWarlockWarlockWarlockLife TapDrain LifeSoulstoneSummon FelsteedRogueRogueRogueThrash BladeMaraudonDruidShamanTravel FormGhost WolfPriestSpirit TapPriestPaladinPaladinWarriorWarriorClassic WoW Class Guides for LevelingRokmanRogueTwitterYouTube

12 3 4

Comment by GoralynHow is priest and pally C tier, is this more subjective stuff? Y'all real disappointing with your "classic" related things.Comment by RokmanHow is priest and pally C tier, is this more subjective stuff? Y'all real disappointing with your "classic" related things.Comment by greeneggHow is priest and pally C tier, is this more subjective stuff? Y'all real disappointing with your "classic" related things.Comment by GrumpyOldDwarf" Mages should be in a category of their own, is because they can AoE farm, which no other Class can do. "

There's this spec called Protection Paladin. They can also AOE farm. Granted, not as fast as a Mage, but they can do it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-roQzMyTTNwComment by Goralyn" Mages should be in a category of their own, is because they can AoE farm, which no other Class can do. "

There's this spec called Protection Paladin. They can also AOE farm. Granted, not as fast as a Mage, but they can do it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-roQzMyTTNwComment by TheShortGirlwarlocks learn summon felsteed at level 40 not dreadsteedComment by pikamasterOverall, i firmly believe that Mage will get it, if they spam dungeon everyday, with the same team, all day everyday(aka 2-3 days)

Solo'ing however would be Hunter.Comment by Rokmanwarlocks learn summon felsteed at level 40 not dreadsteedOverall, i firmly believe that Mage will get it, if they spam dungeon everyday, with the same team, all day everyday(aka 2-3 days)

Solo'ing however would be Hunter.Comment by Tycho211. Why not separate "Mage AOE" & "Mage Single Target". Seems pretty obvious considering how much mage leveling speed varies depending on these playstyles.

2. To say "It is almost a guarantee that a Mage will be the World first level 60 once Classic launches" Is an over-exaggeration. There are several changes with Classic that make AOE farming more difficult compared to private servers (Such as leeway, mob respawns, increased caster mob abilities, batching, heartbeat on nova etc...). I say this because I know your experience is largely from private servers. Mage aoe is especially more difficult 1-40 as pulling mobs without a mount is harder for a variety of reasons (Such as leeway). As a result, mages will only really take off 40+. In addition, dungeon farming will be powerful. I would argue Mage AOEing, hunter solo or min/maxed dungeon farm group all have a chance for world first and if top speedrunners uniformly agree one of these will be fastest, then it isn't by much.

3. A proper guide would have touched on the viability of dungeon farming and how that relates to leveling viability, that being said, knowing this was a Rokman guide, I wasn't expecting it to be included. For example, warriors become a lot stronger in this setting and are more effective than rogues, as they have more cleave options & are tankier.

4. Druids should be A tier with Warlocks. Their mobility combined with healing, feral dps & utility makes them noticeably faster than rogue & shaman and only slightly behind warlocks, if at all.Comment by NatersmaterI don't know who wrote this guide, but it's bad. Really, really bad. As someone who leveled every class to 60 during Classic, this isn't the reality at all. Here's my version:

S Hunter, Warlock
A Mage, Paladin
B Druid, Shaman
C Rogue
D Warrior, Priest

S: Hunter and Warlock are by far the easiest to level because of pets and the Warlock ability to Drain Health and Drain Mana.
A: Mage is easy to play, but you'll need a second person to complete quests in certain zones due to low HP and high enemy mob spell resistances. Paladin is boring ability-wise, but rarely dies which means very little corpse running.
B: Druid shapeshifting is a huge mana drain and has the highest skill cap of the classes. Also, the only viable spec to level is Feral which relies on Bleeds for damage. Good luck against Harvest Golems and Rock Elementals. Shamans just don't do enough damage, but at least they can spot heal themselves at the cost of drinking downtime.
C: Rogues are super strong... against 1 target and can pick single targets. If its anything more than 1, you die. Even 1v1, some mobs require Evasion off CD to survive. Very reliant on stun-locking, no healing abilities in Classic, and high offhand miss chance hurts. Competing with other classes for 1-hand weapons may force you into not playing Combat and using Daggers. Eating/bandaging after most pulls. Avoid Murlocs unless in a group. A god 1v1. A pleb 1v2+.
D: Priests are a massive pain. Have fun casting two spells, then slowing wanding the mobs to death. On top of that, if you don't get the killing blow, no Spirit Tap for you. Priests are by far the most tedious to level, bar none. Warriors are a close second. At least they have Defensive Stance. Make a 1-hander/Shield macro even if leveling as Arms or Fury. Prepare to bandage and eat after every encounter after level 10. Have fun with having zero CCs or escapes.Comment by TheBlindFreakHunter is by far going to be the fastest. Folowed by Druid and then Lock. Mage AoE grinding doesn't work well when the areas are congested. Plus you have significant downtime from drinking.

What puts Hunter, Druid, and Lock at the top is their lack of downtime and fast movement speed. Teleport isn't going to mean anything next to aspect of cheetah or cat/travel forms when the best leveling routes don't call for you to travel across the world like that.Comment by WillbladeIt's funny that a better/more believable tier list is found in the comments rather than in the articleComment by RokmanTeleport isn't going to mean anything next to aspect of cheetah or cat/travel forms when the best leveling routes don't call for you to travel across the world like that.Comment by pikamasterHunter is by far going to be the fastest. Folowed by Druid and then Lock. Mage AoE grinding doesn't work well when the areas are congested. Plus you have significant downtime from drinking.

What puts Hunter and Druid at the top is their lack of downtime and fast movement speed. Teleport isn't going to mean anything next to aspect of cheetah or cat/travel forms when the best leveling routes don't call for you to travel across the world like that.Comment by marth354Teleport isn't going to mean anything next to aspect of cheetah or cat/travel forms when the best leveling routes don't call for you to travel across the world like that.Comment by RocketMannI definitely don't agree with this list at all.

Citing AoE as a reason for mages on S-Tier you might as well put Prot Pallys right there too.

Even then Hunter and Warlocks deserve S tier. Maybe mages and Paladins next, but you're definitely underselling Feral Druids short here on leveling speed on top of their ability to stealth past mobs for objectives.

Teleport isn't going to mean anything next to aspect of cheetah or cat/travel forms when the best leveling routes don't call for you to travel across the world like that.Comment by RokmanDruids don't do half the damage Mages do. :)Comment by TehTerokkarI agree with @Tycho21. Mage is B tier leveling speed if they don't AoE farm, which most won't/can't do.

Also Feral Druids are some of the fastest 1-60 levelers in private servers, definitely A tier with Warlocks.

Could also bump Priest from C to B tier simply because their slightly slower kill speed pre-40 is off-set by the fact that they don't have to sit and drink.

Also Shamans are C tier, they really are slow, they are pretty much Warriors that can heal while leveling, which makes them a bit better than Warriors at Solo. They have spells to deal damage unlike Paladins, but they use a lot of Mana to do so(just like Paladin with Judgement).

So;

S: Hunter

A: Warlock, Druid

B: Mage, Rogue, Priest

C: Paladin, Shaman

D: WarriorComment by KrelianLockRemovedComment by DrudatzRemoved

12 3 4