Help deciding next level 70!

[midnitemyst]

Hey everyone,

Ive been having trouble deciding which class to level next.
I have a lvl 70 warlock, 49 pally, 28 druid, 29 rogue, 22 shaman. All alliance.

I love playing as my warlock for many reasons like being able to drain life, fearing, dots, pet, but I wanna focus on one new class to level up to 70.

Im considering mage or hunter, slightly leaning more towards mage because of their cool abilities like portals, conjuring, high dps and aoe. Ive lost all interest in my Pally. Druid Rogue and Shaman are pretty cool too though. Im not interested in Warrior or Priest. Warrior I def dont wanna make and priest, very slightly because everyone expects you to heal.

Im not looking for a straight answer but not "Depends on the way you like to play either". Ide like to know some kinda facts like I know rogue and mages are high in the dps charts but maybe you can tell me some cool abilities of some of these classes or strats that make them fun to play. I looked at all the abilities/spells of the classes but im curious what input you guys have. Ide like some advice from expereienced players, not people with just a level 30 main.

And what would you say the Dps ranking is? Assuming they are in their dps spec and same skill level. I assume mages and rogues top the charts.

Basically Ide just like some input from well exerienced gamers on a class choice to stick with :)

[det]

Having loads of toons (see sig), mage is boring IMHO compared to warlock and hunter with the pet actually very similar. Send pet in, nuke. ^^

Priestess was much more fun, but really going to the other side and playing a warrior amuses me greatly atm...Rogues, druids, shamans don't "click" with me yet...

[Loriel]

For the record, I have a 67 Mage as my main character, and I also have a 61 Priest, 50 Rogue and a 40 Warlock. I've been playing WoW for a bit over 2 years now, including some experience in raids - so I would consider myself to be reasonably experienced. Long rant coming up :)

My Rogue is retired, as melee dps doesn't interest me one little bit. Sadly it took 50 levels (and around 12 days /played:) for me to figure out that I enjoy playing casters more. Hence I play all the three clothies - Mage, Priest and Warlock.

Priests are imo a lot of fun when played as healers, at least in 5 mans - not so much in raids. I don't PvP much, and I'm also not crazy about the Priest class as an offensive dps caster - for that I'd much rather play Mage or Warlock.

Warlocks are (as you probably know) a very diverse class with lots of cool abilities, including any number of ways to kill their opponent. My lock is only lvl 40, but I recognize quality when I see it. The only drawback is that my lock is quite similar to my Mage, in that they are both dps casters - albeit with some twists. My lock also feels less "spectacular" than my Mage, but then there's a 27 level difference between my two characters, and my lock is nowhere near my Mage in equipment level.

Mages are tons of fun, and it is the class of choice for me. Highlight include massive burst dps, the ability to conjure food and water, massive time savings from Teleport and Portal, utilities like Counterspell and Polymorph, and massive, killer AoE. They are a bit one-dimensional compared to Warlocks, but for some reason I never got bored with the play style. IIRC I have around 30 days /played on my Mage now.

I never really cared about topping the dps charts, focusing instead on trying to feel that I'm contributing to the group/raid. In my experience, I run a close second to (slightly better equipped) Rogues on single target dps, but I trump them on general utility and ofc on AoE. Mages are just as much gear dependant as melee dps chars (maybe more so), but when geared and spec'ed right, a well played Mage is a powerhouse of dps.

As for specific abilities and strats, my Mage is an Elementalist (39 Fire, 19 Frost atm) - basically a build that is designed to utilize the high crit chance of Shatter, and also to allow me to punch hard with both schools of magic. In particular this build is designed to take advantage of Ice Lance (aka The Spell Which Must Not Be Named). This spell is one of the most enjoyable aspects of playing a 66+ Mage, and it imo certainly justifies a respec to a build tailored to that specific purpose. My Ice Lance crits vs frozen targets are typically around 2000 damage, sometimes more with trinkets and/or buffs and debuffs. Very nice return on that 143 mana investment (14 dpm), and instant cast to boot.

Other aspects I really enjoy:
- Stacking Scorch on my target to increase fire dps
- Rotating trinkets and abilities to maximise sustained dps
- Frost Nova + Cone of Cold for AoE goodness
- Combustion + Blast Wave for more of the same
- Counterspelling and sheeping, dominating the fight

After I've gotten my Mage to 70 I'll probably keep pushing on, getting geared up + attuned, and eventually get involved in raiding. If and when I decide to go to work on my second 70, I'm not really sure if my Warlock gets the nod. Warlocks are fun and plenty powerful, but they are a bit too similar to Mages. Rogues and dps Warriors don't interest me, so I'm more inclined to try out a melee/caster hybrid. Hence, if I had to start all over again I would probably go for Shaman or Druid.

Both of these (and especially the Druid) would probably be expected to heal, or at least do some backup healing, so if that's not your bag then maybe you should avoid those classes. Also, dps classes like Mage and Warlock have the luxury of going solo and group/raid with the same spec, and also pretty much the same equipment loadout. Hybrids have some tougher choices to make, and they also need loads of extra bag space to carry their spare gear - healing gear, tanking gear (for Druids), dps caster gear etc.

I don't know, at the end of the day it's hard to come up with any substantial advice beyond the standad "depends on how you want to play" or the classic "try all classes for yourself and find out". For my time and money, I'd rather play a hybrid melee/caster class than yet another caster, but that's just my opinion. If you like playing casters I can without reservation recommend the Mage class - it is a very fun and powerful class to play.

Not sure if this came out as just rambling or if it was in some sense useful, but anyway.. Good luck :)

[midnitemyst]

I apologize for the late reply. I did read your posts in their entirety when you left them :)

Thank you for that long and lengthy reply and it was not rambling. Very good info there. I went ahead and made myself a mage to try it out. Im gonna continue to level it for a while and see how I like it. I think I agree with you in that I do like the caster classes. Maybe thats how I am too. Although I would say that I like ranged classes because Hunter is a pretty cool class too having played a level 47 hunter, its fun specifically cause of the pet helping you multitask and shooting a gun or bow is pretty fun along with feign death and such. All pretty fun.

But anyway, I started my mage and I like him so far, im looking forward to the porting which is such a time saver and sheeping and aoe goodness. I might even make a hunter or priest aswell to try them out since im not so fond of melee classes as I think ive figured out. Most likely hunter. I found that for shamans, the totems are a bit annoying to deal with but the talents are pretty fun. The only thing is I know my place in raiding/dungeons will most likely be support more than dps which is not fun for me.

Im gonna try mage and see how I like it for now

Thank you for a great reply :)

[Loriel]

Yw, happy to help out :)

I'd just like to add that I have a preference for "pure" classes, i.e. classes that are designed for one specific purpose, and for that purpose only. For that reason I play a Priest, since that was always the best healer class (and it still is). Same deal with the Mage class, as it's the primary ranged dps class. I'd rather do one thing very well than being able to do three different things at 80% capacity.

Having said that, I appreciate the flexibility that comes with a hybrid class like Druid and Shaman. In the hands of a skilled and experienced player, these classes can be very powerful indeed - both in PvE and PvP. They are possibly not the ideal starting classes for new players (especially the Druid), but with some accumulated knowledge about the game they can be very interesting to play.

With a pure dps class like the Mage, your role in groups and raids will be very well defined, and it will be well known to everyone in the group. The role of a hybrid class will be more fuzzy, and a lot of the time it will depend on spec and gear, and also the overall composition of the group - i.e. what slots need to be filled. Ofc some people really enjoy the "Swiss Army Knife" aspect of playing a class that can fill multiple roles, and I can certainly understand that.

Rogue is ofc also a pure class, i.e. a very one dimensional melee dps character. Their role is equally well defined, but I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone. My problem with [playing a] Rogue in groups and raids is that they obviously need to be up close and personal, and they need to put themselves in positions very close to the mobs/bosses you're taking on - thereby exposing themselves to all manners of Cleaves and close range AoE nastiness. In short, they get beat up a lot, and this is made even more frustrating by the fact that they are a low priority target for the healers. Finally, Rogues are a dime a dozen, so unless you have made some solid social investments in friends and/or guildies, finding a group can be very tricky.

Personally I really like the Shaman class, and I think the totems are a very fun and original mechanism for buffing/debuffing - no other class in the game has an ability like this. They do require some setup in terms of managing all your totems, but they are great fun both solo and in an instance. I have a fresh Draenei Shaman (as does everybody else..), but lately I've been having too much fun exploring the new BC content - and as such I have not been able to put a lot of time into my Shaman. I will get back to him one day, though - and I'm really looking forward to that :)

OK, now I'm rambling :) Good luck with your Mage, and please stop by the Mage forum if you have any questions.

[Fursphere]

I voted Shaman, purely because I'd like to see more Alliance Shaman. :)

I pretty much agree with what the others have posted already.

Having a retired 60 hunter myself, I would say stay away from the class. Way too many players (more bad than good too) in the class, and it is pretty mind numbing at times. Unless you start playing without your pet as a rule, then things can get interesting... but thats a complete different discussion for another day.

I took my brother mage for a spin one day (64) and enjoyed it a lot. Monster dps was way fun.

Don't know anything about rogues.

Druids - In capable hands, extremely useful class. In bad hands, just another bad player.

[laffncry]

Hey everyone,

Ive been having trouble deciding which class to level next.
I have a lvl 70 warlock, 49 pally, 28 druid, 29 rogue, 22 shaman. All alliance.

I love playing as my warlock for many reasons like being able to drain life, fearing, dots, pet, but I wanna focus on one new class to level up to 70.

Im considering mage or hunter, slightly leaning more towards mage because of their cool abilities like portals, conjuring, high dps and aoe. Ive lost all interest in my Pally. Druid Rogue and Shaman are pretty cool too though. Im not interested in Warrior or Priest. Warrior I def dont wanna make and priest, very slightly because everyone expects you to heal.

Im not looking for a straight answer but not "Depends on the way you like to play either". Ide like to know some kinda facts like I know rogue and mages are high in the dps charts but maybe you can tell me some cool abilities of some of these classes or strats that make them fun to play. I looked at all the abilities/spells of the classes but im curious what input you guys have. Ide like some advice from expereienced players, not people with just a level 30 main.

And what would you say the Dps ranking is? Assuming they are in their dps spec and same skill level. I assume mages and rogues top the charts.

Basically Ide just like some input from well exerienced gamers on a class choice to stick with :)

i suggest that you choose the one you haven't played yet! try a hunter or a mage. Good luck!

[midnitemyst]

Once again, an excellent reply! Thank you for the invested time in your replies. I do enjoy the aoe because I just got the arcane explosion which is just a lot of fun to cast and im looking forward to speccing my mage for aoe grinding aka frost spec. Thats going to be fun and require skill, which is the exact things I like :) I think ill go mage for a while and see how my enjoyment with it continues.

Thank you for the response about the other classes too. I see your point about rogues and I actually did wonder about that because in raids, only the tank should be in there with the boss and rogues can take on a lot of damage that way. Ranged is just a lot more fun than having to chase mobs around and such. Shaman is pretty cool I just didnt jive too well with it for some reason.

The only thing im concerned about with the mage is its pvp ability. I know they are very nice in pvp but fall victim to shamans and warlocks. But then again, I already have a warlock which is one of the top, if not the best pvper class. I just like knowing ill be able to take other people down if needed hehe. Ive read up on strats for pvp and such against the other classes and its very tricky to go vs a shaman or warlock. I guess part of the appeal of shaman is they are very good in pvp aswell as pve. Thanks to your help, I realized that I probably dont want to be a rogue and would probably be a druid over rogue even though it doesnt do as much dps, but still very flexable and get get high dps in moonkin form.

See, I can ramble too lol. But anyway, thank you everyone for the replies. And thanks loriel for the great replies. I think ill go mage as of now :)

[Justinledwards]

I voted Hunter because we need more hunters. Then I saw that it was second most popular on the list *shakes head* lol

(have 70 hunter btw and leveling a shammie)

[ferofax]

...wow, if anybody here replied like midnytmist does, id quit the other forums and monitor his posts. like, stalk him or stuff. lol.

but seriously, despite the obviously huge textwalls you guys have put up (its very intimidating), theyre really good reads. =)

[midnitemyst]

...wow, if anybody here replied like midnytmist does, id quit the other forums and monitor his posts. like, stalk him or stuff. lol.

but seriously, despite the obviously huge textwalls you guys have put up (its very intimidating), theyre really good reads. =)

haha Thanks :) I think you actually mean Loriel because He gave me an amazing reply, more than once.


I also thought I should follow up on my question. As of now, ive decided to level my 31 druid, 24 mage and 50 paladin. And with that many alts, im sure to always have some rest xp to work off of which is the best way to level.

My paladin was retired for a very long time but I figured ide try him out again, I changed specs to pure holy for healing. And I gotta admit, its a very nice change of pace from dps all the time. Boring at some times but still fun. Because of this, I have a renewed interest in paladins. He used to be Ret spec but lets face it, paladins dps is horrible and not even worth the effort. Only read useful specs, in groups anyway, is either a tank or healer. Ret is a waste of time unless you like doing a lot of quests, which ive come to find redundant and pretty annoying so im doing a lot of dungeons now. Im trying out holy for now but I might change spec to prot just to try him out as a tank and see how good he is at it.

My druid is very fun to play because hes very flexable. Since im feral, I got a feel of being the tank in dungeons and its also a nice change of pace from my warlock since i usually just dps the whole time. And if I want to quest, its not a problem and my downtime is very little thanks to feral. Fight till health is low, get out of animal form, heal, go back in animal form, fight more.

Now I think ive assembed a nice collection of characters so I can enjoy all aspects of roles and not just dps. Healing is fun, dps is fun and tanking is fun. Just not back to back all the time.

Im not even gonna bother spell checking or rereading to find any errors lol.

[JaedxRapture]

After playing a hunter for a while, I wouldn't recommend them. Yes, we're loads of fun while leveling and in PvP, but I feel like I'm useless in groups and I feel like an idiot even bothering to waste a group space that I know is better left to somebody else.

I've played a mage to 40 and they were loads of fun. I'm not sure about above that, but I've heard many people say they were better even higher up, so I definately suggest them.

[Toolio]

After playing a hunter for a while, I wouldn't recommend them. Yes, we're loads of fun while leveling and in PvP, but I feel like I'm useless in groups and I feel like an idiot even bothering to waste a group space that I know is better left to somebody else.

Sorry, but you need to L2P a hunter if you feel "useless" in groups.

[SwervinCL]

I would vote for a Druid. Not because I am one, but because you seem to be expierenced enough to try one. They really are a lot of fun. I think the funniest part is that there is little to no down time. Very fast leveling and very flexible, if you allow it to be. It is a pretty hard class to learn, it was my first toon and sometimes I regret that. But im 66 almost 67 now and Im glad I chose the druid as my first.

We make great team with just about any caster. Esp. warlocks. + all the forms you get. Travel pre 40 and flight pre 70. does it get any better than that?

If you get tired of feral spec, you can switch to either balance or resto. Personally I am feral. I tried balance, but it only lasted like 5 levels or so. It was fun, but not what I was looking for. Im probably going to repec resto once I hit 70, we'll see. Anywho....

After wanting a change I rolled a hunter, who is a 29 twink right now. He was a 19 twink till I got tired of getting whopped on my rogues. I took him to 29 and now rogues are no longer a problem. Leveling up a hunter IMO is very easy but yet boring at the same time. To me, its the same routine all the time. Send pet > serpent sting > arcane > autoshot to death.... BUT the good thing about them is they can easily take on mobs higher than their level. Plust their ability to kite is at least exceptional. Plus I own in battle grounds. But there are just sooooo many hunters. Another reason I love my druid. Least played class in the game.

I have a 32 mage which is A LOT of fun. I rolled him because I did sort of like casting with my druid, but I wanted a pure caster. I need to start playing him as he fell by the wayside to my new rogue (which ill get into, in a minute). The mage is just a lot of fun to play. There are soooo many spells at your disposal to completly nuke a mob. The are great for CC. The portals make traveling a breeze. You can be anywhere in a matter of minutes. Little downtime because of your ability to conjuer food and water, which is great if you are in a 5man or grouping with another caster class. Just a lot of fun to play. I mean, who does not like being able to kill something before they even get to you.

Back when I was getting my arse handed to me on a constant basis in WSG on my hunter by rogues, it drove me to make one. Plus I really like cat form on my druid, so I thought that I would give the pure parent class a try. So far, I really like him. He is only a 23 right now, so Im still learning him. But so far, he seems to be fun. As long as you train and level your first aide and/or cooking you will have little to no down time. However, I dont feel that the rogue should be ones first toon. I feel you should have a good understanding of the game before you roll a rogue, but it looks like you do. To be good at a rogue you have to know how to control the fights. I mean, your a melee class wearing leather. Not a great combination. But as far as DPS, I can take out a single mob in no time at all.

Thats my 2 pennies about the toons that I have. Hope it helps.

[Drevan]

Ok. I have a few things... I play a rogue myself... up to lvl 64 right now on him. From the very beginning I have leveled with a friend of mine who is a mage (frost spec) also lvl 64. He does do a ton of dps and we go back and forth on the damage meter for taking the top spot... it depends on who upgraded their big skills last lol...

I also wanted to mention that I have heard from a few places that they were going to change the cleaves to only be 180 degrees in the next patch? Anyone else hear this? If this is true then the main basis for not taking a rogue would be false. As a rogue you should be behind the bosses anyway (increases crit chance) so these cleaves and whatnot shouldnt be hitting you at least after the patch. You can just hang back there and wail away on the mobs and stun/cc and just do your thing.

Mages on the other hand can be hectic at least in some of the dungeons. Most of the time you are expected to sheep at least the mobs that can be sheeped to help make the run smoother, and this does take away from you dps a bit especially if you have to try and find the tiny little sheeped guy whos walking in among the mobs to try and resheep him if the other mobs are taking a while lol. So as long as you arent focused on topping the dps charts and you liek a challenge, you should be fine with a mage.

Anyway I am biased myself towards straight on melee damage as I just cant stand to kite or cast really, so my suggestion is either a rogue or a mage as I've seen experience with both and if you prefer the caster types then I'm sure the mage will suit you fine... Just be prepared to do a bit more in dungeons/raids then just cast and make water heh

[front243]

I voted mage. The only class in your poll I did not play to 30+ is the shaman (as I have been playing alliance mostly). Druids are fun too, but mostly after level 20+ when you get cat-form.

I like the mages large "toolbox" of skills and crowd-control abilities to handle almost any situation and get out of it alive. Also teleport and blink is a huge timesaver, especially before you get your mount.

[Tollin]

I voted shaman and here is why.

I started with a warlock, then played a warrior, druid and moved onto my priest, now my main.

I love casters and love playing a healer in instances, its fun to know that the reason we didn't wipe was because I was very successful in healing the party.

Well, as it happens to everybody, i grew bored with my priest and made a horde shaman, my priest is ally, and my shammy is so much fun to play its insane. IT is a nice balance between casting, shocks rock, and melee. So you are not so dependent on casting and mana nor completely on melee neither. And like the druid posters in this thread a well played shaman can bring so much to the table in a group.

Now my shaman is not my main, my shaman is my break from healing and dealing with the sheer amount of annoying kids that play alliance characters. But now they have creeped into the horde side, thanks to blood elfs and their dances. UGH!

Anyway, that is my opinion.

[Kinjal]

Mage 12 30.77%
Hunter 6 15.38%
Shaman 7 17.95%
Rogue 5 12.82%
Druid 9 23.08%

Results when I voted for Mage =P

Mages are the best! I loved mine so much. They are still my favorite class.. Just so much versatility.