What is class balance like right now?

[Mordenkainen]

Hello. I'm not actually a newcomer, but I haven't played WoW in a long time. I was hoping someone could update me on what class balance is like right now? Which classes are thought of as being the best and the worst for pvp and pve, and why?

[Grakmarr]

Tricky (and divisive) question, especially as it depends heavily on what it is you want to do.

Solo PvE leveling, Hunters and Warlocks are particularly effective. Rogues and Enhancement Shamans are typically considered a close second, but with how easy it is for all classes to level up (at least to 60, and most have little problems beyond that) it's hard to make an ordered list upon which everyone can agree. Warlocks and Hunters are pretty much at the top of most lists, however. After that, the waters get a bit more murky. Basically whatever class you pick - if specced for dishing out damage - is going to be a bit of a cakewalk, especially for an experienced player such as yourself.

PvE leveling in groups, anything which can tank or heal is going to be everyone's best friend. It's possible to not find a group to level with when you're a tank or a healer, but you'd have to be making a focused effort to not find one. Everyone loves you. The problem arises when you want to go solo, and you're moving a bit slower because you're not specced for damage. Again, with how easy it is to level these days, even that isn't a huge problem - just a bit of a setback.

PvP is a can of worms I won't crack open too wide. It depends on whether you're pugging or in a premade, how the rest of your team behaves, what level bracket you're PvPing in, what role you want to play, whether you want to do battlegrounds or arena, etc. What did you have in mind?

At what point you want to start PvPing and what role you want to play in PvP would be helpful in answering that part of your query. PvE's easy, though. Look over the class forums a little bit, get a basic impression of what each class does, and try out the ones that sound appealing. Basically it's just a matter of what you want to do once you hit 70, because if you spec right and play smart actually getting to 70 isn't going to be much of an issue.

[Mordenkainen]

Good post, thank you. :)


PvP is a can of worms I won't crack open too wide. It depends on whether you're pugging or in a premade, how the rest of your team behaves, what level bracket you're PvPing in, what role you want to play, whether you want to do battlegrounds or arena, etc. What did you have in mind?

Well, when I quit playing the team battles in the arena had just been released, so I didn't really get a chance to give it a try. So, hmm, I'm not sure. Basically, I just want to make sure I don't spend all this time leveling up only to find out that I'm mostly useless in PvP and/or PvE.

At what point you want to start PvPing and what role you want to play in PvP would be helpful in answering that part of your query.

I guess that as long as I don't have too much trouble finding groups at the higher levels for PvE, my main concern is all types of PvP at level 70.