Beginner’s Guide to Class Picking in WoW Burning Crusade Classic

Choosing the right class to fit your playstyle is one of the most important decisions you have to make in any RPG, and MMORPGs like World of Warcraft are no exception. You can’t change your class in WoW mid-game so it’s crucial to carefully weigh your options before creating a new character. Burning Crusade Classic features a grand total of nine classes, each of which has multiple specs to choose from. Things can get overwhelming when you have so many choices at your disposal, especially if you’re a newcomer, but don’t worry because this guide will make class picking in WoW simple to understand.

The first thing you’ll have to consider before choosing a class is the role you’ll want to fulfill in a party. While some classes can fulfill multiple roles, others are stuck with just one. The roles are similar to those found in other MMORPGs, namely, Tank, Healer, and DPS, which can be either melee or ranged. Once you’ve figured out your role, class picking in WoW TBC becomes much easier. With that introduction out of the way, let’s take a look at the roles and the various classes and specs that are best suited for them.

Tank

The tank is your quintessential meat shield whose role is to soak up damage and protect the rest of the party from enemies. Tanks are always in high demand regardless of what type of content you’re looking to do in Burning Crusade Classic and everyone will appreciate having you in their party. Provided you do your job right of course. There are only three viable tank specs in WoW TBC Classic. These are as follows:

Protection Warrior

By far the best tank spec in WoW Classic and still a very solid choice in the expansion. Prot Warriors are especially good at tanking big singular enemies, as opposed to swarms of weaker ones. If you’re someone who wants to tank massive bosses in dungeons and raids, this is the perfect spec for you.

Protection Paladin

The Protection Paladin is almost the opposite of its Warrior counterpart as it excels at AoE tanking and isn’t as good at generating enough threat against big single targets. This makes it less valuable at tanking raid bosses, but is still a good off-tank for dealing with trash mobs and doesn’t have any issues tanking dungeons. The fact that Paladins can heal themselves while tanking makes them more versatile than the Warriors.

Feral (Bear) Druid

This is where class picking in WoW Burning Crusade Classic gets a bit complicated because Feral Druids can act as both Tanks and DPS, depending on their form. For tanking you’ll want to go with Bear form while Cat form is for DPS. Druid tanks in TBC Classic are better than they were in WoW Classic but they still lag behind Protection Warriors in some areas. Still, if you want a spec that can switch between Tank and DPS on the go, for leveling or PVP content for example, Feral Druids are definitely not a bad choice.

Healer

The job of the healer is pretty self-explanatory. They’re the ones in charge of making sure everybody in the party stays alive and they often have various buffs that make party members stronger and more resilient. Being a healer can be a thankless job but it is a crucial job even if they’re often the ones that get blamed whenever something goes wrong. If you want to get on the good side of your party or guild members, make sure to always carry with you ample supplies of potions and other useful consumables to share around. Some of these can be pretty expensive in TBC so don’t hesitate to buy WoW Classic gold if you’re running low on funds. The investment will be well worth it to secure your place as the most beloved party member.

Discipline/Holy Priest

Class picking in WoW is very straightforward if you want to play a dedicated healer. That’s because the priest is the only class that has not one but two healing specs. The specs are relatively similar to each other but you have to keep in mind that Holy focuses on group healing while Discipline is better at single-target and buffing.

Restoration Druid

The Resto Druid is a pretty specialized spec designed to keep Tanks alive during raids with healing auras and healing over time spells. However, the spec is also extremely powerful in PVP content, especially 2v2 and 3v3 Arenas. You’ll definitely get far in the Arena if you play as or partner with a Restoration Druid.

Holy Paladin

Another very solid healer, Holy Paladin is a well-rounded spec in TBC Classic that excels at most times of content, from dungeons and raids to battlegrounds and Arenas. The spec is better at single-target rather than group healing, however, any party worth its salt will welcome a Holy Paladin because of the buffs and utility they bring to the table.

Restoration Shaman

Proper class picking in WoW TBC Classic all comes down to the amount of value you can bring to your party. And if you’re looking to bring the most value, Resto Shamans might be exactly what you’re looking for. In addition to powerful chain heals, the spec also offers a very strong buff in the form of Bloodlust.

DPS

These are the main damage dealers of World of Warcraft Burning Crusade Classic. DPS specs are the most numerous and the easiest to play in most cases, making them perfect for newcomers. Before you choose a DPS-focused spec you’ll need to take into consideration whether you want to DPS in melee or ranged because there’s a big difference between the two playstyles. Same goes with choosing between physical and magical DPS.

Hunter

Hunters have three specs – Beastmaster, Marksman, and Survival – all of which are focused on dishing out physical damage. However, not all specs are created equal. Beast Master is arguably the best Hunter spec in TBC Classic and, as an added bonus, it’s also the easiest and most fun to play. Survival Hunter is a bit of niche spec that can bring some good utility to the party and is often said to have the most interesting playstyle. Meanwhile, Marksman Hunters get the short end of the stick in TBC Classic and are difficult to recommend for most types of content.

Mage

A common archetype found in pretty much any RPG ever made, the Mage excels at dealing ranged damage with various magical spells. Similar to Hunters, Mages have three DPS specs to choose from – Fire, Frost, and Arcane. If you want to do a lot of PVP content, Class picking in WoW TBC Classic is a no-brainer because Frost Mages are the undisputed champions in that area. Meanwhile, Fire Mage is a very solid choice in PVE, with Arcane coming in at a close second in that area. Arcane is more difficult to play than the other two specs but can be loads of fun.

Balance/Feral (Cat) Druid

The DPS Druid specs are somewhere in the middle of the pack in TBC Classic. Balance Druids have been improved significantly since WoW Classic but they require a lot of high-end gear to be able to compete with other DPS specs. There are much better choices out there. As far as Feral (Cat) Druids are concerned, they should rarely be used in PVE content but you can get a lot of value out of them in PVP. Flag carriers in Battlegrounds are almost always Cat Druids and they’re not too shabby in the Arena either.

Retribution Paladin

Horde players can finally check out the Paladin class in TBC Classic but they may be disappointed if they choose to play as Retribution. The spec doesn’t shine in any particular type of content and is almost never picked for raiding. It can be a fun spec for leveling purposes but once you reach 70 you’re better off switching to something else.

Shadow Priest

Not the best DPS spec but certainly not one of the worst ones either. When you take into account its mana restoration potential, the Shadow Priest because very valuable for raids, especially since it can provide other types of support as well.

Rogue

Rogue is the go-to class for players who enjoy stealth melee gameplay. Your choices here are Mutilate, Hemorrhage, and Combat, the latter of which is by far the best Rogue spec in WoW TBC Classic. The lucky few who manage to acquire the legendary Warglaives of Azzinoth will top the charts in all types of content. Otherwise, Rogues are better suited for PVP.

Elemental/Enhancement Shaman

You can’t go wrong with either of the DPS Shaman specs in TBC Classic. As mentioned earlier, Shamans have the powerful Bloodlust spell, as well as various totems that are a must-have in any party. The two specs are pretty evenly matched but Enhancement is usually the better DPS while Elemental is better at providing support in group content.

Warlock

Warlocks are in a really good spot in TBC Classic, particularly when looking at Destruction and Affliction. Demonology isn’t nearly as good for endgame content but it’s a very fun spell to play up to level 70. Once you get there, you’ll probably want to go Affliction for the first couple of phases of the expansion before switching to Destruction for the higher raid tiers.

Arms/Fury Warrior

We’re wrapping up our guide for class picking in WoW TBC Classic with the two DPS Warrior specs – Arms and Fury. Neither of the two specs is amazing when it comes to PVE content but they’re not terrible either. Fury is generally the best choice of the two in most instances, though Arms can have its uses as well. At the end of the day, both specs are only a little more than decent in Burning Crusade Classic.

Keywords: class picking in WoW (main), Burning Crusade Classic, WoW TBC, tank specs, healing specs, DPS specs