Classes in World of Warcraft

The MMORPG World of Warcraft has nine classes that a character can choose to play. These are: warriors, druids, mages, warlocks, priests, hunters, rogues, paladins and shamans. Each class has unique abilities and no abilities are shared by classes (although there are some abilities which are largely the same and which multiple classes have, every class has a different name for it). This means that every class has a unique role that they usually play whilst grouping with other characters - for instance, rogues, warlocks and mages are 'damage' (commonly known in-game as DPS) classes, whereas priests usually heal. Some classes, like the paladins and shamans, are hybrids and can perform more than one role (though usually not at the same time).

Druid

Races: Night Elf, Tauren

Weapons: Maces, Two Handed Maces, Staves, Daggers, Fist Weapons

Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, Leather

Talent Trees: Balance, Feral Combat, Restoration

File:Druid WoW Night Elf Stormrage Arlokk.png

A male Night Elf Druid wearing the Stormrage set (Tier 2).

Druid Lore

According to the game lore, druids are the keepers of the world, the protectors of balance, and the followers of the demi-god Cenarius. They have been granted power over nature, including powerful healing and shapeshifting abilities. It is said that the first mortal to be instructed in Druidism by Cenarius was the Night Elf Malfurion Stormrage.

Locked in slumber in their barrow dens for centuries, the Druids awoke to meet the threat of the Burning Legion during its recent invasion. After Archimonde's defeat, the Druids chose to remain in the waking world and help to rebuild their shattered lands. The Legion's attack left a terrible scar on the natural order, and the Druids seek to heal it. The Night Elf Druids were recently joined in the Cenarion Circle by the Tauren, who once again embraced their Druidic heritage.

Gameplay

Druids are the primary shape-shifters of World of Warcraft, possessing a variety of animal forms with different types of abilities that are restricted to that specific shape.

• Caster Form: In their primary form (also known as Elf-form, Tauren-form or just Druid-form), druids can cast damage and healing spells, as well as various offensive and defensive support spells.
• Bear Form: The Druid gains skills highly similar to a warrior, aimed at filling a tank-style role. A Druid in bear form cannot cast spells, barring Faerie Fire (Feral). This form increases armor by 180% and then by 400% when the player upgrades to Dire Bear form. Bear form also increases the Druid's stamina statistic. A primarily Bear Druid benefits from gear with high stamina, strength, defense, and armor.
• Cat Form: The Druid gains skills close to those of a rogue, and acts as a melee damage dealer. In this form a Druid cannot cast spells, barring Faerie Fire (Feral). Druids can prowl in this form, which uses the same mechanics as the Rogue's stealth. In this form Druids benefit most from a high amount of strength and agility. While the Night Elves transform to a panther during cat form, the Tauren are transformed into a lion.
• Moonkin Form: An owlbear-like creature, the Druid acts as a damage-dealing spell caster, but loses their ability to cast healing spells as well as their buff, Mark of the Wild. In this form, the druid has more armor, attack power, an aura that increases the spell critical strike chance of nearby party members by 5%, and the ability to gain mana on every successful melee attack. To gain this form the Druid must have at least thirty-one points in the 'balance' talent tree.
• Travel, Aquatic, Flight Forms: Also referred to as "movement forms", they allow the druid to travel faster by land, sea, and with the release of Burning Crusade expansion, by air (only useable in Outland). Since the 2.1.0 patch, it is possible for a Druid to undertake a quest chain to upgrade their flight form to match that of an epic or rare flying mount. When in travel form, like characters on mounts, Druids cannot use any abilities or spells; flight form also cannot be used in combat.
• Tree of Life: Transforms the Druid into a tree-like elemental. In this form the Druid gains an aura that increases the healing received for all party members by a factor of the Druid's Spirit Statistic, yet slows the Druid's movement speed by 20%. In this form, the Druid can only cast certain Healing spells, albeit at a reduced mana cost. To gain this form the Druid must have at least 41 points in the Restoration talent tree.

Hunter

Races: Night Elf, Dwarf, Blood Elf, Draenei, Troll, Tauren, Orc

Weapons: Daggers, Swords, Two Handed Swords, Axes, Two Handed Axes, Staves, Polearms, Ranged, Fist Weapons, Thrown

Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, Leather, Mail (at level 40)

Talent Trees: Beast Mastery, Marksmanship, Survival

Hunter Lore

Hunters exist to maintain the balance with the creatures of the wild. They venture into the wilderness to find an animal companion to protect and aid them on their journeys. These expert marksmen are unmatched in their skill with firearms and archery. Many races in the game venerate this skill. For the Taurens, the Great Hunt is central to their culture and skilled hunters are honored above all others. The Orcs have always shared a natural relationship with the rugged land and the creatures of the wild. The Trolls share a similar relationship with the wilds as the Taurens do. The Night Elves have forever shared a unique bond with nature and its creatures. The Dwarves of Khaz Modan have never been strangers of nature, living in the rugged, ice capped mountains of the Iron Kings. But it is important to realize that a Hunter isn't merely a Beast Master, but an Archer or Rifleman.

Famous hunters include all High Elven Rangers like Alleria Windrunner and her two sisters Vereesa and Sylvanas and also the Night Elves, such as Shandris Feathermoon, or the cross-bred Horde hero Rexxar.

Gameplay

Hunters primarily use ranged weapons such as guns,bows, and crossbows to cause damage. Their ability to 'tame beasts' allows them to use their pets in battle. The abilities their pet has depends on its sub-type.

The hunter has several 'tracking' abilities. These abilities allow the hunter to see on the minimap all creatures of the type being tracked as a gold circle with a red center. Some types available to track include beasts, humanoids, elementals, dragonkin and giants.

The hunter has special enhancements called 'aspects'. These allow the player and sometimes the whole party to improve their skills or combat abilities by taking on bestial traits from animals. For example, Aspect of the Cheetah increases movement speed and Aspect of the Monkey increases dodge chance. However, these aspects are mutually exclusive, and only one aspect can be activated at a time. In addition to these aspects, hunters can lay traps that disorient and/or damage enemies, and 'mark' targets, which increases attack power against that target.

Mage

Races: Human, Gnome, Draenei, Troll, Undead, Blood Elf

Weapons: Daggers, Staves, Swords, Wands

Armor Proficiencies: Cloth

Talent Trees: Arcane, Fire, Frost

File:World of Warcraft Gnome Female Mage Updated.jpg

A female Gnome Mage wearing the Arcanist set (Tier 1).

Mage Lore

Masters of Arcane, Fire and Frost magic, the mages of the Kirin Tor were scattered across the continents following the destruction of Dalaran by the Burning Legion. Mages in the World of Warcraft descend from influential, powerful denizens of Azeroth, that used their tremendous power to influence politics. Jaina Proudmoore, one of the central figures in the Warcraft storyline, is the most powerful mage still alive, depending on how you consider Medivh, whose whereabouts are unkown.

Gameplay

Mages are a magic-using class who use a host of magic-based power to attack their enemies. Although they can deal large amounts of damage in a short period of time, like rogues, survival is a challenge due to their low amount of hit points and limitation to cloth armor. The mage class's combat tactics, survivability, and damage output vary drastically depending on how their talents are invested.

The arcane tree gives "utility" talents, such as passive increases and bonuses to mana, silences added to spells, increased armor, as well as spell damage. At higher levels, the arcane tree offers powerful spells designed to maximize the mage's damage potential. To balance this raw power, the spells have “cooldowns” during which the mage cannot use them. The fire tree focuses on maximum damage output at the cost of survivability. A fire mage usually attempts to destroy the enemy before the monster is in melee range, whereas frost tree allows the mage to slow/freeze enemies, summon ice shields and elemental minions for a more controlled style of play.

A signature of the Mage class is its use of area-of-effect spells, creating circles and cones of force on the gamefield which damage, disorient, and/or slow down all targets caught within the area of effect. They also have the "Polymorph" crowd-control ability which can transform an unfriendly humanoid or beast target into a harmless animal until the spell wears off or the target takes damage.

Mages also have a variety of spells to boost party effectiveness. Mages can cast the Arcane Intellect and Arcane Brilliance buffs, which increase the mana pool and spell critical-strike chance of their targets. They can also conjure food and water for their teammates, which can be eaten outside of battle to speed up mana and health regeneration. Mages can teleport themselves and their party members to any capital city at using a cheap reagent.

Paladin

Races: Human, Dwarf, Draenei, Blood Elf

Weapons: Swords, Two Handed Swords, Axes, Two Handed Axes, Maces, Two Handed Maces, Shields, Librams

Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, Leather, Mail, Plate (at level 40)

Talent Trees: Holy, Protection, Retribution

File:World of Warcraft Human Male Paladin.jpg

A male Human Paladin wearing the Lawbringer set (Tier 1).

Paladin Lore

Paladins are the virtuous defenders of the weak and tireless enemies of the undead. The original Paladin order, "The Silver Hand" was formed in the Second War and lasted until the time of the Plague. As Paladins were immune to the Plague (and indeed all diseases), many members of the order survived the initial push of the Scourge. Unfortunately, the corrupted Arthas killed many paladins, including Uther Lightbringer (the first Paladin and founder of The Silver Hand) upon his return leaving only a scattered few. Following the invasion of the Scourge, many of the order's paladins joined a zealous group of followers of the Light known as the Scarlet Crusade. After leaving the Crusade, some paladins decided to join the Argent Dawn.

Others fled south, to the Kingdom of Stormwind. The Paladin Order, still referring to themselves as the Order of the Silver Hand, now thrives under their new leadership at the Cathedral of Light in Stormwind City. Over time, the followers of the Holy Light spread their philosophy to the Dwarves of Ironforge who soon adopted the tenets of the order as well. After the crash-landing of The Exodar, the Draenei, already with a natural affinity for magic and Light blessed by the Naaru, heard of the brave tales of the Alliance who fought off the advance of the Burning Legion, particularly the efforts of fighting the deadly Scourge, and many of the Draenei paladins joined the order. The Blood Elves have their own paladins who are organized as the Blood Knights and receive their power from a captured Naaru.

Gameplay

The Paladin is a hybrid healer/melee class. Paladins use an assortment of spells, auras, blessings and seals to aid themselves and others. Paladins also have powerful offensive spells against undead and demons, as well as several defensive abilities including a magical shield that makes the Paladin immune to damage for a short period of time.

While Paladins have offensive abilities against undead characters (exorcism), these abilities do not affect "The Forsaken" Horde race (considered humanoids and not undead in the context of gameplay mechanics).

The Paladin is able to heal others, magically augment themselves and their allies, and sustain large amounts of damage from enemies. The Paladin combat system is based around using 'Seals', 30-second spells which affect the Paladin when they perform a melee attack. The Seal may also be ended prematurely by the Judgement spell, causing damage or a debuff to a single enemy, depending on which Seal was Judged. With Seals that Debuff a target, it is best for a Paladin to cast another seal on himself which takes advantage of the debuff that has been placed on the target. The debuff on the target lasts 10 to 20 seconds, but its duration is refreshed when the Paladin strikes the target with a melee attack or when the same seal is judged on the target, if a diffrent seal is used, the debuff is replaced with a diffrent one, or removed entirely if a damage dealing seal is judged.

Like the warlock, Paladins learn a spell at level 40 called Summon Warhorse, then a quest at level 60 to earn a faster mount called a Charger.

While able to cast spells, Paladins have only limited offensive ranged abilities; they cannot use any ranged weapon, and their offensive spells are, with three exceptions, short-ranged (less then 10 yards). The first exception is Exorcism, however this spell is useable against only undead targets. The other two exceptions are avaible only through talent trees. Paladin's may allocate talent points to learn either: Holy Shock (31 point talent in the Holy Tree) or Avenger's Shield (41 Point Talent in the Protection tree) both of which are Holy based magical ranged attacks with cooldowns. Additionally, paladins who take the profession engineering can make weapons which can be used at range such as grenades or gnomish death ray, .

Paladins play an assortment of roles in raids and groups, depending on their avaible gear set and allocation of talent points Tank (Protection), Healer (Holy), or Damage Dealer: Melee(Retribution) or Spell Damage and Melee Damage(Holy/Retribution)

The player community often expects a Paladin to fill the roll of healer in group and raid enviroments because they are the most mana effecient healers in the game which makes them Ideally suited to long fights common in Blizzard's encounters. Because of this Paladin's often specialize nearly exclusivly in the Holy Tree and are sometimes called "Healadins". A Paladin my choose to take on the role of tank, and is a viable alternative to a Warrior or Druid in many instances, however in order to meet the demands of end game raiding, the Paladin must aquire a specific set of gear which will provide him with the neccesary stats (strength,defense, sheild block, spell damage, and stamina) and specialize almost exclusivly in the Protection Tree in order to be a viable tank in Blizzards high level encounters, sometimes called a "Tankadin." A Paladin can also be a damage dealing class, however again must aquire a specific set of gear with the neccesary stats and specilize in Retribution in order to be a viable alternative. This specilization is normally frowned upon by the raiding community, as such Retribution Paladin's are best suited to PvP enviroments because of thier high burst damage potential and Retributions 41 point talent "Repentence" which prevents a target from taking any action for 7 seconds or until damaged. Alternatively, a Paladin can fill both damage and healing roles, however not at the same time, with a Holy/Retribution specialization. These Paladin's are sometimes called "Shockadins" because it is based around the Paladin talent "Holy Shock." Shockadin's specilize heavily into the Holy tree while obtaining key talents in the Retribution tree which will allow him to shift roles depending on the gear set he employs. When wearing a gear set with sufficent Holy spell damage the Paladin can be a viable damage dealing class. When wearing a gear set with sufficent bonus to healing the Paladin is a viable Healer.

Paladins are the most mana-efficient healing class in the game, and thus are responsible for either healing the main tank or healing multiple groups at once. Paladins are also responsible for "cleansing", or the removal of harmful magical effects, from the members of the raid/group. Paladins are the only class which can cast a "Blessing." There are a wide range of Blessings, each blessing has its own specific advantage. The diffrent types can be stacked so long as there are multiple Paladins in the group or raid (1 diffrent blessing per paladin in the raid).

Note: Until The Burning Crusade was released, Paladins were only available for play on the Alliance side.

Priest

Races: Human, Dwarf, Draenei, Night Elf, Undead, Troll, Blood elf

Weapons: Maces, Staves, Daggers, Wands

Armor Proficiencies: Cloth

Talent Trees: Discipline, Holy, Shadow

File:Priest - UD-F - Prophecy + Anathema-wikipedia.jpg

A female Undead Priest wearing the Prophecy set (Tier 1).

The priest class is known for its many healing abilities. This includes instant-cast spells that heal over time, slow-casting spells that offer higher overall healing per second, and area of effect spells that will affect an entire party. Priests, unlike other classes, get two special spells based on their character race.

In addition to their role as healers, Priests are also known to be amazing damage dealers in both PvP enviroments and PvE enviroments when they specilize in the Shadow Tree. Priests that focus on damage rather than healing tend to focus primarily on shadow damage although they do have some holy damage spells as well, but these spells are mana inefficent and Shadow Priests have more mana efficent alternatives such as "Mind Flay" and "Mind Blast" as well as a few Damage over Time spells "Shadow Word: Pain" "Shadow World: Death". The Night Elf racial spell causes arcane damage instead of either shadow or holy damage. Shadow Priests may change into a Shadowform, which increases shadow damage dealt as well as decreases physical damage taken, but makes them unable to cast spells from the Holy tree, meaning thier healing is limited to Vamperic Embrace while in Shadow Form. Shadow Priests can also place a variety debuffs on enemy players and targets that regenerate health via "Vampiric Embrace" and mana via Vampiric Touch for the entire party by a certain percentage of shadow damage that is being delt to them by the player. This effect is also a Shadow Priests greatest disadvantge as they tend to generate threat very easily pulling "aggro" off the tank unless specilized properly and are aware of thier threat generation.

Priests have several spells which affect the mind or otherwise control their opponents. They can Shackle Undead, preventing a single undead enemy from taking any action for a period of time or until damaged. Priests can cause several enemies around them to run away in fear. They can even control the actions of a single humanoid opponent (both NPC and Player Character) for a period of time, or look through the eyes of either an ally or an opponent, primarily useful to scout. In addition, priests can temporarily make themselves appear less threatening to NPC opponents by using the spell "Fade", which makes them less prone to attack for a short period.

All priests have the ability to buff allies by increasing their stamina with "Fortifcation" and their resistance to shadow damage with "Shadow Protection" and can also apply a protective shield to themselves and allies to negate damage "Holy Shield". Discipline specialized priests can also increase the spirit of allies.

Rogue

Races: Human, Dwarf, Gnome, Night Elf, Undead, Orc, Troll, Blood Elf

Weapons: Swords, Maces, Daggers, Fist Weapons, Bows, Guns, Crossbows, and Thrown Weapons

Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, Leather

Talent Trees: Assassination, Combat, Subtlety..

File:WoW Rogue - Night elf male - Shadowcraft set.jpg

A male Night Elf Rogue wearing the Shadowcraft set.

Rogues are the "assassins" of World of Warcraft. They rely on 'energy' for their abilities instead of rage or mana. The max amount of energy rogues can have at any given time (without an Assassination talent called Vigor, or special items) is only 100, but energy also regenerates very quickly: 20 every two seconds. Most abilities either give or spend "combo points." Abilities that "spend" combo points ("finishing moves") become stronger as more points are spent. When the rogue performs a combo move on a target, that target gains a combo point, up to a maximum of 5 on one target. If the rogue begins to add combo points on another target, the first target's points are lost. Rogues can also go into a stealth mode, which makes them effectively invisible to enemy players and enemy NPCs unless detected. Stealth becomes more or less effective depending on the Rogue's level and the level of the potential detector. Stealth can only be used out of combat, with the exception of the ability "Vanish," which forces the Rogue into stealth to escape from combat - this costs flash powder, a reagent. Several attacks ("opening moves" or "openers") require the Rogue to be in stealth. Rogues primarily focus on agility, which increases their damage, chance for critical hits, and their chance to dodge enemy attacks.

Rogues can also create and apply poisons to their weapons. Depending on the applied poison, it allows the rogue to deal additional damage (either instantly or over time), slow their enemy's movement, increase the enemy's spell casting time or reduce the effects of healing on the enemy.

Rogues are able to deal extremely large amounts of damage in small periods of time, as they have the highest single target damage output out of the 9 classes. They also have a skill known as Sap, which disables an enemy for a length of time or until struck. However, rogues cannot wear heavy armor (Mail armor, and Plate armor).

Rogues that specialize in Assassination and Subtlety are generally considered to be built for Player Vs. Player combat. Subtlety Rogues have abilites that make them nearly impossible to be easily detected, Shadowstep, can generate 2 Combo Points before they enter battle with Premeditation, and wipe out many long cool downs with Preperation (which makes them good flag carriers). Combat Rogues are much more sought after in high end instances because they have abilities such as Blade Flurry and Adrenaline Rush. Subtlety Rogues have abilities to help them survive, whereas Combat Rogues lack that. They do, however, do much more damage over time than Subtlety Rogues post-Ambush. In instances this is important because the Rogues can dump the aggro onto the Tank while steadily doing heavy damage from behind. In PvP Combat, Combat Rogues are stuck to deal with their enemy without being able to rely totally on the Warrior to grab all unwanted aggro.

Rogues are also the only class that can open locked doors, chests, and boxes without the aid of skeleton keys.

Shaman

Races: Draenei, Tauren, Troll, Orc

Weapons: Maces, Axes, Fist Weapons, Shields, Staves, Daggers, Two Handed Maces and Two Handed Axes (with Talents)

Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, Leather, Mail (at level 40)

Talent Trees: Elemental Combat, Enhancement, Restoration

Shaman Lore

According to World of Warcraft lore, all shamans get their power from the 'Natural Spirits' and as such shamanic philosophy is the same no matter which race is practicing it. They have a partnership with the five spirits, which are: Water, Earth, Fire, Air, and the Wild. The orcs practiced shamanism while they lived their lives in Draenor, but they were eventually corrupted by Kil'jaeden, one of the demon lords of the Burning Legion. Many orcs abandoned their use of shaman powers to instead practice the dark arts of the warlock, which they used in the wars against the Alliance. Shamanism in the Horde died down for almost twenty years after the Orcs defeat. It was not until when Thrall, son of Durotan, reunited the orcs, that the practice of shamanism was encouraged within new Horde. Warchief Thrall himself was well-trained in the powers of shamanism by Drek'thar, the elder Chieftain of the Frostwolf Clan.

Gameplay

The Shaman is a hybrid class, and as such, the Shaman is one of the most versatile classes in the game.

Shamans are a hybrid class. They can use a multitude of weapons as well as cast many spells that help their allies and hinder their enemies. Talents play an important role in determining the specialization of a Shaman and what he/she will be doing while in a party or soloing.

Shamans have the unique ability to summon "totems". These totems provide support or damage for the Shaman and/or his group. Only one totem can be cast from each Element: Earth, Air, Fire, and Water. The Earth totems are primarily defensive and includes: Stoneskin totem which reduces damage, Earthbind totem which applies an AoE slowing effect to an enemy, and Strength of Earth totem which provides his group with a noticable strength buff increasing the groups ability to deal damage. The Fire totems damages the enemy and includes: Searing totem casts fireballs, a Fire Nova totem casts an AoE burst of fire, and Magma Totem casts an AoE damage over time. Water totems are restorative and include: Healing Stream which gives the group a Heal over Time (Hot, Mana Tide totem which restores mana, and Poison and Disease cleansing totems which a cleanses a group of Posions and Diseases. Wind totems provide both a mix of support and damage and includes: Windfury totem which applies a weapon buff to the entire party's mainhand weapon. This buff embues the weapon with the Shaman's devastating Windfury ability which has a chance to deal an extra attack when the weapon strikes an enemy, the Windwall Totem reduces ranged damage against the group, and Grounding Totem redirects harmful spells to the totem itself, destroying the totem, but negating all damage that would have been delt. There are many more totems then those listed above provide a shaman with a wide range of utility.

Shaman also have a unique spell called a "Shock". Shocks are a close range instant spell with a 6 second cooldown (5 seconds when talented) which damage a target and also debuff a target depending on which shock was used. Frost Shock, is primaly a PvP talent, it damages a target, causes a high amount of threat, and also slows the target down. Earth Shock causes a high amount of damage and when used against a target which is casting stops the target from casting not only the spell he/she was casting, but also any future spells for 4 seconds. Flame Shock applies a damage over time effect against its target.

As with all other classes, a Shaman talents determine his expertise with certain abilities.

A Restoration Shaman best fills the healing role and thus are often invited to join Raids and Instances. The Restoration tree provides the Shaman with talents that increase healing spells, decrease cast times, and give increased totem abilities. Restoration Shaman have limited combat abilities and cannot provide either the burst or sustained damage that an Elemental or Enchancement Shaman, however Restoration Shaman are much more Durable in both PvP and PvE because of spells like Natures Swiftness and Earth Shield.

An Elemental Shaman bes fills the roll of a Caster Class, primarily staying back and attacking with spells such as Lighting Bolt and Chain Lighting, but are also have more efficent Shocks. With the proper gear an Elemental Shaman can provide either sustained DPS in a raiding enviroment or deal large amounts of Burst damage in PvP enviroments.

An Enhancement Shaman, best fills the Melee DPS role in both Raiding and 5 man group settings. Shaman use weapons, weapon enhancing abilities, shocks, and totems to deal damage at close range. Enhancement Shaman have access to two-handed weapons and can dual wield single handed weapons. Enhancement Shaman are capable of sustained DPS in a raiding enviroment via Dual Wielding and can also provide high burst damage potential in a PvP enviroment when they Couple a 2h Windfury Proc with a Shock.

At very low levels a Shaman can fill the roll of tank by equiping a shield and using spells such as Frost Shock and Rockbiter Weapon to generate threat and with the use of a Stoneskin Totem and a Shield to mitigate damage. However as the Shaman levels his mitigation abilities are marginalized, amd while a Shaman learns to use Mail at level 40, this tactic proves innefective and thus a Shaman fills one of the three roles mentioned previously.

Note: Until The Burning Crusade was released, Shaman were only available for play on the Horde side.

Warlock

Races: Human, Gnome, Undead, Orc, Blood Elf

Weapons: Daggers, Swords, Staves, Wands

Armor Proficiencies: Cloth

Talent Trees: Affliction, Demonology, Destruction

File:MaleUndeadWarlockT4.jpg

A male Undead Warlock wearing the Voidheart set (Tier 4).

Warlock Lore

Warlock - From the Old English wærloga; "oath-breaker" or "deceiver".

The eredar of the Burning Legion are credited as the original warlocks and wielders of dark magics, corrupted from the powerful and magically attuned eredar of Argus. The Warlock is a Mage that has gone far too deep into the dark magics. Although many that consort with demons fall to darkness, the warlocks of the Horde and Alliance advocate bending demonic forces to its will without succumbing to complete corruption. For this reason, the warlocks now live on the fringe of civilization in most societies, tolerated but not trusted.

Gameplay

Warlocks are spellcasters who have delved deep into demonic magic. Their strengths lie in the resourcefulness of their summoned minions and their ability to inflict pain over time and destruction with spells.

One unique ability of warlocks is their power to summon demons to their aid. A warlock can summon four types of demons binding them indefinitely until death or dismissal. These four types of demons are the Imp, Voidwalker, Succubus, and Felhunter. A warlock who puts 41 or more points into demonology may also learn to summon a Felguard, which has only been available since the recent addition of the Burning Crusade expansion. All warlocks can also call an Infernal to rain down as a meteor or perform the sacrificial Ritual of Doom to spawn a Doomguard; however, these two demons are able to break free of their master's control, making them hazardous allies. A warlock player may command only one demon at a time.

Warlocks also can summon demonic steeds to speed up their travel. They also possess the ability to create the Eye of Kilrogg. Appearing as a dislodged eyeball, the Eye of Kilrogg grants its vision to the warlock who summoned it and can be used to scout. Warlocks also have the ability to track and enslave demons in the wild. In addition to enslaving demons, Warlocks also have the spell called Banish which allows them to remove a demon or elemental creature from the temporal world for a short amount of time.

Warlocks are able to drain the souls of their enemies to create Soul Shards, which are required reagents for many of their abilities. The summoning of Voidwalker, Succubus, Felhunter and Felguard all require a Soul Shard. Different reagents are required to summon an Infernal (Infernal Stone) or Doomguard (Demonic Figurine). Using a Soul Shard, a warlock and two other players can perform the Ritual of Summoning to summon other players, in their group, to their location and are also used in casting two of warlock's more powerful Destruction spells, Shadowburn and Soul Fire. Another spell that consumes a Soul Shard is Soul Shatter. This ability reduces all threat the Warlock has caused by 50%, making enemy mobs less likely to attack them.

Warlocks can create several conjured items called "Stones" from Soul Shards. One such stone, the Soulstone, when used on a target player, stores that player's soul, allowing them to resurrect in the same place they died with a set amount of their health and mana, if they have mana. The Healthstone when consumed instantly heals the user for a set amount of health points. The Firestone and Spellstone are items worn in the off-hand slot(changed in a patch to the wand slot), which grant bonuses to the warlock's spell power.

Warlock also possess curses with a variety of effects, which include slowing movement, slowing casting time, decreasing the target's ability to cause damage, and inflicting damage over time. However, it is only possible to have one curse per Warlock on a target at a time.

Warrior

Races: Human, Dwarf, Gnome, Night Elf, Tauren, Undead, Orc, Troll, Draenei

Weapons: All Weapons except Wands

Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, Leather, Mail, Plate (at level 40)

Talent Trees: Arms, Fury, Protection

File:WoW Warrior - Human male - Dreadnaught armor - 1H+S.jpg

A male Human Warrior wearing the Dreadnaught set (Tier 3).

Warriors excel in melee combat and play the role of damage dealer or tank. Warrior play style is unique because they rely on "Rage" rather then Mana or Energy to power thier abilities. Rage points are limited to 100 with most abilities costing between 5 and 30 Rage points. Rage can be generated either by dealing damage or taking damage, often in a PvP enviroment Warriors will either be killed as quickly as possibly, or constantly crowed controled to limit his rage generation and thus his ability to be a threat to the warriors opposing team. This often means a warrior must rely on a group or atleast a dedicated healer in order to excel.

Warriors are ideally suited to tanking because they can wear plate, sheilds, dodge, and parry Warriors are able to mitigate and/or avoid a large amount of damage. Warriors have unique shield ability known as "Shield Block" which makes then ideally suited for end game raiding because the frequency of the most devistating NPC attack, known as a "crushing blow", can be greatly decreased. However a Warrior must spend a considerable amount of time and effort in getting gear with the apporiate stats (Stamina, Defense, Shield Block, Dodge, Parry, Agility, and Strength) in order to truly excel. Warrior tanking is also the most involed of the three classes which are viable tanks (Paladins and Druids being the other two) requiring the use of a myrid of spells including but not limited too: Sunder, Thunder Clap, Demoarlaizing Shout, Revenge, Heroic Strike, Devistate, Revenge. Warriors also have access to commonly refered to "oh shit" buttons, because certain abilities are normally only used when the tank is dire straights, these abilities are known as Last Stand and Shield Wall.

Warriors can also viable melee damage dealers, and have two trees dedicated to damage dealing: Arms and Fury. However Warriors lack a "Threat Dump" which helps the Tank regain aggro from the "Mob" meaning a Warrior must be aware of his threat generation at all times and understand threat mechanics to stay alive and prevent failed encounter.

A Warriors main draw back is his unique play style. Because a Warrior Rage meter starts at 0, a warrior must generate rage by either dealing or taking damage in order to use his abilities. Warriors do have two "abilities" which helps generate rage at the begining of the fight. The first is "bloodrage" which does generates a small amount of rage, however unless talented this ability is sometimes not provide enough rage for warrior to use the ability he needs, but also using this before "charge" also means he is unable to use the charge ability. "Charge" is the second methood of rage generation, which allows a warrior to not only close the gap between him and his target allowing him to deal damage, but also generates a good amount of rage. However it is only usable in Battle Stance, and because its range is less then that of all casting classes and can only be used when "out of combat, a common tactic is to damage the warrior by the smallest amount denying him of charge and providing the warrior with very little Rage in which to do anything else.

A Warriors threat generation and/or his damage capabilies are also hindered in the early stages of a fight because if a group/raid member prematurely takes aggro away from the tank, before the tank has established aggro or has sufficent rage to use his abilities it is almost impossible for the warrior to regain aggro which can result in a failed encounter or "wipe". Also as a Warrior becomes more suited to mitigating damage, the amount of threat he generates against weaker enemies decreases which makes tanking "lower" level instances (even level 70 5 man instances) increasinly difficult unless the warrior brings a seperate set of gear which provides less mitigation.

Furthermore, when change "stances" in order to access diffrent ability a warrior can lose all but 10 to 25 rage points depending on his talents further compounding the rage problem.

Rage also decays rapidly when out of combat, causing many warriors to try and "hurry up" in order to prevent further rage decay. At the ire of his group mates.

Of course with great disadvange comes a great advantage, while a warrior is very weak in the early stage of battle, as the battle grows longer, the warrior becomes stronger, which is why when supported by a Healing class, a Warrior is one of the strongest classes in the game. But alone the Warrior is by far one of the weakests.

• Battle stance: It reduces threat generation slightly and has no negative effects.

• Defensive stance: Increases threat generation and decreases damage taken and dealt. This stance is generally used for tanking. This is the stance in which a Warrior can Taunt, which is an Area of Effect Aggro- Generating ability.

• Berserker stance: Increases critical strike chance, damage taken, and reduces threat generation slightly.

Some warrior attacks and abilities require them to be in a specific stance. Switching stances reduces rage, although some rage can be retained with certain talents and abilities.

Warriors, like all other classes, have three talent trees. The 'fury' talent tree increases rage generation and attack speed, and is good for dual wielding. 'Arms' improves burst damage and usage of two-handed weapons. The protection talent tree is the only one of the three that isn't intended for improved damage; instead it increases defensive skills and threat generation.
Template:World of Warcraft classes

References

25. World of Warcraft guide book

See also

• Character class

External links

• Classes, World of Warcraft (US)
• Classes, World of Warcraft (EU)

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