The Best Class for Levels 1

Okay, so I decided to do something different for this next post. Over the past month or so, I have been playing a number of classes in an effort to find which one is the easiest to level from 1 to 20. Now, I have somewhat of an answer.

Why somewhat? Because I still have not leveled all of the potential class / race combinations, in fact I am still working on a few of the classes, but I wanted to get out my preliminary evaluation in order to start the discussion. I know that there will be lots of “you’re a dumb-ass”, “are you crazy” and “you don’t know what you are talking about” moments from the readers and I want it all. Comment on this post, twitter me at rawrinquisitor or even email me. Bring on the debate.

Let me first say what classes I have leveled to at least 20 now so we can clear the air for all your Priests and Mages. I now have more alts than I know what to do with, both on the horde and alliance sides, but here goes. I have leveled a Paladin, Hunter, Rogue, Warrior, Druid and Warlock and of course at the higher levels a Death Knight.

I will first discuss each class as I view it and mention some of its positives and negatives for me. Each of these is very subjective and I try to talk about each class as unbiased as I can in case you have never played one of these classes you can get some idea of what they do.

Hunter: The hunter was my second toon I ever created and is my main. This is a fun class to play, but the first 10 levels you aren’t as tough as you would like to be. You can wear leather so that is a plus, but playing a hunter really gets fun once you have hit level 10 and can tame a pet. Once you have tamed a pet the class is much easier and more fun to run, even though it will take many of you 5-10 levels of learning how to really effectively use your pet in a fight and what types of pets work best. I recommend a tenacity pet such as a boar, bear or gorilla as you level to 80 and then once you are raiding you switch to a ferocity pet. The only caveat to that advice is if you plan on playing a lot of PVP. If that is your goal, then you might be better off with a cunning pet. Levels 1-20 FUN RATING: 9 EASE RATING: 8

Druid: This is a fun class, but seems to be one that gets better as you continue to level. You have a variety of spells and attacks with a druid, but lets face it, the most important and for many the main reason to be a druid is the shapeshifting abilities. Like the Hunter this class gets more fun at level 10 when you get bear form. At level 10 you also get aquatic form, which I have officially used once in my leveling. You get your travel form at level 16 which is earlier than the other classes can ride, which is at level 20. But, the real benefit for travel form is at level 21 when you can put more talent points into your cat swiftness and then you really take off in speed. That is when you have the advantage in the BG’s, especially Warsong Gulch as the flag carrier. The key spell you will be using is root where you can root an opponent to the ground so that you can stay out of melee range and kick some butt. Levels 1-20 FUN RATING: 7 EASE RATING: 7

Warlock: Ahhhh, one of the clothies. This was my first experience with a true spell caster in the game. I liked it, but you are very vulnerable when wearing cloth even if you use your armor spells. In the BG’s you will either get pwnd bad at the lower levels or when you are in the higher range, you can dominate. I really enjoyed this class and have level this toon to level 55 so far, but there are some moments of frustration. Many times, you cannot handle more than one enemy, mana goes quickly and I like to tell everyone just plan on dying a bit and have fun running back to your body. Levels 1-20 FUN RATING: 7 EASE RATING: 6

Warrior: This is my very first toon, probably like many people out there. I wanted to go melee and human to make it easy to learn the game. And that is the truth. The warrior is an easy way to learn the game from a melee point of view. The warrior is easy and fun, but it is so simplistic at these levels that there are better classes to play. These facts get very different when you are in the higher levels and start tanking, but 1-20 is sprint in and whack away. Keep updating your equipment every level so you can take as much of a beating as possible. In the BG’s you will find that there are many ways to get killed, but you still need to use the BG’s as a good leveling resource. Levels 1-20 FUN RATING: 6 EASE RATING: 10

Rogue: I hate this class in BG’s. The shear craziness of the power that WOW has given them in the BG’s just boggles my mind. Now, I can see why so many people play these toons. This can be a very fun class of characters if you are in the right mindset. I personally was not overly fond of it, but I think that my bias may have crept into my play. However, I enjoyed leveling this toon. The ability to sneak up and stab people from behind is exhilarating. More of my problem with this class is that it seems less suited for game play and leveling, than it is for BG’s. If your goal is to play a lot of BG’s this is the toon to play. If your goal is to level and raid, I am not convinced this is the toon. Levels 1-20 FUN RATING: 6 EASE RATING: 8

Paladin: Lastly is the champion of fun and ease from levels 1-20. The Paladin is the toon to play if you want to find a fairly easy to learn, easy to play and fun to level class. Just like I can see why rogues are fun to play for people, I can so understand why people hate paladins. I know that every duel or BG fight one-on-one with a pally, means that I am going to have to work for a win. That is the case with the paladin. I died far less, in fact from levels 1-20 I only died 3 times when I pulled too many mobs. I have a chance in every BG and even when I am of the lower levels in the BG I can still rack up the HK’s. I have both melee and healing. This is a fun class of characters and I encourage everyone who hates pallys to try one just for at least 20 levels. Levels 1-20 FUN RATING: 9 EASE RATING: 10

Now for those of you who are complaining that I have not tried the other three classes, I am working on it. I have a shaman to level 9 and will soon be at 20. I have not rolled a mage or priest yet, but I will get back to you in a month or so and report back on my findings. Until then, the Inquisitor says: “Bring on the debate!”