Warrior
Specs: Arms and Fury for damage, Protection for tanking. Leveling: faster and smoother than in Classic. Every Warrior trains Victory Rush at 20, which heals you for 10% of your health after a kill, and stance swaps keep your Rage. Protection is now a real leveling spec: sword and board in Defensive Stance, so you take less damage, eat far less and can tank every dungeon on the way. Solo: good as Protection, harder as Fury. Groups: Fury is a top dungeon and raid damage spec, and Protection is the Warrior's tank. New in Forever: a critical swing gives twice the Rage, Rage from being hit ignores your armor, and Revenge now adds 22.5% of your Attack Power, lit up by your blocks, dodges and parries.
Guides: Warrior leveling, Arms, Fury, Protection.
Paladin
Specs: Holy heals, Protection tanks, Retribution deals damage. Leveling: nothing like Classic, because the class finally has an attack button. Holy Strike arrives at level 6 and Judgement no longer consumes your Seal. Retribution is the default for killing one mob at a time, and Protection pulls packs and tanks every dungeon on the way. Solo: strong as Retribution. Groups: Protection is first on our dungeon tank list, and Holy is a solid healer. New in Forever: the class has a full kit rework, and the Undead Paladin is the Horde's first Paladin.
Guides: Paladin leveling, Holy, Protection, Retribution, Undead Paladin unlocks.
Hunter
Specs: Beast Mastery, Marksmanship and Survival, all damage. Leveling: the Hunter levels with a tank on a leash. From level 10 your pet holds every mob while you shoot it, so you rarely take a hit and rarely eat. It is the quickest and safest class to level alone. Solo: the safest, with almost no downtime. Groups: Survival is a top dungeon and raid damage spec. New in Forever: pets inherit part of your Attack Power and Critical Strike chance, traps work in combat, and the Human Hunter is new.
Guides: Hunter leveling, Hunter pets, Beast Mastery, Marksmanship, Survival.
Rogue
Specs: Assassination, Combat and Subtlety, all damage. Leveling: Combat is the smoothest route, with Evasion and Sprint every 2 minutes from level 21 and a strike that hits two mobs at once at 30. Combat uses any weapon type, so you never pass on an upgrade because it is an axe or a mace. Solo: a smooth ride from 10 to 60 as Combat. Groups: Combat and Assassination are solid raid damage, and Subtlety is the strongest PvP spec on our list. New in Forever: every Rogue learns Shank at 24, a cheap off-hand stab that refunds Energy, Assassination gets a dual-weapon strike that hits Poisoned targets harder, and Subtlety ends in Death Mark, a finisher that stores your damage and releases it in one hit.
Guides: Rogue leveling, Assassination, Combat, Subtlety.
Priest
Specs: Discipline and Holy heal, Shadow deals damage. Leveling: level as Shadow, the Priest spec built to kill alone. Damage over time, Devouring Plague at 20 and Shadow Word: Death at 32 let you chain mobs where other casters sit and drink. Solo: good as Shadow. Groups: Discipline is first on our dungeon healer list and strong in PvP. New in Forever: Discipline gets a short channel that heals an ally or hits an enemy, Divine Spirit is baseline, and Gnome Priests are new.
Guides: Priest leveling, Discipline, Holy, Shadow.
Shaman
Specs: Elemental and Enhancement deal damage, Restoration heals. Leveling: Enhancement is the way to level. Your two-handed weapon does the work, your shocks cost 45% less, and from level 20 you travel in an instant Ghost Wolf. Elemental is the ranged choice if you level with a friend or spend a lot of time in dungeons. Solo: good as Enhancement. Groups: Enhancement is a top dungeon damage spec, and Restoration shares the top of the dungeon healer list. New in Forever: a single cast drops up to four totems, buff totems last 5 minutes and reach the whole raid, and the Dwarf Shaman is new.
Guides: Shaman leveling, Dwarf Shaman totems, Elemental, Enhancement, Restoration.
Mage
Specs: Arcane, Fire and Frost, all damage. Leveling: Frost is our pick. Every Frostbolt slows, Frostbite freezes targets for free, and Ice Lance hits a Frozen target four times as hard. Fire kills faster if you are comfortable taking more risk. Solo: one of the best, and the best at pulling and killing groups. Groups: Frost tops our dungeon, raid and PvP damage lists. New in Forever: Frostfire Bolt is a trained spell at 40, Frost gets Ice Lance, and Orc Mages are new.
Guides: Mage leveling, Arcane, Fire, Frost.
Warlock
Specs: Affliction, Demonology and Destruction, all damage. Leveling: the Warlock levels with a tank that never leaves. Your Voidwalker holds the mob, damage over time kills it, and drains and Life Tap keep your health and mana moving, so you rarely need a drink. Solo: strong, with sustain that keeps drinks rare. Groups: Demonology is a top raid damage spec, and Affliction leads our PvP list. New in Forever: Banes sit on a separate track from Curses, so you keep both on a target, and Troll Warlocks are new.
Guides: Warlock leveling, Affliction, Demonology, Destruction.
Druid
Specs: Balance and Feral Combat deal damage (Feral also tanks as a Bear), Restoration heals. Leveling: Feral Cat is our pick. Cat Form costs no mana, so you fight until your health runs out instead of your mana bar, and you heal yourself between pulls. Balance is the strong second choice: it kills from range and takes less damage. Solo: strong as Feral, and it never drinks. Groups: Feral is second on our dungeon tank list. Restoration is the slowest spec to level alone, but the class covers every role. New in Forever: Dual Spec at 40 lets you keep a Bear or Restoration spec for dungeons, and every Druid learns a resurrection spell.
Guides: Druid leveling, Druid forms, Balance, Feral Combat, Restoration.
