This article needs additional citations for verification. (December 2006) |
World of Warcraft consists of 9 playable classes - Warrior, Druid, Mage, Warlock, Priest, Hunter, Rogue, Paladin and Shaman. Each class has special talents and spells which give them all a unique purpose in the game.
Druid
Druid Lore
Druids are the keepers of the world, followers of the demi-god Cenarius, who have been granted power over nature, including powerful healing and shapeshifting abilities. The first mortal creatures instructed in Druidism by Cenarius were the Tauren, although the Night Elves believe they were instructed before[1].
Cenarius' greatest student, Malfurion Stormrage, would lead the Night Elves through The War of the Ancients and the long years that followed. With the creation of the World Tree Nordrassil, the Kaldorei Druids were bound to Ysera, and her realm, The Emerald Dream.
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.[2]
Gameplay
Druids in World of Warcraft are able to shapeshift, allowing them to take on multiple roles. Only the Night Elf and the Tauren races can play as druids.
- In Caster Form Druids can cast damage spells and healing spells, as well as various offensive and defensive support spells. The druid can also resurrect other players in combat. This is the Druid's starting form.
- In Bear Form, the Druid acts like a Warrior. It also increases armor, health, and attack power. At level 40 Druids gain a Dire Bear form, which is similar but provides larger armor, health, and attack power bonuses.
- In Cat Form, the Druid acts like a Rogue. Druids can prowl in this form, and they also get a boosted attack power plus agility.
- The Moonkin Form (an owlbear-like creature) gives the Druid more armor, and an aura that increases the spell critical strike chance of nearby party members. In this form, the Druid can only cast Balance spells which are two schools of magic - Nature and Arcane. To gain this form the Druid must have at least 31 points in the Balance talent tree.
- The Travel Form and the Aquatic Form allow the druid to travel faster by land and sea. In the Burning Crusade expansion, a Flight Form will be trainable at level 68 to allow the druid to fly in Outland.[3]
- The new Tree of Life Form enhances the Druid and its group's healing power but slows the druid's speed by 20% and may only cast Healing-over-time spells. To gain this form the Druid must have at least 41 points in the Restoration talent tree.[4]
The Druid talent trees are: Balance (offensive spells), Feral (feral combat), and Restoration (healing spells). Druids can wear cloth and leather armor.
Hunter
Hunter Lore
The Hunter has always existed to maintain the balance with the creatures of the wild. Adventurers far and wide 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 of the races of the world venerate the rites of the hunt. 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. They also have the reputation of being superb marksmen, and are the leading designers of gnomish invention of firearms, much to the jealousy of the Goblins.
Famous hunters include all High Elven Rangers like Alleria Windrunner and her two sisters Vereesa and Sylvanas, but also the Night Elven such as Shandris Feathermoon. Rexxar the Mok'Nathal Beastmaster is also a legendary hunter. Some mythical examples are the unnamed tauren who cornered Malorne the White Stag. Although not considered a hunter, Orgrim Doomhammer might have played the role of a Hunter in his years as a hermit.[5]
Gameplay
The Hunter class is based on the beast master and ranger classes seen in traditional role playing games. A unique class, their primary source of damage comes from ranged weapons such as guns, bows, and crossbows. As a hunter levels up they may learn how to track nearly any type of friend or foe. Race that can play as hunters are the Draenei, Night Elves and Dwarves of the Alliance and the Troll, Orc,Tauren, and Blood Elves of the Horde.
The hunter may learn to tame beasts as pets to assist them in battle. Hunters are only able to tame mobs that are labeled beasts. There are many different kinds of beasts the Hunter can tame and each pet are able to learn different abilities.
The hunter has several Tracking abilities. Tracking abilities allows the hunter to see, on the minimap, whatever he is tracking as circles with a red center. Hunters can track Beasts, Humanoids, Undead, Giants, Dragonkin and Stealth.[citation needed]
The hunter also has Aspects. These allow the player to passively improve their skills or talents by taking on bestial traits from animals such as cheetah, monkey and hawk. Hunters can also lay traps to freeze an enemy, slow several down, do additional damage to a single target or multiple targets via an area of effect when triggered.[citation needed]
The Hunter talent trees are: Beast Mastery (improves pets), Markmanship (damage and other ranged abilities) and Survival (melee abilities and defensive skills). Hunters can wear cloth and leather armor, and they can train to become proficient with Mail armor at level 40.
Mage
Mages are a magic-using class who focus on elemental (fire and frost) and arcane spells. Although they can deal large amounts of damage in a short period of time, survival is difficult due to their low hit points. Races that can play as mages include Humans and Gnomes for the Alliance and Undead, and Trolls for the Horde.
Mages also have the ability to teleport themselves to any of their faction's major cities ( Alliance: Stormwind, Ironforge, and Darnassus. Horde: Durotar, Thunder Bluff, and The Undercity.) and can summon portals to teleport their entire party to a major faction city as well. They can also conjure items, including food and water.[6]
Mages may use staves and learn one-handed swords and daggers as well as off-hand items.[7]
The Mage talent trees are: Fire (burst damage), Frost (mana efficient, and major Damage per second) and Arcane (support abilities). Mages can only wear Cloth armor.
The Mage is also very versitile when in groups. Mages are needed in virtually every group. Their high amount of dps(damage per second) and the ability to conjure food and water make them highly effective in "end game" raiding. Mages are the most in effective in aoe(area of effect) spells as well.
Paladins
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 intial push of the Scourge. Unfortunately, the corrupted Arthas killed many paladins 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 tenants of the order as well.
The cruel Blood Elves learned the way of the Light by making experiments on a naaru they had captured in Tempest Keep. Lady Liadrin, a former priestess, had recently renounced her vows, for she felt the Light had abandoned her people. She volunteered to be the first to bend the stolen powers to her will. With her decision a new order was born: the Blood Knights. These renegade paladins are able to harness the sacred powers of the Alliance's noblest heroes.[citation needed]
Gameplay
The Paladin is a supportive, hybrid melee fighter. Paladins use an assortment of spells, auras and blessings to aid themselves and others. Paladins also have powerful offensive spells against undead and demons, as well as several defensive abilities including a shield that makes the Paladin immune to damage for a few seconds.[8]
The Paladin is currently only available to the Human and the Dwarf races of the Alliance. But, the upcoming expansion, The Burning Crusade, will bring some significant changes to the paladin class composistion. Paladins will be playable by the Blood Elves[9] as well. As they belong to the Horde faction, Horde players will be able to create paladin for the first time.
While paladins have offensive abilities against Undead characters, these abilities do not affect Undead players. They are considered Humanoid, rather then Undead.[citation needed]
The paladin is able to heal others, magically augment themselves and their allies, and sustain large amounts of damage from enemies. Like the Warlock, paladins have a quest in order to obtain a free mount at level 40.[10]
The paladin talent trees are: Holy (which focuses on spell casting, especially healing), Protection (survivability and tanking) and Retribution (which focuses on melee oriented combat). Paladins can wear Cloth, Leather and Mail armor and they can train to become proficient with Plate armor at level 40.
Priest
The Priest is usually considered the healer for a party because of the many healing abilities the Priest has. Races that can play as Priests include Night Elves, Dwarves, and Humans for the Alliance and Undead and Trolls for the Horde.
Priests get many support and healing spells in order to help their party. Priests, unlike other classes, get two special abilities that Priests of other races do not get. [citation needed]
- Night Elves - Starshards and Elune's Grace.
- Dwarves - Desperate Prayer and Fear Ward.
- Humans - Desperate Prayer and Feedback.
- Draenei - Symbol of Hope and Fear Ward.
- Undead - Touch of Weakness and Devouring Plague.
- Trolls - Hex of Weakness and Shadowguard.
- Blood Elves - Touch of Weakness and Consume Magic.
The Priest talent trees are; Holy (healing spells), Shadow (offensive spells), and Discipline (support abilities such as buffs). Priests can only wear Cloth armor.
Rogue
Rogues are the "assassins" of World of Warcraft. Rogues are available to all races except for the Tauren and the Draenei in the upcoming expansion World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade.
Rogues rely on Energy for their abilities instead of Rage or Mana. Rogues (and Druids, who also use Energy in cat form) can only hold 100 energy before Talents/Items, but Energy regenerates very quickly (about 20 energy every 2 seconds.) Most abilities either give or spend "combo points." Abilities that "spend" combo points ("finishing moves") become stronger as more points are spent. Each Rogue can have up to 5 combo points, but they are lost if the Rogue switches targets. 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 in exchange for a relatively inexpensive reagent.[1] Several attacks ("openers") require the Rogue to be in stealth.[2][3][4][5]
They can wield daggers, one-handed maces, one-handed swords, and fist weapons. They can also employ ranged weapons such as crossbows, bows, guns, and thrown weapons. Rogues can also learn to dual-wield, allowing one-handed weapons to be equipped in each hand. Rogues can 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 their spell casting time, or make the enemy NPC less likely to attack the rogue.
Rogues also have the ability to unlock locked doors, chests, and boxes using "thieves tools" and the "lockpicking" skill.
The Rogue talent trees are: Assassination (poisons, critical strikes, and finishing moves), Combat (melee combat abilities, passive damage increses) and Subtlety (stealth and opening abilities). Rogues can wear only cloth and leather armor.
Shaman
The Shaman is a healer, warrior and mage hybrid class, and as such, the Shaman is one of the most versatile classes in the game.[6]. They are designed to enhance all parts of a party while not being particularly focused on any one aspect of the game. Along with basic damage and healing spells, they have totem spells which can affect the area around the totem, usually positively, and "Shock" spells, instant cast damage spells with a secondary effect. Finally, they can augment their weapons with the elements, giving them an extra effect, including the infamous "Windfury," which gives weapons a 20% chance to hit two extra times.
Shaman, who do not get a free mount at level 40 like Paladins, can learn the Ghost Wolf spell. This spell transforms the Shaman into a ghost wolf, increasing thier movement speed by 40%. However when in Ghost Wolf, the Shaman cannot cast spells, although he/she can still use auto-attack. A few items later on in the game can increase the movement speed of the Ghost Wolf.
The Shaman class is only available to three of the Horde races: Tauren, Orcs, and Trolls. It has been announced that in the upcoming expansion Burning Crusade, Draenei will be able to play as Shaman. Similarly, Blood Elves will be able to play as Paladins. [11]
Shaman can use One-hand Maces, One-hand Axes, Daggers, Staves, and Shields. With a certain talent, they can learn to use Two-hand Maces and Two-hand Axes.[citation needed] The Shaman talent trees are: Elemental (offensive spells), Enhancement (melee abilities and buffs) and Restoration (healing spells).
Shaman can wear Cloth and Leather armor, and they can train to become proficient with Mail armor at level 40.
Warlock
Warlocks are Mages who have delved deep into dark magic. They are a spell casting class and their strengths lie within their summoned minions in combination with their spells and with the spells of the warlock. Races that can play as warlocks are Humans and Gnomes for the Alliance and Undead, and Orc for the Horde.
Warlocks are able to directly summon six demons as pets, but may only have one pet summoned at a time. The pets available are the Imp, Voidwalker, Succubus, Felhunter, Infernal and Doomguard. A warlock can gain access to a seventh demon known as the Felguard by investing 41 points in the demonology talent tree. They can also summon a mount and possess the ability to summon an Eye of Kilrogg - a fast scout which is incapable of attacking. Warlocks also have the ability to Enslave Demons and take control of a demon NPC.[citation needed]
Warlocks are able to drain the Souls of enemies to receive "Soul Shards," which can be used for several spells and summoning all pets excluding the Imp. They can also use a Soul Shard to summon other players to their ___location with the help of 2 other players.[citation needed]
The Warlock has several "stones" available which each require a Soul Shard to create. The Soulstone allows the Warlock to self-resurrect or resurrect other players. The Healthstone instantly heals the user. The Firestone adds fire damage to a melee weapon and increases fire spell damage. The Spellstone absorbs some spell damage, removes magical effects and increases the critical hit chance of the Warlock's spells.[citation needed]
The Warlock talent trees are: Affliction (Damage Over Time), Demonology (summoned demons, survivability and damage) and Destruction (burst damage). The only armor Warlocks can wear is Cloth armor.
Warrior
A Warrior is a class in World of Warcraft that excels in melee combat and playing the role of a damage dealer or tank. Rather than drawing on Mana to power their abilities, Warriors use Rage which, like a Rogue’s Energy, has a maximum limit. Rage builds up as the warrior deals or receives damage. Rage decays out of combat rapidly, though Arms warriors sometimes take the Anger Management talent, which reduces Rage decay by 30% out of combat.
Warriors can shift between three different combat stances to better accommodate their current situation.
- Battle Stance is the normal stance. It reduces threat generation slightly.
- Defensive stance increases threat generation by 30%, while decreasing damage taken and dealt by 10% each.[citation needed]
- Berserker stance increases critical hit chance by 3%, damage taken by 10%, and threat generation slightly.[citation needed]
Most Warrior attacks and abilities require them to be in a specific stance. Switching stances reduces rage to 0, unless the Warrior invested points in the talent Tactical Mastery.
Warriors are able to use all weapons except wands. They can also dual wield after level 20.[citation needed]
The Warrior talent trees are: Fury (sustained damage), Arms (burst damage) and Protection (defensive skills, tanking >threat generation). All races in the game can be Warriors, but in the expansion, The Burning Crusade, the Blood Elves cannot.
Warriors can wear Cloth, Leather and Mail armor, and they can train to become proficient with Plate armor at level 40.
Template:World of Warcraft classes
External links
References
- ^ WoW Forums
- ^ WoW Wiki
- ^ WoW.com - Druids - Spell & Abilities
- ^ The Burning Crusade Druid Talent Tree
- ^ WoW Wiki
- ^ http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/mage/
- ^ http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/mage/
- ^ http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/paladin/spells.html
- ^ Announcement of faction-class crossovers
- ^ http://www.worldofwarcraft.com/info/classes/paladin/tips.html
- ^ Announcement of faction-class crossovers