If you're new, and you want to try the game, look no further!
If you're a gamer looking into starting your journey through Azeroth for the first time, and you don't know which class to pick, then I'm here to help! I assembled a list of classes for new players to play, this list is specifically catered towards the PvE side of the game, which is the majority of it. This tier list based on ease of use, solo survivability, utility in group content, and fun factor for brand-new players. It assumes you're playing Retail WoW in 2025.
If you're trying classes, and you don't want to wait to get good gear to fly through quests quickly to level up and see the class intricacies, then I would recommend you get WoW gold. This will help you expedite the acquisition of great gear! This is great since you can share gold between characters in the same realm or server.
S-Tier: Absolute best of the best for beginners
Hunter (Beast Mastery)
Beast Mastery Hunters are the kings of beginner classes. They have everything a new player could ask for: a powerful pet that tanks for you, instant ranged damage, and very simple rotation mechanics. You can solo almost all leveling content with ease, and group content is forgiving due to your pet soaking up aggro.
- Pros: Easy rotation, high mobility, great solo play, pet management is fun and customizable.
- Cons: Can feel repetitive; not as flashy as other classes.
- Beginner Tip: Don't forget to mend your pet and manage threat. Your pet can die if you pull too much!
Paladin (Retribution)
Ret Paladins are durable, powerful, and self-sufficient. Their strong healing toolkit and survivability make them ideal for players who are still learning the ropes. The rotation is a bit slower-paced, giving you time to react. Plus, the class fantasy of a holy knight smashing enemies with divine power is hard to beat.
- Pros: High survivability, off-heals, utility for dungeons (e.g., Blessings and Auras).
- Cons: Slightly slower combat speed; not very mobile.
- Beginner Tip: Use Word of Glory for emergency self-healing. It costs no mana and can save your life.
A-Tier: Still great, just not the best for beginners
Druid (Balance)
Balance Druids, offer versatility with decent AoE damage, self-healing, and instant cast spells. Their ability to switch forms (travel, bear, cat) adds layers of utility that benefit solo play. Plus, if you want to try other roles later (tank or healer), Druid lets you do it all.
- Pros: Hybrid flexibility, strong AoE, ranged DPS with mobility.
- Cons: Eclipse system can confuse new players; squishy without healing.
Starting at level 8 (as of recent updates), Frost DKs bring huge burst damage, a fun melee rotation, and built-in self-healing. They're tough to kill, especially with Death Strike, and provide solid crowd control and utility with Death Grip. Plus, who doesn't want to play a badass undead warrior with runeblades?
- Pros: Easy to level, great burst, solid survivability.
- Cons: Locked behind race level restriction (you need a level 10+ character first).
B-Tier: Good enough but might require some research
Warrior (Arms)
Warriors feel great once you get the rhythm, but they can be rough at lower levels due to lack of self-healing and resource management. Arms is the simplest DPS spec and brings strong cleave damage and crowd control. Warriors also bring great group utility with Rallying Cry and stuns.
- Pros: Strong group utility, good cleave, satisfying animations.
- Cons: Weak sustain, needs cooldown management, limited mobility early on.
- Beginner Tip: Pick up Victory Rush talents early to help with healing.
Mage (Frost)
Frost Mages offer strong control, ranged damage, and excellent AoE, but they're glass cannons. If you can manage kiting and avoid standing still too long, you'll do just fine. Mages are great for dungeon groups and bring teleportation utility, which saves time.
- Pros: High burst and crowd control, teleports/portals.
- Cons: Very squishy, weak solo survivability.
- Beginner Tip: Use Frost Nova to root enemies and blink away. Always keep your distance!
C-Tier: Not very beginner-friendly
Rogue (Outlaw)
Rogues are fun and flashy but can feel punishing for new players. They lack built-in healing and rely on stealth and timing. Outlaw is the easiest Rogue spec, with good cleave and a swashbuckler theme, but it's still mechanically more demanding than other melee classes.
- Pros: High mobility, fun theme, good interrupts.
- Cons: Low survivability, cooldown-heavy, requires positioning skill.
- Beginner Tip: Use Roll the Bones buffs smartly-some are better than others. Don't forget your defensive cooldowns!
Priest (Shadow)
Shadow Priests have a ramp-up style of gameplay that can frustrate beginners. They rely on Damage over time (DoT) and can feel slow in early levels. They are powerful in raids, but for solo leveling or casual dungeons, they lack the responsiveness other classes offer.
- Pros: Great damage in longer fights, strong utility, self-healing.
- Cons: Complicated rotation, mana-dependent, slow to kill mobs early.
- Beginner Tip: Keep your damage over time attacks rolling, but don't forget to use Vampiric Touch to sustain your health.
D-Tier: Not beginner-friendly at all. Maybe avoid unless looking for a challenge
Warlock (Affliction)
Warlocks are not inherently bad, but Affliction requires maintaining multiple DoTs, pet management, and careful threat control. They become strong in endgame, but the learning curve is steep. Beginners often struggle with surviving, especially if they mismanage aggro. Looking up a guide is probably the best way to go if you still want to try it.
- Pros: High damage over time, summoning utility, soulstones.
- Cons: Complex rotation, fragile early levels, pet micromanagement.
- Beginner Tip: Use Voidwalker as your tank pet. Avoid pulling too many enemies.
In conclusion
This list is made with the following concepts in mind:
- Solo leveling performance
- Group content
- Rotation simplicity
- Class fantasy enjoyment for new players
But if you don't care about some of this point, and you want to go for another class that's not on this list, then you should. Don't be too worried about meta! While it's tempting to chase the most powerful class, the truth is simple: the best class for you is the one that feels the most fun. WoW is designed to be playable with any class, especially for leveling and casual PvE.
If you're torn between two classes, make one of each! Leveling is faster than ever in modern WoW, and experimenting is part of the journey.
