Warrior or Rogue

WoW Classic WoW Classic General Discussion
1

Hey guys, I wanted to roll an undead without a doubt for classic, but I am on the fence about what kind of class I’d want to play. I have a huge desire for melee classes as I don’t find standing in one place to cast spells particularly attractive. I’d rather be out there on the front lines for the most part.

Now, I don’t have a problem with tanking, in fact, I got really into warrior tanking in WoD, which I know isn’t 100% comparable by any means, but I do enjoy tanking. So I could be a part of the tanking crew and be in high demand and amazing, yet I also might enjoy the stealthy assassin roll. Also, how well did Warrior DPS perform in classic? Were you invited to raids and dungeons or was that primarily for rogues and caster classes?

Thanks for all your input! Details are important to me, thank you.

2

So do you plan to pvp a lot? Do you take pvp advantages into consideration when you pick your race/class?

3

DPS wise, Warriors were among THE top DPS in the game. The catch is that they were highly gear dependent and in the beginning it’s really rough going for them. You’ll struggle without gear in PvP without some support. On the flip side, once you start getting that gear, you’ll wreck. You’ll also be in top demand in high end raids since that’s when Warrior’s DPS begins to skyrocket.

So, yeah. Warriors were the only class that were “Optimal” for more than one role in PvE Raiding, that being Tank (the only REAL tank depending on who you ask, but there are many, including myself, that say Bear Druid make good off tanks and even main tank on some encounters) and DPS.

Those others are considered “hyrbids” and fall behind in DPS due to their utility and ability to switch roles, and are generally forced into healing roles.

Unless you really love stealthing about (and in Vanilla I don’t blame you), I’d say you’d get more mileage as a Warrior in the long run, but Rogues deal more damage early on.

Expect a very, very healthy population of Warriors and Rogues, however.

4

They’re both great choices, but I’ll do my best to explain the pros and cons of each, and make sure you know what you’re getting yourself into.

Warrior is, as any can tell you, a royal pain to level. You will wipe, a lot. And you are very gear dependent. This isn’t a terrible thing necessarily mind you, but be ready for some difficulty (just never level in prot).

Warrior however eventually grows into perhaps the most capable class, being the definitive choice for raid tanking and is also a top tier damage dealer as well. So you have two roles to choose from, both which warrior does very well. You’ll be decent at pvp (but not incredible), and by the end a well rounded player. Basically it’ll suck at first but put in the time and you’ll have a superbly capable and very fun class.

Rogue is quite a bit different. Leveling will be quite easy as a rogue. You’ll have stealth to cheese your way through a lot of quest mechanics, or just to avoid unnecessary fights. The energy system on rogues was very refined in Classic and works pretty seamlessly. You’ll have minimal downtime and they will be fun to play. Lastly, they’re a top tier damage dealer both throughout leveling and the endgame. Now for downsides.

Be prepared for a LOT of competition for loot in dungeons and raids. Rogues are very popular, and on top of that you’ll have to compete with fury warriors and hunters for weapons, as well as with Druid’s for leather drops. Another con is that they’re a one trick pony. Instead of being able to fill two roles like a warrior, you just have 3 different flavors of the same trick. 3 damage specs, one geared towards PVP. Pvp is a huge benefit of being a rogue btw, and you’d do yourself a disservice if you don’t do it at least a bit as a rogue.

You can’t go wrong either way, just pick whatever sounds more appealing to you. I’m personally planning on rolling warrior first. I enjoy min/maxing while leveling, using every resource at my disposal (food, bandages, pots, professions) to overcome the challenges before me.

3 Likes
5

From personal experience, it was damn near impossible to get groups as a DPS Warrior. From what I’ve seen of PServer raiding DPS Warriors are in high demand, but that’s at level cap loaded up with pre-BiS and some BiS. The road to get there will be arduous and you’ll face stiff competition for many drops, not only from other Warriors but Rogues and Hunters as well. To say nothing of the leveling experience, which was something I’m perfectly okay with doing once and not doing over again in Classic. Maybe with a gun to my head I’d do it, otherwise nope.

If you can get into a guild that accepts you as a DPS, grouping will be a bit easier. Just don’t expect much love living the PuG life.

As a tank though, just look for a healer for whatever dungeon you feel like doing and fill out the DPS on the way there. Expect to be critically inspected if you’re joining someone else’s group and be kicked for not having enough HP (whatever they decide “enough” is) and God forbid you have a green trinket (an empty slot would be better). Avoid joining a group like the plague and just make your own.

Rogues have a reputation for good DPS at any gear level, so you shouldn’t have as much difficulty finding a group. Plus with Sap you can bring much needed CC to a dungeon group, along with a plethora of other stuns and short-term control options, so you’d be desired for utility as well. And on a personal note, I’ve grown to love Stealth.

6

If you choose warrior, you will undoubtedly be leveling with a 2h’er…

For the love of god, always carry a 1h/shield in your bags. Always. Don’t be the warrior that can’t or won’t tank, especially while leveling. Those warriors are useless. Just a pro tip.

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Warrior is the class that probably requires the most investment time wise and gold wise. From the level 1 to level 60, leveling is pretty painful and slow. Once level 60, both as a tank or a DPS, you will have to invest quite some gold to get your pre-raid BiS.

Rogues on the other end is a bit easier to level and to gear. Their DPS is really good throughout the whole PvE scene, although Mages, Warlocks and Warriors tend to be higher on the meter in Naxxramas. But if this doesn’t bother you, their DPS is stil really good.

In PvP, Warriors are really nice in premades/battleground when a healer can help them. Rogues shine in WPvP however, and are still deadly in battleground when you can pick your fight.

8

Thanks for the replies everyone, very informational. It is clear that both classes have their pros and cons, like any other class. Obviously it might come down to me playing a little bit of both to see what one works best for me, but this before-hand knowledge will definitely help me in my decision later down the road. Thank you.

9

If you roll Warrior I advise you to take up tanking also for dungeons. It will make gearing up so much easier than trying to get DPS spots as a Warrior.

With the correct gear, which is stacking a lot of +hit and +crit, DPS Warriors do really well. For Warriors it really is all about the gear.

Rogue performs better without perfect gear, but also wants to stack +hit and +crit for basically the same reasons.

10

Let me tip you over then. :smiling_imp:

Once you find a couple of druid buddies plus a couple of other rogues. And then pulling of stealth runs, you will praise yourself lucky you didn’t choose Warrior :innocent:

11

You can tank 5man dungeons while gearing for dps, which makes it easier, if you are going the dps warrior route.