So i’m planning on making a new character for SL, already have a warlock and a druid. I really enjoy dungeons, so i’d like to play a useful class for this. I was thinking about playing a monk, a hunter or a shaman. Not because i think they’re great, i actually have no idea, i just like their plastyles.
Are they any good? Which one would you recommend? You are free to suggest a different class.
Im mainly dps, but i’m open to tanking and healing.
We won’t know which specs are better for dungeons until after Shadowlands launches on 10/26 and players get to max level and play for a few weeks. There are always a lot of nerfs and buffs in beta and early in expansions.
Most specs are getting significant changes that will take affect in the pre patch in late September. That said, you could get a good feel for the specs if you make 110 trial characters and test the specs with the Icy Veins class guide rotations and talents. They give you a tutorial, dummy, and Short battle scenario.
If you know you want to tank, monk is the only option, if you know you don’t want to tank, then shaman and hunter would give you more specs to play. In BFA, shaman healers have not been as good in dungeons.
If you want to see how the specs are doing in beta right now, there are lots of you tube videos.
I agree with Astryss and her* thoughts above. That said, and in an effort to offer some guidance that will be helpful now, here’s the view from the casual quarter:
Hunters are always viable in pve content. They solo material well due to the presence of your pet. DPS rating for dungeons is always high, and spirit beasts are generally welcome in groups. That said, there are still a LOT of hunters running around, and some groups top out on how many they want to take along. Also, if you’re running group content, make sure you learn how to manage your pet’s Growl ability. I believe this gets automatically disabled in instances now, but you’ll want to be able to control it yourself, to have it on and off when you want it.
Monks may have had their heyday when they were new in MoP, but I still find the class a LOT of fun to play. Windwalker can pump out some impressive damage, and you have nice self-heals via chi spheres. Mistweaver may be my second favorite healer, and Brewmaster (which, admittedly, I haven’t done much with) has been very strong in recent expansions, I believe. If you’re looking for a class that can play all the different roles, monk is a solid choice.
Shaman might score as the most complex of the three class you mentioned. I love Enhancement spec, but you see people moaning about it constantly. I haven’t done very much with Elemental (because I love Enhancement so much …), but I know Restoration is a solid healing spec. Again, if you want flexibility regarding group roles, shaman is fun. That said, people always complain that shaman gets the short end of the stick in every expansion. Be ready for that. I’ve never felt that myself, for what that’s worth.
Other classes not mentioned that you might like to explore:
Priest. Should you ever want a healer, Discipline priest is a HUGE amount of fun! And different from any other healing spec. The dps spec, shadow, tends to be wonky. You never know if it’s going to be OP or useless in any given expansion. But I don’t care. I stay disc and I have a BLAST!
Speaking of BLASTS, fire mage is awfully fun! So is arcane mage (to me, though some folks claim it’s boring …)
Death Knight is one of the proverbially overpowered classes. Blood DK’s are absolute terrors at tanking. More soloing on current content is done on DK tanks than any other spec, I believe!
I hope this is helpful, and I apologize in advance for any spec that didn’t get air time in this post!
Probably the best reason for picking any class!
The class you enjoy playing the most is the one that you’ll find ways to make it work regardless of the flavor of the month class for a given expansion.
Give the classes on your short list a trial on the PTR.