Winners and losers of WoW Classic Season of Discovery

World of Warcraft Classic Season of Discovery stands to spice up the vintage MMO with a restrictive level cap, reconfigured raids, and other new changes. Given that every player is restricted to level 25 during phase one, some classes are bound to be better than others.

At only level 25 classes typically do not have the best parts of their spellbook or talent tree unlocked yet. Still, several classes perform far better damage-wise early on while others may need to wait until phase two or three to kick off.

The losers of World of Warcraft Season of Discovery are undoubtedly the Warrior and Hunter players. These two melee classes have very little unlocked at level 25. Unless there are balancing changes from Blizzard, Warrior will be without Berserker Stance and Whirlwind and just short of crucial parts of their talent tree.

Druids, Priests, Mages, and Shamans are all a mixed bag for this first phase. Many of these casters will still be much powerful than the majority of melee classes, however nearly all mana-users will suffer from mana depletion issues. Though Fire Mages might top damage charts, certainly be prepared to stop for mana rests.

Paladin and Hunter players can rejoice as their classes are easily in the top three of power ratings at level 25. Hunters in particular will be a great character to roll as Hunters deal high single-target damage from the start, while pet damage and tanking will also be an incredible asset. Paladins will be a necessary inclusion for most parties, as even at lower levels Paladins have the best crowd control and utility in World of Warcraft Classic.

Finally, Warlock players are the true winners of Season of Discovery. The class is great with both single-target and multitarget encounters. Accompanied by a wide arsenal of burst and DoT spells and demonic pets for either extra DPS or tanking, Warlocks have a clear upperhand.

Warlocks’ advantage over other classes is unlikely to fade in the next phase as well. Though phase two might even out the wide gaps in power between classes, the Warlock still has plenty of powerful spells and talents accessible in the next level bracket.

Ultimately, if you want a challenge that might be rewarding in the upcoming phases, then Warrior or the various casters should be your pick. If you’re most interested in starting strong out the gate, then Hunter and Warlock should be your targets.