POLL: Best Solo-Class in WOW?

[nobbie]

The title says it already: What is, in your opinion, the best class to play (mostly) solo in an MMORPG like WOW, and why?

Druid
Hunter
Mage
Paladin
Priest
Rogue
Shaman
Warlock
Warrior

After reading several WOW sites, it seems to me that - surprise, surprise - the quasi-Necro, minion-using class "WARLOCK" is the best choice. True, or not?

[Cryptic]

I'll give a pre-vote to the Hunter, because you combine a ranged attack with a damage-soaking ally.

But I would imagine that healer/warrior hybrids are good too. Paladins?

[Tal]

Mage - They can portal to the major cities, conjure food and drink, stealth and pick locks, have crowd control and is a nuker.

[Bolty]

You kidding? Mage. Not even close. A class that can conjure an unlimited supply of water and food out of thin air and does gargantuan amounts of damage to single targets. I've played Warrior, Mage, Priest, Warlock, Druid, and even a little Rogue, and the Mage outshines them all. Add in utilities like picking locks and invisibility and it's not even funny.

Mongo put it best: Mages are all about themselves. Players who have ONLY played mages tend to be very poor in groups, since they have never really needed to group up and don't understand group dynamics. Heck, I usually have to ask mage players (random ones, not Lurkers) for water and intelligence buffs in parties, even though as a Priest they should automatically know we need it. I recall when I was playing my priest in this push, sometime in her 20's, that I grouped with THREE mages for about an hour. Not a ONE of them ever thought to cast their intelligence buff on me, even after repeated castings of Fortitude on them. And mages almost NEVER cast Remove Curse on teammates - some don't even learn the spell. The reason for all this behavior is that Mages are so self-sufficient that they lose group play concepts.

-Bolty

[Cryptic]

How things have changed since the Second Impressions thread!
:P

"As I told TPJ of the Amazon Basin, I've just accepted that mages stink and have adapted my playing style."

[Bolty]

How things have changed since the Second Impressions thread!

Aye! Blizzard really went too far bumping the class up, and now may have to slam it back down. Since that long-ago post,

1) They added Sleep - then realized it was too strong and changed it to Polymorph.
2) They gave talents. One word: Pyroblast! :)
3) They increased the damage of mage spells.
4) They increased the progression of conjured water/mana, thus decreasing downtime.
5) They introduced the PvP server with almost no means for other classes to detect Mage invisibility except for potions and Warlocks, so huge ganking ensued.
6) They massively increased the effect of spirit giving mana regeneration increases.
7) They made Mana Shield more effective, giving better defense to mages.

Mages were the least-played class in Phase 1, now they're second-most (after Warriors). Kinda ruined my fun playing the class when everyone else is :)

-Bolty

[lemekim]

Mage.

They are also easiest class to start with, since they rely little on items. Additional health is not very important since they rarely get hit, and additional spirit and intelligence simply mean that they have to drink a bit more often, thats all.

[nobbie]

The reason for all this behavior is that Mages are so self-sufficient that they lose group play concepts.

It seems that from the perspective of a group-player, Mages are now somewhat too strong - just as the Sorceress was in LOD 1.08/1.09. But keep in mind that there will be many, many WOW players - including me - who don't intend to spend more than 10 hours/week playing the game, and that mostly solo just for fun with no long-term goal in mind. So, I'm quite happy that Blizzard has picked a less gear-dependent, interesting class for the occasional MMORPG-player :)

[--Pete]

Hi,

So, I'm quite happy that Blizzard has picked a less gear-dependent, interesting class for the occasional MMORPG-player

Maybe they have. Maybe not. I'm guessing all classes will get changed a few times between now and release. Just like Bolty's old post not only no longer applies but is actually contradicted by the way things are there, any impression formed about the classes now will probably be totally wrong after the next push.

--Pete

[Guest]

"So, I'm quite happy that Blizzard has picked a less gear-dependent, interesting class for the occasional MMORPG-player "

If you think about it that doesnt really make sense.
If your looking at it as a class that "competes" with other players - then more seriously played mages will blow you away. It doesnt really give casual players a better class it just makes mages the "best" class.

I suspect Blizz will try to achieve better balance before the game goes live.

[Urza-DSF]

I dont believe he meant something that could "compete" with other players. More like being able to take a class and not need "X uber item + Y uber item + Z uber item" to be able to solo and do your own thing without spending 40+ hours a week to do it.

At least thats my take on it.

[Artega]

I've played a Warrior up to Level 14, and though I've died a couple of times due to monsters spawning on top of me, I've found it to be rather easy, especially with the Talents. Improved Strike makes Strike extremely cheap, and Improved Charge increases the amount of Rage generated. I generally Charge, follow that with a Battle Shout, then Rend, and then Strike until it dies. With such high HP, damage, and armor, I can usually take down monsters two at a time, even if they're the same level as me.

But, given previous responses, it seems that the Mage is the popular choice :)

[JustAGuy]

I'd have to say Mage looks like the best soloist, simply because of the food/water supply.

I'd like to make special mention for the Paladin; when properly supplied with water (not necessarily food), he can go for hours all by himself, answering to no one. Dare I say, low level Paladins are easiest to level up, simply because of the good mix of healing and offense. Higher level Paladins solo extremely well because of the diversity of seals, auras and abilities. I imagine when Talents come along, things will be even better for m'laddy.

[TheDragoon]

Really, for the most part, the quest system does a pretty good job of making sure you get decent gear early on for your characters. I've occasionally bought a weapon for a character, but that's been it for me making purchases for my characters. Otherwise, I've had no problem just using what I find and get from quests. Later on, the stuff you find in dungeons takes over, for the most part, but at least at that point you've acquired all or most of your basic class abilities and can use that wide spread of abilities to your advantage.

[Artega]

I'd agree with that. From creation up until I reached Thunder Bluff, my Warrior used pretty much nothing but what he received for completing quests. If I got something useless, like cloth or leather armor, that was sold, and the revenue was used to purchase mail armor. I switched to two-handed maces when I found a wicked Spiked Club from a unique (named monsters - are these the "Elite" monsters I've seen reference to?) Palemane gnoll. I've been using two-handed maces ever since (despite the fact that it would be hard to rend something with a blunt object.)