You have WoW, deadly? I thought it was a waste of time? :\
Screenor: Some insight that I haven't provided directed towards you:
- Don't play a hunter unless you want to have a harder time finding groups when you get to 60. The ride is a blast, but the destination sucks for hunters. They ROCK at solo'ing and if they have good enough gear, they're good for PvP as well.
- You should pick a server which you think would best fit your playing style. I'm not going to argue that RP is the best server type anymore, because I realize that some people prefer to be in a more laid back, less immersed environment.
- Pick a class you like, you're probably going to be sticking with it for a long while.
- Talk with people who've played thier class for a long time (level 30+ in most cases) and know what they're talking about. I'm not going to preach about mages, hunters, warriors, etc except for the few facts I know about them. I will, however, tell you how much I've ejoyed the Priest, Shaman and Warlock classes:
Priest [Sabetha - 60 Human Priest, Feathermoon] --
Priests are THE healers. I've heard so many arguments otherwise from Paladins and Druids that I want to drop a nuke on their heads. They're stupid to think that they can outheal a Priest... they can't (unless the priest has a broken keyboard or something). Paladins argue that their heals are more mana-efficient. They are, but they don't look at the entire scope of things. They also have to reazlie that they generally have about 4,000 less mana than a level 60 Priest, fully buffed. This ultimately makes their heals less efficient. Secondly, Paladins who have a lot of mana fully buffed (ie 7,500 -- that's about the highest I've ever seen, which is what I have UNBUFFED) lack the oodles of spirit that Priests have. I can regenerate about 110 mana/tick (which is ~2 seconds). Paladins generally generate ~50/tick, and that's with their +30/5second buff. Mine is without. Druids... well, I won't get into them. Paladins make better healers than Druids if you ask me (if they're properly equipped). Priests are also much better PvP classes than most would take them for. I win about 29/30 duels that I'm in. Duels are a lot different than team PvP, though. When you're a Priest in team PvP, you're the primary target. If you're visible, you die first. Why? Priests can put out 1,000+ heals every 1.5 seconds. That's enough to almost completely counter most damage attacks. They're squishy and they die fast. :[
Warlock [Sidoh - 51 Gnome Warlock, Feathermoon] --
I'm not going to talk much about Warlocks because it's been so long since I've played mine. If you're wanting to play a high DPS class, you probably shouldn't play a Warlock. Warlocks generally rank just above Warriors (who aren't damage dealers at all) in damage. They do, however, have some really neat passive abilities and get neat pets. They're vital in endgame instances beacause of their Soulstones, which ultimately prevent full group wipes. They have a lot of neat little abilities which really benefit the group (ie curses that slow casting speed by 50%, detect invisibility buffs... things like that). Warlocks can plain dominate in PvP, if they're specc'd correctly and the person at the keyboard knows what they're doing. There's some Warlock named Drakedogg that released some CRAZY movies of him OWNING in PvP. I mean the guy didn't die and was critting with SHADOW BOLT (which is a timed cast bolt spell that is otherwise non-impressive) for around 3,000. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw the numbers flying off the screen. These tactics are very non-ideal for PvE groups, though. They cause massive amounts of agro and the Warlock will get killed in an instant because they're squishy ( like mages and priests! ).
Shaman [Moone - 34 Troll Shaman, Magtheridon] -
Shamans are... amazing. They are the "jack of all trades, master of none." Perhaps not as versatile as Druids, but they can certainly say some things that Druids can't. For instance: They are an amazing PvP class. Stupid purge && earthbind toten. I solo'd half of the Wailing Caverns (a level 20-ish instance for the Horde, their Deadmines equivilant) at level 25. It was insane. It's been a while since I've played my Shaman, and I haven't even gotten close to endgame with him, so I don't have much more to say. Most of my experiences with them are me getting Earth Shock'd + owned by them on my Priest.
Race is pretty much negligable issue. There are some races that really are better for some classes, but that point is generally arguable. For instance, Night Elves make the best Hunters because they have a passive agility/dodge bonus, plus they have Shadowmeld. All of these things are great for Rogues as well. Gnomes make the best casters because they have a passive intellect bonus, etc. As for me, I play a Human Priest -- passive spirit && desperate prayer for Priests! Plus, the females have the biggest boobs of all races (just kidding!).
Anyway, there's my $0.02. Hope it helps. :]
