Breakfast topic: Best class for a new gamer?
by Elizabeth Wachowski 
Jan 12th 2007 at 9:00AM
Eazybee of Suramar has a problem: he's finally convinced his non-gamer wife to give WoW a shot, and wants to know what class might be best to start her off on. Most of the respondents suggested letting her read the character descriptions and pick herself, but a couple of race/class combinations kept showing up as options. These include night elf druid (night elves are cute, and druids let you try out all different roles), gnome mage (gnomes are silly and mages get a lot of neat "extras" that can entice new players) and draenei shaman (they can both roll draenei and explore, and shaman will be in high demand in the Alliance.)
It's all well and good to say that people should choose for themselves, but getting into WoW can be very difficult for non-gamers, and some classes are harder than other early on (hunters are nightmares until ten, in my experience.) If my non-gaming mother said next week "Honey, I'd like to give this Warcraft thing a shot," I would probably recommend a blood elf paladin for her. Blood elves have a beautiful starting area, and paladins are very easy to get to 10 - swing at things, hit things, heal self when health is low. They also don't go out of mana very much when they're lowbies, making it one less part of the game I have to explain.
What race/class combination would you recommend for someone just getting into WoW?
Filed under: Virtual selves, Breakfast Topics
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Matt Jan 12th 2007 9:08AM
Human Mage. Good at the beginning, the human start area is pretty sweet, close to everything, and its good at the end, with the increased rep gains. Plus mages rock hard.
Bildo Jan 12th 2007 9:09AM
I'd most certainly say Paladin also. One: They're incredibly hard to die with at early levels. Two: Even later in the game, there's little "haste" in the button pressing of the class, and they STILL don't die easy.
It's essentially a "run in, seal, attack, heal" class while soloing that works very well for new people to the game. My 6 year-old niece was able to get her paladin, with little instruction other than help reading the quests, all the way to level 8 in a few hours last sunday. That says a lot, I think.
Namisar Jan 12th 2007 11:00AM
Hunter.
Having the cute fuzzy kitty pet and the ability to play dead increases your chance of hooking the spouse.
I had a girlfriend that hooked onto WoW by getting her to play a hunter. We haven't dated in over a year... but she still plays her hunter.
The Professor Jan 12th 2007 9:15AM
I'm surprised so many people recommended druids for a non-gamer. For a gamer just getting into WoW, I think a druid might be a decent choice, but for someone who is unfamiliar with MMOs and gaming in general, I think the druid has too many variables to be a good option. Shapeshifting is cool, but it can be very difficult to manage all of the abilities and special considerations that come with being a feral druid.
Personally, if I'm learning a new game I tend to shoot for melee classes, and preferably one that can heal. Paladins are likely choice. Warriors are another decent option. They offer low downtime and keep you leveling at a really enjoyable pace.
Gamers have to remember, the most intimidating part of gaming to anyone who doesn't is the amount of information coming at them. Keep it simple, and they'll probably come back for more - and hopefully, dig deeper into a game's intricacies.
Orin Jan 12th 2007 9:21AM
For a new computer gamer or WoW player, I'd suggest any non-hybrid class. Mage, Hunter, Rogue, Warrior. Those are good choices. Once you add healing to the mix, things get a bit hairy late in the game when raiding and such. Though once the player gets more familiar with WoW, they may want to do that otherwise they may get bored with the single-role class.
Brim Jan 12th 2007 9:22AM
After weeks of discussion I finally got my wife to join me. It lasted 20 minutes.
I rolled a female pink haired Gnome Mage for her. Thinking the cuteness would win her over.... Alas...
"Do I have to kill those fluffy doggies?"
"They are ferocious wolves hunny, I bet they ate Gnomebabies"
"But they look cute!"
"Ugly little men! I can shoot those!"
"No Sugar, that would be Dwarves... They are our allies."
After that a naked Gnome ran up to her and humped her leg several times and she ran off to the living room...
Masema Jan 12th 2007 9:28AM
"After that a naked Gnome ran up to her and humped her leg several times and she ran off to the living room..."
Sorry, didn't realize it was your wife...
Seper Jan 12th 2007 9:30AM
When I first started I rolled various Alts. My experience has been that elfs are the easiest race to lvl 1-10. After that it gets tricky. I usually lvl 1-15 in the elf starting areas then I leave to westfall.
The easiest class I have found so far would be hunter. I hardly ever took dmg lvling my character to 20. (you can finish 1-10 super quick as a hunter :p).
A fun class I just rolled is rogue. But I dont think its very good for new players. As a new person rogues would be very hard to play because they are very strategy intense.
I would stay away from druid. I'm an elf druid. And although I see the value in the class... all i hear from druids in my guild (and my own experience) is how all they are, are priests. If you roll a druid you have to be alert and willing to help at all times. If you roll any other class (i guess other then a priest :p) the job will be much easier and most likely more fun for you.
Tachyon Jan 12th 2007 9:32AM
Haha #5, nice story :)
My wife totally resists my attempts to convince her trying WoW, but I'm sure when she'd try it, she'd react similarly ;)
DDRFan2006 Jan 12th 2007 9:46AM
My husband convinced me to play WoW. I started 1 week ago and now I love the game more than he does. I made a Shamman Taureen and I absolutely love my Taureen!! I can't wait for Burning Crusade. I want to make a blood elve, maybe paladin or warlock.
Now I think it would be worth mentioning that I am a hardcore gamer and it didn't take much for him to convince me (well maybe a year, I was way too much attached to my X360 :-) )
multikast Jan 12th 2007 9:47AM
Well, i got my girlfriend into hockey... now i have to try to get her into wow. or at least try it so she understands. I would never expect that she would get 'hooked', but just so she tries it out to see what it's like. I'm thinking something blood elf. i'm horde-only, so i was waiting for the expansion :).
Jeff Taylor Jan 12th 2007 9:52AM
Funny, a friend of mine's father who is like 72 enjoys Fantasy RPGs, and is into WoW after some prodding. We had this same discussion since he was used to games where you could save and then reload if something messed up... so he needed something to make it hard to die and would allow for mistakes and isn't too complicated... what else but a Paladin =)
Lori Jan 12th 2007 10:11AM
WoW is my first MMO and I started with a human Mage. I got bored at about lvl 18 and rerolled a lock which is still my main. I have mid 40's Druid, Hunter and Priest (shadow) along with a 31 Mage and a Pally languishing at lvl 27.
Druids can be complicated and fragile although they are fun if you have more experience with the game. Hunters are easy mode, I think and the priest is cool but I died a lot till I respecced shadow. The mage is still somewhat boring and the Pally I found confusing.
So, I would suggest a lock. You get an Imp early that provides a lot DPS for you. Then you get a VW that is good at tanking.
Sylythn Jan 12th 2007 10:38AM
Assuming you're going to play alongside her - have her roll a hunter. The pet aspect appeals to many female non-gamers, and your help will make 1-10 easier. Hybrid classes should be avoided at all costs (Warlock, Paladin, Druid) - they're too scattered and complicated. You want her to start with a class with a clear goal. Warrior will lock her into tanking later, and priest into healing later - so unless she really wants to do those, I wouldn't recommend them. Rogue would be a good choice as well - simple mechanics and pretty easy to level.
Stanlee of Destromath Jan 12th 2007 10:26AM
PALLIES OR WARRIORS FTW!!
I started with a NE warrior and I enjoyed it - they and pallies don't die that quick.
Tiny Tim Jan 12th 2007 10:41AM
I got my girlfriend to play not to long ago. She never plays video games besides games like solitaire and minesweeper so I was actually surprised when I talked her into making a character and giving it a shot.
She rolled a gnome (because they were cute) and a warlock (because the starting robe was a nice color) and she has had very little trouble leveling up. Yes, a lock can be a bit confusing, but she understands, DoT, DoT, DoT, shadow bolt... loot, repeat.
Jamus Jan 12th 2007 10:43AM
Tauren Hunter would be a good choice. They get:
1. the always handy warstomp to help them out of tight spots
2. a pet to keep them company while they are learning
3. "pretty and open views" starting area
4. ranged weapons plus a little intro to magic
Druid always seems to be the toughest class to learn because of all the variety they can bring to bear. hehehe.
Genius Jones Jan 12th 2007 10:47AM
Warlock. It requires absolutely no skill to play and can live forever in PvP and PvE. Once the boyfriend tells her which buttons to press it's all win after that. Druids are a bad choice because they're a bit complicated for a new gamer. Mage is great because of the relative simplicity of play. Paladin and Shaman are great choices too -- Shaman especially because of how many nice PvE utilities it has and great PvP too.
Deusirae Jan 12th 2007 11:53AM
Female Night Elf Hunter. The NE's are cute if that is something that his wife is looking for. Hunters are BY FAR the easiest class to level in the game, and they have great survivability. With a pet to hold aggro, freezing traps to stop mobs (or frost traps to slow sown groups), and the ever-famous wipe inducer Feign Death (don't use this near the group healer please). They also get to use almost any weapon and although start with leather, they get chain after 40. The gear available from quests and instances almost seem tailored for Hunters. All of this along with auto-shoot (AKA Away From Keyboard Attack) make PvE leveling a breeze. Although easy to PvE, they are dominating in BG's right now.
The pets are also a nice bonus for someone new to WoW, because they are easy to handle and fun to play with. The more inventive his wife is, the hunter can do some interesting tricks with the pet and can feel as a major benefit to a group with pulls, traps and the pet acting as a tank.
DECLANATOR@SURAMAR Jan 12th 2007 2:29PM
My wife started playing at first because we had one PC and she fiqured if she was on I was not. But after playing a few short days we went and bought a new PC. Now we play side by side death to all who apose our rule, no just kidding. I have a Horde roque, druid, mage, and my main is a lock, She has a Horde hunter and a mage. I can't get her to try a new class but as long as she is playing its all good. Look for us on Suramar - Horde - sassyevil, sassybeetch, goblue, bloodjoy - Alliance - declanator, daci