The Burning Crusade Classic- Complete Class Picking Guide

World of Warcraft Classic is slowly but surely nearing the end of its natural cycle. Naxxramas, the last raid of Vanilla WoW is out and it is only a matter of time now before we get the inevitable announcement for The Burning Crusade Classic.

We got a lot of positive feedback for our class picking guide for WoW Classic, so it seemed only natural that we made one for TBC as well.

A lot of things change between Classic Vanilla and TBC. No longer are warriors the kings of the damage meter. No longer are mages the dominant gold farmers, and no longer are more than half the talent trees a meme. The Burning Crusade brings a lot of changes to all the classes and this guide will mostly focus on the changes going from Classic to TBC – so if you didn’t play Classic and want an overview of the base classes we recommend you read this guide.

In this guide, I will be using acronyms for several terms or the guide would be very hard to read for regular Warcraft players. Here’s an acronyms explanation if you are not sure what certain terms mean:

• PvP: Player-versus-player
• PvE: Player-versus Environment(raids/dungeons/world content)
• AoE: Area-of-effect
• TBC: The Burning Crusade
• Classic: Referring to World of Warcraft Classic
• WoW: World of Warcraft
• Burst: high short-term damage
• RNG: Random-number-generator(randomness)

Related: Best MMO Mice on the market.

Druid

Night elf / Tauren

The druid is a formidable class with good healing ability, potent offensive spells, excellent buffs, and the unique ability to shapechange into different animal types. In its animal forms, the druid can adopt new roles, such as that of a warrior or rogue, giving it great versatility.

”Druid” as described in the Original World of Warcraft 2004 Manual

In World of Warcraft Classic, the druid perfectly fits the ”A jack of all trades is a master of none” quote. They are decent healers, can do decent damage, and can be decent tanks. While that sounds fitting for a class that can do it all, it doesn’t work that well in the mindset of modern meta gaming and druids will usually be cast to the wayside for higher-performing classes.

But what if I told you that in The Burning Crusade, druids are still the jack of all trades but also the masters of several aspects of the game? The new Tree of Life and Lifebloom abilities make them powerful healers, Mangle makes them effective tanks and damage dealers, and Cyclone makes them gods of the arena.

Why you should play a druid:

• High skill ceiling class with insane utility and a high skill cap that allows them to really stand out
• Cool & iconic class quest for Swift Flight Form
• By far the best gatherers in the game due to the instant cast Flight Form shapeshift.
• The best 2v2 Arena healers in the game
• Excellent control with roots, stuns, and Cyclone
• Fast levelers
• Powerful raid utility with innervate, rebirth, and Tree of Life aura
• Still the best flag carriers in the game in Battlegrounds
• Can be tanks(feral), melee damage dealers(feral), ranged damage dealers(balance), and healers(Restoration) – and all of the specializations are useful in The Burning Crusade
• Strong dueling / 1-versus-1 class

Why you shouldn’t play a druid:

• Still not great dungeon healers due to the lack of a traditional resurrect ability
• Balance & Feral druids will not be among the top damage dealers
• High skill floor class that can be hard to play well for new players
• Feral druids take a LOT of effort to be effective as damage dealers

Druids will go from being one of the least populated classes to one of the most popular when we transition from Classic to The Burning Crusade as all of their specializations become viable and they are a top-tier PvP class. Making them an obvious pick if PvP is your main focus in the game but for players that only care about PvE, they are not as strong of a class. They do well enough in all four roles but they will rarely be ”the best” at any of the roles, except for certain fights where healing-over-time or feral tanking shines due to their extreme health pool. However, all druid specializations bring something useful to the party or raid and will be a valuable asset to the group.

If you like druids in Classic, you will absolutely love them in The Burning Crusade and if you didn’t play them due to their lackluster performance they might be worth considering this time around. They also make for an excellent alt-character due to Swift Flight Form’s ability to gather herbs and ores much more efficiently than other classes.

New Druid abilities in The Burning Crusade

• Flight Form / Swift Flight Form: Cool, flavorful, and by far the most overpowered mount in the game. Unlocked through an epic questline.
• Lifebloom: Another heal-over-time!
• Lacerate: Finally another ability to press in bear form.
• Maim: A poor man’s kidney shot.
• Cyclone: Has been considered one of the most powerful PvP abilities ever implemented in the game ever since.
• Force of Nature(talent): Last talent in the Balance tree.
• Mangle Cat / Bear(talent): Last talent in the Feral tree.
• Tree of Life(talent): Last talent in the Restoration tree.

Specializations: 

See the full 2.3 talent tree here

• Balance: Devastates their opponents with the force of nature, becoming potent spell casters. While not as high on the damage meters as Warlocks or Mages they do bring wonderful utility with their improved Faerie Fire talent and Moonkin Aura. The new Dreamstate talent also helps against their mana issues which hold them back in Classic.
• Feral: Unleash the primal forces of nature in the agile cat form or the resilient bear form. Feral druids can be great tanks and melee damage dealers and an array of new abilities removes some of their biggest weak spots from Classic.
• Restoration: The masters of healing-over-time abilities that shine on movement heavy fights and in PvP. Their new Tree of Life form makes them an essential part of any raid, while Cyclone and their high overall utility make them gods in the arena.

Hunter

Night Elf / Dwarf / Draenei / Orc / Tauren / Troll / Blood Elf

The hunter is a unique class in World of Warcraft because it is primarily a ranged attacker. To support the hunter’s ranged attacks, this class has two main advantages: a loyal pet and a wide array of movement-restricting spells.

”Hunter” as described in the Original World of Warcraft 2004 Manual

Move aside warriors, there’s a new sheriff in town.

Everything that made hunters great in Classic still rings true for The Burning Crusade. They are still the best class in the game for soloing difficult enemies, they are still a powerful PvP class, the best levelers, and in The Burning Crusade, your pet also scales with your gear, making them better in all aspects of the game. They are arguably the best damage dealing class in TBC and can do extraordinary damage with very little effort, making them a great pick for both casuals and try-harders. 

The biggest change to the Hunters in TBC came with the added mechanic that pets now scale with gear which no longer causes them to be out scaled by other classes and makes them more effective in all aspects of the game. The Burning Crusade also saw the removal of the so-called ”dead zone”(a point where opponents are too far away to melee hit and too close to ranged hit) by drastically reducing the minimum range of ranged attacks which is huge, especially in PvP. Traps are now also usable in combat and these two changes make the class a lot less frustrating and more fun to play.

Why you should play a hunter:

• Best leveling class in the game
• The last raid drops a Legendary bow, reserved for hunters
• Best class in the game at soloing difficult elites and rares
• Great gold farmers due to their long-range, instant abilities allowing them to tag mobs from afar & ability to solo elites with their pet.
• The best physical damage dealers in the game
• Very strong in all types of PvP, including Arena
• Very ”noob-friendly”. 
•  A ton of different pets to choose from which creates a lot of variety
•  The pet system has a lot of depth and is almost its very own metagame
• Due to the set bonus on their dungeon set, they become extraordinarily powerful very early on
• Hard to master in PvP but very rewarding
• Removal of the ”dead zone” and the added ability to use traps in combat make hunters much more fluid to play

Why you shouldn’t play a hunter:

• Boring one-button macro rotation in PvE
• Hard class to play well in PvP as it requires you to learn how to crowd control, kite, and stutter-step effectively.
• Arrows & bullets take up a whole bag slot
• Having to feed your pet to keep it loyal and happy can be quite annoying
• Might be over-populated due to their high damage output

Everything hunters did well in Classic, they do better in The Burning Crusade. They are the best solo class in the game, top damage dealers, and very potent in all types of PvP. Their playstyle is a lot more fluid and fun in The Burning Crusade with all of the most annoying aspects of playing a hunter being removed – such as the dead zone, pets not scaling with gear, traps being unusable in combat, and pets dying constantly to incidental AoE damage.

New hunter abilities in The Burning Crusade:

• Steady Shot: New filler-spell without a cooldown.
• Kill Command: Powerful pet ability that you pair with Steady Shot in a macro to top the meters.
• Aspect of the Viper: Addresses the hunter’s mana issues.
• Misdirection: Misdirect’s threat to the target. Making hunter’s even better pullers. 
• Snake Trap: New trap that adds paralyzing poisons to the target.
• The Beast Within(talent): Last talent in the Beast Mastery Tree.
• Silencing Shot(talent): Last talent in the Marksmanship Tree.
• Readiness(talent): Last talent in the Survival Tree.

Specializations: 

See the full 2.3 talent tree here

• Beast Mastery: Specializes in increasing the potency of their pets and working in synchronicity with their companions. They are the kings of PvE content in The Burning Crusade with exceptionally high damage with very little effort and also work quite well in PvP.
• Marksmanship: Focuses on perfecting their archery and are extremely powerful in arenas due to their high burst damage and crowd controls.
• Survival: The Bear Grylls of World of Warcraft. Specializing in traps, utility, control, and survival. While much more niche than the other two specializations they do see use due to their Expose Weakness talent.

Mage

Human / Gnome / Draenei / Undead / Troll / Blood Elf

The Mage is a master of powerful mystic energies, able to use magic in the most spectacular and destructive ways. Mages are a fragile class, with little health and poor fighting ability. However, they make up for this physical weakness with their awesome spellcasting.

”Mage” as described in the Original World of Warcraft 2004 Manual

Mages is and always will be the stereotypical wizard of World of Warcraft, using powerful frost, fire, and arcane abilities to control and devastate their foes. Much like in Classic, mages are a solid ranged damage dealer and provide a truckload of utility to the team with buffs, food & water, crowd control and slows. While they are no longer the best-ranged damage dealers they still perform very well and will outshine most melees on the damage meter while still being absolute beasts in PvP.

Mages still bring a lot of area-of-effect damage and a ton of control and burst. But mages are the class that got hit hardest by the addition of the AoE cap that was added in The Burning Crusade. Any damage done to more than 10 mobs will be greatly handicapped and you will no longer see mages pull off these absurd full dungeon pulls and insane boosts. So if you want to play mage for that sweet gold farming potential then you are better off with a Protection Paladin.

On the plus side, they got a ton of cool new abilities that makes them one of the most fun and highest skill-cap classes in PvP.

Why you should play a mage:

• Arguably the most useful damage dealer in any dungeon group due to their exceptional utility, Polymorph, control, and damage.
• All three talent trees are good
• Still incredibly strong in PvP
• Easy to learn, incredibly hard to master(at least in PvP)
• Making food & water for your party is no longer a pain
• A powerful solo class that can take on enemies that most classes cannot due to their slows and kiting potential
• Arcane becomes a viable specialization due to the new Arcane Blast ability
• Polymorph is still the best crowd control ability in the game
• Gets some of the coolest new abilities in Spellsteal and Invisibility

Why you shouldn’t play a mage: 

• Warlocks outshine them in PvE, at least in terms of damage.
• Boring PvE rotation
• No longer the masters of grinding due to the added ‘AoE Cap’
• Hard to play well in PvP(Yes, that is both a pro and a con)
• Raids will not want more than one or two mages ideally

Much of what made mages great in Classic still rings true in The Burning Crusade but they do take a backseat to Warlocks in terms of damage and are no longer the gods of gold farming. They are still very strong in all aspects of the game and a welcomed addition to any raid and dungeon group. They are also an essential part of the strongest 3v3 arena combination in the game – Rogue, Mage, Priest, also known as RMP.

New Mage Abilities in The Burning Crusade:

• Spellsteal: Steal a buff from your opponent. One of the most fun abilities added in TBC.
• Ritual of Refreshment: You no longer have to conjure food & water for everyone yourself.
• Invisibility: Psuodo stealth that also works as a threat drop.
• Molten Armor: New fire-focused mage armor.
• Ice Lance: New shatter-combo ability.
• Ice Block: Ice Block is now baseline for all mages.
• Water Elemental(talent): Last talent in the Frost talent tree.
• Icy Veins(talent): Mini-bloodlust in the Frost talent tree.
• Slow(talent): Last talent in the Arcane tree.
• Dragon’s Breath(talent): Last talent in the Fire talent tree.

Specializations:

See the full 2.3 talent tree here

• Arcane: Too…. much… power… Arcane Blast is by far the most destructive of the mages’ new abilities but drains your mana like no other. If you learn to use Arcane blast without going out of mana then Arcane is a top-tier raid specialization.
• Fire: Some people just wanna watch the world burn… And those people will love playing a fire mage. Whether it’s for big ignites in PvE or playing an absolute glass cannon in PvP.
• Frost: The masters of control and the nightmare of any warrior. Frost is a very reliable and stable talent tree in PvE and an absolute unit of death in PvP.  

Paladin

Human / Dwarf / Draenei / Blood Elf

The paladin is a virtuous defender of the weak and a tireless enemy of the undead. Mixing elements of the warrior and the priest, the paladin is a tough melee fighter with great health, excellent protection and very strong buffs. It also has a useful mix of healing and defensive spells.

”Paladin” as described in the Original World of Warcraft 2004 Manual

The Paladin is the stalwart defender of the light and righteous symbol of the Alliance… Only, they are no longer Alliance exclusive… That’s right, blessings for everyone! 

The Paladin was designed to be the king of support classes and in that, they succeeded in Classic. Paladins bring excellent support to any group they are in with their blessings and auras and powerful cooldowns. However, Holy paladin was the only choice for the really serious players as Retribution and Protection simply doesn’t come close to competing with the other classes in the game. 

Well, that changes in The Burning Crusade.

The Burning Crusade brought in a ton of major changes to the Paladin. Protection Paladins now have a taunt and a way to pull enemies from afar, as well as a way to sustain their mana. Retribution now has an active ability to press in Crusader Strike and also had their mana issues resolved. These core changes made it so Protection went from an absolute meme to the god of tanking multiple mobs, both in raids and dungeons. And Retribution suddenly became able to compete with the other melees on the damage meter and also bring their trademark support abilities with seals and blessings. Holy is as strong as ever and remains a powerful healer in The Burning Crusade. 

Paladins went from having one viable talent tree to three, making them one of the biggest winners when it comes to the TBC class changes. On top of that, Protection Paladins will replace Mages as the kings of gold farming with incredible sustain and the ability to do a lot of area damage that isn’t affected by the AoE cap.

Why you should play a Paladin:

• Can play all three roles and all three specializations are viable
• Protection Paladins become gold farming machines
• The new Crusader aura makes them the fastest mounted class in the game
• Most of their issues and weaknesses from Classic was resolved or minimized in The Burning Crusade
• Both Retribution and Holy are good in PvP
• Paladins bring a ton of support to any party and raid group with seals, blessings, auras, and powerful CDs such as Lay on Hands and Blessing of Protection.
• The only plate-wearing healer making them incredibly hard to kill for physical damage dealers

Why you shouldn’t play a Paladin:

• Holy remains to be, arguably, the most boring healer in raids
• If you play Alliance you will not get Seal of Blood, which is the best DPS seal(Unless Blizzard make changes)
• As a Blood Elf Paladin, you will start at level 1 where and have to level all the way to 58 before entering the Outlands
• Blessings still have a short duration, making it annoying to keep up

Paladins improved categorically in every single aspect in The Burning Crusade and it is one of the biggest winners going from Classic to The Burning Crusade. Protection Paladins are highly sought after and incredibly fun to play. Retribution becomes viable and a lot more fun due to having more abilities to press, and Holy is just as strong as they were in Vanilla.

New Paladin abilities in The Burning Crusade:

• Righteous Defense: Paladin’s finally got a taunt.
• Crusader Aura: 20% mounted movement speed to your party.
• Avenging Wrath: One of the most iconic Paladin cooldowns in Wow got added in TBC.
• Spiritual Attunement(Passive): Addresses Paladin’s mana issues. So important that I had to mention it despite being passive.
• Seal of Vengeance(Alliance): The new Alliance-only seal in TBC.
• Seal of Blood(Horde): The new Horde-only seal in TBC.
• Divine Illumination(talent): Last talent in the Holy tree.
• Avenger’s Shield(talent): Last talent in the Protection tree.
• Crusader Strike(talent): Last talent in the Retribution tree.

Specializations:

See the full 2.3 talent tree here

• Holy: Supports and heal their allies with holy magic and are the kings of tank healing but lack meaningful raid healing. Also, the only plate-wearing healer that gives them some additional survivability in PvP.
• Protection: Protects and serves with powerful AoE tanking capabilities. By far the best tank in The Burning Crusade at tanking multiple mobs and also become excellent gold farmers.
• Retribution: Dispenses righteous justice to their enemies with holy seals and judgments. While still being a valuable support class to your team in both PvE and PvP.

Priest

Human / Dwarf / Night Elf / Draenei / Troll / Undead / Blood Elf

Priests harness the powers of light and shadow, healing allies and causing damage to their enemies. While only able to wear cloth armor, priests have a wide array of spells to keep themselves and their allies alive in the face of danger.

”Priest” as described in the Original World of Warcraft 2004 Manual

Priests wield the powers of light and shadow to either heal their allies or incinerate their enemies.

Priests were the kings of healing in Classic and not much changes in that regard in The Burning Crusade. Priests are by far the most versatile healer in the game with a huge array of different healing and support abilities that allow them to be effective single-target healers and raid healers. They are also top-tier healers in Arena in compositions such as Discipline Priest & Rogue in 2-versus-2, or the aforementioned RMP (rogue, mage, priest) in 3v3’s.

Shadow Priests see the biggest power spike out of any of the priest specializations. Not only are they viable in TBC, but they are also highly sought after due to their new Vampiric Touch talent that helps sustain the mana of their entire party.

Why you should play a Priest:

• Most versatile healer in the game
• Top-tier healer in both PvE and PvP
• Great asset to any group, both as Shadow and as a healer
• Fun niche abilities such as Mind Control, offensive dispel, and Mind Vision
• Fear Ward is no longer Dwarf specific(Assuming they do patches the same way they did in Classic)
• Shadow Priests are still a force to be reckoned with in PvP

Why you shouldn’t play a Priest:

• No world buffs to dispel(I hate that I have to put this in here)
• No mobility, which can be frustrating in PvP

Priests were already in a really good spot in Classic but with Shadow becoming a viable choice for PvE and arena allowing Priests to shine, The Burning Crusade is a really good time to play a Priest.

New Priest abilities in The Burning Crusade:

• Mass Dispel: Expensive offensive dispels that can remove immunities.
• Fear Ward: No longer Dwarf-only(depending on what Patch TBC will run on)
• Prayer of Mending: New heal that jumps between raid members.
• Binding Heal: Expensive heal that heals priest & the target.
• Shadowfiend: Shadowy fiend that restores mana to the priest.
• Shadow Word: Death: Yup, Priests have execute now.
• Pain Suppression(talent): Last talent in the Discipline tree.
• Circle of Healing(talent): Last talent in the Holy tree.
• Vampiric Touch(talent): Last talent in the Shadow tree.

Specializations:

See the full 2.3 talent tree here

• Discipline: Focuses on support and survivability, making it incredibly powerful in PvP situations but also has its uses in PvE.
• Holy: Is all about raw healing output and is the default PvE choice in The Burning Crusade.
• Shadow: Melt faces and support your team while doing it. Shadow Priests can do a good amount of damage in PvE and is a must-have for any raid due to Vampiric Touch, Shadow Weaving, and Misery talents. They are still very powerful in PvP due to their high survivability and burst damage.

Rogue

Human / Dwarf / Night Elf / Gnome / Orc / Troll / Undead / Blood Elf

The rogue is one of the most lethal character classes in the game, able to deal out immense damage in a short period of time. Yet, for all their fast-hitting power, rogues are not very durable, relying on quickness and stealth for protection instead of armor and high health.

”Rogue” as described in the Original World of Warcraft 2004 Manual

Rogues were and will always be the invisible cancer plaguing the unaware throughout all of Azeroth. Their huge toolkit of control, stealth, and powerful cooldowns make them masters of PvP skirmishes and very few will survive an encounter with a well-prepared, and well-playing rogue.

While their power in PvP only increases in The Burning Crusade, they do struggle a bit on the PvE side of things. At least early on. The Burning Crusade in general is famous for being unfriendly towards melee with tons of mechanics to avoid and watch out for that ranged don’t have to worry about. 

Nevertheless, Rogues remain the deadliest world PvP class in the game and top-tier in arenas as well. They can still dish out a lot of damage in PvE when allowed too but they don’t bring much else to the table, making them one of the least desirable classes for PvE in general.

Why you should play a Rogue

• You love making people log out of the game in anger
• Rogues are S-tier in arenas and world PvP
• Rogues receive some of the most fun and overpowered PvP abilities in The Burning Crusade with Shadowstep and Cloak of Shadows
• Generally, the first class to receive the coolest legendary ever added to World of Warcraft, the Warglaives of Azzinoth
• Stealth is always super fun and useful
• Incredibly rewarding for skilled players with one of the highest skill caps in the game
• Become top-tier damage dealers in later tiers, especially if they get their warglaives
• Has a ton of very powerful cooldowns

Why you shouldn’t play a Rogue

• Weak class in PvE for the first 2 tiers
• They will likely be quite popular due to their prowess in PvP, despite being in very low demand in PvE
• Very cooldown dependent
• Leveling up the class-specific professions, lockpicking, and poisons can be very tedious.
• Poor AoE damage
• Very squishy

Rogues go from one of the best damage dealers in Classic to one of the worst in The Burning Crusade. So if topping the meters in PvE is your primary focus then Rogue might not be for you. However, if you love PvP, then Rogues are arguably the strongest class in the game during TBC and very rewarding if you are looking for a high-skill cap class.

New Rogue abilities in The Burning Crusade

• Deadly Throw: Ranged combo point spender.
• Envenom: New poison focused finisher.
• Anesthetic Poison: Non-threat instant poison.
• Shiv: Applies your off-hand poison to the target guaranteed.
• Cloak of Shadows: Spell immunity, as if they needed it.
• Mutilate(talent): Last talent in the Assassination tree.
• Shadowstep(talent): Last talent in the Subtlety tree.

Specializations:

See the full 2.3 talent tree here

• Assassination: Focuses on poison and dagger use. They do pretty well in both PvE and PvP but will generally be outperformed in PvE by Combat and by Subtlety in PvP. Good choice if you want to be able to do both PvE and PvP without having to unlearn your talents.
• Combat: Focuses on raw damage output and thus is the primary specialization used in PvE content but lack utility in PvP.
• Subtlety: Masters of stealth and control make Subtlety the go-to PvP talent tree. 

Shaman

Orc / Tauren / Troll / Draenei

The shaman is a versatile and flexible class that fulfills many roles in an adventuring party. While other classes are pure fighters or spellcasters, the shaman enjoys a happy medium in between. The shaman is an effective spellcaster, but can also fight extremely well with mace and staff.

”Shaman” as described in the Original World of Warcraft 2004 Manual

Just as The Horde receive the Paladin class through blood elves, The Alliance can now play Shamans through the new Draenei race – which is a godsent seeing as Shamans become arguably the most highly sought after class in PvE content in The Burning Crusade. Their huge array of supportive totems and exceptional healing output makes them a must-have in any raid. As if that wasn’t enough they also receive the strongest party-wide cooldown in the game with Bloodlust(Horde) and Heroism(Alliance) that greatly increase the cast-and-attack speed of their entire party.

All three of the Shamans talent trees are powerful in their own right in TBC which gives you a choice between three distinct playstyles.

Why you should play a Shaman

• Best raid healers in the game with chain heal
• Bloodlust/Heroism is the strongest PvE cooldown in the game by far and makes them a very powerful class to stack in raids
• All three specializations bring unique buffs to their parties and due to Bloodlust they will always be in demand
• Restoration shamans are really strong in PvP
• Both Enhancement and Elemental perform well in PvE and their burst damage makes them very dangerous in PvP.
• A vast toolkit of utility and support through totems

Why you shouldn’t play a Shaman

• Enhancement and Elemental is very reliant on randomness
• Enhancement and Elemental won’t top the damage meters
• Restoration Shamans mainly spam Chain Heal which can be a bit boring
• The sheer amount of totems Shamans can conjure can seem very overwhelming to new players
• Alliance Shamans will have to level from 1-58 before entering the Outland
• No world buffs to purge(again, sorry…)

The Burning Crusade gave Shamans one of the most potent and iconic abilities in Bloodlust & Heroism and fixed the most glaring issues that Elemental and Enhancement had in Classic. All in all, Shamans were buffed significantly in TBC and will likely be the most highly sought after class in PvE.

New Shaman abilities added in The Burning Crusade

• Bloodlust/Heroism: Best party-wide cooldown ever added to the game.
• Fire Elemental Totem: Summon a fire elemental to burn your foes.
• Earth Elemental Totem: Summon an earth elemental to protect you.
• Wrath of Air Totem: New spellcaster oriented totem.
• Water Shield: Mana-sustain oriented shield.
• Totemic Call: Finally a way to recall your totems for a bit of mana.
• Totem of Wrath(talent): Last talent in the Elemental tree.
• Shamanistic Rage(talent): Last talent in the Enhancement tree.
• Earth Shield(talent): Last talent in the Restoration tree.

Specializations:

See the full 2.3 talent tree here

• Elemental: This is the spell-casting tree and can dish out a lot of burst damage while adding a ton of support and buffs to their teammates. Making them attractive in both PvE and PvP.
• Enhancement: Uses weapon enhancements and close-ranged spells to deal damage in melee range. Their bursty damage and huge toolkit of supporting spells make them great in all types of content.
• Restoration: Uses water and nature magic to sustain and rejuvenate their party with excellent healing and support spells. They are unmatched in raid healing output and one of the most sought-after healers.

Warlock

Human / Gnome / Orc / Undead / Blood Elf

These spellcasters can summon demons to serve them, and they also cast many painful spells that slowly eat at the life of enemies. Warlocks are a physically weak class, but they compensate for this deficiency with their potent array of spell and their demonic pets.

”Warlock” as described in the Original World of Warcraft 2004 Manual

The age of Warriors is over… The time of the Warlock has come.

Warlocks are powerful spellcasters that study the forbidden arts of dark magic, to summon demons and unleash painful spells and curses upon their foes. Their ability to summon demonic companions and sustain themselves through spells and healthstones makes them an excellent solo class and very fast levelers. 

Warlocks in Classic are obnoxiously strong in PvP due to their survivability and control, and that does not change in TBC. In fact, you could argue they become stronger than ever and you will find them at the top of any TBC arena class tier list alongside Rogues. 

But PvE is where the Warlock sees the biggest change going from Classic to TBC. They go from being decent ranged spellcasters in Classic to absolute atomic bombs of destructive death in TBC. If the hunter in your group is not at the top of the damage meters you will likely find a Warlock at the number one spot. Warlocks got Soul Split to fix their biggest issue in Classic; no threat mitigation. While also getting a major overall buff to their damage which results in them becoming an S-tier damage dealer and a good choice if you love to see yourself at the top of the meters.

Why you should play a Warlock

• You rolled a Warrior in Classic to top the damage meters
• S-tier in ALL types of content
• Unkillable monsters in PvP
• Best damage dealers in the game, alongside Hunters
• Outshines Mages, even when it comes to AoE damage
• No longer have to manually give out Healthstones to everyone due to Ritual of Souls
• Affliction become a viable choice for PvE and has more than one button to press(Destruction still does more damage later on, but they are viable)
• Very easy class to get into but has a decently high skill cap due to their huge toolkit
• Still offer incredible utility with Healthstones, Soulstone, and Curses

Why you shouldn’t play a Warlock

• Very boring 1-button rotation in PvE(if you want to top the damage meters)
• No mobility
• Ehm, you hate the easy way?

It is hard to say anything really bad about Warlocks in TBC, except that their PvE rotation is mind-numbingly boring. But if you liked playing a Warlock in Classic, you will love it in TBC – and if you went Rogue or Warrior to be the best damage dealers in Classic you might want to consider Warlock this time around. Warlock is a great pick if you want a class that excels in both PvE and PvP without too much effort.

New Warlock abilities in The Burning Crusade

• Ritual of Souls: No longer have to manually create Healthstones for everyone.
• Fel Armor: New sustain-focused armor.
• Seed of Corruption: Most overpowered AoE ability in the game.
• Soulshatter: Warlocks finally have a threat-drop.
• Incinerate: New hard cast destruction spell.
• Unstable Affliction(talent): Last talent in the Affliction tree.
• Summon Felguard(talent): Last talent in the Demonology tree.
• Shadowfury(talent): Last talent in the Destruction tree.

Specializations:

See the full 2.3 talent tree here

• Affliction: This is the damage-over-time tree with a focus on enhancing curses and harmful magic effects. Affliction Warlocks are powerful in PvE and PvP due to their numerous debuffs and good overall damage. Even outperforming Destruction early on.
• Demonology: Improves the effectiveness of their demons and even learn to summon the deadly Felguard. It is an excellent solo specialization for open-world content but also does pretty well in both PvE and PvP. (If you combine the Affliction and Demonology tree you will reach god-tier in PvP)
• Destruction: If you think damage-over-time is boring and have no regard for personal safety then Destruction is right up your alley. Focusing on hard-hitting spells that will take you right to the top of the damage meter and can even be quite effective in PvP.

Warrior

Human / Dwarf / Gnome / Night Elf / Draenei / Orc / Tauren / Troll / Undead

The warrior is the toughest of all classes in World of Warcraft. They have the highest health of any class, can use the best weapons, can wear the heaviest armor, and can also deal an excellent amount of damage.

”Warrior” as described in the Original World of Warcraft 2004 Manual

Warriors are your archetypical fighter class that wears big plate armor and skillfully wield just about any weapon in the game. They can be terrifying berserkers or resilient tanks. 

Warriors is a really strong overall class in TBC with all three talent trees being useful for different situations. Arms are the go-to choice for PvP and even see some use in PvE due to some support utility. Fury warriors are the default PvE damage specialization with high, reliable damage only hindered by the melee-unfriendliness of TBC. And Protection remains the go-to main tanks in The Burning Crusade but receive a lot more competition from Druids and Paladins than they did in Classic.

Warriors are no longer the best performing PvE class in the game and anyone who rolled them in Classic to top the meters will be humbled if they stick to it.

Why you should play a Warrior

• Arms Warriors are still top-tier in PvP
• Fury Warriors can still do a LOT of damage if the encounter allows it
• Protection Warriors are still top-tier tanks due to their powerful cooldowns, mitigation, and threat.
• Arms Warriors will see very little competition on weapons in PvE
• Fury Warriors scale very well with gear and only gets better as the expansion progresses
• You like to hit things… hard

Why you shouldn’t play a Warrior

• You only leveled a Warrior in Classic to top the damage meters
• Warriors are the worst solo class. Struggle in leveling and defeating elites on their own
• Blacksmithing will almost be a must if you want to PvP as Arms due to Stormherald, a craftable mace
• High supply, very low demand

Warriors are still a great class in The Burning Crusade, they are just no longer the undisputed kings of PvE content. They still have one of the most fun PvE specializations in Fury, one of the best PvP specializations in Arms, and remain the go-to main tanks as Protection.

New Warrior abilities in The Burning Crusade:

• Spell Reflection: Finally something to do while stuck in a frost nova.
• Intervene: More mobility, allowing you to charge to an ally.
• Victory Rush: No-cost ability you can use after a killing blow.
• Commanding Shout: Health-increasing shout for your party.
• Rampage(talent): Last talent in the Fury tree.
• Devastate(talent): Last talent in the Protection tree.

Warrior Specializations:

See the full 2.3 talent tree here

• Arms: two-handed wielding gods of war that will strike fear into any arena team. While not as high-damage as Fury in PvE they still have their use due to the Blood Frenzy talent.
• Fury: Are the dual-wielding berserkers of Warcraft. Fury deals excellent and very consistent damage and is the default specialization for PvE.
• Protection: The very symbol of reliable tanking in World of Warcraft and still considered the best main tank for most boss fights. They have more defensive cooldowns than any other tank in the game and generate a high amount of threat while still mitigating damage. Some will also be happy to learn that Protection actually uses a shield in TBC due to higher overall PvE damage and better threat through Devastate. 

Poll – What Class Will You Play?

Choose up to 3 classes you will be playing in TBC.

Other Great Class Picking Guides for The Burning Crusade Classic

If you still can’t decide I will recommend taking a look at these wonderful videos.

Creator: MadSeasonShow on Youtube. Excellent World of Warcraft Youtuber with a particular focus on World of Warcraft Classic.

Creator: MetaGoblin on Youtube. World of Warcraft Youtuber that usually focuses on Classic or TBC.

Creator: ToyHouze on Youtube. WoW TBC content creator that usually release discussion type videos about The Burning Crusade.