World of Warcraft now offers 12 different classes. You have chosen your favorite class and it resulted in an interesting outcome: You prefer hybrids.
This was the topic of the survey: Some time ago we asked you, which is your favorite class in World of Warcraft. Now, after a week, we want to see how you voted.
These are the results: At the time of the evaluation (April 13), 1,451 MeinMMO readers participated and voted. The selection is quite balanced, but there is a tendency:
- Druid: 162 (11.16 %)
- Paladin: 153 (10.54 %)
- Hunter: 137 (9.44 %)
- Warrior: 131 (9.03 %)
- Shaman: 128 (8.82 %)
- Warlock: 120 (8.27 %)
- Mage: 120 (8.27 %)
- Rogue: 111 (7.65 %)
- Demon Hunter: 111 (7.65 %)
- Death Knight: 109 (7.51 %)
- Priest: 99 (6.82 %)
- Monk: 70 (4.82 %)
Note: Deviations in the second decimal place may occur due to rounding.
It is noticeable that most of you prefer Druids. Both this and the Paladin in second place are true hybrids. Over one-fifth of you prefer one of these two classes. A stark contrast to the loser, who can also fill all roles: the Monk.
It is also striking that the Demon Hunter, being the newest class, is more popular than Monks and Death Knights, both of which were released before it. Either the allure of the new is still present, or the class simply seems more successful to you than the previous newcomers.
The advantage of the classes: They can do it all
That’s why Paladins and Druids are so popular: Only a few of you explained why you chose what you like the most. However, both Paladins and Druids show a significant strength: They can do everything.
Each of the required roles in a group (Tank, Healer, DPS) can be filled by both classes. This is achieved through quick specialization and equipment switching.
Druids are leading in this regard, as they can deal damage in both melee and ranged combat – Paladins are pure melees. Furthermore, Druids can excel with significant damage, at least in the current DPS rankings for WoW, where they stand above Paladins.
What about the Hunter? Hunters are generally considered a rather easy class to play in the WoW community. However, this doesn’t change the fact that at least one of their specializations is found among the upper ranks of the DPS lists in almost every content.
Hunters are a good starter class and have the potential to become really strong when mastered. Many players begin their journey in World of Warcraft with a Hunter and then simply stick with it, like MeinMMO reader Julia Knölle on Facebook: “From the start as BM-Hunter, for me the best class and I get along best with it.”
The strength of all your popular classes lies quite evidently in their versatility or in the ease of entry they promise. Especially Druids and Paladins allow you to fill different roles without having to learn a new character right away.
Why is the Monk so unpopular then?
What’s surprising is that Monks are the most unpopular class by a significant margin, even though they can also fulfill all roles. This could have several reasons:
- Monks are considered harder to play
- They are often only found in the lower ranks of DPS lists
- Other classes can do what they can do, only a bit better
Monks have unique mechanics in each of their specializations. However, this also leads to many raid groups taking only one Monk, who is supposed to take on that one specific task.
A good example is the ability “Mystical Touch” from Windwalkers and Brewmasters, which increases the physical damage taken by the target by 5% and thus benefits all melee players in your raid.
With the upcoming expansion Shadowlands many classes will receive a revamp and new abilities. This might make the Monk more popular again.
Are the most popular classes also the best?
It is difficult to quantify how strong a class really is. However, one can somewhat gauge the strength by the performance of the best players. For example, the “M+-Score” on wowprogress.com, which indicates how well players perform in Mythic+ dungeons.
The site shows that among tanks and DPS, neither Druids nor Paladins are particularly popular. Here, Warriors make up the absolute majority. Among DDs, there is rather a tendency towards Mages, Rogues, and Demon Hunters.
Only among healers are both Paladins and Druids the top classes preferred by most players. They are therefore apparently very strong, at least in this area.
Which class should I play? Every class has its strengths and weaknesses, and a well-played character is often better (and more fun) than a half-heartedly played “OP class”.
If you still can’t decide, the new, big feature of Shadowlands: The Covenants may help you choose. With these, there will be special covenant abilities that differ depending on the covenant and class. We cannot yet foresee the impact on the classes, but the abilities will definitely bring interesting changes.
