[0:00] Hey folks, this is Khani. The Midnight
[0:02] expansion is almost here with early
[0:04] access opening up in just a week's time,
[0:07] so you may feel like you're running out
[0:08] of time to lock in your main character
[0:10] for the new adventures awaiting us.
[0:12] There is a lot to look forward to, but
[0:15] what class should you experience
[0:16] everything on first? Do you roll with a
[0:19] triedand-rue, a favorite DPS that has
[0:21] never let you down, or do you change
[0:23] things up for once and try something
[0:24] new? Well, we've got some useful tips
[0:26] that might make this extremely tough
[0:28] decision a bit easier to work through.
[0:30] So, in this video, we're going to ask
[0:32] and answer the age-old question. How do
[0:35] you pick a main character for a new
[0:37] World of Warcraft expansion? Now, before
[0:40] we jump in, be sure to hit up that like
[0:41] button and subscribe so you never miss
[0:43] another video. Now, if we're ever going
[0:46] to chip away at this monolith of a
[0:48] question, we need to start with roles.
[0:50] What role do you want to play? or what
[0:52] roles do you want to have access to when
[0:54] choosing a main class? Because if you
[0:56] want to tank, mages don't make too much
[0:59] sense. If you want to heal, well, a
[1:01] warlock won't quite fit either. Are you
[1:03] okay with just being able to DPS? Maybe
[1:06] you want to skip over some cues sometime
[1:08] as a tank or healer, or just change
[1:11] things up, in which case you'd need a
[1:13] class that has access to more than just
[1:16] one role. The roles that a class has
[1:18] access to is incredibly important as
[1:20] that dictates how your character will
[1:22] interact with the world and how your
[1:24] class will play during various types of
[1:27] content. Whether you want to focus on
[1:28] solo content like delves, prey, world
[1:31] quests or story quests, jump into group
[1:34] content like dungeons or raids, or try
[1:36] your hand at PvP. All of that is going
[1:39] to look very different through the eyes
[1:40] of a DPS versus a healer versus a tank.
[1:44] So, your role is the most important
[1:46] choice to narrow down first. But what if
[1:49] you don't really know what role you want
[1:51] to roll with this time around? Or maybe
[1:54] you're new to the game and don't really
[1:56] understand what each role might entail.
[1:58] Well, let's try and figure that out.
[2:00] First, let's go through each role, talk
[2:02] about what their purpose is, what
[2:04] they're good at, and how important each
[2:06] one is, and why. Hopefully, we can
[2:08] narrow this down and find you something
[2:10] you can get invested in.
[2:13] Let's start with the tanks because
[2:14] they're arguably the most important role
[2:17] in any kind of group content. Tanks lead
[2:19] the way. Mainly because if anyone else
[2:21] gets hit first, they'll be checking the
[2:23] floor for cracks until they hit their
[2:25] release button. Tanks need to keep all
[2:27] of the attention or aggro of mobs on
[2:29] themselves. They take all of the damage
[2:32] to keep everyone else safe so everyone
[2:34] else can fulfill their own roles. A dead
[2:36] DPS does no DPS after all. So, you need
[2:39] a tank to hold that front line. you
[2:42] won't survive for very long in any kind
[2:44] of group content without a tank. So,
[2:46] that's why they're so important. That's
[2:48] also why they have some of the fastest Q
[2:51] times for any kind of queueable content,
[2:53] and you can usually find a group very
[2:56] quickly for things like mythic plus
[2:57] dungeons or raid groups. Tanks also tend
[3:00] to dictate the pace of any content where
[3:02] they are needed, pulling monsters and
[3:04] gathering them up, choosing which route
[3:06] to take through a dungeon, and how
[3:08] quickly you move from pack to pack.
[3:10] Tanks really do lead the way, but that
[3:12] comes with some extra responsibility.
[3:15] You're kind of expected to know where to
[3:17] go, which means tanks tend to have a bit
[3:19] more homework when compared to other
[3:21] roles. But if figuring out the best ways
[3:23] through a dungeon and taking charge of
[3:25] your group sounds fantastic, then tanks
[3:28] might be a good fit for you. If you
[3:30] don't want to take the lead or you
[3:31] aren't very confident in your tanking,
[3:33] that can have a negative effect on your
[3:35] gameplay. And if you aren't enjoying
[3:37] yourself, well, then what's the point?
[3:39] The good news is that playing a tank can
[3:41] be very rewarding, both mentally and
[3:44] monetarily. It's very satisfying moving
[3:47] quickly through a dungeon, pulling each
[3:48] pack perfectly, fine-tuning your pulls
[3:51] so you can aggro as much as possible
[3:52] without anyone dying. That is a great
[3:55] feeling. And then getting into content
[3:57] faster, whether that's joining a random
[3:59] queue or signing up for pre-made groups
[4:01] can help you gear up much faster as
[4:03] well. As a quick note for tanks in
[4:06] Mythic Plus specifically, there will be
[4:08] a new AIX in Midnight that highlights
[4:10] monsters that you can kill for an easy
[4:12] to follow route through each dungeon. It
[4:14] might not be the most efficient route,
[4:16] but it will guide you through the
[4:18] dungeon through each boss, and you'll
[4:20] have all the trash kills required to
[4:22] fill up the bar. So, learning the new
[4:24] dungeons and tanking in Mythic Plus
[4:26] specifically could be much easier in the
[4:28] new expansion.
[4:30] Now, the other super important role are
[4:32] the healers. If the tank is doing their
[4:34] job right, they're taking all of the
[4:36] damage, but they're going to need some
[4:38] support to stay alive. And that's where
[4:40] the healers come in. Healers keep
[4:42] everyone alive, so the tanks can keep
[4:44] tanking and the DPS can keep standing in
[4:46] fire. I mean, uh, keep DPSing. I
[4:49] personally think healing is the hardest
[4:51] role out of the three. It seems pretty
[4:53] simple on paper. Keep everyone from
[4:55] dropping to zero health, but for the
[4:57] most part, everyone is relying on you.
[5:00] If the tank goes down, everyone else
[5:02] will quickly follow suit. If the DPS
[5:04] die, there's no damage coming out to
[5:06] actually kill anything anymore. And when
[5:08] you start looking at larger group
[5:09] content like raids, the other healers
[5:11] will be relying on you at least a little
[5:13] bit as well. So healing can be quite
[5:16] stressful. You are the main thing
[5:18] standing between victory and defeat,
[5:20] which means it's very common for healers
[5:22] to get a lot of flack, even if it's not
[5:25] their fault. It's just very very easy to
[5:28] blame the healer if someone dies, even
[5:31] if that particular DPS has been standing
[5:33] in the fire for the last minute and a
[5:34] half. Unfortunately, a lot of bad
[5:37] players tend to blame the healers first.
[5:39] And even if they're wrong, that blame is
[5:42] never going to feel great. But just as
[5:44] with tanking, healing can be incredibly
[5:46] satisfying when everything goes right.
[5:49] You can carry all kinds of content as a
[5:51] good healer, and saving the day with a
[5:53] quick external cooldown on the tank or a
[5:55] well-timed raid cooldown feels amazing.
[5:58] The tanks and healers are definitely the
[6:00] keys to any successful group content in
[6:03] WoW, but they can end up being more
[6:05] stressful roles due to those extra
[6:07] responsibilities. So, just keep that in
[6:10] mind.
[6:11] That leaves us with the last role, the
[6:13] DPS. Now, even though I said the tanks
[6:15] and healers are the cornerstones of any
[6:17] good group, DPS is still very important.
[6:20] The higher your DPS, the faster
[6:22] everything dies, and typically the
[6:24] easier content is going to be. That's
[6:26] not an excuse to make the tanks or
[6:28] healers job harder. Though, you want to
[6:30] make sure you're doing your best to stay
[6:31] alive by using your defensives, drinking
[6:34] healing potions if needed, and
[6:36] preferably not standing in the fire. DPS
[6:39] are split into two main camps, the melee
[6:42] and the ranged. Melee DPS tend to play a
[6:44] bit faster and require a bit of button
[6:46] mashing to get their rotations going.
[6:48] They also have to be right up against
[6:50] whatever they want to whack, which will
[6:52] be great if you love being in the thick
[6:54] of things, but this means they do tend
[6:56] to have more abilities or mechanics that
[6:58] they need to dodge. Thankfully, they
[7:00] also have much more freedom of movement
[7:02] when compared to ranged. You can move
[7:04] around as much as you want to on most
[7:06] melee specs, and you won't lose any DPS.
[7:09] So, you should be able to dodge those
[7:10] extra mechanics, no problem.
[7:13] On the other side, ranged get to sit
[7:15] back and blast their target from afar,
[7:17] which is usually quite a bit safer. It
[7:20] also gives you a decent view of the
[7:21] entire battlefield, allowing you to
[7:23] react to mechanics quite comfortably.
[7:25] The drawback for most range specs is
[7:27] their reliance on casting spells, most
[7:29] of which require you to stand still,
[7:31] which can make moving around a bit
[7:33] harder and more punishing on your
[7:35] overall damage output. If you're
[7:37] spending all your time moving around,
[7:38] you won't be dealing all that much
[7:40] damage. Maximizing your DPS as a ranged
[7:43] usually comes from learning mechanics
[7:45] and encounters so you can plan for
[7:47] periods of heavy movement and knowing
[7:49] when you can blast your cooldowns. If
[7:51] you're interested in trying something
[7:53] you've never played before, I would
[7:54] highly encourage you to check out some
[7:56] follower dungeons. Follower dungeons are
[7:58] that you learn at your own pace. There's
[8:00] no other players to worry about and no
[8:02] one complaining that you're going the
[8:04] wrong way or playing a class wrong. Just
[8:06] you, a team of NPCs with no time
[8:08] pressures and you don't even have to
[8:10] finish the dungeon if you don't want to.
[8:13] It's perfect for testing the waters for
[8:15] tanking or healing, especially. So,
[8:17] don't let anything stop you. If you want
[8:19] to learn a new role, go for it. Follower
[8:21] dungeons are the perfect way to try
[8:23] something new and get some practice in.
[8:25] So hopefully at this point you know what
[8:27] kind of role you want to fill and if you
[8:28] want to have some choices to change
[8:30] things up. But that only gets us so far.
[8:33] There are so many tanks, so many
[8:34] healers, and literally everyone can DPS.
[8:37] So how do we narrow this down a bit
[8:39] further to actually pick a class?
[8:42] One of the most important things to me
[8:44] when picking a class to play is the
[8:46] overall theme. If you don't like dark
[8:48] magic and death, then warlocks or death
[8:51] knights might not be for you. If you
[8:53] don't really care for the holy light
[8:54] theme, paladins or priests might not be
[8:56] a great fit either. Playing something
[8:58] that fits your vibe will give you the
[9:00] best chance of sticking with a class.
[9:02] That's what really keeps folks playing
[9:04] the same thing for 10 years or even
[9:06] longer. Take the tanks for example. They
[9:09] all have the same goal, but they go
[9:11] about it in completely different ways.
[9:13] Warriors are all about brute strength
[9:15] and shrugging off the pain, darting
[9:17] between enemies with their various
[9:18] charges and leaps. Paladins wield the
[9:20] light as their mighty bullw walk,
[9:22] consecrating the ground and throwing
[9:24] their shield Captain America style to
[9:26] pull everything towards them. Druids
[9:28] take the form of a massive bear with
[9:30] increased health and defense, clawing
[9:32] and shredding their enemies to pieces.
[9:34] Death knights tap into dark runic powers
[9:36] to ward themselves from danger and sap
[9:39] the strength from their foes. Monks
[9:41] focus on dodging attacks, chugging
[9:43] bruise, and staggering damage over time,
[9:45] which is quite unique and very powerful
[9:48] in certain situations. And then demon
[9:50] hunters are imbued with demonic magic,
[9:52] which allows them to ren souls from
[9:53] their enemies to heal themselves. Each
[9:56] tank plays very differently with unique
[9:58] animations and effects. So, if something
[10:00] sounds really cool or interesting, that
[10:02] could be your new main.
[10:05] Over on the healing side of things,
[10:06] you'll find just as much variety. Do you
[10:09] want to save your group members lives by
[10:11] using nature-based spells and heal
[10:13] overtime effects like the druids? Or tap
[10:15] into the raw elemental powers of Azeroth
[10:17] to protect and heal up your allies as a
[10:19] shaman? Monks offer a different approach
[10:22] with celestial mists with the option of
[10:24] weaving in punches and kicks to
[10:25] contribute some damage while healing.
[10:27] Evokers have a lot of mobility and
[10:29] utility, like being able to pick up and
[10:31] reposition your friends for better or
[10:33] worse while using the powers of the
[10:35] green and bronze dragon flights to great
[10:37] effect. And then the priests and
[10:39] paladins tap into the powers of the holy
[10:41] light to heal in a few different ways.
[10:44] And then for the DPS, I think theme
[10:47] matters the most. Every single class can
[10:49] DPS, and there's quite a lot of overlap,
[10:51] so the theme is really what sets them
[10:54] apart. All of the melee will be getting
[10:55] up close and personal with their
[10:57] targets, but their choice of weapon will
[10:59] vary quite dramatically. Do you want to
[11:01] be stabbing the boss's butt with a pair
[11:03] of daggers, or swing the largest
[11:05] two-handed sword you can get your hands
[11:06] on? Do you want to deal your damage
[11:08] through raw strength, a little bit of
[11:10] trickery, or do you want some magic
[11:12] thrown into the mix? There's a lot of
[11:14] variety just between the different melee
[11:16] DPS, so I'm sure you can find something
[11:18] that sounds interesting to you. Now,
[11:20] over on the range side, you'll find the
[11:22] exact same thing. There are a lot of
[11:24] casters, but some are focused on
[11:26] standard magic schools like Fire, Frost,
[11:28] and Arcane, while others channel fell
[11:30] energy to summon demons and curse their
[11:33] foes. Others channel primal fire and
[11:35] lightning to zap their foes. And there
[11:37] are even classes that tap into the power
[11:39] of the void, turning it against those
[11:41] who would invade our world. Most range
[11:44] DPS will be casting spells, which tends
[11:47] to mean a lot of standing still, with
[11:48] the main exception being hunters. So,
[11:51] that is something else to keep in mind.
[11:54] Now, if you're just looking for the
[11:55] easiest classes to play, I can help you
[11:58] out with some suggestions there. If
[12:00] you're looking for a tank that's easy to
[12:01] pick up and play, I would recommend
[12:03] trying out Paladin. They have a very
[12:05] easy to understand toolkit. They've got
[12:07] some great defensive, so when things get
[12:09] spicy, including an AoE taunt while
[12:11] being completely immune to damage. So
[12:13] that's a huge get out of jail free card.
[12:16] They have some good self-heals if your
[12:17] healer starts to struggle. And then they
[12:19] have one of the best ranged abilities in
[12:21] Avengers Shield for quickly pulling mobs
[12:23] and generating initial aggro. If you're
[12:26] looking for an easyto-play healer, I
[12:28] would stick with the priest. Holy Priest
[12:30] has always been my recommendation for
[12:31] players looking to start their healing
[12:33] adventures. They have quite simple
[12:35] abilities, but they have good answers to
[12:37] every situation. You've got strong
[12:39] single target heals, good AoE heals,
[12:41] powerful raid cooldowns, preemptive and
[12:44] overtime heals, and you bring some good
[12:46] utility to any group, including that
[12:48] highly coveted power infusion. If you
[12:50] want to change things up, you also have
[12:52] access to discipline.
[12:55] For the easiest DPS, my answer will
[12:57] always be the same. It's got to be
[12:59] hunters, especially beast mastery
[13:01] hunter. Beast mastery hunters have
[13:03] unlimited mobility. They don't need to
[13:05] stand still to cast any of their spells,
[13:08] but they get to stay safe with all of
[13:09] the other ranged. They get the best of
[13:12] both worlds. On top of that, they also
[13:14] come with a built-in personal tank to
[13:16] keep aggro while you're out in the world
[13:18] or progressing through solo content,
[13:20] which can make things so much easier, so
[13:22] you can reach higher tiers of Dells
[13:24] faster or clear more difficult prey
[13:26] targets to earn better rewards. They're
[13:28] easy to play and have so many tools to
[13:30] stay alive and avoid taking damage,
[13:32] making them one of the best solo content
[13:34] classes and one of the best classes in
[13:36] general if you are new to the game. Now,
[13:39] there is a new contender here with the
[13:41] release of Midnight. Devourer Demon
[13:42] Hunters are also an incredibly mobile,
[13:45] somewhat ranged DPS spec. They do have a
[13:47] few spells they need to stand still to
[13:49] cast, and they don't have quite as much
[13:51] ranged when compared to the hunters or
[13:54] most ranged DPS for that matter, but
[13:56] they are very easy to play and they fill
[13:58] a sort of melee role. So, if you want to
[14:00] be a bit closer to your target and don't
[14:02] like the idea of playing hunter,
[14:04] devourer demon hunters might be a good
[14:06] choice for an easy to pick up and play
[14:08] class or spec, you can then also dabble
[14:10] with havoc for that pure melee play
[14:12] style or dip your toes into tanking with
[14:14] vengeance. So, demon hunters are a great
[14:16] option, too. Now, I will say that the
[14:19] huge class overhauls for the Midnight
[14:21] expansion did make almost every class
[14:23] and spec much easier to play in general.
[14:26] So, I would try to find something that
[14:27] you really enjoy. Chances are it's not
[14:30] that much more difficult when compared
[14:31] to beast mastery hunter these days.
[14:35] But what if you want to play the
[14:36] strongest class, the beefiest tank, the
[14:39] best healer, or the chart topping DPS?
[14:42] You can do that. It's not an impossible
[14:44] ask or want. There will always be a best
[14:48] class for each role. The problem is that
[14:50] class is going to change and it can
[14:53] change very quickly. Hunters might start
[14:55] off being top DPS in the first week of
[14:57] the expansion, but when the tuning
[14:58] changes start coming through, as they
[15:00] always do, mages could suddenly take
[15:03] that top spot. If they're doing too well
[15:05] a week or two down the line, they could
[15:07] get nerfed as well, leaving the warlocks
[15:09] on top. The start of an expansion is one
[15:12] of the most volatile times for balance
[15:14] tuning changes. So, if your goal is to
[15:17] always play the best class and chase
[15:19] that flavor of the month, best in show
[15:21] experience, you will probably end up
[15:23] swapping classes a lot. If that sounds
[15:26] enjoyable and you really want to chase
[15:28] that top DPS spot, the best
[15:30] recommendation I have for you is to
[15:32] spend the first week or two of the
[15:33] expansion just leveling up your alts.
[15:36] That way, when the tuning changes
[15:38] inevitably turn the tables, your next
[15:40] character will already be leveled up,
[15:42] and you just have to catch them up on
[15:43] the gearing front. If that doesn't sound
[15:46] like a good time, I would revisit the
[15:48] other points in this video and try to
[15:49] pick a class that really resonates with
[15:51] you. That way, you can have fun playing
[15:53] the game, even if you aren't topping the
[15:55] charts in any given week. At this point,
[15:58] if you just simply can't decide, that's
[16:01] actually okay. Thanks to the warb band
[16:03] system that was introduced in The War
[16:05] Within, most of your progress is
[16:06] accountwide. So, even if you hop between
[16:09] characters as often as you change your
[16:10] underwear, you won't actually lose that
[16:12] much progress in most features and
[16:14] systems. You'll have those achievements,
[16:16] transmogs titles mounts reputation
[16:19] progress, feature unlocks and progress,
[16:21] important and story quest completions,
[16:23] and you'll even get discounts while
[16:25] gearing up and faster leveling speeds.
[16:27] Playing multiple characters really isn't
[16:29] that bad anymore, and in some instances
[16:31] can actually be quite beneficial. So,
[16:33] feel free to pick a few mains if you
[16:36] just can't decide. As for me, I'll be
[16:38] leveling my mage first and planning on
[16:40] playing that as my main character, but
[16:42] I'll also have my demon hunter, hunter,
[16:44] and paladin leveled up very quickly to
[16:46] give me one of each armor class and so I
[16:48] can set up all of my professions to be
[16:50] self-sufficient as quickly as possible.
[16:52] But what about you? What are you going
[16:54] to focus on when deciding which
[16:55] character to play first in the new
[16:57] Midnight expansion? Is there a class
[16:59] that you've already settled on, or are
[17:01] you still struggling to find that one
[17:03] class to call your own? Leave all your
[17:05] thoughts in the comments section below.
[17:07] A big thank you to all of our supporters
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[17:22] bell so you're always kept up to date.
[17:24] Thanks for watching folks. Good luck and
[17:26] have fun. And as always, I will see you
[17:27] next time.
[17:40] You know what?