The War Within's early access gives us a chance to predict the most played classes

As we approach the launch of the new World of Warcraft expansion, we give our predictions on which classes may be picked up by most players.

World of Warcraft is now in its twentieth year, with expansion number ten heading our way in just a few days. With a game that has spanned such a massive time period, there is always a lot to unpack, from the story unfolding all the way through to new classes, zones, and skills – and as a player for twenty years, it can be a lot to take in. However, today our attention turns to something different, the class choices people make in WoW and what might be at the top of The War Within.

The stats never lie

Although WoW is currently in an interim period known as “pre-patch”, some websites (www.dataforazeroth.com in this case) provide us with a fantastic source of statistics as to what the player base is enjoying or playing the most. With the maximum level or “level cap” currently being 70, it would seem that most at that level have chosen the path of Paladin. This is something that changes quite often, depending on what is happening within the game, and it’s likely to change when The War Within releases too.

Our predictions

It can be quite tough to predict aspects of a new expansion without knowing completely what is to come – especially with Blizzard keeping many secrets for players to figure out when it comes to WoW. With that said, it is not impossible to analyse the data that we have and make predictions based on that alone. So, without further ado, here are our predictions for which classes will be at the top of the playlist in The War Within.

Note: These predictions have been made with hero talents in mind, but favouring those classes which have more specialisations doing well.

1)Mage

Mages have always been a staple in WoW, whether you are looking for a way to speed farm solo content or hitting big numbers in dungeons and raids. TWW sees them make a huge resurgence, with all three classes bringing their Fire, Frost, or Arcane spells to the party in a good way.

2)Death Knight

Death Knights are in the middle of some things right now, with Unholy falling off a long way in some sense, but Frost and Blood really picking up the slack in others. Even with nerfs, Blood DKs will be able to hold their own, while Frost is definitely one of the strongest melee classes.

3)Shaman

Depending on how you look at it, Shamans could easily be one of the top-played classes in TWW, with Enhancement and Elemental controlling the damage dealer (DPS) side, while Restoration comes in really strong for healing in all situations.

4)Paladin

Although Protection, the tank specialisation, is a shadow of its former self, the dominance of Retribution (dps) and the rise of Holy, to some degree, makes Paladin a shoe in near the top of the list. That is without even taking into account the ease of the class for new players.

5)Warrior

Another standard class, the Warrior, has seen its fair share of ups and downs over the years, as Blizzard struggles to find the right balance for the two DPS specialisations and the tank. However, in TWW, there’s very little standing in the way of Warrior domination, especially with Protection about to bash its way back to the top of the tanks.

6)Hunter

Holding its own in the middle of the prediction is Hunter, and it's definitely not due to damage or utility. Hunter, especially the Beast Mastery specialisation, is definitely one of the easiest choices for a new player. While the class definitely brings some fantastic dps across its specialisations, it’s hard to not account for the simplicity of things.

7)Monk

Monk is one of those classes that many might forget about until one comes along and blows everyone away. For TWW, this should not be the case, with Mistweaver mains everywhere rejoicing that their healing is actually decent (for the most part). For Brewmaster and Windwalker, there’s not much to be said except that they should be seen much more in this expansion.

8)Priest

Priests have remained one of the strongest healers in WoW over the years, even with the introduction of new classes taking them down a notch. For TWW, a few things are set to change, with Shadow not looking as strong, while Holy and Discipline are definitely set to make a showing, hopefully.

9)Evoker

Introduced in Dragonflight, Evokers quickly became favoured for many reasons – mainly Augmentation, a support specialisation of sorts. However great Augmentation remains, Preservation’s healing is now also reaching a good point, while Devastation’s damage is a bit hit or miss.

10)Warlock

While we have seen a lot of talk about Warlocks over the years, Affliction seems to be the standout at the moment, while Demonology and Destruction remain somewhat average. That is not to say that players will not pick up these classes, as Warlock is another easy class to get the hang of – to some degree.

11)Demon Hunter

For a short time during the initial announcements from Blizzard, Demon Hunter was expected to be the absolute pinnacle of TWW’s player base – with some interesting choices from the company. While the class remains in a great spot, it is unlikely to have that many players join the train… unless we see the return of Illidan at some stage in the expansion’s future.

12)Rogue

Rogues are in a tough spot, while they’re not a completely unplayed class, they definitely have suffered under reworks and changes over the years. While all three specialisations are not terrible, the class is generally not seen very much in the Mythic+ world beyond Outlaw – but let us see if that changes.

13)Druid

It is very difficult to put Druids this far down, as they still remain one of the better classes for speed farming older content – and the best gatherer classes as they do not need to dismount. However, with all the specialisations not looking too great, apart from Feral and Guardian, players may quickly shy away from choosing the class to play.

There are multiple reasons behind these predictions, but most largely come from what has been seen during the pre-patch period and the beta too. However, much of this could and probably will change once we get stuck into the expansion. Players will also get the choice between different hero talent trees, which can affect the way classes play quite heavily. It will be interesting to see just how far off these predictions might be at a later stage, but for now, we are all gearing up and preparing for the release of The War Within on August 26th.