World of Warcraft Classic: Best PvP Classes

After years of fan demands, Blizzard is finally about to deliver the dream of World of Warcraft Classic servers. WoW players can already reserve character names and select their servers and it will be time to start the long grind to level 60 in just over a week. As gamers start to decide which class they want to play when the game launches, an important consideration is whether they want to primarily focus on PvE or PvP.

PvE players will be racing to the endgame so that they can master the most difficult dungeons and raids with friends and guildmates, while some other players prefer to be the best at slaughtering the opposing faction in Battlegrounds or in contested territories on PvP servers. We’ve already put together our list of best class and race combos, but that list is mostly focused on the PvE-minded MMO fans. Players who want to focus on PvP can use this list to help decide which classes are best for that side of the game instead.

Updated December 2, 2024 by Erik Petrovich: In WoW Classic, PvP classes can be powerful in the two major forms of PvP: Battlegrounds and open-world PvP. If you are rolling on a PvP server, for example, you need to consider classes that are good for open-world PvP as you will encounter the opposite faction quite a lot when leveling and at endgame. No matter which class you choose for PvP, WoW Classic players have at least one spec that is viable and powerful for battlegrounds and open-world PvP survivability both. This guide to the best PvP classes in WoW Classic has been updated to provide a recommended spec for every class in the vanilla version of the game, still ranked by their viability and strength in PvP combat.

1 Best WoW Classic PvP Classes, Ranked

Marksmanship Hunter

Hunters are a good choice for open-world PvP because of their pet. With a pet, you can slow down enemy spellcasts while wailing on them with your own ranged abilities, and possibly force an enemy combatant to focus on your pet instead of your character. In Battlegrounds Hunters are less sought-after, but Viper Sting can be incredibly powerful against an enemy team full of mana-users.

In general, Hunters are great for PvP realms and open-world PvP, but not quite so good in Battlegrounds. But as with any class, if you can master the Hunter, you will perform better in any PvP situation than most players who struggle to maximize their class.

Shadow or Discipline/Holy Priest

It may feel a little cheap to list all three Priest specs, but they are pretty relevant when it comes to PvP. Shadow Priests offer an insane potential for DPS when being controlled by a skilled player and the Disc/Holy build is the strongest (and maybe only really viable) options for PvP healing.

Dispel Magic becomes a crucial ability when up against a strong Mage in PvP skirmishes, so Priests have plenty to do during every encounter.

Elemental Shaman

A Horde-only class, Shaman are good (but not great) in Battlegrounds thanks to their potential for burst damage and a swathe of Totem and Buff abilities. Chain Lightning is incredibly powerful in battlegrounds when enemies are all stacked up on one another, and Totems like Earthbind Totem and Tremor Totem can be crucial for inflicting debuffs and removing them from your team.

Shamans lag behind a little bit damage-wise compared to other classes, but their variety of abilities and potential for burst damage make them great to have on your side.

Holy Paladin

An Alliance-Only Class, Paladins can be good in PvP in the Retribution spec, but tend to be relegated to the Healer role for the ridiculous strength of the Holy healing spec. Blessing of Freedom, instant-cast massive Healing spells, Blessing of Protection, Divine Shield, and other Paladin abilities make them arguably the best support class in PvP.

Though these buffs and abitlies are strong, a group only really needs a single paladin to take advantage of the benefits of this class. Paladins can have trouble getting into groups because of this, even though the Holy spec is one of the best PvP healers.

Destruction Warlock

Warlocks may not often take home the glory, but they do serious work when it comes to PvP Battlegrounds. The combination of Fear and very high DPS potential make the Warlock a crucial part of any well-planned flag carrier kill.

Locks can put up some insane DPS numbers, so when you see one heading your way, prepare to burn through some cooldowns.

Arms Warriors

They may not put up the most damage over time, but a strong Warrior can spell disaster for the opposing team in a close PvP match. There’s a reason why so many Charge+Hamstring macros existed back in the early days of WoW.

Warriors have the ability to takeover a skirmish and, when paired with a strong healer, they can feel absolutely impossible to take down.

Subtlety Rogue

In capture the flag scenarios, it feels like a huge advantage to have a well-trained Subtelty Rogue on your side. Many teams won’t even bother entering Warsong Gulch without one of these.

There is some wiggle room to spec differently, but based on our experience we would recommend sticking with Subtlety.

Feral Druid

The Feral Druid is in an interesting place for PvP. Technically, it’s far and away the best flag carrier for Warsong Gulch, and great for getting back and forth from areas in Arathi Basin. In open-world PvP, Druids can keep themselves alive pretty effectively, and their Stealth in Cat Form allows them to get the jump on enemies.

But if a Feral Druid is not able to get the first hit from Stealth, or is not a designated flag carrier in Warsong Gulch, they can struggle. Feral Druids don’t do the most damage, and are reliant on their speed and stealth to be effective in PvP. But if you can get the jump on someone, or are able to break away from the opposing team in a battleground and dash away with the flag, there’s little an enemy can do to stop you.

Arcane or Frost Mage

When pressed to call one WoW Classic spec and class the king or queen of PvP, it would have to be the Mage. Mages have the unique strength of having two incredibly viable builds for PvP. Both the Arcane build and the split between Fire and Ice build are both very strong options for Battlegrounds.

Crowd controlling with Polymorph and Frost Nova, breaking out of opposing stuns with Blink, Counterspell, and putting up pretty ridiculous DPS all combine to make the Mage king of the hill when it comes to PvP rankings.