WoW Classic Hardcore leveling Tier list – Best Hardcore classes to level

Blizzard is officially launching hardcore servers for World of Warcraft Classic. Here, dying once means your character is gone for good. In this guide, we'll take a look at the best classes to level up to ensure that doesn't happen to you.

Easiest & Hardest Hardcore classes to level - WoW Classic Hardcore leveling Tier list

9. Warlock

Warlocks are an easy choice to put here as they are definitely considered to be one of the easiest classes to play, if not the easiest, in hardcore. They come with a pet, and they are a ranged class, so they will be able to damage deal from afar.

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They really start to shine when they get the Drain Life skill, but they do have to worry about getting ganged up on without having their pet to protect them. Warlocks wear cloth armor, so they can't handle a lot of damage at once.

8. Hunter

Another ranged class with a pet, the Hunter, comes in as among the easiest classes to level in the game to play. Hunters can use Feign Death, which is essentially a get-out-of-jail-free card if the enemies don't resist it, and that allows them to just survive any situation.

Hunters start off a little weak because of the leather armor, but they eventually gain the ability to wear mail, and that gives them a boost to survivability. On top of that, they also have the pet that will be tanking things for them, so Hunters are in a good spot if you want to make it to max level.

7. Druid

Druids are a jack-of-all-trades class since they can tank, DPS, and heal even in Classic WoW. For the hardcore, you'll want to stay out of danger, so a Boomkin casting build might be best for you, but tanking mobs as a bear is no slouch either. Bear form comes with a lot of built-in mitigation, so it's hard to be killed in the open world. Druids will also have no problems getting into leveling dungeons due to their versatility.

You'll also have the bonus of Shadowmeld if you're playing as a Night Elf that'll let you stealth around without being in any danger. All in all, Druids are a good pick if you're looking for something a bit more difficult than a Warlock or Hunter but still want to have a good time.

6. Mage

Mages are one of the best classes for leveling in hardcore since they have a variety of AoE abilities at their disposal. This makes blowing away hordes of enemies a breeze, and they also come with a wide assortment of crowd control abilities that makes kiting away easy.

Perhaps the biggest thing working in their favor is that despite them being cloth wearers, their strength won't exactly come from specific pieces of gear. They are strong even if wearing optimized items, making it so they can avoid putting themselves in dangerous situations like dungeons if they'd like.

5. Rogue

Rogues are the first melee class to make the list, with the exception of the Feral Druid if you're playing that spec, but they are still a very good choice if you're leveling to 60. Rogues dish out damage in a hurry, and the best defense is a good offense.

The big thing that makes Rogues strong is their ability to stealth, meaning they don't ever have to pick a fight they know they can't win. Even if you're taking a beating, popping the Evasion skill increases your dodge chance for 15 seconds, so you should be able to turn the tides or kite away. However, gear is important here, so try to optimize it the best you can.

4. Paladin

Paladins are Alliance only, but they are a decent pick for the hardcore path. They have all sorts of self heals like Lay on Hands and Word of Glory, so survivability is high for them. They are also plate wearers, so defense will be quite high for them.

Their big downside is the fact that they feel a bit incomplete in Vanilla WoW. They kill enemies very slowly, and a big part of their rotation, even into the high levels, is simply auto-attacking. It's a viable class to level in hardcore, but the slow speed might put a lot of players off.

3. Priest

Priests are probably the strongest healer in Vanilla WoW, but with the solo-centric playstyle of hardcore, that's not all that important. Priests struggle in AoE situations, and that will make it so they level slower since they can't kill as fast.

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They are a cloth wearer and don't have a ton of defensives, so getting ganged up on will likely result in death. Leveling with a friend makes picking a Priest a much easier pill to swallow, but doing it solo might not be worth the challenge.

2. Shaman

In Vanilla WoW, Shamans were only available to Horde, and like Paladins, they also feel unfinished. The Shaman seems like a class with no real identity, with parts of its kit hinting at it being a tank while others are pulling it toward a healer or DPS.

It boasts strong self-healing, but there aren't any strong cooldowns that can safe you from instant death like a Paladin can with its Divine Shield. The Windfury Totem can make it so their group can wipe out enemies quicker, so it does have that going for it.

1. Warrior

Warriors are far and away the worst class to level up in hardcore, and that shouldn't come as much of a surprise to players. Warriors are perhaps the most sought-after class in the endgame, but the leveling process leaves a lot to be desired.

Oftentimes, the Warrior is at its best when it's fighting enemies at a lower level than it, but that's not always going to be possible. Warriors are very prone to missing their attacks, and it makes leveling in the open world a real chore. It does have solid abilities like Hamstring and Intimidating Shout that can save it from death, but you might want to consider a different class if leveling to 60 is your goal.

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