Tier S
Reworked into one of the safer fast levelers: Seal of Command at 20, mana refunds from Sanctified Judgement, Champion of the Light turning Intellect into damage, and plate at 40. You heal yourself, bubble, and never die to a bad pull.
The easiest fast leveler. The pet tanks, scales with your gear and heals through Spirit Bond; traps now work in combat; Aimed Shot is baseline at 20. You rarely stop to eat or drink.
The fastest group killer: Frost Nova, Blizzard with Improved Blizzard, and Fingers of Frost turning chills into shattered Ice Lances. Free food and water and portals keep downtime near zero. Cloth and a thin health pool are the risk.
Tier A
Better sustain than Classic (Improved Stormstrike mana, Water Shield, Maelstrom Weapon instants) but no emergency cooldown, so pulling three mobs is dangerous. Totemic Call pulling totems to you removes most of the totem tax.
Drain-tanking with a Voidwalker is as safe as it was in Classic and faster: Improved Corruption is instant at 5 points, Soul Harvest refunds mana on Drain Soul kills, Siphon Life at 30 and Wrack at 40 scale with your dots. Managing health, mana and shards is the skill.
Cat Form at 20 with 30% speed from Feral Swiftness is a mount before 40, Shred hits for 200% weapon damage, and Shifting Power at 40 turns mana into Energy. Healing and shifting share one mana bar, which is the thing to manage.
Tier B
Still the hardest class to level alone: no self-heal beyond Victory Rush and Blood Craze, and gear-dependent damage. Forever helps with normalized Rage, Victory Rush at 20 and Reckless Swings. Level with a healer friend or in dungeons when you can; as a tank you never wait for a group.
A fast single-target killer with no self-healing. Shank (24) and Poised (18) make the rotation smoother than Classic, and Riposte and Blade Flurry handle pairs, but you still live on food, bandages and Gouge.
Safer and less mana-hungry than Classic thanks to Spirit Tap, Devouring Plague for every race, wands that fire while moving and Vampiric Embrace, but slow to kill until Shadowform at 40.
Why the order changed from Classic
Classic put Hunter and Mage on top, Warlock, Paladin and Rogue next, Druid, Priest and Shaman behind, Warrior last. Forever reworked every tree: Retribution gained mana refunds and Intellect scaling; Rogues lost nothing but gained no sustain; Shaman got Improved Stormstrike mana and Maelstrom procs; Druids got Shifting Power and potions in form; Priests got Devouring Plague for every race. The result is Paladin up, Rogue down, Warrior still last for solo play.
Good pairs
- Hunter + anyone: the pet tanks, the partner does what they like.
- Paladin + Mage or Warlock: plate and a bubble in front, a caster behind, no healer needed.
- Druid + Rogue: both stealth, both fast; the Druid heals.
- Warrior + Priest: the Classic pair; the Warrior tanks every dungeon on the way.
Each class page has a leveling guide with a validated point order: classes.