Hardcore World of Warcrafthas quickly proven to be the unlikely shot in the arm that the MMO needed.
While I will occasionally reference endgame content, things like Raids had no little impact on these rankings.
PvP capabilities also had no impact on these rankings.
Given Hardcores Permadeath rule, survivability ended up being the most important contributing factor to these rankings.
From there, things like damage capabilities, group contributions, and gear-dependency impacted the rankings.
With that out of the way, lets dive into the rankings.
As a melee class, Warriors are already at a disadvantage inHardcore.
Unfortunately, Warriors tend to be in trouble most of the time.
Warriors leveling struggles inHardcoreare exasperated by a few logistical issues presented by this new mode.
A fully-leveled and fully-geared Warrior remains one of the best classes in any version ofClassic WoW.
When it comes toHardcore, though, relatively few will ever reach that point.
Shamans face a few practical problems inHardcore.
Furthermore, Shamans totems arent always as useful as they could be when youre solo leveling.
Things can get really rough, really fast.
Rogue
I really struggled with where to rank Rogues on this list.
In fact, Ill make a few now.
Rogues have access to one of the most impressive crowd-control kits inHardcore.
So why are so many Rogue players dying so early?
After all, despite their many abilities, Rogues are still a melee class without access to Plate armor.
It doesnt take long for a non-controlled mob to get the best of you.
Yes, a great Rogue player can control mostHardcorecombat situations as well as any class.
However, the skill gap this class presents is as wide as any in the game.
Druid
Druid is another one of thoseHardcoreclasses that people seem to be divided on.
Some place them near the top of their tier lists while others have them much closer to the bottom.
As you might imagine, the ability to swap between those roles largely at will is particularly handy inHardcore.
Being able to change your form as needed inherently offers more options in more situations.
Unfortunately, Druids master of none status comes back to bite them early and often.
However, those going it alone will need to push past several leveling barriers.
Warlock
This is an area where I really want to argue against the numbers.
Instead, it seems that a shocking number of players are dying early and often as Warlocks.
A closer look at the data reveals a few reasons why that may be the case.
Early on, Warlocks are as squishy as any of the other casting classes.
Once you get comfortable with the class, though, Warlocks soon prove to beHardcorepowerhouses.
There are fewHardocreclasses that can level quite as quickly as they can.
Priest
I surprised myself by how often I kept moving Priests higher up this list.
Furthermore, Shadow Priests have always been a somewhat underrated leveling DPS option.
The power of Power Word: Shield alone elevates them over comparable classes.
That said, Mages are clearly a top-tierHardcoreclass.
More importantly, Mages are one of the least gear-dependent classes in the game.
Simply put, the doubters are wrong.
It starts with Hunters pets.
Those pets are essentially built-in tanks that are (almost) always available to you.
They can easily distract mobs while you deal the top-tier damage that Hunters are known for.
Those pets basically makeHardcorean entirely different game.
You certainlyfeelinvincible even during those early levels.
Paladin
I can tell you right now that Paladins biggest problems inHardcoreare damage and gear.
Ultimately, though, none of that matters too much.
First off, Paladins are defensive monsters.
