Leveling as a duo in WoW Forever: which class pairs complement each other and how to get the most out of it

Leveling with someone is the most comfortable way to reach 60 in WoW Forever: you kill faster, you cover each other and elite quests stop being a wall. But not every pair brings the same things. This guide doesn't say which class is "the best" (we don't do rankings). It says what the classes cover for each other, so you can pick a partner knowing what you're getting into.

In short: play on the same faction (you can't group Horde with Alliance); if one of you can tank or heal, the duo gets much stronger and you can run dungeons as two; quests give their full experience to each of you; and in a group, quest drops have bad luck protection.

What changes when you play as a pair

	What happens	Why it matters
Quests	Each of you gets the full quest experience	It's most of the experience you earn while leveling: going together really pays off
Enemies	Kill experience is split between you, as in Classic	You kill twice as fast, so it evens out
Quest items	Bad luck protection while grouped (new in Forever)	No more waiting for "that boar never drops its meat"
Sharing quests	Share button in the quest log	You catch up without going back to the quest giver
Elites	Elite quests become doable	Many give good gear and plenty of experience
Dying	If one of you resurrects, the other skips the run from the graveyard	Priests, paladins, shamans and druids can resurrect

Two things worth knowing:

• The experience needed to level is Classic's. A rumor said Forever had lowered it, but Wowhead debunked it.
• Dungeon quests give less bonus experience since October 1 (Blizzard cut it in half). Dungeons as a duo are still worth it for the loot and the kill experience, but don't expect to level on their quests alone.

What matters most: a tank or a healer in the pair

In Forever four classes can heal ( priest, paladin, shaman and druid) and three can tank ( warrior, paladin and druid). If one of you brings either, you'll hardly need to stop to eat and drink, and you can enter dungeons of your level as two (or fill the group with passing players).

That's why the pairs below start with tank + healer. The others work too, but lean more on crowd control and fast kills.

Pairs that complement each other

The characters in the images are the ones we use on the site for each class; race changes nothing of what's said here. All that matters is that you're on the same faction.

Warrior + Priest: the classic pair

The warrior holds and hits; the priest heals and protects. It's the most "by the book" pair for two-player dungeons or group elites.

Who	What they bring
Warrior	Taunt to hold enemies, Battle Shout for both of you, and plenty of melee damage
Priest	Flash Heal and Renew, Power Word: Fortitude, Psychic Scream to get enemies off you and Resurrection

Heads up: a warrior struggles alone with nobody to heal him; with a priest at his side, this becomes one of the fastest pairs. Both factions have warriors and priests, so this works for everyone.

Paladin + any damage class

The paladin is the wildcard: he can tank, he can heal and he always buffs his partner with blessings and auras. Pair him with someone who deals a lot of damage and you get a duo that almost never dies.

Who	What they bring
Paladin	Blessing of Might or Blessing of Wisdom for the partner, Devotion Aura, Holy Light, Purify for poisons and diseases, Righteous Fury when tanking and Redemption
Damage partner	What works best next to a paladin: rogue, mage, hunter or warlock (damage the paladin lacks)

In Forever paladins exist on both factions (the Undead one can be a paladin too), so this pair works for Horde and Alliance.

Shaman + Warrior or Rogue

The shaman is damage and healing at once, with totems that help both of you. With a melee fighter beside him, he performs very well.

Who	What they bring
Shaman	Healing Wave, Mana Spring Totem, Earthbind Totem to slow enemies, Earth Shock to interrupt spells, Ghost Wolf to get around and Ancestral Spirit
Warrior / Rogue	Steady damage, and whoever holds the enemies while the shaman heals

In Forever there are also shamans on the Alliance (dwarves, for example), so this pair isn't Horde-only.

Druid + anyone

The druid does it all: bear form to tank, cat form to hit, healing and ranged damage. It's the most flexible pair: it adapts to whatever the other player plays.

Who	What they bring
Druid	Growl in bear form, Healing Touch and Rejuvenation, Mark of the Wild and Thorns for the partner, Hibernate to control beasts, Travel Form and Rebirth

Mage + Mage (or mage + priest): group killing

Two mages gather enemies and freeze and burn them at once: it's the fastest way to clear zones packed with mobs, and also the riskiest if something goes wrong.

Who	What they bring
Mage	Blizzard and Arcane Explosion against groups, Frost Nova to slow them, Polymorph to take one out of the fight, Arcane Intellect and Conjure Water and Conjure Food for both of you

If one of you is a priest instead of a mage, you lose some area damage but gain heals and resurrection.

Hunter or Warlock + anyone

Hunters and warlocks bring their own tank: the pet or the demon. That makes any partner a good fit, because the creature soaks up the hits while you both attack.

Who	What they bring
Hunter	A pet that tanks, Freezing Trap for control, Feign Death to get out of trouble, Aspect of the Pack so you both run faster and Track Beasts
Warlock	A demon that tanks, Fear and Banish for control, Create Soulstone (resurrect after dying), Ritual of Summoning to bring the partner over and Unending Breath underwater

What each class can control (for when you get swarmed)

The more control the pair has, the fewer deaths. This is what each class can take an enemy out of combat with:

Class	Control	Works on
Mage	Polymorph	Humanoids and beasts
Rogue	Sap	Humanoids, out of combat
Warlock	Fear, Banish	Almost everything / demons and elementals
Priest	Shackle Undead	Undead
Druid	Hibernate	Beasts and dragonkin
Hunter	Freezing Trap	Almost everything

And to interrupt spells: Kick (rogue), Pummel (warrior), Counterspell (mage) and Earth Shock (shaman).

If you play different races: where to start

Each race starts in its own zone. If you want to play together from level 1, the simplest thing is to pick two races that start in the same place:

Otherwise, each of you does your first levels and you meet around 10 in a zone of the same range. The leveling route tells you, by faction and race, which zone comes at each level and which quests to pick up in order.

Tips for leveling as a duo

• Pick up quests at the same time. If one of you is ahead, share the ones you can; for the rest, the more advanced player waits in town.
• Decide who heals or tanks. Even if you both deal damage, agree on who holds the enemies when a lot of them come.
• Use dungeons for gear, not for leveling. Their quests give less bonus experience since October 1, but the loot from dungeons of your level is some of the best you'll see.
• Bring food and bandages. Food that leaves you well fed gives 5% more experience per kill in Forever.
• Split the professions. One of you can gather (herbalism or mining) and the other craft with it: see the professions to start with guide.
• If you want to decide quickly what to play, the randomizer has a group mode: it rolls for both of you at once, on a single faction and with roles if you want a tank and a healer.

Frequently asked questions

Can you level as a duo with someone from the other faction in WoW Forever?

No. To group up you must be on the same faction, so Horde with Horde or Alliance with Alliance. In the PvP ruleset, an account can also only have characters of one faction.

Do you gain less experience leveling as a pair?

For kills, yes: each enemy's experience is split between the two of you, as in Classic. For quests, no: each of you gets the full experience. Since you kill faster and can do elites, it usually evens out overall.

Which class pair is the best for duo leveling?

We don't do rankings. What you notice most is having one of the two able to tank or heal: warrior with priest, paladin with any damage class, shaman with a melee fighter or druid with anyone are pairs that complement each other very well.

Is there bad luck protection on quests if I'm in a group?

Yes. In Forever, quest items dropped by enemies have bad luck protection while you're grouped, so you won't get stuck on an item that never drops.

Is it worth running dungeons as two?

If one of you tanks and the other heals, yes: you can enter dungeons of your level or fill the group with passing players. Since October 1 their quests give less bonus experience, but the gear they drop makes up for it.