Hi guys,
I’d like to highlight that I’ve seen tons of videos (Vurtne, Voidim, Og, Drakova), guides for different classes, I read every possible forums mentioning the frost mage or holy paladin in Vanilla. First of all, I haven’t seen a good holy paladin PvP video except the guy who’s great with running flags. The paladins I’ve seen usually just spam flash light, but they’re bad in positioning, don’t use HoJ, don’t use Sacrifice to break CC, don’t dispel to prevent shatter etc.
I still can’t decide between them so I would like to know what’s your experience with Vanilla since I’ve started playing WoW shortly before the TBC was released. My thoughts are following:
Holy Paladin
Healers are always welcome, right? But what’s the reality? Are you really so excited when you see a holy paladin in your WSG group or are there plenty of them?
since many classes don’t have any healing spells in Vanilla, I believe that healers are even more important than in retail. Rogues don’t have the Crimson Vial, Warriors don’t have the Bloodthirst, Mages don’t have the temporal shield, Hunters don’t have the Ex…something thingy 
etc.
so basically I tend to roll the holy paladin, because according to all the info I found, I believe that it can carry the team and make a difference, but I could be wrong since it’s not based on a real experience
Frost Mage
I can imagine that there will be plenty of Warriors and Rogues so Frost Mage should do well against them
I would never switch to Fire/Elemental or any other spec than Frost with the improved CS
generally speaking, the mage should be fun, it should be able to kill almost anyone (not sure about locks and Spriests), it has portals, water…but there will be plenty of them, it’s nothing unique to meet a frost mage in a BG
My question is - what’s your experience with good holy paladins in PvP? Are they really so great and carry the team or is it just “another healer”? I feel like the mage could be more fun regarding the playstyle, on the other hand, I would be willing to “sacrifice” the playstyle to support others if it’s worth it.
You really narrowed it down to two polar opposites.
My experience in vanilla is limited to Horde as druid and mage so playing with/as a holy paladin I can't say much. But I can say playing against a great holy paladin is a nightmare so long as they have a competent warrior at their side. Blessing of Sacrifice on a friend playing frontliner will protect you from CC like Polymorph and Blind and unlike shamans or druids you can keep a warrior from being pinned down with your Cleanse. Although you have almost no offensive kit a well timed Hammer of Justice can turn a fight.
But I should emphasize none of this matters if your teammates aren't worth their salt. You have no damage and no real escapes. Shamans will get sadistic about purging your Blessing of Freedom, hunters will spam rank 1 viper sting to bait your dispel and make you waste your mana. Once that blue bar is empty you're dead in the water. I saw a paladin get frustrated enough to bubble hearth in battlegrounds once. 
Frost mage was as fun as it looked. The things Vurtne pulled off were not really that hard to do. Granted, most of his opponents in his 1vX clips were terrible but even good warriors don't have a lot of options against a frost mage except for bringing a pocket healer with them. Swifty recently said he couldn't beat mages 1v1 at all unless he kitted himself with very specific trinkets and consumables. Warlocks and shadow priests will have your number though, even if you roll undead for WOTF. You get a slim chance to win every 5 minutes when iceblock is up but even then it's rough.
There will probably be lots of frost mages as you say but FWIW it's one of the most fun mirror matches.
This is entirely accurate. You've got two polar opposite playstyles being compared and this choice is completely subjective.
2000 IQg0bledyg00k wrote: ↑4 years agoNever making a single investment again until I 100% know it pays off.
I know, but the way I see it:
Mage - I can kill ppl, I can CC, I can kite, I can have solo fun
Paladin - Classic should be about the community again and if the community loves holy paladins, I would roll one to support everyone else, but if there's plenty of them or they can be quite easily replaced, there's no reason for me to go healing, giving BoPs or freedoms. I could focus on killing ppl and be healed by someone else. (especially since leveling the paladin is a pain)
That's why I've been considering shaman this time around. Elemental hybrids have both scary damage and great healing.
You could consider druid too. If your healing plans fall through you're still useful as feral or even hybrid feral/resto. Druids are among the best flag runners and defenders.
The thing I don't like about shamans are the totems. It's just way too many unnecessary buttons and when you move, you basically need to decide if you want to use your globals to throw down the totems again or start casting some dmg spells (or heals).
Druid - never, I hate how they constantly change their forms :-D
And you still have questions about being one of the most powerful classes in PvP or a tin can spot healer?
If you're worried about being replaced or not being unique then I don't think you can consider a mage in the same breath. There will always be a ton of mages. I've always been horde but even moderately competent holy pallys are super annoying and give me pause in PvP.Trefort wrote: ↑5 years agoI know, but the way I see it:
Mage - I can kill ppl, I can CC, I can kite, I can have solo fun
Paladin - Classic should be about the community again and if the community loves holy paladins, I would roll one to support everyone else, but if there's plenty of them or they can be quite easily replaced, there's no reason for me to go healing, giving BoPs or freedoms. I could focus on killing ppl and be healed by someone else. (especially since leveling the paladin is a pain)
On the other hand - from what I hear - the constant reapplication of pally buffs is analogous to shaman totems but probably not to the same degree.
Good luck with your choice!
Holy Paladin and Frost Mage are my two favorite spec & class combinations in the game, and both are a blast to play for PvP.
However, as a Holy Paladin I felt like I had the power to turn the tide of battle more often than with a Frost Mage. Polymorph is phenomenal CC, but the toolkit under your belt as a Holy Paladin (blessings, efficient heals, unmatched survivability) often meant that I was able to enjoy PvP even in PuGs.
On the other hand, if you get stuck in a 1v1 situation there's more flexibility with a Frost Mage. Paladins can play the long game and wear people down, but you never feel like you can just end someone like a Frost Mage can.
