Classic Hardcore Duo Leveling

Duo Leveling in Hardcore Classic is one of the most popular ways to enjoy the new game mode, it both allows for an easier time conquering many of Azeroth's challenges, as there is always strength in numbers in Classic World of Warcraft, but also helps handle the unique weaknesses of your chosen class by letting the strength of your duo partner's class compensate.

Paladin and Warrior is a classic pair. Combining these two will cover almost all of the struggles you are likely to face solo leveling a Warrior, while also greatly increasing your kill speed, which is the largest limiting factor of leveling a Paladin. While both classes are capable of tanking, it is recommended that both Warrior and Paladin are played in their preferred DPS specializations (Arms and Retribution) as very few challenges you will face while leveling would require a truly dedicated tank or healer. Paladin greatly increases the survivability of Warrior by offering strong single target heals in the form of Holy Light and Flash of Light, while Warrior will drastically reduce the time to kill due to their large, hard hitting abilities such as Mortal Strike. Having a class capable of healing paired with a Warrior also allows for maximum Rage generation which is one of the largest inhibiting factors of solo leveling with Warrior.

Similar to Paladin and Warrior, this pair greatly compliments each other as Shaman can struggle with kill speed while Warrior struggles to survive. Matching these two together alleviates these problems. Shaman offers some of the strongest healing in the game in the form of Chain Heal and has countless Totems that offer buffs to better handle almost every situation. However, the greatest benefit to pairing Shaman with Warrior is the Shaman's Windfury Totem that imbues the Warrior's weapon with Windfury Weapon, massively increasing their damage when it procs. Having a class capable of healing paired with a Warrior also allows for maximum Rage generation which is one of the largest inhibiting factors of solo leveling a Warrior.

Rogue and Druid is a bit of a unique pair due to the fact they are both extremely strong solo levelers. Putting them together allows for you to fully utilize your Stealth and Prowl abilities to avoid any unwanted encounters with enemies. Pairing Rogue with any other class can add some complications due to how powerful Stealth can be as a tool to navigate dangerous areas. When your partner is not able to stealth it almost completely negates the benefits. Druid also offers some great single target heal over time effects in the form of Rejuvenation and Regrowth that can keep Rogue fighting for longer, Rogue has incredible kill speed, but often times has to stop and eat to regain health after a few mobs, The addition of Druid helps minimize this downtime and the added kill speed from Rogue greatly increases the time a Druid can spend fighting as opposed to stopping to regenerate Mana.

This combo is defined by high risk, high reward, moreso than any other duo listed here. While both of these classes are incredibly strong levelers, each has slight weaknesses that can be alleviated by the addition of the other class. The biggest reason to pair these two together is their insane, on-demand AoE damage, allowing for you to pull massive packs of mobs and AoE them down before they become a threat. Mage is the king of AoE leveling, but there are often times a single stray mob can interfere, forcing a complete reset on mob pulls. Having a Warlock present not only increases your AoE kill speed, thanks to their Rain of Fire ability, but they can easily pick up strays with their Voidwalker pet or use their Fear ability to crowd control enemies while you continue to handle the other mob packs. In return, Mage offers the control needed to safely AoE down large groups of mobs that Warlock lacks. Mage's Blizzard, Frost Nova and Cone of Cold abilities all cause either massive slowing or a rooting effect that allows for both classes to keep a safe distance to channel their AoE abilities.

While this is a list of what is considered to be optimal pairings of classes, it should in no way deter you from playing what you want to play. If you are curious about how classes fair on their own, feel free to check out our tier list to have a better understanding of where each class compares to others on their leveling efficiency.