Priest + Warlock
Tier S: Plays itself: something tanks, something heals, and few buttons.
Our top pick: the Voidwalker tanks, the warlock dots and wands, the priest heals and the warlock Life Taps into the heals.
Who leads: Warlock. Both are light on buttons; the warlock leads because it holds the mobs, and the priest follows and heals.
Bonuses
- Life Tap, then the healer tops the warlock up
- The priest keeps the pet alive
- Healthstones and a Soulstone for the partner
Watch out for
- You'll want the same gear on both
All 45 pairs
Each pair appears once. The diagonal is two characters of the same class. Pick a square to see the pair.
 Warrior |  Paladin |  Hunter |  Rogue |  Priest |  Shaman |  Mage |  Warlock |  Druid | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warrior | |||||||||
| Paladin | |||||||||
| Hunter | |||||||||
| Rogue | |||||||||
| Priest | |||||||||
| Shaman | |||||||||
| Mage | |||||||||
| Warlock | |||||||||
| Druid |
- Plays itself: something tanks, something heals, and few buttons.
- Strong, with one thing to keep an eye on.
- Works well, but you'll be busier.
- Something important is missing: plan around it.
- Both characters want your attention at once. Not for a first squad.
Tier list
Best first. Hover a pair to find it in the grid; pick it to see why.
Stier
Atier
Btier
Ctier
Dtier
Unconfirmed until the Forever launch
- Paladin taunt in Forever (Seal of Fury + Judgement?)
- Shaman tanking in Forever
- Windfury in druid forms (claimed by Recoil Mojo)
Two characters is the best way to start. You learn the loop (act, switch, act) without juggling a full party.
Good pairs
Our top picks, from our own ratings of all 45 pairs. Any two classes can work.
| Leader | Follower | Tier | Why it works |
|---|---|---|---|
| Warlock | Priest | S | Our top pick: the Voidwalker tanks, the warlock dots and wands, the priest heals and the warlock Life Taps into the heals. |
| Paladin | Warlock | S | The Voidwalker tanks, the warlock dots and Life Taps, and the paladin heals and blesses. Very relaxed. |
| Hunter | Priest | S | The pet tanks, the hunter shoots, and the priest heals the pet and shields everyone. Few buttons, very safe. |
| Druid | Priest | S | The druid tanks in bear form and the priest heals; Rebirth and Resurrection mean a wipe is never the end. |
| Paladin | Priest | S | Nearly unkillable: the paladin holds the mobs, the priest heals and shields. Safe, but slower than a pet pair. |
All 45 pairs, who leads and why: pick them in the tool above, or click a square in the grid.
Avoid at first: two melee classes without a healer, and Rogues as followers (stealth and positioning are hard to box).
Layout
One monitor: give the leader about two thirds of the width. The follower takes the rest, but not the full height: keep it at least 5:4 (for example 850 × 680 on a 1440p screen), or it gets black bars. In the window app, choose 2 clients and Main + side; the layout handles the shapes.
Two monitors: the leader fills one monitor, the follower the other. In the window app: Main + side with Monitors: 2.
Check the follower's action-bar dot. If it is not green, let Auto-fit action bar (on by default) set the UI Scale, or lower it yourself. Why.
Keys
Use the same keys for the same jobs on both characters:
| Key | Leader | Follower |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Main attack | Main attack on the leader's target |
| 2 | Damage over time | Damage over time on the leader's target |
| 3 | Heal yourself | Heal the leader |
| R | Pick a target | Assist the leader |
| F | – | Follow the leader |
The AddOn builds these for your classes and level.
How a fight goes
- Leader: target and pull with 1.
- Point at the follower window: 1, maybe 2.
- Back to the leader: keep attacking. Check the follower's health between presses.
- After the fight: F on the follower.
Tip: let the follower drink while the leader loots and picks the next target.
Classic Era notes
The same pairs work. Talent trees and some spells differ (Forever has Bane of Agony where Classic Era has Curse of Agony), so check your spells in the game.
How we rate a squad
You can only be in one window at a time. So a good squad is one that needs you as little as possible. For every pair or squad we look at:
- Something holds the mobs: a tank or a pet that keeps monsters off the others.
- Something heals, so you can keep going between pulls. In a party of four or five, a second healer helps.
- A way back from a wipe: a resurrection, a Soulstone or a self-rez.
- Few buttons per fight. Every busy class adds to your load.
- Bonuses between the characters, such as buffs, food and water or a pet tank, and clashes, such as the same gear or too much melee on one spot.
The busier character, the one with more buttons or the one that has to stand behind the target, leads on the big window. The more automatic ones follow. A Rogue always leads. For duos, where our judgement differs from the score, the card says so and why. Trios, quads and parties are calculated in your browser from the same rules; no squad has a hand-written verdict, and each size is compared with its own kind.
For your windows: the window app places 1 to 10 clients. For your keys: the WoWBoxer AddOn, type /wbx in the game. Each size has its own tab above: duo, trio, quad and full party.
Further watching
Recoil Mojo – WoW Forever Dual Box Tier List (opens in a new tab) (YouTube). A different, opinion-based take – worth watching.