World Of Warcraft Level 90 Character Boost Stats Reveal Most Popular Class

Blizzard began offering level 90 character boosts in World of Warcraft earlier this month and thousands of players have already used theirs. Early statistics on the character boost suggest there will be a lot of Warlocks in the next expansion pack.

The stats were compiled by MMO Champion, who notes that they're not perfect numbers. The only way that they can tell whether a character is boosted is whether they're still wearing the starter gear that they received after being raised to level 90. However, around 106,000 characters fit that criteria so it's a pretty good sample. Here are the results:

Warlocks were the favorite choice, accounting for 12.24% of the boosts. This isn't all that shocking. Warlocks are the third least common class among all characters according to MMO Champion's other numbers. They're currently the class with the highest damage as well. There's a large potential pool of players then, that never leveled a warlock but think they're desirable enough to make them their new alternate or main character.

Death Knights were a mere 5.69% of the boosted characters. New death knights start at level 55 rather than 1 so many players probably figured they wouldn't be an efficient use of the level 90 boost. They're also the third most popular class, indicating that player who want a high-level death knight already have one.

I expected Monks and Rogues to be boosted more often. After all, they're even less common than Warlocks in the game. However, Monks were added in the most recent expansion Mists of Pandaria so many active players already have Monk alts that they've leveled to 90 by now.

Rogues, meanwhile, just aren't desirable enough to be boosted in great numbers. Melee DPS have to dodge more attacks than their ranged counterparts. Unlike fellow melee DPS like Druids and Warriors, Rogues don't have an alternate role to play.

Hunters and Druids are in the reverse situation as Rogues. They're very common but still turned out to be very popular picks for the boost. Guess you'll be seeing a lot of both classes in your random dungeon or raid groups.

Every player who buys the fifth expansion pack, Warlords of Draenor, gets a free level 90 character boost for one player. This character becomes level 90 instantly and gets a set of level-appropriate gear suited toward their preferred spec. They also receive other basic equipment like bags and a flying mount. Boosted Horde characters start in the Shrine of Two Moon in Pandaria while Alliance characters start in the Shrine of the Seven Stars.

Blizzard is also selling these boosts separately in case players want to raise up more than one character. These boosts cost $60 to purchase through the in-game store.

The character boosts were introduced with Warlords of Draenor in mind. The expansion pack adds new zones for level 90-100 characters. Blizzard wants new and old players to be able to jump into this high-level content right away. It's part of a wider strategy by the company to make the game accessible without removing the monthly subscription.