These are the long-established values of the classic ruleset (the 1.x game of 2005-2006), as the theorycrafting forums of the time worked them out. World of Warcraft Forever is in beta and may differ; nothing here has been measured against it yet. Each page says so. When you test one in Forever, post your numbers in Theorycraft.
- Melee and ranged damage
- Rage
- Hit, glancing blows and the level-63 target
- Armour and defence
- Spells: hit, coefficients, resistance
- Mana regeneration and the five-second rule
- What a point of each stat gives
- Experience and rested experience
Melee and ranged damage
Attack power to DPS
Attack power in classic WoW is the stat that raises weapon damage; it is 14 attack power for one point of damage per second on every weapon.
Every 14 points of attack power add one DPS to any weapon; multiply by the weapon speed for the bonus per swing.
Average swing damage
Average swing damage in classic WoW is the middle of the weapon damage range plus the attack-power bonus; divided by the weapon speed it is white DPS.
The weapon range plus attack power over 14 times speed; hit, crit, glancing blows and armour are applied on top.
Normalised weapon speed (instant attacks)
Normalised speed in classic WoW is the fixed speed an instant attack uses for its attack-power bonus; it is 1.7 dagger, 2.4 one-hand, 3.3 two-hand.
Sinister Strike, Mortal Strike, Heroic Strike and Aimed Shot use a fixed speed per weapon class, so a slow weapon gains nothing there.
Critical strikes
A critical strike in classic WoW is a hit for extra damage; it is twice the normal damage for a melee or ranged attack and 1.5 times for a spell.
Melee and ranged crits deal double damage, spell crits 150%; talents such as Impale or Ruin raise the multiplier.
Rage
Rage generation
Rage in classic WoW is the resource built by dealing and taking damage; it is 7.5 times damage dealt, or 2.5 times damage taken, over a level constant.
White swings and damage taken turn into rage through a level constant: at 60, one rage for every 30.7 damage dealt or 92 taken.
Hit, glancing blows and the level-63 target
Chance to miss against a higher defence
Miss chance in classic WoW is the share of melee attacks that fail; it is 5% plus 0.1% per point of target defence over weapon skill, with a jump past 10.
A level-63 boss has 315 defence: 9% miss at 300 skill, 6% at 305, and 19% more for white swings while dual wielding.
Glancing blows
A glancing blow in classic WoW is a white swing that lands for reduced damage; it is 10% of swings plus 2% per point of target defence over weapon skill.
Against a level-63 boss 40% of white swings glance at 300 skill, costing 13% of white damage; +5 weapon skill cuts that to 4.5%.
Armour and defence
Armour damage reduction
Armour in classic WoW is the share of physical damage a target does not take; it is armour over armour plus a constant set by attacker level, up to 75%.
Against a level-60 attacker the constant is 5,500, against a level-63 boss 7,285: 5,000 armour stops 47.6% or 40.7% of the damage.
Defence skill
Defence skill in classic WoW is the stat that makes attacks fail against you; it is 0.04% each to be missed, dodge, parry and block per point of skill.
Each point of defence over the attacker's weapon skill moves five small percentages at once; +25 defence from gear is 1% of each.
Block value
Block value in classic WoW is the flat amount a shield takes off a blocked hit; it is the shield block value plus one point for every 20 Strength.
A block removes a fixed number from the hit: the shield's block value plus Strength over 20.
Spells: hit, coefficients, resistance
Spell hit against a higher level
Spell hit in classic WoW is the chance a spell lands on a higher-level target; it is a 4% base miss at equal level rising to 17% three levels up.
Only the level difference matters: a level-63 boss resists one spell in six until the caster has 16% spell hit, after which nothing more helps.
Spell damage and healing coefficients
A spell coefficient in classic WoW is the share of +spell damage or +healing a spell gets; it is cast time over 3.5 seconds, or duration over 15 for a DoT.
A 3.5-second cast gets all of your +damage, an instant gets 3/7, an AoE half; a rank learned below level 20 gets less.
Resistance
Resistance in classic WoW is the average share of spell damage a target shrugs off; it is 0.75 times resistance over five times the attacker level.
Resistance does not make spells miss; it takes a share off each spell that lands, in steps of 25%. Against a level-63 boss 315 resistance is the cap.
Mana regeneration and the five-second rule
Regeneration from Spirit
Mana regeneration in classic WoW is the mana Spirit returns every two seconds outside the five-second rule; it is 13 + Spirit / 4 for a Priest or Mage.
Each class has its own Spirit line, so 300 Spirit is 88 mana a tick for a Mage and 75 for a Druid; multiply by 2.5 to compare with mana per 5.
The five-second rule
The five-second rule in classic WoW is the pause in Spirit regeneration after a spell that costs mana; it is five seconds from the end of the cast.
Spirit works only in the gaps between casts; talents such as Meditation let a share through, and mana-per-5 gear always counts in full.
What a point of each stat gives
What a point of each stat gives
A stat conversion in classic WoW is what one point of Stamina, Intellect, Agility or Strength gives; it is 10 health, 15 mana, 2 armour or attack power.
The conversions that are the same for everyone, then the per-class attack power and the four crit rates established beyond doubt.
Experience and rested experience
Experience from a kill
Kill experience in classic WoW is the XP a mob gives when it dies; it is 45 plus 5 times your level at equal level, 5% more per level above you.
Set by your level, nudged for the level difference and doubled for elites; a level-30 player gets 195 XP from a level-30 mob.
Rested experience
Rested experience in classic WoW is a pool that doubles kill experience until spent; it is 5% of a level per 8 hours logged out in an inn, up to 150%.
A day in an inn is 15% of a level rested, a full pool of a level and a half takes ten days; quests are not doubled.
Not on these pages, because the classic-era numbers were never settled beyond doubt or vary by class: the experience table per level (only the shape is simple), crit suppression against higher-level targets beyond the 0.04% per defence point above, dodge per Agility by class, spell crit per Intellect for classes other than Mage, parry and block chance from gear, group experience sharing, quest experience. Post what you measure in Theorycraft.