Magic schools ( WoW ) Every ability , power , or spell belongs to one of seven magic schools which define what can be done to absorb , immunize against , or resist it . Your resistance against five of these schools was displayed in your character information , but resistance as a game mechanic was removed with Mists of Pandaria . If you are a caster , and an opponent uses , , , , , , or on you while you ' re casting a spell , these and other abilities will not only interrupt that spell but also to prevent you from casting any spell in that school for some amount of time . It ' s good to know what schools your abilities are in so you can switch to another when this happens . It ' s fairly clear for Mage s ( the school of the spell is the same as the tree it falls under ) and Warlock s ( if it doesn ' t involve fire , it ' s Shadow ) . For other classes it ' s not always clear . Fortunately , the tooltip of any damage spell will specify the type of damage it does . Warrior s are the only class that strictly deals only one damage type , that being Physical . Hunter s and Shaman s have the most varied damage types , with both being able to deal Physical , Nature and Fire damage , as well as Arcane and Shadow for Hunters and Frost for Shaman . Physical . Not presented as magic to the user , but treated as a school by the game mechanics . All classes use physical type damage , as attacking with a weapon falls into this school ; the target can use Defense to avoid the attack , a shield to it , the skill to block it with a weapon , and Armor to resist some of the damage if all else fails . Damage taken is physical damage . Most Warrior , Rogue , and Monk abilities are Physical . Death Knight abilities obtained by spending talent points in the Blood Tree do physical damage . The Armor penetration skill also only ever applies to physical damage dealt . Some physical abilities , like and , are treated like spells . These abilities have a chance to miss like all spells , which can be offset by Hit rating , but resistance to these abilities cannot be increased . Arcane . Arcane magic is typically utility magic that causes various effects rather than dealing direct damage , and is used by mage s , druid s , hunter s , and blood elves . Most non - damaging magical hunter abilities , including Silencing Shot , Hunter ' s Mark , Misdirection , and Distracting Shot are Arcane - based . Arcane Shot , however , is a main source of direct damage , as is the druid s ' Moonfire and Starfire . Also , the blood elf racial ability Arcane Torrent is Arcane - based . ( Before patch 3 . 0 . 2 , night elf priests could do Arcane damage with Starshards . ) The true masters of the Arcane , however , are mage s . For mages , the Arcane school is primarily a utility line rather than a damage line . Any spell from a mage ' s Arcane ability category is of the Arcane school , including four spells that do damage ( Arcane Missiles , Arcane Explosion , Arcane Blast , Arcane Barrage ) and a very broad range of utility spells : Polymorph s , Arcane Intellect , Mana Shield , Mage Armor , Blink , Teleport s , Portal s , Counterspell , and Conjure Mana Gem s , Food , and Water . Hostile Arcane spells ( including those that do no damage ) can be resisted ; there are items that increase one ' s Arcane resistance . Arcane is the only resistible magic school against which players cannot increase their Resistance via class abilities , short of abilities which increase all Resistances like Mark of the Wild . Fire . Spells of the Fire school typically inflict damage , which can be direct damage and / or damage over time . Mage s and Warlock s use it as one of their primary sources of damage , while Shaman s , Hunter trap s , and engineers also use the Fire school . Many spells and environmental effects ( such as lava ) do Fire damage . The class most associated with the ability to control fire is also the Mage . Fire is also one of the fundamental elements that Shamans can manipulate with their Totems . To a lesser extent , Warlock s can also deliver Fire damage . Warlocks specced heavily into their Destruction talent tree are sometimes called " Firelocks " . Hunters ' Immolation Trap , Explosive Trap and Explosive Shot also deal Fire damage ; similarly , explosives and damaging trinkets created by Engineers typically do Fire damage . Mages can absorb Fire damage with Fire Ward . Like Arcane resistance , Fire resistance is a statistic that can be affected by spells and items . Paladins and Shaman can specifically increase Fire Resistance with Fire Resistance Aura and Fire Resistance Totem respectively . A Warlock ' s Imp can cast Fire Shield to increase fire resistance of friendly player characters and pets , but only the highest rank ( Rank 6 ) will do so . Frost . The Frost school is effective both for attack ( doing damage ) and defense ( raising armor value ) . Frost spells often inflict snare or root effects , as well . Mage s , Shaman , Death Knight s and the occasional Hunter trap uses the Frost school . Mage s and Death Knight s have Frost talent trees , and obviously any spell in those trees is of the Frost school . Of course , Shamans ' Frost Shock is of the Frost school too , as well as the Hunter ' s Freezing Trap , Freezing Arrow and Frost Trap . Water - based abilites used by bosses also fall under the frost category ; for instance , Rokmar the Crackler ' s Water Spit . Mages can absorb Frost damage with Frost Ward . Frost Resistance exists as a statistic as well . Paladins and Shaman can specifically increase Frost Resistance with Frost Resistance Aura and Frost Resistance Totem , respectively . Nature . The Nature school is usually used for nature based attacks , buff s , and curative spells . Nature damage can be direct damage ( like lightning ) or damage over time ( like poison ) . This means that Rogue s ( poison ) , Shaman s , Druid s , Monk s , and Hunter s ( stings ) have access to Nature damage . Acids , disease s , and poison s inflict Nature damage , and damage from lightning is also considered part of the Nature school . Shamans ' and Druids ' healing spells are Nature spells , and other nondamaging spells such as Entangling Roots and Faerie Fire are in this school as well . Hunters ' Stings and the Snake Trap ' s viper poisons are Nature based , as are their Mend Pet and Revive Pet abilities . Rogues ' poisons are also Nature based . A Nature resistance statistic exists . Hunter s and Shaman s can specifically increase Nature Resistance with Aspect of the Wild and Nature Resistance Totem , respectively . Shadow . The opposite of Holy magic , Shadow is probably the most versatile school . Used by Priest s , Warlock s , Death Knight s and Hunter s ( Black Arrow ) it contains a wide variety of spells . Apart from Direct Damage and Damage over Time spells , there are various utility spells , including Drain s , Crowd Control spells , and Debuff s . Shadow damage is dealt by dark spells such as those of the Priest ' s Shadow Magic ability category and most of the Warlock ' s repertoire . The Blood Pact that a Warlock ' s Imp pet casts to boost the entire party ' s Stamina is a Shadow effect , as are the creation of a Healthstone or Soulstone and the summoning of demons . Warlocks can also absorb shadow damage with Shadow Ward . Shadow Resistance is the final resistance type . Paladin s and Priest s can specifically increase Shadow resistance with Shadow Resistance Aura and Shadow Protection , respectively . Holy . The Holy school is usually related to abilities which heal and aid living beings . There are also a few spells that do Holy damage : Smite and Exorcism , for example . Contrary to popular belief , Holy Magic does not deal additional damage to undead or demon s unless specifically mentioned in the tooltip ( such as with Exorcism ) . Priest s and Paladin s are the primary users of the Holy school , including all their healing and resurrection abilities . All of a Paladin ' s attacks can be supplemented by Holy Damage . It is not possible to resist Holy magic , giving it a slight advantage over other schools , but it does have a basic miss chance like all spells , offset by Hit rating , and spells can be silenced . Items and Buffs which give a bonus to all resistances , such as Mage Armor , do not include Holy resistance , but percentage - based damage - reduction abilities such as a Warrior ' s Defensive Stance successfully reduce damage from Holy spells . Also , the , , and items will also absorb limited amounts of Holy damage .