DPS Rankings / Tier List for WoW Classic Season of Discovery

November 14 update:Updated to reflect the expected phase 6 rankings.

Below is a quick summary of the full rankings that we have detailed on this page. While this gives a good outline of the standings of specializations in comparison to one another, we recommend reading the full rankings to understand why certain specializations are ranked as they are.

1. Warrior (S-Tier)
2. Warlock (S-Tier)
3. Retribution Paladin (A-Tier)
4. Rogue (A-Tier)
5. Mage (A-Tier)
6. Hunter (B-Tier)
7. Melee Hunter (B-Tier)
8. Feral Druid (B-Tier)
9. Elemental Shaman (B-Tier)
10. Enhancement Shaman (B-Tier)
11. Balance Druid (C-Tier)
12. Shadow Priest (C-Tier)

If you are interested in our other rankings for WoW Classic's Season of Discovery, please click the links below.

As we move into end-game gear, Warriors will only continue to scale to the power levels that they've historically known and loved in Classic. Warriors are topping meters thanks to the exceptional combination of high-damage weapons, raid buffs, and powerful runes that give them the rage necessary to dish out death to their enemies. For both cleave and single target, Warriors have the highest scaling potential across the board. With access to the best possible raid gear at level 60, we expect Warriors to once again be leading the pack for melee, especially for short encounters where they shine with their powerful cooldowns.

Casters in general have struggled in Season of Discovery as they do not have the same scaling potential early on that melee do. However, with the addition of incredible new spells and stellar new gearing options, Warlocks still scale reasonably well. The combination of spell power, buff scaling, and the new rune options allows Warlocks solid burst damage, with Demonology push Warlock into the S-tier. The continuation of powerful new rotational spells, runes, cooldowns, and raid utility available at 60 should make Warlocks still desired in the raiding meta. Ultimately, they will still lack the damage that other classed above provide however, and their utility is really limited past the first Warlock.

Retribution Paladins had some promise early on with exciting new runes that gave them an actual rotation, but ultimately the starting point was just so much lower than for other classes. Rogues, Warriors, and Hunters have ultimately scaled far better than Paladins at this level. Even with their new rotational ability, it just does not stack up to the fleshed out rotations that other melee bring. While not at all weak, Retribution Paladins are just not as strong comparatively as the several other melee classes above, and are thus usually sought after to complete the required raid buffs more so than for their own personal damage. Retribution is still quite strong offensively compared to ranged and casters, but pales in comparison to Warriors and Shamans.

Rogues are one of the strongest melee in the game, only just below Warriors. Like Warriors, Rogues scale exceptionally well as a melee, and also have the added benefit of strong cooldowns for burst potential. The addition of new poisons and rotational abilities from runes has made them exceptional on single target, up as one of the best options in the game for boss damage. Rogues are still strong at the moment, and even in this melee-dominated meta, Rogues are in the S-tier as one of the premier damage dealers. This is also emphasized even further in Classic where raids are not punished nearly as much for bringing a large amount of melee DPS, especially at level 60, meaning you do not need to be as concerned about competing with other melee for raid spots.

Mages scale extremely well with spell power, and they have a naturally strong toolkit due to high base damage on most of their spells, specifically for AoE. Mages are still an exceptional class for large-scale AoE, but with the current game state they do not have anywhere near the same power level for single target, cleave, and burst that other melee classes bring. As in WoW Classic, you will still always see a mage in most groups due to the utility and control they provide. However, with how dominant melee and other non-mana based damage dealers are in the current meta, Mages are less about offensive power and more about support and control.

Hunters are at their strongest relative to other classes early in the game, as they deal exceptional base damage even with very little gear. Season of Discovery has given Hunters an exceptional toolkit and scaling potential however, with incredible runes that fundamentally buff the underlying power of the class without drastically altering the identity and flow. Hunters also have the unique ability to weave together ranged damage, melee damage, and trap damage for some incredible burst and throughput potential. Hunters are by far the strongest ranged DPS in the game, as they scale far better thanks to their various damage sources.

In Season of Discovery, thanks to extremely powerful runes not found in any other version of WoW, Hunters have the ability to play as melee. While melee hunters were off to a bumpy start, the addition of some of the most synergistic and strongest runes in the game has propelled them into the upper tiers. While they've been on a bumpy road with some ups and downs through periodic tuning, Melee Hunters have all of the benefits and strengths of the melee classes above, along with similar scaling potential. With current tuning however, while melee Hunters deal lots of damage still, ranged Hunters are actually looking more promising at 60 with proper play. Hunters are still a strong choice for melee DPS at the moment, competitive with the other top-tier melee entirely thanks to the power of their runes.

While Feral Druids may normally be an off-meta spec, they have some incredible strengths in Season of Discovery. The most notable strength that Ferals give is the ability to bring the windfury totem buff to raids on the Alliance, making them a must-have in any melee Alliance group. However, outside of the buff, they unfortunately just do not scale as well as Rogues, Warriors, and Hunters at this level. Their single target is still quite strong, but that's where Feral's strengths end. Ferals lack the same AoE and cleave that other classes bring, making running through raids rather rough for Druids.

Elemental Shamans have several incredible new rotational abilities in Season of Discovery, giving them some of the strongest rotational buffs out of any class. Their burst damage with cooldowns and Chain Lightning is also quite strong on both single target and AoE. The consistent damage combined with totem raid buffs makes them compelling when offering a raid spot. They can consistently occupy a spot in caster groups for the buffs alone, but the addition of super-charged damage scaling thanks to AP and SP conversion has made Shamans do exceptional damage overall.

Enhancement Shamans have scaled exceptionally well, more so than most other DPS in Season of Discovery. The combination of some incredibly powerful new runes and the ability to scale both Attack Power and Spell Power for damage has propelled them to the top of the meters. Looking forward at level 60, we expect them to remain highly sought after, proving a slew of buffs to party members while also doing some of the most damage in the game for both single target and AoE. With access to a larger than normal slew of raid buffs, consumables, and the ability to scale damage from multiple sources, Enhancement are a solid choice in any raid group.

Balance Druids primarily use Starfire in raids for damage, which is a very Mana-intensive spell. However, in Season of Discovery Balance Druids have access to the new Wrath rune, which allows it to be cast for free. They will always have a way to do damage regardless of mana, but ultimately their damage will still be quite low compared to every other caster. They also are severely lacking in terms of AoE, which is another reason they are in C-tier.

While Shadow Priests eventually were able to get all of the spells needed to be a full casters with an actual rotation, they just do not have the scaling and raw damage needed to compete with Warlocks and other casters in the higher tiers. Shadow Priests just do not do very good damage. They have solid utility, several rune options, and can be incredibly fun to play in both PvP and PvE, but ultimately their damage is just not there even at level 60.