Mythic+ DPS Rankings: A Tier List for The War Within (Patch 11.0.5 / Season 1)

This tier list is NOT FINAL; it will change and will be updated as often as necessary prior and during The War Within Mythic+ Season 1. There are often moments of tier set and class tuning, as well as talent changes and secondary stat scaling that will impact the placement of the specs.

I am Petko, a competitive Mythic+ player, known to be pushing the boundaries of High Mythic+ with several World first and Europe first rankings among past seasons on multiple classes. I have worked hard on preparing for Season 1 of The War Within, spending numerous hours per day examining each and every spec in a dungeon environment on Beta. This Tier list will continue to be updated as much as it requires over the course of The War Within and it will also focus on what the "meta" will look like as it stabilizes. Along the way, this Tier list will also be supported by various professional Mythic+ players with high credibility in the community, theorycrafters across all specializations, and my own empirical evidence.

To begin with, this Tier list will exclusively focus on the first Season of Mythic+ in The War Within. There will be no Warcraft Logs rankings added nor simulation data for the majority of the classes and specs. As a result, this Tier list will be solely based on empirical evidence of the current state of the classes' performance in Mythic+ from my own point of view and the point of view of the group of players testing those classes who are among the best representatives of the specs in the community. Moreover, this Tier list will take into consideration every impactful class change and tier set tuning before and after the start of the season.

It is important to note that opinions might vary and that is completely okay, but remember to be respectful when providing feedback as the sole purpose of this tier list is to help the WoW community with their choice of main or alt each season.

This tier list was created based on the strength of each DPS specialization throughout the entirety of our Beta testing. The rankings are determined by the toolkit and raw damage each class provides to Mythic+ groups. To fully understand the rankings, it's important to understand the difference between each damage profile and the significance/sync of each class's toolkit with other party members. Lastly, different dungeons require different sets of damage patterns; some require more single-target, while others require you to have much more focused AoE damage; all of this can bump some classes higher than others:

• Damage is the most important major factor to rank the DPS classes: mass AoE, burst AoE, sustain AoE, single-target, 2-target, 3-target, and spread-cleave damage are among the types of damage profiles we examine.
• Classes with unique party-wide buffs will always be rewarded. an example of such is Druid's Mark of the Wild.
• Classes with high survivability, self-sustain, or immunities will add an additional value to the rankings.
• Another feature worth mentioning is the importance of priority-target damage and funnel damage, often undervalued in Mythic+, which speeds up the whole dungeon if executed correctly. Specs can earn extra "points" by having such a damage profile.

• It is incredibly important to emphasize that just because a DPS specialization is low in the tier list; it does not mean that you should ignore it completely. Any class can perform well if you put the time to learn it, some just do it with less effort.
• For the vast majority of cases, you should choose to bring the better player, not the better specialization. That does not mean you never need to think about your Mythic+ group composition or disregard the meta, just that most of the time, player skill will be more important than the difference between classes
• Remember that this tier list is based on casual/intermediate key levels as the average; some specializations gain significantly more value on the higher-end bracket compared to the lower-end bracket because of their damage profile.
• This tier list, unlike many others, is constant; some class's placements will go up or down depending on key level, group composition, affix combinations or dungeon differences. We will continue to update this tier list every time there is a change;

Below, you can find the full rankings for DPS slots in Season 1 of The War Within. We encourage you to read further and understand why some classes are placed lower or higher than expected, with several factors taken into consideration, such as having a 4-piece tier-set active at all times.

1. Enhancement Shaman (S-Tier)
2. Assassination Rogue (S-Tier)
3. Frost Death Knight (S-Tier)
4. Augmentation Evoker (S-tier)
5. Balance Druid (A-tier)
6. Elemental Shaman (A-Tier)
7. Unholy Death Knight(A-tier)
8. Frost Mage (A-tier)
9. Survival Hunter (A-tier)
10. Shadow Priest (A-Tier)
11. Retribution Paladin (A-tier)
12. Affliction Warlock (A-tier)
13. Destruction Warlock (A-tier)
14. Demonology Warlock (B-tier)
15. Arcane Mage (B-tier)
16. Subtlety Rogue (B-tier)
17. Feral Druid (B-tier)
18. Fury Warrior (B-tier)
19. Arms Warrior (B-tier)
20. Fire Mage (B-tier)
21. Marksmanship Hunter (B-tier)
22. Havoc Demon Hunter (C-Tier)
23. Outlaw Rogue (C-Tier)
24. Devastation Evoker (C-Tier)
25. Beast Mastery Hunter (C-Tier)
26. Windwalker Monk (C-Tier)

If you are interested in our other rankings for Mythic+ in The War Within, Season 1, please click the links below.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Enhancement Shaman has seen so many positive changes, which will directly improve its already strong Mythic+ performance in the second half of Season 1. Their damage profile will be one of the highest, not only in single-target but also in AoE. In addition, a previous weakness of theirs , durability, has been further bolstered following the new expansion as they have several new ways to tackle dangerous encounters in any scenario: Seasoned Winds, Stone Bulwark Totem and Elemental Resistance. Overall, although the specialization has some bugs, we believe Enhance will be one of the best DPS choices for the second half of Season 1.

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Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Skyfury	-
Core	Bloodlust	-
Core	Sundering	Additional AoE stop.
Core	Earth Elemental	A powerful elemental summon that helps you survive. It can also tank non-boss-enemies.
Optional	Wind Rush Totem	On-demand extra movement speed, which can be further bolstered by Jet Stream - removing all snares on all targets interaction with Wind Rush Totem (it is like a massive Blessing of Freedom).
Earthgrab Totem	AoE root effect. It replaces Earthbind Totem.
Optional	Ancestral Guidance	Provides extra off-healing to your party.
Optional	Capacitor Totem	3 sec AoE stun.
Optional	Hex	Single-target crowd-control ability.
Optional	Cleanse Spirit	Removes all Curse effects from a friendly target.
Optional	Purge	Removing 1 beneficial Magic effect from an enemy.
Optional	Thunderstorm	AoE disturb effect that can either knock away or knock up ( Thundershock).
Optional	Poison Cleansing Totem	Removes all poison effects on a nearby party member each 1.5 sec for 6 sec.
Optional	Elemental Resistance	Small group-wide school of magic damage reduction.

Patch 11.0.5: Assassination Rogue currently has one of the strongest damage profiles across all DPS specs. Their priority-target and AoE damage will continue to be one of the strongest going into the second half of Season 1. Their utility remains excellent, and they will have an even stronger defensive profile. Overall, we believe Assassination Rogue will perform better in higher-level keys, where mobs live longer, but still not to be underestimated in lower-level keys, where they will do better than before. To conclude, one of the highest damage profiles in the game, combined with great utility and durability.

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Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Iron Wire	Enables Garrote to silence for 6 sec when used from Stealth and enemies that are silenced by Garrote deal 15% reduced damage for 8 sec.
Core	Weapon Poisons	Numbing Poison, Atrophic Poison, Crippling Poison, Wound Poison, Instant Poison, Amplifying Poison and Deadly Poison
Core	Gouge / Airborne Irritant	You have the choice between AoE stop or powerful short cooldown single-target stop.
Core	Blind	Disturb effect, useful for crowd-control.
Core	Kidney Shot	Single-target stun effect.
Core	Sap	Non-combat crowd-control.
Core	Cheap Shot	Single-target stun effect.
Core	Shiv	Enrage-effect dispel.
Core	Shroud of Concealment	Mass-invisibility effect.
Core	Tricks of the Trade	Redirects all threat you cause to a selected party member lasting 6 sec.
Core	Distract	When used, it stops any creatures from moving. Incredible useful when stopping patrol targets from repositioning.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Frost Death Knight received healthy buffs to their Deathbringer Hero Talents, which will ultimately put them in a much better state following the patch release. Not only do they have one of the strongest bursts, but their sustained damage also appears to be in better shape. In addition, their single-target will rapidly improve, as well as, their already best priority-target damage. Overall, we are quite happy with the performance of Frost Death Knight, and we consider them to be the current best DPS choice.

Its overpowered, pls nerf.

Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Anti-Magic Zone	Provides extra durability against heavy magical damage.
Core	Death Grip	Repositions an enemy of your choice.
Core	Raise Ally	Combat-resurrection.
Optional	Abomination Limb	Every 1 sec, an enemy is pulled close to you.
Optional	Blinding Sleet	AoE disturb effect.
Optional	Insidious Chill	Reduces the auto-attack speed of your target by 5% stacking up 4 times.
Optional	Control Undead	Mind-control an undead enemy to fight on your side.
Optional	Asphyxiate	5 sec single-target stun.
Optional	Vestigial Shell	Adding Anti-Magic Shell on 2 nearby allies.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Augmentation Evoker is going to continue one of the best Ranged options in the second half of Season 1. Yes, you will be just as useful to your allies, with great utility, good mob control, and further bolstering their DPS/defensive profiles, but this time, you will do more damage yourself. On top of this, they have gained a few more defensive options, depending on the choice of Hero Talents, and maintained excellent mobility. Overall, we are delighted with the spec's current performance and expect it to be one of the strongest DPS choices in Season 1 of The War Within expansion.

You rely on your teammates to do effective damage, the worst your teammates are, the less damage you will do.

Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Blessing of the Bronze	-
Core	Ebon Might	-
Core	Chrono Ward	Extra Shielding effect triggered after Breath of Eons cast.
Core	Prescience	Can be further bolstered by the Fate Mirror talent.
Core	Tail Swipe	AoE disturb effect that knocks up enemies.
Core	Wing Buffet	AoE knockback effect.
Core	Expunge	Removing all Poison effects from an ally.
Core	Upheaval	Extra knock-up effect.
Optional	Timelessness	Reduces the threat to 1 friendly target.
Optional	Oppressing Roar	Increasing the duration of all crowd-control effects on the affected enemies by 50%. You can further talent into Overawe, removing 1 Enrage effect from each enemy (AoE Enrage Removal).
Optional	Terror of the Skies	After using Breath of Eons, you will stun all enemies by 3 sec affected by your breath.
Optional	Sleep Walk	Single-target crowd-control effect that forces the enemy to move towards you.
Optional	Bestow Weyrnstone	Enables one party/raid member to teleport to your location within 100 yards.
Optional	Blistering Scales	Increases the armor and gives damage to the selected member.
Optional	Spatial Paradox	It enables your Healer of choice to move freely while casting and increasing the range of most spells by 100% for 11 sec.
Optional	Source of Magic	Can be further bolstered by Potent Mana
Optional	Zephyr	Area-of-effect damage reduction (party only).
Optional	Cauterizing Flame	Bleed removal
Optional	Rescue	You can further bolster it with Twin Guardian talent for extra durability.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Balance Druid is one of the specs that has seen the most changes throughout Patch 11.0.5 PTR patch, leading to the second half of Season 1. Although this spec may not appear impressive in lower-end keys, it becomes increasingly formidable as the key level increases. If you use your cooldowns effectively in Mythic+, you can achieve exceptional damage, primarily in AoE scenarios. In addition, you will have better survivability in the The War Within expansion while retaining your valuable utility. Overall, after the most recent changes to the specialization, we believe they will still be one of the best Ranged options in Mythic+.

It takes some time for the spec to ramp up before it can cause significant damage. This means that the performance of the Balance Druid will improve as the mobs live longer.

Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Mark of the Wild	Increasing the Versatility of your raid/party by 3%.
Core	Solar Beam	8 sec AoE silence.
Core	Entangling Roots	Single-target root effect.
Optional	Nature's Vigil	Extra off-healing.
Optional	Innervate	Allowing 1 friendly healer to cast spells without spending mana for 8 sec.
Optional	Stampeding Roar	Increasing the movement speed to all raid members by 60% for 8 sec.
Optional	Remove Corruption	Removes all Curse and Poison effects from a friendly target.
Optional	Soothe	Dispelling all Enrage Effects from an enemy target.
Optional	Hibernate	Single-target crowd-control effects against beasts and dragonkins.
Optional	Incapacitating Roar / Mighty Bash	You have the choice between AoE disturb effect or a single-target stun.
Optional	Typhoon	Aoe knockback.
Optional	Mass Entanglement / Ursol's Vortex	You have the choice between AoE root effect or AoE wind-of-vortex, pulling all the mobs to one location.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Elemental Shaman received a healthy amount of positive changes, which will improve their performance leading to the second half of Season 1. The rework of Ascendance will now add an offensive cooldown in their pocket, which will turn out to be quite handy, especially during important boss fights/pulls. While their single target is not their strongest asset, the spec has improved since the start of the season. They also have better defensiveness - Stone Bulwark Totem, Seasoned Winds and brand new utility which fits perfectly for Mythic+ content - Elemental Resistance, Skyfury and Jet Stream. Overall, we believe that Elemental Shaman is still going to be a great choice, even after the most recent nerfs to the spec.

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Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Skyfury	-
Core	Bloodlust	-
Core	Earth Elemental	A powerful elemental summon that helps you survive. It can also tank non-boss-enemies.
Core	Earthquake	Has a chance for a knockdown effect.
Optional	Wind Rush Totem	On-demand extra movement speed, which can be further bolstered by Jet Stream - removing all snares on all targets interaction with Wind Rush Totem (it is like a massive Blessing of Freedom).
Earthgrab Totem	AoE root effect. It replaces Earthbind Totem.
Optional	Ancestral Guidance	Provides extra off-healing to your party.
Optional	Capacitor Totem	3 sec AoE stun.
Optional	Hex	Single-target crowd-control ability.
Optional	Cleanse Spirit	Removes all Curse effects from a friendly target.
Optional	Purge	Removing 1 beneficial Magic effect from an enemy.
Optional	Thunderstorm	AoE disturb effect that can either knock away or knock up ( Thundershock).
Optional	Poison Cleansing Totem	Removes all poison effects on a nearby party member each 1.5 sec for 6 sec.
Optional	Elemental Resistance	Small group-wide school of magic damage reduction.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Unholy Death Knight will continue to be in a great shape, with amazing single-target damage, while retaining its signature strong AoE burst and a good sustained damage profile. Overall, we are happy with the performance of Unholy Death Knight and we will monitor for further changes.

The biggest drawback of this specialization is that you can only fully unleash its maximum potential by perfectly managing your big cooldowns, which is only possible when playing with a pre-made group. The ramp-up for the exceptionally strong AoE profile must be planned to get the most out of the specialization.

Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Anti-Magic Zone	Provides extra durability against heavy magical damage.
Core	Death Grip	Repositions an enemy of your choice.
Core	Raise Ally	Combat-resurrection.
Core	Gnaw	Having an extra stun effect for 1 sec from your Ghoul pet.
Optional	Abomination Limb	Every 1 sec, an enemy is pulled close to you.
Optional	Blinding Sleet	AoE disturb effect.
Optional	Insidious Chill	Reduces the auto-attack speed of your target by 5% stacking up 4 times.
Optional	Asphyxiate	5 sec single-target stun.
Optional	Vestigial Shell	Adding Anti-Magic Shell on 2 nearby allies.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Frost Mage is currently in a sweet spot between "fun-to-play" and overall decent shape, as the balance between all powers seems equal. Not only are you one of the most durable DPS specializations, but you also have one of the best Mythic+ utilities from a DPS. Depending on the key levels and group composition, your rankings will fluctuate but will be well high in the rankings. Overall, we like how this spec plays, and if casters are back on the "menu" to be part of the meta club, then most definitely a Mage's Arcane Intellect will be a MUST.

Lower sustain damage without cooldowns.

Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Arcane Intellect	5% extra Intellect to the whole raid/party.
Core	Time Warp	Alternative of Bloodlust.
Core	Polymorph	Single-target crowd-control effect.
Core	Permanent slow effects.	-
Optional	Mass Barrier / Mass Invisibility	Gives a shield that absorbs damage or mass invisibility to the entire party.
Optional	Spellsteal	Steals a beneficial magic effect from the target.
Optional	Remove Curse	Removes all Curses from a friendly target.
Optional	Ring of Frost	AoE disturb effect.
Optional	Ice Nova	AoE Immobilize effect. This can be cast separately from Frost Nova.
Optional	Blast Wave	AoE knockback.
Optional	Dragon's Breath	AoE disturb effect.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Survival Hunter is currently amazing choice for DPS spec in Mythic+, with an impressive DPS profile for both single-target and AoE. As always, damage is one of the major factors to consider for specs, so look no further; this class will not disappoint with both sustained damage and burst damage. Explosive Shot's uncapped damage capabilities are exceptional while maintaining amazing single-target output. All in all, one of the most rounded melee specs, and we are hopeful they will be in the second half of Season 1.

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Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Primal Rage	Although not unique, it can help in some rare cases.
Core	Hunter's Mark	Increases all damage dealt to targets above 80% health by 5%.
Core	Tar Trap	AoE Slow.
Core	Tranquilizing Shot	Removes 1 Enrage and Magic effect from an enemy target.
Core	Freezing Trap	A powerful single-target crowd-control effect.
Optional	Binding Shot	AoE root effect.
Optional	Scatter Shot	Single-target disturb effect.
Optional	Intimidation	Stun effect.
Optional	Implosive Trap	AoE disturb effect.
Optional	Misdirection	Helpful in cases where there are spread non-boss-enemies and your tanks need help with collecting the aggro.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Shadow Priest received quite healthy adjustments on Psychic Link and some quality of life updates leading to the second half of the season. They will still retain their great damage profile, which excels in both AoE and single-target/priority-target damage. The spec will continue to be great Ranged option, although not to the same extreme performance they had in the last few seasons. Their utility and defensiveness remain strong, which is positive for the spec as both factors are considered valuable. Overall, we expect their performance to only improve the higher the key goes, as the "ramp-up" playstyle of voidform requires the non-boss enemies to live longer than a few short seconds.

Not as competitive of a DPS on the lower level keys due to a "ramp-up" playstyle, but if the key is high enough and gives the right group composition, this spec will rise to one of the best Ranged candidates this season.

Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Power Infusion	You must always have Twins of the Sun Priestess talented.
Core	Power Word: Fortitude	A raid-wide 5% Stamina buff.
Core	Psychic Scream	AoE disturb effect.
Core	Mind Soothe	It reduces the range at which the target/s will attack you. Incredibly useful for trash mob skips. It can be used on multiple enemies.
Core	Mass Dispel	Incredible useful where Mass Dispelling is needed.
Optional	Vampiric Embrace	Extra off-healing.
Optional	Leap of Faith	Helps with repositioning.
Optional	Dominate Mind	Mindcontrols an enemy, allowing you to simultaneously execute your rotation while having full control over them and their abilities.
Optional	Shackle Undead	Crowd-controls a undead target for 50 sec.
Optional	Purify Disease	On top of Dispel Magic you will be able to further bolster it by allowing the spell to remove 1 Disease on a friendly target.
Optional	Psychic Horror	A single-target 4 sec stun effect.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Retribution Paladin received a tiny nerf in their Mythic+ performance, leading into the second half of Season 1. Their current AoE burst damage profile will remain incredible, while retaining their signature group-wide utilities for a DPS, which is a valuable asset for anyone who wants to play this spec. They posses excellent defensive options in case of danger, and is considered one of the easiest spec to play in the current iteration of World of Warcraft.

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Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Devotion Aura	Permanent 3% group/raid-wide damage reduction aura.
Core	Hammer of Justice	A powerful single-target 6 sec stun effect.
Core	Lay on Hands	Heals a member of your party/raid to full health.
Core	Intercession	Combat-resurrection
Optional	Blessing of Sacrifice	Helps a single member of your raid in a critical situation. This can be further improved by talenting Sacrifice of the Just.
Optional	Blessing of Protection	Physical immunity, which can help you with some boss encounters.
Optional	Blessing of Freedom	Immunity to movement impairing effects.
Optional	Repentance / Blinding Light	You have the option between single-target crowd-control effect or a powerful mass AoE stop.
Optional	Cleanse Toxins	Removes all Poison and Disease effects from the target.
Optional	Turn Evil	Be able to fear any Undead, Aberration or Demon, which is an additional form of crowd control.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Affliction Warlock will remain a great Ranged option, consisting of great priority-target, fantastic burst and sustained AoE damage. Previously one of the weakest specs, they are now in a much better shape, with much more flexibility in builds — a strong single-target build, amazing hybrid options, and heavy AoE if needed. Additionally, they are now more durable and have better utility (especially if you choose Hellcaller's Curse of the Satyr 2-in-1 Curse) and overall have a new rotation that replaces the boring Seed of Corruption spam. Overall, we believe Affliction Warlock to be a great choice among any group composition.

Vile Taint windows are not covering the full duration of Agony, making it harder to maintain all DoTs on the targets. You have to manually extend them or drop the stacks of Agony and wait for Vile Taint cooldown to return.

Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Create Healthstone	Helps your team to survive deadly pulls.
Core	Soulstone	Combat Resurrection.
Core	Demonic Gateway
Core	Curse of Tongues	Useful against caster targets. It can be further bolstered by Amplify Curse talent.
Core	Curse of Weakness	Useful against physical damage dealers. It can be further bolstered by Amplify Curse talent.
Core	Demon Summoning	Summon Imp can help you with Singe Magic dispel while Summon Felhunter can be useful with an extra interrupt - Spell Lock.
Optional	Banish	Useful on some boss encounters for an extra crowd-control effect.
Optional	Shadowfury	AoE Stun.
Optional	Mortal Coil	Sinel-Target disturb effect.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Destruction Warlock received several buffs leading to the second half of Season 1. Their AoE damage profile, especially during their major cooldown - Summon Infernal, is still going to be their strongest asset. Single-target and sustained damage are both going to be also improved and brought more in line with the rest of the specializations. In addition, every Warlock spec is quite durable and has a great party-wide utility, which fits perfectly for Mythic+.

The ramp up time until they do effective damage is long, hence why on the higher level keys, they will perform better than the low/mid level keys.

Utility package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Create Healthstone	Helps your team to survive deadly pulls.
Core	Soulstone	Combat Resurrection.
Core	Demonic Gateway
Core	Curse of Tongues	Useful against caster targets. It can be further bolstered by Amplify Curse talent.
Core	Curse of Weakness	Useful against physical damage dealers. It can be further bolstered by Amplify Curse talent.
Core	Demon Summoning	Summon Imp can help you with Singe Magic dispel while Summon Felhunter can be useful with an extra interrupt - Spell Lock.
Optional	Banish	Useful on some boss encounters for an extra crowd-control effect.
Optional	Shadowfury	AoE Stun.
Optional	Mortal Coil	Sinel-Target disturb effect.

Patch 11.0.5 update:. Demonology Warlock received some positive adjustments leading to the second half of Season 1. They will retain their strength in their already good sustain single-target/AoE damage while benefiting from additional Demonic Cores after the most recent buffs. In terms of utility, they will keep their unique Mythic+ package while being one of the most durable Ranged DPS. Overall, this spec will climb a few spots on our tier list but will likely be overshadowed by its sibling specs in some of the keys.

Further damage buffs are to be considered before they climb the rankings.

Utility package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Create Healthstone	Helps your team to survive deadly pulls.
Core	Soulstone	Combat Resurrection.
Core	Demonic Gateway
Core	Axe Toss	Your baseline interrupt also stuns the target for 4 sec.
Core	Curse of Tongues	Useful against caster targets. It can be further bolstered by Amplify Curse talent.
Core	Curse of Weakness	Useful against physical damage dealers. It can be further bolstered by Amplify Curse talent.
Core	Demon Summoning	Summon Imp can help you with Singe Magic dispel while Summon Felhunter can be useful with an extra interrupt - Spell Lock.
Optional	Banish	Useful on some boss encounters for an extra crowd-control effect.
Optional	Shadowfury	AoE Stun.
Optional	Mortal Coil	Single-Target disturb effect.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Arcane Mage burst and sustained single target will remain one of the best, as well as retaining their unique damage on demand AoE profile. Just like any Mage spec, they have some of the best party-wide utility and mob control, and on top of this, they are one of the most durable specs in the game. The rankings of Arcane can fluctuate depending on the key level, as well as being one of the key features of creating the "god-comp" together with Augmentation Evoker.

This spec goes to the Top-Tier once you play with a "God-Comp."

Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Arcane Intellect	5% extra Intellect to the whole raid/party.
Core	Time Warp	Alternative of Bloodlust.
Core	Polymorph	Single-target crowd-control effect.
Optional	Mass Barrier / Mass Invisibility	Gives a shield that absorbs damage or mass invisibility to the entire party.
Optional	Spellsteal	Steals a beneficial magic effect from the target.
Optional	Remove Curse	Removes all Curses from a friendly target.
Optional	Ring of Frost	AoE disturb effect.
Optional	Ice Nova	AoE Immobilize effect. This can be cast separately from Frost Nova.
Optional	Blast Wave	AoE knockback.
Optional	Dragon's Breath	AoE disturb effect.

Patch 11.0.5: Aside from the impressive Rogue's utility package, Subtlety Rogue also delivers consistent damage with great on-demand bursts. Sadly, the rotation has not changed much as the newly introduced Hero Talents are quite disappointing. After the most recent buffs, Subtlety Rogue damage performance has increased. Overall, we believe its sibling spec - Assassination Rogue is much stronger, which severely reduces the chances of you being picked up.

Lack of interesting Hero Talents that change the rotation/gameplay and introduce a breath of freshness. There are still quite a few bugs surrounding the spec, making it hard to have an accurate picture of its true performance.

Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Weapon Poisons	Numbing Poison, Atrophic Poison, Crippling Poison, Wound Poison or Instant Poison
Core	Gouge / Airborne Irritant	You have the choice between AoE stop or powerful short cooldown single-target stop.
Core	Blind	Disturb effect, useful for crowd-control.
Core	Kidney Shot	Single-target stun effect.
Core	Sap	Non-combat crowd-control.
Core	Cheap Shot	Single-target stun effect.
Core	Shiv	Enrage-effect dispel.
Core	Shroud of Concealment	Mass-invisibility effect.
Core	Tricks of the Trade	Redirects all threat you cause to a selected party member lasting 6 sec.
Core	Distract	When used, it stops any creatures from moving. Incredible useful when stopping patrol targets from repositioning.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Unfortunately for Feral Druid, they received minor buffs in the patch, leading to the second half of Season 1. The specialization will feature a great AoE damage profile but only decent single-target damage. They will have better defensive options and retain their great party-wide utility. In addition, their utility, just like any Druid spec, is amazing, as Mark of the Wild is one of the strongest party-buffs in Mythic+. This leads us to believe that Feral Druid's performance will be around middle of the pack for now.

Further damage buffs are necessary to rank them up higher on our tier list.

Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Mark of the Wild	Increasing the Versatility of your raid/party by 3%.
Core	Entangling Roots	Single-target root effect.
Optional	Nature's Vigil	Extra off-healing.
Optional	Innervate	Allowing 1 friendly healer to cast spells without spending mana for 8 sec.
Optional	Stampeding Roar	Increasing the movement speed to all raid members by 60% for 8 sec.
Optional	Remove Corruption	Removes all Curse and Poison effects from a friendly target.
Optional	Soothe	Dispelling all Enrage Effects from an enemy target.
Optional	Hibernate	Single-target crowd-control effects against beasts and dragonkins.
Optional	Incapacitating Roar / Mighty Bash	You have the choice between AoE disturb effect or a single-target stun.
Optional	Typhoon	Aoe knockback.
Optional	Mass Entanglement / Ursol's Vortex	You have the choice between AoE root effect or AoE wind-of-vortex, pulling all the mobs to one location.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Although Fury Warrior was nerfed prior to the patch hitting live servers, the most recent buffs to the spec will now push them towards the middle of the charts. They still retain their signature burst-orientated profile, but unfortunately their raw damage will struggle to compete with the majority of the DPS specs. With several sets of offensive cooldowns, they allow for amazing frontload bursts across all key levels. Sadly, their Mythic+ toolkit remains mostly the same, with Shockwave now being easier to talent, which can help with further mob control. Nonetheless, the specialization has short offensive cooldowns, amazing frontload burst, and at the same time is one of the easier specs to learn, which makes them a beginner-friendly pick.

Outside of their strong Battle Shout buff, their Mythic+ toolkit is one of the weakest compared to the rest of the DPS specializations.

Utility package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Rallying Cry	Temporary increasing the health of your raid/party.
Core	Battle Shout	Extra 5% Attack Power.
Optional	Spell Reflection	Usable in niche situations.
Optional	Intimidating Shout	AoE disturb effect capped at 5 targets.
Optional	Storm Bolt	4 sec single-target stun.
Optional	Shockwave	AoE Stun

Patch 11.0.5 update: Arms Warrior damage profile is their strongest asset as they currently have decent single-target, 2-target, low-count, and incredible mass-AoE damage. Although their utility will remain mostly the same, we believe that if this spec can be paired with melee physical damage-oriented classes, it can climb the ladder even further.

Outside of their strong Battle Shout buff, their Mythic+ toolkit is one of the weakest compared to the rest of the DPS specializations. Sustain damage profile is on the lower end.

Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Rallying Cry	Temporary increasing the health of your raid/party.
Core	Battle Shout	Extra 5% Attack Power.
Optional	Spell Reflection	Usable in niche situations.
Optional	Intimidating Shout	AoE disturb effect capped at 5 targets.
Optional	Storm Bolt	4 sec single-target stun.
Optional	Shockwave	AoE Stun

Patch 11.0.5 update: Fire Mage will remain a decent choice throughout the second half of Season 1. Their single target will be mid, while being significantly better in AoE damage. Although just like every Mage spec so far, they have one of the best group-wide Mythic+ utilities but still require some time to ramp up (especially if you are playing Mastery: Ignite) before they achieve their full damage. Hence why we always recommend considering this spec highly for higher-level keys.

Depending on the key level, their placement might fluctuate.

Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Arcane Intellect	5% extra Intellect to the whole raid/party.
Core	Time Warp	Alternative of Bloodlust.
Core	Polymorph	Single-target crowd-control effect.
Optional	Mass Barrier / Mass Invisibility	Gives a shield that absorbs damage or mass invisibility to the entire party.
Optional	Spellsteal	Steals a beneficial magic effect from the target.
Optional	Remove Curse	Removes all Curses from a friendly target.
Optional	Ring of Frost	AoE disturb effect.
Optional	Ice Nova	AoE Immobilize effect. This can be cast separately from Frost Nova.
Optional	Blast Wave	AoE knockback.
Optional	Dragon's Breath	AoE disturb effect.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Marksmanship Hunter's rotation will remain mostly the same, Marksmanship Hunter already feels much better compared to its previous patch. With that in mind, they will retain their incredibly bursty damage profile, which will be their strongest asset across all key levels. They now have 2 charges of Survival of the Fittest and a self-disease/poison dispel which can help in critical situations. The lack of single target (while playing M+ builds) will be the biggest disadvantage. Overall, the spec will retain its signature mark, which is burst/on-demand damage for both AoE and single-target while still maintaining a presentable damage package even off cooldowns.

Lack of strong single-target damage; perhaps further tuning focusing on it will bring the spec a lot closer to the top of the bracket.

Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Primal Rage	Although not unique, it can help in some rare cases.
Core	Hunter's Mark	Increases all damage dealt to targets above 80% health by 5%.
Core	Tar Trap	AoE Slow.
Core	Tranquilizing Shot	Removes 1 Enrage and Magic effect from an enemy target.
Core	Freezing Trap	A powerful single-target crowd-control effect.
Optional	Binding Shot	AoE root effect.
Optional	Scatter Shot	Single-target disturb effect.
Optional	Intimidation + Territorial Instincts	Stun effect.
Optional	Wailing Arrow	AoE interrupt/silence for 3 sec.
Optional	Implosive Trap	AoE disturb effect.
Optional	Misdirection	Helpful in cases where there are spread non-boss-enemies and your tanks need help with collecting the aggro.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Havoc Demon Hunter received no changes in the upcoming patch, which is a massive disappointment. Although their damage during cooldowns have never been bad, their sustained damage is considered one of the lowest compared to all other DPS specs. Overall they do have the capabilities to rapidly improve their rankings (good defensive profile and great utility) if they were to do more raw damage.

The playstyle of Havoc Demon Hunter is still one of the most unenjoyable ones even though their current performance is great. Further damage buffs are needed to rank them higher on the tier list.

Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Chaos Brand	5% extra Magical damage
Core	Darkness	% chance to avoid all damage from an attack.
Core	Fel Eruption	Single-target stun.
Optional	Chaos Nova	AoE stun effect.
Optional	Imprison	Single-target out of combat crowd-control.
Optional	Consume Magic	Remove 1 beneficial Magic effect.
Optional	Sigil of Misery	AoE disturb effect.

Patch 11.0.5: Outlaw Rogue received multiple changes leading up to the upcoming patch, which will result in a slight improvement in their performance. While they will retain their great consistent damage, unfortunately, they are still one of the few specs that are target-capped. Their single-target will remain competitive, as well as their priority-target damage while doing AoE. The lack of burst is also another issue the spec is suffering from, as that can be quite offsetting on the lower level keys where burst is important to capitalize on the lower health mobs. Their defensive profile will remain unchanged, and so will their amazing group-wide utility and mob control.

Outlaw Rogue will still struggle in heavy AoE scenarios due to its damage target cap being present. In addition, the lack of a strong burst profile can hurt them on the low/to mid-level keys while being much better on the high-end keys.

Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Weapon Poisons	Numbing Poison, Atrophic Poison, Crippling Poison, Wound Poison or Instant Poison
Core	Gouge / Airborne Irritant	You have the choice between AoE stop or powerful short cooldown single-target stop.
Core	Blind	Disturb effect, useful for crowd-control.
Core	Kidney Shot	Single-target stun effect.
Core	Sap	Non-combat crowd-control.
Core	Cheap Shot	Single-target stun effect.
Core	Shiv	Enrage-effect dispel.
Core	Shroud of Concealment	Mass-invisibility effect.
Core	Tricks of the Trade	Redirects all threat you cause to a selected party member lasting 6 sec.
Core	Distract	When used, it stops any creatures from moving. Incredible useful when stopping patrol targets from repositioning.

Patch 11.0.2 update: Devastation Evoker received a decent amount of changes leading to the The War Within expansion, followed by 2 brand-new Hero Talents - Flameshaper / Scalecommander and a new tier-set. The 2-piece will increase the damage of Disintegrate and Pyre by 10%, while the 4-p will reduce the Eternity Surge's cooldown by 5 sec, further allowing it to grant an Essence Burst.

The performance of Devastation Evoker has been consistent throughout the entirety of Beta, leading to the first season of Mythic+ in The War Within, with quite a few rotational differences compared to how it was in Dragonflight (depending on which Hero Talents you are going for + during Dragonrage window). They have retained their unique Evoker utility, strengthening their defensiveness thanks to the brand-new Hero Talents. Their damage profile will retain its burst-orientated window, which will help your performance across different key levels. At the same time, also, unfortunately, keeping its main disadvantage present - having 25 yards ability range as an offensive caster can be quite punishable. Overall, we believe that its sibling spec will take the majority of the attention, and we will hardly see much playtime, but if anyone chooses to opt for them, they will still perform great as its damage can be competitive to the majority of the DPS specs.

Having 25 yards as an offensive DPS is quite punishable. Further damage buffs are needed to strengthen their sustained damage profile.

Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Blessing of the Bronze	-
Core	Tail Swipe	AoE disturb effect that knocks up enemies.
Core	Wing Buffet	AoE knockback effect.
Core	Expunge	Removing all Poison effects from an ally.
Optional	Sleep Walk	Single-target crowd-control effect that forces the enemy to move towards you.
Optional	Source of Magic	Can be further bolstered by Potent Mana
Optional	Oppressing Roar	Increasing the duration of all crowd-control effects on the affected enemies by 50%. You can further talent into Overawe, removing 1 Enrage effect from each enemy (AoE Enrage Removal).
Optional	Terror of the Skies	After using Breath of Eons, you will stun all enemies by 3 sec affected by your breath.
Optional	Spatial Paradox	It enables your Healer of choice to move freely while casting and increasing the range of most spells by 100% for 11 sec.
Optional	Zephyr	Area-of-effect damage reduction (party only).
Optional	Cauterizing Flame	Bleed removal
Optional	Rescue	You can further bolster it with Twin Guardian talent for extra durability.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Beast Mastery Hunter has seen quite a lot of changes leading to the second half of Season 1. Beast Mastery Hunter will retain similar playstyle as before, which will disappoint some and delight others. They now have much better survivability, thanks to the general Hunter's tree redesign, and a better utility package allowing you to have Intimidation, Scatter Shot and Binding Shot active at the same time. In addition to that, any Hunter spec can benefit from having an AoE disturb effect spell - Implosive Trap. While their single-target damage is strong, their sustained damage (off-cooldowns), especially AoE, is going to contniue be lackluster.

Lack of raw consistent AoE damage. Pet interaction is still an issue, given the fact that almost all of your damage comes from pet attacks; it is something that should be permanently fixed.

Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Primal Rage	Although not unique, it can help in some rare cases.
Core	Hunter's Mark	Increases all damage dealt to targets above 80% health by 5%.
Core	Tar Trap	AoE Slow.
Core	Tranquilizing Shot	Removes 1 Enrage and Magic effect from an enemy target.
Core	Freezing Trap	A powerful single-target crowd-control effect.
Optional	Binding Shot	AoE root effect.
Optional	Scatter Shot	Single-target disturb effect.
Optional	Intimidation	Stun effect.
Optional	Implosive Trap	AoE disturb effect.
Optional	Misdirection	Helpful in cases where there are spread non-boss-enemies and your tanks need help with collecting the aggro.

Patch 11.0.5 update: Unfortunately, Windwalker Monk did not receive anything major in the upcoming patch. They are still going to have mediocre AoE damage, an area where they have previously been great at, while retaining great single-target. It is important to note that the utility package is largely unchanged, and it is still going to have immense value for any team. In addition, Haste scaling was added, which should dramatically help Windwalker Monk scale as gear improves, something the spec has always struggled with later in the season/expansion.

Further buffs, especially in the AoE damage profile.

Utility Package

Functionality	Spells	Notes
Core	Mystic Touch	5% extra Physical damage for your raid.
Core	Leg Sweep	3 sec stun effect.
Optional	Tiger's Lust	Removes all roots and snares.
Optional	Ring of Peace	It can be used to help your tank kite and as a AoE disturb effect.
Optional	Detox	Removes all Poison and Disease effects from the target.
Optional	Paralysis	Single-target disturb effect.