WoW Forever Tier List

How this tier list is made

A tier here is a design target, not a parse. On the WoW Forever Podcast episode 2, designers Kris Zierhut and Aidan Moon said every class has a damage budget so bosses die about as fast as in 2004–2005, that a talent point is worth about 1% damage, and that any buff is paid for somewhere else. Within that budget they named who should lead and who pays about 5% for a second role.

So the list answers “where is Blizzard steering this path?” and the notes under each path answer “what is true in the beta today?”. A bug can put a path below its tier for a few weeks; the target is where tuning pulls it back to. Not sure what to play yet? The WoW Forever class quiz starts from how you like to play instead.

DPS tier list: single target

1. S

   The stated top. On a fight where you stand still and hit one boss, Rogues are meant to do the most damage of any class: “that is one of the biggest reasons you bring them”. Energy won’t be raised, because white damage, Slice and Dice and poisons already carry them.

   • Combat Rogue
   • Assassination Rogue
   • Subtlety Rogue
     • Planned The 31-point talent will become Death Mark: stored damage that bursts after 6 seconds.
2. A

   Pure damage classes. Hunters, Mages and Warlocks can’t tank or heal, so they pay no hybrid cost and sit just under Rogues.

   • Beast Mastery Hunter
     • Bug Auto Shot timers are bugged; a fix is coming.
     • Planned More stable slots are planned for the new pet abilities.
   • Marksmanship Hunter
   • Survival Hunter
   • Fire Mage
     • Planned The designers are looking at giving Mages more buttons in the coming weeks.
   • Arcane Mage
   • Frost Mage
     • Nerf Blizzard and Cone of Cold were cut to stop dungeon kiting.
   • Affliction Warlock
     • Bug The range talent leaves out Fear by oversight.
   • Demonology Warlock
   • Destruction Warlock
3. B

   Hybrids, about 5% behind. Any class that can fill a second role pays for it, and the designers count Warriors too, since they can take a shield and tank. Their damage paths stay competitive; they aren’t meant to top the meter on a single target.

   • Fury Warrior
     • Bug Rage from taking damage is lower than intended; a fix is in progress.
     • Buff A critical strike with a basic attack gives 100% more Rage since October 2.
     • Planned Blizzard’s notes rework the Fury and Protection trees; the beta client doesn’t have it yet.
   • Arms Warrior
   • Retribution Paladin
     • Nerf Champion of the Light turns 60% of Intellect into spell damage (was 100%) and adds no healing.
   • Enhancement Shaman
     • Changed Maelstrom Weapon works on Lightning Bolt only: no instant heals or Chain Lightning.
   • Elemental Combat Shaman
   • Feral Combat Druid
     • Buff Shifting Power replaces powershifting: 40 Energy every 16 seconds, 8 with its talent.
     • Buff Bear forms gain 75% more Rage on a critical strike and Primal Bite makes about twice the threat.
   • Balance Druid
     • Buff Wrath hits 50% harder since September 24 (about 2% more damage at 60); expect a small cut elsewhere.
   • Shadow Magic Priest
     • Changed Meant to be brought for damage first: it gives no mana to the party.

Each path opens its talent path page: the tree, what changed from Classic and builds. Plan the points in the WoW Forever talent calculator.

DPS tier list: cleave and area damage

1. S

   The stated top. Warriors are meant to be the best at cleave: Cleave and Whirlwind for a whole fight, which no other class can sustain.

   • Fury Warrior
     • Bug Rage from taking damage is lower than intended; a fix is in progress.
     • Buff A critical strike with a basic attack gives 100% more Rage since October 2.
     • Planned Blizzard’s notes rework the Fury and Protection trees; the beta client doesn’t have it yet.
   • Arms Warrior
2. A

   Strong area damage in a raid. Blizzard and Cone of Cold were cut to stop solo dungeon kiting, but the designers still want Mages strong on packs, as long as the tank can hold them.

   • Frost Mage
     • Planned The designers are looking at giving Mages more buttons in the coming weeks.
     • Nerf Blizzard and Cone of Cold were cut to stop dungeon kiting.
   • Fire Mage
   • Arcane Mage
3. B

   Some, at a cost. Retribution has Consecration and no Divine Storm; Shamans can burn mana on Fire Nova and Chain Lightning; Destruction reaches one extra target from range.

   • Retribution Paladin
     • Nerf Champion of the Light turns 60% of Intellect into spell damage (was 100%) and adds no healing.
   • Elemental Combat Shaman
   • Enhancement Shaman
     • Changed Maelstrom Weapon works on Lightning Bolt only: no instant heals or Chain Lightning.
   • Destruction Warlock
4. C

   None by design. Cats weren’t given Swipe.

   • Feral Combat Druid
     • Buff Shifting Power replaces powershifting: 40 Energy every 16 seconds, 8 with its talent.
     • Buff Bear forms gain 75% more Rage on a critical strike and Primal Bite makes about twice the threat.

Hunters, Rogues and the other paths weren’t placed by the designers for multi-target fights, so they aren’t in this list.

Tanks: not ranked

The designers named no best tank. All three can tank the new dungeons; what the beta notes change for each is under its name. Hybrid damage paths are kept weak at healing so a group still needs a real healer.

• Protection Warrior
  • Bug Rage from taking damage is lower than intended; a fix is in progress.
  • Buff A critical strike with a basic attack gives 100% more Rage since October 2.
  • Buff Power Word: Shield no longer stops Rage from damage taken.
• Protection Paladin
  • Changed Holy Shield blocks 30% (was 20%); Redoubt gives 4–20% (was 6–30%).
• Feral Combat Druid
  • Buff Shifting Power replaces powershifting: 40 Energy every 16 seconds, 8 with its talent.
  • Buff Bear forms gain 75% more Rage on a critical strike and Primal Bite makes about twice the threat.

Healers: not ranked

The only comparison the designers made is inside the Priest: Discipline for shields and keeping a tank up, Holy for healing a whole party. Paladin, Shaman and Druid healers got no ranking and no note yet.

• Discipline Priest
  • Buff Its shields are the strongest and suit tanks; Holy is better at healing a whole group.
• Holy Priest
• Holy Paladin
• Restoration Shaman
• Restoration Druid

PvP: what the designers said

• Blizzard doesn’t balance for 1v1. Doing so would make every class the same, the designers said; the bar is that any build can be taken into a battleground.
• Soul Link Warlocks can stay a PvP build. Half of one tree and half of another is fine as a pure PvP choice.
• Frost is the PvP Mage because Ice Block is a Frost talent, and it won’t be baseline for now.
• The Hunter dead zone stays as the class’s weakness: get in a Hunter’s face. Survival is the answer if you hate it.
• Death Mark gives a Subtlety Rogue’s target 6 seconds to react, so Eviscerate may still kill faster.

Honor ranks, battlegrounds and rewards: WoW Forever PvP.