Cataclysm Tier List / DPS Rankings

Welcome to the World of Warcraft: Cataclysm DPS tier list! We will be ranking each DPS class available for the expansion, as well as explaining each class’s position on the tier list.

Overall Performance: The raw amount of damage the spec can deal, in single-target, cleave, and AoE encounters.
Utility: Any bonuses that the spec brings to a raid besides its damage, such as buffs, combat resses, etc.
Stackability: How many of this class you can bring to a raid without diminishing returns. For example, specs like Demonology Warlocks might be powerful, but aren’t as stackable as their Affliction counterpart

Note that this Tier List covers classes and specs in their patch-4.3.4 state. This works just like in previous Classic expansions: although we’re doing content starting with the very first phase, our spells, talents, and equipment are already in their finalized states, which has great implications for the metagame. We will be discussing this in more detail in the sections below.

Phase 1

Fire Mage (S-Tier)
Shadow Priest (S-Tier)
Affliction Warlock (S-Tier)
Survival Hunter (S-Tier)
Demonology Warlock (A-Tier)
Retribution Paladin (A-Tier)
Balance Druid (A-Tier)
Unholy Death Knight (A-Tier)
Frost Death Knight (A-Tier)
Elemental Shaman (A-Tier)
Arcane Mage (A-Tier)
Assassination Rogue (A-Tier)
Combat Rogue (B-Tier)
Feral Druid (B-Tier)
Enhancement Shaman (B- Tier)
Marksmanship Hunter (B-Tier)
Arms Warrior (B-Tier)
Fury Warrior (C-Tier)
Destruction Warlock (C-Tier)
Beast Mastery Hunter (C-Tier)
Subtlety Rogue (D-Tier)
Frost Mage (D-Tier)

The first phase of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm comes with four available raids that feature a good balance of Single-Target Damage and Area-of-Effect fights. The most important factor to take into consideration is that each specialization’s performance heavily relies on the encounter itself, with some specializations that rank lower on the list outperforming higher-ranking tiers in certain specific scenarios.

Baradin Hold
Blackwing Descent
The Bastion of Twilight
Throne of the Four Winds

Another specific factor to keep in consideration is the vast difference between specializations when talking specifically about AoE encounters. While all specializations are capable of a form of AoE Damage, not all of them have the same proficiency in dealing AoE Damage. A clear example would be Demonology Warlocks which overtake Affliction Warlocks in terms of pure AoE damage thanks to the specialization’s overhaul. Another clear example would be Fire Mage completely dominating Arcane Mage, maintaining one of the best AoE Damage capabilities throughout the entirety of the expansion.

The current state of the expansion will see Caster Specializations performing better than Melee Specializations until they reach their BiS gear, with some S-Tier casters out-damaging most other specializations even when they achieve full BiS. Most notably, with the removal of Armor Penetration and the introduction of the Mastery Stat, several Melee Specializations have uniformized damage when compared to the previous expansion, WotLK.

This DPS Ranking list is a rough estimate based on previously available information from both retail and private servers’ damage logs! The list itself will receive an update once the Cataclysm Public Test Real becomes available for accurate information. While the items themselves won’t change in terms of item level and overall stats, the classes will most probably receive different revamps which will balance their gameplay.

Due to the Human Error component and the individual player skill involved in high-end PvE content, Tier S through B is highly relative, with only a few select specializations ranking clearly higher than the other specializations based on the currently available information.

S-Tier

The S-Tier represents the most powerful classes in the current meta – those with the highest damage and utility. These specializations are usually recruited in larger numbers due to their outstanding performance.

Fire Mage

Known as one of the best, if not the best damage specializations throughout the entirety of WotLK, Fire Mage makes a return as one of the top contenders in Cataclysm, bringing devastating Single-Target Damage and AoE Damage. Since Cataclysm Classic will work on the 4.3.4 patch, Fire Mage manages to beat Arcane Mage even at the beginning of the expansion, given enough gear.

The only reason this specialization may not be considered S-Tier in the first phase of the expansion is its dependency on gear, with Fire Mage requiring large amounts of Critical Strike Chance, Haste Rating, and Mastery to compete with other Caster Specializations early on. Once a Fire Mage reaches its BiS, they certainly deserve their S-Tier spot, however, they can be considered A-Tier before they gain their gear.

Fire Mage received a massive gameplay overhaul, with its entire playstyle changing from a single proc mechanic, Hot Streak, to a DoT management specialization with the massive change that applied to Combustion. Hot Streak still remains one of the most important aspects of a Fire Mage’s gameplay, however, knowing when to properly apply Combustion will make a huge difference between a good Fire Mage and a really bad Fire Mage.

Fire Mage’s Impact talent is another huge change when it comes to overall gameplay, which also synergizes with the change to Combustion. With the new Impact proc, you can now spread all existing dots on a target, including Combustion. This change allows Fire Mage to become an absolute monster when it comes to Cleave & AoE encounters.

The gameplay changes in themselves raised Fire Mage’s already high skill cap, turning it into one of the more complex specializations to master, especially as they are harder to scale. Albeit, they are superior to the other two Mage Specializations, with only the Arcane Mage out-damaging it before Fire gains the proper gear.

In terms of utility, Fire Mage provides a single unique buff, along with the typical mage buffs that the other two specializations can grant. Fire Mages can apply the Critical Mass debuff to a target, increasing the Critical Strike Chance of all spells against that target by 5%.

Critical Mass doesn’t stack with a Destruction Warlock’s Shadow and Flame talent!
This effect only applies to abilities that are categorized as Spells!

Aside from Critical Mass, Fire Mages receive the same utility spell adjustments as the other mage specializations:

Time Warp: An ability that enables a mage to grant the former Bloodlust/Heroism effect to their allies.
Arcane Brilliance: Now improves the target’s Spell Power by 6% in addition to granting an increase in mana.
- Arcane Brilliance doesn’t stack with a Shaman’s Flametongue Totem.
Ring of Frost: A powerful Crowd Control ability that can be used to freeze mobs for a considerable amount of time. A very useful ability for delaying certain dungeon/raid mechanics.

Even with the increased difficulty and high gear requirement, Fire Mage proves to be one of the most powerful Caster Specializations in the entire expansion, especially as the expansion unfolds and legendary gear becomes available.

Shadow Priest

Shadow Priest proves to the world once again that it is one of the best damage specializations in the game, coming back even stronger in Cataclysm to claim a spot in the S-Tier. Not only that Shadow Priests deal crazy amounts of damage in Single-Target, Cleave, and AoE Encounters, but they also bring a large amount of utility to any group that accepts those sinister shadowy companions.

Shadow Priests retain most of the gameplay mechanics that they had in WotLK Classic, with only a few additional changes added to their overall toolkit. The specialization itself retains the role of a DoT specialist, with Haste Rating and the newly found Mastery Stat playing a huge role in their overall play style. They gain a few buffs through the form of the Evangelism, Shadowy Apparitions, Shadow Orbs, and Archangel talents alongside a major buff to their Mind Sear ability but their overall play style remains the same as it did in WotLK Classic.

While their Single-Target Damage remains as brokenly overpowered as it was back in WotLK Classic, their AoE and Cleave capabilities get enhanced even further since Mind Sear now also affects its main target.

The only issue Shadow Priests have in the first phase of the expansion is their gear dependency, with the specialization itself requiring a fairly high amount of gear until its damage ramps up.

Shadow Priest’s overall utility improves even further with the beginning of Cataclysm. They retain most of their overpowered utility abilities such as Mass Dispel, Fear Ward, Shackle Undead, Power Word: Fortitude, Hymn of Hope, Vampiric Touch, Dispersion, and Vampiric Embrace while also gaining additional utility through Leap of Faith.

While most of their utility abilities stack with any other spell effects, two of them can’t stack with any similar effect:

Vampiric Touch‘s Replenishment Effect can’t stack with:
- A Retribution Paladin’s Communion.
- A Destruction Warlock’s Soul Leech.
- A Frost Mage’s Enduring Winter.
- A Restoration Druid’s Revitalize.
Power Word: Fortitude doesn’t stack with:
- A Warlock’s Blood Pact (Imp Buff).
- A Warrior’s Commanding Shout.
Shadow Form doesn’t stack with:
- A Balance Druid’s Moonkin Aura.
- A Shaman’s Wrath of Air Totem.

Affliction Warlock

Affliction Warlocks are still on top of their game with the beginning of Cataclysm, having one of the strongest Single Target Damage outputs in the first phase of the expansion. However, their overall playstyle suffers a loss when it comes to AoE encounters as their overall rotation gets even more complicated as proper DoT management and special cooldowns require a high skill cap.

Warlocks receive a massive overhaul to their overall gameplay with several huge changes. The first and most notable change is the Soul Shard system which got completely revamped into a refillable 3-slot resource system as opposed to the previous system which relied on stacking a large quantity of Soul Shards in their bags. With this change, the new Soul Shard resource system was reworked in a specific way where it is used to empower other abilities through the Soulburn spell. Through this change, most of a Warlock’s former abilities that required a Soul Shard in order to be activated no longer require the reagent.

The issue with Soul Shards is that they are now limited to 3 per fight unless you manage to kill adds with Soul Drain. There are a few special conditions where Soul Shards may be used indefinitely such as Soulburn: Seed of Corruption which refunds the Soul Shard if the detonation is successful.

In addition, their Curse Effects were split into two different categories: Bane & Curses. The former spells Curse of Agony and Curse of Doom were transformed into Bane of Agony and Bane of Doom. This resulted in an additional DoT that needs to be placed on a target, generating a higher difficulty in performing their overall rotation.

Another huge change for Affliction Warlocks is their overall survivability, especially with the new Soulburn: Drain Life effect and Fel Armor that now heals you based on all the Single Target Damage you deal.

Affliction Warlock’s Single-Target Damage remains as strong as ever, with new additions such as Demon Soul, Mastery: Potent Afflictions, and the reworked Pandemic talent. Their Execution phase is one of the most potent in the entire expansion when compared to the rest of the classes, with only a few coming close in terms of overall Single-Target performance.

However, due to the new mechanics, Affliction Warlocks tend to suffer in heavy AoE situations when compared to other specializations. While there are certain mechanics to ensure Affliction Warlocks deal high amounts of damage in AoE encounters, their conditions are harder to meet, making the class take a huge hit in comparison to other caster specializations or its former AoE performance in WotLK Classic. One such effect is Soulburn: Seed of Corruption. As an example, Demonology Warlocks tend to outperform Affliction Warlocks in fights heavy AoE fights whereas Affliction Warlocks certainly outperform Demonology Warlocks in 2-3 targets Cleave Encounters.

As far as Warlock’s utility goes, it retains most of the spells it had available during WotLK Classic, with a few new additions that enhance its overall performance. Besides their Curses, Ritual of Summoning, Soulstones, Ritual of Souls, and Demonic Circle: Summoning, they also gain access to Dark Intent and the Jinx talent which allows them to effectively place Curse of Elements on up to 16 targets at the same time. However, all of those effects are available to all the warlock specializations, especially with how the Jinx talent only requires 7 points in the Affliction Specialization.

Keep in mind that Curse of the Elements and Jinx: Curse of the Elements don’t stack with:

An Unholy Death Knight’s Ebon Plaguebringer.
A Balance Druid’s Earth and Moon.
An Assassination Rogue’s Master Poisoner.

Survival Hunter

Trapweaving empowered? Extremely high Magic Damage? Very high utility and survivability tools? Survival Hunter offers them all as it claims a spot in the S-Tier in the first phase of Cataclysm. Quickly rising in popularity during WotLK Classic, Survival Hunter will surely retain its popularity during Cataclysm, as it brings extreme amounts of damage in both Single-Target and AoE encounters while also maintaining a fun play style.

The Hunter Class received a massive resource overhaul, with Mana being a thing of the past in favor of the new resource, Focus. Besides this huge change, Survival Hunters also received a lot of changes that further enhanced its damage potential while also fixing its issue with the lack of utility it had in WotLK Classic.

In terms of damage, Survival Hunters benefit from a plethora of changes and new additions that further enforce their right to the S-Tier spot, with abilities such as Cobra Shot, Black Arrow, and Explosive Shot synergizing perfectly with their new Mastery: Essence of the Viper.

Another big change in terms of damage is the ability to Auto-Shot while moving! Sadly, Survival Hunters don’t benefit as much from it since they have the Sniper Training mechanic. However, when paired up with the new Aspect of the Fox which allows them to cast both Cobra Shot and Steady Shot while moving, this change plays a huge role as most raid encounters have mechanics that require a fairly high amount of movement.

In terms of utility changes, there have been some massive overall changes to the Hunter class, with the Trap Launcher being one of the most potent ones. Albeit a change that came in Retail Cataclysm back in the day, WotLK Classic players will be familiar with the new Trap Launcher which now allows them to easily place all traps without needing to be in Melee Range.

In terms of unique raid utility, their Hunting Party talent has been revamped from a Replenishment Effect into an Attack Speed Increase Effect! This change allows them to be much more easily recruited into raids, as there are only 3 classes that can grant this buff.

Hunting Party doesn’t stack with a Shaman’s Windfury Totem or a Frost Death Knight’s Improved Icy Talons.

Besides those changes, Hunters retain their utility from the previous expansion through various traps such as Snake Trap, Freezing Trap, and Ice Trap and through abilities such as Misdirection, Tranquilizing Shot, and Distracting Shot which are extremely valuable in raid encounters.

A-Tier

The A-Tier represents strong DPS specializations that offer a great amount of damage and utility, but don’t offer the best possible damage output. They will be found in almost every raid group and it will be common to see more than one of each.

Demonology Warlock

Demonology Warlocks receive massive buffs with the arrival of Cataclysm, reaching the top of the A-Tier. Their kits deal very high amounts of damage in both Single-Target and AoE Encounters, with a newly found proficiency in heavy AoE encounters thanks to their overall revamped playstyle. They also bring in a large amount of utility, just like with the other Warlock Specializations, with the beloved Demonic Pact remaining one of the most sought-after buffs in the entire expansion.

The issue with Soul Shards is that they are now limited to 3 per fight unless you manage to kill adds with Soul Drain.

Furthermore, Demonology Warlock received a massive revamp to both its Single-Target & AoE rotations with the addition of the Hand of Gul’dan spell and several other powerful talents such as Inferno, Cremation, and Impending Doom. With Metamorphosis being now available multiple times during a fight, their overall damage skyrocketed, even beating their fellow Affliction Warlocks brethren in heavy AoE scenarios.

As far as Warlock’s utility goes, it retains most of the spells it had available during WotLK Classic, with a few new additions that enhance its overall performance. Besides their Curses, Ritual of Summoning, Soulstones, Ritual of Souls, and Demonic Circle: Summoning, they also gain access to Dark Intent and the Jinx talent which allows them to effectively place Curse of Elements on up to 16 targets at the same time. However, the Jinx effect is harder to gain as a Demonology Warlock if you want to acquire the Shadow and Flame talent due to the lack of available points and other important existing talents.

Keep in mind that Curse of the Elements and Jinx: Curse of the Elements don’t stack with:

An Unholy Death Knight’s Ebon Plaguebringer.
A Balance Druid’s Earth and Moon.
An Assassination Rogue’s Master Poisoner.

With their massive revamp and easier toolkit, Demonology Warlocks have the potential to even reach S-Tier, especially when played properly. Their damage output is also far less reliant on gear, and much more reliant on the encounter itself, making them very sought-after not only for their buff but also for raids with heavy AoE Encounters.

Retribution Paladin

Just like in WotLK Classic, Retribution Paladins maintain their powerhouse status, having both great overall utility and extremely powerful burst damage. In Cataclysm, Retribution Paladins receive a massive plethora of changes to their kit, with a completely overhauled resource system, retaining plenty of their utility alongside their newly founded damage abilities.

The most important change is their newly found Holy Power resource, a bar that can be filled up to 3 slots in order to both utilize some of their new abilities and empower old ones. Thanks to this new resource, they now gain access to powerful abilities such as Templar’s Verdict, Inquisition, and Zealotry which can be used to deal devastating damage.

Another very notable change is the way Crusader Strike and Divine Storm function. In Cataclysm, both abilities now have the same cooldown, with Crusader Strike guaranteeing a charge of Holy Power in any situation while Divine Storm grants a charge only if the spell affects at least 4 targets or more. This change considerably dampens a Retribution Paladin’s Cleave capabilities if an encounter has only 2 or 3 targets.

Retribution Paladin’s overall damage can now be considered more potent in Single-Target encounters rather than AoE Encounters due to those changes, albeit they still shine bright even in Cleave & AoE situations. In the first phase of the expansion, you can expect a skilled Retribution Paladin to find itself among the higher parts of the meters, however, its true potential will be unlocked as the expansion unfolds when it gets access to more powerful items.

Their utility also receives a massive overhaul, with some of their old buffs being condensed into a single powerful ability that combines multiple old ones along with new abilities that can be used to mitigate dire situations.

There are three main changes to take into consideration:

Auras: Paladin auras have been condensed with multiple of their auras turned into a single spell that encompasses multiple old auras. All of their former resistance auras have been turned into a single aura named Resistance Aura. This change considerably reduced the need for multiple paladins in a raid group, especially since Aura Mastery is no longer available for Retribution Paladins.
Blessings: Paladins’ trademark blessings have been drastically modified, combining two out of three into a single powerful ability while also removing their reagent requirements. The former abilities Blessing of Wisdom and Blessing of Might have both their effects combined and under the newly empowered Blessing of Might while Blessing of Kings only grants a 5% stat boost but now also grants an increase to all resistances.
- Blessing of Might doesn’t stack with Unleashed Rage/Trueshot Aura/Abomination’s Might
- Blessing of Kings doesn’t stack with Mark of the Wild.
Word of Glory: Thanks to their new Holy Power resource, Retribution Paladins now gain access to a moderately powerful instant-cast healing effect that can be used with their new resource, specifically the Word of Glory spell. While this spell may not be as powerful in raid encounters where healers can completely overshadow its effect, it can prove to be a lifesaver in dire situations where every Health Point matters. This spell is also used as a method to empower a Retribution Paladin’s damage through the Selfless Healer talent whenever they aid an ally.

Retribution Paladins also bring in a 3% damage increase and a Replenishment Effect through the Communion talent.

Communion doesn’t stack with:
- An Arcane Mage’s Arcane Tactics
- A Beast Mastery Hunter’s Ferocious Inspiration.
- A Shadow Priest’s Vampiric Touch.
- A Destruction Warlock’s Soul Leech.
- A Frost Mage’s Enduring Winter.
- A Restoration Druid’s Revitalize.

While Retribution Paladins retain all of their specific “Hands” abilities and their auras, they lose access to former powerful spells from WotLK such as Aura Mastery, Divine Intervention, and Divine Sacrifice/Divine Guardian.

Balance Druid

If Boomies were a true force of nature to be reckoned with in the previous expansions, their powerhouse status is further reinforced in Cataclysm. Balance Druids receive several changes to their overall play style, with their new-found gameplay further enforcing their status as one of the top-tier Damage Specializations. Balance Druids excel in both Single-Target and AoE Encounters, with AoE encounters showcasing their true potential. Few specializations are able to hold their own when it comes to AoE encounters against a Balance Druid, with Fire Mage, Demonology Warlocks, Survival Hunters, and Unholy Death Knights being the only ones able to hold their own against them.

While Balance Druids retained most of their basic abilities, they received an entire revamp to their Eclipse mechanic, with Solar Eclipse and Lunar Eclipse receiving an entire overhaul. This resulted in a new resource bar being added to their UI for both easier management and further reinforcement of the mechanic itself. Whenever a Balance Druid casts a spell that is categorized under the “Lunar” category it fills up their resource bar, resulting in a Solar Eclipse. This works vice-versa, with every “Solar” spell adding more points toward a Lunar Eclipse. This mechanic changed a Balance Druid’s old “monotone” play style into a much more interactive and proc-based one.

This change in turn modified several of their abilities while also adding new exciting ones that further enhance both their Single-Target Damage and their AoE Damage. We can look at exciting abilities and talents such as Sunfire, Starsurge, Wild Mushroom, Euphoria, and Lunar Shower. Although many great mechanics were added to Balance Druid, a large amount of nerfs were also introduced when it came to MP5. Most of their mana regeneration now comes from Euphoria and Dreamstate, with the latter effect being conditional based on whether Innervate is available or not.

The only issue Balance Druids have in terms of damage output is their dependency on gear, with their full potential coming online once they approach their BiS. The new interactive play style also requires a higher skill cap, meaning that some players might find it more difficult to top the damage meters. Once a Balance Druid approaches its BiS, you can expect it to always be in the top spots of the damage meters, especially during any AoE Encounter.

While a Balance Druid brings a plethora of effects, the following ones can’t stack with other similar effects:

Mark of the Wild doesn’t stack with Blessing of Kings.
Earth and Moon doesn’t stack with Curse of the Elements, Ebon Plaguebringer, or Master Poisoner.
Moonkin Aura doesn’t stack with Shadow Form and Wrath of Air Totem.

Unholy Death Knight

The masters of Death and Decay make a solid return in Cataclysm, with both beneficial and detrimental changes to their onslaught! Unholy Death Knights retain their position as one of the strongest Damage Dealer specializations, however, their AoE potential took quite a hit in Cataclysm when compared to WotLK Classic.

While the majority of their gameplay remains the same, their overall system gets revamped in favor of easier rune management. This effect is achieved through the reworked Reaping passive, which now generates consistent Death Runes. Unholy Death Knights retain their amazing Single-Target potential with a few added bonuses such as Dark Transformation which further enhance their damage capabilities. However, they suffer a huge loss when it comes to AoE encounters since the Wandering Plague talent is no longer a part of their kit.

In the first phase of the expansion, they will still perform extremely well in Cleave and AoE encounters, even without having the most optimal gear setup. Once they get close to their BiS, their damage potential skyrockets, with the new Outbreak spell allowing them to easily spread their diseases when paired up with Pestilence.

One thing to keep in mind is that their Frost brethren can sometimes outperform them, especially in Single-Target encounters early on. In the later parts of the first phase, both specializations have a great damage output, with the player’s skill playing a huge role in their overall performance. If we think about their potential throughout the entirety of the expansion, their overall damage will be quite underwhelming at the beginning, especially as Unholy Death Knights will continuously scale throughout the expansion.

As for an Unholy Death Knight’s utility, they retain all the debuffs and utility spells that all Death Knights can bring to the fold in addition to one powerful unique effect, the Ebon Plaguebringer talent. They have access to general utility effects such as Frost Fever, Death Grip, Chains of Ice, Path of Frost, and Horn of Winter which remain the same as they were back in WotLK Classic. They also receive changes to Raise Ally which now acts as a proper battle resurrection ability, a huge change that now increases their overall desirability besides the Ebon Plaguebringer effect.

Keep in mind that the following spells can’t stack with any other similar effects:

Ebon Plaguebringer doesn’t stack with Earth and Moon, Curse of the Elements, and Master Poisoner.
Horn of Winter doesn’t stack with Battle Shout or Strength of Earth Totem.

Frost Death Knight

Frost Death Knight is among the few specializations that haven’t seen many changes with the arrival of Cataclysm. The specialization has insane Single-Target and AoE capabilities, with Single-Target Encounters being its favorite environment. While the specialization was not revamped or completely overhauled as some specializations, its proc mechanics were vastly improved, with Rime and Killing Machine proccing constantly. If compared to the old retail Cataclysm, Frost Death Knight sees massive improvements considering we will experience it in the state it was during the 4.3.4 patch.

While Frost Death Knight prefers Single-Target encounters, it does not shy away from any Cleave or AoE encounters. Compared to its previous state during WotLK Classic, Frost Death Knight receives a massive buff to Howling Blast, with the spell itself no longer having any cooldown. This enhanced Frost Deathknight’s overall AoE potential, albeit, it also raised the difficulty cap since spamming Howling Blast is not always the best course of action. Players will want to be mindful of their rune management and avoid depleting all of their runes without spreading their DoTs first.

The specialization itself is extremely potent early on, with its proc-based gameplay allowing it to achieve some impressive numbers, even without powerful equipment. As it progresses towards its BiS, you can expect a skilled Frost Death Knight to place itself in the higher parts of the damage meter, and in some situations, even outdamage Unholy Death Knight. This is especially true for the early parts of the phase, as Frost produces a higher damage output than Unholy at a low Ilvl.

As for a Frost Death Knight’s utility, they retain all the debuffs and utility spells that all Death Knights can bring to the fold in addition to one powerful unique effect, the Improved Icy Talons talent. They have access to general utility effects such as Frost Fever, Death Grip, Chains of Ice, Path of Frost, and Horn of Winter which remain the same as they were back in WotLK Classic. They also receive changes to Raise Ally which now acts as a proper battle resurrection ability, a huge change that now increases their overall desirability besides the Brittle Bones and Improved Icy Talons effects.

Keep in mind that the following spells can’t stack with any other similar effects:

Ebon Plaguebringer doesn’t stack with Earth and Moon, Curse of the Elements, and Master Poisoner.
Horn of Winter doesn’t stack with Battle Shout or Strength of Earth Totem.
Brittle Bones doesn’t stack with Savage Combat and Blood Frenzy.

Elemental Shaman

Elemental Shaman has received some of the best possible buffs it could have hoped for with the arrival of Cataclysm! The specialization has received massive improvements in Single-Target, Cleave, and AoE Encounters while also receiving massive buffs to its overall mana management and overall utility. With the hopes that Elemental Shaman will also retain the buffs they received during WotLK Classic, the specialization itself will perform extraordinarily well throughout the entirety of the expansion, even during its very first phase.

Elemental Shamans received massive improvements to both their mobility and overall damage, with a lot of “quality of life” changes such as:

A revamped Lightning Shield mechanic through the Rolling Thunder and Fulmination talents.
A massive boost to Elemental Mastery and the new Feedback talent which allows the player to reduce Elemental Mastery‘s cooldown
The complete removal of Chain Lightning‘s cooldown
The addition of Spiritwalker’s Grace which allows a Shaman to cast non-instant spells for 15 seconds while moving

Those changes, along with other minor buffs to the rest of the abilities and the former changes from WotLK Classic such as Fire Elemental Totem‘s reset after each encounter, place Elemental Shaman among the top Damage Specializations even during the first phase of the expansion. Their overall damage remains consistent throughout the rest of the expansion, with their damage really picking up once the legendary caster staff becomes available.

When it comes to a Shaman’s overall utility, they are a complete powerhouse that can be compared to a Paladin. Their overall utility comes from their totems, their abilities ranging from increased Armor, Spell Haste, Melee Haste, Damage Negation, Strength, Agility, Mana Regeneration, and many more. They also have access to abilities such as Purge which removes magical effects and the well-known Heroism/Bloodlust.

The main issue that Shamans encounter during Cataclysm is the added mage spell, Time Warp, which grants the same effect as Heroism/Bloodlust. This drastically reduced the need for Shamans in raid comps, as they were the only ones that could provide this buff in the previous expansions.

Furthermore, the Elemental Specialization receives huge buffs for its unique effects, with the old Totem of Wrath being completely revamped into the Totemic Wrath talent. This buff allows an Elemental Shaman to bring the same type of utility that the beloved Demonology Warlock brings! They also retain their Elemental Oath unique buff, just like they did in WotLK Classic.

Keep in mind that the following spells don’t stack with similar effects:

Totemic Wrath doesn’t stack with Demonic Pact
Elemental Oath doesn’t stack with:
- A Feral Druid’s Leader of the Pack.
- A Fury Warrior’s Rampage.
- A Subtlety Rogue’s Honor Among Thieves.
Wrath of Air Totem doesn’t stack with:
- A Balance Druid’s Moonkin Aura
- A Shadow Priest’s Shadow Form
Strength of Earth Totem doesn’t stack with:
- A Death Knight’s Horn of Winter.
- A Warrior’s Battle Shout.
Mana Spring Totem doesn’t stack with:
- A Paladin’s Blessing of Might.
- A Felhunter’s Fel Intelligence. (Warlock Pet)

Arcane Mage

Not much has changed for old trusty Arcane Mage, other than its clear mana hunger. If Arcane Mage was renowned for being a very hard class to master due to its hard mana management, it is now even harder. Arcane Mage sits on the A-Tier only thanks to its massive burst capabilities, however in reality, it deserves a far lower spot if we take into consideration how hard it is to avoid becoming OoM.

While it is easy to spam one button and top the damage meters in Single-Target Encounters, given that you manage to not reach the OoM state in under 1 minute. Arcane Mage suffers from a huge lack of AoE Damage, with its only available AoE ability being Arcane Explosion, which has the risk of generating too much threat while also requiring you to be way too close to your target.

Apart from the One-Trick Pony show that it can present, Cataclysm didn’t offer any severe changes to Arcane Mage, with most of its gameplay remaining the same. Even with Evocation and Conjure Mana Gems, the specialization is not sustainable in the long run and the lack of mobility lowers its overall damage in encounters where mobility is simply a crucial mechanic. Improved Blink attempts to fix its mobility issues, however, it’s generally not enough in most cases.

Besides the normal utility spells that all Mage Specializations have access to, Arcane Mage has two separate unique effects, one of which can’t stack with other similar.

Arcane Tactics: Increases every raid member’s overall damage by 3%.
- Arcane Tactics doesn’t stack with Ferocious Inspiration or Communion
Focus Magic: Increases the target’s chance to critically hit with spells by 3%. Gain a 3% increased Critical Strike Chance with spells whenever your target deals a Spell Critical Strike.

Just like with the other Mage Specializations, the Arcane Mage received the following changes to their utility abilities:

Time Warp: An ability that enables a mage to grant the former Bloodlust/Heroism effect to their allies.
Arcane Brilliance: Now improves the target’s Spell Power by 6% in addition to granting an increase in mana.
- Arcane Brilliance doesn’t stack with a Shaman’s Flametongue Totem.
Ring of Frost: A powerful Crowd Control ability that can be used to freeze mobs for a considerable amount of time. A very useful ability for delaying certain dungeon/raid mechanics.

The only way Arcane Mage can become truly viable in Cataclysm, especially in the upcoming phases is if Blizzard decides to tweak its huge mana management issues. As the specialization currently stands, it will probably top the damage meters in the first phase of the expansion if the player manages its mana properly, only to be completely overshadowed by Fire Mage entirely in the upcoming phases.

Assassination Rogue

Assassination Rogue finds itself in an outstanding spot with the arrival of Cataclysm, bringing extreme Single-Target & AoE Damage along with some very powerful utility tools. Assassination Rogue benefits from a huge Talent Tree overhaul, especially with the addition of the new Mastery stat. With Armor Penetration being a thing of the past, Assassination Rogues’ poisons make quick work of any target unfortunate enough to catch their gaze.

Assassination Rogue’s fate really took a 180 turn with the revamp of several of its talents, gaining overall increased damage, mobility, survivability, and energy regeneration. Talents such as Master Poisoner, Venomous Wounds, Cut to the Chase, Murderous Intent, and Quickening emphasize those aspects, turning Assassination Rogue into one of the most potent Damage Dealers throughout the entirety of the expansion. While their damage is not necessarily top-notch during the first phase of the expansion, their damage scales up extremely well, reaching an insane amount once they get their hands on the legendary daggers at the end of the expansion.

Assassination Rogue remains one of the few specializations that retains its rotation almost entirely when compared to WotLK Classic. Veteran rogues will have a pleasant surprise finding that they can perform the same rotation while also having the benefit of dealing insane amounts of damage with fewer cooldowns to keep track of.

In terms of utility, Rogues bring a large array of abilities that can be used to crowd-control targets and provide situational assistance. Abilities such as Cheap Shot, Kidney Shot, Kick, Sap, Distract, Tricks of the Trade, Blind, Disarm Trap, Wound Poison, Expose Armor, and Gouge provide extreme amounts of crowd-control and utility, allowing a rogue to assist in any dire situation. Besides those effects, Assassination Rogues provide a powerful unique effect, namely Master Poisoner. While the effect is powerful, it sadly can’t stack with any other similar effects.

Master Poisoner can’t stack with:
- A Balance Druid’s Earth and Moon.
- An Unholy Death Knight’s Ebon Plaguebringer.
- A Warlock’s Curse of the Elements.

B-Tier

The B-Tier represents mediocre damage specializations. They are still considered viable, as they do a decent amount of damage, but they typically cannot compete with the A-tier specs on the damage meters. However, in many cases, they provide valuable raid buffs that make them worth bringing anyway, as their utility makes up for their deficiency in raw damage.

Combat Rogue

Combat Rogue finds itself at the top of the B-Tier, with a very possible chance of being considered an A-Tier specialization if played properly. In Cataclysm, Combat Rogue receives the most changes to its overall talent structure, going as far as possible from the idea of specific weapon categories. What this means is that Combat Rogues can now use any type of weapon they desire, without having to suffer any penalty. In addition to that, they receive massive beneficial changes to multiple of their talents, resulting in a much more dynamic gameplay.

While their gameplay is not necessarily based on procs like the other specializations, they now rely on talents that reduce their major cooldowns such as Restless Blades. This now encourages them to optimize their finishing moves as much as possible to regain Adrenaline Rush and Killing Spree ASAP. They also have another mechanic they have to carefully manage, especially in Cleave encounters, namely Bandit’s Guile. As such, Combat Rogues actually perform better in Cleave environments rather than Single-Target or AoE encounters, as Bandit’s Guile forces them to cycle through opponents in order to benefit from a huge damage buff.

While previously considered the most “Faceroll” specialization out of all the 3 Rogue Specializations, in Cataclysm Combat Rogue became one of the harder specializations to execute properly, as their new mechanics really pressure the player into energy and combo points micromanagement. If you expect to spam Sinister Strike, Eviscerate, and Rapture like you previously did, you will now find that you will carefully have to think about every finishing move and make sure that Revealing Strike is always a part of your rotation.

Luckily, their AoE rotation remains a no-brainer with Fan of Knives remaining one of the strongest AoE abilities in the game. However, keep in mind that this ability received a very big nerf, meaning that a player should hunt for a great Thrown Weapon to mitigate any damage loss.

In terms of utility, Rogues bring a large array of abilities that can be used to crowd-control targets and provide situational assistance. Abilities such as Cheap Shot, Kidney Shot, Kick, Sap, Distract, Tricks of the Trade, Blind, Disarm Trap, Wound Poison, Expose Armor, and Gouge provide extreme amounts of crowd-control and utility, allowing a rogue to assist in any dire situation. Besides those effects, Combat Rogues provide a powerful unique effect, namely Savage Combat. While the effect is powerful, it sadly can’t stack with any other similar effects.

Savage Combat can’t stack with Blood Frenzy or Brittle Bones.

Feral Druid

Feral Druids, find themselves in a decent spot at the beginning of Cataclysm, with their entire talent tree receiving a massive overhaul. Once known as the most “ferocious” damage dealer in WotLK Classic, Feral Druid makes a rather weak comeback at the beginning of the expansion when compared to their former glory. The main issue is their overall high skill cap, with Cataclysm bringing them even more mechanics to keep track of combined with a rather big dependency on gear. The one thing we can be certain about is that experienced Feral Druids will manage to conquer the B-Tier and even secure themselves a spot among the top A-Tier specializations if played properly.

Feral Druids also see a shift towards a Damage-over-Time emphasized gameplay with their new mastery, Mastery: Savage Claws. Since Armor Penetration is no longer a thing, Feral Druids are under a lot more pressure to properly maintain their DoTs active at all times.

There are two main changes that affect the Single-Target Rotation, the Stampede talent and the Blood in the Water talent. While the latter effect is specifically made to ensure that Feral Druid has an easier rotation during the execute phase, the former introduces a possible new “Bearweaving” mechanic into the rotation. The Melee Haste buff could be a potential game changer for druids, albeit a hard one to optimize and accomplish. All and all, it really depends on the encounter you find yourself in, as it will require you to shapeshift and charge your target.

As for the AoE encounters, Feral Druid retains the same issues it had in WotLK classic, with no other reliable AoE abilities other than Swipe.

In terms of utility, Druids remain one of the most impressive classes. They offer a lot of utility through effects such as Cyclone, Innervate, Stampeeding Roar, Rebirth, Remove Corruption, and Mark of the Wild. In addition to all those effects, Feral Druids bring three powerful unique effects, namely Mangle, Infected Wounds, and Leader of the Pack. The effects themselves are extremely potent, although they can be replaced by other similar abilities. While they can be replaced, a raid comp would require several multiple different classes to bring what a Feral Druid brings in terms of utility.

Keep in mind that the following effects don’t stack with any other similar ones:

Mark of the Wild doesn’t stack with Blessing of Kings.
Leader of the Pack doesn’t stack with:
- A Fury Warrior’s Rampage.
- A Subtlety Rogue’s Honor Among Thieves.
- An Elemental Shaman’s Elemental Oath.
Infected Wounds doesn’t stack with:
- A Death Knight’s Frost Fever.
- A Shaman’s Earth Shock.
- A Protection Paladin’s Judgements of the Just.
- A Warrior’s Thunder Clap.
Mangle doesn’t stack with:
- An Arms Warrior’s Blood Frenzy.
- A Subtlety Rogue’s Hemorrhage.

Enhancement Shaman

Elemental Shaman finds itself in a very weird spot in Cataclysm when compared to WotLK Classic. The main issue with the specialization is that it seems to receive a massive revamp with each expansion. Those changes retain some of the core mechanics of the specialization but alter its overall play style and rotation in a sense that it deeply impacts the class identity.

The most impactful change that comes with Cataclysm is one of Enhancement’s revamped innate passives, Mental Quickness. While Enhancement was a highly customizable specialization in the past expansions, with builds such as Spellhance ravaging the damage meters, such builds are no longer available. This is because of how Mental Quickness removes the ability to gain Spell Power from any source other than Attack Power.

Its Single-Target and AoE rotations suffered huge modifications, with Lava Lash and Searing Totem playing a much larger part in both rotations. While their Single-Target rotation looks similar to the one they previously used in WotLK, with Lightning Bolt weaving playing a huge part, their AoE rotation now requires a skillful use of Chain Lightning, Fire Nova, Fire Totem, and Magma Totem to pull off efficiently.

Hopefully, Fire Elemental Totem‘s reset after each encounter will be retained during Cataclysm, allowing Enhancement Shaman to have a burst phase along with its Feral Spirits.

Sadly, all those changes place Enhancement Shaman in a weird spot, with most of its damage output depending entirely on the player’s individual skill and the encounter itself. Needless to say, Enhancement Shaman is also extremely gear-dependent, making it one of the weakest specializations when they are at a low Ilvl.

Furthermore, the Enhancement Specialization has a very easily replaceable unique buff, namely Unleashed Rage. Since Paladins are usually in constant demand, Enhancement’s unique buff becomes extremely situational, with Blessing of Might also providing an MP5 effect.

Keep in mind that the following spells don’t stack with similar effects:

Unleashed Rage doesn’t stack with:
- A Paladin’s Blessing of Might.
- A Blood Death Knight’s Abomination’s Might.
- A Marksmanship Hunter’s Trueshot Aura.
Wrath of Air Totem doesn’t stack with:
- A Balance Druid’s Moonkin Aura
- A Shadow Priest’s Shadow Form
Strength of Earth Totem doesn’t stack with:
- A Death Knight’s Horn of Winter.
- A Warrior’s Battle Shout.
Mana Spring Totem doesn’t stack with:
- A Paladin’s Blessing of Might.
- A Felhunter’s Fel Intelligence. (Warlock Pet)

Marksmanship Hunter

Marksmanship Hunter doesn’t find itself in such a pretty spot when compared to the previous expansion, and sadly, this is mainly due to the 4.3.4 patch. In Retail Cataclysm, Marksmanship Hunters used to deal large amounts of damage in both Single-Target and AoE encounters. However, that applied for the first patch of the expansion before their overall damage got nerfed and Survival Hunters received massive improvements which were meant to outperform Marksmanship Hunter in every possible way.

The Hunter Class received a massive resource overhaul, with Mana being a thing of the past in favor of the new resource, Focus. Besides this huge change, Marksmanship Hunters also received a lot of changes that further modified its play style while also fixing its issue with the lack of mobility it had in WotLK Classic.

Another big change in terms of damage is the ability to Auto-Shot while moving! This change is great for Marksmanship Hunters as they don’t have to deal with Sniper Training as Survival Hunters do. When paired up with the new Aspect of the Fox which allows them to cast both Cobra Shot and Steady Shot while moving, this change plays a huge role as most raid encounters have mechanics that require a fairly high amount of movement.

In terms of overall damage, their damage is situated around the middle segment of the damage meters, with their overall damage output depending entirely on the player’s skill. Their talents revolve around Focus management, with many effects such as Bombardment, Rapid Recuperation, Termination, and Master Marksman emphasizing the very concept. Since their talents revolve around resource management, they get outperformed by other specializations that either grant both resource management and damage empowerment or simply focus on damage-enhancing effects.

As for unique effects granted by Marksmanship Hunters, they provide Trueshot Aura and Readiness. While the first effect can be considered utterly useless since it doesn’t stack with other similar buffs, the second effect is very valuable as it can be used to double every single utility ability in your kit. This means that vital abilities such as Misdirection and Freezing Trap can be chained for maximum crowd control.

Trueshot Aura doesn’t stack with:
- A Paladin’s Blessing of Might.
- An Enhancement Shaman’s Unleashed Rage.
- A Blood Death Knight’s Abomination’s Might.

Arms Warrior

All hail the most unexpected comeback in terms of pure damage dealers, a huge congratulations to Arms Warriors in Cataclysm! Since Cataclysm Classic will work on the 4.3.4 patch, Arms Warriors fully benefit from some of the most broken talents, empowering both their Single-Target Damage and AoE Damage. Their overall rotation took a complete 180, jumping from possibly the most underwhelming and meme specialization in WotLK Classic, to one of the most interactive and dynamic specializations in Cataclysm.

However, while they might excel at Single-Target, Cleave, and AoE Encounters, their damage output is not yet that insane at the beginning of the expansion, as their true potential unravels later on. For those of you who know, Gurthalak is sadly obtainable only at the end of the expansion, so do be patient! As such, they rank B-Tier with a mention that they can be considered A-Tier if properly played and close to their BiS equipment.

The most impactful change for Arms Warriors is their new-found insane procs and talents that further emphasize them, with Wrecking Crew, Sudden Death, and Lambs to the Slaughter providing insanely powerful bonuses. All of those talents enhance an Arm’s Warrior’s Single-Target capabilities, although you can count them as very useful even during AoE encounters as they would all apply with Sweeping Strikes. Bladestorm now actually provides a large amount of AoE damage, as opposed to WotLK Classic, while Rend can now be easily applied to all targets with the Blood and Thunder talent.

In terms of utility, Arms Warrior grants the same general utility spells that are available for all warriors with only two unique effects that they grant to a raid comp. Cataclysm enhanced Warrior’s overall utility, with the new Rallying Cry added on top of the existing Commanding Shout, Battle Shout, and Demoralizing Shout utility spells. Luckily, this addition added to the overall desirability of the warrior class, with the ability itself acting as a huge panic button to prevent raid wipes.

Arms Warrior has two powerful utility passive effects, with the latter one actually bringing two different effects at the same time. The first effect, Mortal Strike, received a huge nerf when compared to WotLK Classic, however, it still provides one of the most easily accessible healing reduction effects in the game. The second effect, Blood Frenzy, has two components, the first of which empowers all other Physical Damage Dealers while the second effect empowers all bleed damage received by the target by a substantial amount. Just like with many other specializations, their unique effects could be easily replaced by similar abilities since they don’t stack. However, in 10-man raids, their effects would require multiple different classes to replace.

Keep in mind that the following utility effects don’t stack with other similar effects:

Battle Shout doesn’t stack with Horn of Winter or Strength of Earth Totem.
Commanding Shout doesn’t stack with Power Word: Fortitude or Blood Pact.
Mortal Strike doesn’t stack with:
- A Fury Warrior’s Furious Attacks.
- A Rogue’s Wound Poison.
- A Hunter’s Widow Venom.
- A Shadow Priest’s Improved Mind Blast.
- A Felguard’s Legion Strike. (Warlock Pet)
Blood Frenzy doesn’t stack with:
- A Feral Druid’s Mangle.
- A Subtlety Rogue’s Hemorrhage.
- A Combat Rogue’s Savage Combat.
- A Frost Death Knight’s Brittle Bones.

C-Tier

The specializations that make up the C-Tier are on the weaker side of the DPS spectrum. They can still be considered viable, occasionally offering useful buffs and debuffs, and can very often be very fun to play. However, you aren’t likely to be in the top places of DPS meters with these specs, and you won’t have the easiest time finding a raid group, as they aren’t in high demand.

Fury Warrior

Sadly, Fury Warriors see a complete downfall in Cataclysm, with each warrior enthusiast favoring Arms Warriors instead. The specialization in itself is not bad at all as it manages to deal high numbers in the first phase of the expansion, however, it’s completely outclassed by Arms as a whole. This is mainly due to the lack of improvements Fury Warriors received, with many of the changes themselves being minimal. If the expansion had taken a normal course like it did back in the original retail, Fury Warriors would have completely dominated Arms. However, since the 4.3.4 changes apply from the very first phase, this is sadly not the case.

The most important change and most definitely the most troublesome one for Fury Warrior is the proc-based gameplay. While in theory, it should generate smooth gameplay with constant procs for solid damage output, the reality is that the very procs you are forced to rely on may never even “proc”. This often results in a state in which you simply wait for your procs to appear while mindlessly spamming Bloodthirst, Cleave, and Whirlwind. While its Single-Target Damage can be considered decently high, it is by far lower than the other Melee Damage Dealers and nowhere near the Caster Specializations. Albeit its poor proficiency in Single-Target encounters, Fury Warrior seems to perform very well in Cleave and AoE encounters, with talents such as Meat Cleaver enhancing its overall performance.

In terms of utility, Fury Warrior grants the same general utility spells that are available for all warriors with only two unique effects that they grant to a raid comp. Cataclysm enhanced Warrior’s overall utility, with the new Rallying Cry added on top of the existing Commanding Shout, Battle Shout, and Demoralizing Shout utility spells. Luckily, this addition added to the overall desirability of the warrior class, with the ability itself acting as a huge panic button to prevent raid wipes.

The main issue with Fury Warriors is that their unique utility effects can be easily replaced by much more favorable effects, with Rampage being usually replaced by Moonkin Aura or Leader of the Pack and Furious Attacks being easily replaced by Mortal Strike, Widow Venom, Wound Poison, or Improved Mind Blast.

Keep in mind that the following utility effects don’t stack with other similar effects:

Battle Shout doesn’t stack with Horn of Winter or Strength of Earth Totem.
Commanding Shout doesn’t stack with Power Word: Fortitude or Blood Pact.
Furious Attacks don’t stack with:
- An Arm’s Warrior’s Mortal Strike.
- A Rogue’s Wound Poison.
- A Hunter’s Widow Venom.
- A Shadow Priest’s Improved Mind Blast.
- A Felguard’s Legion Strike. (Warlock Pet)
Rampage doesn’t stack with:
- A Feral Druid’s Leader of the Pack.
- An Elemental Shaman’s Elemental Oath.
- A Subtlety Rogue’s Honor Among Thieves.

Destruction Warlock

Destruction Warlocks find themselves in a rather bad spot with the arrival of Cataclysm, with the word “Average” describing them best. The problem with Destruction Warlock is that its overall damage is completely average in all types of encounters, whether we talk about Single-Target, Cleave, or AoE situations. They do receive minor buffs to their overall kit, however, they simply can’t contend with the more popular specs or their fellow warlock brethren. While the specialization is extremely potent in PvP, it is completely reduced to “just another caster” in PvE environments. Nonetheless, you should not feel discouraged as they can certainly deal a lot of damage if played properly. Their Single-Target Damage picks up pretty decently as the expansion unfolds, especially in fights where Cleave is also involved.

In terms of Single-Target Damage, Destruction Warlocks remain pretty much the same, with their rotation barely receiving any major changes. The two most impactful changes that increase the dynamic of their rotation are the Empowered Imp talent which can now trigger instant Soulfire casts and the new Shadowburn which acts as an execute. Yes, Destruction Warlocks finally get an execution tool!

In terms of AoE and Cleave encounters, Destruction Warlocks gain a unique Bane when compared to the other Warlock Specializations, namely the Bane of Havoc, which aims to improve their Cleave potential.

Although they do receive this minor Cleave improvement, their overall AoE damage is a complete joke when compared to the other Warlock Specializations or any of the other Caster Specializations.

Keep in mind that the following effects don’t stack with any other similar effects:

Curse of the Elements doesn’t stack with:
- An Unholy Death Knight’s Ebon Plaguebringer.
- A Balance Druid’s Earth and Moon.
- An Assassination Rogue’s Master Poisoner.
Blood Pact doesn’t stack with:
- A Priest’s Power Word: Fortitude.
- A Warrior’s Commanding Shout.

Beast Mastery Hunter

Beast Mastery Hunters stands at the bottom of the C-Tier with very low PvE expectations in Cataclysm. This is mainly due to the fact that Blizzard enforced the idea that Beast Mastery Hunter is supposed to be a leveling specialization and a strict PvP specialization. Although this was the initial intent, many players attempted to bring this spec into the PvE scene, albeit with little to no success. The problem with Beast Mastery Hunter is that it is way too reliant on its pet which is liable to being killed easily and its overall gear. Its talents are not necessarily the best with its entire gameplay revolving around quick burst damage which is much more favorable in PvP.

You could argue that the burst itself is enough, however, there are no powerful Single-Target enhancing abilities for BM Hunter like there are for MM and Survival Hunter that could compete with the rest of the Damage Specializations.

The Hunter Class received a massive resource overhaul, with Mana being a thing of the past in favor of the new resource, Focus. Another big change in terms of damage is the ability to Auto-Shot while moving! This change is great for Beast Mastery Hunters as they don’t have to deal with Sniper Training as Survival Hunters do. When paired up with the new Aspect of the Fox which allows them to cast both Cobra Shot and Steady Shot while moving, this change plays a huge role as most raid encounters have mechanics that require a fairly high amount of movement.

In terms of unique effects, Beast Mastery Hunters bring only one valuable effect, namely Ferocious Inspiration. The issue with this ability is that it doesn’t stack with any other similar abilities, meaning that it will end up being entirely useless. As much more in-demand specializations such as Retribution Paladins and Arcane Mages bring this effect, a Beast Mastery Hunter’s unique effects are reduced to 0.

One might argue that they can bring utility effects in the form of exotic pets with unique abilities, however, many consider that to be a hassle and simply prefer traditional buffs over situational ones provided by pets.

D-Tier

Simply put, specs in the D-tier are considered to be not viable. They can be fun to play, but you will struggle to get invited to raids when playing one of these, and you may even find yourself getting kicked from groups, as your damage will be really bad.

Subtlety Rogue

Subtlety Rogues have been considered complete jokes in PvE encounters by the community for many years, or at least that was the norm before the launch of Cataclysm. While their kit is mostly created for PvP encounters, several changes have increased their overall viability in both Dungeon and Raid encounters.

While Subtlety Rogues will certainly rank among the bottom tiers of the damage meters in the first phases of the expansion, their damage will ramp up quickly with the arrival of the legendary daggers in the latter parts of the expansion. In this current phase of the expansion, their damage is completely overshadowed by their Assassination and Combat brethren. However, they can still provide certain interesting effects in case a raid comp misses a Feral Druid or an Arms Warrior.

The main changes to their damage come from two specific effects that allow them to be functional, namely Mastery: Executioner and Serrated Blades. Thanks to their specific mastery, they receive a massive bonus for any finishing move that they use while Serrated Blades allows them to maintain Rupture constantly on a target.

Besides their damaging abilities, Subtlety Rogue grants all the specific Rogue utility abilities that the other two specializations bring, with only two unique effects that sadly don’t stack with similar effects brought by other classes.

Subtlety Rogue unique effects:

Honor Among Thieves: A buff that increases Critical Strike Chance for all raid and party members by 5%.
- Honor Among Thieves doesn’t stack with Rampage, Leader of the Pack, and Elemental Oath.
Hemorrhage: Increases the effectiveness of all Bleed Effects by 30% on the target.
- Hemorrhage doesn’t stack with Mangle and Blood Frenzy.

Frost Mage

In Cataclysm, Frost Mages receive a massive overhaul to their entire gameplay, having a very interactive proc-based gameplay. However, the cruel reality is that the spec itself is considered a meme by the community, especially as Fire Mage and Arcane Mage dominate the scene, with the former being considered the best damage spec throughout the entirety of the expansion.

The main change to their gameplay is how Frostbolt applies the chilled effect, having massively improved proc chances. Thanks to the Piercing Chill talent, their proc effects were also enhanced, allowing them to generate Fingers of Frost procs much more easily in Cleave Encounters. While their Fingers of Frost effect was significantly harder to apply in WotLK, it is now vastly improved in Cataclysm, making the spec much more viable in PvE.

Since chill effects are much more easily applied, Frost Mages can now consistently enhance their Ice Lance while also using Deep Freeze on cooldown. Another change that makes their PvE gameplay possible is the Brain Freeze talent effectively generating consistent stacks since Chill Effects are now easily applied. All of those changes combined allow Frost Mage to have a decently strong PvE rotation, especially when compared to its former situation in WotLK.

As far as their utility goes, Frost Mages have three distinct effects, Replenishment, Chilled, and Frozen. They retain their Replenishment Effect through the Enduring Winter talent. However, this effect can’t stack with other refreshment effects such as:

A Retribution Paladin’s Communion.
A Destruction Warlock’s Soul Leech.
A Shadow Priest’s Vampiric Touch.
A Restoration Druid’s Revitalize.

The main issue with the Chilled and Frozen effects is that they are not as useful in Raid Encounters when compared to Dungeon Encounters. This reduces a Frost Mage’s unique utility, especially since the other two special effects they can grant are shared with the other Mage Specializations. Just like with the other Mage Specializations, the Frost Mage received the following changes to their utility abilities:

Time Warp: An ability that enables a mage to grant the former Bloodlust/Heroism effect to their allies.
Arcane Brilliance: Now improves the target’s Spell Power by 6% in addition to granting an increase in mana.
- Arcane Brilliance doesn’t stack with a Shaman’s Flametongue Totem.
Ring of Frost: A powerful Crowd Control ability that can be used to freeze mobs for a considerable amount of time. A very useful ability for delaying certain dungeon/raid mechanics.