DPS Rankings / Tier List – Season of Discovery & Classic Era

	Fire Mage	Feral Druid	Elemental Shaman	Mutilate Rogue
	Fire Warlock	Shadow Priest	Frost Mage	Enhancement Shaman
	Shadow Warlock	Melee Hunter	Balance Druid	Ranged Hunter
	Fury/Arms Warrior	Retribution Paladin
	Arcane Mage

1. Fire Mage (S Tier)
2. Feral Druid (S Tier)
3. Elemental Shaman (S Tier)
4. Mutilate Rogue (S Tier)
5. Fire Warlock (A Tier)
6. Shadow Priest (A Tier)
7. Frost Mage (A Tier)
8. Enhancement Shaman (A Tier)
9. Shadow Warlock (B Tier)
10. Melee Hunter (B Tier)
11. Balance Druid (B Tier)
12. Ranged Hunter (B Tier)
13. Fury/Arms Warrior (C Tier)
14. Retribution Paladin (C Tier)
15. Arcane Mage (D Tier)

Phase 4 in the Season of Discovery features even more changes than the previous phase, with many of the runes receiving tweaks or even an entire overhaul. Such changes result in performance variations showcased by many classes, with some of the stronger specializations from the previous phase having their spots completely altered. Besides the reworked existing runes, Phase 4 brings two new types of runes, Cloak and Ring runes, aiming to empower further and solidify each specialization’s identity. Furthermore, with the addition of the new dungeon and raid sets, the performance in phase 4 of many of the specializations is much more gear-dependent, with some specializations having stronger set bonuses than others.

While Phase 2 was Caster DPS-oriented and Phase 3 was mostly Melee-centric, the current state of Phase 4 that can be observed on the Classic Era PTR is currently a mix between the two types of specialization with clear examples of both types of specializations such as Feral Druid, Mutilate Rogue, Fire Mage, and Elemental Shaman displaying a phenomenal performance thanks to the changes that occurred.

This DPS Ranking List is based on the currently available information that can be observed on the Classic Era PTR, along with all the current changes based on the recent hotfixes. The DPS Ranking List will be updated with the most up-to-date information based on any upcoming patches and hotfixes that will occur post-launch.

Additionally, due to the Human Error component and the individual player skill involved in high-end PvE content, Tier A through B is highly relative, with only a few select specializations ranking higher than others based on the current adjustments made by the hotfixes.

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

We can officially say that Fire Mage is certainly back claiming the top spot in the S Tier, thanks to all the changes brought by Phase 4. Firstly, Hot Streak has now been moved to the Helm Rune slot, which is a massive improvement for Fire Mages as they can now fully integrate Pyroblast into their gameplay while also maintaining the beloved Frostfire Bolt. Since the Balefire Bolt playstyle has been proven to be inferior to the Molten Armor and Frostfire Bolt playstyle, this change massively buffs Fire Mage. Additionally, Phase 4 introduced the Overheat rune which allows the use of Fire Blast while casting another spell, with the spell now ignoring the normal GCD limit. Additionally, Fire Blast will always result in a critical strike, further empowering Hot Streak.

In terms of the available set bonuses from the tier gear, Fire Mage has access to a rather interesting bonus, gaining 1% increased damage for 15 seconds each time a spell from a different school of magic is used. This bonus ties in perfectly with Frostfire Bolt and Hot Streak as you will be guaranteed to trigger both Frost Damage and Fire Damage, triggering the set bonus.

Besides its new powerful Single-Target performance, Fire Mage still deals a great amount of damage in AoE encounters by using Living Bomb. In terms of utility, Fire Mage still brings Improved Scorch, which is one of the most powerful Fire Damage buffs for other classes available.

Feral Druid

Feral Druids can once again call themselves the “Kings of the Jungle” as they gain massive improvements in Phase 4, placing them in the S-Tier. Firstly, they received a massive buff to their overall AoE damage thanks to the Improved Shred rune, helping them in a department where they were previously lacking. Not only did their AoE damage capabilities have been increased but some of their old abilities such as Rake and Rip received an overall buff to their Attack Power modifiers, increasing their Single-target capabilities in the process. Additionally, Gore‘s proc chance has been increased significantly, further empowering their overall DPS.

In terms of the available set bonuses from the tier gear, Feral Druids have hit the jackpot! Their overall utility is improved by the set bonus, with Faerie Fire (Feral) now also acting as a Hit Chance-increase buff to their allies. Additionally, the set bonuses grant Rake and Rip the ability to critically strike while they also grant Rip and Ferocious Bite the chance to reset Savage Roar. Those bonuses not only empower the overall damage output of Feral Druids but also make the specialization much easier to play, since Savage Roar theoretically only needs to be applied once per fight.

One more important aspect for Feral Druids is the access to additional Talent Points, allowing them to finally tweak their build to incorporate both Omen of Clarity and Leader of the Pack.

In terms of utility, Feral Druid specifically brings Wild Strikes, Mangle, and Faerie Fire (Feral), which are highly valued by most Physical Damage Dealers. Since Bleed Damage is much more often encountered in Phase 4, Mangle is especially powerful in this phase of the Season of Discovery.

Elemental Shaman

Elemental Shamans find themselves in one extremely unexpected spot, climbing up to the S Tier thanks to the new tier sets and some very important additions to their overall kit. While their performance was quite underwhelming in Phase 3, Phase 4 brings forth a complete change in scenery.

Elemental Shamans received one of the most powerful runes in Phase 4, namely the Storm, Earth, and Fire rune. While in its initial state, it reduced Chain Lightning‘s cooldown by 100%, this was way too powerful, being quickly nerfed to a 50% cooldown reduction. Nonetheless, this massively improves Elemental Shaman’s overall performance when also thinking about the Flame Shock damage increase, especially when considering the tier-set bonuses.

In terms of tier-set bonuses, Elemental Shamans have received some utterly broken bonuses, especially when considering the new Storm, Earth, and Fire. Lightning Bolt now has a 35% chance to reset the cooldown of Lava Burst and Chain Lightning while Lava Burst now refreshes the duration of Flame Shock. Additionally, their totems will now have a 40-yard radius.

While in the previous phase, Elemental Shamans had the option of using two distinct playstyles. While this is still technically possible, since Mental Dexterity was nerfed, it is currently unknown whether the playstyle is still viable. Additionally, since Burn synergizes with the tier-set bonus and with Storm, Earth, and Fire, sharing the same rune slot with Mental Dexterity, the latter’s viability is questionable. Furthermore, since Lava Burst now actually has a useful interaction with the tier set, picking Mental Dexterity would mean that Lava Lash would be mandatory as well, which is hardly viable.

Elemental Shamans currently provide the same utility that Enhancement Shamans provide, bringing vast bonuses to their allies, especially since their totems’ range is massively buffed by the tier-set bonus. Additionally, since Shamanistic Rage is now a baseline ability, Shamans also have a very powerful mana regeneration tool that they can grant their allies.

Mutilate Rogue

Mutilate Rogue has an astonishing time in Phase 4 of Season of Discovery, receiving a few powerful new toys in addition to their already strong kit. Due to those additions, they managed to retain their spot in the S Tier, now having a stunning performance in both Single-Target and AoE encounters. However, with all the changes occurring to the Rogue Class in Phase 4, other builds such as Backstab/Ambush Build and the Saber Slash Build may also gain popularity, meaning that Mutilate Rogue may not be the only playstyle to dominate the scene.

While Mutilate Rogues were known for their astonishing Single-Target damage coming from Melee Swings, Mutilate, Envenom, and Instant Poison but very lackluster damage in the AoE department, Phase 4 made sure to remove that particular weak point. Phase 4 introduces two new viable runes for Rogue, namely the Fan of Knives and Crimson Tempest Back runes. Those two runes have massively improved Mutilate Rogue’s performance, alongside the other viable Rogue Builds, with Fan of Knives applying Instant Poison and Deadly Poison to its target. Additionally, since Rogues gained a new poison, Occult Poison, which replaces the typical Deadly Poison, that specific effect can also be spread by Fan of Knives, resulting in some terrifying effects.

In terms of tier-set bonuses, Mutilate Rogues benefit the most from the new tier-set items, gaining the most from the increased critical strike damage bonus for Poison Damage which the set offers. Additionally, the full set also grants a chance for abilities to cost no energy after a Finishing Move, meaning potential free Mutilate casts!

From a utility perspective, Rogues finally brings a few unique effects besides their typical crowd-control effects! Occult Poison is a new attraction that grants Rogue a very potent utility tool that can empower all Magic Damage-based specializations. However, they also gain access to other special poisons such as Atrophic Poison, Numbing Poison, and Sebacious Poison, providing similar effects to Thunder Clap, Demoralizing Shout, and Sunder Armor.

A-Tier

The A-Tier represents strong DPS specializations that offer a great amount of damage and utility, but not offering 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.

Fire Warlock

Fire Warlocks find themselves in an overall better spot than they were in the previous phase, with Phase 4 bringing beneficial changes for them! As their current performance can be observed on the PTR, they are most certainly worthy of the A Tier. While it is uncertain whether or not they will encounter any issues with scaling later down the road, that remains to be seen.

Phase 4 brings a powerful execution tool for Fire Warlocks, offsetting the position of Shadow Warlock as the only specialization with a proper execution tool. They gain access to the new Decimation Back rune, which will allow them to trigger the effect with ease by casting Incinerate. As such, they gain free uses of Soul Fire, integrating a very powerful tool in their standard rotation.

The rest of their rotation remains the same, with Backdraft, Incinerate, and Chaos Bolt being their core tools. Luckily for Fire Warlocks, Backdraft now allows them to no longer consume Immolate whenever they cast Conflagrate, being a much-desired quality-of-life improvement. Additionally, Lake of Fire was redesigned again, allowing them to instantly cast Rain of Fire without requiring any channeling, albeit the ability gained a cooldown now. Additionally, Warlocks gained Fel Armor as a valuable tool that can be learned through a spell book to increase their overall damage.

In terms of tier-set bonuses, their bonuses are rather lackluster, with only one bonus being truly impactful, the chance to trigger Incinerate or Immolate instant casts based on the periodic damage of Immolate! The rest of the bonuses are rather generic, with the 2% Critical Strike Chance increase being rather underwhelming when compared to other sets.

Besides their new personal damage-enhancing effects, Warlocks bring even more utility through the Curse of Shadow, Curse of Recklessness, and Curse of the Elements which now have even stronger versions available with the new level 60 cap. Additionally, the Demonic Pact rune can now be used by Fire Warlocks too, enhancing an entire raid group instead of party members. This means that Warlocks now bring a very powerful spell-enhancing effect to both healers and casters. Furthermore, a new effect, Mark of Chaos can also be used to enhance the overall Spell Damage inflicted on a target whenever it is afflicted with either Curse of Shadow or Curse of the Elements.

Shadow Priest

Shadow Priests received a large number of beneficial changes in Phase 4 of Season of Discovery, enhancing their overall performance by quite a substantial amount! As a result, their current performance on the PTR indicates that they are worthy of the A-Tier, with the potential to scale even further, depending on what the devs decide.

Phase 4 brings forth a very powerful tool for Shadow Priests, the Vampiric Touch Back rune. The spell not only deals a great amount of damage but it also applies Vampiric Embrace to the target whilst also providing a mana regeneration tool to all party members. Additionally, Pain and Suffering has received an overhaul, now acting as a “Refresher” tool for all DoT abilities, including Vampiric Touch. Those changes have simplified Shadow Priest’s rotation, boiling it down to Mind Spike and Mind Blast besides the initial cast of DoTs. The rotation also starts including Mind Flay when the full tier-set bonus is achieved.

Shadow Priests have also received a buff in the AoE department, with Mind Sear now working as a proper Cleave tool that will also damage the main target.

In terms of tier-set bonuses, Shadow Priests have mixed bonuses between utility and damage-enhancing effects. The two-set bonus allows them to off-heal in emergencies without losing Shadow Form while the more impactful damage-increasing effect is the proc effect which enhances Mind Flay.

As for utility, Shadow Priests bring the same effects they brought in the previous phases, with the most impactful addition being Vampiric Touch.

Frost Mage

Frost Mage is doing surprisingly well in Phase 4 of Season of Discovery, maintaining a strong position in the current PTR version of the game. As Frostfire Bolt meta remains strong, Frost Mage can display an even stronger performance given the new available Talent Points and changes that occurred to the runes.

Ironically, Frost Mage uses almost the same runes as Fire Mage, utilizing the new Overheat rune which allows the use of Fire Blast while casting another spell, with the spell now ignoring the normal GCD limit. While Frost Mage can use the new Frozen Orb Back rune to deal damage in both Single-Target and AoE encounters, Overheat simply works better since it procs Ignite. Furthermore, since the Frostfire Bolt is so strong, the change to Hot Streak and the new Talent Points which allow you to reach Pyroblast simply provide a much better playstyle, even for Frost Mage. While this theoretically seems to be the better option, Frost Mages can continue to use Ice Lance and Fingers of Frost if they choose to do so.

In terms of the available set bonuses from the tier gear, Frost Mage has access to the same bonuses that Fire Mage has access to. The first effect is a rather interesting bonus, granting a 1% increased damage for 15 seconds each time a spell from a different school of magic is used. This bonus ties in perfectly with Frostfire Bolt and Hot Streak as you will be guaranteed to trigger both Frost Damage and Fire Damage, triggering the set bonus.

In terms of utility, Frost Mage brings the same utility that all Mage Specializations can, albeit they can also bring Improved Scorch if they choose to do so, just like a Fire Mage.

Enhancement Shaman

Enhancement Shaman sadly takes a big hit with the arrival of Phase 4, as some of the effects that made it so great in Phase 3, receive quite some powerful nerfs. Nonetheless, the specialization itself still has an impressive performance, currently placing itself in the lower parts of the A Tier. While some may argue that the specialization has fallen beyond its glory days and can even be considered B Tier in Phase 4, Enhancement Shamans have the potential to scale tremendously in time.

The worst change that hit Enhancement Shamans in Phase 4 is the nerf that Mental Dexterity dexterity received, with the effect now no longer being able to be used to instantly cast Chain Heal or Healing Wave while also providing a substantially lower amount of Attack Power and Spell Power.

In terms of new runes, they gain access to the Feral Spirit and Storm, Earth, and Fire Back runes, with the latter option somehow proving stronger in an ironic manner thanks to the overall buff that it grants to Flame Shock. While Feral Spirit might also prove quite useful, its overall long cooldown makes it a questionable choice in the current PTR scene.

Their overall rotation remains the same as it was in the previous phase of Season of Discovery, with most of their damage coming from Melee Swings, Windfury, shock spells, and weaved-in Lightning Bolt/Chain Lightning.

In terms of tier-set bonuses, Enhancement Shamans took another big hit when compared to other DPS specializations or even their fellow Elemental Shamans brethren, as their bonuses are quite generic and mediocre at best. The 10% additional Attack Speed granted by Flurry that the set bonus provides can be considered one of the worst bonuses when we look at what the other specializations have available.

Enhancement Shamans currently provide the same utility that Elemental Shamans provide, bringing vast bonuses to their allies, especially since their totems’ range is massively buffed by the tier-set bonus. Additionally, since Shamanistic Rage is now a baseline ability, Shamans also have a very powerful mana regeneration tool that they can grant their allies.

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.

Shadow Warlock

Shadow Warlock receives massive bonuses when compared to the previous phase, with Phase 4 of Season of Discovery bringing quite a few changes to those that like to afflict their foes with multiple damage-over-time effects. As they currently stand, Affliction Warlocks (Shadow Warlocks) place themselves in the upper B Tier, however, their damage may skyrocket as the phase unravels, reaching a solid A Tier.

While the specialization plays mostly the same, with Unstable Affliction, Everlasting Affliction, and Pandemic being core runes that shape its identity, Phase 4 introduces two new runes that complete the specialization’s identity entirely. The new Soul Siphon Back rune and the newly overhauled Shadowflame Feet rune add a new flavor to the specialization, making up for some of its former issues.

Firstly, Soul Siphon grants Affliction Warlock (Shadow Warlock) a much stronger version of Drain Soul, as opposed to its Classic version which was lackluster and behind in Spell Power scaling when compared to Shadow Bolt. Secondly, the Shadowflame rune grants Shadow Warlock a new proper Shadow Damage DoT, no longer having to rely on the Fire Damage dealt by Immolate.

In terms of tier-set bonuses, their bonuses are rather lackluster, with only one bonus being truly impactful, the 4% increased chance to trigger Nightfall. The rest of the bonuses are rather generic, with the 2% Critical Strike Chance increase being rather underwhelming when compared to other sets.

Besides their new personal damage-enhancing effects, Warlocks bring even more utility through the Curse of Shadow, Curse of Recklessness, and Curse of the Elements which now have even stronger versions available with the new level 60 cap. Additionally, the Demonic Pact rune can now be used to enhance an entire raid group instead of party members. This means that Warlocks now bring a very powerful spell-enhancing effect to both healers and casters. Furthermore, a new effect, Mark of Chaos can also be used to enhance the overall Spell Damage inflicted on a target whenever it is afflicted with either Curse of Shadow or Curse of the Elements, although Shadowflame would be sacrificed in the process.

Melee Hunter

Poor Melee Hunters, their glory days seem to be long gone with the amount of changes that are currently happening to them. Phase 4 of Season of Discovery has brought numerous changes to Melee Hunters, with the current PTR iteration placing them in a rather weird spot. Their performance seems to consistently fluctuate from one day to another, as the devs are unsure of what to do with them. As they currently are, they can be considered B Tier with a chance of grabbing an A Tier spot, however, with the amount of rebalancing that they are facing consistently, that remains to be seen.

In terms of changes, the most impactful can be observed in regards to added variety in terms of available playstyles. Melee Hunters received some massive overhauls to some of their runes, allowing them to properly choose between multiple separate styles, one focusing on solo play, one focusing on their pets, another focusing on the classic Dual-Wield Hunter, and lastly, one that focuses on Two-Handed Hunter. Flanking Strike and Cobra Strikes have been reworked to increase your overall damage whilst playing with a pet, providing far better effects now than their previous versions while Lone Wolf‘s overall damage increase has been buffed.

Additionally, Rapid Killing has also been specifically tailored for Melee Hunters, granting them a big offensive cooldown that they can use to increase their overall melee Attack Speed. Furthermore, traps can now be used in combat, which adds a whole new depth of gameplay for Hunters!

In terms of new runes, Melee Hunter gains the Hit and Run and Resourcefulness Back runes, with the latter being the obvious choice for PvE since it ties into the trap changes directly. Hit and Run can also be useful in PvE scenarios that require a lot of movement, but it is mainly PvP-centric. Additionally, a new rune has been introduced to solidify the Survival Talent Tree for those who wish to play Two-Handed Melee Hunter, the Wyvern Strike Feet rune. This rune replaces the Wyvern Sting talent and instead grants a powerful ability that deals damage and also causes a Bleed effect.

As for their tier-set bonuses, the bonuses themselves are centered around Mongoose Bite, increasing your overall Hit Rating whenever it is used while also granting you a way to reset its cooldown more efficiently.

Lastly, Melee Hunters brings almost all the same utility tools as the other Hunter Specializations. Phase 4 has brought a change to the overall utility that a Hunter can provide thanks to the “In-Combat” trap mechanic while also turning the former Heart of the Lion rune into a baseline ability. Additionally, Heart of the Lion was also buffed to increase Attack Power besides its former 10% stat increase effect.

Balance Druid

Compared to their fellow “Kings of the Jungle”, Balance Druids continue to have one of the worst moments in Phase 4 of Season of Discovery, as they only receive minimal changes. Albeit their weak performance when compared to other caster specializations, the few buffs that they received have elevated them to the B Tier, with their current performance being somewhat average at best.

In terms of changes, they received overall buffs to their Moonkin Form, with the ability now offering a 120 Spell Power increase which can be considered absolutely bonkers when compared to other weaker buffs received by the caster specializations. Additionally, Elune’s Fires now no longer has a limit on each DoT effect that it can increase its duration, meaning that similarly to Shadow Priests, they can now indefinitely refresh their DoTs.

As for new runes, Phase 4 brings the Starfall Back rune for Balance Druids, complimenting their AoE damage capabilities that they received in the previous phase with the Gale Winds rune. However, since crowd control or shapeshifting can end the effect instantly, Balance Druids should be careful with their positioning when they use Starfall.

With the amount of minimal changes that they received, Balance Druids still maintain their Single-Target rotation which revolves around the Eclipse and Dreamstate effects, with Starfire, Wrath, and Starsurge being their main damaging tools besides Sunfire and Moonfire.

In terms of tier-set bonuses, they receive some of the weakest bonuses, with a generic Hit Chance increase buff and an overall cooldown reduction to the new Starfall rune. The only part of the tier-set bonus that stands out is the buff to Thorns, which is an odd benefit for Balance Druids, hinting that the devs intend to emphasize the utility side of Balance Druids more than the damage output part.

Lastly, their great utility and off-heal capabilities are what makes them shine more and the devs seem to want to emphasize that further. Their unique Moonkin Form continues to be a great addition to Caster-oriented groups, especially as many casters heavily rely on Critical Strike Chance.

Ranged Hunter

Ranged Hunters find themselves in the same spot in Phase 4 of Season of Discovery as they previously did in the previous phase, with their overall performance being worthy of the B Tier.

While their fellow Melee Hunter brethren have gone through a large number of changes to adjust their playstyle, Ranged Hunters were somewhat neglected in the new phase, with most of their kit remaining almost intact in a sense. Among the impactful changes we can mention the “In-Combat” traps playstyle being heavily emphasized with runes such as Lock and Load playing a vital role in the Ranged Hunter identity.

With most of the Hunter runes in Phase 4 being centered around Melee Hunters, Ranged Hunters only get a few toys to play with by comparison. Phase 4 introduces the Improved Volley and Resourcefulness Back runes, with the latter being the obvious choice in most Single-Target encounters. Additionally, Ranged Hunters can use Kill Shot, a new rune that replaces Kill Command as both a powerful execution tool and an on-demand instant shot while their other shots are on cooldown. As Kill Shot doesn’t require your target to be below a current threshold to be used, Ranged Hunters will find themselves spamming this ability.

In terms of set bonuses, Ranged Hunters gain one of the worst bonuses, with one of the bonuses being a generic buff shared by their fellow brethren. Their full set bonus is tied directly to Aimed Shot, providing a rather weak 20% damage increase bonus to their follow-up shot after using Aimed Shot.

Lastly, Ranged Hunters bring almost all the same utility tools as the other Hunter Specializations, with one particular extra effect, Trueshot Aura. Although the effect was reworked to now only increase Ranged Attack Power. Phase 4 has brought a change to the overall utility that a Hunter can provide thanks to the “In-Combat” trap mechanic while also turning the former Heart of the Lion rune into a baseline ability. Additionally, Heart of the Lion was also buffed to increase Attack Power besides its former 10% stat increase effect.

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 on 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/Arms Warrior

A big “oof” could be said about the current state of Fury/Arms Warriors in Phase 4 of Season of Discovery, as the PTR version of the Warrior Class has been a massive shock to all who used to dominate the damage meters during Phase 3. The current state of Warriors is largely due to a huge amount of Nerfs and rebalances thrown at them in an attempt to allow other specializations to shine through the Season of Discovery. Yet all the panic regarding the state of Warrior may be diminished in time, especially since it is a well-known fact that they are Gear and World Buff reliant. Many believe that while its performance on the PTR is absolutely horrendous, Warrior will scale with time, especially as the phase unfolds.

In terms of changes, the Warriors shared the same fate with Paladins and Hunters, receiving massive overhauls to most of their runes. Wrecking Crew, Rampage, Flagellation, Consumed By Rage, and Single-Minded Fury have been all nerfed into the ground, with all the runes now granting vastly underwhelming effects when compared to their previous versions. In terms of additions, Warriors received the Sudden Death and Fresh Meat Back runes. Sudden Death them a chance to cast Execute regardless of the target’s health which is useful for Arms Warrior while Fresh Meat grants a damage-enhancing buff specifically tailored to Fury Warriors which is tied into Bloodthirst and the “Enraged” effect.

In terms of tier-set bonuses, Warriors have some of the more unique bonuses when compared to the other specializations, with most of their bonuses revolving around gaining temporary benefits by performing “Stance Dancing”. For those of you who are not familiar, the term refers to proactively changing stances during combat.

As for their utility, Warriors still grant Rallying Cry, although a new particularly useful tool has been added to their kit, making up for all the heavy nerfs they received. The Valor of Azeroth ability has been added to their kit, turning them into a walking World Buff, for themselves and their allies. This has been implemented to both mitigate the heavy nerfs and compensate for the Warrior’s well-known reliance on World Buffs, although the concept seems to be experimental at best.

Retribution Paladin

Retribution Paladins find themselves in a worse spot in Phase 4 of Season of Discovery, as their overall performance on the PTR can be considered mediocre at best. As such, they find themselves down to the C Tier, even though they have received some interesting changes.

In terms of changes, Retribution Paladins have received overall buffs with former runes such as Exorcist and Seal of Martyrdom now being turned into baseline abilities. Although the changes make room for new runes that are tailored for utility, Seal of Martyrdom has been nerfed as a result. Additionally, the Vindication talent has been majorly buffed to now increase a Retribution Paladin’s Attack Power by 15% in addition to its old effect while The Art of War rune has been massively nerfed to no longer reset the cooldown of Exorcism, instead reducing its cooldown by 2 seconds whenever it procs. Nonetheless, Exorcism is still a huge part of a Retribution Paladin’s gameplay, even if in a lesser form.

Phase 4 brings the new Righteous Vengeance Back rune to Retribution Paladins, providing them with a DoT effect based on their Judgement, Divine Storm, and Crusader Strike critical hits. The damage deals a total of 50% of the critical strike’s value over 8 seconds, providing a decent damage increase to the specialization. However, when compared to the utterly broken runes that other specializations receive, Retribution Paladins can say that they drew the short straw in that regard.

In terms of set bonuses, Retribution Paladins are in for an actual surprise. Whereas many have claimed that “Seal Twisting” will be completely irrelevant in the Season of Discovery, the devs brought us a surprise by implementing the “Seal Twisting” concept into the tier-set bonuses themselves. The bonuses allow Retribution Paladins to unleash multiple seals at once with Judgement while also retaining multiple seal effects for a limited amount of time after swapping a seal. While some will be overjoyed by this, others will surely find it frustrating as opposed to the Exorcism spam playstyle they were used to.

As for utility, Retribution Paladins bring almost all the same utility spells that the other Paladin Specializations bring, with the addition of Aura Mastery which is a new rune that fits their playstyle the best when considering the alternatives.

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.

Arcane Mage

Arcane Mage still finds itself in the D Tier in Phase 4 of Season of Discovery, as its overall identity has been consolidated as a Healer Specialization instead of a Damage Dealer Specialization. Albeit this trend, Arcane Mage received some new toys in Phase 4 which might increase its overall viability as a DPS.

Phase 4 brings forth some interesting changes, among which is the new Arcane Barrage rune. Since this rune synergizes with Missile Barrage and can be empowered by Arcane Blast, Arcane Mage has a much higher chance of succeeding as a proper DPS with an actual rotation. Furthermore, since Balefire Bolt was changed to also inflict Frost Damage, talents from the Frost Tree become much more relevant for Arcane Mage.

Arcane Mages benefit from the same tier-set bonuses as Fire and Frost mages, meaning that Balefire Bolt may aid them in gaining the damage-increase buff much more easily.

Since mana is no longer such a huge issue for raid groups thanks to all the mana regeneration effects such as Vampiric Touch, Arcane Mages may finally be rid of the “Mana Starvation” states that they often found themselves in, especially when considering the tier-set bonus to Mage Armor.

Nonetheless, many players still view Arcane Mage as a pure Healer/Utility specialization, especially when considering Temporal Anomaly and Advanced Warding.