Season of Discovery DPS Rankings / Tier List

Author: Nevermore
Date: April 22, 2024
Updated: April 22, 2024
Expansion: WoW Classic

Welcome to the World of Warcraft Classic Season of Discovery DPS tier list! We will be ranking each DPS class available for the season, 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, currently Saber Slash for Rogues does not stack, significantly weakening multiple Rogues.

Note that this Tier List covers classes at the time of writing, and Season of Discovery is constantly changing and evolving.

Phase 1
Phase 2
Phase 3

Hunter (S Tier)
Cat Druid (S Tier)
Rogue (A Tier)
Paladin (A Tier)
Warrior (B Tier)
Warlock (B Tier)
Mage (C Tier)
Melee Shaman (C Tier)
Caster Shaman (D Tier)
Caster Druid (D Tier)
DPS Priest (D Tier)

The early stages of Phase 1 are going to vary heavily both from players expectation, and likely from later in the same Phase. Without a PTR for testing, a lot of things are performing a lot better and a lot worse than they should be.

Additionally, Blackfathom Deeps has proven to be surprisingly unfriendly to Caster DPS. This combined with mana issues, and spell ranks being a bit awkward by level 25 leads to Casters falling behind.

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.

Hunter

Starting Season of Discovery incredibly strong, Explosive Shot was way too powerful. That was nerfed fairly quickly, along with Chimera Shot.

Of course, this didn’t stop Hunters for long, and the new kid on the block is Scorpid pets, dealing way too much damage with Scorpid Poison. Along with this, Hunters by themselves have always been solid even at lower levels, and their inability to do glancing damage with ranged attacks makes them a great contender in a low Hit chance Phase.

Despite being the best damage dealer in the Phase, Hunters also bring vital group utility in the form of Aspect of the Lion, a (currently) everyone-wide Blessing of Kings, even buffing enemy players, because why not.

Cat Druid

Most of the gaps in the Cat DPS toolkit have been plugged, allowing them to deal massive damage both up close and even at range with Sunfire. Not only that, Cats and Bears bring one of the best tools available in Phase 1, Wild Strikes. In a Phase without Windfury Totem, this is an invaluable buff that has no opportunity cost as a Cat DPS.

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.

Rogues

Rogues find themselves in an interesting position. They deal massive DPS with Saber Slash and Deadly Brew, but these abilities currently do not stack. This means that any more than one will drastically reduce their damage output.

Additionally, outside of the usual stuns and interrupts, Rogues bring no group utility. They are a selfish DPS class, but a very strong one.

Paladin

Pink class rejoice, you are finally viable! While Paladins aren’t quite keeping up in DPS with the big 3, they bring a lot of utility in the form of Auras, Blessings, A Fear break, and more.

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.

Warrior

The original kings of Classic, Warriors may have felt like they got shafted by the Phase 1 changes and additions, but this doesn’t stop them from being one of the top DPS currently.

Unfortunately, similarly to Rogues, Warriors are a selfish DPS class, bringing very little to the raid outside of Battle Shout.

Warlock

DPS Warlocks are another mostly selfish class. In order to deal the high damage you’re looking for, you will be sacrificing a lot of the potential utility you could provide. You will need to make the choice between Incinerate and Demonic Pact, and at this point, the choice is likely going to be Incinerate.

While DPS Warlocks are definitely outmatched by the Physical DPS classes, they tend to be stronger than other casters because Life Tap allows them to last longer in a very mana restrictive Phase.

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.

Mage

DPS Mages are in a very strange position right now. As a DPS spec they don’t actually do very high damage, and are easily outclassed by a lot of other classes. The main benefit of bringing a Mage DPS is their ability to provide decently high DPS as a Healer. That’s right, high DPS Mages are still able to be very functional healers.

While Fire does offer some potentially high damage, the relatively low Critical chance available in Phase 1 is a heavy restriction on their damage. Instead, playing as a Frost/Arcane Mage seems to be the way to go, keeping Chronomantic Healing up while blasting the enemy with Arcane Blast and Arcane Missiles.

Melee Shaman

Enhancement is in an odd position right now, with alright damage but a few hurdles to overcome. Mana can be an issue if you are trying to spam max rank spells consistently, and your best AoE option has an increased threat modifier, making it difficult to use as a DPS.

Shamans bring the usual powerful toolkit, including Tremor Totem, Strength of Earth Totem, and Healing Stream Totem.

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.

Caster Shaman

Unfortunately, Caster Shaman just doesn’t bring anything that Melee couldn’t do better. Lava Burst is great, but that is mostly the extent of their strength.

Shamans bring the usual powerful toolkit, including Tremor Totem, Strength of Earth Totem, and Healing Stream Totem.

Caster Druid

Despite Wrath not having a Mana cost with Fury of Stormrage, Caster Druids really don’t have the damage to stand up to other classes. Starsurge ended up being very disappointing, and Sunfire can deal more DPS in the paws of a Cat instead.

Caster Druids do bring a very solid ability to off-heal, able to throw out emergency Healing Touches at a moments notice, but this doesn’t help them as a DPS.

DPS Priest

Ranking DPS Priests at D is being generous. DPS Priests are barely playing Season of Discovery, with most of their changes being so low impact that they are effectively still on their original Classic toolkit of Shadow Word: Pain and Wanding. While you still bring all the usual tools of a Priest, so do Priest Healers.

Fire Mage (S Tier)
Fire Warlock (S Tier)
Melee Hunter (S Tier)
Shadow Priest (S Tier)
Feral Druid (A Tier)
Fury/Arms Warrior (A Tier)
Arcane Mage (A Tier)
Mutilate Rogue (B Tier)
Retribution Paladin (B Tier)
Enhancement Shaman (B Tier)
Elemental Shaman (B Tier)
Ranged Hunter (C Tier)
Balance Druid (C Tier)
Frost Mage (D Tier)

Many things have changed with the arrival of Phase 2 in the Season of Discovery, with some unexpected specializations climbing up to the S-Tier. With the addition of the Waist and Feet runes, some of the specializations gained vital components for their specific identity, improving their overall performance, and altering their play style in the process. As a clear example, runes such as Hotstreak, Shadow and Flame, Melee Specialist, and Mind Spike turn Fire Mage, Destruction Warlock, Survival Hunter, and Shadow Priest into the strongest DPS specializations at the current moment.

While Phase 1 was much more Melee DPS oriented, Phase 2 is much more Caster-centric, with Destruction Warlock, Fire Mage, and Shadow Priests dominating the scene. The only exception in the current meta that still proves a Melee DPS dominance is the Survival Hunter specialization paired up with the Melee Specialist and Dual-Dual Wield runes, turning the specialization into the most powerful Melee DPS that has the same damage output as the top Caster DPS specializations.

This DPS Ranking List is based on the currently available information presented on Warcraftlogs along with all the current changes based on the most recent hotfix. The DPS Ranking List will be updated weekly with the most up-to-date information based on any upcoming patches and hotfixes.

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

Fire Mage

What did the mage say: Burn the whole world, or something among the lines? Fire Mage makes an extraordinary comeback in Phase 2, melting the mechanical armor of any gnomish construct while turning irradiated gnomes into piles of ash.

With the level cap raised to 40, Fire Mage now has multiple mechanics that vastly enhance its overall performance. Fire Mages can now properly stack Improved Scorch on their targets, improving the overall Fire Damage for any spell caster in the group. Furthermore, thanks to the additional Critical Strike Chance available from stats and talents such as Critical Mass, Fire Mages can now effectively make use of Scorch and Fireball, generating a large damage output at a low mana cost.

Thanks to the new runes, Fire Mage can now access a mechanic that allows it to fully utilize Pyroblast, namely the Hot Streak rune. With every two critical strikes in a row, Fire Mage can now instantly launch a Pyroblast at no mana cost. Additionally, the Spell Power rune further enhances the Critical Strike Chance-reliant play style, empowering the Critical Strike Bonus damage by up to 50%.

Besides the very high Single-Target damage. its AoE damage is also extremely powerful, with Living Bomb and Living Flame proving themselves as one of the best AoE tools in the game at this very moment.

Thanks to all of those effects, their damage output is on par with Destruction Warlocks and Survival Hunters, generating one of the best damage outputs available in Phase 2.

Fire Warlock

While many believed that it might take longer for Destruction Warlocks to pop off, their time of glory arrived sooner than expected. The Destruction Specialization became so powerful in Phase 2, that it completely obliterated the Affliction Specializations, with the latter missing entirely from any Warcraftlogs entry. While Affliction Warlock is by no means a weak specialization, Warlock DPS will mainly utilize the Destruction Specialization thanks to multiple reasons.

Among the main reasons why Destruction Warlocks perform so well at this point are the following:

Fire Mage and its Improved Scorch effect severely enhance the overall damage dealt by Incinerate and Chaos Bolt.
The Curse of the Elements scales with Improved Scorch, heavily influencing Warlock’s play style since Curse of Shadow is not yet available.
The overall increase in Critical Strike Chance available in Phase 2 improves Direct Damage Spells more than Damage-over-Time Spells.

Additionally, thanks to the new Shadow and Flame and Demonic Knowledge runes, Destruction Warlocks may massively empower their overall damage output. While this also applies to Affliction Warlocks, it is far easier for Destruction Warlocks to trigger the effects since their arsenal is mostly made up of Direct Damage Spells. Since Damage-over-Time effects can’t land critical strikes, Destruction Warlocks make better use of the Shadow and Flame.

However, while Destruction Warlocks do gain access to Conflagrate at level 40, their most optimum rotation barely makes use of it, with Chaos Bolt, and Incinerate being their best-performing abilities. Besides their amazing Single-Target damage, their AoE damage is almost on par with a Mage’s AoE capabilities. They can use the Shadow Bolt Volley, Lake of Fire, and Shadowflame runes to devastate multiple enemies at the same time.

Besides their insane damage output in both Single Target and AoE, Warlocks also grant large amounts of utility through Soulstones, Healthstones, and their newly acquired Curse of the Elements and Portal of Summoning spells.

Melee Hunter

Hunters have performed extraordinarily in the first phase of the Season of Discovery, however, no one expected such a massive turn of events in Phase 2. Hunters in Phase 2 have made a huge switch in play style, favoring all-out melee tactics instead of ranged combat.

This is mainly due to the new runes, Melee Specialist and Dual Wield Specialization, massively improving the efficiency of Raptor Strike up to a point where it simply out-damages most ranged abilities.

The most interesting aspect of the new build is that it can achieve the same results with both Beast Mastery and Survival as main talents, with both Talent Trees providing great improvements. While Beast Mastery seeks to improve your pet besides the damage you deal through Raptor Strike by adding effects such as Frenzy, Survival fits the build slightly better by improving your overall Agility, Hit Rating, and Critical Strike Chance through talents such as Lightning Reflexes, Surefooted, Killer Instincts, and Savage Strikes.

A Melee Hunter’s damage is also powerful in AoE encounters besides Single-Target encounters. It can utilize either the Carve and Explosive Shot runes and the Explosive Trap ability to deal high amounts of damage while maintaining its mana with the new Aspect of the Viper.

Besides their insane damage output, they continue providing vital group utility in the form of Heart of the Lion, replacing the Blessing of Kings, if the situation requires so.

Shadow Priest

Lo and behold, one of the weakest DPS Specializations from Phase 1 makes a comeback in Phase 2 as one of the S-Tier specializations. While it may seem shocking to some, the Priest community has certainly loved the new runes and overall changes brought to the specialization, as they massively improved the overall performance of Shadow Priest.

Shadow Priests have multiple effects that improve their overall damage in Phase 2, with all of their abilities scaling tremendously. They gain access to new runes such as Mind Spike and Dispersion which solidifies their overall play style, with the former becoming one of their main damaging abilities. Thanks to Mind Spike‘s effect, Mind Blast receives a massive damage boost, with the whole rotation revolving are those two abilities.

Additionally, they gain access to Shadowfiend, a major mana regeneration tool. The Shadowfiend itself also deals a decent amount of damage, acting as an offensive tool as well.

With the raise of the level cap to level 40, they finally gain access to the coveted Shadowform, and other specific talents such as Shadow Weaving, Vampiric Embrace, and Darkness. Just like in Phase 1, even with 5 points now available in Shadow Weaving, Shadow Priests will be the only ones that will benefit from the effect, especially as Warlocks heavily favor the Destruction Specialization in Phase 2. Thanks to the changes made in Phase 2, Darkness now empowers Shadow Word: Death, turning it into another very strong damage source.

For a short time, Void Plague has been bugged, resulting in the spell gaining more Spell Power than intended. However, that was quickly patched through one of the most recent hotfixes.

Besides their newfound exceptional damage, Shadow Priests can also provide most of the utility spells provided by Discipline and Holy Priests, massively aiding their group. They also bring invaluable utility through the Homunculi rune which provides armor reduction that empowers any Physical Damage Dealer and the Vampiric Embrace talent which improves a raid group’s survivability by a considerable amount.

A-Tier

Feral Druid

Darker days seem to befall the king of the jungle, as its damage output is hardly anything spectacular. However, Feral Druid retains one of the most important spots due to the Wild Strikes rune. While its damage output is average at best, with many other specializations generating roughly the same damage output, the existence of the Wild Strikes rune itself places Feral Druid on top of the A-Tier, even going as far as being considered a possible S-Tier specialization.

At the current moment, Wild Strikes itself is far better than Windfury Totem, making Feral Druids a must-have addition for any Physical Damage-centric group.

However, besides the very important buff that they grant to all Physical Damage Dealers, their overall play style takes a shift toward a Shred spam build, especially since Mangle has been nerfed. This results in rather mediocre damage output, with their overall damage being similar to Retribution Paladins, Enhancement/Elemental Shamans, Marksmanship Hunters, and Balance Druids.

Nevertheless, while they may not dish out as much damage as the S-Tier Specializations, the presence of Wild Strikes, Mangle, and many other utility spells such as Rebirth and Innervate make them almost mandatory additions to any raid composition.

Fury/Arms Warrior

Warriors climb the ladder as one of the top damage specializations in Phase 2, reaching the A-Tier. Their overall damage is great, even with the high amount of armor that the Gnomeregan bosses possess.

At the current moment, Arms Warriors are preferred in Phase 2 Gnomeregan, especially since one of the best weapons that they can acquire is a Two-Handed Axe. However, their fellow Fury Warrior brethren display a showcase of strength, closely battling them for the best possible damage outputs.

Both specializations gain multiple tools to empower it, both in terms of new runes and new talents which they can now access. In terms of talents for Arms Warrior, Mortal Strike, Two-Handed Weapon Specialization, and Axe Specialization are the ones that empower them the most. In terms of runes, Rallying Cry and Focused Rage are “staple” runes for Arms Warrior in Phase 2, with the latter being a core mechanic of the specialization which aids with their spam-heavy rotation.

As for their Fury Brethren, the most impactful talents they gain access to are Death Wish, Bloodthirst, and Flurry. In terms of runes, Rallying Cry and Blood Surge can be considered mandatory, with the latter providing a new core mechanic for any Fury Warrior.

While Warrior doesn’t offer much utility apart from Rallying Cry and their core shouts, their overall damage output is similar to Arcane Mage and Assassination Rogue in its current form, providing one of the best damage outputs in the current phase.

The only downside of Arms Warriors is that they heavily rely on Deep Wounds as one of their major damage sources, meaning that without a Feral Druid with the Mangle rune, their damage output is substantially reduced.

Arcane Mage

While Arcane Mage was the stronger Mage Specialization in the initial part of Phase 1 with Fire Mage becoming stronger towards its end, it continues to underperform in Phase 2, with Fire Mage remaining the much-preferred build. The main reason for this is that their play style becomes hard to sustain for longer fights due to the mana management mechanic, even with all the added mana regeneration tools such as Minor Evocation, and Conjure Mana Jade.

Nonetheless, they received an overall damage buff thanks to all the new talents such as Arcane Mind, Arcane Instability, and Arcane Power. Additionally, the new Missile Barrage rune heavily empowers their Arcane Missiles, making their rotation far easier.

Still, with all the new mana regeneration tools, they struggle to keep up with Fire Mages which are far more mana efficient. For an Arcane Mage to reach the same damage output as a Fire Mage, they would have to spam Arcane Blast with 4 debuff stacks endlessly, without having any mana issues at all.

Their damage output peaks at around 350 DPS according to the current Warcraftlogs, having a similar damage output to Assassination Rogue and Arms Warrior.

B-Tier

Mutilate Rogue

Assassination Rogues have become the dominant specialization in Phase 2, turning the Mutilate Build into the best possible play style at this current moment. Their damage output is so high that Combat Rogue sees close to no play in the current meta, outside of tanking, with Combat becoming the standard Tanking Specialization for Rogue.

Thanks to the new level 40 cap, Assassination Rogue gains access to multiple talents that improve its overall performance. They can now fully spend talent points on talents such as Vile Poisons and Improved Poisons. Thanks to those talents, the overall damage improvement to their poisons heavily empowers their damage output. While their builds may reach Seal Fate and Vigor, they heavily Opportunity due to the Backstab damage amplifier which also empowers Mutilate.

Additionally, Rogue receives some new runes to play with, although, they do not majorly empower its overall damage. In its current state, Shuriken Toss is a mediocre AoE tool for Trash Mob clearing while the standard runes for Single-Target encounters are Master of Subtlety and Shadowstep.

The Mutilate Rogue build is heavily preferred in Phase 2 due to the mechanical nature of Gnomeregan’s bosses. Since the bosses themselves have high armor pools, the magical damage dealt by an Assassination Rogue’s poisons averages a higher damage output than their Combat Rogue peers. The major issue Mutilate Rogue faces is the lack of any potent AoE tool, making it good only for Single-Target encounters.

Their overall damage output resembles that of Arcane Mage and Arms Warrior, placing them on top of the damage charts compared to the majority of the other damage specializations which average a lower DPS output.

Retribution Paladin

While Retribution Paladin received some very interesting new toys to play with thanks to new runes and a new level 40 cap, the overall damage output remains average at best when compared to the other specializations, with the specialization itself being far better for utility.

The most notable talents they gain access to are Conviction, Sanctity Aura, Two-Handed Weapon Specialization, and Vengeance, all of which massively improve their former performance from Phase 1 by raising their Holy Damage and Physical Damage proefficiency. Additionally, they gain access to two new runes that pair perfectly with the ones they had in Phase 1, namely Sheath of Light and The Art of War. Those two runes now allow them to solidify their Hybrid Damage specialization identity, having Exorcism as one of their main damage tools.

Nevertheless, even with all the amazing new passives and tools they acquire, their overall damage output averages around 250 DPS, with the top contenders having around 320-330 DPS. The specialization is far better suited for its utility effects in PvE while its damage output is far better in any PvP encounter.

Enhancement Shaman

Enhancement Shaman receives an overall boost to its performance thanks to the new talents and abilities that are unlocked by the new level 40 cap. Their overall damage output massively increases in Phase 2, as they also gain a new core gameplay mechanic thanks to the new runes.

The most notable talents that Enhancement Shaman can now acquire are Flurry, Elemental Weapons, Weapon Mastery, and Stormstrike. Stormstrike becomes one of the core abilities, even if its overall damage is not particularly high. It pairs extremely well with the Dual Wield Specialization rune. Most of the new talents accessible by Enhancement Shaman aim to improve its overall Melee Swing, especially with how impactful Windfury is at the moment.

As for the new runes, the most impactful rune is Maelstrom Weapon, altering their entire play style in a way in which Enhancement Shamans will now proactively “weave in” Chain Lightning between their Stormstrike and Melee Swings. This new mechanic is one of the new main damage sources they have at their disposal, improving their general performance by quite a substantial amount.

Nonetheless, their damage output is still considered somewhat average, with the best contenders from the current Warcraftlogs displaying a damage output similar to Retribution Paladins and Feral Druids. Their current strong point resides in the vast utility that they provide, themselves being the official counterpart of Paladins in terms of raw utility.

Elemental Shaman

Elemental Shamans share a similar fate with their fellow Enhancement Shaman brethren, receiving an overall boost on their damage output. However, just like Enhancement Shamans, their overall damage output is fairly average when compared to the majority of the other Damage Specializations.

Their burst nature makes them much more viable in PvP encounters rather than PvE encounters, although they deal fairly decent damage in PvE encounters as well.

Thanks to the new level 40 cap and the new runes, their overall performance improved massively compared to Phase 1. They gain access to talents such as Lightning Mastery and Elemental Fury which improve their overall damage output, with the former effect being key for consistent damage output. Additionally, the new Power Surge rune acts as both an improvement to their mana issues while also serving as a massive quality-of-life improvement for their overall play style. Since Lava Burst‘s cooldown can now be reset, they have the potential of dealing a similar damage output to the A-Tier specializations, however, RNG plays a huge role in whether or not they can achieve this outcome.

According to Warcraftlogs, the best contenders managed to reach a 350-370 DPS output, meaning that the specialization itself has a decent potential when RNG favors the player. Of course, player skill also plays a huge role in this endeavor. While their play style is much more RNG-based, their Enhancement Shaman brethren provide a much more consistent damage output.

Elemental Shamans currently provide the same utility that Enhancement Shamans provide, bringing vast bonuses to their allies. If their somewhat average damage output is not the best reason to bring an Elemental Shaman in a raid while there are better casters available, their vast utility is one of their strongest points.

C-Tier

Ranged Hunter

But wait, weren’t Hunters S-Tier? Well, nowadays, only Melee Hunter occupies the S-Tier spot, as their fellow brethren sadly fall in line with many specializations, generating an average damage output.

While they did gain access to multiple new effects thanks to the level 40 cap which slightly improved their overall performance, the main reason they remain so behind when compared to the other damage specializations is the underwhelming runes they can utilize when compared to other damage dealers. As the majority of the runes are either tailored specifically for Melee Hunter or mana regeneration, they are left with very few viable choices.

As such, Trap Launcher and Expose Weakness are the only viable runes for Marksmanship Hunter, with Steady Shot being completely disregarded in favor of the raw attack power granted by Expose Weakness. Trap Launcher is an amazing tool for any AoE encounter and trash clearing, however, it barely aids in Single-Target scenarios as most of your damage comes from Auto-Shot and Chimera Shot.

Another reason why their damage is very similar to all the other classes is their talent tree offers far too few damage-enhancing effects, with Mortal Shots, Barrage, Ranged Weapon Specialization, and Trueshot Aura being the only damage-enhancing effects available. While those effects can be considered great, they pale in comparison to the stronger talents of the other specializations.

Their top current damage based on Warcraftlogs is around 320 DPS, meaning that they fall in line with many other specializations such as Retribution Paladin, Elemental/Enhancement Shaman, Feral Druid, and Balance Druid.

Balance Druid

Balance Druid or better known as “Boomie”, “Owl”, “Boomkin”, or “Moonkin” is one of the more interesting Damage Specializations in the Season of Discovery. While the specialization is known as a terrifying foe in PvP content, its overall performance is rather average in PvE content. The specialization lacks any serious form of AoE, with Hurricane being the only viable form of AoE damage, the specialization has an average Single-Target Damage output that places it into a similar spot with many other specializations.

The specialization gained multiple beneficial effects with the new level 40 cap, increasing its overall performance. They finally gain access to the coveted Moonkin Form, allowing them to reach their true potential. Besides the new form, they also benefit from Improved Starfire, Nature’s Grace, and Moonfury, all of which severely enhance their overall damage output. The Nature’s Grace talent is especially important as it further emphasizes the importance of Critical Strike Chance for Balance Druids.

Furthermore, the new runes, Eclipse and Dreamstate change Balance Druid’s play style, modifying it from a Wrath spam and Starsurge on-cooldown casts to an alternating rotation between Wrath and Starfire as the main damage sources. Unluckily for Balance Druids, Starsurge got quickly nerfed after the launch of Phase 2, reducing its overall impact. While Starsurge‘s damage is reduced, it now grants a powerful buff to Starfire, solidifying the Eclipse-centric play style.

While Balance Druid has only made it to the C-Tier at this current moment, as time passes, we believe that Balance Druid has the potential to reach B-Tier in terms of pure damage output.

Besides its damage output and specific effects such as Moonkin Form, Balance Druid can offer any of the general utility effects that a Feral Druid may offer, with Rebirth being one of the most powerful utility tools.

D-Tier

Frost Mage

Frost Mage is sadly at the bottom of the chain, displaying one of the worst performances in Phase 2. While the specialization gains multiple damage-enhancing effects through talents and new runes, its damage output is completely underwhelming.

Frost Mage gains access to new talents thanks to the new level cap such as Winter’s Chill and multiple points in Shatter which improve its overall damage, albeit not enough. It also gains access to new runes such as Frostfire Bolt, Spellfrost Bolt, and Brain Freeze, however, as the recent logs can be observed, the damage output resulted remains underwhelming.

As it currently stands, Frost Mage is a much better specialization for PvP and farming content as opposed to any Raid PvE encounter.

Shadow Warlock

Shadow Warlock, better known as Affliction Warlock is finding itself in one of the most unfavorable spots at this very moment. The main reason for this is the much-favored Fire Warlock build, completely outperforming Shadow Warlock by a tremendous amount. The difference is so high that Affliction Warlock sees close to no play at this current moment.

While certain effects empower Shadow Warlock such as the new Shadow and Flame rune and access to the Shadow Mastery talent, the overall Affliction Tree barely has any other damage-empowering effects. Since Warlocks don’t have access to the Curse of Shadow, Affliction is simply way too underpowered when compared to the Curse of the Elements which also scales with the Improved Scorch from Mages. Additionally, the Destruction Tree provides far more damage-empowering effects which currently solidify Fire Warlock’s reign.

As the build sees close to no play, it is hard to determine whether or not it can hold its ground, ranking itself as a D-Tier until any further changes occur.

Fury/Arms Warrior (S Tier)
Melee Hunter (S Tier)
Enhancement Shaman (S Tier)
Mutilate Rogue (S Tier)
Fire Mage (A Tier)
Feral Druid (A Tier)
Retribution Paladin (A Tier)
Fire Warlock (B Tier)
Shadow Warlock (B Tier)
Ranged Hunter (B Tier)
Frost Mage (C Tier)
Elemental Shaman (C Tier)
Balance Druid (C Tier)
Shadow Priest (C Tier)
Arcane Mage (D Tier)

Phase 3 in the Season of Discovery brings forth multiple changes and class enhancements, with many of the Melee Specializations climbing back up to the S-Tier. With the addition of the Bracers and Helm runes, some of the specializations gained vital components for their specific identity, improving their overall performance. As a clear example, runes such as Taste for Blood, Wrecking Crew Mental Dexterity, Raptor Fury, Cut to the Chase, and Molten Armor turn Fury/Arms Warriors, Melee Hunters, Enhancement Shaman, Mutilate Rogue, and Fire Mage into the strongest specializations at the current moment.

While Phase 2 was much more Caster DPS oriented, Phase 3 is most certainly Melee-centric, with the Sunken Temple raid featuring some of the most difficult encounters for any Caster Specialization. The clear top contenders of the DPS Meter are Fury/Arms Warriors, Melee Hunters, Enhancement Shaman, and Mutilate Rogue. Specializations such as Fire Mage, Fire Warlock, and Ranged Hunter are still consistently played due to their overall popularity, even if they are not the best-performing Specializations.

This DPS Ranking List is based on the currently available information presented on Warcraftlogs along with all the current changes based on the most recent hotfix. The DPS Ranking List will be updated with the most up-to-date information based on any upcoming patches and hotfixes.

S-Tier

Fury/Arms Warrior

The moment of reckoning has arrived as Fury/Arms Warriors climb up to the top spot of the S tier, boasting one of the most insane damage output performances that was seen in the Season of Discovery. True to their infamous reputation of being one of the best scaling specializations as Classic progresses, Warriors in Phase 3 have an astonishing performance in both Single Target and AoE encounters.

The sudden rise of Warriors was all but expected with the new runes heavily boosting their overall performance. Wrecking Crew is being favored by both Fury and Arms Warriors due to the empowerment effect it grants to Deep Wounds. Taste for Blood is the only viable Helm Rune for any Warrior build, however, it’s only truly useful for Arms Warrior.

The star of the show is Deep Wounds as it deals the highest amount of damage across the board in all possible boss fights, with only the Melee Swings, Heroic Strike, and Execute keeping up with it. The reason for that it uses the WotLK version of it, acting as a stacking Bleed Damage that completely ignores Armor. This is especially powerful considering the high amount of armor that the Sunken Temple bosses have. Fury Warriors seem to be performing overall better at the current moment, dealing great amounts of damage in both Single Target and AoE encounters.

While their damage is absolutely insane, the class only brings along a decently low amount of utility, having access only to Rallying Cry and their core shouts.

The only weakness that Fury and Arms Warriors display in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery is their overall limited utility. Another issue they might encounter is the raid composition itself, as they require Wild Strikes, Mangle, Faerie Fire (Feral), and Curse of Recklessness to empower them as much as possible. Without those buffs and debuffs, their overall damage drops, yet not by a staggering amount.

Their overall damage output peaks at around 1700-1800 DPS.

Melee Hunter

Surprising?Not at all! Everybody expected Melee Hunter to remain on top of the pack, even after the many nerf attempts. Melee Hunters in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery maintain their S-tier status, receiving even more powerful new runes to amplify their already ludicrous damage outputs.

Melee Hunters receive Raptor Fury, an amazing rune that fully complements the already existing Melee Specialist and Dual Wield Specialization runes. Raptor Fury is extremely powerful as it increases their overall Raptor Strike damage output by 15%, stacking up to 5 times for 15 seconds. The great part about this new rune is that it has no internal cooldown, meaning that after the first 15 seconds upon proccing have elapsed, the buff will proc again, starting with 1 stack of Raptor Fury. While it massively boosts a Melee Hunter’s damage output, Raptor Fury also presents a weak spot. The problem with the rune is that each additional stack doesn’t reset the duration of previous stacks, meaning that you will only get the 5-stack damage bonus for only a few seconds at a time.

While on paper the new Catlike Reflexes is supposed to empower Flanking Strike, the reality is that the ability itself relies much more on the Raptor Strike reset component, meaning that the overall reduced cooldown granted by Catlike Reflexe is useless. The dodge chance is also useless, for both the player and the pet since neither of them are supposed to tank damage.

In the current metaBeast Mastery builds are dominant, whereas, in the previous phase, both Survival and Beast Mastery were viable. There have also been attempts to make the Build functional with the Marksmanship Talent Tree, however, Beast Mastery dominates the scene for Melee Hunters since they have access to Bestial Wrath.

Overall, Melee Hunters don’t seem to display any weaknesses, especially since the release of the Dual Talent Specialization which allows them to shift to an entirely new Build if their group demands more utility. Their overall mana management is insane, with the build never running out of mana while both themselves and their pets deal extraordinary amounts of damage in a consistent manner.

Their overall damage output peaks at around 1600 DPS in the most favorable.

Enhancement Shaman

Enhancement Shaman makes a mind-boggling recovery in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery, raising to the S-tier from its previous B-tier spot. Not only has the new level 50 cap been very rewarding for their overall performance as their scaling is great, especially in the case of rank 3 Windfury, but the access to the new runes has granted them access to a vital component of their kit.

Phase 3 of Season of Discovery grants Shamans the Mental Dexterity rune, an enormously powerful addition to their entire playstyle. The rune buffs both their Attack Power and Spell Power meaning that both their auto-attacks and spells receive a massive boost. The 100% Attack Power increase massively boosts their Melee Swings and Windfury procs while the 30% Spell Power increase massively boosts their Chain Lightning along with every other Magical Damage.

They also gain access to Static Shock which can triggered easily, making Lightning Shield much easier to use with the additional charges.

Their overall damage is great in both Single-Target and AoE encounters, with their main damage output coming from Melee Swings and Windfury procs. In terms of AoE Overcharged, Chain Lightning. The only issue they seem to be facing is the overall lack of damage from their Fire Nova and Magma Totem, even if they gained access to the Call of the Flame talent.

Besides their extraordinary damage, Enhancement Shamans grant an astonishing amount of utility, making them a truly worthy S-tier specialization. One of the most useful tools at their disposal which truly aids the raid is Shamanistic Rage, providing extremely valuable mana for both Caster-heavy and Melee-heavy raid comps.

Their overall damage output peaks at around 1550 DPS in the most favorable conditions.

Mutilate Rogue

Similarly to Enhancement Shaman, Mutilate Rogue makes a huge comeback in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery raising to the S-tier rank up from the B-tier. While their playstyle hasn’t changed, with players that have mained the specialization finding it very similar in Phase 3, the new runes they gained significantly empower their overall performance.

Mutilate Rogues gain access to the Cut to the Chase and Combat Potency runes which drastically improve their overall performance. Cut to the Chase removes the necessity of refreshing Slice and Dice which makes their overall rotation much easier to perform. Additionally, Combat Potency synergizes perfectly with this newly found bonus as Mutilate Rogues find themselves in a spot where they spam their abilities due to the insane amount of energy they have at their disposal.

While nothing else particularly changed for them, with most of their damage coming from Melee Swings, Mutilate, Envenom, and Instant Poison, their Single-Target damage is absolutely astonishing. The issue they encounter is their AoE damage, with Mutilate Rogues severely lacking in that department. Nonetheless, since most of the fights are Single-Target oriented, Mutilate Rogue is currently one of the most powerful specializations that dominate the DPS Meters.

From a utility perspective, Mutilate Rogue doesn’t truly bring any unique utility when compared to the rest of the classes, with the standard crowd control in their kit being their only asset. Expose Armor is the only true asset they bring to the raid besides their crowd control, heavily empowering all other Physical Damage Dealers since Sunken Temple bosses have very high armor values.

Their overall damage output peaks at around 1550 DPS in the most favorable conditions.

A-Tier

Feral Druid

Feral Druid finds itself in an amazing position in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery, with multiple people seamlessly pushing the specialization higher and higher in terms of DPS output. The specialization has undergone multiple theory-crafting attempts until a powerful specialization has been discovered, resulting in quite a powerful damage output. In its current state, the specialization finds itself in the A-tier, however, the past few days have certainly proven that Feral Druid might have what it takes to rise to the S-tier.

In terms of new runes Feral Druid has received two new viable runes, one of which can be considered rather useless while the other can be considered one of the most RNG-heavy elements that can either make or break their damage output. Elune’s Fires is the first rune that they can use, however, it currently performs extremely poorly as Rip‘s damage is inconsequential at the moment. The rune itself is much better-suited for the other Druid Specializations. The second rune, Gore, has tremendous potential as it can be used together with Shred to reset Tiger’s Fury. However, the 5% RNG involved is what currently makes Feral Druid rather unpredictable, keeping it locked in the A-tier.

Besides the new talent build and new runes, Feral Druid doesn’t necessarily receive any other toys to play with, with Shred being the highest damage output in most encounters. Feral Druid still lacks AoE making it rather weak in any AoE encounter, however, luckily for them, the Sunken Temple features many more Single-target-oriented fights than AoE fights.

In terms of utility, Feral Druid specifically brings Wild Strikes, Mangle, and Faerie Fire (Feral), which are highly valued by most Physical Damage Dealers, with Fury/Arms Warriors especially benefiting from their utility.

Their overall damage output peaks at around 1500 DPS in the utmost best conditions with the average being considerably lower. This heavily showcases that the RNG component of their newfound playstyle can heavily impact whether a Feral Druid can dish out large amounts of damage or not.

Retribution Paladin

Retribution Paladin finds itself in a slightly better spot in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery compared to Phase 2, climbing from the B-tier to the A-tier. Its overall performance playstyle is similar, even with the newly added runes and talents. One of the biggest changes that occurs for Retribution Paladins is the buff to the mana generation of Seal of Martyrdom, transforming Retribution Paladins into a necessary component for both Caster-heavy and Melee-heavy raid comps.

Retribution Paladins gain access to multiple runes, however, only two seem to be viable choices. Wrath is the first viable rune that heavily dictates how Retribution Paladins currently perform. With the possibility of having Consecration critically strike while also enhancing the Critical Strike Chance of Exorcism, Retribution Paladins receive a considerable boost to both their AoE and Single-Target damage output. The second new rune that makes an impact is Improved Hammer of Wrath, finally turning Hammer of Wrath into a viable execute tool.

The bulk of the damage dealt by Retribution Paladins remains the same, with Seal of Martyrdom, Melee Swings, and Exorcism.

In terms of utility, besides the newly empowered Seal of Martyrdom which massively helps all DPS Casters and Healers, they bring all of the same tools as they have during Phase 2, with the addition of Blessing of Sacrifice and Cleanse into the mix.

Their overall damage output peaks at around 1350 DPS in the best conditions. Unlike Feral Druid which heavily relies on RNG yet produces similar numbers, the DPS output of Retribution Paladins is much more consistent.

Fire Mage

While Fire Mage is certainly still one of the most popular specializations in the game, its overall performance has somewhat dropped in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery. While it was previously considered S-tier during Phase 2, in Phase 3 it struggles to keep up with the Melee Specializations. This is mostly due to the low-scaling gear found in Sunken Temple, along with the mechanics that heavily favor Melee classes over Caster classes.

Nonetheless, even with the low-scaling gear and difficult mechanics, Fire Mage is still one of the most powerful caster specializations, sitting atop all other casters. Firstly, Fire Mage’s playstyle has massively shifted in Phase 3, with the meta straying away from the Hot Streak playstyle where two critical strikes in a row were imperative to a playstyle that revolves around spamming Frostfire Bolt. While the Hot Streak playstyle is still viable, especially with the addition of the new Molten Armor rune, the Frostfire Bolt meta simply overpowers any previously praised playstyle.

Fire Mage also gains access to Balefire Bolt, which is a decently powerful alternative to the Molten Armor, however, most players prefer the Molten Armor and Frostfire Bolt due to how powerful the ability is when combined with the newly accessed Ice Shards talent.

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.

Their overall damage output peaks at around 1200 DPS in the most favorable conditions.

B-Tier

Ranged Hunter

Ranged Hunter finds itself in a better spot than it did in Phase 2, performing consistently better in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery. While it still doesn’t compare to its Melee Hunter brethren, its damage output is consistent, having the potential of being considered an A-tier specialization, even if it currently stands at the top of the B-tier.

Ranged Hunter has a very high degree of versatility when it comes to its new runes in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery. Focus Fire is the first viable option, becoming the standard choice if either one of Heart of the Lion or Master Marksman is used as a Chest Rune. As an alternative to it, T.N.T. is another new rune that can be used, however, its effect is underwhelming when compared to Focus Fire.

Lock and Load is a very powerful new rune that is currently used by all Ranged Hunters as it massively empowers Chimera Shot. Rapid Killing is another new rune that shares the same slot with Lock and Load, however, the fight durations are far too short for Ranged Hunters to truly benefit from it, turning it into an underwhelming choice when compared to Lock and Load.

In terms of Single-Target damage, both builds seem to perform extraordinary, especially with how powerful Chimera Shot and Rapid Fire are at the current moment. Ranged Hunters also display a great AoE performance, with Multishot currently representing the bulk of their damage. Their traps are also very effective, however, with the new Lock and Load, they are mostly used in Single-Target encounters for Chimera Shot resets.

In terms of utility, Ranged Hunter grants different bonuses depending on the particular specialization they’ve chosen, with Trueshot Aura being an iconic buff granted by the Marksmanship Specialization. Heart of the Lion remains a staple utility tool in case Blessing of Kings is not present while they can now also grant Aspect of the Wild to provide Nature Resistance with the new level 50 cap.

Their overall damage output peaks at around 1250 DPS in the most favorable conditions.

Fire Warlock

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Previously one of the best specializations during Phase 2, currently only a “mid” specialization in Phase 3, Fire Warlock has certainly fallen out of grace in terms of raw performance. In terms of popularity, the specialization is still one of the most played specializations, with players aiming to optimize the spec as much as possible to return it to its former glory.

Fire Warlock receives some very interesting toys in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery, with two possible build variations in terms of talents while also gaining new strong runes that they interswap. Most notably, the new Backdraft rune is the most popular, increasing their overall damage output by granting them a considerable 30% Spell Haste buff. The variations also use the new Pandemic and Summon Felguard runes, yet the best results for Fire Warlock revolve around using Backdraft as a main amplifier for Incinerate while also gaining passive damage from the new Immolation Aura rune.

In Single-Target encounters, their overall damage comes from Incinerate, Chaos Bolt, and their Imp pet, with the pet itself dealing a large chunk of damage. In Phase 3 Lake of Fire received a huge nerf, forcing the player to channel the effect. Instead of Lake of Fire, Fire Warlocks now opt for Demonic Tactics which further enhance their own critical strikes and those of their pets, making the Imp perform even better.

The problem that Fire Warlocks face, even with all the overall positive changes that they received is their overall scaling and weak gear that they have access to. In terms of pure damage output, they fall behind the Melee Specializations and even behind Fire Mage. Although their damage output can be considered fairly similar to that of a Fire Mage.

Besides their new damage-enhancing effects, Warlocks bring even more utility through the Curse of Recklessness and Curse of the Elements which now have even stronger versions available with the new level 50 cap. This new addition heavily emphasizes the requirement of at least two Warlocks in the raid group since both Curse of Recklessness and Curse of the Elements should ideally be placed on the target.

Their overall damage output peaks at around 1180 DPS in the best conditions.

Shadow Warlock

Shadow Warlock finally becomes viable in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery, as they’ve previously been completely unplayable with how Fire Warlock has been dominating the scene. The specialization receives multiple bonuses that finally make it viable, especially when considering the new runes that they can access.

Shadow Warlock receives the Unstable Affliction and Pandemic runes, which help it consolidate its identity. While Unstable Affliction is now a new powerful source of Shadow Damage, Pandemic is the true star of the show. Those two runes grant Shadow Warlock the possibility to viably showcase a full DoT build, especially with how potent Critical Strike Chance is in Sunken Temple.

In terms of Single-Target encounters, Shadow Bolt, Unstable Affliction, Drain Life, and Corruption are their best damaging abilities, with Shadow Bolt dealing the bulk of the damage. Their AoE capabilities are also top-notch thanks to Shadow Bolt Volley, however, since the Sunken Temple is mostly Single-Target-oriented, this doesn’t truly affect them.

In terms of utility, they bring all the same utility that Fire Warlocks bring, with Curse of Recklessness and Curse of the Elements being powerful tools they have at their disposal. Depending on their build, they can also bring Demonic Pact as a unique buff while Fire Warlocks are locked into the Incinerate rune.

Their overall damage output is extremely similar to Fire Warlocks, showcasing almost the same numbers. The peak overall damage output that can be observed on Warcraftlogs currently is 1147.

Frost Mage

Frost Mage surprisingly finds glory in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery, turning itself from one of the worst and most unreliable PvE specializations in the past two phases into one of the most solid DPS Specializations that finds its way up to the B-tier. This is mostly due to the shift in meta towards Frostfire Bolt as the main damage source, especially since the Ignite talent can now be accessed with the new level 50 cap. Additionally, with the nerf of Living Flame and rise of Icy Veins for all Mage Specializations, Frost Mage can truly make use of it unlike Arcane or Fire Mages since they have access to Cold Snap, allowing them to double the duration of Icy Veins.

With the heavy meta shift towards Frostfire Bolt, Frost Mage only uses the new Molten Armor rune as a key component to empower Frostfire Bolt even more while simply spamming the ability for the entire duration of any Single-Target encounter. For AoE encounters, they rely on Living Bomb just like Fire Mages do. In a sense, all of the runes and abilities that are specific to the Frost Mage identity are completely ignored in favor of the Frostfire Bolt meta, with Ice Lance and Brain Freeze never seeing actual PvE play.

Their damage output peaks at around 975 DPS.

C-Tier

Elemental Shaman

Elemental Shamans find themselves in the same spot they were in during Phase 2, with Phase 3 placing them in a rather weird spot. While they were close in terms of performance during Phase 2 to their fellow Enhancement Shaman brethren, the gap between the two is hard to ignore in Phase 3.

Elemental Shaman currently has two different ways of being played in the current meta, one of which is similar to the traditional way casters sit back and spam their targets with spells from a safe distance while the other makes use of the new Mental Dexterity rune to get right up in Melee Range and weave-in auto-attacks in order to upkeep the Spell Power buff granted by the rune. The latter playstyle currently performs way better than the former, however, both playstyles seem to struggle in both Single-Target and AoE scenarios due to poor scaling. Besides the new Mental Dexterity rune which seems to serve as the BiS Helm option at the moment, Elemental Shamans also makes use of the new Rolling Thunder rune on their bracers which allows them to use Lightning Shield efficiently while also offerring a powerful mana regeneration tool besides their Shamanistic Rage.

Even with the additional Spell Power from Mental Dexterity, the scaling problem that Elemental Shamans face is mostly due to their low base damage on their abilities, with Lightning Bolt which is their main damage source having one of the worst base damage values in the game. Not only that the base damage of their abilities is low, the fact that they are plagued by the same issue that other casters face with Sunken Temple caster gear being underpowered when compared to the melee gear is definitely not helping them either.

However, while their damage output is subpar when compared to some of the higher-tier specializations, Elemental Shamans currently provide the same utility that Enhancement Shamans provide, bringing vast bonuses to their allies. If their somewhat average damage output is not the best reason to bring an Elemental Shaman in a raid while there are better casters available, their vast utility is one of their strongest points.

Their damage output peaks at around 950 DPS.

Balance Druid

Balance Druids have possibly one of their roughest moments in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery, as the specialization completely falls behind, ranking among the lowest Caster Specializations. The reason for their downfall mostly resides in the new runes they receive in Phase 3, with one of them focusing on AoE encounters which are scarce while the other provides rather underwhelming bonuses.

In terms of AoE, Boomies received Gale Winds which is a massive bonus to their overall AoE capabilities. However, the Sunken Temple raid is mostly Single-Target oriented, with only two fights relying on AoE damage. In terms of Single-Target, they received Elune’s Fires which is completely underwhelming when considering how little impact Moonfire and Sunfire have in PvE at the current moment.

Their Single-Target rotation still revolves around the Eclipse and Dreamstate, with Starfire, Wrath, and Starsurge being their best damage-dealing abilities by far. Both Sunfire and Moonfire deal considerably lower amounts of damage, which makes Elune’s Fires seem almost pointless.

Besides the underwhelming Single-Target rune they received, they are also plagued by the same issue that Caster Specializations have in this current phase, a lack of powerful Spell Power gear from the Sunken Temple raid.

What saves them is their overall utility, with Moonkin Form being a great addition for Caster-oriented groups. Additionally, they are often brought in raid groups as Off-Healers. Albeit, many raids simply prefer Feral Druid instead as the meta is currently shifted toward Melee-oriented groups.

Their damage output peaks at around 980 DPS.

Shadow Priest

Famous and beloved in Phase 2, underpowered and shunned in Phase 3, Shadow Priest somehow manages to drop from the S-Tier to the very bottom of the C-Tier. While they get access to some pretty new cool runes such as Despair, Void Zone, Eye of the Void, and Pain and Suffering that are all-around useful yet a tad underwhelming, Shadow Priests seem to perform average at best, generating a very similar damage output with the rest of the C-Tier specializations.

The main issue that Shadow Priests encounter is their overall low scaling. Additionally, the lack of new powerful abilities in Single-Target encounters makes them fall behind when compared to other Caster Specializations, especially since Eye of the Void is mostly utility-based and doesn’t do enough damage while Despair shares the same fate since their main damaging abilities can’t scale off it. Pain and Suffering is also not viable in Single-Target due to the low overall damage of Shadow Word: Pain when compared to Eye of the Void. Most of the damage in Single-Target scenarios comes from Mind Spike, Void Plague and Mind Blast.

Their AoE is not spectacular either, relying on multi-dotting, Mind Sear, and the new AoE rune, Void Zone. The new rune is not particularly helpful either as it currently seems to underperform. Other than the new runes, Shadow Priest doesn’t get its hands on any impactful ability, making it one of the most underpowered caster specializations at the moment.

Their damage output peaks at around 900 DPS.

D-Tier

Arcane Mage

Arcane Mage certainly has it rough in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery, as it reaches the bottom of the ranking list in the D-tier. While the specialization has received some hotfixes since the release of the patch, with Balefire Bolt now proccing correctly off Arcane Blast, the current meta simply favors Frostfire Bolt in a way that completely obliterates Arcane Mage.

The new available talents don’t aid Arcane Mage unless players specifically choose Balefire Bolt over Molten Armor for the Ignite DoT effect. This makes their overall playstyle feel clunky, especially when considering Missile Barrage will proc significantly fewer times if they don’t choose to go with the Molten Armor rune and spam Arcane Blast.

Conjure Mana Citrine resolves a bit of their mana management issues, however, their Arcane Blast spam can still lead to an OoM situation.

Considering all that we’ve previously mentioned, the new runes for the Mage class heavily emphasize Fire Mage and Frost Mage as the two dominating specializations in the current meta, leaving the Arcane Mage in a healer position. The addition of Temporal Anomaly also places Arcane Mage in a much more supporting role since the other two mage specializations simply out-damage it by a considerable amount.

Their damage output peaks at around 730 DPS according to Warcraftlogs.

About the Author

Nevermore

Hey there folks, I am Nevermore and have been deeply passionate about WoW for more than a decade. Whether we talk about the hidden mysteries of Azeroth or the otherworldly Outland, my journey brought me here to share the things that I have experienced with you all.