Ranking each class in World of Warcraft Classic Wrath of the Lich King based on their performance in PvE encounters.

Players might be having trouble deciding which class to play in WoW Classic: Wrath of the Lich King. Tier lists can often be a helpful tool to decide which class and specialization to play. Ultimately, the decision of which class is the most fun to play is different for each player. One basic metric to use is the amount of damage that a particular class can output in any given scenario or their Damage Per Second (DPS).

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The majority of classes are middle of the pack in terms of performance, however, there are some obvious winners and losers throughout the expansion. All classes have at least one specialization that performs well at some point in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, so players shouldn't worry too much about their class choice. Many players often choose to change specializations depending on the different phases of the expansion.

This tier list ranks all DPS specializations for their performance across the entire expansion. We compare each specialization based on a number of key factors such as Single-Target, Cleave, and Area of Effect (AoE) damage as well as any Utility in the form of Buffs and Debuffs that add value to the group. It's also important to factor in the relative difficulty to play each specialization to its fullest potential.

Some specializations also perform better depending on the type of content they find themselves in. The theoretical performance of a specialization in any given encounter varies depending on a multitude of factors such as shorter or longer duration fights, if the damage is largely single-target, cleave, or AoE, and if it favors ranged or melee classes more. It's also worth noting that some specializations have gear dependencies at various stages of the expansion. The most notable example of this is the lack of Armor Penetration in early stages of the expansion that hampers physical damage dealers. In addition to this, the composition of the group will also affect the maximum performance of any particular class.

This list takes all of the above factors into consideration and provides a brief description of where each class can have the opportunity to rise to the top of the throne or fall to the bottom of the pit.

This table provides an overview of how each specialization ranks. Continue reading to find a more detailed explanation further below.

The Frost Death Knight spec's overall damage is undoubtedly very good and consistent. They excel during the early phases of the expansion from the high damage of their magic-based skills. Where many other melee classes have to suffer from the lack of armor penetration available, Frost DKs aren't as concerned. Throughout the expansion the battle between Unholy and Frost is a back and forth for the top Death Knight DPS position. However, some players may find difficulty with the Death Knight skill priority and rotation.

Unholy Death Knight's (UH) damage is practically on par with the Frost Death Knight. They, too, benefit from magic-based damage where other classes struggle with lower armor penetration. Where Unholy shines is in longer duration AoE encounters where their diseases can provide incredible damage. In addition, Unholy Death Knights can make use of Shadowmourne once it becomes available, and at that point Unholy noticeably outpaces Frost. To get the most out of Unholy, just like with Frost, it does also require a more involved damage rotation.

Combat Rogues are in the top tier due to the sheer raw damage that they can pump out. They do suffer early on due to a lack of armor penetration on gear, but once that is no longer a problem they absolutely dominate the damage charts. Most Combat Rogues will start out as Assassination as their damage isn’t hindered as much by Armor Penetration. They provide some specific group utlity and like all rogues bring Tricks of the Trade.

Fire Mages start out fairly weak early on as they need a significant amount of crit to really excel. They have superb single-target and AoE damage, decent Cleave damage, and don’t suffer from mana issues in longer fights. Many Fire Mages are sleeper agents disguised as Arcane in the first half of the expansion as they slowly gain enough crit to come out blasting.

Affliction Warlocks (Afflic) are a top-tier DPS throughout most of the expansion. While there may be some minor ups and downs with gear sets and short fights, they are strong in nearly every measure. They have excellent single target damage with their vast array of damage-over-time skills. They also have great AoE and cleave potential with multi-dotting. And finally, the potential bonus damage in the execute phase with Drain Soul and Death’s Embrace. Not only are they great damage dealers, but they are also the best at providing the spell critical strike chance debuff.

Marksmanship Hunters (MM) are subject to poor performance early on due to their physical damage relying on armor penetration. However, in later stages, their single target damage becomes top-notch. They do lack any meaningful AoE and Cleave damage, but they do bring one raid buff. Many Hunters choose to start out as Survival and then switch to Marksmanship once more armor penetration is available.

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Assassination Rogues are a really strong class all throughout the expansion, however, Combat Rogues scale better with gear as the expansion progresses. They perform slightly better during earlier phases than Combat Rogues due to the nature of the shorter fights, but on longer fights and fights with cleave, Assassination Rogues fall a bit behind.

Feral Druids (Cat) have a unique place here, they have great damage, provide many druid buffs and utilities, and are able to off-tank when needed, giving them a very comfortable niche. As with other physical damage dealers, the early phases lack armor penetration and it really hurts their overall DPS. However, with the right gear, they really start to take off and are often at the top of the damage meters in many fights.

Arcane Mages perform really well early on due to being able to gain spell hit in their talents. They excel at shorter fights and single-target fights and their AoE is respectable. But in the last half of the expansion, as the fights get longer their damage becomes average. Once spell hit is no longer an issue many Arcane Mages make the switch to Fire as their damage goes through the roof.

Fury Warriors start off very weak at the beginning of the expansion, their physical damage suffering from heavy reliance on Armor Penetration. However, their skills and talents scale really well throughout the rest of the expansion. Many warriors will choose to go Arms at the beginning and soon grab a 2nd two-handed weapon to make the switch to Fury. Their single target and cleave damage is often unparalleled near the end of the expansion and is often at the top of DPS charts.

Demonology Warlock (Demo) is a very fun class to play. Their very high damage potential is only slightly beaten out by Affliction Warlocks in longer single-target fights. In shorter AoE fights, with Metamorphosis, they really shine as a top damage dealer. Furthermore, they also provide a very strong, unique spell power buff for the group. Early on, with worse gear, this buff is slightly less desirable than the Elemental Shaman’s version. However, in later stages with better gear, most groups will opt to always have one Demonology Warlock as that spell power buff becomes very strong in groups with many casting classes.

Enhancement Shamans (Enh) have a fairly more involved damage rotation and with a higher skill ceiling, comes the potential for higher damage. The damage they provide is decent for single target, cleave, and AoE damage. They won’t be in the number one spot at the top of the charts but consistently perform well in all fights. They are also brought to the group for the vast array of Shaman totems and utilities.

The Survival Hunters perform really well in the early stages of the expansion, with a lot of their single-target and AoE damage coming from magical sources, bypassing the armor penetration problem of physical damage dealers early on. Their skills are mostly instant cast giving them an edge on other ranged classes too. However, other classes damage scales with better gear and the overall potential of Survival starts to fall off and Marksmanship takes a dominant lead. They also don’t provide much in the form of utility for the group.

Retribution Paladins (Ret) have great AoE and Cleave potential, but their single target damage is rather average. Near the beginning of the expansion they are average at best but in later phases they are top-tier cleaving machines. They have a number of specialization unique buffs and still provide a vast array of Paladin utilities as well. They can also wield the legendary Shadowmourne making them absolute powerhouses.

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Balance Druids (Boomkin) provide some of the best AoE damage in the game but their single-target damage is lackluster in comparison. They stand in the middle of the pack on damage meters throughout the entire expansion. While none of their buffs are unique to the specialization, like all druids, they provide a wide range of other buffs and utilities to the group.

Shadow Priests perform very well near the beginning of wotlk but then are consistently average all throughout the rest expansion. Their skill rotation is a bit more involved than other classes while still producing the similar results. They have great multi-dot and AoE damage too. Like all priests, they provide a number of buffs and utility to the group and have a unique damage mitigation talent.

Destruction Warlocks (Destro) have decent damage and would be a respectable choice if it’s the playstyle you enjoy. That being said, the other two specializations, Affliction and Demonology, will always outperform Destruction. They do provide some unique utility to the raid, providing mana regeneration and some crowd control, but overall they will be middle of the pack on the Damage Meters.

Arms Warriors are brought to the raid for their extensive amount of buffs, debuffs, and 2 target cleave damage. They suffer from the lack of armor penetration early on and with a focus on bleed damage, they quickly become outperformed by Fury Warriors.

Elemental Shamans (Ele) can perform decently in the early stages and a good player will do fine throughout the entire expansion. They also provide a lot of utility to the raid, but those buffs are also provided by stronger classes. They have good single-target, AoE, and cleave damage potential but they won’t be topping the DPS meters in the majority of scenarios. Even in caster friendly fights, Enhancement Shamans, can still perform better than Elemental.

While they do perform remarkably well in leveling and solo content, Beast Mastery Hunters (BM) are the worst of the three Hunter specializations for group content. Their damage is very dependent on their pet staying alive. They also lack any significant AoE or cleaving capabilities. It’s certainly still possible to clear content with this spec, and they do provide some utility to the group. However, with their buff being provided by Retribution Paladins (which perform really well later on), they are often overshadowed by Marksmanship Hunter at every stage of the expansion.

Subtlety Rogues (Sub) really only shine in PvP content where their toolkit is very powerful. Their damage in PvE is very low throughout the entire expansion. While their own damage is low, they do still provide damage buffs to the group. However, the increase from those buffs pales in comparison to the damage potential that the other 2 specializations, Assassination and Combat would provide.

Frost Mages are also seen as a PvP only specialization. Their damage is probably the worst damage of all classes in PvE content. They do provide buffs to the group, however, other classes can also provide them and they deal more damage. It also has a rather dull skill rotation, primarily casting Frostbolt with a few Frostfire Bolts and Deep Freezes mixed in.

Adam is a guide writer for all types of games. He particularly enjoys diving deep into understanding the complex systems typically found within MMORPG's. He loves sharing those special gaming experiences with his friends both online and locally with couch co-op, VR, and even tabletop games. If there's a gaming question, he'll find an answer. He is also an avid Volleyball player and friend to all dogs.