Mythic+ DPS Rankings: A Tier List for Dragonflight (Patch 10.0.2 / Season 1)

This tier list is NOT FINAL; it will change and will be updated as often as necessary prior and during Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. There are often moments of tier set and class tuning, as well as talent changes and secondary stat scaling that will impact the placement of the specs.

I am Petko, a competitive Mythic+ player, known to be pushing the boundaries of High Mythic+ with several World first and Europe first rankings among past seasons on multiple classes. I have worked hard on preparing for Season 1 of Dragonflight, spending numerous hours per day examining each and every class and spec in a dungeon environment. This Tier list will continue to be updated as much as it requires over the course of Dragonflight and it will also focus on what the "meta" will look like as it stabilizes. Along the way, this Tier list will also be supported by various professional Mythic+ players with high credibility in the community, theorycrafters across all specializations, and my own empirical evidence.

To begin with, this Tier list will exclusively focus on the first Season of Mythic+ in Dragonflight. There will be no Warcraft Logs rankings added nor simulation data for the majority of the classes and specs. As a result, this Tier list will be solely based on empirical evidence of the current state of the classes' performance in Mythic+ from my own point of view and the point of view of the group of players testing those classes who are among the best representatives of the class in the community. Moreover, this Tier list will take into consideration every impactful class change and tier set tuning before and after the start of the season.

It is important to note that opinions might vary and that is completely okay, but remember to be respectful when providing feedback as the sole purpose of this tier-list is to help the WoW community with their choice of main or alt each season.

This tier list is entirely based on DPS viability examined in each dungeon of Dragonflight. To understand why exactly some rankings are the way they are, you need to understand the importance of the toolkit that some classes provide to Mythic+ groups.

• Damage is one of the major factors to rank the DPS classes; mass AoE, burst AoE, single-target, 3-target, and spread-cleave damage are the types of damage-profiles we examine.
• Classes with unique party-wide cooldowns will always be rewarded, an example of such is Bloodlust, which is provided by the Shaman class (but you can also have its effects with Mage, Hunter, or Evoker. Such buffs can also be a permanent like Priest's Power Word: Fortitude or Mage's Arcane Intellect.
• Classes with very high survivability, self-sustain, or immunities have always added additional value to the rankings.
• Another feature worth mentioning is the importance of priority-target damage and funnel-damage, which is often undervalued in Mythic+ and speeds up the whole dungeon if done correctly. Specs can earn extra "points" by having such a damage profile.
• Finally, only two classes can provide unique Magical and Physical damage increases to the entire party: Monk with Mystic Touch and Demon Hunter with Chaos Brand. This gives these classes priority, depending on group composition.

When deciding what class you want to play for Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1, it is important to understand how and why some classes are valued more than the others and what is important in the current dungeons.

• Dungeons like Halls of Valor favor classes with high single-target and good 3-4 target cleave, while dungeons like Algeth'ar Academy require more AoE than single-target or priority-target damage, meaning some rankings of the classes will fluctuate.
• Another important thing to keep in mind is the Seasonal affix, called Thundering, which is significantly easier to deal with on classes that have high mobility, since they will lose less uptime on their DPS while gaining the most uptime on their Mark of Lightning or Mark of Wind. In addition, the Seasonal affix benefits the playstyle of burst damage more than consistent damage, since you can utilize the 30% buff from it during your cooldowns.
• Remember that this tier list is based on keys between 15-20 (as highlighted); some specializations gain significantly more value on the higher end bracket compared to the lower end bracket because of their damage profile. Specs like Marksmanship Hunter are known to have great burst damage, but the higher the key goes, the worse they become due to low survivability, not-so-great single-target damage, and average sustained DPS. On the other hand, some DoT specs scale much better with the keystone level, with Shadow Priest being a prime example of it.
• Remember that this tier list, unlike many others, is not constant, some class's placements will go up or down depending on key level, group composition, affix combinations or dungeon differences, but those changes will be minor enough not to be accounted for by the tier list. We will continue to update this tier list as hotfixes, nerfs, and buffs are present, all the way up to Season 1's launch on December 13th and beyond.

It is important to understand that this Tier list is NOT permanent and it will be due to change with upcoming changes and tunings over the course of the season. I have always advocated to the "bring the player, not the class" motto, meaning: value the player skill more than the class itself. This Tier list should NOT discourage you to play whatever you enjoy the most, if having fun is your main drive when you play Mythic+. The list will be updated as much as it requires before and after the start of each season.

This tier-list is based on the assumption that you have your 4-piece tier-set present at all times. Places can vary drastically if this measure is not taken into consideration, as our main purpose is to showcase which specializations will become the best months before the season hits its peak.

Below you can find the full rankings for DPS slots in Season 1 of Dragonflight+. We encourage you to further read and understand why some classes are placed lower or higher than expected, with several factors taken into consideration such as having a 4-piece tier-set active at all times.

1. Havoc Demon Hunter (S-Tier)
2. Outlaw Rogue (S-Tier)
3. Unholy Death Knight (S-Tier)
4. Feral Druid (S-Tier)
5. Windwalker Monk (S-Tier)
6. Demonology Warlock (A-Tier)
7. Arms Warrior (A-Tier)
8. Retribution Paladin (A-Tier)
9. Fury Warrior (A-Tier)
10. Devastation Evoker (A-Tier)
11. Subtlety Rogue (A-Tier)
12. Enhancement Shaman (A-Tier)
13. Marksmanship Hunter (B-Tier)
14. Elemental Shaman (B-Tier)
15. Assassination Rogue (B-Tier)
16. Fire Mage (B-Tier)
17. Shadow Priest (B-Tier)
18. Beast Mastery Hunter (B-Tier)
19. Frost Mage (B-Tier)
20. Balance Druid (B-Tier)
21. Destruction Warlock (B-Tier)
22. Affliction Warlock (B-Tier)
23. Arcane Mage (B-Tier)
24. Survival Hunter (B-Tier)
25. Frost Death Knight (C-Tier)

If you are interested in our other rankings for Mythic+ in Dragonflight, please click the links below.

Below are displayed the DPS specs that have the highest potential to turn out to be a "meta" spec. Keep in mind, there are only 3 slots for a DPS in a group, so your choice will depend on your group needs, dungeon type and Mythic+ level.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Havoc Demon Hunter received a brand new tier set for Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. Their Havoc Demon Hunter 2pc bonus increases the Critical Strike of Chaos Strike and Blade Dance by 5% and their critical strike damage by 10%, followed by the Havoc Demon Hunter 4pc giving Chaos Strike and Blade Dance a 20% chance to increase their damage dealt by 8% for 6s. Chaos Strike and Blade Dance Critical Strikes increase this chance to 40%. This spec has one of the best DPS across the board. Havoc Demon Hunter has the most complete DPS package, great survivability, an immunity, good self-sustain, and amazing mobility. If this all was not clear, get ready to meet the first potential "meta" spec of the season.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Havoc Demon Hunter provides great consistent damage, both single-target and AoE, with a playstyle that does not rely massively on a major cooldowns to do damage. Its rotation will massively depend on the build you are choosing to play, but one thing is certain, they will have Metamorphosis as a major cooldown, Fury-generating abilities such as Immolation Aura, and Fury spenders like Eye Beam. In addition, there are several possible minor cooldowns likes Essence Break, and Elysian Decree, based on talent choices.

Utility: Havoc Demon Hunter is known to have some of the best party-wide utility in the game such as Chaos Nova (a mass AoE stun), Fel Eruption (a single-target stun) Darkness, Consume Magic (a Purge effect), and Chaos Brand (a unique debuff that increases magical-damage taken 5%). Having Spectral Sight as a baseline utility will help them reveal any stealthed mobs in the dungeons (believe me, this will be quite useful). Do not forget that Demon Hunter has access to Imprison, one of the few crowd-control abilities that does not put you in combat if you walk over the mob (similar to Rogue's Sap). Coming into Dragonflight, all DH specializations will have an offensive general-talent choice with The Hunt, which can be enhanced with the Unnatural Malice or Relentless Pursuit talent choices. In addition, they are getting access to a brand-new utility, Sigil of Misery, which can be used both defensively (to crowd-control mobs) and offensively with the Misery in Defeat talent. They are also one of the few melee classes that have a talent option to allow their interrupt to have an extended range with Improved Disrupt (15 yards).

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Havoc Demon Hunters are also the DPS specialization with some of the highest self-sustain because of their Leech effects coming from the Metamorphosis and Soul Rending talents. They have a talent option to get an immunity with Netherwalk, one of the shortest defensive cooldowns in the game with Blur, and built-in passive magical damage mitigation coming from Demonic Wards.

Mobility: Havoc Demon Hunter is one of the most mobile melee classes, being able to Double Jump, dash forward with Fel Rush, and vault backwards thanks to Vengeful Retreat.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Outlaw Rogue received a new tier set leading into Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. The Outlaw Rogue 2pc bonus causes Dispatch to increase the damage of their next Sinister Strike or Ambush by 8% per Combo Point spent. In addition, the Outlaw Rogue 4pc will make the half-cost uses of Pistol Shot granted by Sinister Strike increase the damage of their next Dispatch by 25%. Outlaw Rogue has it all, from great single-target and AoE damage, to party-wide utility, mob control, survivability, and self-sustainability. They have an amazing damage profile even without any major cooldowns, which makes the spec truly unique. One small drawback is that mass AoE (10+ mobs) is not their strongest feature, but that is a small price to pay considering their overall package. Currently, they are considered one of the best choices for a DPS going forward to the first season of Mythic+ in Dragonflight, earning a well-deserved S-tier placement.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Outlaw Rogue's AoE damage comes from the interaction of Blade Flurry with their Combo Point generation abilities (mostly Sinister Strike and Pistol Shot) and Combo-Point spenders like Between the Eyes and Dispatch. It is important to note that while doing their rotation, they will also rely on buffs coming out from Roll the Bones, an Outlaw-only spell (we are not talking about the mandatory Slice and Dice buff that they will maintain). Depending on your luck, or in gaming words, RNG, they might have access to one of the six buffs once they roll the dice: Broadside, Buried Treasure, Grand Melee, Ruthless Precision, Skull and Crossbones and True Bearing. If they are, however, extremely lucky, they can gain 2 buffs or even all six at the same time (low chance). While there is still some RNG involved for which buffs they receive when casting Roll the Bones, their DPS will not vary very much regardless of which combination of buffs is gained. This allows Outlaw to provide the high sustained DPS on multi-target situations that it has been known for for years now. Finally, their major cooldown is Adrenaline Rush, which might look like a long cooldown, but having Restless Blades reduces its cooldown by a lot, followed by a minor one with Dreadblades.

Utility: Outlaw Rogues are known to have one of the longest melee-range attacks, not only due to the general Rogue Acrobatic Strikes talent but also from the Outlaw-only talent Deft Maneuvers, which will improve their mob control if they need to leave melee. They also have a feature no other Rogue spec has, and that is Restless Blades, which will give cooldown reduction to their offensive and defensive toolkit. Speaking about their mob-control feature, we cannot go by without mentioning their wide-arsenal of spells that can prevent the enemy from casting, including Blind, Cheap Shot, Kidney Shot, and Gouge (if talented). They are among one of the two classes that have a non-combat crowd-control effect with Sap (Demon Hunter and its Imprison being the second), which will help you skip mobs that otherwise require you to use an Invisibility Potion, and if there are multiple mobs to skip you can always use Shroud of Concealment. They can also Enrage Dispel with Shiv,] which is quite rare as limited classes hold such powers. There is also the ability to transfer incoming threat to a chosen party-member with Tricks of the Trade (Similar to a Hunter's Misdirection), which solves a lot of threat issues. To add to their already strong utility is the option to have different poisons imbued on their weapons, such as Crippling Poison (an AoE slow of 50%), Instant Poison (raw DPS), Wound Poison (reducing healing done, which is mostly irrelevant in dungeons), Numbing Poison (reducing enemy attack and casting speed by 15% and incredibly strong in Mythic+), and Atrophic Poison.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Rogue has an amazing defensive toolkit, which is arguably the best in Mythic+, with Feint (works only against area-of-effect damage abilities), Evasion (dodges all Physical damage), Cloak of Shadows (mitigates all magical damage) and if all of those fail, they have Cheat Death. And remember, if they are in danger and every other defensive is on cooldown, they can always use Vanish and escape danger (it is also useful against any targeted-spells coming their way, as the enemy will just cancel the cast and recast the ability on someone else). In addition, Outlaw Rogues can choose to talent Combat Stamina to become more durable. Finally, Rogues have some self-sustain coming from Crimson Vial which can help them in a critical situation and if they decide to talent Leeching Poison they will gain 10% Leech (which helps them heal based on damage done)!

Mobility: Outlaw Rogue's mobility is amazing, not just from the baseline Sprint ability, but also the option to have Shadowstep, a talent available to any Rogue specializations. They also get access to the Hit and Run and Grappling Hook talents, which will further bolster their mobility.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Unholy Death Knight received a brand new tier set for Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. Their Unholy Death Knight 2pc bonus makes bursting a Festering Wound grant their Ghoul Vile Infusion, increasing their damage by 25% and Haste by 10% for 5 sec. In addition, the Unholy Death Knight 4pc effect gives their primary Ghoul's attacks an 8% chance to increase their damage and Haste by 8% for 8 sec. This chance is increased to 15% during Vile Infusion. Unholy Death Knights remain the kings of burst damage, having one of, if not, the craziest damage spikes on multiple-targets (the more, the better). On top of this, their single-target, group-wide utility, and defensives are absolutely amazing. However, their full value can only be explored if they run with a coordinated group, since they can precisely time their cooldowns and request from the tank to pull large during them. They do perform way better the more mobs they are, rather than against relatively small AoE (4-6 mobs), hence why communication will be vital. They are still one of the best pick ups this season, claiming a well-deserved S-tier.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Unholy Death Knight's playstyle comprises spreading infection and using their Ghoul to contribute to their overall damage, a mixture between damage-over-time effects and instant damage. Having an option to choose the build you want to play based on the dungeon makes the spec quite fun to play (going Unholy Assault and Superstrain is, however, the "go-to" choice for Mythic+, although you can try more raid-oriented builds like Commander of the Dead paired with Summon Gargoyle for pure single-target), so depending on where you are headed, you can exchange a few talents and be ready to conquer it. Some of their core abilities consist of Outbreak, Festering Strike, Scourge Strike and Epidemic. They heavily rely on Festering Wounds to deal AoE damage, paired with Bursting Sores. Their major cooldowns might vary depending on the talent choices, but the major cooldowns are Army of the Dead, Unholy Assault, and Vile Contagion, followed by a few minor ones like Dark Transformation, Apocalypse, and Unholy Blight.

Utility: Unholy Death Knight has great utility, with their signature spells being Death Grip and Anti-Magic Zone (great party-utility). Death Knights have amazing mob-control in Mythic+ due to the Blinding Sleet and Asphyxiate talents. They are one of the few melee classes that have access to a "ranged" interrupt with Mind Freeze being a 15-yard interrupt rather than regular melee range. Insidious Chill (located in the general talent tree) will also help their tank survive better on boss fights. In addition, having the ability to combat res an ally is quite valuable in any group composition with Raise Ally. Coming to Dragonflight, Death Knights will get additional offensive cooldowns as talent options like Empower Rune Weapon, Abomination Limb, and Soul Reaper.

Defensives: Unholy Death Knight has strong defensive cooldowns in the form of Icebound Fortitude, Anti-Magic Shell, and Lichborne available to all of their specs, and can get an extra defensive if they chose the Death Pact talent. Their passive durability is also amazing; Veteran of the Third War, Will of the Necropolis (if talented), and Gloom Ward (if talented) are only part of what Death Knights have. In case they have none of the abilities above available, they can still choose to spam Death Strike and heal themselves!

Mobility: Unholy Death Knight now has improved mobility. With Wraith Walk (but remember, they cannot cast any abilities during it) and Death's Advance (which can have 2 charges if they talent Death's Echo), they can escape dangerous situations that otherwise will kill. Do not forget to hold at least 1 of the Death's Advance charges for utility (immunity to knockback effects).

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Feral Druid received a brand new tier set for Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. Their Feral Druid 2pc bonus will increase the damage of Ferocious Bite and Rip by 6% while their Feral Druid 4pc will increase their Rip, Rake, and Thrash damage by 2% for each Combo Point spent on finisher moves, and also increase the chance of Shred, Rake, Swipe and Thrash to critically Strike by 2% for 4 seconds. Feral Druid improved significantly going from Shadowlands to Dragonflight, with much better burst and sustained AoE damage. They were always known to have good single-target, and this will continue to be the case this season. Overall, they have one of the highest damage profiles across all specs and classes which is one of the major reasons to consider Feral Druid as a top contender for the "meta". Time will truly tell, but do not count the kitty out!

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Feral Druids have a so-called "ramp up" playstyle once they apply all of their Bleed effects (with a focus on Primal Wrath which applies Rip, their highest-ticking DoT, to all targets within 14yards), their damage goes higher and higher until the mobs die. Speaking about playstyle, their abilities are split between Combo-Point generating spells like Rake, Shred, Swipe, and combo-spenders such as Ferocious Bite, Rip, and Primal Wrath. They have 1 major cooldown, Berserk, and a few minor ones like Tiger's Fury and Convoke the Spirits (if talented). I consider this playstyle unique, and if you are curious to find out how DoT specs play out, give Feral a try!

Utility: Feral Druids have a raid-wide buff added in Dragonflight with Mark of the Wild (available to all Druid specs), which provides additional value to the already-strong utility toolkit. Some of their utilities include Hibernate, Stampeding Roar, Remove Corruption, Soothe, Mass Entanglement or Ursol's Vortex (depending on the talent choice), Renewal, Cyclone, Mighty Bash, or Incapacitating Roar (depending on talent choice), Typhoon, Innervate (which can be further enhanced by Nature's Vigil), and much more. Although each spec has the option to talent Maim (a single-target stun), it is mostly used by Ferals since they spend the majority of their time in Cat Form. Feral Druid is one of the few DPS specializations that can also offer off-healing to its group if needed. Their first option is to talent Nature's Vigil (which syncs really well with their DoTs), and the second option is the Heart of the Wild talent, as some encounters or situations do not require them to stay strictly in Cat Form (because of downtime), so that time can be spent healing. Druids are also one of the few classes that have access to a stealth ability with Prowl, allowing them to do any skips without using an Invisibility Potion. Moreover, they have access to Rebirth, a battle-resurrection that is limited to only a few specializations in the game.

Defensives: Feral Druid has quite a strong defensive, with Barkskin being only a 60-second cooldown, Survival Instincts existing as an extra on-use defensives, followed by great passive mitigation like 25% on-demand Stamina from Bear Form and 6% permanent damage-reduction from Thick Hide (if talented in the general-talent tree).

Mobility: Feral Druid's overall playstyle is quite mobile. Since a healthy portion of their playstyle is damage-over-time based, they can freely run out of melee and still maintain high damage. Their base mobility is amazing due Cat Form having 30% extra baseline movement speed. Druids of any spec also have a talent to increase their movement speed by 15% with Feline Swiftness. In addition, they can choose to talent Tiger Dash or Wild Charge to gain extra mobility if they are in combat and need to move as quickly as possible.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Windwalker Monk received a brand new tier set for Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. Their Windwalker Monk 2pc bonus will make Fists of Fury increase the damage dealt by their next 2 Rising Sun Kicks or Spinning Crane Kicks by 30%. In addition, the Windwalker Monk 4pc bonus will allow Fists of Fury to instead enhance your next 3 Rising Sun Kicks or Spinning Crane Kicks, and enhanced kicks increase the damage of their next Fists of Fury by 5%, stacking up to 3 times. Windwalker Monk is currently one of the best DPS options in Mythic+, with amazing AoE and single-target burst, great consistent damage, amazing utility, and overall some of the best durability. Their overall damage profile is among the highest, which is one of the main reasons why I consider this spec to be "meta" worthy for now, claiming a well-deserved, S-tier position.

 

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Windwalker Monk has historically been one of the best Mythic+ melee choices across all seasons with a focus on extremely high burst DPS both in single-target and in AoE. They have a unique secondary resource outside of Energy called Chi, which is used to cast more powerful spells. Some of their signature abilities consist of Fists of Fury, Rising Sun Kick, and Spinning Crane Kick, which they deal most of their damage with. Windwalker Monk is rich in offensive cooldowns, having 3 of them (depending on their build), but the most common ones are Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger, Storm, Earth, and Fire, and Bonedust Brew.

Utility: First, we will begin by pointing out that this is the only class that can provide Mystic Touch (though any of the 3 Monk specs can do it), which can be extremely valuable if you are running a Physical damage-oriented composition. They have access to an AoE stun with Leg Sweep and the unique Ring of Peace ability, providing them with enough crowd-control to help their tank with kiting if needed. They can dispel Poison and Disease effects with Detox and also have the ability to remove all roots and snares (sort of like Paladin's Blessing of Freedom but also giving 70% movement speed) with Tiger's Lust. They have a single-target crowd-control ability in Paralysis, which can be used on any mob-type. They also provide a group-wide buff called Windwalking (if talented), which can help when mounts cannot be used. Speaking about group-wide buffs, they also have the talent options of Close to Heart and Generous Pour (available to all Monk specs) which are additional party-wide auras.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Windwalker Monk is one of the most durable DPS specializations in the game with several defensive-cooldowns. They have access to the Dampen Harm, Diffuse Magic, Fortifying Brew, Touch of Karma, and Bounce Back talents. They will gain additional passive durability from Calming Presence in the class talents, and the fact that they love the Versatility stat as one of their main secondaries!

Mobility: Windwalker Monk also has great mobility; not only they have Transcendence, but also access to Roll, making it easier to move from point A to point B. Let us not forget the Flying Serpent Kick talent which can strengthen their already-strong mobility.

Below are displayed the DPS specs are considered strong, but not "meta" unlike S-tier specs. In other words, you are perfectly fine bringing any of those specs and all of them will perform almost equally well; each of them bring unique tools to cope with the dungeon timers, and some specs fit better than others depending on your group-setup.

November 18, Patch 10.0 update:. Demonology Warlock received a brand new tier set leading to Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. Their Demonology Warlock 2pc will increase the damage of Demonbolt and Felstorm by 20%, while the Demonology Warlock 4pc bonus will give Demonbolt a chance to make their next Hand of Gul'dan instant and deal 50% increased damage. Demonology has an all around balanced damage profile, with their consistent mass AoE being the best. Their entire toolkit (defensives, utility, self-sustain), paired with amazing damage is exactly what makes the spec good. The only way for them to break into the S-tier is going to be furthed damage adjustments. Overall, it is one of the solid contenders for the top of the A-tier.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Demonology Warlock's playstyle has slightly shifted from relying on their Summon Demonic Tyrant major cooldown to deal damage, to a more well-rounded damage profile where their overall damage contains a healthy portion coming from their core spells in combination with what their signature pet ( Summon Felguard) can do. Their hardest-hitting abilities, such as Call Dreadstalkers, will require them to use Soul Shards, which they generate from Demonic Core (passive) and spells like Demonbolt, Shadow Bolt, and more (depending heavily on talent choices). As already mentioned, their major cooldown is Summon Demonic Tyrant or Nether Portal (if talented), with some minor cooldowns of your choice like Bilescourge Bombers/ Demonic Strength, Grimoire: Felguard, and Guillotine.

Utility: Demonology Warlock has access to a unique pet-interrupt with Axe Toss, which also stuns the target for 4 seconds. Them, and other Warlocks are the only specializations in the game that have access to curse effects which are great utility for any Mythic+ party. They have Curse of Weakness and, if they chose to talent Curses of Enfeeblement (which they do at all cost), they will have access to Curse of Tongues and Curse of Exhaustion, which can be further bolstered by the Amplify Curse talent. Apart from this, Warlock has access to a single-target crowd-control, Fear, the option to choose between a single-target disruption effect or mass Fear with Mortal Coil/ Howl of Terror, a Banish effect, and an AoE stun with Shadowfury. One of the reasons why they might be the party-favorite is because they can provide an unlimited supply of Healthstone, a quite valuable healing tonic that does NOT share the cooldown of the regular Health Potion. Going forward to Dragonflight, they can gain access (if talented) to Shadowflame, a powerful AoE slow effect. If you think that is the end of their party-wide utility, hold on until you find out that they also have a Demonic Gateway which is incredibly useful in Mythic+, allowing you to create some truly unique skips. They are also one of the few specializations in the game that have a combat-resurrection to save an ally with Soulstone.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Warlock has historically been one of the most durable ranged classes with access to several abilities to reduce their damage taken (on demand) like Unending Resolve, which can be further improved by Strength of Will or Dark Accord if talented, and Dark Pact (if talented). There are also a few ways to passively mitigate damage such as with Soul Leech, which can be bolstered by the Fel Armor, Fel Synergy, and Demon Skin talents, Soul Link, which you can enhance with the Profane Bargain talent, and the Abyss Walker talent choice. Their baseline health can also be increased if they decide to talent Demonic Fortitude, making them a real raid boss in dungeons. In other words, they will not have any issues surviving even the hardest encounters presented to them.

Mobility: Demonology Warlock's overall playstyle has a healthy mix between instant casts and casts that require them stay still. IF they do time their globals precisely, they will not lose much damage while moving. Their mobility has nonetheless improved in Dragonflight. Outside of Burning Rush and Demonic Circle they also have the talent option of Soulburn which gives them access to a lot more utility including an extra 50% movement speed once they cast Demonic Circle: Teleport.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Arms Warriors received their fair share of changes heading into the Dragonflight expansion, and receiving a unique spec-specific tier set is one of them. Their Arms Warrior 2pc bonus will increase the Critical Strike chance of Cleave and Mortal Strike by 10%, while the Arms Warrior 4pc effect will make critical strikes from Mortal Strike, Cleave, and Execute increase their base Critical Strike chance by 5% for 6 seconds. Their overall playstyle feels great, from a fair share of bursty front-load damage, to great single-target and exceptionally strong execute damage. Yes, Arms Warrior does similar damage as the specs placed on S-tier, but if you consider all of the other details, they fall shortly behind. They only way for you to escape your current placement is further damage adjustments on your already strong DPS profile. Will that happen? Time will show, for now ,you are going to remain as one of the best choices among A-tier.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Arms Warrior's unique playstyle allows them to maintain a high damage profile coming from Bladestorm, Execute, Mortal Strike and their bleed effects coming from Mastery: Deep Wounds and Rend (if talented). Their major cooldowns are Bladestorm and Colossus Smash, with several minor ones being Sweeping Strikes, Skullsplitter, and Storm of Swords (making their Whirlwind slap!).

Utility: Talking about exclusivity and utility, we cannot go by without mentioning Battle Shout, the most desirable buff for any Physical damage DPS. The Warrior class has great overall utility for Mythic+, as they have access to a party-wide external-defensive cooldown with Rallying Cry (which can be further improved if they talent Inspiring Presence), an AoE fear in Intimidating Shout (which they can improve if they talent Cacophonous Roar/ Menace), and Intervene. They have a single-target stun through Storm Bolt (which is great for mob control) and an AoE stun with Shockwave, previously exclusive only to Protection Warriors in Shadowlands. Let us not forget Spell Reflection, which can be used not only as a 20% magical damage reduction, but also to reflect back any direct casts on them, and Berserker Rage (which can be improved by talented into Berserker Shout if their group lacks Tremor Totem). They have an AoE slow in Piercing Howl (if talented) and a single-target slow with Hamstring. To conclude, on behalf of the utility part, they also have an optional talent for all Warrior specializations with Avatar, not just doing 20% more damage, but also removing all roots and snares on them, and Spear of Bastion (which can be further bolstered by Piercing Verdict / Elysian Might).

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Arms Warrior has access to an exclusive defensive cooldown with Die by the Sword (which can also be used as an immunity to certain Physical spells), with the ability to further enhance it by talenting either Fueled by Violence or Storm Wall. Don not forget that they can have Defensive Stance, which can add on-demand damage-reduction of up to 20% in case of a critical situation. Coming into Dragonflight, they will have a slight improvement in their baseline defensives in their general talents like Bitter Immunity.

Mobility: Warrior is quite a mobile class, having access to Charge, Intervene, and Heroic Leap, which can help them get to or get away to any enemy of their choice.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Retribution Paladin received a brand new tier set for Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. Their Retribution Paladin 2pc bonus will increase the damage of Judgment, Blade of Justice and Wake of Ashes by 15%, while the Retribution Paladin 4pc effect will increase the damage of Templar's Verdict and Divine Storm by 10%. Retribution Paladin received a lot of attention to the incoming Dragonflight expansion. The holy crusader has amazing AoE and single-target burst in the game, making it extremely appealing if you are a fan of a high numbers and a front-loaded damage profile. Not only this but, they have one of the best DPS utilities to support their group, both offensively and defensively. However, due to several nerfs the glory of Retribution Paladin is no more. Yes, they still do substantial damage with their 2-minute or 1-minute cooldowns, but without them, sadly, they fall behind. They will remain in A-tier for now, with a high possibility to climb further in case anything changes.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Retribution Paladin received a lot of attention going into Dragonflight. Its playstyle consists of spending Holy Power for Divine Storm or Radiant Decree, if talented for AoE damage, and Templar's Verdict for single-target, while generating it with abilities such as Blade of Justice, Judgment, and Hammer of Wrath. Their major cooldown is Avenging Wrath with the ability to gain several others depending on their talent options like Final Reckoning, Seraphim, Execution Sentence, and Divine Toll. Overall, they are a great choice if you enjoy being able to provide additional sustain to your group while maintaining high damage during burst periods.

Utility: Retribution Paladin has one of the best utility toolkits among all DPS specs in Mythic+. First, they have the option to remove Disease and Poison effects with Cleanse Toxins, which is quite rare to have for a DPS spec. They have access to Blessing of Protection, which can be used both offensively to prevent someone from taking the tank's threat, or defensively by offering immunity to Physical damage, and Blessing of Sacrifice as incredibly useful party-wide utility available for all Paladin specs. Blessing of Freedom is another utility spell that will improve their quality of life in Mythic+, and Tanks will love them for it. To top it off, they have an option between Blinding Light (AoE disruption) or Repentance (a strong crowd-control ability), depending on the talent choice. Having access to a single-target stun with Hammer of Justice and Wake of Ashes/ Radiant Decree (which stuns Undead and Demons for 5 seconds) will help them control any mobs they consider dangerous, especially the casters in Mythic+. They can also opt to talent Exorcism, as it has the same stun effect as Hammer of Justice, but only on Undead and Demonic creatures. Finally, they can choose to have Turn Evil if their team needs an additional crowd-control effect, and also the option to have Lay on Hands, a quite powerful single-target healing spell. Going into Dragonflight, all Paladin specs will even have access to a baseline combat-resurrection ability with Intercession, making their utility even better!

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Retribution Paladin has 2 defensive options, with one being Divine Protection and the other one being Eye for an Eye; both are optional talents, however. In addition, Paladin is one of the few classes that have an immunity with Divine Shield, which is highly valuable in Mythic+. In case they have none of the above, they can always opt to use their Holy Power defensively, healing themselves with Word of Glory.

Mobility: One of the major concerns for Paladins has always been their limited mobility, being bound to Divine Steed. Luckily that has been improved going forward to Dragonflight if you choose the Cavalier talent in the general Paladin tree.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Fury Warrior received a new tier set leading into Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. The Fury Warrior 2pc bonus will increase the Critical Strike chance of their Execute by 10%, while the Fury Warrior 4pc effect will enhance the Sudden Death talent and its chance to proc. It is true that they have some of the strongest burst in the game, having the chance to nuke down the enemies before the team gets ready to attack. Outside of their major cooldowns, they feel weak, but the burst during cooldowns compensates for the lack of damage outside them. Furthermore, a slight single-target damage increase will not hurt them at all if they want to jump rankings. Still, the spec is one of the strongest melee options, especially for the low to mid key range and is definitely not to be underestimated, achieving a well-deserved A-tier spot.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Even though the majority of the spells they are going to use has not changed, Fury Warrior's playstyle did. Now they are a lot more of a "burst" specialization as the opposite of having great sustained damage over a period of time. Their gameplay consists of generating Rage from abilities like Bloodthirst, Raging Blow, Whirlwind, Execute etc., before spending it on Rampage. As a Fury Warrior, you will have a unique ability with Berserker Stance, which is the stance they will spend the majority of their time in (unless they need Defensive Stance to survive). Fury has 1 major cooldown with Recklessness (if talented), and a few minor ones depending further on talent choices like Odyn's Fury, Ravager, and Onslaught.

Utility: Talking about exclusivity and utility, we cannot go by without mentioning Battle Shout, the most desirable buff for any Physical damage DPS. The Warrior class has great overall utility for Mythic+, as they have access to a party-wide external-defensive cooldown with Rallying Cry (which can be further improved if they talent Inspiring Presence), an AoE fear in Intimidating Shout (which they can improve if they talent Cacophonous Roar / Menace), and Intervene. They have a single-target stun through Storm Bolt (which is great for mob control) and an AoE stun with Shockwave, previously exclusive only to Protection Warriors in Shadowlands. Let us not forget Spell Reflection, which can be used not only as a 20% magical damage reduction, but also to reflect back any direct casts on them, and Berserker Rage (which can be improved by talented into Berserker Shout if their group lacks Tremor Totem). They have an AoE slow in Piercing Howl (if talented) and a single-target slow with Hamstring. To conclude, on behalf of the utility part, they also have an optional talent for all Warrior specializations with Avatar, not just doing 20% more damage, but also removing all roots and snares on them, and Spear of Bastion (which can be further bolstered by Piercing Verdict / Elysian Might).

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Fury Warrior has access to an exclusive defensive cooldown with Enraged Regeneration, and strong passive mitigation with Warpaint. Do not forget that they can have Defensive Stance, which can add on-demand damage-reduction of up to 20% in case of a critical situation.

Mobility: Warrior is quite a mobile class, having access to Charge, Intervene, and Heroic Leap, which can help them get to or get away to any enemy of their choice. Coming to Dragonflight, they will have a slight improvement in their baseline defensives with the Bitter Immunity class talent.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Devastation Evoker received a brand new tier set for Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. Their Devastation Evoker 2pc bonus will allow their empowered spells to have a 5% increased chance to critically strike and also increase their Critical Strike chance by 5% for 6 seconds. In addition, the Devastation Evoker 4pc will grant their empowered spells a 25% chance to grant them 6 sec of Fury of the Aspects without causing Exhaustion. Devastation Evoker is in a great spot right now. With a heavy burst-oriented playstyle, great mobility, defensives, and utility, you are looking at one of the stronger caster choices for this season. Though, if we are to rank this spec higher, further adjustments are needed in the DPS department in order to justify higher placement. For now, it will remain on the A-tier.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Devastation Evoker (Hybrid DPS) is one of the few casters that are considered "hybrid" in this game, capping most of their damaging abilities with a 25-yard range. Their playstyle comprises a high-burst damage profile, which is extensively cooldown-reliant. Some of their core spells consist of Azure Strike, Fire Breath, Charged Blast, Eternity Surge, Pyre, and Disintegrate, with major cooldowns being Dragonrage and Deep Breath. Though empowered spells unfortunately require them to stay still, most of their playstyle is based on instant-cast abilities, which will allow them to freely cast while moving, one of the key features that every caster wants. Overall, they are a high-utility hybrid-caster, with a great focus around burst DPS.

Utility: The Evoker class comes quite strong out of the gates, with one of the best party-wide utilities in the game. They have access to a combined Bleed, Poison, Curse, and Disease dispel with Cauterizing Flame (this is an additional dispel outside of their regular one), a mass-root effect with Landslide, a knockback racial ability Wing Buffet, a knock-up racial ability with Tail Swipe, party-wide area-of-effect damage reduction with Zephyr, and access to a mass stun effect in the form of the Terror of the Skies talent. They also have an ability to fly with an ally, known as Rescue (which is quite useful if your party member is out of position and you can save them a few seconds of relocating), access to a brand-new utility with Oppressing Roar and an AoE Enrage Dispel with Overawe, if talented. They also have Fury of the Aspects, which is another form of Bloodlust, party-buff with Blessing of the Bronze, and a talent choice to restore Mana to a 1 chosen ally with Source of Magic. They also have access to a hybrid-ranged interrupt. Evoker further has the power to let you use your major movement ability without causing it to go on cooldown (and it will let you use it if it is already on cooldown) if talented into Time Spiral, so this can help a lot of classes that have limited mobility.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Evoker has a unique passive, Tempered Scales, which will make them mitigate more Physical damage, and access to Obsidian Scales, a 1.5-minute cooldown that provides 30% reduced damage for 12 seconds, which you can further bolster if you talent into Obsidian Bulwark.

Mobility: To top everything off, the majority of their playstyle will be based on instant spells with some exceptions, further complemented by Hover if needed. Speaking about being mobile, they have their own version of dash with Verdant Embrace, which has a 30 yard range just in case they are required to quickly reposition.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Subtlety Rogue received a new tier set leading into Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. The Subtlety Rogue 2pc bonus makes Eviscerate and Black Powder increase the damage and Critical Strike chance of their next Backstab, Shadowstrike, or Shuriken Storm by 2% per Combo Point spent. In addition, the Subtlety Rogue 4pc effect makes Backstab, Shadowstrike, and Shuriken Storm critical strikes increase the damage of Eviscerate and Rupture by 12% and the damage of Black Powder by 8% for 3sec. Subtlety Rogue is currently around A-tier spot on our tier-list; they do great burst-damage, provide great utility, have one of the best defenses in the game, and top-notch mobility. However, there are few features that are still lacking, including the consistent damage profile without cooldowns and having better single-target.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Subtlety Rogue gameplay consists of generating Combo Points with Shuriken Storm (for AoE) or Shadowstrike / Backstab (for single-target) before spending them on Eviscerate / Rupture (for single-target) or Black Powder (for AoE). Of course the mandatory Slice and Dice buff uptime will be present in their gameplay. Their major cooldown is Shadow Blades (if talented), followed by minor cooldowns that can vary depending on their talent choices, like Shuriken Tornado, Flagellation, and Sepsis. Although Shadow Dance is available in the general talent tree for all Rogue specs, it is truly within Subtlety's rotation and meant to be used as often as they can, and all that combined with Symbols of Death. They have something that few DPS specializations have and that is the ability to "funnel" damage to a high-health enemy. This works for non-boss-enemies or bosses, generating Combo Points with Shuriken Storm and spending it all on Eviscerate or Rupture, essentially using their AoE generators to then "dump" their Combo Points in single-target so the important mob dies faster. Subtlety Rogue's rotation constantly changes in Mythic+ depending on how many targets they are facing, so if you do enjoy a challenging melee playstyle, this spec is for you!

Utility: Rogue is one of the classes with the strongest form of mob control you are ever going to get as a DPS player. Speaking about their mob-control feature, we cannot go by without mentioning their wide-arsenal of spells that can prevent the enemy from casting, including Blind, Cheap Shot, Kidney Shot, and Gouge (if talented). They are among one of the two classes that have a non-combat crowd-control effect with Sap (Demon Hunter and its Imprison being the second), which will help you skip mobs that otherwise require you to use an Invisibility Potion, and if there are multiple mobs to skip you can always use Shroud of Concealment. They can also Enrage Dispel with Shiv,] which is quite rare as limited classes hold such powers. There is also the ability to transfer incoming threat to a chosen party-member with Tricks of the Trade (Similar to a Hunter's Misdirection), which solves a lot of threat issues. To add to their already strong utility is the option to have different poisons imbued on their weapons, such as Crippling Poison (an AoE slow of 50%), Instant Poison (raw DPS), Wound Poison (reducing healing done, which is mostly irrelevant in dungeons), Numbing Poison (reducing enemy attack and casting speed by 15% and incredibly strong in Mythic+), and Atrophic Poison. Rogue is also one of the few melee classes that can have the ability to increase the range of their melee attacks by 3 yards, thanks to the Acrobatic Strikes talent.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Rogue has an amazing defensive toolkit, which is arguably the best in Mythic+, with Feint (works only against area-of-effect damage abilities), Evasion (dodges all Physical damage), Cloak of Shadows (mitigates all magical damage) and if all of those fail, they have Cheat Death. And remember, if they are in danger and every other defensive is on cooldown, they can always use Vanish and escape danger (it is also useful against any targeted-spells coming their way, as the enemy will just cancel the cast and recast the ability on someone else). Finally, Rogues have some self-sustain coming from Crimson Vial which can help them in a critical situation and if they decide to talent Leeching Poison they will gain 10% Leech (which helps them heal based on damage done)!

Mobility: Subtlety Rogue's mobility is excellent, not just the baseline Sprint ability, but also the option to have Shadowstep; keep in mind that Subtlety has 2 charges of it, unlike the other Rogue specializations.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Enhancement Shaman received a brand new tier set for Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. Their Enhancement Shaman 2pc bonus causes Stormstrike to increase the damage of their next Fire, Frost, or Nature spell by 10% and causes it to generate 1 additional stack of Maelstrom Weapon, and the Enhancement Shaman 4pc bonus grants 1% Haste per Maelstrom Weapon stack consumed, which will last for 4 seconds and have the ability to stack. The 4-piece bonus is incredibly strong in AoE, since their Maelstrom Weapon generation will be much higher, and result in increased uptime on the Haste buff. Enhancement Shaman is an all-around solid spec, with its fair share of consistent damage profile and a high-burst capabilities, depending on build. Frankly, there is not anything that the spec lacks to get out of the current placement, outside of raw damage buffs or better defensives, which is something we will closely monitor and change accordingly if there are any.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: One of the key features of the spec is high single-target and priority-target damage, which is a rare trait to have as a DPS spec. Enhancement Shaman has historically been strong in mass AoE, and this will continue to be so in the first Season of Mythic+ in Dragonflight, but in slightly better condition. Outside of their single-target and mass-AoE, they are quite strong on smaller pulls too (4-6 targets). Their gameplay is based on generating Maelstrom Weapon stacks and spending them on Lightning Bolt (single-target) or Chain Lightning (AoE), depending on the situation. Their major cooldowns may vary, depending on the talent choices, so it is always best to check our guide on Icy Veins.

Utility: Enhancement Shaman's utility is quite similar to the ones Elemental or Restoration offer, but with the exception of having Windfury Totem (if talented) and an extra disruption ability if they talent Sundering. They will have access to an AoE stun with Capacitor Totem, which can be further enhanced via the Static Charge or Guardian's Cudgel talents, followed by a Curse dispel with Cleanse Spirit, a single-target crowd-control effect with Hex, and a Purge (or a Greater Purge if needed). Of course, one of their oldest abilities is Tremor Totem (which also works on Charm effects), along with the options to choose between Earthgrab Totem and Wind Rush Totem alongside the usual Thunderstorm ability (now available to Enhancement as well). Ancestral Guidance, as per usual, can help with group-off-heals. They have access to Bloodlust, an AoE slow with Earthbind Totem, can talent into having a small auto-heal effect with Nature's Guardian, and the ability to self-resurrect with Reincarnation. If that was not enough, they will gain access to even more utility in Dragonflight through Poison Cleansing Totem and Stoneskin Totem, a Poison cleanse and 10% party-wide Physical damage reduction. To top things off, they have the shortest cooldown interrupt in the game with Wind Shear.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: We cannot go by without mentioning the defensive part of the spec; outside of their usual Astral Shift, they will be able to bolster it, depending on talent choice, with Planes Traveler or Astral Bulwark. They can opt to talent Earth Elemental, which also will increase their health by 15% and reinforce their party in case of danger. In addition, they can use their Maelstrom Weapon stacks on instant Healing Surges to top up their health in critical situations. In addition, they can have the Spirit Wolf aura if they use the talent; just remember that it results in gaining 1 stack each second.

Mobility: Enhancement Shaman's mobility has also improved, with the newly-returned talent of Gust of Wind. They can also use their Ghost Wolf if mounts are not allowed in the dungeon to move from point A to point B much faster. Their versatile playstyle allows them to maintain a high damage profile while moving and getting out of melee range, which is not common for a full melee spec.

Specializations placed under B-Tier are a viable choice for any group looking to excel with any of the specializations here. The main reason why these specializations are placed on B-Tier is not because they are bad, but rather other specs having higher damage profiles or better "package".

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Marksmanship Hunter received a new tier set leading into Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. The Marksmanship Hunter 2pc bonus will cause Arcane Shot (or Chimaera Shot if talented) and Multi-Shot critical hits to make your next Aimed Shot to bleed the target for 40% of its damage dealt over 6 sec, followed by the Marksmanship Hunter 4pc bonus causing your ranged auto-attacks to have a 15% chance to increase the Critical Strike chance of their next Arcane Shot, Chimaera Shot if talented, or Multi-Shot by 100%. Unfortunately, Marksmanship Hunter is currently placed as the lowest performing DPS specialization in the game. Marksmanship Hunter excel amazing between low to mid keys, because of its incredibly burst damage. Your sustained damage is not the greatest, a massive factor for that is your AoE is partly capped due to Trick Shots ( Explosive Shot, Volley and Wailing Arrow are uncapped!). The only way for Marksmanship Hunter to climb higher is raw damage buffs, only then they will move away from their current placement.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Marksmanship Hunter has a great AoE damage profile, coming from Trick Shots paired with Rapid Fire and Aimed Shot. Their single-target, however, is not the brightest, reducing their overall value as a specialization. They have 1 major cooldown — Trueshot — followed by a minor cooldown with Double Tap. They have several builds they can go to Mythic+, all of them being great in AoE, which is their signature detail. I believe this specialization is better on the lower end of keys compared to high-end keys, where single-target is a valuable asset.

Utility: Hunter brings immense value to any party choosing to have one, beginning with how all hunter specs can tame a pet that brings different utility based on the "breed" of the pet. Ferocity provides Predator's Thirst and Primal Rage, Tenacity gives access to Endurance Training and Fortitude of the Bear, and Cunning allows for Pathfinding and Master's Call. They can also transfer their outgoing threat to any target of their choice with Misdirection, making the tank's threat-generation much less of a problem. They also have a Tranquilizing Shot, which removes 1 Enrage and 1 Magic effect from the target simultaneously, and Intimidation as a powerful single-target stun for 5 seconds. They also have an option to decide between Scatter Shot (more mob-control if you lack such in your party) or Binding Shot (an AoE stun for 3 seconds). They can add Scare Beast into the mix too if there is any Beast that needs to be urgently crowd-controlled, or Freezing Trap to crowd-control any mob of their choice (disregarding if they are Humanoid, Elemental, Beast, etc.). They also have the ability to stealth through mobs with Camouflage, making it incredibly useful if you are ever going to skip mobs in Mythic+. To add to their already strong arsenal of utility, Hunters are one of few classes that can reveal stealthed enemies with Flare. Hold on, we are not done yet! In Dragonflight, they also gained access to 2 brand new utility spells with the Entrapment talent enhancing Tar Trap to provide a mass-root ability and Sentinel Owl (which can be further enhanced by Sentinel's Protection). Finally, Beast Mastery Hunter gains access to the Wailing Arrow talent choice, a powerful mass-silence effect, and Bursting Shot as a powerful knockback that can be used as a disruption ability.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Hunters have access to Exhilaration, which works similar to a Healthstone's healing and can be further enhanced by Rejuvenating Wind (if talented), improving their survivability. One of their fundamental weaknesses has been a strong defensive-cooldown, which has been improved going into Dragonflight; now their original Survival of the Fittest defensive cooldown can get enhanced by either choosing Lone Survivor or Nature's Endurance depending on the chosen dungeon. They also have an immunity with Aspect of the Turtle, which is great against any lethal damage. Finally, it is important to note that they can drop combat with Feign Death, which can be useful if you are in trouble or you are skipping a pack of mobs.

Mobility: Marksmanship Hunter has great mobility, as the majority of their spells are instant cast, except for Aimed Shot and Wailing Arrow (if talented). The mobile playstyle is further supported by Disengage (paired with Posthaste) and Aspect of the Cheetah.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Elemental Shaman received a brand new tier set for Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. Their Elemental Shaman 2pc bonus will make Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, and Lava Burst increase the damage of their next Earth Shock, Elemental Blast if talented, or Earthquake by 5%, stacking up 5 times. Their Elemental Shaman 4pc will make their Earth Shock, Elemental Blast if talented, or Earthquake increase their Mastery by 8% for 5 seconds. Elemental Shaman's AoE damage is their biggest asset, not only during their burst, but also the consistency of it. The spec will benefit from its improved mobility and utility. However, a major issue is their single-target, an area that they have historically struggled to compete with. Classes placed above them simply outshine them in that area, and I believe with slight numbers adjustments, this spec can go as one of the top contenders for a Ranged DPS spot, but for now, it will be placed in the B-tier rankings.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Elemental Shaman's biggest strength comes from the spiky AoE burst made possible by the soft-capped (20 target) main damaging abilities of Earthquake, Chain Lightning, and its overloads from Mastery: Elemental Overload. With the newly introduced talents, they will have a much better 2-4 target damage-profile, an area where they previously struggled the most. Single-target is an area that can benefit greatly in case of changes, getting them in a much better spot. Having access to a wide variety of builds will completely change their rotation based on the talents they have chosen, hence why I recommend checking our guide on Icy Veins for more details. Elemental Shaman gameplay feels great and with some slight numbers tuning this spec has the potential to climb the rankings.

Utility: Elemental Shamans have great utility. They will have access to an AoE stun with Capacitor Totem, which can be further enhanced via the Static Charge or Guardian's Cudgel talents, followed by a Curse dispel with Cleanse Spirit, a single-target crowd-control effect with Hex, and a Purge (or a Greater Purge if needed). Of course, one of their oldest abilities is Tremor Totem (which also works on Charm effects), along with the options to choose between Earthgrab Totem and Wind Rush Totem alongside the usual Thunderstorm ability. Ancestral Guidance can help the group with off-heals if there is a high danger situation. They have access to Bloodlust, an AoE slow with Earthbind Totem, and Earth Elemental (which also serves as an extra defensive since it gives an extra 15% health). They will have the option to restore extra Mana to your party-members if needed with Mana Spring Totem, a small auto-heal effect with Nature's Guardian, and the ability to self-resurrect with Reincarnation. If that was not enough, they will gain access to even more utility in Dragonflight through Poison Cleansing Totem and Stoneskin Totem, a Poison cleanse and 10% party-wide Physical damage reduction. To top things off, they have the shortest cooldown interrupt in the game with Wind Shear.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: We cannot go by without mentioning the defensive part of the spec; outside of their usual Astral Shift, they will be able to bolster it, depending on talent choice, with Planes Traveler or Astral Bulwark. They can opt to talent Earth Elemental, which also will increase their health by 15% and reinforce their party in case of danger. In addition, they can have the Spirit Wolf aura if they use the talent; just remember that it results in gaining 1 stack each second.

Mobility: Elemental Shaman's mobility has also improved, with the newly-returned talent of Gust of Wind. They can also use their Ghost Wolf if mounts are not allowed in the dungeon to move from point A to point B much faster. Outside of Spiritwalker's Grace (which allows them to cast while moving), a healthy portion of their rotation will consist of instant-cast spells, hence why they will be quite mobile.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Assassination Rogue received a new tier set leading into Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. The Assassination Rogue 2pc bonus will make their Envenom also increase the damage of their weapon poisons by 20%, followed by Assassination Rogue 4pc granting a 50% chance to gain Septic Wounds when weapon poisons deal direct damage, increasing all Bleed damage done by 4% for 8 sec and stacking up to 5 times. Assassination Rogue has it all, from amazing survivability options, to even better mob-control and defensives, if only their damage was slightly more competitive there will be nothing to stop this spec to be one of the best DPS choices in Mythic+. That is why I am a firm believer that given the right numbers tuning, Assassination Rogue has the potential to climb a lot higher than its current placement. With targeted adjustments to their AoE, increasing their single-target damage even more, or focusing on buffing their bleed effects, we will see Assassination rise above, but for now you will remain as one of the best choices for B-tier.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Assassination Rogue is one of the few melee specializations that bases the majority of its damage from bleed effects. Some of their signature abilities consist of Garrote, Rupture, Mutilate, Envenom, Fan of Knives, and many more. Their major cooldown is Deathmark with an option to have few minor cooldowns like Exsanguinate, Indiscriminate Carnage, and Kingsbane, depending on talent choices. Outside of spreading and maintaining bleed effects, they build Combo Points based on the abilities used, which then can be spent casting more powerful spells like Envenom (mostly used for single-target) and Crimson Tempest (mostly used for multi-target situations).

Utility: Assassination Rogue has the unique ability to silence their enemies for 6 sec with Garrote and let them deal 15% reduced damage for 8 sec duration, if they talent Iron Wire. This is one of the strongest forms of mob control you are ever going to get as a DPS player. Speaking about their mob-control feature, we cannot go by without mentioning their wide-arsenal of spells that can prevent the enemy from casting, including Blind, Cheap Shot, Kidney Shot, and Gouge (if talented). They are among one of the two classes that have a non-combat crowd-control effect with Sap (Demon Hunter and its Imprison being the second), which will help you skip mobs that otherwise require you to use an Invisibility Potion, and if there are multiple mobs to skip you can always use Shroud of Concealment. They can also Enrage Dispel with Shiv,] which is quite rare as limited classes hold such powers. There is also the ability to transfer incoming threat to a chosen party-member with Tricks of the Trade (Similar to a Hunter's Misdirection), which solves a lot of threat issues. To add to their already strong utility is the option to have different poisons imbued on their weapons, such as Crippling Poison (an AoE slow of 50%), Instant Poison (raw DPS), Wound Poison (reducing healing done, which is mostly irrelevant in dungeons), Numbing Poison (reducing enemy attack and casting speed by 15% and incredibly strong in Mythic+), and Atrophic Poison. Rogue is also one of the few melee classes that can have the ability to increase the range of their melee attacks by 3 yards, thanks to the Acrobatic Strikes talent.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Rogue has an amazing defensive toolkit, which is arguably the best in Mythic+, with Feint (works only against area-of-effect damage abilities), Evasion (dodges all Physical damage), Cloak of Shadows (mitigates all magical damage) and if all of those fail, they have Cheat Death. And remember, if they are in danger and every other defensive is on cooldown, they can always use Vanish and escape danger (it is also useful against any targeted-spells coming their way, as the enemy will just cancel the cast and recast the ability on someone else). Finally, Rogues have some self-sustain coming from Crimson Vial which can help them in a critical situation and if they decide to talent Leeching Poison they will gain 10% Leech (which helps them heal based on damage done)!

Mobility: Assassination Rogue's mobility is amazing, not just from the baseline Sprint ability, but also the option to have Shadowstep, a talent available to any Rogue specializations.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Fire Mage received a new tier set leading into Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. The Fire Mage 2pc bonus will grant them 10% bonus damage to Flamestrikes and Pyroblasts cast with Hot Streak, while the Fire Mage 4pc will increase the Critical Strike chance and damage of Fire Blast, Phoenix Flames, and Fireball by 10%. Fire Mage's core strength will continue to be high single-target (just like it was in Shadowlands), especially if they are focusing on playing the Mastery: Ignite build, providing high priority-target damage and doing max AoE simultaneously. The whole package of the spec is there, just not the right damage numbers, the right amount of buffs can make this spec one of the best, but for now they will remain on the B-tier rankings.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Fire Mage has multiple builds available to them, the Mastery: Ignite and the Flamestrike build. Upon choosing either their rotation will completely change. Regardless of what they choose, some of their core spells will consist of Fire Blast, Pyroblast, Fireball, Scorch, and Phoenix Flames. Because their whole rotation will be surrounded by consuming their Hot Streak procs and casting the appropriate spell based on the build and the amount of mobs there are, it is best to check our Fire Mage guide for more in-depth information in regards to the rotation. Finally, their major cooldown is Combustion.

Utility: Mage's party-wide utility is among the best in Mythic+: First, they are one of the few classes that have a " Bloodlust buff" with Time Warp. They also provide group-wide Intellect with Arcane Intellect, making it incredibly valuable if your group runs multiple casters. They have access to a root effect with Frost Nova — yes, it breaks if you deal damage but at least for a second they can give breathing room — which can help your tank to "kite" away mobs if needed, or to further help tank they can also offer Cone of Cold, one of the highest slows in the game (80%). The Mage specs also have the option to have Ring of Frost (great AoE CC). They further have access to Dragon's Breath, previously only available to Fire Mages and now a talent option for all Mage specializations, which improves the mob-control in their group. In the general tree, they can also find Blast Wave, which can be used not only to slow the enemies but also but to also add a minor knockback effect that will stop their ongoing casts. Their on-demand crowd-control, Polymorph, has no cooldown, essentially allowing them to "spam-CC" if needed (although only one enemy can be CC'd at a time unless they run the Mass Polymorph talent). There is also access to Invisibility (or Greater Invisibility if talented), allowing them to never worry if their Invisibility Potion is on cooldown for any unplanned skip in Mythic+. They are one of the few DPS classes that have access to a Curse dispel with Remove Curse. To top off their utility, they are the only class that can "dispel" an enemy beneficial effect by stealing it for themselves through Spellsteal, and also access to Slow Fall (which can be used for some Mythic+ skips).

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Fire Mage is quite a durable spec, with several options to mitigate incoming damage. First, they have Mirror Image, which not only gives them a 20% damage reduction, but also prevents them from dying if they end up beating their tank's threat. Second, they have access to Blazing Barrier and also the unique ability of Alter Time, which can be used offensively to change positions or defensively after any unavoidable critical damage. Finally, they have an immunity with Ice Block, which is a valuable asset in any dungeon, and an optional "cheat-death" of Cauterize, if talented.

Mobility: Fire Mage has some of the best mobility for a Ranged class due to Blink (or Shimmer), which is off the Global Cooldown and can be cast during any other spell. Not only that, but a major part of their gameplay consists of instant-cast spells such as Phoenix Flames, Fire Blast, and Scorch, plus once they have Hot Streak they can cast either Pyroblast or Flamestrike instantly; all of this means they can reposition at any time without sacrificing valuable DPS.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Shadow Priest received a brand new tier set for Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. Their Shadow Priest 2pc bonus will make their Mind Blast increase the damage of their next Devouring Plague or Mind Sear damage by 12%, stacking up 3 times. In addition, the Shadow Priest 4pc causes Devouring Plague and Mind Sear to increase their Haste by 4% for 8 seconds. Shadow Priest is a well-rounded DPS specialization that has immense value the higher the key goes, because of their consistent damage-profile. Their single-target is great, with an improved utility — yes, Power Infusion and Twins of the Sun Priestess is the best Shadow utility they can offer — and defensive options, this spec is a step away from getting up the rankings if there are positive changes going their way. But let us not forget that Shadow Priest has one of the longest interrupt cooldowns in the game, which can punish their team's mob-control. In addition, their limited mobility can punish them in dangerous situations, where quick actions are required. Finally, they are often overshadowed by the raw damage the specs placed above them have, which is the only way for them to place higher themselves (further raw damage buffs or uncapping Mind Sear.) Still, it is a solid choice placed on the upper bracket of B-tier, depending on the key level.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Shadow Priest has undergone several design changes leading to the new expansion, with a different way to apply their mandatory Shadow Word: Pain and Vampiric Touch DoTs to multiple targets through Misery combined with Shadow Crash. Speaking about changes, we cannot continue without mentioning that Mind Sear, their AoE insanity spender, became the primary focus at 3 targets (whereas previously it was free to be used and was an Insanity generator). Shadow Priests have always had great single-target burst damage thanks to Void Eruption, combined with direct damage spells like Mind Blast and damage-over-time effects like Shadow Word: Pain, Mind Flay, and Devouring Plague. They also have good spread damage and quite the niche utility of off-healing while doing damage with Vampiric Embrace.

Utility: Shadow Priest is the only DPS specialization with 3 forms of dispel: Dispel Magic, Purify Disease, and Mass Dispel. Priest is the only class in the game that can provide a party-wide 5% Stamina buff with Power Word: Fortitude, which makes them unique. All the Priest specializations have access to an incredibly strong external cooldown with Power Infusion, which can be used offensively or defensively, depending on the situation. Since the introduction of the new talents in Dragonflight, Priests also have access to the Twins of the Sun Priestess talent (previously a Shadowlands legendary effect), which increases the overall damage of the party. Speaking about introducing new spells, they have gained access to the Void Shift talent, which can prevent any of their team members from dying. To add to Priest's utility, let us not forget their iconic Leap of Faith spell, helping their teammates escape dangerous situations or reposition without losing valuable uptime, and Shackle Undead, which has limited use depending on the mob type. Having Mind Soothe can help their team save an Invisibility Potion, if they are planning to skip a pack. Mind Control / Dominate Mind are spells that can be useful in Dragonflight dungeons; as we have previously seen, there is always something you can "cheese" with those abilities. We cannot conclude the overall utility of Priest without mentioning Psychic Scream and Psychic Horror (if talented), which will improve their mob-control, and the ability to offer off-heals while doing damage with Vampiric Embrace.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Shadow Priest's defensive toolkit will improve going forward to Dragonflight. Outside of their iconic-defensive of Dispersion, the spec will have the option to talent choices like Protective Light and Angelic Bulwark. To add on top of this, do not forget Desperate Prayer (which they can further enhance with Light's Inspiration) and Translucent Image having 10% damage-reduction every 20 seconds (if talented into Improved Fade). Not to mention that it can also remove all snare effects on yourself if you talent Phantasm, which makes Fade a strong, short defensive cooldown. They have some of the best self-sustain/off-healing in Mythic+, both passively from Vampiric Touch and Devouring Plague, and also through talents like Halo, Vampiric Embrace, and Mental Fortitude.

Mobility: Shadow Priest's mobility is not the greatest, but having plenty of their spells as an instant cast allows them to reposition without sacrificing much of their damage. Talenting Body and Soul (general tree) can also help them get on-demand movement-speed for critical situations. Having the Angelic Feather general talent can also help not only yourself, but your team as well, if you need to travel from point A to point B and mounts are not allowed.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Beast Mastery Hunter received a new tier set leading into Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. The Beast Mastery Hunter 2pc bonus will increase the damage of Kill Command by 10% and it will have a 10% chance to reset the cooldown of Barbed Shot. Meanwhile, the Beast Mastery Hunter 4pc bonus will increase their Barbed Shot damage by 5% and make their Barbed Shot increase the damage of their next Kill Command by 20%. Beast Mastery Hunter has amazing consistent damage, paired with unlimited mobility, better defensives and fantastic utility. They have great AoE, good single-target, and also the option to focus on priority-target damage while doing AoE. However, the spec received 3 consecutive nerfs during the last few Dragonflight builds, which will reflect on its current placing. There are not any drawbacks to BM, except that they do not really have any burst damage. It is simply one of the best beginner classes and with the right number adjustments, Beast Mastery Hunter will fly, but for now is getting a well-deserved B-tier placement.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Beast Mastery Hunter is overall looking amazing going forward to the first season of Dragonflight. Their overall damage consists of maintaining Beast Cleave (which was changed and now is going to last 6 seconds), spending their Barbed Shot charges and weaving in Kill Command (yes, because they now have a talent option with Kill Cleave.) For single-target, They omit casting Multi-Shot (because that is what makes them get the Beast Cleave buff) and instead they will spend their Focus on Cobra Shot. Beast Mastery is known to have great consistent damage, which does not rely on cooldowns and will also be the case in Dragonflight. Bestial Wrath, although a 1.5-min cooldown, will be significantly reduced due to Barbed Wrath, which is considered their major cooldown.

Utility: Hunter brings immense value to any party choosing to have one, beginning with how all hunter specs can tame a pet that brings different utility based on the "breed" of the pet. Ferocity provides Predator's Thirst and Primal Rage, Tenacity gives access to Endurance Training and Fortitude of the Bear, and Cunning allows for Pathfinding and Master's Call. They can also transfer their outgoing threat to any target of their choice with Misdirection, making the tank's threat-generation much less of a problem. They also have a Tranquilizing Shot, which removes 1 Enrage and 1 Magic effect from the target simultaneously, and Intimidation as a powerful single-target stun for 5 seconds. They also have an option to decide between Scatter Shot (more mob-control if you lack such in your party) or Binding Shot (an AoE stun for 3 seconds). They can add Scare Beast into the mix too if there is any Beast that needs to be urgently crowd-controlled, or Freezing Trap to crowd-control any mob of their choice (disregarding if they are Humanoid, Elemental, Beast, etc.) They also have the ability to stealth through mobs with Camouflage, making it incredibly useful if you are ever going to skip mobs in Mythic+. To add to their already strong arsenal of utility, Hunters are one of few classes that can reveal stealthed enemies with Flare. Hold on, we are not done yet! In Dragonflight, they also gained access to 2 brand new utility spells with the Entrapment talent enhancing Tar Trap to provide a mass-root ability and Sentinel Owl (which can be further enhanced by Sentinel's Protection). Finally, Beast Mastery Hunter gains access to the Wailing Arrow talent choice, a powerful mass-silence effect.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Hunters have access to Exhilaration, which works similar to a Healthstone's healing and can be further enhanced by Rejuvenating Wind (if talented), improving their survivability. One of their fundamental weaknesses has been a strong defensive-cooldown, which has been improved going into Dragonflight; now their original Survival of the Fittest defensive cooldown can get enhanced by either choosing Lone Survivor or Nature's Endurance depending on the chosen dungeon. They also have an immunity with Aspect of the Turtle, which is great against any lethal damage. Finally, it is important to note that they can drop combat with Feign Death, which can be useful if you are in trouble or you are skipping a pack of mobs.

Mobility: Beast Mastery Hunter has the best mobility in the game among all ranged specializations, allowing them to maintain their rotation while moving without losing a single point of DPS. They do not have any offensive ability that has a cast time (unless they talent into Wailing Arrow), hence why they do not mind any ground animations that require dodging. In addition, they have several spells that support their mobility, such as Disengage (paired with Posthaste) and Aspect of the Cheetah.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Frost Mage received a new tier set leading into Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. The Frost Mage 2pc bonus will increase the damage of Ice Lance and Frozen Orb by 10%, while the 4-piece will grant them 8% spell power, for 6s when they consume Fingers of Frost. Frost is in a prominent position to be a great Ranged DPS choice this season, with competitive single-target, decent mass AoE, and good priority-target damage; the spec has all the tools to be on the top. They have good sustained AoE damage, paired with an incredible tank "peel" allowing them to freely kite the slowed mobs. To add to that, they have an incredibly mobile playstyle, as the majority of their abilities are instant-cast, have double-immunity and funnel-damage. Although you have all the tools necessary to be one of the best DPS choices, the only thing stopping you from doing so is your overall damage, if numbers get right for you, there is a high chance of you breaking the top of the A-tier, but for now, after several rounds of nerfs, you will be placed on B-tier.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Frost Mage has every tool in the game to be considered a top contender among all DPS specializations. They have a unique playstyle allowing them to do AoE damage while focusing a prioritized mob (or boss), essentially using their Ice Lance to "funnel" damage. That, combined with the vicious combination of Frozen Orb and Blizzard makes their rotation quite simplistic yet hard to min-max. The good part is they are great in any mob count, with good consistent damage.

Utility: Mage's party-wide utility is among the best in Mythic+: First, they are one of the few classes that have a " Bloodlust buff" with Time Warp. They also provide group-wide Intellect with Arcane Intellect, making it incredibly valuable if your group runs multiple casters. They have access to a root effect with Frost Nova — yes, it breaks if you deal damage but at least for a second they can give breathing room — which can help your tank to "kite" away mobs if needed, or to further help tank they can also offer Cone of Cold, one of the highest slows in the game (80%). The Mage specs also have the option to have Ring of Frost (great AoE CC). They further have access to Dragon's Breath, previously only available to Fire Mages and now a talent option for all Mage specializations, which improves the mob-control in their group. In the general tree, they can also find Blast Wave, which can be used not only to slow the enemies but also but to also add a minor knockback effect that will stop their ongoing casts. Their on-demand crowd-control, Polymorph, has no cooldown, essentially allowing them to "spam-CC" if needed (although only one enemy can be CC'd at a time unless they run the Mass Polymorph talent). There is also access to Invisibility (or Greater Invisibility if talented), allowing them to never worry if their Invisibility Potion is on cooldown for any unplanned skip in Mythic+. They are one of the few DPS classes that have access to a Curse dispel with Remove Curse. To top off their utility, they are the only class that can "dispel" an enemy beneficial effect by stealing it for themselves through Spellsteal, and also access to Slow Fall (which can be used for some Mythic+ skips).

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Fire Mage is quite a durable spec, with several options to mitigate incoming damage. First, they have Mirror Image, which not only gives them a 20% damage reduction, but also prevents them from dying if they end up beating their tank's threat. Second, they have access to Blazing Barrier and also the unique ability of Alter Time, which can be used offensively to change positions or defensively after any unavoidable critical damage. Finally, they have an immunity with Ice Block that can be cast twice due to Cold Snap, making them one of few specs with 2 immunities!

Mobility: Frost Mage has some of the best mobility for a Ranged class due to Blink (or Shimmer), which is off the Global Cooldown and can be cast during any other spell. Not only that, but a major part of their gameplay consists of instant-cast spells (except for Frostbolt), regardless of the mob count, which is always a positive trait for any DPS spec.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Balance Druid received a brand new tier set for Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. Their Balance Druid 2pc bonus makes Starsurge and Starfall increase the damage of their next Wrath or Starfire by 20%, stacking up 3 times. In addition, their Balance Druid 4pc effect activates once they enter Eclipse, causing their next Starsurge or Starfall to cost no Astral Power and deal 35% increased damage. Balance Druids have received a lot of changes since day 1 of Beta Mythic+ testing, and the recent 4th consecutive nerfs brought them down to a below average performance. I believe they have the toolkit to excel to the top of the ladder, but as of now, a raw buff to their damage is the only way this spec can be placed further up the tier-list. Regardless of if they have great survivability, utility, or mobility, their damage is the only thing that holds them back.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Balance Druid, or more commonly known as a Moonkin (due to Moonkin Form), is a master of burst damage because of their major cooldown Celestial Alignment, which makes the damage meters explode both on single-target and AoE. Their improved way of doing AoE damage, coming from Starfall (which is stackable) and also DoT damage through Sunfire and Moonfire/ Starfire, makes them quite mobile and a lot less like a "turret" caster, unlike some specs. Nothing major has changed for their single-target: they still have to pay attention to their Eclipses, manage their Astral Power, keep their DoTs up and find an appropriate place to use their major Celestial Alignment and minor ( Wild Mushroom, Convoke the Spirits, Astral Communion, Fury of Elune, and Warrior of Elune) cooldowns.

Utility: Balance Druids are known to have one of the best utilities in Mythic+, with a signature utility spell being Force of Nature. They also have a raid-wide buff added in Dragonflight with Mark of the Wild (available to all Druid specs), which provides additional value to the already strong utility toolkit. Some of their utilities include Hibernate, Stampeding Roar, Remove Corruption, Soothe, Mass Entanglement or Ursol's Vortex (depending on the talent choice), Renewal, Cyclone, Mighty Bash or Incapacitating Roar (depending on talent choice), Typhoon, Innervate (which can be further enhanced by Nature's Vigil), and much more. Druids are also one of the few classes that have access to a stealth ability with Prowl, allowing them to do any skips without using an Invisibility Potion. Moreover, they have access to Rebirth, a battle-resurrection that is limited to only a few specializations in the game. Balance Druids are also known to have great on-demand off-healing, coming from the Heart of the Wild talent, in combination of their built-in healing spells Rejuvenation, Regrowth, and talent options such as Swiftmend (for brilliant spot heals) or Wild Growth (for great AoE heals). They can also provide off-healing while damaging if they decide to talent Nature's Vigil. Finally, do not forget that they are one of the specs with a mass-silence interrupt in Solar Beam, with the only disadvantage being a 60 sec cooldown (there is an option to make it shorter if you talent Light of the Sun). Keep in mind that for some builds, you can opt to NOT talent an interrupt for the price of extra damage.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Outside of their great utility, Balance Druid has quite strong defensives, with Barkskin being only a 1-minute cooldown, followed by great passive mitigation through 25% on-demand Stamina from Bear Form, 6% permanent damage-reduction from Thick Hide (if talented in the general-talent tree) and increased Armor from Moonkin Form (which makes your Physical-damage intake less).

Mobility: Balance Druid's overall playstyle is quite mobile, since they can freely move while doing AoE damage with Starfall, and even if they have to change positions, there are tons of instant-cast abilities like Moonfire, Sunfire, and Starsurge to never lose uptime. Druids of any spec also have a talent to increase their movement speed by 15% with Feline Swiftness. They also have an additional "disengage" ability (if talented) with Wild Charge in case they have to escape dangerous situations.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Destruction Warlock received a brand new tier set for Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. Their Destruction Warlock 2pc bonus provides a chance to grant them Chaos Maelstrom upon consuming a Soul Shard, increasing their Critical Strike chance by 10% for 10 sec.. In addition, the Destruction Warlock 4pc effect will make their critical strikes deal 208% damage instead of the usual 200%. Destruction Warlock has great single-target damage as well as priority-target damage, which is their strongest asset in Mythic+. Sadly, their AoE damage profile is not up to par with the majority of the classes placed above them. Yes, while they have their major cooldown, Summon Infernal, they do great, but without it they fall behind. Further buffs are the only thing that can let this class climb further on the rankings, but for now it will stay in the C-tier.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Destruction Warlock's playstyle endured a slight shift from the last season of Shadowlands. They no longer heavily rely on Rain of Fire and Summon Infernal combined with Rain of Chaos and Blasphemies from the previous tier set to deal AoE damage. Instead they will be casting Immolate and Chaos Bolt a lot more often, which is especially strong if paired with Havoc in AoE. Speaking about damage, we cannot forget about how improved their single-target feels in Dragonflight; this is their core strength now! Their major cooldown is Summon Infernal (if talented), followed by several minor ones depending on talent choice such as Havoc, Cataclysm, Channel Demonfire, and Shadowburn.

Utility: Warlock is the only class in the game that has access to Curse effects which are great utility for any Mythic+ party. They have Curse of Weakness and, if they chose to talent Curses of Enfeeblement (which they do at all cost), they will have access to Curse of Tongues and Curse of Exhaustion, which can be further bolstered by the Amplify Curse talent. Apart from this, Warlock has access to a single-target crowd-control, Fear, the option to choose between a single-target disruption effect or mass Fear with Mortal Coil/ Howl of Terror, a Banish effect, and an AoE stun with Shadowfury. One of the reasons why they might be the party-favorite is because they can provide an unlimited supply of Healthstone, a quite valuable healing tonic that does NOT share the cooldown of the regular Health Potion. Going forward to Dragonflight, they can gain access (if talented) to Shadowflame, a powerful AoE slow effect. If you think that is the end of their party-wide utility, hold on until you find out that they also have a Demonic Gateway which is incredibly useful in Mythic+, allowing you to create some truly unique skips. They are also one of the few specializations in the game that have a combat-resurrection to save an ally with Soulstone.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Warlock has historically been one of the most durable ranged classes with access to several abilities to reduce their damage taken (on demand) like Unending Resolve, which can be further improved by Strength of Will or Dark Accord if talented, and Dark Pact (if talented). There are also a few ways to passively mitigate damage such as with Soul Leech, which can be bolstered by the Fel Armor, Fel Synergy, and Demon Skin talents, Soul Link, which you can enhance with the Profane Bargain talent, and the Abyss Walker talent choice. Their baseline health can also be increased if they decide to talent Demonic Fortitude, making them a real raid boss in dungeons. In other words, they will not have any issues surviving even the hardest encounters presented to them.

Mobility: Destruction Warlock's mobility has improved in Dragonflight. Outside of Burning Rush and Demonic Circle they also have the talent option of Soulburn which gives them access to a lot more utility including an extra 50% movement speed once they cast Demonic Circle: Teleport.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Affliction Warlocks received a brand new tier set going into the first season of Dragonflight Mythic+. Their Affliction Warlock 2pc bonus grants them a chance to gain Cruel Inspiration, causing their Haste to be increased by 12% for 6s when Agony grants them a Soul Shard. Cruel Inspiration also grants 2 charges of Cruel Epiphany, up to 5 charges. Each charge of Cruel Epiphany increases the damage of their next Malefic Rapture or Seed of Corruption by 40%. Their AoE profile is good, especially if they choose the "Seed" build for Mythic+, with a great overall utility, extremely high survivability, improved defenses, and self-sustainability. Sadly, they cannot have high single-target and high AoE damage simultaneously; they must choose one route or the other of talents, which hurts the spec significantly. In addition, their damage outside of cooldowns, in all fight situations, is rather mediocre, which is an additional con of the spec. Until those negatives are fixed, the spec will remain in its current position on the tier-list.

Playstyle and Cooldowns:Affliction Warlock's playstyle drastically changed going forward into Dragonflight. They will have a much easier time spreading Agony by talenting into Vile Taint and passively adding Curse of Exhaustion all together with Agony up to 8 enemies. As always, they will be focused on DoT damage, generating Soul Shards and spending them on either Seed of Corruption or Malefic Rapture, depending on the build. They have one major cooldown, Summon Darkglare (if talented), and a minor cooldown, Soul Rot (if talented). Both of those can be further enhanced by additional talents.

Utility: Warlock is the only class in the game that has access to Curse effects which are great utility for any Mythic+ party. They have Curse of Weakness and, if they chose to talent Curses of Enfeeblement (which they do at all cost), they will have access to Curse of Tongues and Curse of Exhaustion, which can be further bolstered by the Amplify Curse talent. Apart from this, Warlock has access to a single-target crowd-control, Fear, the option to choose between a single-target disruption effect or mass Fear with Mortal Coil/ Howl of Terror, a Banish effect, and an AoE stun with Shadowfury. One of the reasons why they might be the party-favorite is because they can provide an unlimited supply of Healthstone, a quite valuable healing tonic that does NOT share the cooldown of the regular Health Potion. Going forward to Dragonflight, they can gain access (if talented) to Shadowflame, a powerful AoE slow effect. If you think that is the end of their party-wide utility, hold on until you find out that they also have a Demonic Gateway which is incredibly useful in Mythic+, allowing you to create some truly unique skips. They are also one of the few specializations in the game that have a combat-resurrection to save an ally with Soulstone.

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Warlock has historically been one of the most durable ranged classes with access to several abilities to reduce their damage taken (on demand) like Unending Resolve, which can be further improved by Strength of Will or Dark Accord if talented, and Dark Pact (if talented). There are also a few ways to passively mitigate damage such as with Soul Leech, which can be bolstered by the Fel Armor, Fel Synergy, and Demon Skin talents, Soul Link, which you can enhance with the Profane Bargain talent, and the Abyss Walker talent choice. Their baseline health can also be increased if they decide to talent Demonic Fortitude, making them a real raid boss in dungeons. In other words, they will not have any issues surviving even the hardest encounters presented to them.

Mobility: Affliction Warlock's mobility has improved in Dragonflight. Outside of Burning Rush and Demonic Circle they also have the talent option of Soulburn which gives them access to a lot more utility including an extra 50% movement speed once they cast Demonic Circle: Teleport.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Arcane Mage received a new tier set leading into Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. The Arcane Mage 2pc bonus will grant them 5% increased Critical Strike chance to Arcane Blast and 3% increased Critical Strike to Arcane Explosion for each Arcane Charge. In addition, the Arcane Mage 4pc bonus will increase the Critical Strike chance of your next Arcane Barrage by 10% whenever their Arcane Blast or Arcane Explosion critically strikes at least one target, stacking up to four times. Arcane Mage has amazing front-loaded burst damage, both on single-target and in low target counts (4-6), but sadly their sustained damage is one of the lowest compared to the rest of the DPS specializations. Their damage with cooldowns is amazing, if they can cast their full burst before the mobs are wiped out, but sadly the consistent damage is not there. In addition, their whole playstyle is a lot more "grounded" as it requires them to actively stay in one place while doing their rotation (for most of the time), which can be quite punishing if it requires them to move. We are putting this spec in the lower end of B-tier for now, but we will closely monitor it in case things shift.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: The Arcane Mage rotation known for its "burst" and "conserve" phases. In the burst phase, they use Arcane Surge (their major cooldown) to do a large amount of damage to a group of enemies, while buffing their consequent damage for a period of time, allowing them to do significant damage while burning through all their Mana. When out of Mana, they will use Evocation to regenerate back to full Mana, after which they will conserve their Mana until Arcane Surge is back up. Their primary rotation will involve using Arcane Explosion on groups of enemies (AoE), alongside other various tools like Arcane Orb to generate Arcane Charges, and then spending those charges on Arcane Barrage to do significant damage to both their primary target and nearby targets.

Utility: Mage's party-wide utility is among the best in Mythic+: First, they are one of the few classes that have a " Bloodlust buff" with Time Warp. They also provide group-wide Intellect with Arcane Intellect, making it incredibly valuable if your group runs multiple casters. They have access to a root effect with Frost Nova — yes, it breaks if you deal damage but at least for a second they can give breathing room — which can help your tank to "kite" away mobs if needed, or to further help tank they can also offer Cone of Cold, one of the highest slows in the game (80%). The Mage specs also have the option to have Ring of Frost (great AoE CC). They further have access to Dragon's Breath, previously only available to Fire Mages and now a talent option for all Mage specializations, which improves the mob-control in their group. In the general tree, they can also find Blast Wave, which can be used not only to slow the enemies but also but to also add a minor knockback effect that will stop their ongoing casts. Their on-demand crowd-control, Polymorph, has no cooldown, essentially allowing them to "spam-CC" if needed (although only one enemy can be CC'd at a time unless they run the Mass Polymorph talent). There is also access to Invisibility (or Greater Invisibility if talented), allowing them to never worry if their Invisibility Potion is on cooldown for any unplanned skip in Mythic+. They are one of the few DPS classes that have access to a Curse dispel with Remove Curse. To top off their utility, they are the only class that can "dispel" an enemy beneficial effect by stealing it for themselves through Spellsteal, and also access to Slow Fall (which can be used for some Mythic+ skips).

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Arcane Mage is quite a durable spec, with several options to mitigate incoming damage. First, they have Mirror Image, which not only gives them a 20% damage reduction, but also prevents them from dying if they end up beating their tank's threat, followed by a 60% damage reduction for 3 sec if they choose to spec Greater Invisibility. Second, they have access to Prismatic Barrier and also the unique ability of Alter Time, which can be used offensively to change positions or defensively after any unavoidable critical damage. Finally, they have an immunity with Ice Block, which is a valuable asset in any dungeon.

Mobility: Although Arcane Mage can quickly swap positions because of Blink (or Shimmer), which is off the Global Cooldown and can be cast during any other spell, their rotation will not allow them to freely move; therefore the playstyle will feel more "grounded".

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Survival Hunter received a new tier set leading into Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. The Survival Hunter 2pc bonus will increase the damage of Raptor Strike, Carve and Butchery by 15%, followed by the Survival Hunter 4pc bonus giving Raptor Strike, Carve, or Butchery a 20% chance to make their next Raptor Strike, Carve, or Butchery cost no Focus and deal 50% increased damage. Survival hunter playstyle has changed dramatically, with the major strenght of the spec being smaller pull counts (4-7 targets). Single-target is an area that needs further adjustments in order to be competitive. The only way for Survival to get out of the B-tier rankings is just raw buffs or completely revamp on the tier-set.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Survival Hunter's AoE is going to be decent in Dragonflight with the majority of their damage coming from Butchery or Carve, Wildfire Bomb, Explosive Shot, and Serpent Sting; talenting Hydra's Bite will also help you spread DoTs faster. The cooldown-reduction coming from Butchery / Carve, to Wildfire Bomb, will help you maintain high damage. Single-target, on the other hand, is not their strongest asset. although competitive, they are not known to be amazing there. Their major cooldown is Coordinated Assault, which, combined with Coordinated Kill and Birds of Prey can make their Kill Shot damage fantastic. They also have several options for a minor cooldown, such as Fury of the Eagle (more AoE) or Spearhead (more single-target).

Utility: Hunter brings immense value to any party choosing to have one, beginning with how all hunter specs can tame a pet that brings different utility based on the "breed" of the pet. Ferocity provides Predator's Thirst and Primal Rage, Tenacity gives access to Endurance Training and Fortitude of the Bear, and Cunning allows for Pathfinding and Master's Call. They can also transfer their outgoing threat to any target of their choice with Misdirection, making the tank's threat-generation much less of a problem. They also have a Tranquilizing Shot, which removes 1 Enrage and 1 Magic effect from the target simultaneously, and Intimidation as a powerful single-target stun for 5 seconds. They also have an option to decide between Scatter Shot (more mob-control if you lack such in your party) or Binding Shot (an AoE stun for 3 seconds). They can add Scare Beast into the mix too if there is any Beast that needs to be urgently crowd-controlled, or Freezing Trap to crowd-control any mob of their choice (disregarding if they are Humanoid, Elemental, Beast, etc.). They also have the ability to stealth through mobs with Camouflage, making it incredibly useful if you are ever going to skip mobs in Mythic+. To add to their already strong arsenal of utility, Hunters are one of few classes that can reveal stealthed enemies with Flare. Hold on, we are not done yet! In Dragonflight, they also gained access to 2 brand new utility spells with the Entrapment talent enhancing Tar Trap to provide a mass-root ability and Sentinel Owl (which can be further enhanced by Sentinel's Protection).

Defensives and Self-Sustain: Hunters have access to Exhilaration, which works similar to a Healthstone's healing and can be further enhanced by Rejuvenating Wind (if talented), improving their survivability. One of their fundamental weaknesses has been a strong defensive-cooldown, which has been improved going into Dragonflight; now their original Survival of the Fittest defensive cooldown can get enhanced by either choosing Lone Survivor or Nature's Endurance depending on the chosen dungeon. They also have an immunity with Aspect of the Turtle, which is great against any lethal damage. Finally, it is important to note that they can drop combat with Feign Death, which can be useful if you are in trouble or you are skipping a pack of mobs.

Mobility: Survival Hunter has great mobility, not only playstyle-wise (as their rotation is a mix between ranged and melee spells), but also built-in with Disengage (paired with Posthaste), Aspect of the Cheetah, and the dash coming from Coordinated Assault (once you press the ability).

Specializations listed under this tier lack several things to be placed higher. Specs under this tier need either raw damage buffs or additional changes towards their tier-set.

November 18, Patch 10.0.2 update: Frost Death Knight received a brand new tier set for Dragonflight Mythic+ Season 1. Their Frost Death Knight 2pc bonus will increase the critical strike damage of Obliterate and Frostscythe by 15%, followed by the Frost Death Knight 4pc bonus granting Obliterate and Frostscythe a 15% chance to not consume Killing Machine. Frost Death Knights have great front-loaded burst damage, both in single-target and in AoE, which makes them great in lower keys where mobs die quickly. Let us not forget how strong they are on pure 2-target fights, although not many of those in particular are available in Mythic+. However, they have one of the lowest amounts of sustained damage in the game, both on single-target and in AoE, which is a major factor for their placement. They have improved in the mobility area, previously an issue, with the Death's Echo talent, great passive and active defensives, and party-wide utility. I believe slight number tunings will bring this spec further to the top, but for now, it will remain in the C-tier.

Playstyle and Cooldowns: Frost Death Knight has great AoE and single-target burst and are quite strong in smaller pull sizes. The icy harbinger of doom has several builds up its sleeve, like the traditional Breath of Sindragosa build versus the Obliteration build (and its Death and Decay interaction) combined with the Frostwyrm's Fury build. Some of their core spells consist of Obliterate, Frost Strike, and Remorseless Winter. Their major cooldowns can vary based on their talent choice, like Breath of Sindragosa or Frostwyrm's Fury, with a minor cooldown being Pillar of Frost. The dynamic playstyle is why many people enjoy playing it. If you love a playstyle of massive damage spikes, the opposite of slow-ramp up damage, then this spec is for you.

Utility: Frost Death Knight has great utility, with their signature spells being Death Grip and Anti-Magic Zone (great party-utility). Death Knights have amazing mob-control in Mythic+ due to the Blinding Sleet and Asphyxiate talents. They are one of the few melee classes that have access to a "ranged" interrupt with Mind Freeze being a 15-yard interrupt rather than regular melee range. Frost Death Knight can also talent Control Undead which will be useful in some of the dungeons to have a pet fighting alongside them since they do not rely on Raise Dead to do damage, unlike Unholy. They can further talent Sacrificial Pact to get that extra kick of defensiveness. Insidious Chill (located in the general talent tree) will also help their tank survive better on boss fights. In addition, having the ability to combat res an ally is quite valuable in any group composition with Raise Ally. Coming to Dragonflight, Death Knights will get additional offensive cooldowns as talent options like Empower Rune Weapon, Abomination Limb, and Soul Reaper.

Defensives: Frost Death Knight has strong defensive cooldowns in the form of Icebound Fortitude, Anti-Magic Shell, and Lichborne available to all of their specs, and can get an extra defensive if they chose the Death Pact talent. Their passive durability is also amazing; Veteran of the Third War, Will of the Necropolis (if talented), and Gloom Ward (if talented) are only part of what Death Knights have. In case they have none of the abilities above available, they can still choose to spam Death Strike and heal themselves!

Mobility: Frost Death Knight now has improved mobility. With Wraith Walk (but remember, they cannot cast any abilities during it) and Death's Advance (which can have 2 charges if they talent Death's Echo), they can escape dangerous situations that otherwise will kill. Do not forget to hold at least 1 of the Death's Advance charges for utility (immunity to knockback effects).