Mythic+ Tank Rankings: A Tier List for Shadowlands (Patch 9.2. / Season 3)
From the strongest to the weakest class and specialization, each provide unique character distinction and add value toward shaping the Season 3 "meta" of Mythic+. The Tank specialization rankings provided for Shadowlands's third and final Season of Mythic+ are based on pure tanking strength and group-added-value such as utility, survivability, mobility, and self-sustain.
This list will be updated as new tuning and class changes come out over the course of the season.
About the Tier List
This tier list is NOT FINAL; it will change and will be updated as often as necessary prior and during Season 3 (Patch 9.2.) of Mythic+ in Shadowlands. There are often moments of Covenant, class tuning, and secondary stat scaling that will impact the placing 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 rankings among the seasons on multiple classes. I have worked hard on preparing for Season 3 of Shadowlands, 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 Shadowlands 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.
To begin with, this Tier list will primarily focus on the third Season of Mythic+ in Shadowlands. At the beginning, there will be also 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 representative of the class in the community. Moreover, this Tier list will take into consideration every impactful class change and Covenant tuning.
This tier list is entirely based on several factors such as tank durability, group composition synergy, mobility, and both personal and external party-wide cooldowns.
A Final Warning
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 expansion. 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, as I have always been playing "off-meta" classes and happened to have really good results in an actual Mythic+ environment. The list will be updated as much as it requires and if something is under-performing now, it could become meta due to a hotfix as well as the opposite.
Important Note for Season 3/Patch 9.2
This tier-list is assuming you have two Legendaries equipped and both 2-piece and 4-piece tier set bonuses active. This means at the very beginning of the season we are likely to see similar classes or specs being popular from Season 2, but quickly after obtaining your second legendary, this is what the tier-list should look like. Finally, always check the tier list after every major update; there are always changes toward the tier-list, which I will account for as fast as possible.
Tanks Tier List for Shadowlands Season 3 of Mythic+
Below you can find the full rankings for Tank specializations in Shadowlands' Mythic+. We encourage you to further read and understand why some classes are placed lower or higher than expected, with several factors taken into consideration.
Work in progress Last update on Apr 12, 2022
- Protection Paladin (S-Tier)
- Blood Death Knight (S-Tier)
- Brewmaster Monk (A-Tier)
- Vengeance Demon Hunter (A-Tier)
- Guardian Druid (B-Tier)
- Protection Warrior (C-Tier)
I have also created a video to complement the rankings presented here, which you can watch below if you would rather not read instead.
DPS and Healer Class Rankings
If you are interested in our other rankings for Mythic+ in Shadowlands, please click the links below.
Full Tank Class Rankings
S-Tier
Protection Paladin
February 16, Patch 9.2 update:
Protection Paladin
received no further changes going into the next season. Their current
presence in the meta will further get bolstered by the amazing tier set they
are going to receive known as Glorious Purpose. The Protection Paladin 2-Piece
bonus of that set will make
Shield of the Righteous increase their Block
chance by 4% for 15 seconds, stacking up 3 times. The
Protection Paladin 4-Piece bonus, meanwhile, gives you a chance equal to your
Block chance to cast
Judgment at your attacker whenever you
take damage. This will make them both more "tanky" due to the 2-piece set and
also do more damage thanks to the 4-piece bonus, which will also help them with
aggro generation — though they did not need it anyway. I predict we will
continue see Protection Paladin as one of the best tanks, if not the best tank,
for the entirety of Season 3 unless it is nerfed, which only time can tell.
Protection Paladins also have an amazing defensive and offensive toolkit,
with tons of cooldowns to fill in the gaps. However, these cooldowns are also
Protection Paladin's main weakness, as their survivability can be at risk
if they have no active mitigation up. Maintaining Shield of the Righteous
will be the main focus if you want to stay alive, and if you have hard time
kiting, due to limited mobility from
Divine Steed. Moreover, Protection Paladin
has great interrupt power with
Avenger's Shield and
Rebuke, which
is especially useful if you are running a range-orientated comp since most of the
ranged specializations' kicks have longer cooldown compared to the melee kicks.
Protection Paladin is the only tank specialization that has an immunity with
Divine Shield, and passive party-wide damage-reduction from
Devotion Aura. Finally, your off-heals can save lives with
Word of Glory, something not to underestimate especially against
HPS-heavy encounters. Overall, Protection Paladin is a amazing tank option
with tons of unique Class interactions that can ultimately fit within any
group's composition.
The only disadvantage I will consider is having limited mobility, outside
Divine Steed; if that is ever addressed, I do not think we will see them
out of the meta anytime soon.
Blood Death Knight
April 12, Patch 9.2 update: Good
news for Blood Death Knights;
they are entering Season 3 much better than what they were during the past 2
seasons of Shadowlands in Mythic+. Their Blood DK 2-Piece bonus
causes
Heart Strike to extend the duration of
Dancing Rune Weapon
by 0.5 seconds while it is active and increases your Strength by 1%.
This bonus persists for 10 seconds after Dancing Rune Weapon ends. Their
Blood DK 4-Piece bonus (Endless Rune Waltz), meanwhile, gives you a chance
equal to your Parry chance to Heart Strike your attacker when you take damage,
and allows Dancing Rune Weapon to now summon 2 Rune Weapons.
Blood Death Knight are likely the "tankiest" tank option in the current Season,
with not only having great survivability, but their overall damage profile
has increased significantly compared to the last two previous season,
especially if they can get their hands on
Gavel of the First Arbiter
that drops from the last boss of in the Sepulcher of the First Ones –
The Jailer.
Blood Death Knight is the tank with the highest self-sustain in the game.
Their unique defensive toolkit makes them very useful against Magical damage
and slightly more vulnerable against Physical. In addition, the spec provides
Anti-Magic Zone to the whole party, as well as a combat resurrection in
the form of
Raise Ally. Moreover, the spec is known for its ability to
"Mass-grip" an uncapped amount of mobs with
Gorefiend's Grasp; it also
has a single-target grip with
Death Grip which can make certain pulls
easier to form into a cluster.
Blood Death Knight's biggest disadvantage is being less mobile compared to the rest of the tank specializations and being very "spiky" when it comes down to healing. That, however, has been compensated by the crazy-good survivability of the spec, combined with amazing damage output.
A-Tier
Brewmaster Monk
February 16, Patch 9.2 update:
Brewmaster Monk has
been one of the best tanks during Season 2, and they will continue to
be great going into the last season of Mythic+. They also received
one of the best tier set bonuses for tanks, not only making them more
durable, but also increasing their self-sustain and damage output.
The Brewmaster Monk 2-Piece bonus (Breath of the Cosmos) causes targets
ignited by
Breath of Fire to deal an additional 4% less damage
to them. Their
Brewmaster Monk 4-Piece bonus (Keg of the Heavens) will increase
the damage done from
Keg Smash by 50%, healing you for
66% of the damage dealt, and granting you 66% of the
damage dealt as maximum health for 10 seconds. It is arguably the most
"overpowered" 4-piece set bonus among all tanks; once obtained, expect
to gain a massive DPS and HPS spike. Their already good single-target
damage will continue to be one of the highest, if not the highest among
all tank specializations. Paired with great utility and mobility,
Brewmaster Monks can fit really well with heavy Physical-oriented compositions
due to
Mystic Touch being present. They are, overall, placed under
A-tier for now.
Brewmaster Monk is one of the highest damage profile tanks in the current
meta of Season 3 in Mythic+. Outside of this,
the spec provides great group utility with Leg Sweep,
Tiger's Lust
Ring of Peace, and
Mystic Touch. Brewmaster Monks are one of the
best against heavy Physical damage because of
Stagger. Its self-sustain
is great due to their 4-piece bonus, which makes it much better compared to the
last season. The spec does have great mobility with
Roll, making it easier to kite enemies. One of the biggest disadvantages
of Brewmaster Monks is their vulnerability to magical damage, unlike other tanks.
As predicted, with slight damage adjustments, we can see Brewmaster shine, and since they got them in a form of a tier bonus, we expect Brewmaster to be one of the best tanks for Season 3, with the only disadvantage really being high-magical damage vulnerability.
Vengeance Demon Hunter
February 16, Patch 9.2 update: Once again,
Vengeance Demon Hunter
is entering yet another Season in really good shape. As always, their damage and
group-wide utility is one of the best, which will be further enhance by their
newly-introduced tier set. Their Vengeance DH 2-Piece bonus (Burning Hunger) will
cause any damage dealt by
Immolation Aura to have a 10% chance to
generate a Lesser Soul Fragment (
Shattered Souls). In addition,
their
Vengeance DH 4-Piece bonus (Rapacious Hunger) will make consuming a
Lesser Soul Fragment reduce the remaining cooldown of
Immolation Aura
or
Fel Devastation by 1 second. Their tier set will only increase
their damage profile, specifically their AoE, and therefore their stability
in the current meta. If you are looking for a high-damage, high-mobility tank,
Vengeance Demon Hunter is definitely your choice!
Vengeance Demon Hunters will remain a great tank choice going forward
to the third Season of Shadowlands in Mythic+. They have some of the
highest self-sustain and damage output among tanks. Their passive
mitigation from Demonic Wards and high mobility as a tank make
it easy to navigate while staying in a healthy state. Moreover, they are currently
one of only two tanks with a cheat death passive from the
Last Resort
talent, helping them survive otherwise-fatal damage. Furthermore, Vengeance Demon
Hunters have one of the best toolkits as a tank with spells such as
Sigil of Silence,
Sigil of Misery, and
Sigil of Chains, if
talented. It is also important to note that the spec provides
Chaos Brand,
which synergizes well with the spellcasters in the party by increasing all
magical damage done by 5%.
B-Tier
Vengeance Demon Hunter
February 16, Patch 9.2 update: Once again,
Vengeance Demon Hunter
is entering yet another Season in really good shape. As always, their damage and
group-wide utility is one of the best, which will be further enhance by their
newly-introduced tier set. Their Vengeance DH 2-Piece bonus (Burning Hunger) will
cause any damage dealt by
Immolation Aura to have a 10% chance to
generate a Lesser Soul Fragment (
Shattered Souls). In addition,
their
Vengeance DH 4-Piece bonus (Rapacious Hunger) will make consuming a
Lesser Soul Fragment reduce the remaining cooldown of
Immolation Aura
or
Fel Devastation by 1 second. Their tier set will only increase
their damage profile, specifically their AoE, and therefore their stability
in the current meta. If you are looking for a high-damage, high-mobility tank,
Vengeance Demon Hunter is definitely your choice!
Vengeance Demon Hunters will remain a great tank choice going forward
to the third Season of Shadowlands in Mythic+. They have some of the
highest self-sustain and damage output among tanks. Their passive
mitigation from Demonic Wards and high mobility as a tank make
it easy to navigate while staying in a healthy state. Moreover, they are currently
one of only two tanks with a cheat death passive from the
Last Resort
talent, helping them survive otherwise-fatal damage. Furthermore, Vengeance Demon
Hunters have one of the best toolkits as a tank with spells such as
Sigil of Silence,
Sigil of Misery, and
Sigil of Chains, if
talented. It is also important to note that the spec provides
Chaos Brand,
which synergizes well with the spellcasters in the party by increasing all
magical damage done by 5%.
Guardian Druid
April 12, Patch 9.2 update:
Guardian Druid entered
this season as one of the best tanks in Mythic+. Overall, Guardian remains a
solid choice for any group composition, with the only flaw being poor
single-target damage compared to most of the other tanks, due in part to the
recent nerfs to their Guardian Druid 4-Piece tier-set bonus by 35%. Finally,
I believe if you play around the spec (more specifically around
Incarnation: Guardian of Ursoc),
you can get the most out of it, and potentially going higher than its
current standing. Also, the fact that the barrier of
entry is relatively low for the spec means it is quite beginner-friendly
which is always a desirable detail.
Guardian Druid is a versatile
tank that provides great utility in the Shadowlands Mythic+ environment. Their
self-sustain and damage output are great. They still have
one of the strongest personal defensive cooldowns in the game,
Survival Instincts, but still with quite a high cooldown. To compensate
that, they have a second, shorter defensive cooldown with
Barkskin. In
addition, Guardian Druids are one of two tanks that have Combat Resurrection
(CR) in the form of
Rebirth. Guardian is one of most mobile tank
specializations that can fit within any group composition — melee cleave,
spell cleave, or hybrid — which makes it great for uncoordinated groups
(PUGs). Finally, Guardian Druid's AoE damage output is one of the highest among all the
tanks, which can make up some time if you can really get the best out of
the spec based on your routes (pull big while having
Incarnation: Guardian of Ursoc
up and pull small while it is on cooldown).
The biggest disadvantage, as already mentioned, is Guardian's quite low
single-target damage and being vulnerable without their major cooldown –
Incarnation: Guardian of Ursoc, which ultimately drags the spec down some
rankings. If this spec remained unchanged, it would have been one of the best,
but the recent 2 nerfs to their tier-set will definitely
reflect on their current placement of B-tier.
C-Tier
Protection Warrior
April 12, Patch 9.2 update:
Protection Warrior
received major buffs recently, with the most noticeable being that
Ignore Pain now ignores 55% of damage received (previously 50%)
and its Rage cost was reduced from 40 to 35,
Demoralizing Shout now reduces the damage enemies deal to you by
25% (was previously 20%),
Spell Reflection cooldown reduced to
20seconds (was previously 25 seconds), and last but not least,
Vanguard
reduces all damage taken by 15% (was previously 10%). This spec is the typical case
of not being in the worst state,
but the rest of the tanks just being better in most any aspect. While their
Physical mitigation remains their strongest asset, Protection Warriors are far
from being placed among the best tanks in the list, but certainly are still
a viable choice.
Protection Warriors have a very strong Physical damage mitigation toolkit but
are rather weak to Magical damage outside of their Spell Reflection.
Furthermore, the specialization's self-sustain is mediocre. To compensate, they
are quite mobile with
Heroic Leap and
Intervene which allows
them to escape dangerous situations. The spec also has a great defensive external
in the form of
Rallying Cry which be useful in many cases. In addition,
Warriors are the only class that provides
Battle Shout, meaning they
can be very useful in groups that are heavily Physical-damage-oriented.
Threat generation is still an ongoing issue for Protection Warriors, ever since
Season 1 of Shadowlands, especially on the bigger pulls. I believe with slight
number adjustments and more survivability, Protection Warrior has the capabilities
to become a really strong pick, especially if you plan to have a fully
Physical damage composition which can benefit the most from their
Battle Shout. For now, it will remain under the C-tier.
Mythic+ Dungeon Difficulty Rankings
For a full ranking of the relative difficulty of the different Mythic+ dungeons based on the current week's Mythic+ affixes, please check out our guide below.
Changelog
- 12 Apr. 2022: Major changes based on the most recent Patch notes.
- 16 Feb. 2022: New round of spell and specialization tuning based on the upcoming 9.2. patch.
- 28 Oct. 2021: New round of spell and specialization tuning based on the upcoming 9.1.5 patch.
- 25 Jun. 2021: Guide updated based on internal feedback.
- 15 Jun. 2021: Tier list updated based on the 38872 PTR build for Patch 9.1.
- 19 Mar. 2021: Guide updated based on the latest patch notes (9.0.5.)
- 31 Jan. 2021: Guide requires no changes after recent tuning changes based on the most recent Build (37176).
- 13 Jan. 2021: Blood Death Knight buffs.
- 15 Dec. 2020: New round of class and spell changes.
- 07 Dec. 2020: Updated guide after Protection Paladin conduit changes.
- 16 Nov. 2020: New round of class and spell changes.
- 09 Nov. 2020: New round of class and spell changes based on the most recent Beta Build (36512).
- 30 Oct. 2020: New round of class, spell and conduit changes based on the most recent Beta Build (36401).
- 24 Oct. 2020: New round of class, spell and conduit changes based on the most recent Beta Build (36294).
- 12 Oct. 2020: Second round of changes based on continued Discord feedback and latest balance changes.
- 08 Oct. 2020: First round of updates based on 36165 Beta Build.
- 08 Oct. 2020: Guardian Druid and Blood Death Knight and Brewmaster Monk recent spell changes.
- 07 Oct. 2020: Guide added.
This guide has been written by Petko, one of the top M+ players of all time. He has accomplished several Europe and World #1 Team and Solo Seasonal rankings with multiple specialization and classes throughout the seasons. Moreover, he competes in MDI and streams his runs live on Twitch and and share his personal opinion on YouTube and Twitter.
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