During Wrath of the Lich King Classic there will be 4 phases, so we will be making a list of the top DPS specs for each phase, that way you can see where your spec is going to be placed, and you can decide if you want to switch characters or specializations. The tier lists will have different ranks, starting with rank S and finishing with rank D. This Wotlk Classic DPS Tier List will help you figure out how to optimize your class selection in PvE content. For the best DPS specifically per phase, check here.
Categorization of WotLK Classic DPS Tiers
S – Ohh yes, specs here are the best of the best, the finest DPS all over Northrend.
A – Good specs overall, nothing bad about them, just not at the very top.
B – I mean it’s alright, could be better, could be worse.
C – Oh man, you should start to reconsider the spec you’re playing if it is placed in this rank.
D – The absolute worse, don’t play specs in this rank, please.
WotLK Classic Phase 1 DPS Tier List
For Phase 1 we have quite a few specs at the top; since gear is very basic and stats are at their lowest, the tier list is the following:
S – Assassination Rogue, Frost Death Knight, Unholy Death Knight, Affliction Warlock, Arcane Mage
A – Demonology Warlock, Survival Hunter, Marksmanship Hunter, Shadow Priest, Balance Druid
B – Fire Mage, Enhancement Shaman, Retribution Paladin, Feral Druid, Combat Rogue
C – Elemental Shaman, Arms Warrior, Destruction Warlock, Fury Warrior, Beast Master Hunter
D – Subtlety Rogue, Frost Mage
As you can see, there are quite a few specs to choose between rank S and rank A. For this tier, we are considering the following raids: Naxxramas, Obsidian Sanctum, and Eye of Eternity. Remember that since the expansion is just starting and stats are at their lowest, this allows DPS specs with hybrid physical and magical damage to be way more effective than specs that require armor penetration or stats to deal a proper amount of damage with their rotation.
WotLK Classic Phase 2 DPS Tier List
For Phase 2, the list changes quite a bit; a lot of specs that were at the top now are a little lower in their placement, and some specs climb to the top:
S – Feral Druid, Combat Rogue
A – Affliction Warlock, Demonology Warlock, Assassination Rogue, Frost Death Knight, Unholy Death Knight, Arcane Mage, Survival Hunter, Marksmanship Hunter, Fire Mage
B – Destruction Warlock, Retribution Paladin, Balance Druid, Fury Warrior, Shadow Priest, Elemental Shaman
C – Enhancement Shaman, Arms Warrior, Beast Master Hunter
D – Subtlety Rogue, Frost Mage
Stats are starting to ramp up during this phase, so a lot of specs that were at the bottom in phase 1 will begin to climb ranks. However, specs with hybrid physical and magical damage are still a very good choice. The main changes we are going to see during this phase specifically is that the vast majority of the specs are placed in the A tier, maining classes like Warlock, Hunter, Rogue, Mage, and Death Knight are pretty good because each class has at least two specs at the top, that way you can choose which one adapts better to your play style. This phase takes place when Ulduar is introduced to the game.
Phase 3 DPS Tier List
S – Frost Death Knight, Unholy Death Knight, Fire Mage, Marksmanship Hunter
A – Arcane Mage, Combat Rogue, Fury Warrior, Feral Druid, Assassination Rogue, Survival Hunter, Retribution Paladin
B – Shadow Priest, Balance Druid, Affliction Warlock, Demonology Warlock, Enhancement Shaman, Elemental Shaman
C – Destruction Warlock, Arms Warrior, Beast Master Hunter
D – Subtlety Rogue, Frost Mage
Specs that rely a lot on stats or armor penetration to have a good performance are starting to place a little higher in the tier list during this phase, for example, the Retribution Paladin, was B-tier during phases 1 and 2, and for phase 3 it climbed up to A-tier. You can tell that this phase has already started when Trial of the Crusader is introduced; this means that specs with heavy single target damage and a bit of AoE are going to be a better choice over specs with only massive AoE.
Phase 4 DPS Tier List
S – Fury Warrior, Fire Mage, Combat Rogue, Feral Druid, Retribution Paladin
A – Unholy Death Knight, Marksmanship Hunter, Affliction Warlock, Frost Death Knight
B – Shadow Priest, Balance Druid, Arcane Mage, Assassination Rogue, Demonology Warlock
C – Enhancement Shaman, Destruction Warlock, Survival Hunter, Elemental Shaman, Beast Master Hunter
D – Arms Warrior, Subtlety Rogue, Frost Mage
The expansion finale comes to a conclusion when Icecrown Citadel and The Ruby Sanctum raids are introduced to the game. This is where we can see specs shine at their best, having their BiS (Best in Slot) gear and their potential fully unlocked.
Many classes have specs that climb up as the game progresses, and some have specs that are never at the top, not even at a decent level to compete. We are looking at you, Subtlety Rogue, and Frost Mage. If you want to main a safe choice, we can recommend that you play Death Knight. Frost and Unholy are broken since the beginning of the expansion, and throughout it, so you can’t choose wrong when choosing a Death Knight. The Hunter class is another one that could be a safe choice if you don’t mind playing the same spec all the time (yup, it is Marksmanship).
The same reasoning applies to Rogues. Combat and Assassination are constantly bouncing between A-tier and S-tier. There are some phases that either spec goes to B-tier, but you can just switch to the best one and move on. Finally, suppose you are a patient person that doesn’t care about being the best at the beginning instead at the end. In that case, you can choose the Retribution Paladin spec, you start right at the middle of the tier list, which is not that bad to be quite honest, and you end at the very top of the meters like a champ.
