WoW Forever Best DPS Tier List
Fire Mage leads the DPS tier list, and its Ignite talent keeps Fire crits burning for 4 seconds. Arcane Mage trades some steady damage for S on burst and utility, with Arcane Power adding 30 percent spell damage for 15 seconds while its spells cost 30 percent more Mana.
Fire Mage
Assassination Rogue
Retribution Paladin
Fury Warrior
Arcane Mage
Beast Mastery Hunter
Marksmanship Hunter
Affliction Warlock
Elemental Shaman
Destruction Warlock
Demonology Warlock
Survival Hunter
Moved up from BShadow Priest
Enhancement Shaman
Feral Combat Druid
Combat Rogue
Frost Mage
Arms Warrior
Subtlety Rogue
Balance DruidWhat each tier means
- STop The top grade on this board, the strongest specs it ranks
- AStrong A strong pick on this board, one step under the top grade
- BSolid Sound on this board, without the edge of the bands above
- CSituational Short of the bands above on this board, even where one of its reads runs high
- DBottom The lowest grade on this board, with the weakest case once every read is counted
Talent tree icons and class emblems by Blizzard Entertainment, from the World of Warcraft Forever game client.
Allows 17% of your Mana regeneration to continue while casting.
When activated, this spell causes each of your Fire damage spell hits to increase your critical strike chance with Fire damage spells by 10%. This effect lasts until you have caused 3 non-periodic critical strikes with Fire spells.
Improves your chance to hit with all spells by 6%.
Increases the damage done by your Fire spells by 3% per your Fire effects on the target, up to a maximum increase of 12%. Effects which mix multiple schools of magic do not qualify.
Instantly attacks with both weapons for 90% weapon damage plus an additional 39.6 with each weapon. Damage increased by 20% against Poisoned targets. Awards 2 Combo Points.
Reduces the cooldown of your Sprint and Evasion abilities by 30%.
Increases the damage dealt by your Backstab, Garrote, Ambush, and Mutilate abilities by 8%.
Your critical strikes from abilities that add Combo Points have a 100% chance to add an additional Combo Point.
Reduces the mana cost of your Consecration, Holy Wrath, Exorcism, and Hammer of Wrath spells by 40%.
Improves your chance to hit by 3%.
Your melee attacks store a copy of your active Seal for 15 sec, stacking up to 3 times. Landing an attack with a different Seal consumes all stacks, giving the stored Seal its normal chance to activate once per stack.
Increases your spell damage by up to 60% of your Intellect, and reduces the cast time of your Hammer of Wrath by 1.0 sec.
A brutal attack that deals 75% weapon damage. Deals an additional 75% weapon damage against Giants, Dragonkin, and mounted targets. Mounted targets are dismounted.
Instantly attack the target causing damage equal to 45% of your Attack Power plus 30 and increasing your movement speed by 10% for 10 sec.
Reduces the cooldown of your Whirlwind ability by 2 sec and increases the damage it deals to the closest enemy by 30%.
Increases your melee attack speed by 30% for your next 3 swings after dealing a melee critical strike.
For the next 15 sec, your spells deal 30% more damage while costing 30% more mana to cast.
Non-periodic critical strikes with Fireball, Frostfire Bolt, Fire Blast, and Scorch reduce the cast time of your next Pyroblast cast within 20 sec by 25%, stacking up to 3 times. Fire Blast grants an additional stack every time it deals damage.
Increases the damage done by your spells by 3% and your critical strike chance by 3%.
Send your pet into a rage causing 50% additional damage for 18 sec. While enraged, the beast does not feel pity or remorse or fear and it cannot be stopped unless killed.
Increases the critical strike damage bonus on all ranged abilities by 30%.
Gives your pet a 100% chance to gain a 30% attack speed increase for 8 sec after dealing a critical strike.
Command your pet to Stun the target for 3 sec on its next successful attack, which also gains 100% increased critical strike chance. Generates high threat.
While Aspect of the Hawk is active, Auto Shot has a 10% chance of increasing ranged attack speed by 30% for 12 sec. While Aspect of the Beast is active, all melee auto attacks have a 10% chance of increasing melee attack speed by 30% for 12 sec.
A long-range shot that deals ranged damage plus 320 and increases the range of your next 3 Shots by 10 yards for 10 sec.
While tracking Beasts, Demons, Dragonkin, Elementals, Giants, Humanoids, or Undead, all damage you deal to the tracked creature type is increased by 5%.
Increases the damage you deal with ranged weapons by 5%.
Tears the target apart from within, inflicting 36 Shadow damage every 1 sec and increasing the damage they take from your other Shadow damage over time effects by 10% for 6 sec.
When activated, sacrifices your summoned Demon to enhance the opposing aspect of your power, granting you an effect that lasts 2 hr. The effect is canceled if any Demon is summoned.
Imp: Increases your Shadow damage by 15%.
Voidwalker: Restores 2% of your total Mana every 4 sec.
Succubus/Incubus: Increases your Fire damage by 15%.
Felhunter: Restores 3% of your total Health every 4 sec.
Your Shadow Bolt critical strikes increase Shadow damage taken by the target from your attacks by 20% for 12 sec.
Increases the damage dealt or life drained by your Shadow spells by 10%.
Gain mastery over Lightning, reducing the cast time of your Lightning Bolt spell by 0.5 sec, and removing the cooldown from your Chain Lightning spell. Lasts 15 sec.
Improves your chance to get a critical strike with all spells and attacks by 5%.
The caster is surrounded by 3 globes of water. When a spell, melee, or ranged attack hits the caster or when one of the caster's spells gets a critical result, 2% of maximum mana is restored to the caster, expending one water globe. Only one globe will activate every few seconds. Lasts 10 min.
Only one Elemental Shield can be active on the Shaman at any one time.
Increases the critical strike damage bonus of your Searing and Magma Totems and your Fire, Frost, and Nature spells by 100%.
Improves your chance to hit by 5% and reduces all threat you generate by 20%.
Deals 97 Fire damage to your target and an additional 25% damage if the target is afflicted by Immolate.
Hitting an enemy with Conflagrate increases all Shadow damage you deal by 20% for 20 sec, and hitting an enemy with Shadowburn increases all Fire damage you deal by 20% for 20 sec. In addition, Conflagrate has a 100% chance not to consume Immolate, and Shadowburn has a 100% chance to instantly refund a Soul Shard.
Reduces the casting time of your Corruption spell by 0.8 sec and increases the damage it deals by 4%.
Your Demonic Sacrifice effect is no longer cancelled by summoning a different Demon pet. Resummoning the sacrificed pet will still cancel the effect.
Increases the critical strike chance of your Searing Pain spell by 10% and the damage done by all your Destruction spells by 10%.
Grants both the Warlock and the summoned demon an effect as long as that demon is active.
Imp - Increases Fire damage done by 10%.
Voidwalker - Reduces Physical damage taken by 10%.
Succubus/Incubus - Increases Shadow damage done by 10%.
Felhunter - Reduces Magic damage taken by 10%.
Reduces the cooldown on your Rapid Fire ability by 2 min. In addition, when you kill a non-trivial enemy or it dies while afflicted by your Serpent Sting, you gain Rapid Killing, increasing the damage of your next Shot ability within 20 sec by 20%.
Your Mongoose Bite also causes the target to Bleed for damage equal to 40% of the damage done by Mongoose Bite over 21 sec
Increases your Agility by 15%.
Allows 50% of your Mana regeneration to continue while casting.
Gives your spells a 70% chance to not lose casting time when you take damage.
Assume Shadowform, increasing your Shadow damage by 10%, reducing the Mana cost of all Shadow spells by 50%, increasing the critical strike damage bonus of your Shadow spells by 100%, and reducing Physical damage taken by you by 15%. However, you may not cast healing spells while in this form.
Increases your Shadow damage done by 10%.
Your Critical Strikes with direct damage spells increase your chance to get a Critical Strike with melee attacks by 9% for 10 sec.
Increases your attack speed by 30% for 25 sec.
Reduces the Mana cost of your totems and any spells that summon or move them by 25%.
When you deal damage with a melee attack, you have a chance to reduce the cast time and Mana cost of your next Lightning Bolt spell by 20%. Stacks up to 5 times. Lasts 30 sec.
Increases your critical strike chance with spells and melee attacks by 4%.
Instantly convert 55% of base Mana into Energy. Shifting Power's cost is reduced by effects that reduce the cost of Shapeshifting.
Reduces the cast time of your Healing Touch and Wild Growth spells by 0.5 sec and increases all damage you deal by 10%.
Increases damage done by your melee abilities on Bleeding targets by 15%.
When activated, increases the critical strike chance of your next Sinister Strike, Backstab, Ambush, Eviscerate, or Mutilate by 100%.
Increases your Energy regeneration rate by 100% for 15 sec.
Increases the Energy generated by your Shank ability by 15 and reduces its cooldown by 2.0 sec.
Increases the damage done by your off-hand weapon by 25%.
Allows 50% of your Mana regeneration to continue while casting.
Gives your Frostbolt and Fingers of Frost empowered Ice Lance spells a 100% chance to apply Winter's Chill, increasing the target's damage taken from your next Cone of Cold by 20% and it gains an additional 7% of your spell damage, stacking up to 5 times.
Increases the damage dealt by your Cone of Cold spell by 35%.
Gives your Chill effects a 15% chance to grant you the Fingers of Frost effect, which treats your next 2 spells cast as if the target were Frozen. Lasts 15 sec.
A vicious strike that deals weapon damage plus 85 and wounds the target, reducing the effectiveness of any healing by 50% for 10 sec.
Your next 4 melee attacks generate 5 additional Rage. Lasts 8 sec.
Increases all the Rage generated by your Bloodrage ability by 50%.
Reduces the cooldown of your Slam ability by 5.0 sec, the cast time and global cooldown by 0.50 sec, and Slam no longer interrupts or delays your melee swing.
Increases your critical strike chance with all attacks and Poisons by 5%.
Gives your Kick ability a 100% chance to Silence the target for 2 sec.
Increases your Stealth detection as if you were 3 levels higher and reduces your chance to be hit by spells and ranged attacks by 4%.
When activated, this ability immediately finishes the cooldown on your other Rogue abilities.
Shapeshift into Moonkin Form, increasing Omen of Clarity's chance to trigger by 100%, Armor contribution from items by 360%, and all party or raid members within 45 yards have their Critical Strike chance increased by 3%. Also protects the caster from Polymorph effects and prevents the use of healing spells.
The act of shapeshifting frees the caster of Polymorph and Movement Impairing effects.
Increases the damage done by your Arcane and Nature spells by 10%.
All non-periodic spell criticals grace you with a blessing of nature, increasing your spellcasting speed and reducing your global cooldown by 10% for 3 sec.
Board breakdown
Fire Mage is the pick for raw damage: it ranks first on the DPS tier list, with S on sustained damage and A on burst. Fire Mage earns C on utility, though, while Arcane Mage earns S on utility.
Fire Mage leads the tiles; any of them opens that damage spec on the DPS board.
Crits pay extra here: Fire damage spell crits feed Fire Mage's Ignite, Assassination Rogue's Seal Fate adds a Combo Point when a combo-building ability crits, and Flurry speeds Fury Warrior's next 3 swings after a melee crit.
Fire crits keep paying after they land: Ignite burns the target for another 40 percent of the spell's damage over 4 sec, and Improved Scorch stacks a 3 percent Fire vulnerability up to 5 times, which keeps the damage climbing through a long fight.
Poison damage sits under the whole rotation: Vile Poisons raises it by 20 percent, Improved Poisons lifts the chance to apply it by 10 percent, and Seal Fate turns combo point crits into an extra Combo Point for the finisher.
Vengeance keeps a Retribution Paladin's hits growing, with 3 percent more Physical and Holy damage stacking up to 5 times for 30 sec after a non-periodic crit, while Seal of Command adds Holy damage equal to 70 percent of normal weapon damage on its proc.
Death Wish bursts for 20 percent more Physical damage over 30 sec, and Flurry keeps the swings quick between cooldowns with 30 percent melee attack speed for 3 swings after a melee critical strike.
Arcane Power turns a full mana bar into burst, with 30 percent more spell damage for 15 sec at 30 percent more mana, and Arcane Blast stacks up to 4 times, adding 12 percent of Intellect as Spell Damage per cast.
Bestial Wrath sends the pet into an 18 sec rage for 50 percent additional damage, and Frenzy gives it 30 percent attack speed for 8 sec after a critical strike, so this Hunter's damage keeps landing as long as the pet keeps biting.
Steady ranged multipliers add up here: Ranged Weapon Specialization adds 5 percent ranged damage, Barrage lifts Multi-Shot, Aimed Shot and Volley by 15 percent, and Trueshot Aura raises the Ranged Attack Power of party or raid members within 45 yards.
Stacked damage over time is what this tree pays off: Soul Siphon adds 12 percent to Drain Life, Drain Soul and Wrack per other Affliction effect you have on the target, up to 36 percent, and Wrack raises your other Shadow damage over time by 10 percent for 6 sec.
Lightning Overload turns ordinary casts into extra damage, with a 30 percent chance on Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning to fire a free, weaker copy, and Elemental Fury raises the critical strike damage bonus of Fire, Frost and Nature spells by 100 percent.
Shadow and Flame ties the rotation together, with Conflagrate adding 20 percent Shadow damage and Shadowburn adding 20 percent Fire damage for 20 sec, and Ruin raises the critical strike damage bonus of Destruction spells by 100 percent.
Demonic Sacrifice pays even after the demon returns: sacrificing an Imp grants 15 percent more Shadow damage, Demonic Pact keeps that effect when a different demon is summoned, and Master Demonologist's Succubus adds another 10 percent Shadow damage beside it.
Melee crits carry this Hunter: Predator's Edge adds 30 percent melee ability critical strike damage, and Lacerating Strikes bleeds for 40 percent of Mongoose Bite's damage over 21 sec. Against a target under Hunter's Mark, Expose Prey gives attacks a 10 percent chance to open Mongoose Bite beyond a dodge.
Shadowform runs the tree, raising Shadow damage by 10 percent and its critical strike damage bonus by 100 percent, while Vampiric Embrace heals party members for 20 percent of Shadow spell damage dealt, a group payoff on top of the damage.
A setup sits behind the damage here: Frost Mage stacks Winter's Chill for its next Cone of Cold, Arms Warrior waits on Overpower, Combat Rogue times Adrenaline Rush, and Enhancement Shaman builds Maelstrom Weapon toward Lightning Bolt.
Stormstrike hits for 150 percent weapon damage and lifts your next Lightning Bolt by 20 percent, and Maelstrom Weapon can stack 5 times toward a faster, cheaper Lightning Bolt, so the damage rewards weaving spells into melee and asks for more attention than a steady swing.
Cat Form crits snowball into finishers: Sharpened Claws adds 6 percent crit chance, Blood Frenzy gives combo-building crits an extra Combo Point, and Rend and Tear adds 15 percent to melee ability damage on Bleeding targets, while Leader of the Pack hands party or raid members 3 percent crit.
Burst windows stack: Adrenaline Rush raises Energy regeneration by 100 percent for 15 sec and Blade Flurry adds 20 percent melee attack speed with an extra nearby target for 15 sec, but between them the damage leans on Aggression's 15 percent to Sinister Strike and Eviscerate.
Frostbolt does the kept-up work: Improved Frostbolt takes 0.5 sec off its cast, Frost Channeling cuts Frost spell costs by 15 percent, and Ice Shards adds 100 percent to the critical strike damage bonus. Winter's Chill stacks then cash in through your next Cone of Cold.
Weapon swings do the heavy lifting for Arms, with Two-Handed Weapon Specialization adding 6 percent damage, while Improved Overpower's 50 percent crit chance waits on a dodge or on Bloodthrill's 20 percent chance from Rend targets, so its bigger hits arrive unevenly.
Stealth openers return mid-fight on a timer: Ghostly Strike lets your next Ambush or Garrote within 7 sec skip Stealth, on a 20 sec cooldown. Improved Ambush adds 45 percent critical strike chance to Ambush, and Serrated Blades carries the gaps with 30 percent more Rupture damage.
Balance Druid brings a raid critical strike bonus through Moonkin Form, but its damage leans on trimming cast time, with Eclipse waiting on Wrath before Starfire speeds up.
Moonkin Form gives party or raid members 3 percent critical strike chance, but the damage itself leans on cast-time trims, with Eclipse cutting Starfire by 0.50 sec after Wrath casts and Improved Starfire shaving another 0.5 sec.
Hunter and Warlock are the safest DPS classes, with all three damage trees of each at A, while Mage holds the top spec, Fire. Druid is the weakest pick for pure damage, as Balance Druid sits at C, the only C on the DPS tier list.
- Hunter3 specs
- Mage3 specs
- Paladin1 spec
- Priest1 spec
- Rogue3 specs
- Shaman2 specs
- Warlock3 specs
- Warrior2 specs
- Druid2 specs
Longer bars are classes with more damage specs, split by grade, and a tap on a face brings up that spec below.
Feral Combat Druid is the only DPS spec that can tank, grading B on both the DPS tier list and the tank tier list. Its Hybrid build tanks as a bear and deals melee damage as a cat. For a main tank, Protection Paladin and Protection Warrior grade higher.
- Feral Combat DruidDPS B, tank BTank grade BHybrid build