WoW Dragonflight: PvP Tier List

May 21, 2023

Find out how each Specialization is going to perform in Season 1 of the World of Warcraft's newest expansion!

Player Versus Player combat in World of Warcraft: Dragonflight comes down to knowing the ins and outs of every specialization to take advantage of their strengths and weaknesses. In this Tier List, we're going to be breaking down and ranking every DPS specialization and comparing them to predict who is going to be the best (and worst) to play in PvP in Dragonflight.

If you're looking for DPS Rankings for PvE content, such as Raids and Mythic+, check out the link below.

Most specializations are viable and can be found in the higher ranks of competitive play, but there are some that appear more often and some that will struggle due to balancing concerns. There are a number of factors that players should concern themselves with that influence how well a specialization performs in Player versus Player content.

This Tier List takes into consideration the following factors:

Tier

Specialization

S Tier

Havoc Demon Hunter

Demonology Warlock

Affliction Warlock

Shadow Priest

A Tier

Feral Druid

Destruction Warlock

Assassination Rogue

Windwalker Monk

Arcane Mage

B Tier

Unholy Death Knight

Frost Death Knight

Retribution Paladin

Survival Hunter

Fury Warrior

Enhancement Shaman

Elemental Shaman

Outlaw Rogue

Subtlety Rogue

Frost Mage

C Tier

Devastation Evoker

Beast Mastery Hunter

Balance Druid

Arms Warrior

D Tier

Fire Mage

Marksmanship Hunter

S Tier: The Best Specs in Dragonflight for PvP are almost always going to be seen at the top ranks in the arena. A skilled player utilizing one of these specs will be hard to counter. A team that is missing one of these specs will greatly miss out on team synergy.

There's really no competition right now when it comes to Havoc Demon Hunters. If there ever were a time to use the word over-powered, now would be a good time for a nerf. They have the best setup in the game to cause lots of players to just give up against them.

To list a few things:

Havoc Demon Hunter PvE Talent Builds

Demonology Warlocks have insane damage output tied to their pets but can be applied instantly with Call Dreadstalkers and Master Summoner. There's also no ramp-up time for their sustained damage with Demonbolt and Demonic Core.

Not only do they have high damage, but they have also improved defense through Soul Link.

Lastly, they can control the playing field with Fear, Hand of Gul-dan, Axe Toss, and a mortal strike effect with Legion Strike.

Demonology Warlock PvE Talent Builds

Affliction Warlocks. To put it simply Affliction isn't as great as Demonology, but it's still very, very good. They have very high damage capabilities with Soul Swap and Precognition and they also come with great defensive and team utilities through Soulburn.

Shadow Priests are in a very strong position, basically having all the tools one would need in PvP. They can pump out high damage quickly and easily, they have great crowd control with Psychic Horror, Silence, and Void Volley.

They can also provide incredible mobility support through Mass Dispel, Leap of Faith, Body and Soul, and Angelic Feathers. They also give out Power Infusion too and can heal if needed. They are very strong against casters but can be weaker to melee if caught off guard.

Shadow Priest PvE Talent Builds

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A Tier: These specializations are also great options for PvP. They will have a good mix of skills, damage, and utility but might be lacking in 1 of the criteria mentioned above.

Feral Druids can provide really high damage to multiple targets with ease but will require a high attentiveness to what's going on around them should they need to heal and play defensively. They do offer great CC with Cyclone and Predatory Swiftness. It can be a difficult spec to coordinate and execute correctly but for an experienced player, they will be a very difficult target to manage.

The worst Warlock on this list is still a strong spec, Destruction Warlocks, provide great single-target damage. They don't provide the same AoE potential as Affliction nor the control, defense, and healing reduction seen with Demonology. A problem they'll run into is having to hard cast a lot of spells and without support, they'll be left defenseless.

Destruction Warlock PvE Talent Builds

Assassination Rogues have the highest damage potential of all rogues with the extra damage through Deathmark and Exsanguinate ramping up their damage over time effects from Poisons and Bleeds. There are counters to these if they can be dispelled quickly and Assassination also doesn't have a lot of defensive utilities compared to the other specs.

They do still have the normal Rogue CC's and Shiv to manage healers.

Assassination Rogue PvE Talent Builds

Windwalker Monks have very high burst damage potential but have very low defense making them incredibly fragile. An experienced player will know when to jump in and out of fights with a whole host of tools to avoid damage by kiting, increasing their survivability. They have Ring of Peace and Grapple Weapon to add some utility to group play when needing to peel.

Windwalker Monk PvE Talent Builds

Arcane Mages are expected to perform incredibly well in Dragonflight. They have always been known to have high mobility and great burst damage potential. With the addition of fire spells, they are in a great position to dominate the field. Adding Ring of Fire and Ring of Frost and Dragon's Breath as another CC, they are no longer going to be locked out of the majority of their damage from their main Arcane spells: Arcane Surge, Arcane Missiles, and Arcane Barrage. The one drawback, however, is that if they are caught they have very low defense.

Arcane Mage PvE Talent Builds

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B Tier: These specializations are still totally viable to use but they have some weaknesses that can be exploited. They'll still likely pose a threat in PvP if handled by a competent player.

Unholy Death Knights have a lot of versatility when it comes to their damage profile, they can focus on minion damage, death coil damage, disease damage, or AoE with Festering Wounds. All of these have great potential for sustained damage. Like Frost, they also receive more survivability through Rune of Spellwarding and Will of the Necropolis.

Frost Death Knights have good burst and sustained damage. With Pillar of Frost having it's cooldown reduced through Icecap, there's more potential to catch enemies off guard without their defensive cooldowns up in time. They have improved survivability with Will of the Necropolis and Rune of Spellwarding.

Frost Death Knight PvE Talent Builds

Retribution Paladins aren't going to be very good on their own, especially against ranged classes that can avoid them. They offer a wide variety of utilities for their team, with Blessing of Sacrifice, Lay on Hands, and Blinding Light or Repentance giving them additional crowd control. They can still have very high burst damage potential if they can set up their combo perfectly.

Retribution Paladin PvE Talent Builds

Survival Hunters are now going to be seen in melee combat a lot more spamming Mongoose Bite. The talent build for this spec deals high damage consistently and good burst damage. They offer a good CC with Freezing Trap and great survivability from the class talents that revolve around Survival of the Fittest and Exhilaration.

Survival Hunter PvE Talent Builds

Fury Warriors are an incredibly easy-to-play class that have high damage and good survivability. The high uptime on healing reduction through Slaughterhouse for countering healers is especially powerful in long drawn-out matches.

Fury Warrior PvE Talent Builds

Enhancement Shamans have the potential for great burst damage but also still sustain high pressure on their target. They are particularly annoying against casters.

Like all Shamans they have a lot of tools to make great plays and counter a lot of scenarios with interrupts, dispels, and new-found control with Thunderstorm and Lightning Lasso. While they aren't very tanky they can still provide healing and other support as well.

Elemental Shamans if left alone have very good sustained and burst damage that, if left alone, can be a major problem. They have a fair amount of control against ranged classes but will often struggle against a good melee spec that can stay on them.

A big reason Elemental has the potential to do so well is the support they provide to their team through the variety of tools in their class talent tree.

Elemental Shaman PvE Talent Builds

Outlaw Rogue s received substantial nerfs in Dragonflight and are no longer the top rogue spec. They are still a strong specialization overall as they have access to a lot of the regular Rogue Crowd Control abilities.

They do have access to multiple ways to make good burst plays, either a Stealth build with Shadow Dance and Take 'em by Surprise or a simpler one with Dreadblades.

Outlaw Rogue PvE Talent Builds

Low B Tier Subtlety Rogues need to be able to coordinate with their teammates to set up the perfect combo. They can generate a lot of pressure on specific targets but won't be able to burst them down on their own. ​​​​​​

They can make great plays thanks to their double usage of Shadowdance and like all Rogues, have a great set of tools with lots of Crowd Control: Sap, Blind, Kidney Shot, and Shiv to reduce healing.

Subtlety Rogue PvE Talent Builds

Frost Mages have seen a lot more improvements in the class talents, gaining access to Dragon's Breath, but the key factor is their ability to control the field with slows and freezes on multiple targets. Cold Front and Freezing Winds allow for more emphasis on Frozen Orb cooldown reduction for some big AoE plays.

Frost Mage PvE Talent Builds

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C Tier: The tuning for these Specializations isn't in a good state and may see buffs in the future for balancing. Other specializations would likely fair better in almost all scenarios.

The new Devastation Evoker offers big burst potential with Tip the Scales, Dragonrage and Fire Breath. While they offer impressive mobility, their 25-yard range limits their effectiveness. They don't have much CC but offer a lot of options in the class talents for utility for themselves and allies.

Devastation Evoker PvE Talent Builds

Beast Mastery Hunters take command of a number of pets to control their target. Unfortunately, their damage potential is not the greatest. Though, their one strong suite is their ability to lock down healers.

Beast Mastery Hunter PvE Talent Builds

Balance Druids are brought to provide damage and CC but don't excel at either of these in particular. With Solar Beam on a 1-minute cooldown, it's only effective if your team can burst a target down in that duration. Their survivability is also below average.

Balance Druid PvE Talent Builds

low c Arms Warriors has a fair amount of utility but their damage is lackluster. They can make good use of a burst build with Skullsplitter and Tide of Blood. However, most DPS Warriors will play as Fury due to Slaughterhouse being an easier healing reduction than Sharpen Blade.

Arms Warrior PvE Talent Builds

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D Tier: Playing as one of these specializations is going to be a challenge for most players. They aren't in a well-balanced state or don't provide any advantage over other specs.

Fire Mages are now at the bottom of the list as their playstyle didn't get many new unique skills apart from the PvP skill Glass Cannon. Both Frost and Arcane excel over Fire as they now receive some key abilities that let Fire dominate: Dragon's Breath, Blast Wave, and Ring of Fire.

There are going to be challenges getting over a Fireball and Ignite spec; Blast Wave can spread Ignite to Polymorph and break it and their key burst cooldown, Combustion, can be dispelled

Fire Mage PvE Talent Builds

Marksmanship Hunters, unfortunately, have to be put in the lowest tier due to their damage just not being enough to compete with the other specializations. They still provide some utility and CC's but this spec needs a number of reworks to get it fit for PvP.

Marksmanship Hunter PvE Talent Builds

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