Note: This Tier List has been updated as of November 8th, 2022.

Players might be having trouble deciding which class to play in WoW Classic: Wrath of the Lich King. Tier lists can often be a helpful tool to decide which class and specialization to play. Ultimately, the decision of which class is the most fun to play is different for each player. One basic metric to use is the amount of damage that a particular class can output in any given scenario or their Damage Per Second (DPS).

Be sure to check out our other Tier Lists for WotLK:

The majority of classes are middle of the pack in terms of performance, however, there are some obvious winners and losers throughout the expansion. All classes have at least one specialization that performs well at some point in the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, so players shouldn't worry too much about their class choice. Many players often choose to change specializations depending on the different phases of the expansion.

WotLK DPS Rankings Criteria

This tier list ranks all DPS specializations for their performance across the entire expansion. We compare each specialization based on a number of key factors such as Single-Target, Cleave, and Area of Effect (AoE) damage as well as any Utility in the form of Buffs and Debuffs that add value to the group. It's also important to factor in the relative difficulty to play each specialization to its fullest potential.

Some specializations also perform better depending on the type of content they find themselves in. The theoretical performance of a specialization in any given encounter varies depending on a multitude of factors such as shorter or longer duration fights, if the damage is largely single-target, cleave, or AoE, and if it favors ranged or melee classes more. It's also worth noting that some specializations have gear dependencies at various stages of the expansion. The most notable example of this is the lack of Armor Penetration in early stages of the expansion that hampers physical damage dealers. In addition to this, the composition of the group will also affect the maximum performance of any particular class.

This list takes all of the above factors into consideration and provides a brief description of where each class can have the opportunity to rise to the top of the throne or fall to the bottom of the pit.

WotLK Classic DPS Class Specialization Rankings

Click the name specialization in the table below to quickly jump to the section that explains the reasoning for their placement.

S Tier DPS Specializations in Wrath of the Lich King

Unholy Death Knight

S-Tier: Unholy Death Knight's(UH) damage is practically on par with the Frost Death Knight. They, too, benefit from magic-based damage where other classes struggle with lower armor penetration. Where Unholy shines is in longer duration AoE encounters where their diseases can provide incredible damage. In addition, Unholy Death Knights can make use of Shadowmourne once it becomes available, and at that point Unholy noticeably outpaces Frost. To get the most out of Unholy, just like with Frost, it also requires a more involved damage rotation.

• Utility:
  • Ebon Plaguebringer: increases magical damage taken debuff (shared with Balance Druids).

Assassination Rogue

S Tier: Assassination Rogues are a really strong class all throughout the expansion, however, Combat Rogues scale better with gear as the expansion progresses. They perform slightly better during earlier phases than Combat Rogues due to the nature of the shorter fights, but on longer fights and fights with cleave, Assassination Rogues fall a bit behind.

With the right slow dagger in the main hand such as a Titansteel Spellblade with Instant Poison on it, rogues also do insane AoE damage.

• Utility:
  • Master Poisoner: Increases crit chance debuff (shared with Retribution Paladins and Elemental Shamans).
  • All Rogues: Tricks of the Trade provides increases damage and threat redirection.

Combat Rogue

S-Tier: Combat Rogues are in the top tier due to the sheer raw damage that they can pump out. They do suffer early on due to a lack of armor penetration on gear, but once that is no longer a problem they absolutely dominate the damage charts. Most Combat Rogues will start out as Assassination as their damage isn’t hindered as much by Armor Penetration. They provide some specific group utility and like all rogues bring Tricks of the Trade.

• Utility:
  • Savage Combat: Increases physical damage taken debuff (shared with Arms Warriors).
  • All Rogues: Tricks of the Trade provides increases damage and threat redirection.

Fire Mage

S-Tier: Fire Mages start out fairly weak early on as they need a significant amount of crit to really excel. They have superb single-target and AoE damage, decent Cleave damage, and don’t suffer from mana issues in longer fights. Their rotation is fairly simple only involving a few abilities for most encounters. However, many Players will start as Arcane as they have a significant advantage with Hit Rating from Talents and then switch to Fire once more crit has been obtained.

• Utility:
  • Improved Scorch: Increases spell crit chance debuff (Shared with Warlocks and Frost Mages).

Affliction Warlock

S-Tier: Affliction Warlocks(Afflic) are a top-tier DPS throughout most of the expansion. While there may be some minor ups and downs with gear sets and short fights, they are strong in nearly every measure. They have excellent single-target damage with their vast array of damage-over-time skills. They also have great AoE and cleave potential with multi-dotting. And finally, the potential bonus damage in the execute phase with Drain Soul and Death’s Embrace. Not only are they great damage dealers, but they are also the best at providing the spell critical strike chance debuff.

• Utility:
  • Improved Shadow Bolt: Increases spell crit chance debuff (shared with Frost and Fire Mages).
  • Curse of the Elements: Reduced magic resistance and Increases magic damage taken debuff (shared with Unholy DK and Balance Druid).

A Tier DPS Specializations in Wrath of the Lich King

Frost Death Knight

A-Tier: The Frost Death Knight spec's overall damage is undoubtedly very good and consistent. We expected them to excel during the early phases of the expansion from the high damage of their magic-based skills, however they have come down from the S-Tier projected we originally expected. Where many other physical damage based classes have to suffer from the lack of armor penetration available, Frost DKs aren't as concerned. Throughout the expansion, the battle between Unholy and Frost is a back-and-forth for the top Death Knight DPS position. However, some players may find difficulty with the Death Knight skill priority and rotation.

• Utility:
  • Improved Icy Talons: Melee Haste buff (shared with Shamans).

Marksmanship Hunter

Marksmanship Hunters(MM) are subject to poor performance early on due to their physical damage relying on armor penetration. However, in later stages, their single target damage becomes top-notch. They do lack any meaningful AoE and Cleave damage, but they do bring one raid buff. Many Hunters choose to start out as Survival and then switch to Marksmanship once more armor penetration is available.

• Utility:
  • Trueshot Aura: Increases attack power buff (shared with Enhancement Shamans and Blood Death Knights).
  • All Hunters: Frost Trap, Freezing Trap, Misdirection

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Feral Druid

A Tier: Feral Druids(Cat) have a unique place here, they have great damage, provide many druid buffs and utilities, and are able to off-tank when needed, giving them a very comfortable niche. As with other physical damage dealers, the early phases lack armor penetration and it really hurts their overall DPS. However, with the right gear, they really start to take off and are often at the top of the damage meters in many fights.

• Utility:
  • Leader of the Pack: Increases range and melee crit chance (shared with Fury Warriors).
  • Mangle: Improved bleed damage (shared with Arms Warriors).

Arcane Mage

A Tier: Arcane Mages perform really well early on due to being able to reach the spell Hit Cap easily from their talents. They excel at shorter fights and single-target fights but their AoE is not the best. But in the last half of the expansion, as the fights get longer their damage becomes average. Once spell hit is no longer an issue many Arcane Mages make the switch to Fire as their damage goes through the roof.

• Utility:
  • Arcane Empowerment: Increases damage buff (shared with Beast Mastery Hunters and Retribution Paladins).

Fury Warrior

A Tier: Fury Warriors start off very weak at the beginning of the expansion, their physical damage suffering from heavy reliance on Armor Penetration. However, their skills and talents scale really well throughout the rest of the expansion. Many warriors will choose to go Arms at the beginning and soon grab a 2nd two-handed weapon to make the switch to Fury. Their single target and cleave damage is often unparalleled near the end of the expansion and is often at the top of DPS charts.

• Utility:
  • Rampage: Increases melee and range crit buff (shared with Feral Druids).
  • Battle Shout: Increases attack power buff (shared with Paladins).
  • Commanding Shout: Increases party health.

Demonology Warlock

A Tier: Demonology Warlock (Demo) is a very fun class to play. Their very high damage potential is only slightly beaten out by Affliction Warlocks in longer single-target fights. In shorter AoE fights, with Metamorphosis, they really shine as a top damage dealer. Furthermore, they also provide a very strong, unique spell power buff for the group. Early on, with worse gear, this buff is slightly less desirable than the Elemental Shaman’s version. However, in later stages with better gear, most groups will opt to always have one Demonology Warlock as that spell power buff becomes very strong in groups with many casting classes.

• Utility:
  • Demonic Pact: Increases spell power buff (shared with Shamans, except this one scales with the Warlocks spell power).
  • Improved Shadow Bolt: ​​Increases spell crit chance debuff(shared with Frost and Fire Mages).

Enhancement Shaman

A Tier: Enhancement Shamans (Enh) have a fairly more involved damage rotation and with a higher skill ceiling, comes the potential for higher damage. The damage they provide is decent for single target, cleave, and AoE damage. They won’t be in the number one spot at the top of the charts but consistently perform well in all fights. They are also brought to the group for the vast array of Shaman totems and utilities.

• Utility:
  • Unleashed Rage: Increases attack power buff (shared with Marksmanship Hunters and Blood Death Knights).
  • Improved Windfury Totem: Melee Haste buff (shared with DK's)
  • Heroism / Bloodlust, Purge, Wind Shear, Hex, and many Shaman totems.

Survival Hunter

A Tier: The Survival Hunters perform really well in the early stages of the expansion, with a lot of their single-target and AoE damage coming from magical sources, bypassing the armor penetration problem of physical damage dealers early on. Their skills are mostly instant cast giving them an edge on other ranged classes too. However, other classes damage scales with better gear and the overall potential of Survival starts to fall off and Marksmanship takes a dominant lead. They also don’t provide much in the form of utility for the group.

• Utility:
  • All Hunters: Frost Trap, Freezing Trap, Misdirection

B Tier DPS Specializations in Wrath of the Lich King

Retribution Paladin

B Tier: Retribution Paladins(Ret) have great AoE and Cleave potential, but their single target damage is rather average. Near the beginning of the expansion they are average at best but in later phases, they are top-tier cleaving machines. They have a number of specialization unique buffs and still provide a vast array of Paladin utilities as well. They can also wield the legendary Shadowmourne making them absolute powerhouses.

• Utility:
  • Judgements of the Wise: mana replenishment buff (shared with Shadow Priests, Frost Mages, and Destruction Warlocks).
  • Heart of the Crusader: Increases crit chance debuff(shared with Assassination Rogues and Elemental Shamans).
  • Sanctified Retribution: Increases damage buff (shared with Arcane Mages and Beast Mastery Hunters).
  • Swift Retribution: Increases haste buff(shared with Balance Druids).
  • All Paladins: Blessings Auras, Hands Buffs, Cleanse.

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Balance Druid

B Tier: Balance Druids(Boomkin) provide some of the best AoE damage in the game but their single-target damage is lackluster in comparison. They stand in the middle of the pack on damage meters throughout the entire expansion. While none of their buffs are unique to the specialization, like all druids, they provide a wide range of other buffs and utilities to the group.

• Utility:
  • Improved Faerie Fire: Increases spell hit debuff(shared with Shadow Priests)
  • Moonkin Form: Increases spell crit buff(shared with Elemental Shamans)
  • Improved Moonkin Form: Increases haste buff(shared with Retribution Paladins)
  • All Druids: Rebirth, Gift of the Wild, Innervate, Abolish Poison, Remove Curse, Thorns, Entangling Roots

Shadow Priest

B Tier: Shadow Priests perform very well near the beginning of WotLK, but then are consistently average all throughout the rest expansion. Their skill rotation is a bit more involved than other classes while still producing similar results. They have great multi-dot and AoE damage too. Like all priests, they provide a number of buffs and utility to the group and have a unique damage mitigation talent.

• Utility:
  • Misery: Increases spell hit debuff (shared with Balance Druids).
  • Vampiric Touch: mana replenishment buff(shared with Retribution Paladins, Frost Mages, and Destruction Warlocks).
  • Dispersion: Self-damage mitigation cooldown.
  • Vampiric Embrace: Provides a small amount of healing to party members based on damage done.

C Tier DPS Specializations in Wrath of the Lich King

Destruction Warlock

C Tier: Destruction Warlocks(Destro) have decent damage and would be a respectable choice if it’s the play style you enjoy. That being said, the other two specializations, Affliction and Demonology, will always outperform Destruction. They do provide some unique utility to the raid, providing mana regeneration and some crowd control, but overall they will be middle of the pack on the Damage Meters.

• Utility:
  • Improved Soul Leech: mana replenishment buff (shared with Retribution Paladins, Shadow Priests, and Frost Mages).
  • Aftermath talent with Conflagrate provides a daze effect and Shadowfury is a really effective AoE stun. Both of these help out with managing additional enemies in some encounters.
  • Improved Shadow Bolt: Increases spell crit chance debuff (shared with Frost and Fire Mages).

Arms Warrior

C Tier: Arms Warriors are brought to the raid for their extensive amount of buffs, debuffs, and 2 target cleave damage. They suffer from the lack of armor penetration early on and with a focus on bleed damage, they quickly become outperformed by Fury Warriors.

• Utility:
  • Blood Frenzy: Increases physical damage debuff (shared with Combat Rogues).
  • Trauma: Improves bleed damage debuff(shared with Feral Druids).
  • Battle Shout: Increases attack power buff (shared with Paladins).
  • Commanding Shout: Increases party health buff.
  • Sunder Armor: Decreases the target's armor debuff.
  • Shattering Throw: Decreases the target's armor debuff.

Elemental Shaman

C Tier: Elemental Shamans (Ele) can perform decently in the early stages and a good player will do fine throughout the entire expansion. They also provide a lot of utility to the raid, but those buffs are also provided by stronger classes. They have good single-target, AoE, and cleave damage potential but they won’t be topping the DPS meters in the majority of scenarios. Even in caster-friendly fights, Enhancement Shamans can sometimes still perform better than Elemental.

• Utility:
  • Totem of Wrath: Increases spell power buff (shared with Demonology Warlocks).
  • Totem of Wrath: Increases crit chance buff (shared with Retribution Paladins and Assassination Rogues).
  • Heroism / Bloodlust, Purge, Wind Shear, Hex, and many Shaman totems.

D Tier DPS Specializations in Wrath of the Lich King

Beast Mastery Hunter

D Tier: While they do perform remarkably well in leveling and solo content, Beast Mastery Hunters (BM) are the worst of the three Hunter specializations for group content. Their damage is very dependent on their pet staying alive. They also lack any significant AoE or cleaving capabilities. It’s certainly still possible to clear content with this spec, and they do provide some utility to the group. However, with their buff being provided by Retribution Paladins (which perform really well later on), they are often overshadowed by Marksmanship Hunter at every stage of the expansion.

• Utility:
  • Ferocious Inspiration: Increases damage buff (shared with Retribution Paladins and Arcane Mages).
  • All Hunters: Frost Trap, Freezing Trap, Misdirection

Subtlety Rogue

D Tier: Subtlety Rogues (Sub) really only shine in PvP content where their toolkit is very powerful. Their damage in PvE is very low throughout the entire expansion. While their own damage is low, they do still provide damage buffs to the group. However, the increase from those buffs pales in comparison to the damage potential that the other 2 specializations, Assassination and Combat would provide.

• Utility:
  • Hemorrhage: Unique debuff for increased physical damage.
  • All Rogues: Tricks of the Trade: Increases a targets damage and redirects threat.

Frost Mage

D Tier: Frost Mages are also typically only seen as a PvP specialization. Their damage is probably the worst damage of among all of the classes in PvE content. They do provide buffs to the group, however, other classes can also provide them and they deal more damage. It also has a rather dull skill rotation, primarily casting Frostbolt with a few Frostfire Bolts and Deep Freezes mixed in.

• Utility:
  • Enduring Winter: Mana replenishment buff (Shared with Retribution Paladins, Shadow Priests, and Destruction Warlocks).
  • Winter’s Chill: Increases spell crit chance buff (Shared with Affliction Warlocks and Fire Mages).

Final Thoughts

While DPS Tier Lists for WotLK are sometimes seen as trivial, they help newer players understand where they might fit in the grand scheme of raids; We hope this has been informative for you!

In case you are looking for our other tier lists and interesting top articles for WotLK Classic, check these out:

• Tank Tier List
• Healer Tier List
• PvP Tier List
• Best Addons for Wrath Classic