World of Warcraft’s Season of Discovery Phase 4 has finally arrived, and along with it, the DPS rankings. With the metrics finally out, we will be ranking each DPS class and talk about each one’s rise to power or fall from grace. Much of the changes in rankings are based on different factors that change in every phase. Gear scaling, rune synergies and skill changes are the primary factors that can make or break a class and its specs.
Table of Contents
Rogue (S Tier)
Rogues are at the pinnacle of DPS in Phase 4. The top five parses in the PTR were all Rogues, with single-target DPS recorded at nearly 4,000. They also excel in AoE with Fan of Knives. Despite lacking significant utility, their ability to tank and incredible damage output makes them the most fun and powerful class in this phase.
Based on the Rogues dominating the DPS charts in raids, with top parses showing nearly 4,000 DPS in single-target scenarios, Their AoE damage with Fan of Knives is also exceptional. While their utility is limited, being able to tank in emergency situations and their sheer damage output make them indispensable for any raid group.
In PvP, Rogues are quite powerful with their burst damage, crowd control, and stealth skills. They can quickly take down key targets and escape when necessary. They rely heavily on cooldowns and can be vulnerable if their initial burst does not secure a kill.
Fire Mage (S Tier)
Coming in second place for this phase’s DPS charts is the Fire Mage, thanks to the new rotation involving Bale Firebolt and off-global cooldown Fire Blasts. They might not scale as well as Rogues or Warriors later, but early Phase 4 will see Fire Mages dominating the meters. Their massive AoE damage and essential utility (Arcane Intellect, food, and transportation) make them indispensable.
Fire Mages in PvP bring high burst damage and excellent CC with Polymorph and Dragon’s Breath. Their mobility with Blink and defensive abilities makes them formidable. However, without their escape and defensive tools, Fire Mages are vulnerable to enemy attack.
Ranged Hunter (S Tier)
Marksmanship Hunters feel amazing with their new trap scaling and reduced cooldowns. Exceptional Hunters can quickly push top rankings on every fight. While the Melee Hunter spec fell off from its top spot in Phase 3, the utility of Hunter traps and their AoE damage make them a must-have. Their Heart of the Lion buff provides essential raid-wide benefits.
Marksmanship Hunters performed exceptionally well with their new trap mechanics and reduced cooldowns. They are also consistent top performe
rs in both single-target and AoE scenarios. Hunter traps and their Heart of the Lion buff (10% stats) offer significant raid-wide benefits.
In PvP, Hunters continue to excel at strong burst damage, kiting abilities, and CC with traps. Still, they’re vulnerable to enemies in melee range.
Warlock (A Tier)
Warlocks are slated to be the second-highest caster DPS with around 2,800 DPS. Destruction Warlocks are particularly strong with the new Decimation Rune. Affliction Warlocks also perform well, especially with hybrid builds. Their utility, including Mark of Chaos and Demonic Pact, makes them valuable in any raid.
Warlocks are the second-highest caster DPS, with Destruction and Affliction builds performing well. Their new Decimation Rune and hybrid builds add versatility. Warlocks bring a lot of valuable and powerful raid-wide buffs like Mark of Chaos, Demonic Pact, and other essential curses.
For their PvP performance, Warlocks have strong sustained damage, CC with Fear, and defensive abilities with Healthstones and Demonic Circle. However, they can be somewhat unwieldy in chaotic situations, as they require time to set up their CC and damage spells.
Enhancement Shaman (A Tier)
Enhancement Shamans haven’t changed much from Phase 3, but they remain competitive and strong, particularly with viable two-handed options. They might not be top tier, but their utility and ability to creep into top rankings on various fights keep them relevant.
For their utility, Shamans bring essential totems and buffs like Windfury Totem and Bloodlust/Heroism.
In PvP however, Enhancement Shamans have strong burst damage, self-sustain, and teamfight utility with totems. They aren’t as mobile though, making them susceptible against more mobile classes like Rogues.
Warrior (A Tier)
Warriors performed poorly on the PTR, averaging around 1,800 DPS. However, they do bring potential to the table with their high-end gear and new weapons. However, this is a double-edged sword since their reliance on gear also makes them extremely weak in the early game, as their class scaling is low without good gear. On the other hand, their off-tank capabilities, Sunder, and rallying abilities provide significant raid utility.
These off-tank capabilities and raid-wide buffs are valuable, as they can output good damage for a semi-tank class. They also give great debuffs like Sunder Armor, Rallying Cry, and potential world buffs with a new skill book.
The same strengths and weaknesses apply to their PvP performance, once again relying on good gear to be effective, but excelling at what they do best once they reach the gear power spike.
Feral Druid (A Tier)
Feral Druids are expected to be middle-of-the-pack DPS. They bring essential utility like Wild Strikes, Innate, and Battle Res, which could be crucial if Molten Core proves challenging. They also bring crucial utility like Wild Strikes, Innate, and Battle Resurrection. This class is an excellent pick because of its flexibility, as their ability to switch roles (e.g., off-tank, healer) adds versatility to the raid team.
Mobility isn’t as useful in PvE, but is exceptionally valuable in PvP. They can escape certain CC scenarios easily and chase down isolated players with their shapeshifter forms. However, they require a high mana upkeep to remain deadly in PvP.
Balance Druid (A Tier)
Balance Druids are currently hard to evaluate but are near Shadow Priests in performance. Their utility is significant, especially in difficult raid scenarios. Like Elemental Shaman, they have lagged behind in the DPS charts compared to their Phase 3 form. However, they do bring raid-wide buffs and battle resurrections, which are crucial in challenging content.
Balance Druids in PvP are good with burst DPS and CC, but fall into the same pitfalls as Elemental Shaman, being a mana hungry class that becomes weak without their spell resource.
Priest DPS (B Tier)
While the Shadow Priest has a simple playstyle and DPS rotation, this comes at the cost of doing far less DPS than its contemporaries. DPS Priests scale poorly when it comes to gear, making them less effective as gear improves. However, their Vampiric Touch spell provides an insane mana regen, making them highly desirable for this utility, especially in mana-intensive encounters. Beyond that, Shadow Priests are on the lower end of the DPS charts.
Retribution Paladin (B Tier)
Retribution Paladins have high potential but are inconsistent throughout the game’s run time. They bring immense utility to a raid, but suffer from reduced raid-wide mana regen. Previously, Retribution Paladin had become one of the best DPS classes in the game, but with Phase 4, they were nerfed and are much more balanced in their current state.
As a DPS class, Paladins are at their weakest point here. However, this class was always meant to be a tank, giving essential buffs and auras that can significantly support the raid.
Tanks in PvP are the anchors of the team, and the Paladin can soak up a lot of damage in teamfights. However, they can be easily kited by ranged players, so Paladins will need team support.
Frost Mage (C Tier)
Frost Mages lag behind other specs despite their strong AoE capabilities. And when it comes to going up against their Fire Mage counterparts in terms of single-target DPS, Frost Mages are still just not as competitive. In terms of bossing, Frost Mages are practically useless in these encounters. However, this doesn’t stop Frost Mages from shining the brightest in certain encounters, particularly in dense mob packs and groups, as they have some of the best crowd-control spells in the game. But this list is ranking single-target DPS, so Frost Mages are ranked as the second lowest in these charts.
They are quite potent in PvP, as their slows can be very annoying to deal with. With their spells, Frost Mages can continuously kite the opposition with relative ease.
Arcane Mage (C Tier)
Arcane Mages are currently the least competitive in terms of DPS output. They lack the burst and sustained damage capabilities of Fire and Frost Mages. While they still bring essential buffs and utility, their damage output is practically the lowest in Phase 4.
Despite being the weakest PvE class is Phase 4, the same cannot be said for their PvP performance. They have burst damage, CC, mobility and survivability in their kit against other players. The only limiting factor to Arcane Mage is their high skill requirement, but with enough knowledge, they can become a tough contender to go up against.
