In WoW Classic Season of Discovery, who's going to perform the best damage on single target and AOE, and What kind of utility do each DSP specs bring to the table? We've got to get right to it, you don't want to pick the wrong DPS class to start Phase 1 of WoW Classic SoD. So check out our WoW Classic Season of Discovery DPS Tier List now!
WoW Classic SoD DPS Tier List - Best DPS Ranking for Season of Discovery Phase 1
This WoW Classic SoD DPS Rankings were compiled by researching optimal rotation and BiS for every spec, then those rotations were compared for both the single Target and the AOE scenarios, utility is also factored in since classic rating requires a variety of Buffs and abilities to maximize success. So far the bosses in the new BFD raid have been primarily single Target, because of that the overall rankings do weigh toward single Target. So let's get into the best damage dealers in WoW Classic Season of Discovery!
Related Read:
WoW Classic Season of Discovery Tank Tier List - Best Tank Specs For SoD Phase 1
WoW Classic SoD PvP Tier List - Best Class To Play for PvP in Season of Discovery Phase 1
1. Warlock DPS (S Tier)
Single-Target: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
AOE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Utility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Affliction dots without any other spells do the same damage as a pre-spamming Smite, meanwhile, Destro is way stronger for single Target fights than before with Demonic Tactics powering up an improved Shadow Bolt, and Incinerates free damage as well. But it's hard to justify demonic packs for raids. Warlock single Target gets the number four spot. As for AOE, the runes are the secret to the AOE warlock success, being able to swap to the Lake of Fire rune makes Rain of Fire one of the two best AOE spells in the whole game. Swapping Chaos Bolt and Shadow Bolt Volley for multi-target boss fights should be strong as well. Warlock AOE gets the two ranks. As for utility, warlocks suffer from having so much utility that it's almost annoying to maintain. Your Demonic Pact Rune is so good for Caster groups that you'll have to drop high-damage options like incinerate. Then you can summon players with the ritual of summoning, but you do have to farm Soul Shards, Create Hellstones for the raid, and Create Soulstones for the Healer or the tank will be a Non-Stop job as well. On the less annoying side, Warlocks do have higher durability than other classes with Master Channeler and control spells like Fear. And of course, Unending Breath is huge for BFD. Warlock utility gets the number two spot and overall warlock is the number one DPS.
2. Druid (S Tier)
Single-Target: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
AOE: ⭐⭐⭐
Utility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
The Pharaoh Druid build on paper is very strong at 25 with the new runes. The new Mangle Rune gives you a debuff, so you can destroy targets with Shred. Savage Roar gives you a new buff to upkeep with a flat 30% damage increase as well. As for Boomkins' single Target, the new play style is all about upkeeping your Sunfire and your Moonfire dots, then you can pump star surge which is free with the Fury of the Stormrage Rune. At level 25, Starfire is a DPS loss so your play style is a lot more mobile than before, Druid's single Target gets a three. As for AOE, Ferals have some of the worst AOE in the entire game at level 25, well probably just single Target cat DPS targets down, we do get swipe rank two at level 24 so we could just bear from AOE DPS is another option, so Druid AOE gets a six. Any lack of AOE is made up for immediately with the utility of Druid DPS, Ferals bring Wind Fury now which makes them required for melee groups, you also have the ability to off-tank on any fight by simply swapping a few runes. Don't forget Cure Poison, Decurse, Mark of the Wild armor buff, then there's Fairy Fire which gives your raid more damage, Thorns for a better tank, and Threat Preot for making DPS more consistent, just forget all of that though because you have the only battle res in the game at 25 which is the most valuable utility by far. Druid is ranked number one in utility and number two overall.
3. Mage (A Tier)
Single-Target: ⭐⭐⭐
AOE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Utility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Arcane Mage gets a new rotation with Arcane Blast to build up your Arcane damage buff then, just channeling Arcane missiles with maybe an Icy Veins thrown in. Meanwhile, with rank five Fireball at 24, Fire Mages manage some of the highest single Target Caster damage, they get to choose between Burnout for maximum damage or an Enlightenment swap for longer boss fights. As for Frost Mage, single Target Wise is a lot weaker than it seems, you only get rank four Frostblot and your crit chance is so low, that you won't even get full value from Ice Shards. Though whenever fingers a Frost procs you do get to Ice Lance for 75 a pop. Mage's single Target gets the five ranking. As for AOE, Frost Mage and ire Mage are the kings at level 25, if we get dual spec, Frost has an option to go improved Blizzard for citing huge mob packs, then Fire with Flamestrike and Living Bomb gives us the most AOE burst in the entire game. If that's not enough Living Flame gives us yet another AOE option in our toolkit. So the Mages get the number one AOE spot. Utility-wise, Mages do straight up have a healing setup, they can swap to if they're playing Arcane which is really valuable. They also get Decurse and Arcane Intellect rank two for the raid, Amplify Magic as well as Dampen Magic are also very useful depending on the situation. Unfortunately, Conjure Food and Water are useless at 25 in raids that's because vendor food like sweet nectar is way better. So Mages get a utility ranking of four and an overall ranking of three.
4. Hunter (A Tier)
Single-Target: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
AOE: ⭐
Utility: ⭐⭐
For single Target damage, Hunters were already so strong in WoW Classic already, their new abilities like Explosive Shot are very high damage and runes like Sniper Training give a huge increase to shot critical strikes. Hunters get a single Target rank of number one. Single Target isn't everything though, At the 25 level, you only get Multi-Shot and Rune options like Serpent Spread to spread dots. Data mining has suggested traps might be changed to be usable in combat but we won't have explosive traps until Level 34. Hunter's AOE gets a nine which is worst overall. Hunter's utility is pretty low since all they get is a Freezing Trap for kiting enemies. Though to be fair, they also have their pet for tanking an extra mob on multi-target boss fights. Hunter's utility gets a nine but their overall rank is a four.
5. Rogues (B Tier)
Single-Target: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
AOE: ⭐⭐
Utility: ⭐⭐
The rogues really have incredible single-target damage with their new Deadly Brew Rune. Our preferred build will feature Mutilate blasting within Envenom as the finisher, the talents are strong at 25 as well. Early Sims put single Target Rogue at nearly 120 DPS which puts casters to shame Rogue single Target should be the second best in the game. As for AOE, we can't have everything though and Rogues feature very poor AOE damage, Rogue's AoE is the eighth best. Rogues do have a lot of utility with things like Sap for controlling poles, they also have Exposed Armor in case you aren't playing with a warrior, and Kick for spellcasters. So Rogues get a utility rank of eight and an overall rake of number five.
6. Ret Paladin (B Tier)
Single-Target: ⭐⭐⭐
AOE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Utility: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Retribution Paladin‘s Single Target is a lot better now with Crusader Strike and the newly improved instant cast Exorcism and Exorcist that works on any Target. Ret Paladin also get a very strong weapon in Verigan's Fist at level 25 which will really amp up their new attacks like Divine Storm. And Crusader Strike does help to fix your Mana issues to keep putting out damage. We are giving Ret Paladin single Target DPS the seventh spot. AOE is really where Ret Palandin will shine with Divine Storm destroying four enemies at the same time, Seal of Martyrdom is another AOE option as well. But it's primarily utility for buffing the group. Ret should have the third best AOE in the entire game. As for utility, Paladins have incredible utility with their Blessings, they also get the new Horn of Lorder on Buff which is really strong and we can't forget their reliable res and their off-healing options as well. Paladin's utility gets a three and their overall rank gets a B tier at 6 place.
7. Fury Warrior (B Tier)
Single-Target: ⭐⭐⭐
AOE: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Utility: ⭐⭐
Warriors get much more rage generation than they had at previous level 25, then they get abilities like quick strike which gives a much-needed instant two-hander attack that has all the benefits of heroic strike. On top of that, they have been consumed by Rage which is a Perma 25% melee bonus if you manage a Rage. But they have a lot of room to improve with things like Flagellation and Raging Blow later in the game. As for warriors' AOE, they only have Cleave and Thunderclap but that's still enough to put them in number four. Moving into utility, Warriors do have some underrated utility, they have Disarm, Sunder Armor for armor reduction, and Battles Shout rank two will buff your entire party with 60 melee attack power, they also have the ability to Taunt and start tanking if necessary, especially with run swaps. Warrior utility gets a seven and their overall rank gets a seven as well.
8. Shaman DPS (C Tier)
Single-Target: ⭐⭐
AOE: ⭐⭐⭐
Utility: ⭐⭐⭐
Enhance Shaman at level 25 can get an incredible 8% hit and they look very strong on paper. The only thing holding Enhance Shaman back from being top tier is going to be their Mana which is a real problem, even with Shamanistic Rage. Ellie Shamans on the other hand feels very cursed in WoW Classic Season of Discovery so far, the only chest route Ellie gets is Overload which has a chance to give instant Lightning Bolts. The problem is that Ellie Shamans is only getting Lightning Bolt rank four. Then Lava Burst would be insane damage with guaranteed crits but it requires you to use Flame Shock which you only get a low rank of. Moving into Shaman AOE, Fire Nova Totems are the only source of AOE damage but it is very strong. For Shaman utility, at 25 levels it's very solid, you get an offensive Purge, Cure Poison, and a variety of totems. Strength of Earth is definitely the Highlight with 20 extra strength for nearby party members and of course, Underwater Breathing is great for BFD. So Shaman DPS gets an overall rank of C Tier.
9. Priest DPS (C Tier)
Single-Target: ⭐
AOE: ⭐⭐
Utility: ⭐⭐⭐
The new Void Plague Rune does give Priest a free dot comparable to a Shadow Word: Pain, then you get Shadow World: Death which is one of the best single Target spells in the game at this level. The big problem slowing down Priest though is that when your Mind Blast and your Death are unavailable, you have to fill with 40 damage per second Smites. We are giving their single Target damage a nine, then Mind Sear on paper is one of the strongest AOE abilities available at least if it works like in Wrath, but the trash packs look small, so this ability would be much worse than a Flamestrike or a warlock Rain of Fire. Then Shared Pain is actually one of the worst runes in the game since Shadow Word: Pain is the level 18 rank three version and only does 7 DPS. As for Utility, Priests do bring power words for for extra stamina. They've also got resurrection and a variety of very strong heals, Dispel Magic always has strong viability in raids and is in PvP as well we also can't forget the Priest Racials which are very strong, something like a Fear Ward can be a real difference maker. Overall, we are giving the priest a rank of C Tier for DPS!
That being said, these rankings are very much subject to change, undoubtedly many of the Spells mentioned in this guide will be very different on launch day. So we will keep updating more info here, stay tuned!
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