Season of Discovery Phase 4 Tank Tier List - Best Tanks Ranked in SoD Phase 4

WoW Season of Discovery Phase 4 is coming and most of the tanks are in their final form. Which tanks are going to be the best? Read our SoD Phase 4 tank tier list, we’re ranking the best tank classes and specs!

S Tier - Warrior

The Warrior is most broken class on this WOW Season of Discovery Phase 4 tank tier list and optimal tanking class by a wide margin, rendering all other competitors obsolete. Deep Prot is the undisputed meta, as Fury could never hope to compete with Shield Slam's immense 15% attack power scaling threatening and doubled threat generation. Prot is buffered from damage nerves while rage generation is enhanced. Thunderclap and new AOE Shockwave provide unparalleled trash threat, and Shield Wall and Retaliation's reduced 5-minute cooldowns create an unkillable mitigation machine. 

Relying more on passive threat from Vigilance siphoning than gear, Warrior tanks laugh in the face of previous race issues and world buff reliance. They stand utterly perfected - the definition of tankiness with multiple 75% damage reductions and unmatched overall throughput. After a long tyranny of alternative options, Warriors have at last achieved complete and utter tanking supremacy without threat or defense flaw.

A Tier - Druid

Druids are one of the best SoD Phase 4 tanks for Molten Core with effective threat but spiky mitigation. Threat generation should be improved thanks to buffs to Swipe damage and target cap. This helps Druids hold aggro in AoE situations better. Single target threat was already good and gear scaling will allow it to remain effective. Bleed immunity on targets isn't as much of an issue. Mitigation remains the main weakness, as Druids lack block/parry. Armor is high but debuffs can still cause spikes. Tank swapping is suggested but rarely used.

Molten Core has a lot of fire damage, which armor is less effective against. Druids will rely more on healing through these phases. Leader of the Pack buff and improved crit from Salvational is valuable. Fire resistance debuffs hopefully won't impact feral DPS too much. Overall, it is considered an okay tank option, though not the best on the Season of Discovery Phase 4 tanks ranking. Solid single target but AoE threat and mitigation spikes are downsides. Gear scaling helps compensate. It won't be complained about as a raid tank, but also unlikely to be considered optimal. Fills the role adequately with some work from healers. Warrior remains stronger overall for most encounters.

A Tier - Warlock

The Warlock tank remains in a strong position in SoD Phase 4 tank class tier list due to various buffs and the nature of their abilities. Immolate was adjusted to make its proc more useful for tanks, generating more consistent threat without hindering DPS specs. Backdraft no longer consuming Immolate's buff allows for sustained haste and damage over longer fights. Along with innate high stamina and a damage reduction passive, Warlocks are naturally sturdy and equipped to withstand heavy hits. 

Their ability to stay immune to critical strikes and silence immunity keeps threat generation reliable. While not receiving any major overhauls, these solid foundations and buffs to key spells ensure Warlocks remain competitive tanks, especially as self-healing and high uptime on threat supplements their already favorable mob control through the plethora of demonic summons and crowd control at their disposal.

B Tier - Paladin

AoE threat will be strong with Consecrate heal and more focus on holy damage from Holy Shield. This makes them excellent for trash clearing. Single target threat is lacking compared to other tanks. Most of their threat comes from holy damage, which bosses have high resistances against initially. Early on in progression when armor debuffs are lacking, Paladins may perform better on bosses like Ragnaros due to holy damage bypassing armor. But they fall off as gear improves. 

Mitigation relies mostly on shields/bubbles rather than damage reduction abilities of other tanks. They are not as sturdy overall.

Utility from healing melees, amenity reduction, and Divine Sacrifice provide group support. Malleable Protection bubble is a weaker mini-cooldown compared to other tanks' stronger options. Overall lackluster performance for most boss encounters. Good for trash but outshined on single targets later. Filling a tank spot with one is not ideal, but it is the best Season of Discovery Phase 4 best tank for utility and trash clearing isn't a bad option.

C Tier - Rogue

While still very capable as a single target tank thanks to durable avoidance and evasion, the Rogue received several nerfs that cement its limitations for all but niche boss tanking. The damage reductions to Mutilate and stealth openers, alongside putting a cooldown on the powerful energy generating Fan of Knives, blunted their burst threat potential. These issues that have plagued them since phase one remain unaddressed, consigning Rogues largely to an off tank role due only to an inability to perform main tank duties or provide meaningful AoE threats. 

Though tanky when focused on a boss, they lack the raw mitigation or easy multi-target capabilities of competitive tank classes, locking them firmly into a C tier on SoD Phase 4 tank tier listWar as their single function grows increasingly obsolete in comparison to optimized main tank options. For progression raiding or difficult encounters, Rogues simply cannot fulfill the requirements of the tanking role apart from very selective situations.

D Tier - Shaman

This comes as a celebration for most as the reign of terror enforced by the dominant Shaman tanks is finally at an end, with these celebrated tanks utterly gathering and banishing from the game the deletions they suffered. After the initial attack power nerfs they received to their Rockbiter weapon in Phase 3 gutted their threat generation, the additional attack power and spell power nerfs in Phase 4 took things to hell and put weird limitations on Way of the Elemental that cemented the shaman's once invaluable tanking role as terminated. 

While their buffs to Multi-Strike's damage and number of targets was a laughable attempt at compensation, the collection of nerfs far exceeded any paltry boons and relegated these former tanks that had reigned supreme without question for three phases straight to the limited roles of DPS or healing.