October 21, 2022

BEST MELEE DPS IN DRAGONFLIGHT: TIER LIST AND PREDICTIONS

There’s not much time left until the Dragonflight release. It will bring many changes to the game, including class-related ones. Man

y players have their own expectations about different specs. This article contains some predictions of the best melee DPS in Dragonflight based on talents and other available information.

DRAGONFLIGHT MELEE DPS TIER LIST

There are 13 melee specs in total. We’ve divided them into 3 different tiers (you can see them above). We’ve put most specs in the A-tier. Melee DPS classes appear to be quite balanced in Dragonflight. Only 3 specs present the S-tier, and just as many do not have what it takes to get into the A-tier.

A significant change awaiting us is the new talent system. It will allow players to create unique builds and adjust them to their own playstyles. Extended talent trees are probably the primary reason why Dragonflight seems to be a well-balanced expansion. Let’s inspect each tier thoroughly and discuss our melee DPS predictions.

S TIER

The S-tier presents specs that are either overpowered or perfectly balanced without any considerable disadvantages.

Arms Warrior. This spec will be highly flexible in Dragonflight in terms of playstyle. Need to inflict a lot of AoE damage? Build your character around Whirlwind and Bladestorm abilities. A boss makes you move too often and you can’t attack them continuously? High Mastery and the Rend skill with bleed damage is your answer. Want to inflict massive damage with single strikes? Not a problem — power up Execute and go crush your enemies.
Unholy Death Knight. That’s the next spec in our melee DPS rankings. The main reason to put it into the S-tier is its tremendous burst potential. Gargoyle is back, making Unholy DKs formidable opponents in single-target battles. Vile Contagion is a new powerful AoE cooldown, spreading Festering Wounds to nearby enemies. The spec’s flexibility is also high. You may empower your pets or create a Disease build using Festering Wounds and Virulent Plague.
Outlaw Rogue. Shadow Dance will be available for any Rogue spec in Dragonflight. The skill adds new opportunities for playing. You may choose to play Ambush-style to be super-effective in single-target fights or create a Blade Fury build for AoE purposes. Outlaw Rogues also have high mobility and survivability. The reason is such talents as Evasion and Improved Sprint (reduces Sprint’s cooldown).

The S-tier participants of our Dragonflight melee DPS tier list have well-balanced talent trees. The presented specs will likely be efficient in most types of content. That’s why they have such a high position on the list.

A TIER

The A-tier specs may have insignificant disadvantages or minor inconveniences compared to the S-tier. Still, these are decent specializations that can deal solid damage.

Assassination Rogue. We’ve already mentioned that all rogue specs now can use Shadow Dance, gaining more flexibility in battle. Assassination Rogue is in A-tier because of its very powerful melee talents. Kingsbane, which was a former Artifact ability, is perfect for single-target. Indiscriminate Carnage applies your next Garrote and Rupture to multiple targets. It’s necessary to maintain many bleed effects and apply skills timely, and you may require some accuracy and concentration.
Enhancement Shaman. It remains a very well-designed and fun spec to play. Enhancement Shamans can inflict serious damage, but they depend highly on their stats, such as Haste and Critical Strike Chance. You will need some proper equipment to overpower mighty enemies.
Feral Druid. Druids in Cat Form might be a top melee DPS in terms of single-target battles. Many bleed effects empowered with Circle of Life and Death talent (former Runecarving Power) may have astonishing effects in battle. Their AoE abilities, however, seem to be a bit less effective.
Frost Death Knight. This is a spec that has received not so many changes in Dragonflight. It has considerable DPS potential because of such talents as Pillar of Frost empowered by Icecap. Other talents like Frostwyrm’s Fury and Absolute Zero give Frost DKs high control potential, making them one of the best PvP melee specs.
Windwalker Monk. This spec has received many powerful abilities and talents back. They include Glory of the Dawn (former Azerite power) and Strike of the Windlord. The developers have also fixed some single-target issues of Windwalkers, which will definitely make Monk lovers happier. Still, you will have to maintain an accurate playstyle and use your abilities orderly to inflict stable damage.
Havoc Demon Hunter. A significant change in this spec is the improvement of the Fury generation process. Demon Blades now give you Fury with every auto attack (not with a 60% chance, as in previous expansions).
Fury Warrior. The last A-tier representative of our WoW Dragonflight melee DPS tier list. The overall playstyle of Fury Warriors won’t change much in the upcoming expansion. Many talents and abilities, however, have been improved in terms of balance and numbers. Some spells have been added to Fury Warriors’ talent tree, such as Spear of Bastion (Kyrian Covenant ability) and Odyn’s Fury. They might make the gameplay a little more variable.

So many melee specs in the A-tier are a good sign. Although they are not S-tier, they are definitely among the best melee DPS. Players can choose practically any class they like. No need to overthink its DPS potential.

B TIER

Subtlety Rogue, Survival Hunter, and Retribution Paladin present this tier. They have messy talent trees, making it challenging for them to compete with other specs. It will likely be difficult for these three to be among the best in Dragonflight melee DPS meta. It doesn’t mean you shouldn’t play them, though!