WoW The War Within Class Tier List Prediction
Let’s try to sum up the changes we know so far about WoW 10th expansion and come up with a prediction for The War Within Class Tier List!
Table of Contents
Key Takeaways:
- The new Hero Talents mechanic would be one of the main factors changing the class meta.
- Evoker, Demon Hunter, and Mage are likely to maintain an advantage.
- Certain specs of Priest, Monk, and Warlock may keep their top and above-average positions or vastly improve them.
- It’s hard to make a positive prognosis on the Death Knight, Druid, Paladin, and Rogue places concerning their current state and the possible Hero Talents effect.
- Hunter, Shaman, and Warrior may face difficulties on their way to the top.
The War Within promises significant updates to the World of Warcraft class system. If you’re eager to stay informed about the latest details regarding WoW’s 10th expansion, be sure to check out this article:
It’s important to note that this The War Within class tier list is purely speculative. At the moment of writing, many Hero Talents remain undisclosed, and known talents are subject to change and refinement. So there’s no doubt that the rankings of classes in this tier list are subject to change upon the release of The War Within. So, please take it with a grain of salt. And don’t hesitate to share with us your own predictions in the comments!
The War Within Class Tier List Criteria
This tier list primarily focuses on PvE aspects, as it is premature to adequately address PvP considerations. The main criteria here are the positions of a class’s specs in the latest rankings and how Hero Talents might affect them. Introducing new branches to each spec’s Talent Trees, this feature will also serve as the primary indicator of changes within the meta.
Regarding each tier:
- Tier S contains classes whose specs are now highly rated and will most likely retain their positions in the new expansion.
- Tier A contains classes whose majority of specs are rated above-average, and expected to maintain their positions in the next expansion. It also includes classes typically rated lower but will likely improve their standings in the future.
- Tier B includes classes with current average or above-average performance. However, the anticipated changes in the upcoming expansion may not be adequate to sustain their current positions in Dragonflight, especially if the predicted improvements for Tier A classes come true.
- In Tier C are the classes whose specializations are currently rated the lowest. And the upcoming changes in The War Within don’t appear to improve their situation.
Rankings are subjective and can assist in choosing a class for the next expansion, but they may not always be the best fit for you. Class positions can change based on criteria, so don’t be discouraged if your favorites aren’t at the top. Ultimately, the true winner is the class that brings the most enjoyment to your WoW journey.
With that said, below is our prediction:
The War Within Class Tier List Prediction
S-Tier Classes
Evoker
Evoker often leads Dragonflight rankings and is likely to remain top-tier in The War Within. Introduced in Patch 10.1.5, Augmentation remains unique as the sole Support spec. Traits like Threads of Fate share Augmentation Support mechanics to Preservation. Augmentation/Devastation Tree will probably provide a few useful Support features to Damage-Dealer spec. It’s unknown how much they’ll enhance these specs’ performance in practice. But still, it may be enough for the class to maintain top positions.
However, with the Hero Talents system, other classes may adopt similar mechanics, potentially challenging Evoker’s dominance. In addition, the Augmentation/Preservation Chronowarden Hero Tree hasn’t impressed many players.
Demon Hunter
Demon Hunter tops many WoW Dragonflight class tier lists. Havoc has exceptional damage outputs. Vengeance DH is highly valued at M+ levels due to good survivability and the ability to manage large amounts of trash. DH’s overall high mobility enables quick target switches, evading dangerous effects, easier kiting in PvE, and effectively closing the gap with enemies in PvP.
Demon Hunter’s Heroic Talents haven’t yet been revealed. However, any buffs and new mechanics will enhance said class significantly. One of the Hero Talent ideas is to share mechanics between specs, giving a bit of “Tanking” to Damage-Dealer and vice versa. Thus, it’d be logical for Havoc to gain even more survivability and for Vengeance to become more mobile. The Vengeance’s overall damage increase will improve its Tanking and Damage-Dealing capabilities.
Mage
Mage specs are often found in the top tiers in WoW Dragonflight DPS PvP and PvE rankings. Their popularity in M+ stems from their burst damage, mobility, and survivability, making them potent in both boss and trash encounters.
The known Hero Talent Trees, including Frost/Fire, Arcane/Frost, and Arcane/Fire, hold potential for unique new mechanics or beneficial buffs to existing traits. In the first case, there’s a risk if new talents introduce mechanics that disrupt familiar rotations or prove inferior to those of other classes. However, in the second case, Mage stands a much better chance of retaining its top PvE positions.
A-Tier Classes
Priest
No Priest Hero Trees have been revealed yet. But Holy and Shadow need useful mechanics and buffs more than many others. Recent Patches have improved Shadow Priest’s position with powerful DPS combos and bursts. Yet, it still lacks survivability. Holy/Shadow and Disc/Shadow Hero Trees could offer mitigation mechanics to address this need.
Similarly, Holy Priest can gain useful Discipline-like traits and mechanics to mitigate its weakness, considering Holy Priest is one of the weakest healers at the moment, while Discipline is one of the best. And so, there is potential for Priests to stand among the strongest classes in The War Within rankings.
Monk
Mistweaver Monk is one of the best Dragonflight Healers. Windwalker is a Damage-Dealer with an incredible survivability rate and above-average overall damage. Brewmaster is generally considered inferior to most other tanking specs except Guardian Druid.
Each Monk spec has a cool utility pack. Thus, Hero Talents combinations of different specs’ utilities can significantly boost each role’s performance. We haven’t seen any Monk’s Hero Trees yet. But we can expect Windwalker to gain even more survivability. Even the slightest damage buffs can influence its damage output. Increased survivability from Mistweaver-like features and additional self-healing mitigation spells would nicely fit in Brewmaster’s rotation. So, we hopefully place Monk in tier A.
Warlock
Demonology and Destruction Warlocks are usually rated above average. Affliction often ranks lower in PvE due to their lower single-target damage compared to the former specs.
Affliction and Destruction’ AoE damage is significantly worse than Demonology’s. Destruction is also inferior to Demonology in AoE without using the Summon Infernal burst. Affliction and Destruction Warlocks can climb higher in The War Within DPS rankings if they receive AoE buffs within Trees they’ll share with Demonology. Any additional solo-damage burst for Affliction can elevate it, too.
B-Tier Classes
Death Knight
All Death Knight specs are generally rated average or above average. They are rarely seen in the top sections of PvP or PvE tier lists. However, the Blood/Unholy San‘layn Tree looks promising.
Vampiric Strike adds new mechanics to these specs yet doesn’t force players to press a completely new button. You will just have to change the overall rotation and track some procs differently. The Strike and the Essence of the Blood Queen haste buff will increase Unholy DK’s survivability. Blood DK’s self-healing and damage will be increased further.
DK Tanking spec may move higher in the tier list. Unholy DK can become the best The War Within PvP DPS-Tank hybrid spec. However, that’s not enough to improve its position in PvE. Besides, playing DK is still too complicated, demanding a deep understanding of rotation efficiency.
Druid
Druid is often considered one of the best Healers and Tanks currently. Boomkins are among the top Ranged Damage-Dealers. Meanwhile, Ferals are slightly below average as Melee.
Druids will receive four Hero Trees. The revealed Elune’s Chosen and Keeper of the Grove are Balance/Guardian and Restoration/Balance, respectively. Talents like Keeper’s Treants of the Moon, allowing treants to cast moonfire, seem fascinating. But they don’t affect the healing or damaging capabilities of the Balance or Restoration specs much. At best, they may enhance the existing talents and abilities. Time will tell if these traits will keep Druid’s places in The War Within PvE tier list. Due to uncertainties, we place them in tier B.
Rogue
Outlaw Rogue’s Subtlety spec performed surprisingly well in the Amirdrassil raid. Assassination Rogues have moderate output, but just like other Rogue specs, they are universally useful due to good mobility and efficient utilities.
At the moment, all three Rogue specs perform well in PvP. However, it’s hard to imagine Rogue Hero Talents radically raising or lowering the average class rankings. There aren’t many individual spec weaknesses that could be fixed by other specs’ strengths. Subtlety is often said to have an advantage in AoE. But would additional AoEs have a strong impact on Assassination and Outlaw damage output in PvE or PvP? Rogue specs will probably remain in roughly the same positions unless new experimental mechanics will bring great positive or negative changes to them.
Paladin
Paladin maintains moderate positions in the tier lists now. Protection is often at the top. Holy is a competitive A-rank Healer. Retribution is one of the best solid mid-tier damage dealers after it was buffed in 10.2.5.
Any key mechanics’ buffs can benefit Paladin and help bring it to the top. However, the revealed Protection/Light Lightsmith Hero Talents are currently too focused on the brand-new Holy Armaments mechanic, which involves teammates receiving buffs by picking up Lightsmith Paladin’s weapon. This fancy mechanic can be very ineffective in practice. Especially considering that players must click the “Weapon” like they once had to click Priest’s Lightwell to get healed. The focus on such a controversial mechanic forces us to place Paladin in Tier B of WoW The War Within Class Tier List for now.
C-Tier Classes
Hunter
Hunter specs usually end up in the lower sections of current PvE tier lists. Marksmanship is rated the lowest. Beast Mastery is the mightiest among them. But what BM-like mechanics could possibly strengthen Marksmanship? It’s hard to predict whether yet-to-be-revealed Hero talents will help other specs to become the top The War Within DPS. For now, Hunter has to remain in section C.
Shaman
No Shaman Hero Trees have been revealed yet, leaving the positions of its specs in the tier list uncertain. It’s difficult to guess what Restoration or Enhancement features can increase the Elemental’s mobility and damage output. Perhaps that’s the case when completely new mechanics would come in handy.
Warrior
In Warrior’s case, we’ve seen Fury/Protection Mountain Thane Hero Talents, which seems to be more beneficial for Protection. However, said spec is usually placed in the middle of the Tank rankings.
Lightning Strikes‘ damage may not increase Fury’s and Arms’ performance enough. Doubts remain about whether Warrior will emerge as one of the best damaging classes in The War Within, as its Hero Trees lack substantial innovations. Even the Thunder-like cosmetic effects fail to freshen Warrior’s gameplay.
Conclusion
That concludes our prediction for WoW The War Within classes tier list. Don’t feel disheartened if your favorite class, for some controversial reasons, is not on the top. Remember that the enjoyment you gain while playing your favorite class is more important than any rankings. Happy gaming!
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