It's that time of year again: the first raid for World of Warcraft Shadowlands is live, and everyone wants to know the DPS Rankings. I scoured the internet and referenced all the experts, and overall most all came to the same conclusions. Some of the best DPS won't surprise you, but there are a few things all would-be attackers should keep in mind before forming their optimal raid groups.
Raid DPS Rankings for Shadowlands in December, and some notes.
Before getting into the rankings, let me first say a few things about them. To begin with, all results have been averaged from various sources, as I am only one man and cannot analyze each class on my own. That said, most of these results were born from simulations under optimal circumstances since the expansion is brand new. Damn, almost everyone had the same or very similar results, but it's important to point out that these numbers can and will change once the Castle Nathria raid is complete.
Additionally, all of these results were tested with mythic raids and optimal gear/alliance choices in mind. So while these DPS rankings for Shadowlands will give you a good idea of which ones are overperforming and could use a little love, they are geared towards peak progression guilds. As always, the person behind the class matters far more than the class itself. An Arms Warrior master will outrank a Scrub Unholy DK, despite the higher DK rating. People matter more, so consider these rankings the most "optimal" recommendations, not the mandatory choices.
That said, the raid still strongly favors DPS or ranged melee in the rankings, but doesn't ignore melee entirely. Additionally, all classes are able to clear the normal and heroic castle of Nathria without issue. Some will perform worse than others, of course, but no class will get in the way of your raid. As long as everyone has the right gear, knows their rotations, and can perform mechanics, you should refer to these DPS ratings for Shadowlands as suggestions and not divine law.
All right, let's go. Below are the DPS ratings in Shadowlands categorized into three categories: Outperforming, Tied, and Needs Love. Overachievers are currently classes that crush DPS sims, and On-Par are classes that are working solidly, but not at a nearly broken level. Needs Love indicates which DPS classes require adjustment from Blizzard, and will largely serve niche Mythic difficulty rolls. ENCORE: On Normal and Heroic, these classes will work just fine. The order within each category is alphabetical (by class, then by spec), because the overall hierarchy will shift.
Outperforming
- Unholy Death Knight
- Libra Druid
- precision hunter
- Frost Mage
- shadow priest
- Thief of Subtlety
- Affliction Warlock
Tied
- Frost Death Knight
- Mage arcanique
- fire mage
- Windwalker Monk
- Paladin of Retribution
- outlaw thief
- Shaman Upgrade
- Warlock of Destruction
- weapon warrior
Need love
- Havoc Demon Hunter
- feral druid
- Beast Mastery Hunter
- survival hunter
- Assassination Thief
- Elemental Shaman
- warlock warlock
- fury warrior
