WoW WotLK DPS tier list (March 2024) - Best DPS classes in Wrath Classic

picture of a balance druid

picture of a balance druid

Are you looking to get into World of Warcraft's Wrath of the Lich King Classic expansion, and want to put up some big DPS numbers? Well, we can help you with that. Our Wrath of the Lich King Classic DPS tier list will detail the top damage classes and specs for the upcoming expansion.

We'll go through each phase of the expansion and what classes sit at the top of the meta so you can make an informed choice on which class to play. The phases are broken up by raid tier releases and so things change with different tier sets.

If DPS isn't your aim, maybe you want to take on a little more responsibility then definitely consider checking out our WotLK Classic Healer tier list, and our WotLK Classic Tank tier list. These list will help you pick the perfect class for the role you want to play.

WoW WotLK Classic DPS tier list

We'll provide multiple tier lists to account for each phase. While we won't go into too much detail around each class, we'll talk briefly about each phase and what the top DPS need to be successful.

WotLK Classic Phase 1 DPS tier list

WotLK Classic Phase 1 DPS tier list

S

Frost DK
Assassin's Rogue
Unholy DK
Arcane Mage
Affliction Warlock

A

Demonology Warlock
Survival Hunter
Shadow Priest
Balance Druid
Marksman Hunter

B

Enhancement Shaman
Fire Mage
Feral Druid
Combat Rogue
Retribution Paladin

C

Arms Warrior
Elemental Shaman
Fury Warrior
Beast Master Hunter
Destruction Warlock

D

Blood DK
Subtlety Rogue
Frost Mage

First off, we have phase one, which encompasses the Naxxramas, Obsidian Sanctum, and Eye of Eternity raids. During this time, our gearing is at it's most basic, thus we lack certain stats to allow for certain classes to shine. Physical DPS specs that can also deal some magic damage will be great off the bat, as armor penetration is hard to come by.

DPS specs that scale well with stats, but have a lower base starting damage totals will suffer until later on in the expansion when we get more stats on our gear, and our set bonuses kick in.

WotLK Classic Phase 2 DPS tier list

WotLK Classic Phase 2 DPS tier list

S

Feral Druid
Combat Rogue

A

Demonology Warlock
Affliction Warlock
Unholy DK
Frost DK
Survival Hunter
Assassination Rogue
Fire Mage
Marksman Hunter
Arcane Mage

B

Fury Warrior
Destruction Warlock
Shadow Priest
Elemental Shaman
Retribution Paladin
Balance Druid

C

Enhancement Shaman
Arms Warrior
Beast Mastery Hunter

D

Blood DK
Frost Mage
Subtlety Rogue

Phase two starts with the introduction of the Ulduar raid. Armor pen becomes a bit more commonplace, straight physical DPS specs are getting stronger. Additionally, Ulduar brings a bunch of cleave centric and AoE heavy fights, so certain classes will shine more in those situations. That's reflected in the tier list.

WotLK Classic Phase 3 DPS tier list

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WotLK Classic Phase 3 DPS tier list

S

Fire Mage
Frost DK
Unholy DK
Marksman Hunter

A

Arcane Mage
Combat Rogue
Fury Warrior
Retribution Paladin
Survival Hunter
Assassination Rogue
Feral Druid

B

Shadow Priest
Balance Druid
Affliction Warlock
Elemental Shaman
Enhancement Shaman
Demonology Warlock

C

Destruction Warlock
Arms Warrior
Beast Mastery Hunter

D

Frost Mage
Subtlety Rogue
Blood DK

Phase three introduced Trial of the Crusader to the game. Fights in this raid are single target and cleave focused, so the tier list will be skewed to specs that can take advantage of that. Specs that are more pure AoE focused fall a bit in favor here. Additionally, we get armor penetration on our gear now, rather than it being a proc, so physical DPS and specs with good scaling push ahead.

WotLK Classic Phase 4 DPS tier list

WotLK Classic Phase 4 DPS tier list

S

Feral Druid
Fire Mage
Fury Warrior
Combat Rogue
Retribution Paladin

A

Marksman Hunter
Unholy DK
Affliction Warlock
Frost DK

B

Shadow Priest
Assassination Rogue
Arcane Mage
Balance Druid
Demonology Warlock

C

Elemental Shaman
Survival Hunter
Enhancement Shaman
Destruction Warlock
Beast Mastery Hunter

D

Arms Warrior
Blood DK
Subtlety Rogue
Frost Mage

Phase four is the finale of the expansion, with Icecrown Citadel and Ruby Sanctum's release. This is as strong as everything is going to be, as we have our final tier set bonuses for the expansion, as well as accounting for fights in ICC, this is where the tier list lands.

As for our recommendations for what DPS to play, there's a few that we'd feel comfortable recommending. First off, we'd say that either Frost or Unholy DK's are safe choices. They start out great, and hold onto that power throughout the expansion. Next up, we'd say a Combat Rogues are fantastic picks if you can play them. They start off a little weak, but very quickly become among the top contenders for damage. Lastly, we'd recommend a Ret Pally. They start out in a similar place as the Combat Rogue, but they end up being insanely powerful for all matter of DPS. You also have multiple specs so you can be an important asset to your team.

And that's all that we have for you! Hopefully you've gotten a good idea of what kind of DPS class you'd like to play through this expansion. While you're here, if you're looking for more Warcraft info, definitely check out our guide to creating your very own Death Knight, as well as when Wrath classic comes out so you know how long you have to level your next character!

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