Tier lists
Launch-week rankings for World of Warcraft: Forever, written after Blizzard's Nov 2 tuning pass (every class deals more damage, Hunters and Paladins and Rogues rebuilt). They rank what each spec brings to 10- and 20-player raids, dungeons and battlegrounds; the starter build, rotation and gear for each spec are one click away. Revisited when the raids open on Dec 9.
PvE DPS
What each damage spec brings to Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia.
| Tier | Spec | Why |
|---|---|---|
| S | Fury Warrior | Best sustained melee once Windfury or a Windfury totem is around; the Nov 2 pass added Reckless Swings and Improved Whirlwind. |
| S | Fire Mage | Fire Vulnerability and rolling Ignites; Forever's first raids have no fire immunity, so Fire is the launch raid spec. |
| S | Destruction Warlock | Shadow Bolt with Ruin plus Shadow Weaving from a Shadow Priest; threat is the only limit. |
| S | Combat Rogue | Slow main-hand, fast off-hand, Slice and Dice; always a top-three melee. |
| A | Marksmanship Hunter | Trueshot Aura now 100 ranged attack power and Aimed Shot doubled (Nov 2 notes); the best Hunter tree for groups. |
| A | Beast Mastery Hunter | Same shot buffs as Marksmanship with a tougher pet; a hair behind without Trueshot. |
| A | Shadow Priest | Shadow Weaving feeds every warlock; Forever's smaller raids have room for one. |
| A | Frost Mage | Winter's Chill stacks and Ice Block; take it where bosses resist fire. |
| A | Retribution Paladin | The Oct 30 rebuild gave Retribution a real rotation and more damage; needs a slow two-hander. |
| A | Arms Warrior | Mortal Strike and Deep Wounds; a step behind Fury without a Windfury totem, ahead in PvP. |
| A | Elemental Shaman | Lightning Bolt and Chain Lightning on packs; mana-limited in long fights. |
| B | Balance Druid | Moonkin's crit aura is the reason to bring one; personal damage is mid-table. |
| B | Enhancement Shaman | Windfury on a slow two-hander; swingy but fun, and a Windfury totem for the melee group. |
| B | Affliction Warlock | Dots and Drain Life; great leveling, a notch behind Destruction on single bosses. |
| B | Survival Hunter | Lightning Reflexes (15% Agility) is strong, but you lose Trueshot Aura. |
| B | Feral Druid (cat) | Poised and Shred; competitive in 10-player, behind in 20s. |
| B | Subtlety Rogue | Hemorrhage for the group; a PvP tree in PvE. |
| B | Assassination Rogue | Shank and Cold Blood burst; close to Combat on short fights. |
| C | Arcane Mage | Arcane Missiles mana cost; take Arcane for Presence of Mind and Arcane Power, not as a main tree. |
| C | Demonology Warlock | A support tree: Demonic Sacrifice feeds Destruction's damage. |
PvE tanks
Main tank and off-tank picks.
| Tier | Spec | Why |
|---|---|---|
| S | Protection Warrior | Shield Slam, Revenge and 80% Defensive Stance threat; the main tank for Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia. |
| A | Protection Paladin | Holy Shield and Consecration make pack tanking easy; single-target threat and mana are the limits. |
| A | Feral Druid (bear) | High armor and health, Growl and Swipe; the best off-tank in 10-player raids. |
| C | Enhancement Shaman | Rockbiter and a shield work in low dungeons; not a raid tank. |
| C | Warlock (Voidwalker) | Pet tanking is for leveling and a few trash pulls only. |
PvE healers
Tank and raid healing.
| Tier | Spec | Why |
|---|---|---|
| S | Holy Priest | Greater Heal and Renew on the tank, Prayer of Healing on the group; the raid tank healer. |
| S | Restoration Shaman | Chain Heal scales with Forever's 10- and 20-player groups; Mana Tide for the healers. |
| A | Restoration Druid | Rejuvenation, Regrowth and Swiftmend; HoTs cover movement fights. |
| A | Holy Paladin | Flash of Light efficiency and Blessings; weaker on group damage. |
| B | Discipline Priest | Shields and Power Infusion; a support healer, best as the second priest. |
PvP DPS
Warsong Gulch, Arathi Basin, Alterac Valley and the Darkspear Islands.
| Tier | Spec | Why |
|---|---|---|
| S | Frost Mage | Roots, slows, Ice Block and Shatter burst; the battleground king. |
| S | Subtlety Rogue | Openers, Preparation and Blind; controls any single target. |
| S | Marksmanship Hunter | Aimed Shot and Scatter Shot with the new Trueshot numbers; kites melee all day. |
| A | Affliction or Destruction Warlock | Fear, Death Coil and dots; Soul Link makes you hard to kill. |
| A | Arms Warrior | Mortal Strike's healing cut decides team fights. |
| A | Shadow Priest | Mind Blast burst, Psychic Scream and Silence. |
| A | Enhancement Shaman | Windfury two-shots cloth; Grounding Totem eats a Polymorph. |
| A | Feral Druid | Cat burst, bear survivability, travel form; the flag runner. |
| B | Balance Druid | Starfire crits, roots and Cyclone-less control. |
| B | Retribution Paladin | Burst on a slow weapon and a bubble; no snares. |
| B | Elemental Shaman | Chain Lightning crits in group fights. |
| B | Beast Mastery Hunter | Bestial Wrath pet burst; fewer tools than Marksmanship. |
PvP healers
Who keeps a flag carrier alive.
| Tier | Spec | Why |
|---|---|---|
| S | Restoration Druid | HoTs while moving, Nature's Swiftness, travel form; impossible to pin down. |
| S | Holy Paladin | Blessing of Freedom, bubble, Flash of Light; the flag carrier's friend. |
| A | Discipline Priest | Shields, Power Infusion, Fear; the arena-style healer. |
| A | Restoration Shaman | Grounding, Earth Shock interrupts and Nature's Swiftness. |
| B | Holy Priest | Big heals but little escape; Spirit of Redemption is a consolation. |
Racials
Which race for which class; the full racial list and the per-class verdicts are on the races page.
| Tier | Race | Best for | Why |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Human | Priest, Warrior, Paladin, Rogue | Sword and Mace specialization, Perception, extra Spirit; the safe Alliance pick for melee and healers. |
| A | Gnome | Mage, Warlock, Rogue | Escape Artist and +5% Intellect; the Alliance caster race. |
| A | Dwarf | Hunter, Priest, Warrior | Stoneform clears bleeds and poisons; gun specialization for Hunters. |
| B | Night Elf | Druid, Rogue, Hunter | Shadowmeld and +1% dodge; the only Alliance Druid. |
| S | Orc | Warrior, Shaman, Hunter, Rogue | Blood Fury, 25% stun resistance and axe specialization; the Horde melee race. |
| A | Troll | Hunter, Mage, Priest, Rogue | Berserking is the best DPS racial in the game; bow specialization. |
| A | Undead | Priest, Mage, Warlock, Rogue | Will of the Forsaken ends fears; Cannibalize; the PvP caster race. |
| B | Tauren | Druid, Shaman, Warrior | War Stomp and +5% health; the only Horde Druid. |
| A | Skyborne (new) | Mage (Alliance), Shaman (Horde) | Forever's new race: Wind Blessed haste and the Zephras Isle start; racials on the races page. |
Spec guides with build, rotation, stats and gear: all 27. Builds: starter builds. Gear: pre-raid BiS. Compare with Wowhead's DPS rankings and Icy Veins.
Editorial, 2026-11-04; sources linked in the text. Wowhead and Icy Veins guides are referenced, not copied. Data from talentsforever.com (CC BY 4.0), read from the WoW Forever beta client, build 1.60.1.70753. Updated 2026-11-04. World of Warcraft is a trademark of Blizzard Entertainment; this is a fan site.