With WoW Patch 11.1 on the horizon, it's time to take a deep dive into the ranged DPS meta and determine which specs are the strongest choices for raiding and Mythic+. Balance changes, tier set bonuses, and talent updates have shaken up the rankings, making some specs rise in power while others struggle to keep up.
In this tier list, we'll break down each ranged DPS specialization, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses. The insights here come from Vesp's latest YouTube video. Whether you're looking for the most dominant spec or simply wondering if your current main will stay competitive, this guide will help you make an informed decision. Meanwhile, if you want to stock some gold for Undermine(d), MmoGah can be a good option by providing you with reliable in-game assets.
Ranking Criteria
- S Tier – These specs are guaranteed to be meta and are the most powerful choices available.
- A+ Tier – Strong candidates for meta compositions, but not necessarily locked in.
- A Tier – Solid and viable picks, but they may not be optimal in high-end gameplay.
- B Tier – Less optimal specs that either struggle in certain areas or are outperformed by other choices.
Destruction Warlock (A+ Tier)
Destruction Warlock is currently in an excellent position, boasting some of the best AoE damage in the game. This is especially true when its two-minute cooldowns are available, but it has also improved significantly in terms of consistent damage output outside of cooldown windows.
Key Strengths:
- High AoE Burst – Destro shines in large-pull scenarios.
- Strong Priority Damage – With the new tier set bonuses, Destruction can effectively funnel Chaos Bolts into a priority target while still dealing cleave damage.
- Powerful Two-Target Cleave – The Mayhem talent allows Chaos Bolts to hit two targets, creating a ridiculous damage output in encounters with two bosses or priority mobs.
- Decent Single-Target Performance – Although not its primary strength, Destruction still performs competitively in single-target fights.
- Strong Defensive & Utility – Warlocks remain one of the tankiest caster classes, offering Healthstones and a combat resurrection for the group.
Destruction Warlock earns a solid A+ Tier ranking. While not 100% guaranteed to be meta, it has an extremely high chance of being a top-tier choice for Mythic+ and raids.
Demonology Warlock (A Tier)
Demonology Warlock is somewhat underrated. Demo has great damage in all scenarios—strong single-target, good cleave (thanks to the tier set, especially with the Dreadbites ability from your Dreadstalkers), and very respectable AoE damage once ramped up.
However, most of these damage profiles are slightly behind Destruction Warlock in every sense. The main advantage Demo has over Destro is its more consistent damage output. With a one-minute cooldown and a tier set that enhances its sustained damage, Demo maintains a steady damage profile, which works in its favor.
Additionally, Demo Warlocks are very tanky, like all Warlocks in general, providing Healthstones and combat resurrection to the group. This makes it a very solid pick if you want to play Demo in the next season. So, it is put in the A tier.
Affliction Warlock (B Tier)
Next up, we have Affliction Warlock. This spec actually performs quite well. It does very decent damage, especially in mass AoE.
- AoE & Cleave: Mass AoE has always been Affliction's strength, but it now also performs decently on cleave due to Unstable Affliction spreading from the tier set.
- Single Target: Affliction has traditionally struggled in Mythic+ for single-target damage, but it's now "fine"—nothing exceptional, but serviceable.
- Cooldowns: Affliction has super short cooldowns, allowing for frequent damage spikes—either one-minute bursts or two-minute bursts with Darkglare.
However, why would you play Affliction when the other two Warlock specs exist? It has the same tankiness and utility as the others but lacks the raw power of Destro or the consistency of Demo. So, Affliction Warlock is put in B tier.
Beast Mastery Hunter (A+ Tier)
Beast Mastery (BM) Hunter is in a very strong position right now. It competes with Destruction Warlock for some of the highest AoE damage in the game—and might even surpass Destro in overall AoE DPS.
Strengths
- Super consistent damage – Bestial Wrath is always off cooldown, allowing BM to maintain constant pressure.
- Covers all damage types – BM performs well in mass AoE, cleave, and even single-target, which was initially weak in PTR testing but has improved significantly.
- Tankiness – Hunter feels much tankier these days, with two charges of Survival of the Fittest, Feign Death (which removes poisons and diseases), Turtle, Fortitude of the Bear, and extra health from the pet.
Weaknesses
- Utility is still lacking – Hunter's utility has improved but remains finicky.
- Binding Shot + Explosive Trap can knock mobs up and stun them, but it's unreliable.
- Scatter Shot or Bursting Shot offers another stop, but Bursting Shot can be messy to use.
- Relies on damage tuning – If BM gets nerfed, it doesn't bring enough utility to justify taking it over other specs.
Despite recent nerfs, BM is still a top-tier spec, and it is worth an A+ tier, even ahead of Destruction Warlock.
Marksmanship Hunter (B Tier)
Marksmanship Hunter (MM) is good due to its reworks. While it has strong bursts in both AoE and single-target, its damage quickly falls off in higher keys.
Strengths
- Great for lower keys – MM excels in fast-paced dungeons with its explosive burst potential.
- AoE burst potential – Its cooldowns allow for big AoE damage, though it remains target-capped.
- Lust utility – MM can now reliably bring Bloodlust to the group, which is a nice quality-of-life change.
Weaknesses
- Lackluster single-target – Outside of Sentinel, MM struggles with sustained single-target damage.
- Lost defensive power – To gain Lust, MM sacrificed Fortitude of the Bear, making it less survivable than before.
BM is just better – In almost every scenario, BM outperforms MM in both damage and survivability. Because of this, Marksmanship Hunter is in the B tier.
Balance Druid (A Tier)
Strengths
- Insane AoE damage – In sustained AoE fights, Balance Druid shines, especially in higher Mythic+ keys.
- Flexible cooldowns – With two charges of Incarnation, skilled players can time their cooldowns for maximum effectiveness.
- Improved single-target – Boomie's single-target has improved, making it more well-rounded.
- Great utility – Boomkin brings Mark of the Wild, Ursol's Vortex, Typhoon, and Solar Beam, all of which can be extremely valuable.
Weaknesses
Survivability is an issue – Balance Druid is not as tanky as it used to be.
- They can sit in Bear Form, but they can't do that all the time.
- Rot damage is a big problem, as Boomie lacks strong defensive options.
- Barkskin is nice but has a one-minute cooldown and doesn't provide sustained mitigation.
Due to these weaknesses, Boomie falls just short of A+. So, it is at the top of the A-tier.
Shadow Priest (A Tier)
Shadow Priest, in general, has great priority damage—that's just how the spec functions. You put your DoTs on all mobs and funnel all your damage into a priority target, repeating the process. This gives it a strong damage profile for Mythic+ because you can ensure that priority mobs die at the same time as everything else, or even quicker, to reduce unavoidable AoE damage.
It also has respectable single-target damage, but all of this—especially in AoE situations—relies on mobs living long enough. This tier list focuses on higher keys, not the absolute top, but still high enough that mobs live long enough for Shadow to ramp up and deal damage. From Vesp's testing on Archon, it seems to be performing well.
Vesp placed Shadow Priest in A-tier. It brings Power Infusion, which pairs well with any meta candidate, significantly boosting damage. It also provides Power Word: Fortitude, an invaluable buff—especially if Discipline Priest isn't meta (which it could be).
Shadow Priest is now the only DPS spec in the game with off-healing, which is massive for a group. In high-damage situations, it can cover unavoidable AoE damage, allowing the healer to focus less on burst healing. That's a unique strength that no other spec has.
Defensively, Shadow Priest is quite tanky with:
- 20% damage reduction (DR) on demand
- Fade Flash Heal for self-healing
- Desperate Prayer
- Dispersion
- Shields
All in all, Shadow is placed just behind Balance Druid in the A-tier. If it weren't for its utility, it might be at the top of B-tier instead.
Frost Mage (A+ Tier)
Frost Mage has very strong overall damage, but more specifically, insane priority and single-target damage. Even while keeping up with other specs in overall damage, Frost Mage excels at priority damage—an ideal damage profile for Mythic+ since it deletes dangerous mobs while still contributing solid AoE. Boss damage is also strong.
Unfortunately, Blizzard keeps getting nerfed. But even after nerfs, AoE damage is still solid, just slightly weaker.
Survivability & Utility
Frost Mage is extremely tanky, with:
- Double Ice Block, making it almost unkillable
- Arcane Intellect, one of the best group buffs
- Mass Barrier, an incredibly valuable defensive tool
Frost Mage is placed in the A+ tier—just below Fire Mage for now, but still an excellent spec.
Fire Mage (S Tier)
Fire Mage is insanely strong right now, potentially S-tier. The key factor? Ridiculous Combustion uptime. You can have Combustion for every single pack, sometimes even multiple times per pack, which is absurd.
Both Flamestrike and Ignite builds are strong. If Ignite build is anywhere close to Flamestrike in output, it will always be the preferred choice, as it allows priority damage while passively burning everything else down.
Survivability & Utility
- Fire Mage is effectively unkillable
- Cauterize (cheat death) is arguably better than double Block
- Arcane Intellect and Mass Barrier add invaluable group benefits
It deserves an S-tier. But Frost Mage is not far behind. They are both very good specs.
Arcane Mage (B Tier)
Arcane Mage has seen many changes in Season 2, and players are still experimenting with builds. Some are trying High Voltage, Arcane Harmony, Magi's Spark, and Barrage, creating a "casino build" with solid AoE.
However, Arcane is not on par with Fire or Frost. It still has great priority damage and strong single-target bursts. But it falls behind in mass AoE. Its damage output simply doesn't compete with the other Mage specs.
Additionally, the change from Aethervision to Intuition feels terrible—there are fewer barrage casts and more RNG dependence.
Survivability & Utility
- Mage defensives make Arcane survivable
- Arcane Intellect & Mass Barrier still provide strong team utility
So, Arcane is at the top of the B-tier.
Elemental Shaman (A Tier)
Elemental Shamans are rarely ranked right now, but they have great overall damage and strong priority damage and are super bursty. However, its AoE is target-capped due to Chain Lightning, which limits its potential in larger pulls.
After Enhancement Shaman Nerfs, the gap between the specs is closer, but Enhance still seems stronger.
For Utility, Elemental brings:
- Capacitor Totem
- Shortest kick in the game
- Poison Cleansing Totem (less relevant in Season 2)
Its ranking is at the top of the A-tier, maybe just behind Balance Druid.
Devastation Evoker (B Tier)
Devastation is always overshadowed by Augmentation, but it received small buffs recently. It can adapt hero talents based on dungeons:
- Scale Commander for cleave-heavy fights
- Flame Shaper for mass AoE dungeons
- It has crazy high burst potential
Utility & Defensives
- Zephyr and Rescue provide strong support
- Obsidian Scales and Renewing Blaze add durability
Its ranking is in the middle of the B-tier, ahead of MM Hunter.
Augmentation Evoker (S Tier)
No matter how much Augmentation gets nerfed, it remains mandatory at high levels. It still does insane personal damage, which is rare for a support spec.
Even after losing tank and healer buffs, it still provides:
- Blistering Scales (tank buff)
- Sour of Magic (healer buff)
- Timelessness and passive stops
- Defensively, Rescue and Zephyr are invaluable in Mythic+. It's nearly impossible to play high keys without these abilities.
Its ranking is S-tier. Augmentation is the best DPS spec in the game.
To Sum Up
S-tier: Augmentation Evoker, Fire Mage
A+ tier: Frost Mage, Beast Mastery (BM) Hunter, Destruction Warlock
A-tier: Shadow Priest, Balance Druid, Elemental Shaman, Demonology Warlock
B-tier: Arcane Mage, Affliction Warlock, Devastation Evoker, MM Hunter
Even B-tier is still strong—Season 2 looks well-balanced overall.
