Classes, Specializations, & Roles

Mists of Pandaria has 11 classes available, with a total of 34 specializations, and 3 roles.

Class Specialization Role Matrix

Below you can find a matrix of the classes, specializations, and roles available in game as well as the DPS Type when it’s a damage based role specialization.

Class	Specialization	Role	DPS Type
Death Knight	Blood	Tank
	Frost	Damage	Melee
	Unholy
Druid	Balance	Damage	Caster
	Feral		Melee
	Guardian	Tank
	Restoration	Healer
Hunter	Beast Mastery	Damage	Ranged
	Marksmanship
	Survival
Mage	Arcane	Damage	Caster
	Fire
	Frost
Monk	Brewmaster	Tank
	Mistweaver	Healer
	Windwalker	Damage	Melee
Paladin	Holy	Healer
	Protection	Tank
	Retribution	Damage	Melee
Priest	Discipline	Healer
	Holy
	Shadow	Damage	Caster
Rogue	Assassination	Damage	Melee
	Combat
	Subtlety
Shaman	Elemental	Damage	Caster
	Enhancement		Melee
	Restoration	Healer
Warlock	Affliction	Damage	Caster
	Demonology
	Destruction
Warrior	Arms	Damage	Melee
	Fury
	Protection	Tank

Classes

Death Knight

Druid

Hunter

Mage

Monk

Paladin

Priest

Rogue

Shaman

Warlock

Warrior

Death Knight

Death Knights engage their foes up-close, supplementing swings of their weapons with dark magic that renders enemies vulnerable or damages them with unholy power. They drag foes into one-on-one conflicts, compelling them to focus their attacks away from weaker companions. To prevent their enemies from fleeing their grasp, death knights must remain mindful of the power they call forth from runes, and pace their attacks appropriately.

Defense

To protect themselves and their fellows from death in battle, death knights gird themselves in heavy armor and parry attacks with their blades.

Utility

As former champions of the Lich King, death knights can command the dead as minions, freeze their foes with ice, and inflict weakening diseases.

Melee Damage

Death knight runeblades are empowered with dark magic; they can expend the power of their runes for vicious attacks.

Runeforging

Death knights have a personal connection with their blades, and can forge runes into them in order to increase their power.

• Roles: Tank, Melee DPS
• Resources: Health, Runic
• Armor: Plate
• Weapons: One-Handed Axes, One-Handed Maces, One-Handed Swords, Polearms, Two-Handed Axes, Two-Handed Maces, Two-Handed Swords
• Races:
  • Alliance: Draenei, Dwarf, Gnome, Human, Night Elf, Worgen
  • Horde: Blood Elf, Goblin, Orc, Tauren, Troll, Undead

Specializations

Death knight talents can bolster their defensive abilities by focusing on their ability to heal themselves with blood runes , increase their damage and spell attacks with frost runes, or summon forth minions and diseases with unholy runes.

• Blood: Tank
• Frost: Melee DPS
• Unholy: Melee DPS

Druid

Druids are versatile combatants, in that they can fulfill nearly every role – healing, tanking, and damage dealing. It’s critical that druids tailor the form they choose to the situation, as each form bears a specific purpose.

Versatility

Druids’ changing forms let them assume different roles and focus on either tanking, healing, or damage. They can also shapeshift to travel faster on land, sea, and air.

Defense

When shapeshifted into their bear form, druids possess a thick skin and imposing presence that makes them ideal front-line protectors of weaker party members.

Healing

By calling upon the powers of nature, druids are able to swiftly restore health to their injured allies.

Melee and ranged damage

Druids can take on the form of a savage cat in order to claw and bite their enemies up close, or that of a wild moonkin to blast enemies from afar.

• Roles: Tank, Healer, Melee DPS, Caster DPS
• Resources: Health, Mana, Rage, Energy
• Armor: Leather
• Weapons: Daggers, Fist Weapons, One-Handed Maces, Polearms, Staves, Two-Handed Maces
• Races:
  • Alliance: Night Elf, Worgen
  • Horde: Tauren, Troll

Specializations

Druid talents focus on improving the powers of their natural and animal forms, enhancing their ability to summon forth natural phenomena, or increase the potency of their life-giving healing magic.

• Balance: Caster DPS
• Feral: Melee DPS
• Guardian: Tank
• Restoration: Healer

Hunter

Hunters battle their foes at a distance, commanding their pets to attack while they nock their arrows and fire their guns. Though their missile weapons are effective at short and long ranges, hunters are also highly mobile. They can evade or restrain their foes to control the arena of battle.

Pets

Hunters tame the beasts of the wild, and those beasts serve in return by assaulting their enemies and shielding them from harm.

Traps

Hunters are consummate survivalists, able to set traps to burn, freeze, and disable potential prey.

Ranged damage

Whether wielding bows, guns, or crossbows, hunters are deadly with ranged weapons. They are capable of dishing out consistently high damage.

Soloing

Thanks to their pets and damage output, hunters are effective at completing quests and leveling quickly, even when they’re alone.

• Roles: Ranged DPS
• Resources: Health, Focus
• Armor: Mail
• Weapons: Bows, Crossbows, Fist Weapons, Guns, One-Handed Axes, One-Handed Swords, Polearms, Staves, Two-Handed Axes, Two-Handed Swords
• Races:
  • Alliance: Draenei, Dwarf, Human, Night Elf, Worgen
  • Horde: Blood Elf, Goblin, Orc, Tauren, Troll, Undead
  • Neutal: Pandaren

Specializations

Hunter talents primarily strengthen their pets; improve the damage, effectiveness, and duration of their traps; and increase the speed and power of their ranged attacks.

• Beast Mastery: Ranged DPS
• Marksmanship: Ranged DPS
• Survival: Ranged DPS

Mage

• Roles: Caster DPS
• Resources: Health, Mana
• Armor:
• Weapons:
• Races:
  • Alliance:
  • Horde:
  • Neutal:

Monk

• Roles: Tank, Healer, Melee DPS
• Resources:
• Armor:
• Weapons:
• Races:
  • Alliance:
  • Horde:

Paladin

• Roles: Tank, Healer, Melee DPS
• Resources:
• Armor:
• Weapons:
• Races:
  • Alliance:
  • Horde:

Priest

• Roles: Healer, Caster DPS
• Resources: Health, Mana
• Armor:
• Weapons:
• Races:
  • Alliance:
  • Horde:

Rogue

• Roles: Melee DPS
• Resources: Health, Energy
• Armor: Leather
• Weapons:
• Races:
  • Alliance:
  • Horde:

Shaman

• Roles: Healer, Melee DPS, Caster DPS
• Resources: Health, Mana
• Armor:
• Weapons:
• Races:
  • Alliance:
  • Horde:

Warlock

• Roles: Caster DPS
• Resources: Health, Mana
• Armor:
• Weapons:
• Races:
  • Alliance:
  • Horde:

Warrior

• Roles: Tank, Melee DPS
• Resources: Health, Rage
• Armor:
• Weapons:
• Races:
  • Alliance:
  • Horde: