DPS Rankings / Tier List – Phase 2 / Gnomeregan – Season of Discovery (SoD)

DPS rankings and tier list for Gnomeregan, phase 2 in WoW Classic Season of Discovery, with Fire Mages, Fire Warlocks, Melee Hunters, and Shadow Priests at the top of the list.

	Fire Mage	Fire Warlock	Melee Hunter	Shadow Priest
	Feral Druid	Fury/Arms Warrior	Arcane Mage
	Mutilate Rogue	Retribution Paladin	Enhancement Shaman	Elemental Shaman
	Ranged Hunter	Balance Druid
	Frost Mage	Shadow Warlock

1. Fire Mage (S Tier)
2. Fire Warlock (S Tier)
3. Melee Hunter (S Tier)
4. Shadow Priest (S Tier)
5. Feral Druid (A Tier)
6. Fury/Arms Warrior (A Tier)
7. Arcane Mage (A Tier)
8. Mutilate Rogue (B Tier)
9. Retribution Paladin (B Tier)
10. Enhancement Shaman (B Tier)
11. Elemental Shaman (B Tier)
12. Ranged Hunter (C Tier)
13. Balance Druid (C Tier)
14. Frost Mage (D Tier)

Many things have changed with the arrival of Phase 2 in the Season of Discovery, with some unexpected specializations climbing up to the S-Tier. With the addition of the Waist and Feet runes, some of the specializations gained vital components for their specific identity, improving their overall performance, and altering their play style in the process. As a clear example, runes such as Hotstreak, Shadow and Flame, Melee Specialist, and Mind Spike turn Fire Mage, Destruction Warlock, Survival Hunter, and Shadow Priest into the strongest DPS specializations at the current moment.

While Phase 1 was much more Melee DPS oriented, Phase 2 is much more Caster-centric, with Destruction Warlock, Fire Mage, and Shadow Priests dominating the scene. The only exception in the current meta that still proves a Melee DPS dominance is the Survival Hunter specialization paired up with the Melee Specialist and Dual-Dual Wield runes, turning the specialization into the most powerful Melee DPS that has the same damage output as the top Caster DPS specializations.

This DPS Ranking List is based on the currently available information presented on Warcraftlogs along with all the current changes based on the most recent hotfix. The DPS Ranking List will be updated weekly with the most up-to-date information based on any upcoming patches and hotfixes.

Additionally, due to the Human Error component and the individual player skill involved in high-end PvE content, Tier A through B is highly relative, with only a few select specializations ranking higher than others based on the current adjustments made by the hotfixes.

S-Tier

The S-Tier represents the most powerful classes in the current meta – those with the highest damage and utility. These specializations are usually recruited in larger numbers due to their outstanding performance.

Fire Mage

What did the mage say: Burn the whole world, or something among the lines? Fire Mage makes an extraordinary comeback in Phase 2, melting the mechanical armor of any gnomish construct while turning irradiated gnomes into piles of ash.

With the level cap raised to 40, Fire Mage now has multiple mechanics that vastly enhance its overall performance. Fire Mages can now properly stack Improved Scorch on their targets, improving the overall Fire Damage for any spell caster in the group. Furthermore, thanks to the additional Critical Strike Chance available from stats and talents such as Critical Mass, Fire Mages can now effectively make use of Scorch and Fireball, generating a large damage output at a low mana cost.

Thanks to the new runes, Fire Mage can now access a mechanic that allows it to fully utilize Pyroblast, namely the Hot Streak rune. With every two critical strikes in a row, Fire Mage can now instantly launch a Pyroblast at no mana cost. Additionally, the Spell Power rune further enhances the Critical Strike Chance-reliant play style, empowering the Critical Strike Bonus damage by up to 50%.

Besides the very high Single-Target damage. its AoE damage is also extremely powerful, with Living Bomb and Living Flame proving themselves as one of the best AoE tools in the game at this very moment.

Thanks to all of those effects, their damage output is on par with Destruction Warlocks and Survival Hunters, generating one of the best damage outputs available in Phase 2.

Fire Warlock

While many believed that it might take longer for Destruction Warlocks to pop off, their time of glory arrived sooner than expected. The Destruction Specialization became so powerful in Phase 2, that it completely obliterated the Affliction Specializations, with the latter missing entirely from any Warcraftlogs entry. While Affliction Warlock is by no means a weak specialization, Warlock DPS will mainly utilize the Destruction Specialization thanks to multiple reasons.

Among the main reasons why Destruction Warlocks perform so well at this point are the following:

• Fire Mage and its Improved Scorch effect severely enhance the overall damage dealt by Incinerate and Chaos Bolt.
• The Curse of the Elements scales with Improved Scorch, heavily influencing Warlock’s play style since Curse of Shadow is not yet available.
• The overall increase in Critical Strike Chance available in Phase 2 improves Direct Damage Spells more than Damage-over-Time Spells.

Additionally, thanks to the new Shadow and Flame and Demonic Knowledge runes, Destruction Warlocks may massively empower their overall damage output. While this also applies to Affliction Warlocks, it is far easier for Destruction Warlocks to trigger the effects since their arsenal is mostly made up of Direct Damage Spells. Since Damage-over-Time effects can’t land critical strikes, Destruction Warlocks make better use of the Shadow and Flame.

However, while Destruction Warlocks do gain access to Conflagrate at level 40, their most optimum rotation barely makes use of it, with Chaos Bolt, and Incinerate being their best-performing abilities. Besides their amazing Single-Target damage, their AoE damage is almost on par with a Mage’s AoE capabilities. They can use the Shadow Bolt Volley, Lake of Fire, and Shadowflame runes to devastate multiple enemies at the same time.

Besides their insane damage output in both Single Target and AoE, Warlocks also grant large amounts of utility through Soulstones, Healthstones, and their newly acquired Curse of the Elements and Portal of Summoning spells.

Melee Hunter

Hunters have performed extraordinarily in the first phase of the Season of Discovery, however, no one expected such a massive turn of events in Phase 2. Hunters in Phase 2 have made a huge switch in play style, favoring all-out melee tactics instead of ranged combat.

This is mainly due to the new runes, Melee Specialist and Dual Wield Specialization, massively improving the efficiency of Raptor Strike up to a point where it simply out-damages most ranged abilities.

The most interesting aspect of the new build is that it can achieve the same results with both Beast Mastery and Survival as main talents, with both Talent Trees providing great improvements. While Beast Mastery seeks to improve your pet besides the damage you deal through Raptor Strike by adding effects such as Frenzy, Survival fits the build slightly better by improving your overall Agility, Hit Rating, and Critical Strike Chance through talents such as Lightning Reflexes, Surefooted, Killer Instincts, and Savage Strikes.

A Melee Hunter’s damage is also powerful in AoE encounters besides Single-Target encounters. It can utilize either the Carve and Explosive Shot runes and the Explosive Trap ability to deal high amounts of damage while maintaining its mana with the new Aspect of the Viper.

Besides their insane damage output, they continue providing vital group utility in the form of Heart of the Lion, replacing the Blessing of Kings, if the situation requires so.

Shadow Priest

Lo and behold, one of the weakest DPS Specializations from Phase 1 makes a comeback in Phase 2 as one of the S-Tier specializations. While it may seem shocking to some, the Priest community has certainly loved the new runes and overall changes brought to the specialization, as they massively improved the overall performance of Shadow Priest.

Shadow Priests have multiple effects that improve their overall damage in Phase 2, with all of their abilities scaling tremendously. They gain access to new runes such as Mind Spike and Dispersion which solidifies their overall play style, with the former becoming one of their main damaging abilities. Thanks to Mind Spike‘s effect, Mind Blast receives a massive damage boost, with the whole rotation revolving are those two abilities.

Additionally, they gain access to Shadowfiend, a major mana regeneration tool. The Shadowfiend itself also deals a decent amount of damage, acting as an offensive tool as well.

With the raise of the level cap to level 40, they finally gain access to the coveted Shadowform, and other specific talents such as Shadow Weaving, Vampiric Embrace, and Darkness. Just like in Phase 1, even with 5 points now available in Shadow Weaving, Shadow Priests will be the only ones that will benefit from the effect, especially as Warlocks heavily favor the Destruction Specialization in Phase 2. Thanks to the changes made in Phase 2, Darkness now empowers Shadow Word: Death, turning it into another very strong damage source.

For a short time, Void Plague has been bugged, resulting in the spell gaining more Spell Power than intended. However, that was quickly patched through one of the most recent hotfixes.

Besides their newfound exceptional damage, Shadow Priests can also provide most of the utility spells provided by Discipline and Holy Priests, massively aiding their group. They also bring invaluable utility through the Homunculi rune which provides armor reduction that empowers any Physical Damage Dealer and the Vampiric Embrace talent which improves a raid group’s survivability by a considerable amount.

A-Tier

The A-Tier represents strong DPS specializations that offer a great amount of damage and utility, but not offering the best possible damage output. They will be found in almost every raid group and it will be common to see more than one of each.

Feral Druid

Darker days seem to befall the king of the jungle, as its damage output is hardly anything spectacular. However, Feral Druid retains one of the most important spots due to the Wild Strikes rune. While its damage output is average at best, with many other specializations generating roughly the same damage output, the existence of the Wild Strikes rune itself places Feral Druid on top of the A-Tier, even going as far as being considered a possible S-Tier specialization.

At the current moment, Wild Strikes itself is far better than Windfury Totem, making Feral Druids a must-have addition for any Physical Damage-centric group.

However, besides the very important buff that they grant to all Physical Damage Dealers, their overall play style takes a shift toward a Shred spam build, especially since Mangle has been nerfed. This results in rather mediocre damage output, with their overall damage being similar to Retribution Paladins, Enhancement/Elemental Shamans, Marksmanship Hunters, and Balance Druids.

Nevertheless, while they may not dish out as much damage as the S-Tier Specializations, the presence of Wild Strikes, Mangle, and many other utility spells such as Rebirth and Innervate make them almost mandatory additions to any raid composition.

Fury/Arms Warrior

Warriors climb the ladder as one of the top damage specializations in Phase 2, reaching the A-Tier. Their overall damage is great, even with the high amount of armor that the Gnomeregan bosses possess.

At the current moment, Arms Warriors are preferred in Phase 2 Gnomeregan, especially since one of the best weapons that they can acquire is a Two-Handed Axe. However, their fellow Fury Warrior brethren display a showcase of strength, closely battling them for the best possible damage outputs.

Both specializations gain multiple tools to empower it, both in terms of new runes and new talents which they can now access. In terms of talents for Arms Warrior, Mortal Strike, Two-Handed Weapon Specialization, and Axe Specialization are the ones that empower them the most. In terms of runes, Rallying Cry and Focused Rage are “staple” runes for Arms Warrior in Phase 2, with the latter being a core mechanic of the specialization which aids with their spam-heavy rotation.

As for their Fury Brethren, the most impactful talents they gain access to are Death Wish, Bloodthirst, and Flurry. In terms of runes, Rallying Cry and Blood Surge can be considered mandatory, with the latter providing a new core mechanic for any Fury Warrior.

While Warrior doesn’t offer much utility apart from Rallying Cry and their core shouts, their overall damage output is similar to Arcane Mage and Assassination Rogue in its current form, providing one of the best damage outputs in the current phase.

The only downside of Arms Warriors is that they heavily rely on Deep Wounds as one of their major damage sources, meaning that without a Feral Druid with the Mangle rune, their damage output is substantially reduced.

Arcane Mage

While Arcane Mage was the stronger Mage Specialization in the initial part of Phase 1 with Fire Mage becoming stronger towards its end, it continues to underperform in Phase 2, with Fire Mage remaining the much-preferred build. The main reason for this is that their play style becomes hard to sustain for longer fights due to the mana management mechanic, even with all the added mana regeneration tools such as Minor Evocation, and Conjure Mana Jade.

Nonetheless, they received an overall damage buff thanks to all the new talents such as Arcane Mind, Arcane Instability, and Arcane Power. Additionally, the new Missile Barrage rune heavily empowers their Arcane Missiles, making their rotation far easier.

Still, with all the new mana regeneration tools, they struggle to keep up with Fire Mages which are far more mana efficient. For an Arcane Mage to reach the same damage output as a Fire Mage, they would have to spam Arcane Blast with 4 debuff stacks endlessly, without having any mana issues at all.

Their damage output peaks at around 350 DPS according to the current Warcraftlogs, having a similar damage output to Assassination Rogue and Arms Warrior.

B-Tier

The B-Tier represents mediocre damage specializations. They are still considered viable, as they do a decent amount of damage, but they typically cannot compete with the A-tier specs on the damage meters. However, in many cases they provide valuable raid buffs that make them worth bringing anyway, as their utility makes up for their deficiency in raw damage.

Mutilate Rogue

Assassination Rogues have become the dominant specialization in Phase 2, turning the Mutilate Build into the best possible play style at this current moment. Their damage output is so high that Combat Rogue sees close to no play in the current meta, outside of tanking, with Combat becoming the standard Tanking Specialization for Rogue.

Thanks to the new level 40 cap, Assassination Rogue gains access to multiple talents that improve its overall performance. They can now fully spend talent points on talents such as Vile Poisons and Improved Poisons. Thanks to those talents, the overall damage improvement to their poisons heavily empowers their damage output. While their builds may reach Seal Fate and Vigor, they heavily Opportunity due to the Backstab damage amplifier which also empowers Mutilate.

Additionally, Rogue receives some new runes to play with, although, they do not majorly empower its overall damage. In its current state, Shuriken Toss is a mediocre AoE tool for Trash Mob clearing while the standard runes for Single-Target encounters are Master of Subtlety and Shadowstep.

The Mutilate Rogue build is heavily preferred in Phase 2 due to the mechanical nature of Gnomeregan’s bosses. Since the bosses themselves have high armor pools, the magical damage dealt by an Assassination Rogue’s poisons averages a higher damage output than their Combat Rogue peers. The major issue Mutilate Rogue faces is the lack of any potent AoE tool, making it good only for Single-Target encounters.

Their overall damage output resembles that of Arcane Mage and Arms Warrior, placing them on top of the damage charts compared to the majority of the other damage specializations which average a lower DPS output.

Retribution Paladin

While Retribution Paladin received some very interesting new toys to play with thanks to new runes and a new level 40 cap, the overall damage output remains average at best when compared to the other specializations, with the specialization itself being far better for utility.

The most notable talents they gain access to are Conviction, Sanctity Aura, Two-Handed Weapon Specialization, and Vengeance, all of which massively improve their former performance from Phase 1 by raising their Holy Damage and Physical Damage proefficiency. Additionally, they gain access to two new runes that pair perfectly with the ones they had in Phase 1, namely Sheath of Light and The Art of War. Those two runes now allow them to solidify their Hybrid Damage specialization identity, having Exorcism as one of their main damage tools.

Nevertheless, even with all the amazing new passives and tools they acquire, their overall damage output averages around 250 DPS, with the top contenders having around 320-330 DPS. The specialization is far better suited for its utility effects in PvE while its damage output is far better in any PvP encounter.

Enhancement Shaman

Enhancement Shaman receives an overall boost to its performance thanks to the new talents and abilities that are unlocked by the new level 40 cap. Their overall damage output massively increases in Phase 2, as they also gain a new core gameplay mechanic thanks to the new runes.

The most notable talents that Enhancement Shaman can now acquire are Flurry, Elemental Weapons, Weapon Mastery, and Stormstrike. Stormstrike becomes one of the core abilities, even if its overall damage is not particularly high. It pairs extremely well with the Dual Wield Specialization rune. Most of the new talents accessible by Enhancement Shaman aim to improve its overall Melee Swing, especially with how impactful Windfury is at the moment.

As for the new runes, the most impactful rune is Maelstrom Weapon, altering their entire play style in a way in which Enhancement Shamans will now proactively “weave in” Chain Lightning between their Stormstrike and Melee Swings. This new mechanic is one of the new main damage sources they have at their disposal, improving their general performance by quite a substantial amount.

Nonetheless, their damage output is still considered somewhat average, with the best contenders from the current Warcraftlogs displaying a damage output similar to Retribution Paladins and Feral Druids. Their current strong point resides in the vast utility that they provide, themselves being the official counterpart of Paladins in terms of raw utility.

Elemental Shaman

Elemental Shamans share a similar fate with their fellow Enhancement Shaman brethren, receiving an overall boost on their damage output. However, just like Enhancement Shamans, their overall damage output is fairly average when compared to the majority of the other Damage Specializations.

Their burst nature makes them much more viable in PvP encounters rather than PvE encounters, although they deal fairly decent damage in PvE encounters as well.

Thanks to the new level 40 cap and the new runes, their overall performance improved massively compared to Phase 1. They gain access to talents such as Lightning Mastery and Elemental Fury which improve their overall damage output, with the former effect being key for consistent damage output. Additionally, the new Power Surge rune acts as both an improvement to their mana issues while also serving as a massive quality-of-life improvement for their overall play style. Since Lava Burst‘s cooldown can now be reset, they have the potential of dealing a similar damage output to the A-Tier specializations, however, RNG plays a huge role in whether or not they can achieve this outcome.

According to Warcraftlogs, the best contenders managed to reach a 350-370 DPS output, meaning that the specialization itself has a decent potential when RNG favors the player. Of course, player skill also plays a huge role in this endeavor. While their play style is much more RNG-based, their Enhancement Shaman brethren provide a much more consistent damage output.

Elemental Shamans currently provide the same utility that Enhancement Shamans provide, bringing vast bonuses to their allies. If their somewhat average damage output is not the best reason to bring an Elemental Shaman in a raid while there are better casters available, their vast utility is one of their strongest points.

C-Tier

The specializations that make up the C-Tier are on the weaker side of the DPS spectrum. They can still be considered viable, occasionally offering useful buffs and debuffs, and can very often be very fun to play. However, you aren’t likely to be on the top places of DPS meters with these specs, and you won’t have the easiest time finding a raid group, as they aren’t in high demand.

Ranged Hunter

But wait, weren’t Hunters S-Tier? Well, nowadays, only Melee Hunter occupies the S-Tier spot, as their fellow brethren sadly fall in line with many specializations, generating an average damage output.

While they did gain access to multiple new effects thanks to the level 40 cap which slightly improved their overall performance, the main reason they remain so behind when compared to the other damage specializations is the underwhelming runes they can utilize when compared to other damage dealers. As the majority of the runes are either tailored specifically for Melee Hunter or mana regeneration, they are left with very few viable choices.

As such, Trap Launcher and Expose Weakness are the only viable runes for Marksmanship Hunter, with Steady Shot being completely disregarded in favor of the raw attack power granted by Expose Weakness. Trap Launcher is an amazing tool for any AoE encounter and trash clearing, however, it barely aids in Single-Target scenarios as most of your damage comes from Auto-Shot and Chimera Shot.

Another reason why their damage is very similar to all the other classes is their talent tree offers far too few damage-enhancing effects, with Mortal Shots, Barrage, Ranged Weapon Specialization, and Trueshot Aura being the only damage-enhancing effects available. While those effects can be considered great, they pale in comparison to the stronger talents of the other specializations.

Their top current damage based on Warcraftlogs is around 320 DPS, meaning that they fall in line with many other specializations such as Retribution Paladin, Elemental/Enhancement Shaman, Feral Druid, and Balance Druid.

Balance Druid

Balance Druid or better known as “Boomie”, “Owl”, “Boomkin”, or “Moonkin” is one of the more interesting Damage Specializations in the Season of Discovery. While the specialization is known as a terrifying foe in PvP content, its overall performance is rather average in PvE content. The specialization lacks any serious form of AoE, with Hurricane being the only viable form of AoE damage, the specialization has an average Single-Target Damage output that places it into a similar spot with many other specializations.

The specialization gained multiple beneficial effects with the new level 40 cap, increasing its overall performance. They finally gain access to the coveted Moonkin Form, allowing them to reach their true potential. Besides the new form, they also benefit from Improved Starfire, Nature’s Grace, and Moonfury, all of which severely enhance their overall damage output. The Nature’s Grace talent is especially important as it further emphasizes the importance of Critical Strike Chance for Balance Druids.

Furthermore, the new runes, Eclipse and Dreamstate change Balance Druid’s play style, modifying it from a Wrath spam and Starsurge on-cooldown casts to an alternating rotation between Wrath and Starfire as the main damage sources. Unluckily for Balance Druids, Starsurge got quickly nerfed after the launch of Phase 2, reducing its overall impact. While Starsurge‘s damage is reduced, it now grants a powerful buff to Starfire, solidifying the Eclipse-centric play style.

While Balance Druid has only made it to the C-Tier at this current moment, as time passes, we believe that Balance Druid has the potential to reach B-Tier in terms of pure damage output.

Besides its damage output and specific effects such as Moonkin Form, Balance Druid can offer any of the general utility effects that a Feral Druid may offer, with Rebirth being one of the most powerful utility tools.

D-Tier

Simply put, specs in the D-tier are considered to be not viable. They can be fun to play, but you will struggle to get invited to raids when playing one of these, and you may even find yourself getting kicked from groups, as your damage will be really bad.

Frost Mage

Frost Mage is sadly at the bottom of the chain, displaying one of the worst performances in Phase 2. While the specialization gains multiple damage-enhancing effects through talents and new runes, its damage output is completely underwhelming.

Frost Mage gains access to new talents thanks to the new level cap such as Winter’s Chill and multiple points in Shatter which improve its overall damage, albeit not enough. It also gains access to new runes such as Frostfire Bolt, Spellfrost Bolt, and Brain Freeze, however, as the recent logs can be observed, the damage output resulted remains underwhelming.

As it currently stands, Frost Mage is a much better specialization for PvP and farming content as opposed to any Raid PvE encounter.

Shadow Warlock

Shadow Warlock, better known as Affliction Warlock is finding itself in one of the most unfavorable spots at this very moment. The main reason for this is the much-favored Fire Warlock build, completely outperforming Shadow Warlock by a tremendous amount. The difference is so high that Affliction Warlock sees close to no play at this current moment.

While certain effects empower Shadow Warlock such as the new Shadow and Flame rune and access to the Shadow Mastery talent, the overall Affliction Tree barely has any other damage-empowering effects. Since Warlocks don’t have access to the Curse of Shadow, Affliction is simply way too underpowered when compared to the Curse of the Elements which also scales with the Improved Scorch from Mages. Additionally, the Destruction Tree provides far more damage-empowering effects which currently solidify Fire Warlock’s reign.

As the build sees close to no play, it is hard to determine whether or not it can hold its ground, ranking itself as a D-Tier until any further changes occur.