DPS Rankings / Tier List – Phase 3 / Sunken Temple – Season of Discovery (SoD)

DPS rankings and tier list for Sunken Temple (Temple of Atal’Hakkar), phase 3 in WoW Classic Season of Discovery, with Warrior, Melee Hunters, and Enhancement Shamans at the top of the list.

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

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

Phase 3 in the Season of Discovery brings forth multiple changes and class enhancements, with many of the Melee Specializations climbing back up to the S-Tier. With the addition of the Bracers and Helm runes, some of the specializations gained vital components for their specific identity, improving their overall performance. As a clear example, runes such as Taste for Blood, Wrecking Crew Mental Dexterity, Raptor Fury, Cut to the Chase, and Molten Armor turn Fury/Arms Warriors, Melee Hunters, Enhancement Shaman, Mutilate Rogue, and Fire Mage into the strongest specializations at the current moment.

While Phase 2 was much more Caster DPS oriented, Phase 3 is most certainly Melee-centric, with the Sunken Temple raid featuring some of the most difficult encounters for any Caster Specialization. The clear top contenders of the DPS Meter are Fury/Arms Warriors, Melee Hunters, Enhancement Shaman, and Mutilate Rogue. Specializations such as Fire Mage, Fire Warlock, and Ranged Hunter are still consistently played due to their overall popularity, even if they are not the best-performing 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 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.

Fury/Arms Warrior

The moment of reckoning has arrived as Fury/Arms Warriors climb up to the top spot of the S tier, boasting one of the most insane damage output performances that was seen in the Season of Discovery. True to their infamous reputation of being one of the best scaling specializations as Classic progresses, Warriors in Phase 3 have an astonishing performance in both Single Target and AoE encounters.

The sudden rise of Warriors was all but expected with the new runes heavily boosting their overall performance. Wrecking Crew is being favored by both Fury and Arms Warriors due to the empowerment effect it grants to Deep Wounds. Taste for Blood is the only viable Helm Rune for any Warrior build, however, it’s only truly useful for Arms Warrior.

The star of the show is Deep Wounds as it deals the highest amount of damage across the board in all possible boss fights, with only the Melee Swings, Heroic Strike, and Execute keeping up with it. The reason for that it uses the WotLK version of it, acting as a stacking Bleed Damage that completely ignores Armor. This is especially powerful considering the high amount of armor that the Sunken Temple bosses have. Fury Warriors seem to be performing overall better at the current moment, dealing great amounts of damage in both Single Target and AoE encounters.

While their damage is absolutely insane, the class only brings along a decently low amount of utility, having access only to Rallying Cry and their core shouts.

The only weakness that Fury and Arms Warriors display in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery is their overall limited utility. Another issue they might encounter is the raid composition itself, as they require Wild Strikes, Mangle, Faerie Fire (Feral), and Curse of Recklessness to empower them as much as possible. Without those buffs and debuffs, their overall damage drops, yet not by a staggering amount.

Their overall damage output peaks at around 1700-1800 DPS.

Melee Hunter

Surprising?Not at all! Everybody expected Melee Hunter to remain on top of the pack, even after the many nerf attempts. Melee Hunters in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery maintain their S-tier status, receiving even more powerful new runes to amplify their already ludicrous damage outputs.

Melee Hunters receive Raptor Fury, an amazing rune that fully complements the already existing Melee Specialist and Dual Wield Specialization runes. Raptor Fury is extremely powerful as it increases their overall Raptor Strike damage output by 15%, stacking up to 5 times for 15 seconds. The great part about this new rune is that it has no internal cooldown, meaning that after the first 15 seconds upon proccing have elapsed, the buff will proc again, starting with 1 stack of Raptor Fury. While it massively boosts a Melee Hunter’s damage output, Raptor Fury also presents a weak spot. The problem with the rune is that each additional stack doesn’t reset the duration of previous stacks, meaning that you will only get the 5-stack damage bonus for only a few seconds at a time.

While on paper the new Catlike Reflexes is supposed to empower Flanking Strike, the reality is that the ability itself relies much more on the Raptor Strike reset component, meaning that the overall reduced cooldown granted by Catlike Reflexe is useless. The dodge chance is also useless, for both the player and the pet since neither of them are supposed to tank damage.

In the current metaBeast Mastery builds are dominant, whereas, in the previous phase, both Survival and Beast Mastery were viable. There have also been attempts to make the Build functional with the Marksmanship Talent Tree, however, Beast Mastery dominates the scene for Melee Hunters since they have access to Bestial Wrath.

Overall, Melee Hunters don’t seem to display any weaknesses, especially since the release of the Dual Talent Specialization which allows them to shift to an entirely new Build if their group demands more utility. Their overall mana management is insane, with the build never running out of mana while both themselves and their pets deal extraordinary amounts of damage in a consistent manner.

Their overall damage output peaks at around 1600 DPS in the most favorable.

Enhancement Shaman

Enhancement Shaman makes a mind-boggling recovery in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery, raising to the S-tier from its previous B-tier spot. Not only has the new level 50 cap been very rewarding for their overall performance as their scaling is great, especially in the case of rank 3 Windfury, but the access to the new runes has granted them access to a vital component of their kit.

Phase 3 of Season of Discovery grants Shamans the Mental Dexterity rune, an enormously powerful addition to their entire playstyle. The rune buffs both their Attack Power and Spell Power meaning that both their auto-attacks and spells receive a massive boost. The 100% Attack Power increase massively boosts their Melee Swings and Windfury procs while the 30% Spell Power increase massively boosts their Chain Lightning along with every other Magical Damage.

They also gain access to Static Shock which can triggered easily, making Lightning Shield much easier to use with the additional charges.

Their overall damage is great in both Single-Target and AoE encounters, with their main damage output coming from Melee Swings and Windfury procs. In terms of AoE Overcharged, Chain Lightning. The only issue they seem to be facing is the overall lack of damage from their Fire Nova and Magma Totem, even if they gained access to the Call of the Flame talent.

Besides their extraordinary damage, Enhancement Shamans grant an astonishing amount of utility, making them a truly worthy S-tier specialization. One of the most useful tools at their disposal which truly aids the raid is Shamanistic Rage, providing extremely valuable mana for both Caster-heavy and Melee-heavy raid comps.

Their overall damage output peaks at around 1550 DPS in the most favorable conditions.

Mutilate Rogue

Similarly to Enhancement Shaman, Mutilate Rogue makes a huge comeback in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery raising to the S-tier rank up from the B-tier. While their playstyle hasn’t changed, with players that have mained the specialization finding it very similar in Phase 3, the new runes they gained significantly empower their overall performance.

Mutilate Rogues gain access to the Cut to the Chase and Combat Potency runes which drastically improve their overall performance. Cut to the Chase removes the necessity of refreshing Slice and Dice which makes their overall rotation much easier to perform. Additionally, Combat Potency synergizes perfectly with this newly found bonus as Mutilate Rogues find themselves in a spot where they spam their abilities due to the insane amount of energy they have at their disposal.

While nothing else particularly changed for them, with most of their damage coming from Melee Swings, Mutilate, Envenom, and Instant Poison, their Single-Target damage is absolutely astonishing. The issue they encounter is their AoE damage, with Mutilate Rogues severely lacking in that department. Nonetheless, since most of the fights are Single-Target oriented, Mutilate Rogue is currently one of the most powerful specializations that dominate the DPS Meters.

From a utility perspective, Mutilate Rogue doesn’t truly bring any unique utility when compared to the rest of the classes, with the standard crowd control in their kit being their only asset. Expose Armor is the only true asset they bring to the raid besides their crowd control, heavily empowering all other Physical Damage Dealers since Sunken Temple bosses have very high armor values.

Their overall damage output peaks at around 1550 DPS in the most favorable conditions.

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

Feral Druid finds itself in an amazing position in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery, with multiple people seamlessly pushing the specialization higher and higher in terms of DPS output. The specialization has undergone multiple theory-crafting attempts until a powerful specialization has been discovered, resulting in quite a powerful damage output. In its current state, the specialization finds itself in the A-tier, however, the past few days have certainly proven that Feral Druid might have what it takes to rise to the S-tier.

In terms of new runes Feral Druid has received two new viable runes, one of which can be considered rather useless while the other can be considered one of the most RNG-heavy elements that can either make or break their damage output. Elune’s Fires is the first rune that they can use, however, it currently performs extremely poorly as Rip‘s damage is inconsequential at the moment. The rune itself is much better-suited for the other Druid Specializations. The second rune, Gore, has tremendous potential as it can be used together with Shred to reset Tiger’s Fury. However, the 5% RNG involved is what currently makes Feral Druid rather unpredictable, keeping it locked in the A-tier.

Besides the new talent build and new runes, Feral Druid doesn’t necessarily receive any other toys to play with, with Shred being the highest damage output in most encounters. Feral Druid still lacks AoE making it rather weak in any AoE encounter, however, luckily for them, the Sunken Temple features many more Single-target-oriented fights than AoE fights.

In terms of utility, Feral Druid specifically brings Wild Strikes, Mangle, and Faerie Fire (Feral), which are highly valued by most Physical Damage Dealers, with Fury/Arms Warriors especially benefiting from their utility.

Their overall damage output peaks at around 1500 DPS in the utmost best conditions with the average being considerably lower. This heavily showcases that the RNG component of their newfound playstyle can heavily impact whether a Feral Druid can dish out large amounts of damage or not.

Retribution Paladin

Retribution Paladin finds itself in a slightly better spot in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery compared to Phase 2, climbing from the B-tier to the A-tier. Its overall performance playstyle is similar, even with the newly added runes and talents. One of the biggest changes that occurs for Retribution Paladins is the buff to the mana generation of Seal of Martyrdom, transforming Retribution Paladins into a necessary component for both Caster-heavy and Melee-heavy raid comps.

Retribution Paladins gain access to multiple runes, however, only two seem to be viable choices. Wrath is the first viable rune that heavily dictates how Retribution Paladins currently perform. With the possibility of having Consecration critically strike while also enhancing the Critical Strike Chance of Exorcism, Retribution Paladins receive a considerable boost to both their AoE and Single-Target damage output. The second new rune that makes an impact is Improved Hammer of Wrath, finally turning Hammer of Wrath into a viable execute tool.

The bulk of the damage dealt by Retribution Paladins remains the same, with Seal of Martyrdom, Melee Swings, and Exorcism.

In terms of utility, besides the newly empowered Seal of Martyrdom which massively helps all DPS Casters and Healers, they bring all of the same tools as they have during Phase 2, with the addition of Blessing of Sacrifice and Cleanse into the mix.

Their overall damage output peaks at around 1350 DPS in the best conditions. Unlike Feral Druid which heavily relies on RNG yet produces similar numbers, the DPS output of Retribution Paladins is much more consistent.

Fire Mage

While Fire Mage is certainly still one of the most popular specializations in the game, its overall performance has somewhat dropped in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery. While it was previously considered S-tier during Phase 2, in Phase 3 it struggles to keep up with the Melee Specializations. This is mostly due to the low-scaling gear found in Sunken Temple, along with the mechanics that heavily favor Melee classes over Caster classes.

Nonetheless, even with the low-scaling gear and difficult mechanics, Fire Mage is still one of the most powerful caster specializations, sitting atop all other casters. Firstly, Fire Mage’s playstyle has massively shifted in Phase 3, with the meta straying away from the Hot Streak playstyle where two critical strikes in a row were imperative to a playstyle that revolves around spamming Frostfire Bolt. While the Hot Streak playstyle is still viable, especially with the addition of the new Molten Armor rune, the Frostfire Bolt meta simply overpowers any previously praised playstyle.

Fire Mage also gains access to Balefire Bolt, which is a decently powerful alternative to the Molten Armor, however, most players prefer the Molten Armor and Frostfire Bolt due to how powerful the ability is when combined with the newly accessed Ice Shards talent.

Besides its new powerful Single-Target performance, Fire Mage still deals a great amount of damage in AoE encounters by using Living Bomb. In terms of utility, Fire Mage still brings Improved Scorch, which is one of the most powerful Fire Damage buffs for other classes available.

Their overall damage output peaks at around 1200 DPS in the most favorable conditions.

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.

Ranged Hunter

Ranged Hunter finds itself in a better spot than it did in Phase 2, performing consistently better in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery. While it still doesn’t compare to its Melee Hunter brethren, its damage output is consistent, having the potential of being considered an A-tier specialization, even if it currently stands at the top of the B-tier.

Ranged Hunter has a very high degree of versatility when it comes to its new runes in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery. Focus Fire is the first viable option, becoming the standard choice if either one of Heart of the Lion or Master Marksman is used as a Chest Rune. As an alternative to it, T.N.T. is another new rune that can be used, however, its effect is underwhelming when compared to Focus Fire.

Lock and Load is a very powerful new rune that is currently used by all Ranged Hunters as it massively empowers Chimera Shot. Rapid Killing is another new rune that shares the same slot with Lock and Load, however, the fight durations are far too short for Ranged Hunters to truly benefit from it, turning it into an underwhelming choice when compared to Lock and Load.

In terms of Single-Target damage, both builds seem to perform extraordinary, especially with how powerful Chimera Shot and Rapid Fire are at the current moment. Ranged Hunters also display a great AoE performance, with Multishot currently representing the bulk of their damage. Their traps are also very effective, however, with the new Lock and Load, they are mostly used in Single-Target encounters for Chimera Shot resets.

In terms of utility, Ranged Hunter grants different bonuses depending on the particular specialization they’ve chosen, with Trueshot Aura being an iconic buff granted by the Marksmanship Specialization. Heart of the Lion remains a staple utility tool in case Blessing of Kings is not present while they can now also grant Aspect of the Wild to provide Nature Resistance with the new level 50 cap.

Their overall damage output peaks at around 1250 DPS in the most favorable conditions.

Fire Warlock

Oh, how the mighty have fallen. Previously one of the best specializations during Phase 2, currently only a “mid” specialization in Phase 3, Fire Warlock has certainly fallen out of grace in terms of raw performance. In terms of popularity, the specialization is still one of the most played specializations, with players aiming to optimize the spec as much as possible to return it to its former glory.

Fire Warlock receives some very interesting toys in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery, with two possible build variations in terms of talents while also gaining new strong runes that they interswap. Most notably, the new Backdraft rune is the most popular, increasing their overall damage output by granting them a considerable 30% Spell Haste buff. The variations also use the new Pandemic and Summon Felguard runes, yet the best results for Fire Warlock revolve around using Backdraft as a main amplifier for Incinerate while also gaining passive damage from the new Immolation Aura rune.

In Single-Target encounters, their overall damage comes from Incinerate, Chaos Bolt, and their Imp pet, with the pet itself dealing a large chunk of damage. In Phase 3 Lake of Fire received a huge nerf, forcing the player to channel the effect. Instead of Lake of Fire, Fire Warlocks now opt for Demonic Tactics which further enhance their own critical strikes and those of their pets, making the Imp perform even better.

The problem that Fire Warlocks face, even with all the overall positive changes that they received is their overall scaling and weak gear that they have access to. In terms of pure damage output, they fall behind the Melee Specializations and even behind Fire Mage. Although their damage output can be considered fairly similar to that of a Fire Mage.

Besides their new damage-enhancing effects, Warlocks bring even more utility through the Curse of Recklessness and Curse of the Elements which now have even stronger versions available with the new level 50 cap. This new addition heavily emphasizes the requirement of at least two Warlocks in the raid group since both Curse of Recklessness and Curse of the Elements should ideally be placed on the target.

Their overall damage output peaks at around 1180 DPS in the best conditions.

Shadow Warlock

Shadow Warlock finally becomes viable in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery, as they’ve previously been completely unplayable with how Fire Warlock has been dominating the scene. The specialization receives multiple bonuses that finally make it viable, especially when considering the new runes that they can access.

Shadow Warlock receives the Unstable Affliction and Pandemic runes, which help it consolidate its identity. While Unstable Affliction is now a new powerful source of Shadow Damage, Pandemic is the true star of the show. Those two runes grant Shadow Warlock the possibility to viably showcase a full DoT build, especially with how potent Critical Strike Chance is in Sunken Temple.

In terms of Single-Target encounters, Shadow Bolt, Unstable Affliction, Drain Life, and Corruption are their best damaging abilities, with Shadow Bolt dealing the bulk of the damage. Their AoE capabilities are also top-notch thanks to Shadow Bolt Volley, however, since the Sunken Temple is mostly Single-Target-oriented, this doesn’t truly affect them.

In terms of utility, they bring all the same utility that Fire Warlocks bring, with Curse of Recklessness and Curse of the Elements being powerful tools they have at their disposal. Depending on their build, they can also bring Demonic Pact as a unique buff while Fire Warlocks are locked into the Incinerate rune.

Their overall damage output is extremely similar to Fire Warlocks, showcasing almost the same numbers. The peak overall damage output that can be observed on Warcraftlogs currently is 1147.

Frost Mage

Frost Mage surprisingly finds glory in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery, turning itself from one of the worst and most unreliable PvE specializations in the past two phases into one of the most solid DPS Specializations that finds its way up to the B-tier. This is mostly due to the shift in meta towards Frostfire Bolt as the main damage source, especially since the Ignite talent can now be accessed with the new level 50 cap. Additionally, with the nerf of Living Flame and rise of Icy Veins for all Mage Specializations, Frost Mage can truly make use of it unlike Arcane or Fire Mages since they have access to Cold Snap, allowing them to double the duration of Icy Veins.

With the heavy meta shift towards Frostfire Bolt, Frost Mage only uses the new Molten Armor rune as a key component to empower Frostfire Bolt even more while simply spamming the ability for the entire duration of any Single-Target encounter. For AoE encounters, they rely on Living Bomb just like Fire Mages do. In a sense, all of the runes and abilities that are specific to the Frost Mage identity are completely ignored in favor of the Frostfire Bolt meta, with Ice Lance and Brain Freeze never seeing actual PvE play.

Their damage output peaks at around 975 DPS.

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.

Elemental Shaman

Elemental Shamans find themselves in the same spot they were in during Phase 2, with Phase 3 placing them in a rather weird spot. While they were close in terms of performance during Phase 2 to their fellow Enhancement Shaman brethren, the gap between the two is hard to ignore in Phase 3.

Elemental Shaman currently has two different ways of being played in the current meta, one of which is similar to the traditional way casters sit back and spam their targets with spells from a safe distance while the other makes use of the new Mental Dexterity rune to get right up in Melee Range and weave-in auto-attacks in order to upkeep the Spell Power buff granted by the rune. The latter playstyle currently performs way better than the former, however, both playstyles seem to struggle in both Single-Target and AoE scenarios due to poor scaling. Besides the new Mental Dexterity rune which seems to serve as the BiS Helm option at the moment, Elemental Shamans also makes use of the new Rolling Thunder rune on their bracers which allows them to use Lightning Shield efficiently while also offerring a powerful mana regeneration tool besides their Shamanistic Rage.

Even with the additional Spell Power from Mental Dexterity, the scaling problem that Elemental Shamans face is mostly due to their low base damage on their abilities, with Lightning Bolt which is their main damage source having one of the worst base damage values in the game. Not only that the base damage of their abilities is low, the fact that they are plagued by the same issue that other casters face with Sunken Temple caster gear being underpowered when compared to the melee gear is definitely not helping them either.

However, while their damage output is subpar when compared to some of the higher-tier specializations, 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.

Their damage output peaks at around 950 DPS.

Balance Druid

Balance Druids have possibly one of their roughest moments in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery, as the specialization completely falls behind, ranking among the lowest Caster Specializations. The reason for their downfall mostly resides in the new runes they receive in Phase 3, with one of them focusing on AoE encounters which are scarce while the other provides rather underwhelming bonuses.

In terms of AoE, Boomies received Gale Winds which is a massive bonus to their overall AoE capabilities. However, the Sunken Temple raid is mostly Single-Target oriented, with only two fights relying on AoE damage. In terms of Single-Target, they received Elune’s Fires which is completely underwhelming when considering how little impact Moonfire and Sunfire have in PvE at the current moment.

Their Single-Target rotation still revolves around the Eclipse and Dreamstate, with Starfire, Wrath, and Starsurge being their best damage-dealing abilities by far. Both Sunfire and Moonfire deal considerably lower amounts of damage, which makes Elune’s Fires seem almost pointless.

Besides the underwhelming Single-Target rune they received, they are also plagued by the same issue that Caster Specializations have in this current phase, a lack of powerful Spell Power gear from the Sunken Temple raid.

What saves them is their overall utility, with Moonkin Form being a great addition for Caster-oriented groups. Additionally, they are often brought in raid groups as Off-Healers. Albeit, many raids simply prefer Feral Druid instead as the meta is currently shifted toward Melee-oriented groups.

Their damage output peaks at around 980 DPS.

Shadow Priest

Famous and beloved in Phase 2, underpowered and shunned in Phase 3, Shadow Priest somehow manages to drop from the S-Tier to the very bottom of the C-Tier. While they get access to some pretty new cool runes such as Despair, Void Zone, Eye of the Void, and Pain and Suffering that are all-around useful yet a tad underwhelming, Shadow Priests seem to perform average at best, generating a very similar damage output with the rest of the C-Tier specializations.

The main issue that Shadow Priests encounter is their overall low scaling. Additionally, the lack of new powerful abilities in Single-Target encounters makes them fall behind when compared to other Caster Specializations, especially since Eye of the Void is mostly utility-based and doesn’t do enough damage while Despair shares the same fate since their main damaging abilities can’t scale off it. Pain and Suffering is also not viable in Single-Target due to the low overall damage of Shadow Word: Pain when compared to Eye of the Void. Most of the damage in Single-Target scenarios comes from Mind Spike, Void Plague and Mind Blast.

Their AoE is not spectacular either, relying on multi-dotting, Mind Sear, and the new AoE rune, Void Zone. The new rune is not particularly helpful either as it currently seems to underperform. Other than the new runes, Shadow Priest doesn’t get its hands on any impactful ability, making it one of the most underpowered caster specializations at the moment.

Their damage output peaks at around 900 DPS.

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.

Arcane Mage

Arcane Mage certainly has it rough in Phase 3 of Season of Discovery, as it reaches the bottom of the ranking list in the D-tier. While the specialization has received some hotfixes since the release of the patch, with Balefire Bolt now proccing correctly off Arcane Blast, the current meta simply favors Frostfire Bolt in a way that completely obliterates Arcane Mage.

The new available talents don’t aid Arcane Mage unless players specifically choose Balefire Bolt over Molten Armor for the Ignite DoT effect. This makes their overall playstyle feel clunky, especially when considering Missile Barrage will proc significantly fewer times if they don’t choose to go with the Molten Armor rune and spam Arcane Blast.

Conjure Mana Citrine resolves a bit of their mana management issues, however, their Arcane Blast spam can still lead to an OoM situation.

Considering all that we’ve previously mentioned, the new runes for the Mage class heavily emphasize Fire Mage and Frost Mage as the two dominating specializations in the current meta, leaving the Arcane Mage in a healer position. The addition of Temporal Anomaly also places Arcane Mage in a much more supporting role since the other two mage specializations simply out-damage it by a considerable amount.

Their damage output peaks at around 730 DPS according to Warcraftlogs.