Tank Rankings / Tier List – Season of Discovery Phase 5

Welcome to the World of Warcraft Classic Season of Discovery Tank Tier List! We will rank each tanking specialization available for the season and explain each class’s position on the tier list.

Protection Paladin (S Tier)
Feral Druid (S Tier)
Protection Warrior (S Tier)
Combat Rogue Tank (A Tier)
Demonology Warlock Tank (A Tier)
Enhancement Shaman Tank (A Tier)

Phase 5 of the Season of Discovery features many balance changes, and rune modifications, along with a plethora of new items and sets that became available with the release of Blackwing Lair, The Crystal Vale, and Zul’Gurub. Such changes result in performance variations showcased by many classes, with some of the stronger specializations from the previous phase having their spots completely altered. Furthermore, with the addition of the new raid sets and brand new class-specific epic items, the performance in Phase 5 of many of the specializations is much more gear-dependent, with some specializations having stronger bonuses than others.

Season of Discovery functions a bit differently when it comes to ranking tanking specializations. While the DPS and Healer rankings are much more set in stone, with far clearer distinctions between the available specializations, the Tank rankings are far harder to precisely pinpoint, with all the tanking specializations having strong points and more than viable playstyles.

The most important thing to understand when ranking the tanking specializations in Phase 5 of the Season of Discovery is that most of the tanks perform differently depending on the specific encounter they are placed in and the raid setup they are a part of. As such, it is extremely difficult to rank each tanking specialization and place them in either S-Tier or A-Tier for every new encounter. Instead, some specializations perform better at Single-Target encounters while others are tailored for AoE encounters, having significant Cleave potential.

Due to those factors, some of the specializations have interchangeable spots on the ranking list, with the best example being Protection Warrior, which may be considered weaker than other tanking specializations in some scenarios and superior in others.

Since Phase 5 barely brings any huge balance changes compared to Phase 4, the overall performance of the tanks is based on the new set bonuses, alongside their capacities when it comes to Threat Generation, Off-Tanking potential, Defensive Cooldowns, and overall Utility.

This Tank Ranking List is based on the currently available information that can be observed on Warcraft Logs, along with all the current changes based on the recent 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 tanking specs in the current meta – those with the best threat and survivability. You will see one of these specs in every single raid as people naturally gravitate towards them, and it won’t be completely uncommon to see 2 — which is very telling of how strong they are, as how many raid groups will have only 2 dedicated tank spots anyway!

Protection Paladin

Protection Paladins receive quite a powerful buff in Phase 5 of the Season of Discovery thanks to the new Draonic sets! Most of their abilities remain the same in Phase 5, with no particular buffs or nerf being added to their kit, apart from a minor nerf to the Core Forged 6-item set bonus.

Protection Paladins remain powerhouses, having access to multiple strong defensive, utility, and offensive effects for both Single Target and AoE encounters. Their main defensive effects in Phase 5 remain Blessing of Sanctuary, Malleable Protection, Aegis, Hand of Reckoning, and Holy Shield effects. While they do rely on one big cooldown to survive possible one-shot mechanics, Divine Protection, most of their survivability comes from stackable sources of damage reduction and increased Block Chance. As such, through a combination of optimized stats and the added reduced damage from their effects, Protection Paladins have the highest survivability at the current moment.

Thanks to the addition of spells such as Hammer of the Righteous and Avenger’s Shield, their AoE capabilities were also improved. Considering Vanilla Protection Paladins were already great at AoE threat generation and AoE tanking, they can now be considered on par with other SoD specializations such as Feral Druid and Demonology Warlock Tank in terms of AoE output.

Furthermore, their mana management issues are mostly gone due to the Guarded by the Light rune and the plethora of Replenishment effects offered by multiple classes in Phase 5 of the Season of Discovery. Alternatively, some Protection Paladins have been seen to use The Art of War rune for extra damage instead, solely relying on other sources of mana regeneration.

In terms of new sets brought by Phase 5, Protection Paladins are in for a treat with the new Draconic set. The set bonuses fix their primary weakness, the Single-Target damage output and threat generation. We are primarily talking about the 6-item set bonus which allows their Reckoning to trigger on every attack they block based on the points they spend on the talent. Of course, this is a huge tradeoff when considering the alternative survivability bonuses offered by the Core Forged set. However, with healers pumping especially hard in Phase 5 of the Season of Discovery and the other already present defensive effects in their kit, Protection Paladins shouldn’t feel much of a drawback.

Although not all is honey and mead for Protection Paladins as they are one of the worst Off-Tanks in the entire current meta. Most of their damage comes from the effects that trigger whenever they are attacked, meaning that they can only rely on their long offensive cooldowns and Seal Twisting for a decent damage output.

Lastly, in terms of utility, Protection Paladins are similar to Shamans, acting as their direct counterpart. They bring the most utility out of all the possible tanking specializations for the Alliance, providing multiple different auras and blessings.

Feral Druid

Feral Druids enjoy themselves in Phase 5 of the Season of Discovery, as they seem to perform quite well in Single-Target and AoE encounters! Feral Druids also showcase a strong performance as Off-Tanks, dealing considerable damage in Cat Form. In terms of balance changes brought by the new phase, Feral Druids gain no modification to their overall tanking capabilities, retaining the same effects from Phase 4.

The weak point of the specialization is that it doesn’t have as many defensive cooldowns as the other tanking specializations. But Feral Druids compensate by having the highest Effective Health Pool. They have two main defensive cooldowns that tie directly into their huge EHP: Survival Instincts and Enraged Regeneration. They also benefit from Survival of the Fittest in the Season of Discovery, reducing the overall damage they receive.

The strong point of Feral Druids is their overall enhanced AoE capabilities in the Season of Discovery. While they were known as terrible for AoE in Vanilla, several factors now improve their performance. Improved Swipe allows them to effectively deal with multiple enemies while generating a considerable amount of threat. Additionally, the new set introduced by Phase 5, the Draconic set, enhances their overall performance even further. It allows Swipe to enhance Maul, with the spell hitting one additional target thanks to the 2-item set bonus. It also makes Swipe inflict Lacerate on all targets it hits when the 6-item set bonus is active.

They also have the option of pursuing the Core Forged set, although, the new T2 Draconic set is by far the clear winner thanks to its massive bonuses. At best, Feral Druids may take 2 items from the Core Forged set to cast Rebirth and Innervate from Bear Form.

Where they tend to fall off compared to other classes is their Single-Target threat generation. While they don’t necessarily lose aggro during the fight, they struggle with the initial pull, being required to pop their offensive cooldowns such as Berserk at the very beginning of the fight to ensure that they generate enough aggro before the raid pumpers start melting the boss.

Besides their considerably strong AoE and decently strong Single-Target performance, Feral Druids are mainly known as one of the best Off-Tanking specializations. This is because of their ability to freely swap to Cat Form and deal considerable damage to their targets without modifying their specializations or equipment. Since they maintain runes such as Elune’s Fires, Savage Roar, Gore, and Berserk even while tanking, their damage output in Cat Form is impressive.

Lastly, in terms of utility, Feral Druids don’t bring as much utility as Shamans or Paladins, however, they have some gimmicks of their own! Some of the most recognizable abilities they may use are Rebirth and Innervate. They also provide buffs such as Leader of the Pack and Gift of the Wild. Additionally, they may swap their Core Forged 2-item set bonus to the DPS Core Forged 2-item set bonus to ensure that all raid members have an additional 1% Hit Chance in case there is no other Feral Druid available to bring that bonus.

Protection Warrior

Protection Warriors in Phase 5 of the Season of Discovery find themselves in an amazing spot, as they are considered one of the best tanks! They occupy the S-tier, however, depending on the encounter itself, some people see them as being weaker than other specializations such as Combat Rogue Tank or Demonology Warlock Tank.

They gain access to some very powerful buffs with the release of Phase 5, acquiring improvements to their overall damage output and threat generation! Through recent balance changes, Devastate now generates a 50% increased threat in Defensive Stance while Fresh Meat now also triggers from Shield Slam. While most Protection Warriors will use Shockwave instead of Fresh Meat for AoE encounters, the buff to Fresh Meat is extraordinary for all Single-Target encounters with no adds. Protection Warriors also receive a massive buff through the new Draconic T2 set. The 2-item set bonus resolves most of their Rage Generation issues while directly tanking a mob/boss while the 4-set bonus somewhat improves their lackluster damage output by giving them Flurry.

While they did receive buffs and the new set bonuses, the main problem for Protection Warriors remains the low damage output. Their threat generation is amazing, yet their damage is far behind most of the other tanking specializations. Their strength mainly comes from their overall great survivability and threat generation. They compensate for their damage output with powerful defensive tools such as Shield Block, Last Stand, Enraged Regeneration, and Shield Wall. Furthermore, besides those strong cooldowns, they also gain a unique protection effect against Shadowflame Damage and a 50% Spell Damage Reduction buff thanks to the new epic weapon they can acquire in Phase 5, Suzerain, Defender of the Dragonflights.

As for Off-Tanking, Protection Warriors are considered the worst due to the lack of damage output we mentioned earlier. They may choose to use Gladiator Stance for an overall increased damage output while Off-Tanking, yet all the current logs display some of the lowest numbers for Protection Warriors, even with Gladiator Stance.

Lastly, in terms of utility, Protection Warriors have access to the classic Vanilla WoW shouts while also bringing unique SoD effects such as Rallying Cry and Valor of Azeroth. Compared to other tanking specializations, the amount of utility they bring can be considered medium.

A-Tier

The A-tier represents strong tank specializations that offer very solid threat and survivability. You will frequently see these specs perform the off-tank role since they’re not as strong as the S-tier tanks (which will likely be the main tanking) while having some unique strengths that make them worth bringing. These specs will be very common in raids, and many will have 1 of them, but no more as tank spots are pretty limited.

Combat Rogue Tank

Rogue Tank is in a great position in Phase 5 of the Season of Discovery, as it alternates between the A-Tier and S-Tier, providing great Single-Target Damage, Threat Generation, and several powerful Defensive Cooldowns & Effects. While they keep most of the effects from the previous phase, Phase 5 does introduce a few buffs and nerfs that slightly change how Rogue Tank works.

The following changes occurred:

Just a Flesh Wound: Now also decreases all damage dealt by 20% while Blade Dance is active. Threat bonus increased to 165% (was 111%).
Main Gauche: This ability must now actually hit to grant its bonuses to Parry chance and Sinister Strike reduction.
Crimson Tempest can no longer pull enemies from far away.

Due to those changes, Rogue Tanks in Phase 5 have a much more streamlined build. Nevertheless, their performance can be considered extraordinary and mainly limited by the encounter itself as their kit is loaded with a lot of tools that provide huge Damage Mitigation and amazing Threat Generation.

The new T2 Draconic set and Core Forged set also aid Rogue Tanks with their overall Survivability and Threat Generation being massively boosted. By far the best combination that Rogue Tanks can opt for in Phase 5 of Season of Discovery with the new sets is to pick 4 items from the Draonic set and 4 items from the Core Forged set. This ensures that they gain increased Armor, Threat Generation, and a powerful Spell Damage Reduction Cooldown from Vanish.

In terms of Threat Generation, Just a Flesh Wound combined with the huge Single-Target damage output is strong enough to maintain threat in pretty much any scenario. In case that fails, Rogue Tanks may also choose to use Main Gauche instead of Saber Slash to ensure they never lose aggro. For AoE, Blunderbuss is the best option for encounters that require pulls from afar while Fan of Knives is the best overall option when having the 2-item set bonus from the Core Forged set.

In terms of Survivability, their kit is stacked with effects such as Blade Dance, Rolling with the Punches, Just a Flesh Wound, Evasion, the enhanced Vanish from the 4-item set bonus, Main Gauche, and Lightning Reflexes. This makes them extremely resilient and the only class that competes with Feral Druids in terms of EHP. Their only issue is hard Crowd Control, having to rely on healers on such occasions due to the lack of cooldowns that may remove CC.

While they are as strong as Feral Druid or Warlock Tank in terms of damage output in the role of an Off-Tank, the main issue that Rogues have is the complete lack of utility. The only viable form of utility they have is through Crowd Control, with no other effects that directly benefit the raid group.

Demonology Warlock Tank

Demonology Warlock Tanks in Phase 5 of the Season of Discovery can be considered a wild card, as their overall performance seems to be highly dependent on player skill and the encounter itself. While Warlock Tanks can by no means be considered bad tanks, their overall skill cap is generally higher than the other tanking specializations.

Phase 5 brings a few changes to Warlock Tanks when compared to their previous iteration from Phase 4, especially when considering the new Draconic set besides the general balance changes, which adds an entirely different playstyle compared to what they were used to.

Firstly, in terms of balance changes, Warlock Tanks share the fate of Rogue Tanks, receiving quite a few adjustments to their abilities:

Metamorphosis: Now also decreases all damage done by the Warlock by 15%. Threat now increased by 77% (was 50%).
Demonic Grace: The dodge chance and critical strike chance bonuses from this ability have been reduced to 20% (was 30%).

Those changes make them way better at maintaining Threat, however, their overall Damage Output and Survivability have been massively reduced as a result. This makes them way more reliant on external healing, especially until they acquire the Draconic set. Generally, Warlock Tanks don’t have issues in either Single-Target or AoE encounters as far as Threat Generation goes. This applies now more than ever with the Metamorphosis changes. However, they are known to perform better in terms of Single-Target Threat Generation than AoE Threat Generation. This also depends on the specific build the player chooses in terms of runes and talents and the specific raid comp, as AoE Threat Generation is highly reliant on whether or not the Warlock can avoid pushback.

As for Survivability, the nerf to Demonic Grace reduced it considerably, however, Metamorphosis still stands strong alongside Drain Life. Additionally, the new Draconic set introduces a new mechanic that allows them to heal themselves through the use of Shadowburn and accumulate a shield based on 30% of their max HP whenever they overheal themselves from any source, including Drain Life.

Warlock Tanks are also quite proficient in the role of an Off-Tank, having the ability to deal significant amounts of damage. By looking at the current logs on WarcraftLogs, we can see that not only most of the All-Star performers are Warlock Tanks in terms of Damage Output but even as you research the lower percentiles of the logs, Warlocks are still predominant on the damage meters.

Lastly, the utility of a Warlock Tank is somewhat situational based on the runes they pick. They can risk forgoing Demonic Grace in favor of Demonic Pact if their healers are extremely good. They also bring all the curses that other Warlock Specializations can bring, except Mark of Chaos as that would mean sacrificing Soul Siphon as well.

Enhancement Shaman Tank

Enhancement Shaman Tanks in Phase 5 of Season of Discovery find themselves in an interesting spot, as they certainly can deal extreme amounts of damage as Off-Tanks but they are highly reliant on Block for their overall Survivability. The specialization has no defensive cooldowns and solely relies on Shield Mastery and external healing. Phase 5 also brings a few balance changes to Shaman Tanks, alongside a new T2 set, the Draconic set, which luckily aids them with their overall limited survivability.

Firstly, Shaman Tank goes through a few buffs and nerfs with the arrival of Phase 5:

The Shaman Mental Dexterity rune now increases Attack Power by 100% of Intellect, and Spell Damage by 35% of attack power (was 65% and 20%).
Burn: This rune now requires Flametongue on main hand weapon to grant its spell damage. It also now grants 1 spell damage per intellect (was 2 spell damage per level).

The change to Mental Dexterity empowers Shaman Tank’s overall performance. However, the changes that occurred to Burn eliminated it as a potential rune for Shaman Tank, making the specialization rely more on other AoE tools.

In terms of Threat Generation, in both Single-Target and AoE encounters Shaman Tanks have absolutely no issue, barely being seen to lose aggro at all. This is mainly thanks to the plethora of instant cast abilities in their arsenal, along with runes such as Molten Blast, Spirit of the Alpha, and Way of the Earth.

The real issue Shaman Tanks generally have is their dependency on Shield Mastery as the main form of Damage Mitigation. This issue is slightly solved in Phase 5 of Season of Discovery with the addition of the Draconic set which has two particular strong effects. The first effect granted by the 2-item set bonus increases the change to block attacks, enhancing Shield Mastery in the process. The second effect offered by the 4-item set bonus increases the amount of damage blocked by each Block in direct proportion to your Spell Power. This synergizes extremely well with Shield Mastery as you will gain a perpetual Spell Power buff as long as you continue using “Shock Spells” on the target.

Furthermore, the Survivability issue is also addressed in Phase 5 through the introduction of the new epic shield, Terrestris. The item has a unique effect, empowering the shaman with different buffs based on the totems he uses.

The main strong point of Tank Shamans is their overall damage output, which makes them perfect for the Off-Tank role. Since they are extremely dependent on equipment and healers to perform well as Main Tanks, their kit is far better suited for providing additional damage and leaving a far better defensively-equipped tank to soak most of the damage.

Lastly, similar to Protection Paladins, Shaman Tanks bring a plethora of utility effects through their totems. Those effects can massively empower their allies.

B-Tier

The B-tier represents tank specializations that are very much viable, but have weaknesses that render them notably weaker than the specs listed in previous tiers. Your raid is unlikely to wipe just because you’re using a B-tier tank, as they can tank most things just fine, but if you’re aiming to optimize your raid you’d rather have a different class main tank, and you should probably avoid stacking specs found in the B-tier.

Fortunately, no tank is so weak that we’d say they belong in the B-Tier.

C-Tier

The C-tier is comprised of tank specializations that are, frankly, on the weaker side. It could be argued that they’re still viable, as they can generally get the job done. However, it will be a struggle compared to S-tier or A-tier specs, as C-tier specs lack the threat and survivability that the “big boys” have, and as a result your DPS players will have to be careful with threat, and healers will need to pay a lot of attention to your health pool. Some raids may even choose not to invite you, as they’d prefer to have a smoother, easier raid.

Fortunately, no tank is so weak that we’d say they belong in the C-Tier.

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 tanking will be really bad, with very sub-par threat and survivability.

Fortunately, no tank is so weak that we’d say they’re not at all viable.