WoW Dragonflight tier list – best classes for PvE and PvP

Who is top of the WoW Dragonflight tier list? Our tier list focuses on the best overall performance provided by all classes in both PvP and PvE, whether you’re going solo or as part of a group. Every class in WoW has been subject to rebalancing over the course of the MMO’s lifetime, though some classes have felt the effects more than others. Whether you’re new to the game or a returning player, our tier list identifies which classes are dominating the meta in 10.1.

Our WoW Dragonflight tier list presupposes that your character is performing as it should with respect to their class and spec following the WoW Dragonflight 10.1 update. The talents system overhaul now offers more class customization than the MMORPG has seen in recent years, but it also means that your mileage may vary depending on the talents you’ve chosen. If you’re running a suboptimal build for your class in World of Warcraft, you’re liable to have a very different view of where your class falls on our tier list.

WoW Dragonflight tier list

Our WoW Dragonflight tier list rankings are summarized in the table below, but keep scrolling for the full breakdown of the best WoW classes and their ideal spec.

S Tier

Affliction Warlock

Affliction Warlocks deal exceptional single-target damage, which is great for raid bosses and isolated PvP combat. Rather than calling on their demonic hordes or destructive spells, Affliction Warlocks prefer to leech the life out of their foes with abilities such as Agony and Corruption. Like the Hunter, the Warlock’s demonic pets are great for solo play by providing additional role support for any situation, from the tank-oriented Voidwalker to the crowd-controlling Sayaad. As with any class that relies on DoT casts, Affliction Warlocks take time to ramp, but as long as you can reach and maintain their high damage ceiling, you can expect to drain the health pools of your foes with ease. Affliction Warlocks are at the top of their game in WoW Dragonflight, and the de facto choice for damage-over-time casting.

Windwalker Monk

The Monk is a melee DPS powerhouse, delivering a volley of punches and kicks to multiple targets in quick succession. Windwalker Monks sport a suite of AoE abilities that can dispatch mobs with relative ease, but they have a long-standing reputation for falling short during one-on-one combat encounters. Thankfully, the class changes implemented in WoW Dragonflight make them viable in these situations as well, closing the gap between Windwalker Monks and other high-performing classes in PvE and PvP. Their mobility cannot be overstated, with skills like Roll and Flying Serpent Kick allowing for quick repositioning. They also bring incremental utility to groups, including passive healing, a boost to movement speed, as well as bonus avoidance from incoming AoE damage.

The Windwalker Monk’s extensive rotation revolves around the careful balance of Energy and Chi. Core abilities such as Tiger Palm generate Chi, which can then be spent on more powerful spells. This rotation is fairly straightforward, but careful management of cooldowns is essential in order to fully maximize the Windwalker Monk’s damage potential. If you’re sitting on capped Chi waiting for your cooldowns to tick over, you may place lower than expected on damage counters and other similar WoW addons.

A Tier

Balance Druid

Balance Druids – otherwise known as Boomkins – have been a mainstay class in the WoW meta for years, and show no signs of slowing down. As indicated by their nickname, Balance Druids have an ostentatious kit that’s guaranteed to appeal to players who derive satisfaction from juggling cooldowns in a fast-paced rotation. Boomkins excel at applying damage over time to large groups, making them effective in both PvE and PvP. The time it takes for the Boomkin’s damage to ramp may leave them vulnerable to becoming overwhelmed, but they have some healing capabilities that can help see them through. They’re also capable of dishing out devastating burst damage with a combination of Ravenous Frenzy and Convoke the Spirits, which is a godsend during raids. Also, you can turn into a giant chicken.

Enhancement Shaman

The Shaman class has often borne the brunt of WoW’s ever-changing meta, experiencing soaring highs and crippling lows over the years. Thankfully, the talent system overhaul has catapulted Shamans back into the running as one of the best classes to play in WoW Dragonflight. The ability to switch talent loadouts at will is a boon for Shamans, since they have an extraordinarily versatile suite of abilities that allow them to adapt to most situations. Enhancement Shamans have also received a welcome boost to Maelstrom Weapon, the core buff in their rotation that provides a damage bonus to both ranged and melee attacks. Totems offer additional support that benefits both solo and group play, including off-healing, crowd control, and movement speed buffs. Finally, Feral Spirits is an ideal emergency button for crowd control, healing, or aggro redirection.

Frost Death Knight

The Death Knight has fallen out of favor in the RPG game in recent years, but with the welcome flexibility of the talents system overhaul, they’ve become a viable option once again. The Frost Death Knight is a robust melee DPS that excels in inflicting cleave damage upon single-target enemies. What’s more, there are plenty of optional passive talents that reinforce the Frost DK’s health and stamina pools; they might not be tanks, but they’re more than capable of soaking up damage in a pinch.

In terms of notable spells, Death Grip is the go-to cast for dragging squishier targets closer to you in both PvP and PvE, particularly long-range casters that prefer to stick to the backlines and cause trouble. The only major drawback of the Frost DK is their incredibly low mobility, though this can be remedied somewhat by their Death’s Advance movement buff. Finally, Death Knight is a hero class, meaning they start at level 55, putting you closer to WoW Dragonflight endgame content than most other classes.

Fire Mage

Fire Mage has always been a popular choice in WoW, and for good reason. They’re capable of channeling enormous amounts of burst damage with relatively minimal ramp – and let’s face it, raining literal fire down upon your enemies never gets old. Fire Mages continue to be a great option in WoW Dragonflight, with opportunities to stack talents that buff Pyroblast, a devastating component of the Fire Mage’s rotation. The major change to the Fire Mage’s kit concerns Mastery: Ignite, which now spreads via Fire Blast rather than Phoenix Flames, effectively granting a 13-second cooldown reduction for this DoT spread. Ultimately, if you’re a fan of big numbers flashing all over the screen, then Fire Mage is the one for you.

B Tier

Beast Mastery Hunter

The Hunter is by far and away the most accessible class available in WoW, and a perfect choice for beginners in the multiplayer game. Their rotations are straightforward and adaptable to all situations, and amassing a colorful stable of tamed beasts never loses its appeal. What’s more, your chosen pet may also serve as your very own portable tank, drawing aggro away from you and soaking up the attacks of heavy-hitting mobs, making the Hunter an excellent choice for solo play.

Beast Mastery Hunters are the most mobile ranged DPS class. Unlike spellcasters, who are often forced to remain in place for the duration of their cast time, Beast Mastery Hunters are capable of dishing out damage on the move. Their extraordinary mobility makes them capable of responding to threats quickly, and they’ve got a barrage of crowd control to draw on to keep mobs in dungeons and raids controlled. A Beast Mastery Hunter is a solid option for PvE and leveling in the upcoming expansion, so check out our guide on how to tame a Slyvern in WoW Dragonflight if you’re looking for a pet native to the Dragon Isles.

Outlaw Rogue

The Rogue is another versatile class that’s seen the benefit from the talent system overhaul. Outlaw Rogues in particular are capable of inflicting a phenomenal amount of cleave upon their foes – more than any other class in the game. Blade Flurry is the staple of the Outlaw Rogue’s playbook, which causes all single-target attacks to strike up to four nearby targets. This passive AoE is the only AoE to draw on, but it’s certainly reliable, especially when paired with the Dancing Steel talent. You can also expect a suite of mobility and utility to draw upon while playing solo and as part of a group, including shroud, evasion, and immunity effects. There’s even a gradual self-heal in the form of Crimson Vial for more direct survivability. Consequently, Outlaw Rogues are capable of going toe to toe with enemies in a variety of formats in both PvE and PvP, from the gladiatorial-style combat of arenas to complex raid boss encounters.

It’s worth bearing in mind that the Rogue class has a particularly fast-paced rotation that may prove overwhelming for new players, and if you struggle to keep up with your cooldowns you may find your performance flagging somewhat. If you’re a WoW veteran looking for a class that keeps your hotkeys burning, you’re certain to meet your match with the Outlaw Rogue.

Retribution Paladin

Retribution Paladins don’t have the best reputation in WoW. They’re a little like Shadow Priests, in the sense that they defy the expectation that all Paladins are only good for tanking. Retribution Paladins are a DPS-oriented spec that leaves the Shadowlands expansion in a very good spot, and it looks like that’s set to continue through WoW Dragonflight. The majority of the damage dealt by the Retribution Paladin derives from AoE burst, and the core skills in their rotation generate the Holy Power necessary to unleash true divine justice, wielding the power of the Light… and a massive hammer.

Like Death Knights, Paladins suffer from low mobility to compensate for how robust they are, but they’ve got bags of utility to make up for it. Aside from their life-saving Divine Shield and 3% damage reduction passive, they can also bestow a number of blessings upon squishier members of their group, providing immunity and damage reduction. Retribution Paladins are also able to provide off-healing in a pinch, which is great for surviving during solo play or saving your group from a wipe in a dungeon or raid.

C Tier

Arms Warrior

Warriors are the vanilla flavor of damage-dealers: they may appear basic at first glance, but a true connoisseur can see the complexity lurking beneath. Instead of Mana or Energy, a Warrior’s primary resource is their Rage, which they generate during combat. This naturally leaves them on the back foot when engaging mobs, since their first priority is always resource generation. While they’ve got some defensive capabilities, Warriors lack the safety net provided by more versatile classes, going entirely without self-healing effects in their kit. All that being said, Warriors are an accessible class overall, and their straightforward rotations yield comparatively high damage-per-second. You can expect to comfortably tear through enemies below 35% health using Execute, helped along by the bleed effects inflicted by Deep Wounds and Rend. As long as you don’t spread yourself too thin, your Arms Warrior will live to fight another day.

Holy Priest

Holy Priest is the definitive healer in WoW, providing unparalleled single-target healing that’s a literal lifesaver in both PvE and PvP. They’ve also got a few robust AoE spells in their kit, such as Holy Word: Salvation and Divine Hymn, which can keep your group members on their feet while you triage accordingly. Holy Priests can dish out enough damage to hold their own when they’re in dire straits, but most of their defensive abilities take the form of debuffs. Thankfully, they do have an emergency button in the form of Leap of Faith. This instant spell pulls a member of your party member in front of them – either to remove them from harm, or enlist their help against close-range attackers.

The best course of action while leveling a Priest is to spec Shadow and then respec once you’ve hit max level. This will grant you enough damage-dealing proficiency for questing solo, as well as a nice change of pace to the heal-focused rotations you’ll be using as a Holy Priest.

Havoc Demon Hunter

Demon Hunters have seen notable class changes going into WoW Dragonflight, particularly given that this is the first time they’ve had access to an extensive talent tree. However, this additional choice comes at a cost, and oftentimes you may find yourself choosing between talents that cause DPS loss somewhere along the tree. Thankfully, the value of the Havoc Demon Hunter’s critical strike chance value is through the roof, especially when paired with talents such as Know Your Enemy and Critical Chaos. While their class-specific Double Jump and Glide make them exceptionally mobile and fun for solo play, they’re lacking in low-cost utility, though a cast-heavy group will certainly feel the benefit of Chaos Brand’s 5% magic damage buff.

Devastation Evoker

It’s not too surprising that the latest class to hit Blizzard’s MMO has yet to find its footing, since the vast majority of the classes in WoW Dragonflight are long established. The Evoker class is characterized by a suite of area-of-effect abilities, with signature spells like Eternity Surge and Deep Breath taking center stage. The power of flight makes them incredibly agile, allowing you to traverse the battlefield in record time to save your allies, either by healing or repositioning them. Devastation Evokers can also stand to take a few knocks thanks to talents like Renewing Blaze and Obsidian Scales, which reduce and absorbs damage in an instant. Evokers haven’t quite found their groove yet, but their kit contains a lot of promise – hence why they’ve still made the list as one of the best WoW classes to play in Dragonflight.

The Evoker class is entirely unique to the Dracthyr race, so it’s worth acknowledging the draconic racial abilities that can bolster your Evoker kit. Tail Swipe and Wind Buffet are particularly notable, inflicting knockdown and disrupting enemy attacks. Dracthyr also provides excellent utility to party members, passively healing allies and boosting health regeneration.

That’s all we have for the WoW Dragonflight tier list following the 10.1 update. Our tier list excludes subpar class specialization, so we’ve neglected to extend it to D-tier and beyond – you can’t really go wrong with any of these picks. While Blizzard will continue to make class changes and tweak talent trees over time, we can’t see these tier list placements shifting too much in the future. Now that you’re all set, check out all the latest WoW Trading Post rewards if you’re in search of a rare mount, and watch out for WoW blz51903006 error code while logging in.