I'm going to plug in my thoughts from the other, somewhat-related thread. Many updates and edits:
Tier 1: Ret Paladin, Fury Warrior, Arcane Mage, Disc Priest, Resto Shaman, MW Monk, Arms Warrior.
Tier 2: Combat Rogue, Ass Rogue, Enh Shaman, Ele Shaman, Boomkin, Feral, RDruid, SPriest, Fire Mage, Surv Hunter, Hpal, Hpriest, MM Hunter, BM Hunter.
Tier 3: WW Monk, Frost Mage, Sub Rogue, Warlocks, All Tank Specs.
Clothies:
Lock: In the previous thread, I hadn't seen enough lock play to be able to give them a rating. Now that some people have finished gearing and I've seen some in game, I think having lock at T1 is... a little ridiculous. Affliction does decent damage, sure, as do all tab-dot classes in BGs, but they also die in two globals. I haven't seen any serious players roll demo or destro, but it seems like locks may just be lacking the necessary defensives in their kit at this level to succeed. No way is Lock a T1 class.
Mage: Arcane has nasty damage, both single target and AE. Also has great survivability and utility, and the postmaster's set is a perfect fit for the class at 49. The only real weakness is getting arcane locked.
Fire is among the most fun specs to play, IMO, and has great on-demand burst with combustion to burn down high-priority targets. Solid damage and CC, but not as strong as arcane. Blast wave->Breath of Fire->Ramstein's=5 dead enemy players. Definitely NOT a bottom tier class, though I think my fire mage is better geared than any other I've seen, so that may make a difference.
Frost has great CC, but the damage to back it up just isn't there. Inferior, IMO, to the other mage specs.
Priest: Disc priest is among the strongest classes in the bracket, but can struggle against warriors and rogues. T1 for sure.
Holy: Excellent healing and utility, just a hair behind disc in terms of overall strength. Either T1 or high T2.
Spriest: Solid rot damage and single-target burst and great survivability.
Leather:
Rogue: Terrifying burst-from-stealth potential with ramstein's trinket. Combat seems to have the best damage, but ass is also nothing to sneeze at.
Druid: A Boomkin who knows what he's doing can be awfully frightening for melee and hunters. 8-second faerie fire OP. Strong damage and great self-healing.
Feral and resto are both really strong, as well. Resto's Hots don't roll for what they used to, but with all the utility and mobility they bring to the table, they're still... a bear... to... take down (puts on sunglasses).
Monk: Not much reason to play a WW when nearly every other melee outperforms them damage-wise and has superior CC to help finish the job. WTB FoF Stun... Fantastic mobility, but that's about it.
MW is very strong for single-target healing. T1, but behind rsham and disc.
Mail:
Hunter: MM one-shot memes. Doesn't perform super well when focused, but the burst potential of aimed shot is no laughing matter. You can either global your target or put them into execute range in your opener quite often. MM was obscene during prepatch. The nerfs have brought it back down to where it's no longer a T1 class, but it still hits like an absolute train in the opener.
Surv: solid damage, utility, and mobility, but not quite on par with plate-wearers.
BM: What you play when you feel bad about MM being really strong. JK. That used to be true, but BM now surpasses MM in terms of overall damage, plus it isn't nearly as much of a one-trick pony.
Shaman:
Resto is probably the strongest healer in bracket. Solid instant heals, great team sustain, and LB and LvB both hit about 65% harder than ele. Also not as FotM as disc, for whatever that's worth.
Enh and Ele both have great damage and burst potential, plus reasonable sustain and great utility. Both strong T2 classes.
Plate:
Warrior: Fury and Arms damage is comparable, but Fury takes the cake because of the self-healing. Their sustain is bonkers. 3% damage buff to arms takes it to the bottom of T1, where it had been the top of T2 before. As long as you queue with a healer, Arms is extremely powerful, but doesn't have the 1v1 potential or crusader-stacking potential of Fury.
Paladin:
Ret: solid damage, outstanding sustain and defensives. Just behind fury and just ahead of arms in overall melee power.
Melee Power Rankings, IMHO:
1. Fury Warr
2. Ret Pally
3. Arms Warr
4. Enh Shaman
5. Combat Rogue
6. Surv Hunter
7. Feral Druid
8. Ass Rogue
9. WW Monk
10. Sub Rogue (?? Insufficient Data)
A Few of these are very close, with 4-8 being just about equal in power. That said, you can do really well with anything 1-8 on this list.
Ranged Power Rankings, IMHO:
1. Arcane Mage
2. Boomkin
3. BM Hunter
4. Ele Shaman (Damage is just ok, till you get a stacked ES. Only the healing and utility take it above other classes)
5. Spriest
6. Fire Mage
7. MM Hunter
8. Affy Lock
9. Frost Mage
10. Demo Lock/Destro Lock (?? Insufficient Data)
Arcane Mage is considerably stronger than Boomkin, IMO, but 2-5 are all very close. This is another one where you can do well with nearly any class. What a great bracket!
Healer Power Rankings, IMHO:
1. Resto Shaman
2. Disc Priest
3. MW Monk
4. Holy Priest
5. Holy Paladin
6. Resto Druid
Resto Shaman and Disc are the top choices, but I think Cirise might have a solid point in arguing that all healers are T1 at this point...
Top Three Most Imbalanced Items:
Ramstein's Lightning Bolts
Sul'Thraze the Lasher
Crusader Enchant
