Bracketeer
Legend
I know this may meet with some hate rants / flames / arguments starting, but in my head i naturally create a tier list for any game I'm playing at the time. It's a way for me to sort out high priority targets in Arenas and BGs. If you disagree, which is strongly welcomed, please comment.
(WSG)
DPS Top Tier
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-Hunter (All Specs) : Low skill cap, high burst, a lot of mobility and a significant amount of control.
-Sublety Rogue : High Burst, a lot of control offered in a big fight, and a lot of Survival options.
-Feral Druid : Average Damage with a ton of utility on the side. Bit of a learning curve.
-Arcane Mage : High mobility and burst combined makes the Arcane Mage a strong contender for the best caster DPS at F2P 20.
-Retribution Paladin : High Burst and most likely the most survivability out of any DPS class, packed together with a bit of control.
-Arms Warrior : A lot of burst damage and control through diminishing heals. Excels in 1v1 situation, and excels in taking out healers in big fights.
DPS Mid Tier
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-Affliction Lock : Decent damage and the best survival out of any other Lock spec, Aff Locks won't be taken down nearly as fast in larger battles, and
-Fire Mage : Less mobility than the other specs, but makes up for it in pure burst from afar.
- Enhancement Shaman : A lot of Burst and a bit more control than a Fury, offering a ranged interrupt. Can also self-heal, making survival a bit of a breeze.
-Demonology Lock : A bit of CC and a bit of DPS makes the Demo Lock an all-around caster that can win a lot of 1v1 fights, but is limited in large scale skirmishes.
-Fury Warrior : Mediocre damage and some control in slowing anyone and everyone near you by 50%. This is really a game changer, but often neglected by the community.
-Frost Mage : Few and far between, Frost mages are the red headed step children of the mage specs. Offers a lot of control and some decent damage.
-Discipline Priest : More Damage and healing than Shadow at 20, and a bit more useful than Holy Priests, the Disc Priest is IMHO the best Priest spec in any role.
DPS Low Tier (Not really all that viable.)
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-Balance Druid : High Skill cap and generally low damage makes the balance druid quite rare, but when played correctly, they're noticeable powerhouses.
-Destruction Lock : The placement is debatable, but I don't think anything about this spec stacks up nearly enough to be Mid Tier.
-Shadow Priest : Most of the time ends up pocket healing, as the Spriest doesn't do enough damage to make it count. Mind Flay is the only thing I can see as a reason to play one.
-Elemental Shaman : Same exact reason as a Spriest, the Ele Sham has generally low damage and will most likely end up pocket healing. Instead of Mind Flay, Earthbind. (Which all Shaman have.)
-Assassination Rogue : No Improved Ambush / Shadowstep makes a rogue almost useless, other than sap, which all specs offer. Can dish out more damage than Combat, though.
-Combat Rogue : Utterly useless, offering little to no reason to play over the other specs at all. Completely out-classed.
If this comes to good ends, I'll make another list based on Healers / Flag Carriers.
(WSG)
DPS Top Tier
-----------------------
-Hunter (All Specs) : Low skill cap, high burst, a lot of mobility and a significant amount of control.
-Sublety Rogue : High Burst, a lot of control offered in a big fight, and a lot of Survival options.
-Feral Druid : Average Damage with a ton of utility on the side. Bit of a learning curve.
-Arcane Mage : High mobility and burst combined makes the Arcane Mage a strong contender for the best caster DPS at F2P 20.
-Retribution Paladin : High Burst and most likely the most survivability out of any DPS class, packed together with a bit of control.
-Arms Warrior : A lot of burst damage and control through diminishing heals. Excels in 1v1 situation, and excels in taking out healers in big fights.
DPS Mid Tier
-----------------------
-Affliction Lock : Decent damage and the best survival out of any other Lock spec, Aff Locks won't be taken down nearly as fast in larger battles, and
-Fire Mage : Less mobility than the other specs, but makes up for it in pure burst from afar.
- Enhancement Shaman : A lot of Burst and a bit more control than a Fury, offering a ranged interrupt. Can also self-heal, making survival a bit of a breeze.
-Demonology Lock : A bit of CC and a bit of DPS makes the Demo Lock an all-around caster that can win a lot of 1v1 fights, but is limited in large scale skirmishes.
-Fury Warrior : Mediocre damage and some control in slowing anyone and everyone near you by 50%. This is really a game changer, but often neglected by the community.
-Frost Mage : Few and far between, Frost mages are the red headed step children of the mage specs. Offers a lot of control and some decent damage.
-Discipline Priest : More Damage and healing than Shadow at 20, and a bit more useful than Holy Priests, the Disc Priest is IMHO the best Priest spec in any role.
DPS Low Tier (Not really all that viable.)
----------------------
-Balance Druid : High Skill cap and generally low damage makes the balance druid quite rare, but when played correctly, they're noticeable powerhouses.
-Destruction Lock : The placement is debatable, but I don't think anything about this spec stacks up nearly enough to be Mid Tier.
-Shadow Priest : Most of the time ends up pocket healing, as the Spriest doesn't do enough damage to make it count. Mind Flay is the only thing I can see as a reason to play one.
-Elemental Shaman : Same exact reason as a Spriest, the Ele Sham has generally low damage and will most likely end up pocket healing. Instead of Mind Flay, Earthbind. (Which all Shaman have.)
-Assassination Rogue : No Improved Ambush / Shadowstep makes a rogue almost useless, other than sap, which all specs offer. Can dish out more damage than Combat, though.
-Combat Rogue : Utterly useless, offering little to no reason to play over the other specs at all. Completely out-classed.
If this comes to good ends, I'll make another list based on Healers / Flag Carriers.