My UPDATED 20's Specs Tier List for solo-BGs

[Derpyslave]

This is mostly a re-upload since the old tier list I made was awful and like 8 months ago. A lot has changed since then and I've learned much more about the strengths and weaknesses of most specs. Of course, this is still all my opinion.

I'm rating specs based on how they perform in battlegrounds solo-queue, not in premades, wargames, duels, arenas, or PVE. I will consider damage output, survivability, reliability(can the spec be kited or does it have long casts that can be avoided/interrupted) and utility(like increased movement speed for flag carrying, CC, and the ability to offheal.) I guess I'm looking at generalized impactfulness in the average game. I'm also judging each spec as if they had BIS gear (best in slot) and played by someone who knows what they are doing.

S Tier = The spec is unbalanced strong.
A Tier = The spec is very strong and reliable in most situations.
B Tier = The spec is good and balanced with more strengths than weaknesses.
C Tier = The spec can perform well in certain situations but has notable weaknesses.
D Tier = The spec is playable but leaves a lot to be desired.
F Tier = Don't play this spec.

Ranged Dps

1. Marksmanship Hunter (S Tier)
   
2. Beast Mastery Hunter (A Tier)
   
3. Arcane Mage (A Tier)
   
4. Destruction Warlock (B Tier)
   
5. Shadow Priest (B Tier)
   
6. Frost Mage (B Tier)
7. Balance Druid (C Tier)
   
8. Elemental Shaman (C Tier)
9. Fire Mage (D Tier)
10. Affliction Warlock (D Tier)
    
11. Demonology Warlock (D Tier)

Melee Dps

1. Survival Hunter (S Tier)
   
2. Retribution Paladin (A Tier)
   
3. Unholy Death Knight (B Tier)
   
4. Fury Warrior (B Tier)
   
5. Frost Death Knight (B Tier)
6. Arms Warrior (B Tier)
7. Assassination Rogue (B Tier)
   
8. Outlaw Rogue (B Tier)
9. Windwalker Monk (B Tier)
10. Feral Druid (B Tier)
11. Enhancement Shaman (C Tier)
12. Subtlety Rogue (C Tier)
13. Havoc Demon Hunter (C Tier)

Healers

1. Restoration Shaman (A Tier)
   
2. Discipline Priest (A Tier)
   
3. Holy Priest (A Tier)
4. Holy Paladin (A Tier)
   
5. Mistweaver Monk (B Tier)
6. Restoration Druid (B Tier)

Tanks

1. Protection Paladin (B Tier)
   
2. Guardian Druid (C Tier)
   
3. Blood Death Knight (D Tier)
   
4. Protection Warrior (F Tier)
5. Vengeance Demon Hunter (F Tier)
   
6. Brewmaster Monk (F Tier)

 

[Kracks]

Mm hunt disc priest s tier
Outlaw rogue a tier
Frost unh dk c tier
Frost mage a tier
Havoc dh b tier
Vengeance dh c tier
Spriest a tier

 

[Taeo]

MM deff should be S tier same with Disc which is pretty easily better then rsham but rsham deserves second place for sure mistweaver is better then rdruid in terms of healer but if your counting FC carrying then yeah sure. Arms should easily be 2nd best melee being able to roll triple 7s and one shot is deff something thats annoying and has one of the best mortal strike debuffs in the bracket

 

[Mnemonic]

• A tier (5/5): Hunters, Priests, Other Healers, Destruction Warlocks
• B tier (4/5): Mages, Warriors, DHs, DKs, Outlaw Rogues, Retribution Paladins
• C tier (3/5): Other Warlocks, Other Druids, Other Rogues, Windwalker Monks, Protection Paladins, Elemental Shamans
• D tier (2/5): Fire Mages, Enhance Shamans
• F tier (1/5): Non-Paladin Tanks

 

[Goesid]

Mm hunter ranked as on par with retri paladin? What fucking game are you playing?!

 

[Ivo]

S Tier = The spec is unbalanced strong.
A Tier = The spec is very strong and reliable in most situations.
B Tier = The spec is good and balanced with more strengths than weaknesses.
C Tier = The spec can perform well in certain situations but has notable weaknesses.
D Tier = The spec is playable but leaves a lot to be desired.
F Tier = Don't play this spec.

Based on this criteria it should look more like this:

S - MM, SV, BM Hunter - There are other very strong specs just not imbalanced.
A - Priest, Arcane Mage, Arms Warr, Destro Warlock, Resto Shaman, Holy Paladin

Also you're underestimating BM hunter as with a proper build it can be the strongest spec in the bracket.
Placing shadow below arcane is silly. Affliction and Demo should be placed much higher.
Arms is second only to survival. The bottom melee specs you listed are better than that too. I'd put feral lowest as it's an RNG one shot spec.
Swap disc and resto sham and your healer list would be correct. Holy priest and holy paladin are equal in my eyes.

 

[Hennelorix]

Im not sure where i'd place affli and demo but these specs definitely should be higher than "D". Imho arms and shadow priest should be "A".

 

[Mnemonic]

 

[Chops]

some very interesting choices here...

 

[Derpyslave]

Aha, looks like my opinions were unpopular. I guess I should justify my most controversial choices.

Disc will never be S tier because it has no mobility, no ability to kite, and pitiful CC. Resto shammy is the best kiter healer in the game, especially with the edition of Unleash Shield, while also having monstrous healing capability as well as damage. Not to mention Shammy also gets a ranged interrupt. Shadow priest also has sad mobility and utility and pretty much just walks around dealing damage, unlike Arcane which can just take anyone out of the fight while dealing more damage with better mobility and kiting power.

Arms is garbage vs any class that can kite, so I don't see what people are thinking when they say it's A tier. Any lvler hunter who knows how to use concussive shot, freeze trap, and explosive trap will wreck an arms warrior. Fury can remove slows and roots and also has better heals, and can dual-wield crusader which is the most op enchant in the game.

I appreciate the criticism. After thinking about it, I did decide to upgrade MM hunters to S tier. BM however is far beneath the two other specs but still the highest A tier in the game.

 

[ohti]

LMAO

 

[Goesid]

So brokenly OP its a poor reflection of the people who play them: MM Hunt
Now do you love me daddy?: Surv hunt
S Tier: BM hunt, disc priest
A Tier: SP, Destro, Rsham, Boomy, Ele, hpala, arms, fury, arcane mage.
B tier: hpriest, aff frost mage, unholy dk, mistweaver, rdruid, feral, frost dk, demo lock, retri pally, enha shaman, assa rogue.
C tier: Everyone else except prot warrior and bm monk
D tier: prot warr and bm monk

 

[Hennelorix]

So brokenly OP its a poor reflection of the people who play them: MM Hunt
Now do you love me daddy?: Surv hunt
S Tier: BM hunt, disc priest
A Tier: SP, Destro, Affli, Rsham, Boomy, Ele, hpala, arms, fury, arcane mage.
B tier: hpriest, aff lock, frost mage, unholy dk, mistweaver, rdruid, feral, frost dk, demo lock, retri pally, enha shaman, assa rogue.
C tier: Everyone else except prot warrior and bm monk
D tier: prot warr and bm monk

Affli A tier & Affli B tier

 

[Goesid]

Affli A tier & Affli B tier

oops

 

[Chops]

Arms is garbage vs any class that can kite, so I don't see what people are thinking when they say it's A tier.

a roughly 5% chance to proc a "Delete opponent" button on any attack is pretty fucking good, man

 

[Ivo]

I demand shadow to be moved higher on the list! Those arcane mages got nothing on us!

 

[Lateraldrop]

Tanks

1. Protection Paladin (B Tier)

We are still at it bb! Look at my spec being not terrible all expansion long!

 

[Kirise]

Disc will never be S tier because it has no mobility, no ability to kite, and pitiful CC. Resto shammy is the best kiter healer in the game, especially with the edition of Unleash Shield, while also having monstrous healing capability as well as damage. Not to mention Shammy also gets a ranged interrupt.

I like a good portion of your list, in the context of solo queueing randoms; let's look at a couple of glaring discrepancies (others have covered some of the details).

I love resto shams. I mean, I really love resto shams. But I gotta agree with others here that disc priest is absolutely S-tier above resto shamans at A-tier. True, disc priests stink at moving and kiting, but they don't need to move nor kite anywhere near as much as rshams. A good fear gets them out of serious trouble, and leveraging two healing schools of magic just stands head and shoulders over any other healer. Disc damage keeps up with resto damage even though resto damage brings a little more burst. For all the utility resto shamans bring, and they do, the sheer healing power of disc outclasses shamans. When I solo queue and look at the roster of the opposing team, disc priests are the only healers for which I'll change my strategy in a battleground. Disc priests are the only healers where a newbie still learning the spec can come in and make a significant impact on the battlefield. Any other healer would fade into the background in a frustrated newbie's hands.

Aff and demo locks don't bring the same glitz as Chaos Bolt locks, but don't underestimate how even one good aff or demo lock can influence a battleground. I'd promote them to C-tier at the very least, and others more familiar with locks could likely argue even higher. I'm always happy to see locks of any spec on my side. Don't sleep on havoc demon hunters either, they can hurt. I'll worry about a havoc DH more than any rogue, and I believe you have the rogues correctly tiered.

 

[toskosa]

Only thing I can think of is having destro warlock in A tier and resto druid in c tier from a pure healing perspective. Although these days I am not even 100% sure on them as flag runners... they have speedy cat form but what else really makes them super strong right now?

( I am not the best fc, I need more practice)

 

[Kracks]

Only thing I can think of is having destro warlock in A tier and resto druid in c tier from a pure healing perspective. Although these days I am not even 100% sure on them as flag runners... they have speedy cat form but what else really makes them super strong right now?

( I am not the best fc, I need more practice)

Stealth, shift slows, mobile healer