WoW The War Within Raid DPS tier list (Patch 11.0.5)

Now that WoW The War Within’s 11.0.5 patch has dropped, it’s time to revise the DPS tier list. There have been some changes, and I feel like some classes have improved, while others, frankly, I changed my mind on. For some classes, despite getting buffed, I still don’t feel super strong about them, and that’s unfortunate. However, it’s important to remember that this is an opinion, and your thoughts on your main class may differ - that’s certainly understandable.

This DPS tier list for WoW The War Within’s Nerub-ar Palace raid isn’t definitive by any means. Everyone has their own thoughts on how damage dealers (DPS), tanks, and healers are currently performing. With that said, here’s where the classes stand right now for us.

Note: This article is subjective and based on the author's opinion.

What are the best Raid DPS picks in the WoW The War Within tier list?

Here is our WoW The War Within raid DPS tier list. Ultimately, it’s up to you what you play, but if you want to know what we think is strongest, just take a look below.

S-Tier:	Arcane Mage, Enhancement Shaman, Elemental Shaman, Fury Warrior
A-Tier:	Augmentation Evoker, Frost Death Knight, Frost Mage, Arms Warrior, Retribution Paladin
B-Tier:	Balance Druid, Outlaw Rogue, Subtlety Rogue, Assassination Rogue, Demonlogy Warlock, Affliction Warlock, Destruction Warlock, Windwalker Monk, Devastation Evoker, Havoc Demon Hunter
C-Tier:	Feral Druid, Shadow Priest, Beast Mastery Hunter, Marksmanship Hunter, Survival Hunter, Unholy Death Knight, Fire Mage

1) S tier

The S-Tier specs and builds for the WoW The War Within raid DPS tier list are the cream of the crop. These are the most powerful, most dominant builds that are sure to be in every raid group. Several players will likely want to fill these spots on the team, to stand out and show off their classes’ power:

If you want the best, here they are (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Arcane Mage
Enhancement Shaman
Elemental Shaman
Fury Warrior

Arcane Mages and Enhancement Shaman continue to sit on top of the heap as the strongest of the strong. I stand by “Arcane Mage is incredibly boring”, but the results speak for themselves.

At the start of the expansion, I was also torn on how I felt about Elemental Shaman, but as of 11.0.5, I think they belong right at the top next to their melee brothers. Then there’s Fury Warriors. They bring tons of utility with Shout/Cry, has decent survivability, and the Hero Talent Slayer build is so strong when it comes to DPS. If you’re going to be a DPS Warrior, that’s the way to go.

2) A tier

A-tier members of the WoW The War Within raid DPS tier list might have slightly fewer options when it comes to dealing quality DPS without having to do much to their spec/loadout:

A-tier classes are close, but not quite up to snuff with their S-tier brethren (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Augmentation Evoker
Frost Death Knight
Frost Mage
Arms Warrior
Retribution Paladin

There were some major changes in the A-Tier, that's for sure. I was giving a lot of classes the benefit of the doubt that maybe I shouldn't have. Even though Retribution Paladin got some adjustments, I'm a firm believer in their strength, regardless of single target/AOE dps. Then they also have survivability and auras to contribute.

Though Frost Death Knight was nerfed, I don't think it really fell that far. It's still a strong class, with solid damage, and brings a decent amount to the table in terms of raid usefulness. For classes like Fury Warrior, it's just better to be Arms. Fury can hang, but they just don't bring the same power and ease of use that Arms does.

3) B tier

B-tier DPS are still reliable in WoW The War Within. B-Tier classes can perform well, and aren’t undesirable. However, they often have to work harder than A-tier to get the same kind of results. They may lag behind in certain encounters, but are solid, and dependable. You may not always top the charts, but you don’t drag the team down.

The B-Tier is solid, dependable. These are reliable classes (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Balance Druid
Outlaw Rogue
Subtlety Rogue
Assassination Rogue
Demonlogy Warlock
Affliction Warlock
Destruction Warlock
Windwalker Monk
Devastation Evoker
Havoc Demon Hunter

There are more classes down in B-Tier than there were at the start of this expansion, that’s for sure. I don’t think they’re bad, per se’. Havoc Demon Hunter for example, just has to work so much harder in some of its builds - if you aren’t a fan of classes that use a lot of movement, you won’t have fun here. At least they still have Chaos Brand, though.

Warlocks just in general belong down here, too. Their damage is solid, and they have Demonic Gateway, but that’s about it. One thing that makes me sad though is Balance Druid. Despite their recent buff, I’m not sure if they belong in A-Tier yet. I think they’re probably still right at home here in B-Tier.

4) C tier

C-tier DPS in the WoW The War Within tier list have to work quite a bit harder than the best classes. These are classes that typically, are very situational. In the right fights, they can shine like a star, but in general, they struggle just a little more than normal.

C-tier classes just have to work so much harder than others (Image via Blizzard Entertainment)

Feral Druid
Shadow Priest
Beast Mastery Hunter
Marksmanship Hunter
Survival Hunter
Unholy Death Knight
Fire Mage

I feel bad to put Hunters down here, but let’s face it - Hunter is boring and mediocre right now. The main problem I think with Hunters, is they do one type of DPS very well - single-target or AOE. The specs don’t do both with enough reliability.

Having a Shadow Priest in your raid group is always nice, though, but I can’t see too many being valuable. Fire Mages are really only down here because they just don’t stack up to the other two builds. They’re still incredibly fun - and my preferred way to play Mage in WoW The War Within right now.

Check out our other WoW The War Within guides

Edited by Angad Sharma