Raid DPS Rankings for Shadowlands in December, and some notes.
Before I get into the rankings, let me first say a few things about them. For starters, all results were averaged from various sources as I am just one man and cannot analyze each class on my own. That said, most of these results were born from simulations under optimal circumstances since the expansion is brand new. Damn, almost everyone has had the same or very similar results, but it's important to point out that these numbers can and will change once the Castle Nathria raid is over.
Additionally, all of these results were tested keeping Mythic Raids and Optimal Equipment / Alliance choices in mind. So while these DPS rankings for Shadowlands will give you a good idea of which ones are outperforming and could use a little love, they are geared towards top progression guilds. As always, the person behind the class matters far more than the class itself. A Master Arms Warrior will outperform a Scrub Unholy DK, despite the higher DK rating. People matter more, so think of these rankings as the most "optimal" recommendations, not the mandatory choices.
That said, Raiding still strongly favors DPS or ranged melee in the leaderboard, but doesn't ignore melee entirely. In addition, all classes are able to clean Nathria's normal and heroic castle without a problem. Some will perform less well than others, of course, but no class will hinder your raid. As long as everyone has the right gear, knows their rotations, and can perform mechanics, you should refer to these DPS ratings for Shadowlands as suggestions, not divine law.
Alright, let's go. Below are the DPS rankings in Shadowlands categorized into three categories: Outperforming, Tied, and Needs Love. Outperformers are currently classes that crush DPS sims, and On-Par are classes that perform steadily, but not at an almost broken level. Needs Love indicates which DPS classes require Blizzard adjustment, and will largely serve as niche rolls on Mythic difficulty. ENCORE: In Normal and Heroic, these classes will work very well. The order in each category is alphabetical (by class, then by specification) because the overall hierarchy will shift.
Outperforming
- Unholy Death Knight
- Libra Druid
- Precision hunter
- Frost Mage
- Shadow priest
- Thief of subtlety
- Affliction Warlock
Tied
- Frost Death Knight
- Arcane Mage
- Fire mage
- Windwalker Monk
- Paladin of Retribution
- Outlaw thief
- Shaman upgrade
- Warlock of Destruction
- Weapon warrior
Need love
- Havoc Demon Hunter
- Fierce druid
- Beast Mastery Hunter
- Survival hunter
- Assassination thief
- Elemental shaman
- Warlock warlock
- Fury warrior
