World of Warcraft Dragonflight is an ever-evolving game. The PvE meta changes every few weeks thanks to hotfixes, and is overhauled completely when big patches drop. Don’t be surprised if your class ascends and falls dramatically throughout the course of any WoW expansion, as balancing a game with over two dozen DPS specs is a difficult task.
In Patch 10.1.5 and 10.1.7, the meta didn’t really change much. Sure, Augmentation Evokers were still cool (spoiler alert: they’re still one of the S-tier classes), but not much else changed in that period. Now, in patch 10.2.5 things have changed significantly. What once was strong is now weak, and vice versa. Hopefully your main class got stronger, and hopefully you aren’t a Windwalker Monk or a Shadow Priest—because if you are, well, let’s just say it’s good there’ll be more patches in the future.
Keep in mind the meta will almost certainly change as season two of Dragonflight progresses. Here’s how every DPS spec in Dragonflight stacks up following the launch of Patch 10.2.5.
Top two DPS in WoW Dragonflight: Patch 10.2.5 S-tier
- Augmentation Evoker
- Havoc Demon Hunter
Honorable mention: Fire Mage
Augmentation Evoker has defended its position since the last patch, and Havoc Demon Hunters have also joined the S-tier elites. Even though Augmentation Evokers are supposed to be a support DPS, someone must have forgotten to tell them that, because they’re killing it on the DPS charts. Not to mention, they also have off-healing and even Bloodlust. Seeing as this is their second patch in a row at the very top, I suspect there will be a nerf pretty soon.
Havoc Demon Hunters join the fray with their AoE abilities and a seemingly endless amount of buffs. Whenever I’m running a five-man dungeon, Havoc Demon Hunters always appear at the top of All Details! Damage Meter charts. I’ll accept that they do a lot of damage, but with Blur and Deflecting Dance, it seems they never ever take damage. WoW players are even making memes about how strong they are.
Fire Mages have made their way toward the highest tier slowly and from a much less favorable position. The ideal keys for FIre Mages are those with longer-lasting mobs and more spread-out pulls. The class is very mobile but doesn’t excel at dealing damage, yet there’s plenty to make up for that shortcoming.
Dragonflight DPS A-tier classes and specs in Patch 10.2.5
- Frost Mage
- Balance Druid
- Enhancement Shaman
- Outlaw Rogue
Frost Mages received a nice buff and moved up from B tier. Enhancement Shamans and Balance Druid remained relatively the same since the last patch. Outlaw Rogues, on the other hand, got a significant upgrade.
All the specs in A-tier are particularly strong and are among the best their individual classes offer. By playing one of these specs, you’re ensuring your baseline DPS will almost always be high enough to do group content effectively, so long as you remain ahead of the gearing curve. When they utilize their poison and evasive buffs, like Feint and Cloak of Shadows, Outlaw Rogues get particularly nasty. Hopefully they’re on your side in a fight.
Dragonflight DPS B-tier classes and specs in Patch 10.2.5
- Retribution Paladin
- Fury Warrior
- Subtlety and Assassination Rogue
- Demonology and Affliction Warlock
- All Hunter Specs
- Devastation Evoker
- Feral Druid
- Elemental Shaman
- Arcana Mage
- Frost and Unholy Death Knight
In this tier, you’ll find classes that can compete with some of the game’s strongest DPS options, although they’ll likely need to be piloted by players with more gear or higher skill ceilings to outperform classes in the S-tier or A-tier. All Hunter specs and Frost Death Knights, who were weaker in the last patch, are now stronger. The Assassination Rogue, who performed abysmally in 10.1.7, now does significantly more damage, and the same goes for Affliction Warlocks. In a way, this is a good tier to be at. Nobody will kick you from a party for low DPS if you’re playing one of these classes, and you can reach the top of the Details! charts as long as you play your spec well.
Dragonflight DPS C-tier classes and specs in Patch 10.2.5
- Arms Warrior
- Destruction Warlock
- Windwalker Monk
Arms Warriors and Destruction Warlocks are probably going to notice they now do significantly less damage than before. Arms Warriors feel like they barely do any damage when they use Bladestorm and other AoE abilities. Meanwhile, Destruction Warlocks can only push out mediocre damage to one target, while Havoc Demon Hunters do more damage to multiple. Windwalker Monks desperately need a rework, as it takes too much effort to do very little damage with them. If you’re currently playing these classes, you may want to switch to an alt, at least for the time being.
Dragonflight DPS D-tier classes and specs in Patch 10.2.5
- Shadow Priest
Conveniently, just when I finished leveling my Shadow Priest, Blizzard decided to absolutely destroy them with a huge nerf. While they were S tier in the last patch, the patch was not kind to Shadowform individuals like myself, who are now struggling to do more damage than some healers. Of all the specs in the game, Shadow Priests just had to be at the bottom. The single target damage they do is nothing to brag about, their DoTs are okay but nothing special, and there are essentially no new AoE abilities. I expect Shadow Priests are going to be buffed at least to tier B by the next patch, but until then, try to play a different class if you can, or just switch to Holy or Discipline.
