War Within Best Class Tier List

Xal’atath made her move, and champions of Azeroth have to prepare a powerful response. Getting deeper into Khaz Algar is not an easy task, and that is why we made the War Within best class tier set, so that you could choose the best option for the start of your journey. Find out about how Hero Talents affected various classes and roles, explore our detailed comparison, and decide for yourself with which class you wanna save Azeroth from the Void!

The War Within Class Tier List Explained

First of all, keep in mind that in order to select the War Within best class, we have to keep several things in mind. This expansion brought the major gameplay addition called hero talents that can completely change the way you play. These are several talent trees that are unique for each class, and every spec can choose one of two trees available to it to modify and enhance their abilities. With the introduction of certain talents, some classes became significantly stronger than others, and it lies in the core of our comparison. Have a look at our combined tier list.

The second major aspect of how did we choose the best class to play in the War Within is the type of content. This expansion brings along a special activity called Delves, and it is clear that classes will probably perform unequally across them, Raids, M+, and PvP. Therefore, we are trying to take into account how classes perform in the various of content, so that you could have access both to the average “universal” best class and the ones that are good with specific activities.

The War Within S-Tier Classes

The S-Tier specs, of course, are those that perform the most at the moment, and thanks to our points system, you can see whether a particular spec is flawed or not in the certain content. But overall, you should understand that specs end up here because they received great Hero Talent rework and endured some enhancements in gameplay that definitely help them stand out. We will make brief comments after each section in our The War Within best class rankings.

As you can guess, playing Melee is usually tough in any type of content, but some Hero Talents helped certain specs to completely get rid of this issue. Windwalker Monk can now deal great AoE damage and offers less repetitive gameplay with both Hero Talents trees, while Retri Pala and Unholy DKs allow players some before unreachable levels of versatility with the enhanced defensives. Of course, damage outputs for all of the mentioned specs is impressive in all types of content, but we would say that you may find other specs more useful for pure single-target fights.

Ranged DPS S-Tier

All Ranged specs listed here received nice Hero Talents, but we cannot say that they have completely reworked these specs. Instead, they added new levels of utility for previously existed builds, and here the AoE-centric enhancements are obvious as Demo and Destruction Warlocks as well as Devastation Evoker now can completely destroy hordes of enemies with a variety of ways thanks to their Hero Talent trees. But, most of all, we would recommend Fire Mage as it is now slightly less difficult to play, but the damage output is immense both for ST and AoE.

Healers S-Tier

Depending on the type of content, you will prefer either Restoration Druid or Holy Priest if you plan to play a Healer in the upcoming season. The Hero Talents affected both specs in a great way, but for Priests, they significantly buffed the healing of predictable and comprehensive damage like in Raids, while with Druids, you can now easily outheal difficult-to-handle situations with sudden surges of damage. Both perform well in Delves as well and can be taken into RBG or Arenas if you plan to PvP thanks to the impressive DPS as a lovely addition to their utility.

Tanks S-Tier

While playing the Tank can seem to be an easy job, in the War Within, you need to be versatile in order to sustain damage in the higher keys, Delves, or in Mythic raids. Thankfully, Blizzard significantly enhanced Hero Talents for Guardian Druid, and it now has much better survivability in all types of content. Slightly worse, but still great thanks to the basic design, Blood DKs are also top pick for tanking as they can contribute a lot of damage (which can be extremely useful for Delves) and can withstand challenging situations in the high-end content.

The War Within A-Tier Classes

If you want to find the War Within best class that is great for the particular type of content, but may be not as good in the other ones, A-Tier is definitely your pick. Generally, choosing a spec from this list won’t be harmful for any activity, but there are still some issues present like underdeveloped Hero Talents or minor rework issues. That is why, if you pick a spec from A-Tier, be mindful about pros and cons each of these choices have.

Although all of three Melee classes have nice survivability and damage output, there are a few minor flaws at the moment that can make them less playable for certain activities. Havoc DH has Hero Talents that allows it to play partially as Vengeance, and it is good for M+ and Delves, but in Raids it can be quite hectic, and same can be said about Frost DK. At the same time, Enh Sham received huge rework through Hero Talents and feels great in single target, but with other types of content, it can be pretty clumsy.

Ranged DPS A-Tier

The Ranged specs in the list received various upgrades through Hero Talents which were either unique and cause rework (like with Shadow Priest) or just enhanced aspecs already known (like for Frost Mage). Mages, including Arcane one should be your pick for ST fights like Raids, if you are not afraid of complex mechanics that increase damage output introduced with Hero Talents of Mages. But if you seek strong AoE, turn to Shadow Priests or Chronowarden Hero Talents for Aug Evoker. The last guy can feel extremely powerful in Mythic+.

Healers A-Tier

The two healing specs we mentioned are also great for different types of content. The Hero Talents of Holy Paladin have given the spec better healing various targets which is a huge step forward from the previous builds and a big asset for raids. At the same time, Mistweaver Monks got the enhancements that strengthen their DPS and HPS significantly, so they can perform in Delves and Mythic+ nicely. However, we are not so sure about the raids as viable powerful raid builds are now slightly less efficient than before.

Tanks A-Tier

Hero Talents are meant to make your playstyle more versatile and flexible, but sometimes they just set in stone common gameplay we got used to. This happened to Protection Warrior which is still pretty fun and great to play in M+, and thus in Delves too, but we cannot say the same about Raids and PvP. At the same time, Protection Paladin received incredible rework through Hero Talents, so it is now one of the best picks for Raid composition. Can be a little lackluster in other activities, though.

The War Within B-Tier Classes

Any spec in B-Tier list may not be the best class to play in the War Within, but it has a potential for the really nice adjustments in the future, so you don’t have to disregard these specs completely. However, when making a choice, keep in mind that these specs might not become the meta for a very long time until they receive significant hotfixes and patches. Therefore, their efficiency in certain types of content might be extremely controversial.

Generally, all specs in the list lack comprehensive Hero Talents design. It does not add a variety of builds and make specs less flexible which is a great issue, for example, for Fury and Arms Warriors that basically feel underdeveloped to complete in some content (especially Raids), although the specs themselves are quite fine. Same goes for Feral Druid as it got rather poor Hero Talents, but the spec remained mostly untouched, and poor performance remained in place. Outlaw Rogues now feel slightly better in ST (thus, in Raids), but extremely challenging to be played well in other activities.

Ranged DPS B-Tier

Although Hero Talents were designed in a nice way for these three specs, they also have serious issues. Affliction Warlock at the moment can be challenging to master and play around Hero Talents, especially if you wanna deal huge AoE damage. Elemental Shamans experienced complete shift from how they were played before, so you will also have to spend much time in order to make them useful. And Beast Mastery Hunters got a rather boring rotation thanks to the Hero Talents focused around Kill Command that is also rather buggy at the moment, especially in AoE encounters.

Healers B-Tier

Both Discipline Priest and Restoration Shaman are not great with their current Hero Talents mostly because the rework does not give these specs credit they deserve. Priest can’t handle the Raid fights in a good way now because of their focus on connection between damage dealing and healing which is empathized by Hero Talents, and Shamans experience huge problems with AoE healing at the moment thanks to the difficulties of positioning. Both specs are quite fine, but definitely need some changes.

Tanks B-Tier

Unfortunately, Vengeance Demon Hunter received rather poor enhancements through Hero Talent trees. They mostly benefit its DPS spec rather than the tank one, and it feels in a little variety of builds you can make. Yes, the spec is still quite strong thanks to its original design, especially in Mythic+ and Delves, but if you plan to do PvP or Raid Tanking, dealing with certain mechanics now can be less beneficial than if you choose another good tank spec.

The War Within C-Tier Classes

The C section of our the War Within best class tier list is full of extremely underdeveloped specs which endured poor design of Hero Talents and Class tier sets. Therefore, we won’t extensively comment on each of the parts of this tier, however, worth noting that these specs most probably will undergo significant changes in the future. Especially if you see the mark below 3, in this case it means that the Hero Talent trees barely allow to enjoy playing this class or are now quite buggy.

For example, Brewmaster Monk has issues with the stagger mechanic at the moment, Marksmanship Hunter does not benefit at all from its Hero Talent trees, and Survival Hunter is barely a playable melee spec now regarding the fact negative aspects of the spec mostly stayed in place. Also, of course, you can still play Preservation Evoker as a Healer, but it will be significantly less powerful than other healers.

F.A.Q.

What is the best class in the War Within?

It purely depends on the type of content you are interested in. With the Hero Talents introduced, some specs gained versatility and can be played nicely in Raids, PvP, M+, and Delves, but there are many classes and specs that are only suitable for a certain activity.

What is changing in the War Within for classes?

As we mentioned before, Blizzard introduced Hero Talent trees that are unique for each class and allow you to furtherly customize your playstyle and identity of your character. In terms of gameplay, it has also required certain class tweaks and reworks, and that is why many specs has endured significant changes.

What is the easiest class to play in the War Within?

Taking into consideration the current state of Hero Talents, we would say Blood Death Knight or Guardian Druid can be great picks for most types of content. Yes, it means you need to switch to the Tank role, but they are relatively easy to play and you will also be in high demand for any activity.

What is the most versatile class in the War Within?

We would say, in terms of present Hero Talents and tier sets, it is Paladin. All three specs are highly viable (S or A tier depending on the role) and can show great output in any type of content, including the newly added Delves. Definitely the most flexible choice for now.