How to read it
The tier is a summary of several sources, not one site’s rating. S is the best in its role, C is weaker but playable. An asterisk (*) means the sources differ by two letters or more.
TipBeta data. The beta ran from Sep 17 to Oct 21 at level 30: no raids, battlegrounds or levels 31–60. We’ll update after the Nov 4 launch.
Whole classes
| Class | Leveling | PvE | PvP | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Paladin | A | S | B | Protection is the best tank of the beta, even after the Oct 15 nerf. |
| Hunter | S | A* | A | The fastest leveling and the simplest damage. |
| Mage | S | A | A* | Fast leveling as Frost, strong Arcane burst. |
| Warlock | A | A | S | Damage over time can crit; warlocks took the top two places at the Forever Open tournament. |
| Rogue | B | A | S | Stealth and control: the most reliable pick in PvP. |
| Priest | C* | A | A* | Every group needs one; Discipline is strong in PvP too, Holy is not. |
| Shaman | B | A | B* | Restoration and Enhancement are strong, Elemental was buffed on Oct 15 after a weak start. |
| Warrior | C | A | B | The slowest leveling, but Protection is a strong tank. |
| Druid | A* | B | B* | No leading spec; many key abilities unlock after level 30. |
Leveling
Sources rate leveling per class, so this table has one spec per class. The pace percentages are LFCarry’s estimate based on Classic, rechecked on the beta.
| Tier | Class · spec | Why | Where sources differ |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | Hunter · Beast Mastery | The pet tanks; about 8% faster than average. | gamer-guides: A |
| S | Mage · Frost | Area damage, slows, its own food and water; about 8% faster than average. | gamer-guides picks Arcane |
| A | Warlock · Affliction | The pet holds the enemy while damage over time works. | gamer-guides: S |
| A | Paladin · Retribution | Farms groups of enemies easily with area damage. | gamer-guides: B |
| A* | Druid · Feral | Many key abilities unlock after 30; about 5% slower than average. | gamer-guides: C |
| B | Shaman · Enhancement | Short on mana until level 30; Ghost Wolf from level 20. | — |
| B | Rogue · Assassination or Combat | Average pace. | gamer-guides: A |
| C* | Priest · Shadow | About 5% slower than average. | gamer-guides: S for Discipline |
| C | Warrior · Arms or Fury | The slowest, about 12% longer than average. | — |
PvE by role
Comparison within a role: tank with tanks, healer with healers. There are no raid logs; raids open on Dec 9.
| Tier | Spec | Why | Where sources differ |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | Paladin · Protection | The best tank of the beta; Seal of Fury gives a taunt. | Nerfed Oct 15, RankedBoost (Oct 17) still gives S |
| A | Warrior · Protection | A strong dungeon tank. | — |
| B | Druid · Feral (bear) | The bear tanks, but trails Paladin and Warrior. | — |
| Tier | Spec | Why | Where sources differ |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | Priest · Discipline | Penance and shields: the best healer of the beta according to two sources. | — |
| S | Shaman · Restoration | Riptide; first among healers at RankedBoost. | — |
| A | Paladin · Holy | Strong single-target healing. | — |
| A | Druid · Restoration | Wild Growth; Kami calls the spec exceptional. | gamer-guides: S |
| B* | Priest · Holy | The best area healing, comes into its own by level 60. | RankedBoost: B as a healer; Noobtoboss and gamer-guides call it a strong raid healer |
| Tier | Spec | Why | Where sources differ |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | Paladin · Retribution | Strong, though nerfed on Oct 15. | — |
| A* | Hunter · Marksmanship | The hunter’s best damage, but the sources disagree. | Noobtoboss: S, RankedBoost: A |
| A* | Hunter · Beast Mastery | Shares damage with the pet. | Noobtoboss: S, RankedBoost: A |
| A | Hunter · Survival | Leads in simulations, but a rebalance is expected. | — |
| A | Rogue · Assassination | Poisons. | — |
| A* | Rogue · Combat | Good against a single target. | RankedBoost: B |
| A | Warrior · Fury | Strong damage against several targets. | — |
| A* | Shaman · Enhancement | One of the best for damage at Noobtoboss. | RankedBoost: B |
| A | Mage · Arcane | Arcane Blast was reworked on Oct 15. | — |
| A* | Mage · Fire | Crits and ignites. | Noobtoboss: B for dungeons |
| A | Warlock · Affliction | Damage over time, the strongest solo. | — |
| A | Warlock · Demonology | The best dungeon spec according to Noobtoboss. | — |
| A | Warlock · Destruction | Burst, little data. | RankedBoost only |
| B | Warrior · Arms | Two-handed weapons, a PvP-oriented tree. | — |
| B* | Priest · Shadow | Buffed on Oct 15. | RankedBoost: A, Noobtoboss: lags behind |
| B* | Shaman · Elemental | Lava Burst and Elemental Mastery were buffed on Oct 15. | RankedBoost: A |
| B | Mage · Frost | Stronger for leveling than in dungeons. | — |
| B | Druid · Feral (cat) | Scales with weapons. | — |
| C | Rogue · Subtlety | A PvP tree. | — |
| C | Druid · Balance | Eclipse still looks weak. | — |
PvP
There were no battlegrounds or arenas in the beta: ratings come from duels, world PvP and the Forever Open tournament (Oct 18, Horde only, 1v1, level 30).
| Tier | Spec | Why | Where sources differ |
|---|---|---|---|
| S | Rogue · Assassination | Poisons and control from stealth. | — |
| S | Rogue · Subtlety | The rogue’s best PvP tree. | — |
| S | Priest · Discipline | Penance and shields. | — |
| S | Warlock · Affliction | The strongest caster solo; Kami expects it to be strong in battlegrounds. | RankedBoost: A |
| A | Paladin · Retribution | — | — |
| A | Hunter · Marksmanship | Kami considers it very strong. | — |
| A* | Hunter · Survival | The hunter’s melee is weaker in PvP. | — |
| A* | Rogue · Combat | — | RankedBoost: S, Kami: weaker in PvP |
| A | Priest · Shadow | Survives a 1v1 fight. | — |
| A* | Shaman · Enhancement | Mobile, Ghost Wolf. | — |
| A* | Mage · Arcane | Burst. | RankedBoost: S |
| A | Mage · Frost | Control and slows. | — |
| A* | Warlock · Demonology | Kami expects it to be strong in battlegrounds. | RankedBoost: B |
| A | Warlock · Destruction | Burst. | RankedBoost only |
| A | Druid · Balance | Stronger in PvP than in PvE. | — |
| A* | Druid · Feral | Berserk, scales with weapons. | RankedBoost: S |
| B | Warrior · Arms | Weak in beta duels. | gamer-guides: A |
| B* | Warrior · Fury | — | RankedBoost: A |
| B* | Paladin · Holy | — | RankedBoost: A |
| B | Paladin · Protection | — | — |
| B | Hunter · Beast Mastery | — | — |
| B* | Shaman · Elemental | Buffed on Oct 15. | RankedBoost: A |
| B | Shaman · Restoration | — | — |
| — | Mage · Fire | No source PvP ratings | — |
| B* | Druid · Restoration | — | gamer-guides: A |
| C | Warrior · Protection | — | — |
| C* | Priest · Holy | No immunities. | RankedBoost: D |
TipWarrior sits at the bottom in beta duels, but a 1v1 tournament is not a battleground. Kami expects warriors to rise in battlegrounds.
Where sources disagree
- 1Hunter in PvE
Noobtoboss gives S, RankedBoost gives A.
- 2Which is stronger, Paladin or Hunter
one list gives S only to Paladin, another to both.
- 3Priest while leveling
Noobtoboss says C, gamer-guides says S for Discipline.
- 4Priest, Holy
RankedBoost puts it in S, B and D in a single list.
- 5Mage in PvP
RankedBoost puts Arcane in S.
What will change after launch
- 1Levels 31–60
they weren’t in the beta, and many talents and abilities unlock above 30.
- 2Raids from Dec 9
raid spec ratings have no logs yet.
- 3Battlegrounds
all PvP ratings are currently based on duels.
- 4Balance changes
on Oct 15 Retribution and Paladin Protection were nerfed; Elemental, Enhancement and Shadow were buffed. Noobtoboss expects nerfs for Hunter and Paladin.
Common questions
Which class is the strongest in WoW Forever?
By beta data: Paladin in PvE, Warlock and Rogue in PvP. This is level 30 data; we’ll update it after the Nov 4 launch.
Which class levels fastest?
Hunter and Mage, about 8% faster than average. Warrior is the slowest.
Which healer is the best?
Discipline Priest and Restoration Shaman.
Which tank is the best?
Protection Paladin, followed by Protection Warrior.
Can I trust the tier list before release?
As a guide: the beta had no levels 31–60, raids or battlegrounds, so the picture may change by level 60.
