- 1Balance DruidView Breakdown 41,580 DPS
- 2Affliction WarlockView Breakdown 40,994 DPS
- 3Demonology WarlockView Breakdown 40,223 DPS
- 4Frost MageView Breakdown 40,106 DPS
- 5Marksmanship HunterView Breakdown 40,037 DPS
- 6Arcane MageView Breakdown 39,539 DPS
- 7Destruction WarlockView Breakdown 38,970 DPS
- 8Survival HunterView Breakdown 38,718 DPS
- 9Assassination RogueView Breakdown 38,649 DPS
- 10Elemental ShamanView Breakdown 38,041 DPS
- 11Shadow PriestView Breakdown 38,027 DPS
- 12Enhancement ShamanView Breakdown 37,353 DPS
- 13Unholy Death KnightView Breakdown 37,137 DPS
- 14Havoc Demon HunterView Breakdown 37,030 DPS
- 15Fury WarriorView Breakdown 37,001 DPS
- 16Subtlety RogueView Breakdown 36,637 DPS
- 17Retribution PaladinView Breakdown 36,442 DPS
- 18Beast Mastery HunterView Breakdown 36,364 DPS
- 19Windwalker MonkView Breakdown 35,964 DPS
- 20Feral DruidView Breakdown 35,543 DPS
- 21Arms WarriorView Breakdown 35,224 DPS
- 22Fire MageView Breakdown 34,631 DPS
- 23Outlaw RogueView Breakdown 34,533 DPS
- 24Frost Death KnightView Breakdown 34,145 DPS
DPS Rankings Overview
These rankings are created using SimulationCraft, a program that is highly tested and trusted for simulating in-game encounters with characters.
We use SimulationCraft because simulators permit a high degree of control by allowing us to use specific talents, rotations, gear, possible boss mechanics, etc. to arrive at repeatable results that can be compared across specs and time. Also, simulators allow us to average out results from thousands of fights to get a feel for how a spec performs all of the time and not in one amazing fight.
If you are curious to learn about the simulation fight encounters of Max and Real, we recommend to read our past articles that describe them in Part I and Part II.
Common Questions
The damage meters for my boss fights look very different than these rankings. Why?
There are any number of reasons why in-game results will differ from simulated (or log based) results. A few common differences include the following.
- Fight Length: Dungeons and LFR raids often have shorter fight durations which can result in much higher DPS as the value of DPS cooldowns is greatly increased in short fights.
- Multiple Targets: The current DPS rankings offer strictly single-target and splash-AoE (1 main target+2). There are scenarios in-game where there are a lot more targets which can allow for much more aggressive AoE.
- Player Variables: Skill, latency, gear, a lucky string of crits, etc. can all significantly impact in-game DPS. Rankings can help represent general trends, but they’ll rarely predict the outcome of a specific encounter with all its unique factors.
How do these rankings compare to other sources that use raid logs to show spec comparisons?
Raid log sites offer a perspective on how some of top players are performing with each spec. These rankings can be helpful to understand how specs are faring in the current raid tier and often reveal unexpected synergies between specific specs and boss encounters. However, log based sites are subject to their own data problems including players who artificially boost their DPS by employing technical or social exploits, changes in popularity of specs, uneven sample sizes, and generally unrepeatable or uncontrolled results.
While simulators allow us to get a feel for how a spec performs all of the time through averaging out thousands of fight results, it is important to note that simulators are generally weak when modeling specific fights in a raid tier, and additionally they rely on data that is as good as the theorycrafting community is able to produce.
Overall, no single DPS ranking is perfect and they should all be considered when evaluating specs. Simulators and log based solutions both offer value to the WoW community.