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The WoW Classic tank scene promises to be quite interesting in Season of Discovery. As the game will now have three new tank specs - Warlock, Shaman, and Rogue - it’s going to be very interesting to see how these shake out. Since the level cap is 25 for the first phase of this seasonal content, some of these classes simply aren’t going to feel powerful yet. That doesn’t mean things won’t change. As future updates and balance patches drop, we’ll be glad to revisit the tier list.
Regardless of where a tank appears on this tier list, I feel like each of these classes will do well at something or another in Azeroth. You may disagree with this list, and that’s perfectly fine. As the WoW Classic: Season of Discovery servers have yet to launch, we don’t have any hard numbers outside of tests.
Note: We will revise this article when Season of Discovery Phase 2 begins.
Which tanks are the most powerful in WoW Classic: Season of Discovery?
1) S-Tier
- Warrior
- Warlock
Naturally, Warriors are at the top of the WoW Classic: Season of Discovery food chain. They were already the best, most reliable tanks in the Classic Era, and that’s not going to change here. Out of the basic three tank archetypes, Warrior has the best cooldowns, most reliable tanking abilities, and fantastic gear. Depending on the circumstances, they’re also solid DPS.
Out of the three new tanking builds, Warlocks appear to be the most powerful right out of the gate. Even with the level cap, they have monstrous damage, tons of AOE, and an amazing tank form in Metamorphosis. They likely won’t take Warrior’s spot as the main tank, but are solid off-tanks and swiftly pushed Druid out of S-tier.
A-Tier
- Druid
What makes Druid so flexible is having access to so many shapeshifting forms. Being able to swap between Bear and Cat means they can tank in some fights and return to DPS in other fights when not needed. Feral, in particular, has a Windfury-style buff that’s going to make them a must-include - at least one of them in a raid group.
This isn’t to say that Druids are bad. They have plenty of health and armor to keep them in the fray, even if they lack some useful cooldowns Warriors have in WoW Classic: Season of Discovery. They can even heal themselves and get earlier access to AOE powers in this seasonal content.
What this means is that they can be picked up in dungeon groups without worry that they won’t carry their own weight. But as a tank? They’re also solid choices.
B-Tier
- Paladin
- Shaman
Oh, Paladins. For such an interesting, flexible plate-wearing class in WoW Classic: Season of Discovery, they just lack what makes Warriors so strong. As a tank class that actively uses mana, they also have to monitor their resources. On top of that, they don’t have as many useful threat-generating tools, especially with a level 25 cap.
I’m happy that Shaman can finally tank - if for no other reason than certain guildmates will stop talking about it - probably. Shaman do tremendous damage and are block-oriented healers.
They can recover their mana while blocking incoming attacks, but to get the most out of it, they have to be heavy AOE pulls. I like the idea of Shaman tanking, but I feel like it’s going to be slow and steady for the first phase of WoW Classic Hardcore - until they break past the level 25 barrier, at least.
C-Tier
- Rogue
I’m still not sure I like where Rogue is, but I feel like it’s where they’re going to start off. Rogue’s problem is similar to Shaman’s in that it’s built around the level cap. I think once they can really get some amazing talents and runes equipped, they’re going to be a solid off-tank. Evasion tanking is something I’m leery of, but I see the appeal and possibility.
20% evasion is nothing to sneeze at, after all, but how long they can keep up evasion and dodge abilities remains to be seen. They may be the squishiest tanks, too. We’ll have to see how Phase 1 shakes out.
WoW Classic: Season of Discovery kicks off on November 30, 2023. If you want to see if you’ve already got the game preloaded, you can check this guide. It will get you sorted out ahead of this afternoon’s launch.
