Published November 3, 2018
Not all specializations are viable in WoW Classic. Here’s a quick breakdown of how each spec stacks up when it comes to raiding.
Author’s Note: These rankings are given in the context of raiding only. Any PvP specs or specs with drastically limited ability (such as Ret Paladins) were considered not viable.
| Class | Spec | Role | Viability | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Druid | Balance | DPS | ✖ | Poor DPS, some utility from buffs. |
| Druid | Feral | DPS | ✖ | Poor DPS and buff is not good. |
| Druid | Feral | Tank | ✖ | Cannot reach defense cap. |
| Druid | Restoration | Healer | ✔ | Good tank healer and viable raid healer. |
| Hunter | Beast Mastery | DPS | ✖ | Pets can’t stay alive, kills DPS. |
| Hunter | Marksmanship | DPS | ✔ | Good DPS and good buff. |
| Hunter | Survival | DPS | ✖ | Possibly viable with BIS gear. |
| Mage | Arcane | DPS | ✔ | Good for fire-based raids (MC & BWL) |
| Mage | Fire | DPS | ✔ | Good for non-fire raids (ZG, AQ, Naxx) |
| Mage | Frost | DPS/Support | ✔ | Support spec for other mages. |
| Paladin | Holy | Healer | ✔ | Good healer with useful utility skills. |
| Paladin | Protection | Tank | ✖ | Able to tank some content, but lack of taunt skill and gear make it difficult. |
| Paladin | Retribution | DPS | ✖ | Possibly viable in Naxx due to undead damage. |
| Priest | Discipline | Healer/Support | ✔ | Typically combined with Holy, but can be deep Discipline can be viable with enough Holy priests. |
| Priest | Holy | Healer | ✔ | Main healing spec. |
| Priest | Shadow | DPS/Support | ✔ | Good support spec. Usually 1 per raid. |
| Rogue | Assassination | DPS | ✖ | Not viable. |
| Rogue | Combat | DPS | ✔ | Bread-and-butter rogue raid DPS. |
| Rogue | Subtlety | DPS | ✖ | PvP spec. |
| Shaman | Elemental | DPS | ✖ | Poor DPS, same buffs as restoration Shaman. |
| Shaman | Enhancement | DPS | ✖ | Poor DPS and buffs are not good. |
| Shaman | Restoration | Healer | ✔ | Very good raid healer. |
| Warlock | Affliction | DPS | ✔ | Combined with Destruction. |
| Warlock | Demonology | DPS | ✔ | Combined with Destruction. |
| Warlock | Destruction | DPS | ✔ | Combined with Affliction or Demonology. |
| Warrior | Arms | DPS | ✖ | Fury is always higher raid DPS. |
| Warrior | Fury | DPS | ✔ | Bread-and-butter warrior raid DPS. |
| Warrior | Protection | Tank | ✔ | Typical tank choice and only tank for Horde. |
Feral does well on private servers. Usually as a tank who will DPS when not tanking. The only downside listed is that they can not reach the defense cap, but Warrior tanks can’t either in the entry raids. And by the time Warriors can reach the cap, threat becomes more important than mitigation – which happens to be a Feral’s specialty.
Their biggest downside is that they require more healing than a Warrior. You also don’t NEED a Feral. You absolutely need a Warrior to be your main tank. But one or two good Ferals are definitely worth having.