Shadowlands Patch 9.1 – Best Covenants by Class and Specialization

Covenants have received some alterations in Shadowlands Patch 9.1, to include new Conduits, Legendaries, and general rebalancing, so fans want to know the best Covenants by Class. While there’s nothing wrong with playing whatever Covenant you want, anyone looking to min-max their performance will want to pick the best one for their class. This is doubly true when you consider the time required to increase your Renown with a new Covenant, should you have to change. Well, we have a good idea now who the best Covenants are per Class and Specialization.

Shadowlands Patch 9.1 – Best Covenants by Class

Listed below are the best Covenants by class in Shadowlands Patch 9.1, filtered by specialization. You’ll notice some Covenant choices are broken down by type of content, and that some classes are not pigeonholed into a single Covenant. Any Covenant explicitly named is the “best” Covenant for a given specialization, but if I note the other Covenants are competitive feel free to pick the one you prefer: your performance will only be minorly affected if you do.

• Death Knight
  • Blood – Any Covenant
  • Frost – Necrolords (other Covenants are competitive)
  • Unholy – Necrolords (other Covenants are competitive)
• Demon Hunter
  • Havoc – Night Fae
  • Vengeance – Kyrian (other Covenants are competitive)
• Druid
  • Balance – Venthyr for Mythic+, Night Fae for Raid
  • Feral – Night Fae (other Covenants are competitive)
  • Guardian – Night Fae (other Covenants are competitive)
  • Restoration – Night Fae
• Hunter
  • Beast Mastery – Kyrian (Night Fae are competitive, especially early on in the patch)
  • Marksmanship – Kyrian (Night Fae are competitive, especially early on in the patch)
  • Survival – Kyrian (Night Fae are competitive, especially early on in the patch)
• Mage
  • Arcane – Kyrian (other Covenants are competitive)
  • Fire – Night Fae (Venthyr is competitive, especially later in the patch)
  • Frost – Venthyr
• Monk
  • Brewmaster – Kyrian
  • Mistweaver – Kyrian (Night Fae and Necrolords are competitive)
  • Windwalker – Kyrian (other Covenants are nearly competitive)
• Paladin
  • Holy – Venthyr (Necrolords are competitive)
  • Protection – Kyrian (Venthyr are competitive)
  • Retribution – Kyrian
• Priest
  • Discipline – Kyrian
  • Holy – Night Fae (other Covenants are competitive)
  • Shadow – Night Fae (other Covenants are competitive)
• Rogue
  • Assassination – Venythr (Necrolords are competitive)
  • Outlaw – Necrolords (Kyrian are competitive)
  • Subtlety – Venthyr (Kyrian are competitive)
• Shaman
  • Elemental – Necrolords for Raid, Night Fae for Mythic+ (other Covenants are competitive)
  • Enhancement – Night Fae (Kyrian and Venthyr are competitive)
  • Restoration – Any Covenant
• Warlock
  • Affliction – Night Fae
  • Demonology – Night Fae
  • Destruction – Night Fae (Necrolords are competitive)
• Warrior
  • Arms – Night Fae (Necrolords are competitive)
  • Fury – Venthyr for Raid, Night Fae for Mythic+
  • Protection – Kyrian (Night Fae is competitive)

As you can see, some class specializations in Shadowlands Patch 9.1 benefit from multiple Covenants, or their best Covenant barely out-edges the others. That said, many classes may want to pick an explicit specialization, since the best Covenant for each of their specs is wildly different. Thankfully, few classes and specialization have to split the Covenant choice by the type of content they enjoy, and it is much easier to catch-up on Renown in Shadowlands Patch 9.1. As I always advise, play the Covenant you want to play! But, if you want to optimize your character this list will set you on the right path.

World of Warcraft: Shadowlands Patch 9.1, Chains of Domination launches June 29th (NA) and June 30th (EU).