With WoW Classic TBC (The Burning Crusade) kicking in, lots of players will look for a brand new Tier List to decide on which class they want to invest into. Things were way different back in the day, so while you may have good knowledge of retail WoW’s class rankings, if this is the fist time you explore the dangers of Outland you are in for a treat. TBC Classic not only differs much from the current WoW state, but even from its predecessor WoW Classic. Things change a lot with this expansion, so let’s dive right into it.
WoW Classic TBC Class Tier List for Phase 1
As the expansion progresses and more and more content is added to it, things will of course change like they did years and years ago, but for Phase 1 we already have enough data to provide the results. Info is taken from the game’s beta, detailed analysis from various sources and some reference from when the expansion was released more than a decade ago.
PvE
The list for the PvE aspect of the game will be a little different, since literally every class is able to provide its boons to the whole party, on their own way. Therefore, we will present the specific data in the form of a Rankings list, to understand which class can provide better DPS or healing, based on the circumstances:
DPS
No surprises here, with Warlocks, Mages and Hunters taking the lead. Casters were obliterating dungeons and raids in WoW vanilla and TBC, and in WoW Classic TBC this is still the case. Beast Mastery Hunters were and are constantly on Top DPS charts, and the low Retribution Paladins could see a potential rise, depending on how well the user is handling Seal Twisting. With a good and stable rotation, it is very likely they could sit higher than both Shadow Priests and Balance Druids.
- Warlock – Destruction
- Hunter – Beast Mastery
- Warlock – Demonology
- Mage – Arcane
- Mage – Fire
- Rogue – Combat
- Mage – Frost
- Hunter – Survival
- Shaman – Enhancement
- Shaman – Elemental
- Druid – Balance
- Priest – Shadow
- Paladin – Retribution
- Warlock – Affliction
- Warrior – Fury
- Warrior – Arms
- Druid – Feral
Healing
Every Healing class is good, without a doubt, but if anyone remembers the good-old TBC era, you will for sure also remember how good Restoration Shamans were, taking the lead here. Holy Paladins are also a given, with Holy Priests and Resto Druids come in close third and fourth place respectively.
- Shaman – Restoration
- Paladin – Holy
- Priest – Holy
- Druid – Restoration
Tanking
Each Tanking class is equal in TBC, with their only difference being what each of them is better at:
- Warrior – Protection
- Best generic tank, able to fill each role with ease
- Druid – Feral
- Lots of self-sustainability and a good number of extra utility for the party
- Paladin – Protection
- Best AoE Tank currently in WoW Classic TBC
PvP
We are changing shifts to a more traditional Tier List here, as PvP is an entirely different environment. You are not able to constantly have a stable rotation, nor you are free to open your cooldowns and raise that damage output unhindered. PvP is situational, needs a lot of skill and reflexes and extremely good knowledge of both yours and the enemy’s class.
- S Tier: Discipline Priest/ Restoration Druid/ Warlock (all specs)/ Subtlety Rogue
- A Tier: Arms Warrior/ Frost Mage/ Restoration Druid
- B Tier: Shadow Priest/ Restoration Shaman/ Marksmanship Hunter
- C Tier: Retribution Paladin/ Fire Mage/ Holy Paladin/ Beast Mastery Hunter
- D Tier: Feral Druid/ Enhancement Shaman/ Elemental Shaman
The data provided above fits mostly the Arena feature of Wow Classic TBC, as in Battlegrounds there are so many different variables to be considered, that a concrete list for that mode is not really possible. Enhancements Shamans for example may be sitting on the bottom of the list for Arenas, but they do shine way more in BGs, hence the need to put them higher, depending on many factors. You get the idea. Also, please note that if any spec in every list is not mentioned, is due to not being viable at all for the respective mode. As previously mentioned, things will of course change for Phase 2 and onwards, so everything written here is for the current state of WoW Classic TBC.
WoW Classic TBC (The Burning Crusade) is available on PC, through Blizzard’s Battle.net client. For more related content about the game, make sure to check our guides right here.
