Alright, so “The War Within” is looming, and you know how it is, everyone starts itching to know what’s looking hot, what’s not, especially for DPS. I figured I’d dive in and try to piece together an early dps tier list. It’s a bit of a ritual for me with every new expansion or big patch.
Getting Started – The Info Dump
First off, I basically hoovered up all the information I could find. This meant hours spent reading through the new talent trees – and boy, some of those hero talents look like they’re going to shake things up. I was clicking through talent calculators, trying to theorycraft some builds just in my head, you know? Seeing what synergizes.
Then, it was over to the usual haunts: forums, a couple of Discord servers I trust, and watching streams of folks who got into the beta or PTR. You try to filter out the noise, but you get a general vibe of what people are excited about or struggling with. Some specs just immediately jump out as having a really smooth new rotation or some crazy new cooldown.
Hands-On (Sort Of) and Early Numbers
I didn’t get direct beta access super early this time around, which is a bummer, but you make do. I relied a lot on watching gameplay footage. You can tell a lot by how a spec flows, even if you’re not the one pressing the buttons. Does it look clunky? Are there long downtimes? Or does it look like a non-stop damage machine?
As soon as any kind of preliminary logs or simulation results started trickling out, I was all over those. Now, you gotta take early sims with a huge grain of salt, right? Things are always getting tweaked, numbers pass haven’t happened yet, all that jazz. But it gives you a rough ballpark. I’d jot down notes, comparing what the sims were saying to what the “feel” from the gameplay vids seemed to be.
- Observation 1: Some specs that looked amazing on paper with their new talents actually seemed a bit awkward in practice in the early videos.
- Observation 2: And vice-versa, some specs I initially overlooked started showing some surprising numbers in those early sims.
The Actual Ranking Process – My Messy Spreadsheet
Okay, so then comes the part where I actually try to slot things into tiers. I just use a simple spreadsheet, nothing fancy. S, A, B, C, maybe a D tier if things look particularly dire for a spec. I started just throwing specs into buckets based on a gut feeling, combining what I’d read, seen, and the early data.
This is where it gets messy. I’d put a spec in A tier, then read a new blue post about a change, and have to rethink it. Or a new build would emerge from a top player that made a spec look way stronger. So, there was a lot of dragging cells around, making notes like “potential S if tuned” or “B for now, needs AoE help.”
A big part of this for me is thinking about different scenarios. Is this for single-target boss fights? Or big Mythic+ pulls? A spec might be S-tier for AoE but only B-tier for single target. I try to find a sort of “overall” feel, but it’s tough.
I also try to factor in, just a little bit, how complex a spec is. If something is simming through the roof but requires a 500 APM piano rotation, is it really S-tier for the average player? Maybe, maybe not. I tend to lean towards raw potential if I’m honest, but it’s a thought that crosses my mind.
Refining and Adding Caveats
After a few days of this, letting it simmer, I’d look at the list again with fresh eyes. I’d ask myself, “Does this feel right?” Sometimes you get too bogged down in specific numbers and lose the bigger picture.
And then, the most important part: remembering this is all super early. I always try to make it clear that this is just a snapshot based on current info. Balance passes WILL happen. Things WILL change. What looks like a god-tier spec now might get the nerf hammer, and some underdog might get a huge buff.
So, I finalized my list for “The War Within” based on everything up to this point. It’s not gospel, just my observations and synthesis of what’s out there. It’s a fun exercise, and hopefully, it gives folks a starting point for their own research or what to maybe try out first when the expansion drops. It’s a constantly evolving thing, this tier list business, especially pre-launch!
