Raid DPS Tier List and Rankings - Midnight Season 1

Raid DPS Tier List and Rankings - Midnight Season 1 TL;DR

• Frost Mage, Demonology Warlock, and Feral Druid are the strongest raid DPS specs in Midnight Season 1.

• A-Tier specs like Unholy DK, Retribution Paladin, Devastation Evoker, and Survival Hunter are excellent and fully raid-viable.

• Frost Mage stands out as the best overall ranged pick thanks to strong damage, and overall kit.

• Feral Druid is the top melee option right now due to high damage, strong utility buttons.

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Midnight Best Raid DPS Specs Tier List

The ranking are based not only on the damage the spec dishes out right now, but also on survivability and utility of the class. Balance is fine right now, damage discrepancy between the best and worst specs is about 10% right now.

S-Tier DPS Specs

Specs in this tier perform extremely well right now - damage is outstanding, utility and defensives are enough to clear the hardest bosses.

Frost Mage

Frost mage is the best Mage spec for raiding right now. DPS is great - you’ll pull out great numbers if you know what to do. In terms of utilities and movement, the buttons are still here - Shimmer lets you reposition whenever needed, Ice Block can nullify boss mechanics, and Alter Time gives you another layer of safety. Summing it all up, and Frost becomes one of the safest meta picks for raid progression.

Demonology Warlock

You’d think that nerfs were enough, but the Demo’s single target is still insane. Not only are you a top-end damage dealer, but you’re a Warlock, meaning the tankiest caster spec in the game. Unending Resolve, Healthstone, and a naturally tanky Warlock toolkit make mistakes and unavoidable raid-wide damage much less punishing. Demonic Gateway is almost always valuable on movement-heavy bosses. Overall, you’ve got a hell of a DPS spec at your hands.

Feral Druid

Feral got insane buffs right before the release of the raids, making the spec earn an S-Tier. Honestly, I don’t even know if it needed the buff - the cat was good already. With a recent single-target damage buff, the spec feels complete - damage is huge, bleed pressure is consistent, and the class ability package is excellent.

A-Tier DPS Specs

A-Tier specs are very strong raid choices that top the meters, but fall slightly behind the S-Tier specs.

Unholy Death Knight

Even after the nuke in a form 20% damage decrease, Unholy stays strong. Anti-Magic Shell is one of the best personal buttons in the game, Death’s Advance helps you ignore annoying displacement, and Death Grip remains a uniquely valuable utility button. I think spec is perfectly viable still, and will see play and get raid spots easily due to said reasons.

Retribution Paladin

Once again, I’m not sure Retri needed the huge buffs it received, but it did. Redditors won't be happy. I saw a funny Reddit post recently with a new player being astonished by Paladins in PvP, but I digress. Solo target damage is insane now, and the spec does everything you’d expect from a Paladin. Divine Shield, Blessing of Protection, and Lay on Hands are invaluable to have, and Blessing of Freedom helps on movement-heavy encounters. Ret is not only a top-tier damage dealer, but it’s a teammate-saving machine too.

Devastation Evoker

Devastation Evoker remains one of the best ranged picks for raids. It delivers heavy damage and provides excellent movement as far as casters go, thanks to Hover. Defensively, Obsidian Scales is dependable, while the class also brings useful group support through Zephyr and Rescue. Tail Swipe or Wing Buffet can matter more than people think in add-control fights. Short range is still quirkish, sure, but the damage and mobility package is strong enough to firmly put Devastation in A-Tier.

Survival Hunter

Spec performed consistently well for me even before the buffs, and after the buffs it became significantly stronger in solo target encounters. Moreover, Survival Hunter is one of the best melee specs for maintaining uptime - Harpoon and Disengage make it extremely sticky on targets, and Aspect of the Turtle gives it a strong emergency button when mechanics go sideways. Hunters also bring excellent CC utility for ad control fights. I think survival is one of the best melee specs for raiding, bested only by Ferals.

Elemental Shaman

Elemental Shaman is a great raid caster because it mixes good damage with one of the best utility kits in the game. Astral Shift is reliable, Spiritwalker’s Grace lets you keep casting during movement, which helps with uptime in movement-heavy scenarios. You also get great crowd control tool in form of Capacitor Totem, Earthbind Totem, and Thunderstorm. 

Shadow Priest

Shadow Priest’s damage got buffed across the board, lifting him up the ranks and making his damage numbers look great in single-target raid fights. Utility is always great, it’s a Priest after all - Dispersion is outstanding for surviving dangerous moments, while Power Word: Shield and Fade help keep you functional during movement. Shadow also brings heavy cc and utility kit with Silence, Psychic Scream, Mass Dispel, and Power Word: Fortitude. Its mobility is pretty bad, but it compensates with strong self-preservation and a damage pattern that tends to hold up well throughout boss fights.

Havoc Demon Hunter

Previously struggling Havoc Demon Hunter is now in a good place for raid players who value movement and easy-to-execute yet powerful tortations. Fel Rush, Vengeful Retreat, and double jump are iconic at this point, making uptime easy on most bosses, while Blur, Darkness, and sometimes Netherwalk give you strong answers to raid damage. It may not be the absolute best parser spec, but it feels just right in every encounter.

Devourer Demon Hunter

Devourer is, in my opinion, the easiest raiding spec. You get a whole package - smooth movement, elite-tier damage with range-ish playstyle that makes boss mechanics easier to manage. DH package is present in its entirety - Blur and Darkness remain excellent, Fel Rush and glide mobility are fantastic. Insane uptime, excellent comfort, nothing’s wrong with this spec. If you were unsure whether DH is worth a try, I’m certain now is the time; all specs are outstanding right now.

Fire Mage

Fire is still great in raid environments due to how many instant casts you now have. Shimmer keeps movement smooth and Ice Block and Alter Time add huge defensive value. Fire still rewards strong cooldown discipline and clean Combustion play timing, so it might not be as effortless as Frost, but in the hands of a good player, it’s one of the best specs to choose for pushing raids.

B-Tier DPS Specs

B-Tier specs are fully playable in Midnight raids. The issue is not that they are bad. The issue is that they ask for more effort, better gearing, or more encounter-specific knowledge to do what higher-tier specs do more easily.

Outlaw Rogue

I heard some people say it’s one of the strongest specs right now, but I fail to understand the vision. Damage is decent, sure, but utility seems lacking. Cloak of Shadows and Feint are amazing defensives, Sprint and Grappling Hook help with movement, and the rogue control package of Kidney Shot, Gouge, Cheap Shot, and Shroud of Concealment is always useful. The problem is that the damage payoff is merely decent, and it feels like other specs have more to offer.

Marksmanship Hunter

Marksmanship Hunter still has decent damage, but it feels overshadowed by Survival. Rotation feels bad, at least to me, too mindless at times, even. You still get strong Hunter utility through Aspect of the Turtle, Disengage, Counter Shot, Freezing Trap, and Binding Shot, which keeps it viable. It is just missing that extra layer of consistency that would make it a high-priority raid pick. Would you take Demo or Frost over MM? Probably, right?

Frost Death Knight

Frost Death Knight is playable, but it still does not match Unholy’s overall raid value, well, damage, mainly. Its burst can still look great in the right moments, and class tools like Anti-Magic Shell, Icebound Fortitude, Death Grip, and Death’s Advance are all useful. The spec also benefits from Blinding Sleet or Asphyxiate when control matters. Still, its damage profile feels less dependable across varied raid encounters, which makes it harder to rate above the middle of the pack.

Enhancement Shaman

Enhancement Shaman got recently buffed, and has all the usual Shaman strengths, but the spec itself feels less stable in raids than Elemental, so I’ve put it in a B-Tier. Astral Shift is good, Ghost Wolf form helps with movement, and Wind Shear alone adds real value. Capacitor Totem and Earthbind Totem are also great utility buttons. The problem is that Enhancement’s output feels more volatile, and melee positioning can make the spec work harder than it should. If you love the playstyle, it is fine, but it is not the most efficient choice.

Windwalker Monk

Windwalker Monk lands in B-Tier because it still has useful tools, and the damage is decent. Touch of Karma, Fortifying Brew, and Diffuse Magic give it respectable survivability, while Roll, Flying Serpent Kick, and Transcendence keep mobility excellent. It is a very playable spec, but its raid damage tends to lag behind what you want from a melee slot.

Subtlety Rogue

Subtlety Rogue is probably the strongest of the B-Tier specs, but it still sits here because the overall raid package is not as easy to extract value from as higher-tier picks. If you are already a rogue player, Subtlety could be the best raid option of the three.

Fury Warrior

Fury Warrior got buffed and is now pulling decent numbers, but raids expose its weaknesses more than dungeons do. You still have good mobility through Charge and Heroic Leap, plus survivability from Enraged Regeneration and Rallying Cry. The problem is that Fury often needs an uninterrupted uptime to keep pace with specs that deliver similar damage while carrying less risk.

Destruction Warlock

Destruction Warlock is a perfectly respectable raid spec that simply gets overshadowed by Demonology. You still are tanky and still provide lots of utility for the raid. Chaos Bolt-style burst remains satisfying, and the spec can perform well on fights that are built around damage windows. I think it is a solid choice, just not the most efficient Warlock flavor at the moment.  

Affliction Warlock

Affliction Warlock keeps its classic appeal and is fairly strong in Raids, especially compared to dungeons, where the spec struggles the most. Strong DoT gameplay, good target pressure, and the same excellent Warlock utility package make it fully viable. The problem is, it simply does not dish out enough damage compared to Demonology, and that makes it harder to justify taking it when raid spots get competitive.

Arcane Mage

Arcane Mage has the raw potential to climb, but right now it sits in that awkward spot where high execution does not always lead to high enough reward, especially when I compare it to other specs. Fire feels easier to perform consistently, especially when raid mechanics don't let you stand still.

C-Tier DPS Specs

These specs can still clear all of the content since the meta is balanced right now, but they feel noticeably less rewarding in a raid environment for some reason or another. As always, keep in mind that personal skill always matters more than raw spec power, unless you’re top 0.1% of players.

Arms Warrior

Spec got some love in the recent patches, but it doesn’t feel like enough. The problem is that raid damage does not feel big enough to offset what you give up by not playing Fury or another melee entirely. Arms can work with investment, but it currently feels like a passion pick rather than a meta one.

Beast Mastery Hunter

Beast Mastery Hunter is still one of the easiest specs to pilot in difficult content, and I think that matters a lot. It got some buffs going into the raid's release, making damage output absolutely acceptable. Hunter kit makes the spec safe and useful. Still, comfort alone does not mean you’ll get a strong raid tier ranking placement. Right now, BM feels a little too light on damage to compete with stronger ranged options.

Assassination Rogue

Assassination does not currently dish out enough damage for the effort compared to Subtlety or stronger melee specs from other classes. It is playable, just severely underwhelming.