Bwahahahaha
It’s:
Shaman, mage, spriest - S tier
Rogue, Warrior, boomkin - A tier
Hunter, Paladin, warlock - B tier
Feral - C tier
And this is based on general organized PVP, so BGs and STV event. And primarily DPS, excluding the healing classes because there’s a whole separate list for that.
S tier - classes that have a lot of tools and are higher than the other classes. Not necessarily overpowered.
Shaman gained a good bit of utility in freedom adding to their already strong kit of shocks and totems. They do more damage than everyone else and have the widest range of runes for viability. Instant cast heals, damage spells, automatic crits, burst damage, interrupts, slows, and immunities. They are the most front loaded class.
Spriest - already a strong class in classic PVP, spriests didn’t gain much new they didn’t already have, but their kit was already solid. They have more damage options including actual burst, they can hard cast, then have a very powerful defensive ability, and dots are always strong without dispels. They still lack any mobility and their only hard cc is a 24 second cooldown with the most hard counters in the game being a fear. They still die to being locked down by melee, but still retain their position as a priority kill target.
Mage - Mages are incredibly powerful having two strong builds, one high dps and one high control. With warriors getting more mobility options, frost suffers a bit, but getting deep freeze grants them so much potential. Poly is still the best BG cc in the game, ice block immunities, and insane damage pressure from fire with the single best ranged interrupt at an insane 10 seconds lockout.
A tier - Classes that are doing very well against meta picks and have strong personal showing, but lack some fundamental piece that keeps them from being as well rounded as the others.
Rogues have INSANE burst damage and the best single target lockdown of any class. Having access to the best slow in the game with crippling 2 being 70%, rogues with mut spec are able to kill in a single stunlock rotation while still having all their cds available to be used, and stealth is a powerful tool. They are very squishy however and are immediate kill targets because they can win the fights by just being there, but they have to pick their fights carefully making them fold easier.
Warriors gained a TON of power in their warbringer rune and strong damage options. All versions of warrior have access to powerful damage and mobility, significantly reducing their previous weakness. The downside is MS is too valuable to give up, and their damage hasn’t quite peaked yet. The burst meta pushes melee down, but a good warrior sitting on the right target is the difference between winning and losing, and they hard counter the spriests in teamfights.
Boomkins - Insane burst able to global people, and rng stuns can stop a fight before it starts, but form shifting is expensive and they have a hard time with mobility and survival. Classic A tier hyper turret.
B tier - These classes are strong in specific areas, but generally have one or major specific and major weakness that is easy to exploit and can render them utterly useless if played around.
Hunters have two specs and each has a different problem. Ranged hunters fold to melee pressure while just generally being less effective than other ranged options for damage. Melee hunters are locked in BM for their pet stun and damage, but their pet can be killed quite quickly and then they are kited out.
Paladins have the potential to have insane burst or hit like a wet noodle, and it all depends entirely on RNG crits. Their burst is inline with other A and S tier classes, but the consistency is far lower. Their primary weakness is having absolutely zero engagement tools whatsoever. You can counter a paladin by running away and not stopping. They require another class to slow for them to be viable. They hinge heavily on bubble, which while powerful is only available every 5 minutes. They cannot interrupt and heal spams defeat their bubble burst. All magic debuff cc also renders them weak to priests. The inability for them to function on their own and the multiple weak points of their kit keeps them from being A or S.
Warlocks are strong in 1v1, but that is where that strength ends. Meta gives up their cc for mobility and sustain, being an attrition style fighter, but that attrition evaporates when they are faced with multiple enemies. Destro is far more effective in organized BGs offering lots of control and high burst, but requiring some babysitting to get that going. Their inability to scale into group PVP and being forced into a supportive role keeps them out of A.
C tier is where classes with several glaring weaknesses fit. These classes are still playable and have their strengths, but compared to the other tiers require so much more investment or support it’s not an even playing field.
Feral druids have the boomkin issue of weak defensive positions and expensive form swapping, but they give up the ranged nukes for melee ones. Weaker stealth gameplay than rogues with far less fight control and the same squishy nature while also having less damage output. They suffer the same issues as most melee while having less mobility. They just have to work much harder to do the same thing, and need a little love.
