What are the current best DPS specs in World of Warcraft Dragonflight?

One of the most asked questions during a World of Warcraft expansions lifetime is what the best DPS specs are across the board, with Dragonflight being no exception. On one hand, this is a somewhat subjective question. Players should use the classes they enjoy the most, as one folk's trash is another's treasure. However, we do have numbers and methodology to parse between the lines and figure out which classes may objectively be performing better than others.

Join esports.gg as we look through the weeks and content patches in the next year for the current best DPS specs in WoW Dragonflight.

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A quick note: The following numbers and statistics are taken from Warcraft Logs, a site that requires players to install a tracker in order for the logging of statistics. As such, the methodology is based purely on those that have self-assigned and could reflect only a specific type of player or playerbase. Like all polling, it isn't meant to be taken as gospel truth but a look into the numbers behind the scenes.

Also, unless stated all numbers will reflect damage done to bosses and not overall damage.

Current State: Raid fully unlocked, 2/3 wings unlocked in Looking For Raid

We'll be taking a look at a few different number sets to determine the best performing DPS specs in Dragonflight, as well as providing that data at different armor ilvls. The full raid has been accessible now for weeks and player ilvls are probably at their peak. So, let's start by looking at the numbers for normal Vault of the Incarnate.

Arcane Mage continues to dominate the numbers, with Unholy DK and Assassination Rogue all far from the best of the pack. Arane sitting atop the list of best DPC specs is no shock, given its high AOE and single-target damage. In addition, the class has strong cleave potential while also possessing better utility than most classes. The same goes for Assassination Rogue and Unholy Death Knight, as both also possesses best-in-class AOE and persistent damage-over-time effects.

Devastation Evoker continues to underperform, but its important to note that the developers are well aware. This may change in an upcoming hotfix that looks to adjust the new class so its more competitive with the top third. The bottom three spots belong to Warlock, Monk, and Paladin. These classes all struggle due to their inability to sustain and switch between AOE and single-target damage.

We chose this ilvl due to it being the most common median ilvl for the average player. While these numbers aren't an indicator for optimum performance, they do give some insight into popular classes and ease of rotation. Raw numbers for best DPS Dragonflight specs still see domination at the top by Rogue, Mage, and Hunter. Likewise, Evoker sits at the bottom, thanks in part to its complicated rotation and reliance on knowing when to capitalize on proc'd buffs.

The numbers from Heroic Vault of the Incarnates may provide the best insight into what specs and classes are performing well. This is due to population instances for the dataset, as Mythic just doesn't have enough data to provide clarity on the best players as of yet.

The numbers at Heroic tell a similar, but slightly different story than Normal. Here we see that Unholy and its supreme AOE damage has taken a sizable lead over Arcade and even Assassination. Another surprise is Beast Mastery jumping far over Marksmanship, which may be an indicator of skill at the Heroic level. Likewise for Hunter, Survival sits much higher at the middle of the pack.

Keep an eye on esports.gg in the coming weeks as Vault of the Incarnates ages and the next major content patch comes into view. Will these numbers change further? Will developer changes result in further drastic changes? Only time will tell.