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Elemental in the Azure Vault, Dracthyr, and Vulpera
Image via Blizzard Entertainment

4 DPS specs could replace Survival Hunter as the worst in WoW Dragonflight

Is your spec on the list?

Since the beginning of World of Warcraft Dragonflight, Survival Hunters have been seen as the worst spec because of their lack of survivability, damage, and utility. But in Dragonflight season two, four specs could replace Survival Hunter.

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According to stats from the WoW Mythic+ site, Raider.IO, Affliction Warlocks, Assassination Rogues, Arcane Mages, and Frost Death Knights are well underway to dethrone Survival Hunters as the worst spec in the game. 

These specs have such low representation in Mythic+ dungeons, meaning little to no players are playing them or they just can’t get lucky enough to get out of “PUGatory.”

While Affliction Warlocks and Frost Death Knights have been in the same state since the beginning of the expansion, Arcane Mages and Assassination Rogues have had their five minutes of fame in Dragonflight. Right now, Arcane Mages are topping the DPS charts in Aberrus, the Shadowed Crucible, but they aren’t having the best of times in Mythic+ dungeons.

Image via Raider.IO

But that’s the beginning. On May 9, Liquid’s raid leader Max “Maximum” Smith spoke with DPS mains, asking them to rank their favorite spec on two separate tier lists—Mythic+ tier list and raid tier lists. As you might have imagined, all these specs, Frost Death Knight, Assassination Rogue, Arcane Mage, and Affliction Warlock weren’t ranked highly.

It’s important noting that Arcane Mages are having a blast in Aberrus, but they’re not everyone’s go-to option for Mythic+ dungeons since they lack AoE damage. Affliction Warlocks, on the other hand, haven’t had much luck this expansion and they just can’t begin to compare with the damage output of Demonology and Destruction Warlocks.

Assassination Rogues simply can’t “flourish” in Mythic+ keys since the spec doesn’t really have many AoE talent options and excels in cleave and execute scenarios the best, meaning it will always be one of the top specs for raids. As for Frost Death Knights, they are still highly dependent on cooldowns like Breath of Sindragosa and until that’s fixed, they can never truly shine.

Related: All hotfixes in WoW Dragonflight Patch 10.1

Again, this is all based on public opinion, class popularity in Mythic+ dungeons, and perceptions from class mains that broke down the spec together with Liquid’s Maximum. You’re more than welcome to break the meta, enjoy your favorite spec, and ignore the haters.

Although all these specs need love, only Arcane Mages can look forward to major changes in Patch 10.1.5 with the devs removing Rune of Power and giving them more consistent AoE damage output. But not all hope is lost and the devs might soon change their mind and add changes to these specs that really need attention.


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Author
Image of Izabela Tomakic
Izabela Tomakic
Staff Writer & World of Warcraft lead. Izabela has a long history with writing and games like World of Warcraft, League of Legends, Fortnite, and The Sims. Before finding her home at Dot Esports in 2021, Izabela was an English teacher and a freelancer at Hotspawn, GGRecon, and Gameranx. In her free time, you’ll find her writing novels, wandering Azeroth, or inting on Summoner’s Rift.