World of Warcraft is notorious for having a massive array of playable classes and specializations. The game released with nine playable classes, but over the years, more have been added. There are currently 12 available classes to choose from in Shadowlands.
Some classes have DPS specializations, while others focus on tanking incoming damage or healing. It’s important to know beforehand the possibilities of each class before you embark on a journey to level up only to find out that you can’t tank or heal later on.
Here are all the available classes in WoW: Shadowlands.
Warrior
Warriors equip heavy armor and two-handed weapons to deliver sharp blows to their enemies. They have two DPS specializations (Arms, Fury) and one tank specialization (Protection), allowing you to experience two completely different roles with this class. The main resource for all three specs is Rage, which is gained when the Warrior deals or takes damage.
Arms
The most popular DPS specialization is Arms, allowing you to deliver huge critical strike hits and overpower your enemies with deadly blows. Due to its huge mobility, it is superior to Fury in multiple instances such as PvE or PvP.
Fury
The other DPS specialization, Fury relies on delivering fast, but weaker blows compared to Arms. You can choose between having two two-handed weapons or two single-handed weapons as your identity. While the heavier weapons will make you tankier, the one-handed weapons will make you more mobile.
Protection
The sole tanking specializations of Warriors, Protection allows you to be the frontline in encounters and keep creeps or bosses under your control by taking most of the damage they’re doing to your party. While in the past, this specialization could allow you to do become a huge DPS machine as well, it is no longer possible.
Paladin
Paladins are one of the most versatile classes in Shadowlands, allowing you to choose between healing, tanking, or doing damage with all three specializations have different playstyles. The primary resource for Paladins is mana, but some abilities also cost Holy Power, which can be gained through several abilities.
Holy
Holy Paladins went through various iterations over the development of WoW, and now they seem to be in their best state so far in both PvP and PvE. Their huge utility and high healing output make them a great companion in most instances.
Retribution
Retribution allows you to equip a two-hander and deliver deadly blows using Holy magic to enemies. While it might take some time to build up your buffs, once you have them all you can deliver a huge damage output and top the charts.
Protection
While not as popular as other tanks, Protection Paladins still find their niche in various encounters. This specialization is great to have even if you don’t play Protection during leveling. It will help you find queues fast and not force you to wait a lot of time for it to pop up.
Hunter
Hunters have three DPS specializations to choose from. They are a great addition to any encounter due to their versatility and utility brought with each spec. The primary resource is Focus, which is built using different abilities.
Beast Mastery
This specialization focuses on building up a strong stable of beats and using them to deliver most of your damage in encounters via several buffs.
Marksmanship
Marksmanship aims at dealing damage without having to pay much attention to your pet. You will be building up your Focus bar, before unleashing a huge array of arrows onto your enemies.
Survival
Survival mostly focuses on getting in close proximity to your targets and overwhelming them with traps and various damage-over-time (DoT) effects.
Rogue
Rogues are another pure DPS class with three specializations all focused on offense. You have various playstyles to choose from with your primary resources being Energy and Combo Points.
Assasination
This specialization focuses on applying various poisons onto your enemies before unleashing deadly Envenoms to deal huge damage. You have various cooldowns against single targets to increase your damage and expose their weaknesses.
Outlaw
Outlaw is a specialization aimed at dealing direct damage to opponents and is great to pick if you have to deal with multiple threats. The area-of-effect (AoE) damage you can deal with this specialization is great and can make you feel like a pirate with its tools.
Subtlety
Subtlety is the best specialization for someone who wants to feel what it’s like to play a Rogue. It allows you to sneak through shadows and deliver a lot of crowd-control (CC) to multiple targets, while also providing a cover of stealth to your allies.
Priest
Priests are cloth-wearing casters who have two healing specializations and one DPS specialization to their disposal. Mana is a core resource for all three specializations, but Shadow has an additional Insanity bar, which can be used for a couple of abilities.
Discipline
Discipline is one of the more unique healing specializations, healing your allies via damage. The passive Atonement effect transfers a portion of damage done to your allies affected by the buff, forcing you to play offensively if you want to keep up with other healers.
Holy
Holy Priests are similar to Holy Paladins in the way that they both use the Light to heal their allies. Unlike Discipline, this one has a more traditional role with direct heals or healing-over-time (HoT) effects.
Shadow
Shadow is the only non-healing specializations Priests have, allowing you to build up Insanity before activating Void Form and unleashing devastation upon your enemies with your newly-empowered abilities.
Shaman
Shamans are spiritual guides in WoW who use the power of the elements mother nature to unleash havoc upon enemies or heal up allies. There are two core resources in mana and Maelstrom.
Elemental
Elemental is the ranged DPS specialization, allowing you to use the power of elements from a distance to hit your opponents. It focuses on small burst windows rather than optimized damage output compared to other DPS specializations.
Restoration
Restoration Shamans use the power of water to heal their allies with various direct heals or HoT effects. This is the only specialization to not have the Maelstrom resources and rely solely on mana to cast.
Enhancement
Enhancement is a melee DPS-oriented specialization that forces you to get into the fray and deal with your enemies in close combat. You will be using the power of lightning, fire, and earth to overwhelm your enemies.
Mage
Mages are a pure DPS class and have the ability to specialize into three elements: Arcane, Fire, and Frost. They are light armor wearers and are squishy in close combat but have the tools to keep their enemies at distance while they cast their spells.
Arcane
This specialization focuses on mana control due to it giving you increased damage. You need to set up your combos well before you’re able to deal a lot of damage using your Arcane magic.
Fire
The most explosive specialization in the game, Fire Mages focus on unleashing a wide array of Fire spells at opponents before using Combustion to finish them off.
Frost
Unlike the other two DPS specializations, Frost has an Elemental Pet which allows you to control opponents and play a more defensive game. You can keep enemies slowed via various spells while you stay at a safe distance and deal damage.
Warlock
Warlocks are another pure DPS class and have the ability to unleash corruption upon their enemies. With three completely different playstyles, the class feels great and rewarding to play.
Affliction
This specialization focuses on applying various DoT effects to your opponents and withering them down. Unlike other specializations, you need to ramp up before you’re able to do damage.
Demonology
With a playstyle centered around pets, this one is one of the most fun Warlock specs to play. You can use your demon pets to wreck havoc from the backline.
Destruction
This is the best specialization if you like to do huge critical hits. Unlike the other two, this one relies solely on the Warlock to apply Immolate, build Soul Shards, and unleash Chaos Bolts to destroy his enemies.
Monk
Monks focus on using their Chi to deliver blows to enemies. With three available specializations in DPS, healer, or tank, most players can find one to enjoy playing. The primary resources are Energy, Mana, and Chi depending on which specialization you play.
Mistweaver
Mistweaver Monks focus on healing up teammates via either direct spells or using their statute in the kit to help them do it.
With plenty of mobility spells, they’re a great addition in encounters where you need to kite a lot.
Windwalker
The DPS spec of Monks focuses on delivering heavy blows in close combat by using various fighting techniques. Some can only be activated when others are cooldown, making the specialization fun and rewarding to play.
Brewmaster
The tanking specialization focuses on mitigating incoming damage and delivering it to yourself later on as a DoT. You can withstand heavy blows, but will be dealt this damage later on, giving your healers time to react.
Druid
Druids are one of the most unique classes in Shadowlands, having access to four specializations. They are one of the most versatile class in WoW, allowing you to play any role you want.
Restoration
This specialization focuses on using the power of nature to provide various HoT effects to your teammates and keep them topped up.
Feral
You can take the form of a savage cat and deal damage in close combat to your enemies.
Balance
This is the other DPS specialization, which allows you to convert to an owl form, where you get increased stats and damage and can overwhelm your opponents from distance.
Guardian
Guardian is the tanking specializations Druids have. With the Bear form as the core ability to allow you to tank, you can withstand various encounters and be a great frontline for your allies.
Demon Hunter
Demon Hunters are the latest-released class and have only two specializations: one for DPS, and one for tanking.
Vengeance
Vengeance is the tanking specialization that focuses on self-healing. You can tank dungeons easily with this specialization since most of the healing to you will be done by yourself via various abilities.
Havoc
This DH specialization allows you to imbue yourself with the spirit of Illidan. You can use its huge mobility to travel quickly in various instances and ambush opponents before they realize what happened.
Death Knight
Death Knights were the first hero class to be introduced during the WOTLK expansion. They are plate wearers who focus on dealing heavy blows or tanking for their allies.
Frost
Using the power of Frost, this specialization focuses on ramping up your buffs before you unleash a deadly flurry of attacks in quick succession.
Unholy
Theis DoT spec aims at using the power of undead and zombies to do a lot of AoE pressure to your enemies and wither them down.
Blood
With various abilities to recover health, this specialization allows you to tank with ease. You can solo a lot of encounters without needing the help of your allies due to the huge sustain the specialization has.
