One could argue that no role in World of Warcraft PvE content is more important than the tank. Tanks have the responsibility of making sure a dungeon or raid goes smoothly by leading their team into battle, holding all of the group’s aggro, and essentially serving as a guiding light for their fellow players.
Fortunately, tanks are in a relatively good spot balance-wise at the start of Dragonflight, with each spec being able to survive its fair share of damage while still doing enough damage to contribute in Mythic+ dungeons. In some cases, a well-geared tank can even out-damage certain DPS specs.
As is tradition with WoW, certain classes and specs are going to be stronger in different dungeons and raid encounters. If you’re a seriously dedicated player, you may want to have two or three tank characters in your back pocket that you can freely switch to throughout the course of the expansion, just in case any tuning changes put your main class into an unfortunate spot on the tier list.
Luckily, all of WoW’s tanks are viable heading into the first season of the game, with each of them bringing unique resources and advantages to groups. Here’s how the game’s six tank specs stack up during the early portion of Dragonflight’s first season.
WoW Dragonflight tank tier list
S tier
- Protection Warrior
Protection Warrior is the only tank spec at the start of Dragonflight that earns unquestionable S-tier status. The spec is a must-have for practically every Vault of the Incarnates encounter and can serve as the best possible option for basically every Mythic+ dungeon. Warriors are exceptionally strong in Dragonflight because of their ability to stay alive with far more ease. In past expansions, Protection Warriors were far more dependent on healers to keep them alive when they were taking focused damage. But with buffs to many of their damage absorption abilities in Dragonflight, the class brings unrivaled damage and tankiness to the role.
A tier
- Blood Death Knight
- Vengeance Demon Hunter
- Protection Paladin
These three classes are strong options in both Mythic+ and raids since their defensive cooldowns allow them each to survive with their backs up against the wall. Cooldowns such as Anti-Magic Zone, Metamorphosis, and Guardian of Ancient Kings will give players plenty of leeway when it comes to taking damage, and could even pull some of the weight off of healers’ shoulders (which is good considering how healing-intensive some encounters in both raids and Mythic+ dungeons are this season). Vengeance Demon Hunters in particular can take plenty of damage while still pumping up their numbers on the damage charts. In Mythic+ dungeons, the spec is notable for its ability to finish boss fights and big pulls solo when the rest of the group has died.
B tier
- Guardian Druid
- Brewmaster Monk
While these tanks may not be as strong as the other options on the table, they’ll still be reliable picks in the hands of players who have experience tanking dungeons and raids with them. Guardian Druids, for example, will always be relatively strong due to their soft learning curve and decent damage output. Still, if you’re a dedicated tank player, you should be playing one of the above options for maximum throughput (unless you have a Druid or Monk that’s incredibly well-optimized).
