There are numerous high-tier comps in Cataclysm, a stark contrast to the era of Wrath of the Lich King where only a few specs dominated. Almost every player has at least one competitive composition. We’re reviewing the best comps for each class in season 9. If you’re looking for a refreshed UI for Cata using our new skill-capped add-on, visit skillcap.com. We provide everything needed to stay ahead in the latest expansion, including guides from top players that cover everything from maximizing damage to mastering crowd control.

Frost Death Knight Strategy

Choosing Frost DK likely means you enjoy delivering massive, swift damage. Frost DK’s optimal comps involve significant burst damage and stunning to defeat opponents quickly, typically alongside a sub Rogue or Ret Paladin, with a shaman as the healer. Although these comps may not be top-tier, they offer the precise dynamics needed for Frost DK’s aggressive, quick-strike approach.

Unholy Death Knight Compositions

Unholy DK, being a superior spec, has more viable comp options in season 9. A leading comp includes PhD K with a Marksman Hunter and either a Resto Shaman or Holy Paladin. This setup is designed to secure victories early in the game with an intense combination of cooldowns and crowd control. Unholy DK can also partner with a feral Druid or Ret Paladin for a mix of raw damage and control, known as Vanguard’s cleave. Additionally, there are lower-tier options like TSG and Shadow Cleave that remain popular despite being less effective than in their heyday.

Triple DPS Configuration

To play triple DPS, teaming up with a Red Paladin and sub Rogue is common, but this comp works significantly better with a Marks Hunter. Now, let’s discuss the Druids, starting with Balance.

Balance Druid Compositions

Boomkin has a reputation for having bizarre comp names like Dancing with the Stars, Frozen Chicken Cleave, and Spicy Chicken Cleave. Despite the confusion, the best comp for Boomies throughout Cataclysm is actually the unfortunately named LSD2, which includes an Affliction Warlock for dispel protection.

Balance Druid Damage Dynamics

Balance Druids can deal an absurd amount of damage in Cata, especially in later seasons. However, with every healer having a spammable spell, it’s challenging to get value out of DoTs without a UA to cover them. Playing with a Mage is fine, but can be awkward since Polymorph breaks to any small breeze, including Starfall.

Boomkin Survival in PvP

Playing as a Boomkin means being a target in most games. To mitigate this, Boomkins should stick to playing with high CC classes like Mages, Warlocks, and Rogues, maximizing their ability to control the battlefield.

Feral Druid Dynamics

Feral Druids, known for needing little assistance in Cata, are arguably the best melee class. They have a wide variety of comp options, including two S-tier comps: FLS and Jungle Cleave.

FLS and Jungle Cleave Strategies

FLS focuses on AOE attrition, maximizing damage and playing defensively until the opponent’s damage becomes unhealable. Jungle Cleave emphasizes single-target pressure, tunneling down an opponent while applying long CC chains on the enemy healer.

Additional Feral Druid Comps

Ferals also have high-tier options like Kitty Cleave and can effectively pair with a Frost Mage or Unholy DK. These comps offer a mix of burst and control, suited to different play styles.

Resto Druid Challenges

Resto Druids face significant challenges, notably their inconsistent healing output and vulnerability to target swaps. This makes them one of the weaker healers in Cata, comparable only to Holy Priests in terms of difficulties.

Optimal Resto Druid Comps

The best strategy for Resto Druids involves pairing with a Mage and either a Shadow Priest or Affliction Warlock. This combination, often called God Comp, provides essential utility to offset the Resto Druid’s weaknesses.

Alternative Resto Druid Strategies

Resto Druids can also explore off-brand Rogue comps, aiming to pair with Mages, Affliction Warlocks, or Shadow Priests. While these are viable, they present a steeper challenge in the competitive landscape.

Hunter Specializations in PvP

For Hunters, Marksman is considered the top PvP spec due to its strong performance and versatility in various comps.

Marksmanship Hunter Specializations

Marksmanship Hunters are known for their explosive damage, particularly with their high critical hits, making them excellent partners for melee DPS with punchy damage, especially in the opening phase of combat. We’ve already discussed Jungle and PhD K as premier high-tier comps, but Triple DPS is also one of the biggest execution tests for any healer in Cataclysm. Red Hunter Rogue is considered the best version of this comp.

Thug Cleave Tactics

One comp we have yet to mention, however, is Thug Cleave, which is a dangerous setup demanding precise defensive play from any opponent. Marksmanship Hunters and sub Rogues both carry huge momentum in the opener, and with the threat of double smoke bomb and ridiculously long CC chains, it is very hard to survive against this comp.

Mage Strategies in PvP

Just like Hunters, expect to see many Mages at the top of the ladder, as they too have access to multiple high-tier comps. For the most part, Fire and Frost Mages are fairly interchangeable, although there are some exceptions. Any Fire Mage will find success playing MLS, God Comp, or RM.

God Comp and Wizard Cleaves

MLS and God Comp play like classic wizard cleaves for the most part, blasting the enemy team down and zoning out players with CC. The key difference is that playing God Comp allows for setups, especially on enemy healers with Hammer of Justice.

Frost Mage Adaptations

Frost Mage is more or less a substitute for Fire in any of these major comps, with RMP being its preferred option. With the recent nerfs to Hunter pet dismissing, RMP received a passive buff, as Marksmanship Hunters are one of the toughest matchups for Mages.

Mage Strategies in Cataclysm

For Mages, Cataclysm is one expansion where rated 3-2-1 goes are possible for RMP, thanks to the multitude of instant CC options available. The burst damage that Frost Mages and sub Rogues provide makes virtually anyone a kill target. If RMP isn’t your preference, the next best option is likely MLS, where your win condition is to play the long game, zoning the enemy team out with triangle positioning, and playing to not lose.

Paladin Specializations

Next up, we have our two Paladin specs, starting with Holy. Holy is a specialist in different types of cleaves, either playing double melee to support the uptime of their team or playing with double caster to help set up kills with Hammer of Justice. Because of this, Paladins will find most of their success playing Kitty Cleave, PhD K, or God Comp. Kitty Cleave and PhD K will be more inclined to press W, and your job will be to efficiently trade your CDs to carry momentum. Holy Paladins will do really well into other melee cleaves but can struggle against Wizards who do massive AOE pressure.

Retribution Paladin Dynamics

Ret is also a support specialist in Cataclysm, having a bunch of utility and off-healing to carry momentum in comps that simply want to press W. RS will work best in cleaves like Ret DK and Ret Hunter, and can definitely find success in the strongest version of triple DPS, playing with a sub Rogue and Marks Hunter. Ret Hunter will play more around long CC chains on enemy healers, but virtually every other Ret comp works best by selecting one target and then training it down. Ret DK is exceptionally good at killing healers, and you will definitely find yourself saying, “Train the blue,” when playing this comp.

Priest Specializations in PvP

Now we have our two Priest specs, starting with Disc, who has been indirectly mentioned a few times so far. Disc Priest is a great offensive support healer, thanks to Psychic Scream, which can easily swing momentum in combination with punchy burst damage and cross-CC coming from their teammates. The main problem with Disc is that it can struggle with healing, which is why it works best in comps that can keep up tempo for a long period of time. This means playing with comps that have high control or lots of off-healing. Your best bets are going to be setups like Jungle Cleave or R DK. If cleaving isn’t your thing, then RMP is obviously a great option for Disc, sacrificing consistent tempo for bigger momentum swings during setups.

Shadow Priest Capabilities in Cataclysm

As we’ve mentioned, the Shadow Priest in Cataclysm is truly a jack of all trades but master of none. It offers a very well-rounded toolkit, having a good balance of spread pressure and single target burst, some of the best cross-CC potential in the game, and one of the strongest utility toolkits to support their team. Shadow priests work best in comps that can complement different parts of its diverse toolkit, either playing Shadowplay for AOE spread pressure and more dispel protection or leaning into setup-based comps like RPS or God Comp. Any of these comps are going to give you exactly what you need to fulfill your role as the supporting caster.

Sub Rogue Strategy

As the best melee in the game with a Mortal Strike effect, the Sub Rogue is another spec with tons of high-tier comp options, including some of the best overall comps in the game: RLS, RMP, Triple DPS, Thug Cleave. There are tons of flavors of comps you can fit into, all with their own niche. On one end of the spectrum, you have RLS, a comp designed to win from attrition. The spread pressure from the Warlock gives you tons of freedom on who you can attack, and it’s truly up to you to carve your own path to victory.

Dynamic Rogue Compositions

On the other end of the spectrum are comp setups like Triple DPS and even Thug Cleave, where you rely on explosive, coordinated damage to win. Somewhere in the middle is RMP, which of course relies on coordinated damage but with the extra element of control and slightly more flexibility for swapping. In any case, each flavor of Rogue comp offers something unique, so be ready to adapt your playstyle accordingly.

Challenges for Shamans in Cataclysm

Now, it’s time to move on to Shamans, starting with one of the weakest specs in the game, Elemental. Elemental is severely limited in Cataclysm considering every healer now has access to a magic dispel, making those Lava burst combos harder to pull off. Combine this with the fact that Elemental is a very squishy target, especially in melee, and you will find yourself very limited to one or two comps in particular. Your best bet is to pair with an Affliction Warlock and a Holy Paladin, which will help cover both of these weaknesses.

Enhancement Shaman Strategy

Unfortunately, Enhancement Shaman is also a quite limited spec in Cataclysm. While it has a ton of tools designed to harass casters, Enhancement Shaman themselves are still fairly squishy, requiring the defensive support of a Holy Paladin in order to press W. It shouldn’t come as a surprise that your best comp option will be Turbo Cleave in season 9, as it’s the best season overall for warriors, and with the support of freedom from a Holy Paladin, you can expect to have high uptime, especially since Earthbind Totem also removes snare effects. Alternatively, you could play with an Unholy DK as a more punchy option, which will have huge momentum in the opener.

Resto Shaman in Cataclysm

Resto Shaman is the most flexible spec in Cataclysm, simply outperforming other healers. It can effectively heal virtually any comp, with some comps being standout choices, such as FLS, RLS, and Jungle Cleave. These are considered S-tier options, with Thug Cleave, MLS, and 100 DK being just a half tier below. Resto Shaman boasts the best passive healing in the game, suffers less from long CC chains, and remains sturdy even under heavy attack. Thanks to abilities like Grounding Totem and Wind Shear, Shaman have more disruptive tools than any other healer, ensuring their team can avoid CC and stay offensive. If you’re playing Resto Shaman, the world of Warcraft is indeed your oyster.

Affliction Warlock Dynamics

Affliction Warlock is another highly versatile spec in Cataclysm, benefiting from the relevance of spread pressure. This spec offers the best AOE damage and naturally rises to the top when paired with a melee. Affliction Warlocks enable their partners to have unlimited freedom in target selection, making comps like FLS and RLS not only dominant but straightforward to play. Simply dot everything, let your melee stun, while you utilize Death Coil and Spell Lock. With the strongest dispel protection in the game, Affliction Warlocks synergize well with virtually any caster or DPS, particularly those reliant on DoTs, making comps like Fire MLS and Shadowplay high-tier options.

Success Strategies for Affliction Warlocks

Finding success as an Affliction Warlock will require maximizing damage while making smart defensive plays to extend matches into the late game, where accumulated damage becomes harder to heal.

Arms Warrior in Cataclysm

Consider the Arms Warrior as a budget Sub Rogue. Most high-tier comps that include a rogue can substitute a warrior, though they might drop a tier or two in effectiveness. The exception is Kitty Cleave, arguably the best option for warriors in season 9, which relies heavily on high single-target damage and a fair amount of control with stuns, Cyclones, and even blanket silences thanks to Gag Order. Beyond this, warriors can play most Rogue comps, partnering with a Hunter in KFC or pairing up with a Warlock for WLS.

Conclusion and Resources

That about wraps it up for this overview. Before you go, check out Skillcap. We are the only service that dares to literally guarantee you’ll climb at least 400+ rating while actively using our service, and if you don’t, you don’t pay. As always, we want to thank you all for watching. See you soon.

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