Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen. My name is Librarian Husky, and today we’re going to be talking about the Strongest DPS specs in The War Within beta right now, why they’re dominating, and what makes them so great individually.

The War Within beta has been absolutely legendary so far, with hero talents, theory crafting, fantastic new dungeons, and with these new dungeons comes, of course, a brand new season of Mythic Plus and a whole new meta to explore.

The Strongest DPS Spec

Starting off with what I think is the Strongest DPS spec in the game right now, the Arcane Mage. Believe me, we were just as surprised as you. What used to be the most complicated spec in the game has been reworked and is back, and better than ever. In my opinion, this goes down as the best overall DPS spec through the beta. The rotation is thankfully simplified, you’re constantly pumping out Arcane Barrages and procing free Arcane Orbs, and then just spamming more Arcane Barrages. It is just the best the spec has ever felt.

Arcane Mage Talents

There’s also a talent that allows your Arcane Missiles to grant you Arcane Charges, which takes away that clunky feeling of having to spam Arcane Explosion or Arcane Blast to generate charges. Then, when you have your cooldowns ready, you pair your Touch of the Magi with Arcane Surge and combine it into Aether Attunement windows, which, if you don’t know, allows your Arcane Missiles to hit four enemies at the same time.

Arcane Mage Overview

It’s not reliant on heavy cooldown usage abilities to be able to deal its damage. It can deal its damage all on its own just through its basic rotation. The hero talent tree design with the Spell Slinger tree fits perfectly with the class design. It doesn’t impede on the rotation in a negative way; it deals out a ton of passive damage, shooting out like a machine gun of Arcane splinters. Combined with all your other abilities, it’s just very satisfying as an Arcane Mage. If you’re looking for a fun, nuclear damage-dealing caster that’s on the rise, Arcane Mage has to be your number one on this list. It’s got everything you’d want in a class spec and more.

Unholy Death Knight

Moving on now to the next specialization, the Unholy Death Knight. I know this isn’t coming as a big surprise to most if you’ve been playing the beta, but it’s all for a very good reason. Even post-nerf, the Army of the Dead Commander is back and looking like a very dominant melee DPS spec in The War Within. One of the greatest things about this class is actually how simple it is after you learn the basics.

Once you do, your AOE damage is going to shock just about everyone in the party. You apply your Virulent plagues and diseases on your targets while keeping down your Death and Decay, then start working on spreading your Festering wounds. Like a hurricane, you’re ready to pop some cooldowns by literally spam-popping AOE on all your Festering wounds, whether it be with your sand lane trinket or just casually using your Epidemic, leaving you speechless with how awesome the sound design is, how beefy your class feels, and how much damage you deal.

Unholy Death Knight Talent Trees

I actually prefer how the Writer of the Apocalypse talent tree feels for a variety of reasons. If you’re looking for a class that isn’t too complicated and has an impactful hero talent tree, the Unholy Death Knight is the way to go. I was absolutely shocked by how impactful both of the hero talent trees were. Don’t get me wrong, the Writer of the Apocalypse is really cool and has its place, but I think it’s slightly worse than the Sand Lane talent tree. Either way, it’s just a matter of preference at that point.

Build Variety in Unholy Death Knight

Not only is there some build variety when it comes to the spec, but I’m also really excited to see some Minion builds come out in the future. Unholy Death Knight is a phenomenal class. Typically, in the beginning of an expansion, when you’re making a list of top damaging classes, there’s usually no way you don’t bring up the Wind Walker Monk. It seems like history is repeating itself yet again.

Wind Walker Monk

The Wind Walker Monk recently had their talent tree completely redesigned, and I have to tell you, it’s a lot better than it was before. There’s a lot of flexibility in the type of build you want to create. Do you want a build meant for AOE blackout kicks? You can have that. Do you want a build focused on Fist of Fury and Rising Sun Kick? You can have that as well. They even have AOE crackling Jade lightning builds that feel very satisfying to use.

Performance in Dungeons and Raids

As a Wind Walker Monk, there are moments when you pop all your cooldowns and can hit like 2 million DPS in Mythic Dungeons. In single target damage, they do quite well, but there are some points where things feel a tad bit slow. It makes up for it when you have all your cooldowns ready to go. When it comes to raiding and Mythic Plus, this class is always going to have its time to shine.

Wind Walker Monk: Celestial Hero Talentry

The Celestial Hero Talent Tree brings you a really solid ability with the Celestial Conduit. This ability hits like a Mac truck, and it’s literally just you cast it and move on with your day. After that, it summons a bunch of Celestials that really enhance your gameplay and buff you greatly. This makes everything in your rotation feel so much better. I love the fact that Fist of Fury is actually hitting like a Mac truck now.

New AOE Blackout Kicks

The integration of the new AOE Blackout Kicks really takes the spec to the next level in terms of raw damage. If you’re looking for a fast-paced, mobile DPS spec with a ton of mobility and theory crafting potential, the Wind Walker Monk is definitely a solid choice heading into The War Within. Not only that, but you also have a tanking spec as well as a healing spec if you like versatility in that department.

Fire Mage

After the Monk, we have the Fire Mage. Listen to me very carefully, ladies and gentlemen, you cannot hate me for putting another Mage spec on this list. This class is so well-designed right now. Fire Mage has been lighting up The War Within beta, even after nerfs cutting off about 25% of their damage. I’m not going to lie, this spec does have its complications, and if you don’t know how to play it properly, it’s probably going to show and take some time.

Mastering Fire Mage

But if you do know what you’re doing and know how to play this class, you’re going to be destroying mobs and just exploding them in a matter of a couple of seconds.

Fire Mage Rotation and Mechanics

You’re going to be critting a lot and you will literally never have to cast an ability again. You’re just spamming Fire Blast, Phoenix Flames, pumping out non-stop Pyroblasts and Flamestrikes. Those Pyroblasts turn into Living Bombs, which then explode, spreading more Living Bombs. This causes what feels like an epidemic of explosions and insane visuals, making you feel like a Fire Mage burning enemies alive.

Frost Fire Hero Talent Tree

The Frost Fire Hero Talent Tree works really well with the spec, creating perfect harmony with Fire. There used to be windows where you would have to cast a couple of Fireballs or Scorches to build up your crit procs, but that is not the case anymore. As you go through your normal rotation, you’ll occasionally get a proc that shoots out your instant Frost Fire Bolt. This bolt can crit for almost a million damage and explode to nearby enemies for like 80% of that. Since it is a fire ability, you can use it during combustion to make it automatically crit and apply Living Bombs.

Developer’s Mastery

It is absolutely nasty and actually makes me laugh so hard at how much fun this spec is. The developers really perfected it and knocked it out of the park. If you’re a player that can think ahead and do a rotation properly, even if it’s a little bit advanced, the Frostfire Mage has by far one of the most fun and impactful rotations in the game. It’s a fantastic choice to head into The War Within launch.

Retribution Paladin

Moving on to another melee DPS, we have the big surprise: the Retribution Paladin. This class probably has the most impactful hero talent tree out of any other class, I would say.

Retribution Paladin: Talent Tree Redesign

I’m going to say it plain and simple: they cleaned up Retribution Paladin very well, and they did exceptionally well with this talent tree. What used to be an overstuffed rotation is now condensed and feels so much better. You have your Crusader Strikes going off passively on your basic attacks, and your Consecrations going off passively on your Blade of Justice. Your Judgment and Blade of Justice abilities are AOE and hit four or five targets at a time.

Effective Rotation and Abilities

What feels so good in their rotation is that whenever you use Wake of Ashes, it pops your wings for you, and you dominate the damage meters. You hit your Wake of Ashes on everybody, apply a giant damage-over-time effect, and then follow it up with your brand new hero talent, the Hammer of Light, which can crit for like 2.1 to 2.2 million damage in one swing. It is so satisfying and one of the most satisfying hero talent tree abilities that I’ve seen in the beta so far.

Strengths and Weaknesses

This class has become very simple, straightforward, and yet so effective that anybody can use it. You have a ton of AOE damage, amazing utility, and phenomenal defenses. I would say the only minor problem is that their single-target DPS is lacking a little bit compared to other classes, but they make up for it with everything else. The Retribution Paladin brings a very simple class, tons of AOE damage, fantastic rotation, and very solid melee DPS heading into The War Within that anyone would enjoy playing.

Affliction Warlock: Talent Tree Enhancements

It’s been nothing but a huge upgrade to how fluid the spec feels now. Spells tie together like Siphon Life and Corruption, instant Shadowbolt volleys becoming one of your main fillers, and of course, to top it all off, your Malefic Rapture making your AOE damage some of the best it’s ever been. When it comes to the hero talent trees, you have your Hellar talent tree that allows you to use your Seed of Corruption to spread your brand new upgraded Corruption, which is now called Wither.

AOE Performance and Downsides

Pairing Wither with all your other damage over time effects, your Malefic Rapture, your damage is just disgusting in terms of AOE, and it really performs well in Mythic Plus. One downside I will admit is when you are specced into an AOE-focused build on Affliction Lock, you do lack a bit of single-target damage. However, if there are a few ads that end up spawning in the fight, you’ll pick back up in terms of damage as you get your dots rolling.

Overall Strength of Warlock

Overall, Warlock is one of the safest classes in the game heading into The War Within, and that is one of the reasons why we put them on this list. All three specs are really performing well, but Affliction does look to be taking the edge as of right now. It would be an absolute blast to play if you love ranged caster DPS.

Survival Hunter Rework

Moving on now to the next obvious class if you’ve been playing The War Within beta: the brand new reworked Survival Hunter. Yes, it’s no surprise this class is taking the final spot on this list, and it’s all for really good reasons. The rotation, which was once bloated and full of too many buttons and felt like a chore to play, has now become condensed and feels like butter. Simplifying the Wildfire Infusion mechanic, removing Serpent Sting, and overall just cleaning up the rotation has made this spec a joy to play since the rework.

Survival Hunter: Abilities and Performance

The interactions of your Butchery resetting your Wildfire Bombs, then you try to spam your number one damaging ability, which is your Explosive Shot now, and then you top it all off with your massive Fury of the Eagle windows in AOE. The class is just destroying the meters, and we haven’t even spoken about the best part. You have your Sentinel Hero Talent Tree that is so easy to just pick up and use, and it doesn’t impede on your rotation at all, unlike some of the other hero talent trees out there.

Sentinel Hero Talent Tree

The ability has the chance to proc off of every attack you use, and combining that with the Starfall effect on the Wildfire Bombs every so often, it literally becomes your number one damaging ability. You don’t have to change anything about your rotation, which makes it that much easier for someone to pick up and give it a try for themselves. There are some points in Mythic Plus where everything lines up perfectly, and you can pull over 2.1 to 2.2 million DPS without even batting an eye. It is absolutely insane.

Overall Hunter Performance

Hunter is looking fantastic in The War Within so far, and with these new redesigned talent trees, Survival specifically is crushing the Mythic Plus damage meters right now. It is very, very good heading into this expansion, giving us every reason to bring it on this list.

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