Heroic Nerub-ar Palace DPS Rankings: Early Insights from Heroic Week

As we dive into the first days of The War Within Season 1, we're taking a closer look at the DPS balance within the Heroic Nerub-ar Palace. Using data from Warcraft Logs Raid statistics, this analysis provides an early glimpse into class performance during this new season.

Understanding the Current DPS Landscape

This article aims to offer a perspective on class balance for The War Within Season 1. It's important to note that this is just a snapshot and not a complete picture of balance. Several factors can influence these rankings:

• Underplayed Specs: Classes perceived as weaker are often played less, which can skew their performance data.

• Performance Bias: Players aiming for high performance tend to choose the strongest specs, widening the gap between top and bottom performers.

• Alternative Strategies: The 95th percentile rankings might be affected by unique strategies and parse funneling. To provide a comprehensive view, we include results across all percentiles.

• Tier Acquisition: The acquisition of tier sets will impact balance in the early weeks of Season 4.

• Heroic vs. Mythic Data: We'll focus on Heroic data initially, as the Mythic player base is still growing.

95th Percentile Statistics

Overall Damage

Damage to Bosses

Overall Statistics

Overall Damage

Damage to Bosses

DPS Rankings for Heroic Nerub-ar Palace (Week of September 10th)

Here's a look at the overall damage and damage to bosses by class and spec:

1. Fury Warrior: 24,189 players

2. Outlaw Rogue: 5,408 players

3. Enhancement Shaman: 10,387 players

4. Arcane Mage: 29,602 players

5. Arms Warrior: 4,130 players

6. Retribution Paladin: 21,934 players

7. Frost Death Knight: 19,393 players

8. Windwalker Monk: 13,759 players

9. Elemental Shaman: 13,757 players

10. Marksmanship Hunter: 9,840 players

11. Subtlety Rogue: 3,655 players

12. Beast Mastery Hunter: 16,777 players

13. Affliction Warlock: 21,835 players

14. Survival Hunter: 4,880 players

15. Assassination Rogue: 12,115 players

16. Unholy Death Knight: 6,108 players

17. Havoc Demon Hunter: 18,895 players

18. Devastation Evoker: 5,562 players

19. Frost Mage: 7,265 players

20. Feral Druid: 5,566 players

21. Destruction Warlock: 2,226 players

22. Demonology Warlock: 6,723 players

23. Shadow Priest: 13,341 players

24. Fire Mage: 795 players

25. Balance Druid: 9,963 players

26. Augmentation Evoker: 14,649 players

These rankings provide a preliminary look at how different classes and specs are performing in the early days of Heroic Week. As the season progresses and more data becomes available, these rankings may shift, offering a clearer picture of class balance in The War Within Season 1.

The state of their spec

Retribution Paladin

Unexpected Performance of Retribution Paladins in The War Within

Many anticipated that Retribution Paladins (Ret) would struggle with damage output this tier, but they have exceeded expectations so far. During beta testing, Ret's performance was average, and subsequent single-target nerfs left players concerned. However, the current data tells a different story.

Key Factors Affecting Ret Performance

1. Simulations and Expectations: Simulations often influence perceptions of class performance, but they have limitations, especially across different specs. These comparisons can lead to misguided conclusions if relied upon too heavily without real data.

2. Heroic vs. Normal Performance: Ret is performing well in Heroic, slightly above average in Normal. Factors like Instrument of Retribution inflate early performance due to more frequent deaths in Heroic as players learn new mechanics. Ret's frequent burst windows, thanks to 30-second cooldowns, contribute to its strong showing in longer Heroic fights.

3. Herald of the Sun Fixes: Recent improvements to Herald of the Sun have made it the preferred Hero Tree for Ret. While it offers less immediate burst than Templar, it excels in multitarget scenarios and execute phases, benefiting from abilities like Dawnlight and Blessing of An’she.

4. Changes in Damage Profile: Ret's damage now leans towards Mastery due to buffs to Mastery: Highlord's Judgment, shifting away from reliance on damage proc effects. This change may avoid past issues where Ret's damage output suffered at higher gear levels.

5. Ease of Play: Ret's simplicity makes it easier to play optimally compared to other specs. Even without perfect play, Ret can perform well, especially as players adapt to new talents.

6. Versatile Utility: Ret retains damage capability even when repositioning due to its ranged spells, unlike other melee specs. Its burst AoE potential with Wake of Ashes may inflate its ranking on certain bosses, but it maintains strong single-target performance.

Conclusion

There isn't one clear reason for Ret's better-than-expected performance; it's likely a mix of these factors. Watching how Ret adapts as players gain more gear and experience in Mythic will be key in determining if this trend continues.

Outlaw Rogue

With the start of Heroic Week, we now have concrete data on how different specs perform in raids, moving beyond mere speculation and simulations. Rogues, particularly, were a point of interest. Assassination Rogues had generated a lot of hype due to their impressive performance in Mythic Plus dungeons during beta, leading many to believe they'd excel in raids as well. Outlaw Rogues, despite being initially thought of as "simbait" due to high single-target simulation results, are surpassing expectations in actual raid scenarios.

As Mythic Week approaches, it's uncertain if Outlaw can maintain its momentum, especially given its weak tier set, which only offers a minor DPS boost. The spec lacks a burst cooldown, unlike Subtlety, which might make it less suitable for certain Mythic fights. Despite these challenges, Outlaw Rogues are still performing well, and with the right gear, they can outperform Subtlety Rogues, except in fights with favorable cooldown timings for Subtlety.

Overall, this tier is promising for Outlaw Rogues, although the spec's complexity and reliance on a snowballing playstyle may make Subtlety or Assassination more appealing for some players. Subtlety is nearly as strong, particularly in single-target scenarios, which may be the preferred role for Rogues given the effectiveness of other classes, like Fury Warriors, in handling large groups of adds.

Balance Druid

Balance Druids are currently struggling with poor single-target damage and are ineffective in the raid's spread AOE situations, which would typically favor them. However, their key ability, Starfall, is underperforming, leading to low damage on encounters like Silken Court, Broodtwister, and Queen Ansurek. To improve their viability in Nerub'ar Palace, substantial buffs to both single-target damage and Starfall are necessary. Without these improvements, Balance Druids may continue to underperform throughout the raid tier.

Augmentation Evoker

In Season 1 of The War Within, Augmentation Evokers have seen significant nerfs to their support abilities, affecting key talents like Ebon Might, Black Attunement, and particularly Spatial Paradox, which impacts their effectiveness in raids. Although new talents such as Rumbling Earth and Molten Embers aim to boost their personal damage, Augmentation Evokers primarily focus on enhancing their allies' performance.Originally, Augmentation Evokers could easily top damage meters, but their role has since diminished, often ranking low on the WarcraftLogs Statistics page. Despite this, they still hold a spot on Mythic raid teams due to Spatial Paradox, which aids certain healer specs like Discipline Priest and Mistweaver Monk.Now, with Spatial Paradox on a three-minute cooldown and paired with Time Spiral, Augmentation Evokers must rely more on their own damage to secure raid spots. However, their success hinges on the precise timing of their buffs and selecting the right players to enhance during fights.While proficient guilds can leverage Augmentation Evokers effectively, doing so requires significant coordination and planning. The complexity involved often makes it challenging for average players to achieve competitive DPS. Blizzard has introduced adjustments like Sense Power and Prescience auto-targeting to address this skill gap, but it remains a barrier.Ultimately, while Augmentation Evokers might still feature prominently in high-level competitions like the Mythic Race to World First, they need further adjustments to make their support role more accessible to all players. Until those changes occur, their current standing is unlikely to improve significantly.