Ask WoW Insider: Best DPS class?
by Elizabeth Harper 
Jun 29th 2007 at 5:46PM
Welcome to Friday -- the end of another week and time for another edition of Ask WoW Insider, where we ask the questions you want answered! Last week, we talked about what the best healing class was and this week we're considering a similar topic: the best DPS class. Today's question comes from Stèphanò of Aggramar (US), who writes, simply:Which classes can dish out the most DPS and which ones make the least amount of DPS?
Good question -- and I'm betting that our readers are all going to have completely different answers for you. Rogue? Hunter? Mage? Warlock? Readers, which class would you say does the best DPS in Azeroth and beyond?
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Filed under: Ask WoW Insider, Classes
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Danny Cummings Jun 29th 2007 6:01PM
Now, just to be clear, this must be free of player skill, therefore personaly experience cant really come into play, this is more of a mathematical calculation of which class is CAPABLE of the most dps played "perfectly". Just so tehre's no confusion, i figured i'd mention that.
zarmy Jun 29th 2007 6:05PM
would also depend on the fight, and spec as well
Quoi Jun 29th 2007 6:10PM
People ask this question all the time, and there is no answer to it.
If you were just going to stand still and shoot at a brick with a billion HP for a set amount of time, a deep fire mage would probably come out on top.
Sterling Jun 29th 2007 6:10PM
Another few things to consider are: burst dps or sustained dps, character talents at X level, and gear that is worn by said character.
Tinwhisker Jun 29th 2007 6:14PM
Depends on the fight and specs can change this as well but as a general rule:
Single target with limited PBAoE: Rogue by a huge margin.
Single target with a lot of PBAoE: Hunter with other ranged classes close behind.
Multiple targets with short fight duration: Mage pwns.
Multiple targets with extended fight duration: Warlock starts slow but passes everyone else.
Orno Jun 29th 2007 6:25PM
Well for starters lets knock out anyone that has a healing ability, so Enhance/Elemental shamans down the drain, Ret Paladins, Feral and Moonkin druids.
Alright, hmmm... Rogues.
James Jun 29th 2007 6:27PM
PVP battlegrounds pre-70: Hunters, on average, seem to have the highest damage over the course of WSG or AB battle. Mages and Warlocks are usually second.
PVP at 70: Warriors, followed by Mages, and then a toss-up between Warlocks and Hunters. I don't know what happens at 70, but a Hunter's gear relative to other classes appears to leave them at a disadvantage, and a well-geared Warrior, more often than not, will be on top, sometimes by huge (50,000+ damage) amounts.
Granted, this isn't a *true* measure of DPS on any single target, but rather, damage over an extended period of time against multiple opponents. Things like how well a healer keeps you alive can also mean fewer trips to the gy, and whether you play defense or offense can affect how much damage you can do. Truly, if you want to blow the doors off the damage charts in BG's, roll an arms/fury warrior, get them well geared and to level 70, and you'll be a killing machine.
Calenia Jun 29th 2007 6:39PM
PvE Would definitely be a 41/0/20 warlock or a 21/0/40 warlock - they kickass with sustained damage while also providing powerful burst damage
Calenia Jun 29th 2007 6:41PM
Although this depends on the boss fight, warlocks have a lot of raid utility meaning that they wont always be putting in damage like rogues
Calenia Jun 29th 2007 6:41PM
Although this depends on the boss fight, warlocks have a lot of raid utility meaning that they wont always be putting in damage like rogues
Calenia Jun 29th 2007 6:41PM
Although this depends on the boss fight, warlocks have a lot of raid utility meaning that they wont always be putting in damage like rogues
Bumblo Jun 29th 2007 6:52PM
with normalized gear:
best PvE DPS: rogue
best PvP DPS: prolly mages
worst DPS (any:) paladin
but on a side note:
best PvE DPS utility-wise: shadow priest
most formidable in PvP: arms warrior
Dan Bradley Jun 29th 2007 6:49PM
I don't have a link to it, but I believe Blizzard has said in the past that they made certain nerfs/buffs with the intended design goal of having Rogues be kings of the DPS charts, even over mages. Whether their game design has achieved that or not, I can't say, but it's the outcome they're aiming for.
Prester John Jun 29th 2007 6:52PM
Least DPS: paladin, in pretty much every kind of situtation you can imagine.
A shockadin with avenging wrath can put out some decent burst damage but as a rule of thumb AP pom pyroblast ftw.
Anthony Jun 30th 2007 4:15AM
It's very situational.
Hunters have the ability to dps while other classes are affected by things like shields, reflect, melee ranged aoe spells, etc.
Warlocks are very powerful and I can say as far as a raid goes, if polymorph didn't exist, mages would be replaced by them. Combine a warlock with a shadow priest and together they can be amazing.
Rogues are such a pure dps class that they can, per the situation, put out more dps than any other class, from my experiences. It's a rare thing for a rogue in my guild to be below 900-950 sustained dps in a fight. 1000+ is common.
I play a hunter and I'm generally in the top 5. Together there with me are always rogues (generally above) and sometimes a warlock/mage. Most of the time the charts go Rogue, rogue, hunter, (insert caster)
But remember, it's all situational.
Good luck!
Camp Jun 29th 2007 7:01PM
What an idiotic question, fill a room with an unlimited number of star trek geeks. Now ask them to determine whether Kirk or Picard was a better captain. You wont get an answer - just a lot of useless twunts bickering in circles. Same thing applies here...useless
Thijz Jun 29th 2007 7:29PM
As everyone else said, it depends on the situation and spec. Rogue and Mage are the most popular DPS-classes, but with the right spec, gear and the right situation other classes can out-dps them.
andrea Jun 29th 2007 7:31PM
This is indeed a very odd question. It's as if you are just begging for a flame war.
WOW forums that way -->>
Rob Jun 29th 2007 7:36PM
I knew the second I saw the title that Rogues would not get the credit they deserve. Yes, it is situational. But I have never come in second while spec'ed Combat Daggers (15/41/5) in any instance. I've seen mages, warlocks and hunters get close early on... but after an Ad Rush or two and the first boss, I'll have an insurmountable lead.
Ferrigno Jun 29th 2007 10:48PM
Good comments above, I want to emphasize that it will vary tremendously by encounter and the mob's AC. For instance, Gruul has low armour but also requires careful spacing a lot of the time. This really favours hunters.