wow Castle Nathria DPS Log Rankings and Analysis Week 5

[Starym 3,801]

 

It's back to Nathria for some more DPS log analysis! This week's hotfixes/tuning haven't shown up in high enough numbers to affect the rankings yet, so we'll have to wait for next week to see if Fury, Frost and Assassination get a significant bump. We also have some more comments from our guide writers on some of the specs this week, with thoughts on Fury and Assassination buffs, as well as Rogues in general.

This week Balance has separated itself quite a bit at the very top, as the gap between No.1 and 2 has widened significantly and the boomkins have solidified themselves the kings of Nathria! Outlaw has surpassed Unholy at the top as well, while the bottom is pretty much the same specs, just rearranged a little.

Also, a very important note about spec representation: Assassination and Survival have an insanely low number of logs, coming in at 88 each, while Frost Mage and DK, Arcane, Demonology and Destruction are also pretty low (in the 500-900 range), so take their numbers with a large grain of salt.

95th percentile Mythic data by Warcraft Logs.

All percentiles Mythic data by Warcraft Logs.

And now let's head to our experts, as they discuss the data and why their specs are where they are, starting with a look ahead at the (hopefully) brighter Fury Warrior future:

Fury and Arms Warrior by Archimtiros:

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The Fury buffs are sorely needed and significantly closes the gap between the two DPS specs, although players should not expect to suddenly rise to the top of the meters overnight. Fury remains on the low end of average in single target and Sweeping Strikes remains a tremendous advantage in many raid encounters. Where the buff most excels is in Mythic+, a place where Fury was already performing quite well and is now even more competitive.

Arms is neither the strongest single target spec nor brings exceptional utility, but it gains enough ground on encounters with two-target cleave and extended execute phases to earn its raid spot. The Fury buffs will see a small drop in Arms parses as some Warriors opt to go back to playing Fury, but shouldn't seriously threaten Arms' standings. There are only two encounters where Fury is firmly ahead (Sun King's Salvation and Mythic Stone Legion Generals), while the rest will continue to favor Arms.

Then we're moving on to Rogues, as Outlaw is very high up as Assassination bottomed out, but is getting buffs as well:

Rogue by Seliathan:

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With a variety of encounters in Castle Nathria that benefit classes that have easy access to strong and sustained cleave, it is no surprise that Outlaw has become one of the go-to melee specs this tier. As only a handful of encounters are pure single-target fights, Outlaw Rogues can utilize their cleave potential to its fullest - something that has already made them one of the strongest Mythic+ specs in BfA as well as Shadowlands. While cleave DPS is definitely the strongest suit of Outlaw, its single-target DPS has become more reliable as well, largely due to the changes to Roll the Bones as well as its Legendary and Conduit options. As such it is a strong contender on all fights, both single-target and multi-target, as long as you are able and willing to fit another melee into your raid.

While there has been a recent rise in the number of Outlaw parses, Subtlety competes very well on pure single-target and boss damage. As it allows for more control over when to do its damage, it is the preferred spec on one of the hardest DPS checks this tier, Sludgefist. Lining up DPS cooldowns with the vulnerability phases makes this a particularly potent choice, and will most likely remain that way for the rest of the tier. Both specs have been very solid raiding specs throughout the first few weeks of the expansion, with only Assassination being left behind its brethren.

The most recent Assassination Rogue buffs, however, are something to look out for. Assassination has historically been the preferred progression spec for most Rogue players, and while it sadly hasn't been viable on any encounter due to its low DPS tuning, it has now recevied another 8% buff this week. It is very likely we will be seeing a return of Assassination, in particular for execute-heavy fights, as the combination of the Zoldyck Insignia legendary and a reworked Blindside talent allow for very high DPS once the boss hits 30% HP.

Next week should be exciting, as we get to see the class tuning in action. And if you haven't yet, you can check out the tuning changes here. And, as always, if you want even more info on a spec, you can check out our class guides here.