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Which spec hits hardest at level 30?
We simulated all 27 specs at level 30 on WoW Forever. Arcane mages set the highest ceiling, but hunters turn the most of theirs into real damage.
Most of the world PvP on WoW Forever happens around level 30 right now. So which spec does the most damage there?
Untested in game. These numbers come from a simulation, not from anyone's play. The target never moves, heals or fights back, so they are ceilings, not expectations.
What was simulated
All 27 specs, worked out from the WoW Forever client's own data, build 1.60.1.70338. For each spec the simulator searched the talent trees for its best build and picked the best gear a level 30 character can get. Then it ran 2,000 fights against each target: cloth, leather, mail, a paladin in mail with a shield, and one with no armour.
The top five
DPS over a 60 second fight, averaged over the armoured targets:
- Mage Arcane: 136.8 DPS
- Hunter Marksmanship: 130.5 DPS
- Hunter Beast Mastery: 127.7 DPS
- Hunter Survival: 127.0 DPS
- Warlock Demonology: 125.9 DPS
The opener
The first 10 seconds, with every cooldown used at the start, as burst DPS over those 10 seconds:
- Mage Arcane: 169.1 DPS
- Hunter Marksmanship: 158.1 DPS
- Hunter Beast Mastery: 155.0 DPS
- Hunter Survival: 148.0 DPS
- Mage Frost: 141.8 DPS
- Paladin Holy: 128.2 DPS
- Shaman Enhancement: 121.2 DPS
- Paladin Retribution: 120.0 DPS
- Rogue Subtlety: 114.2 DPS
- Rogue Combat: 111.2 DPS
No warlock makes the opener's top 10.
Casters set the ceiling, hunters win the fights
We checked the simulation against Wanted's level 30 combat logs. Real fights keep between a fifth and about a third of the ceiling, and casters keep the least. An Arcane mage's best real minute averages 30.8 DPS, about 22% of its ceiling. A Shadow priest keeps about 20%. A Marksmanship hunter's best real minute averages 37.8 DPS, about 29%, and the highest of any class in the logs.
Casters stand still to cast, so in a real fight they get interrupted, crowd-controlled and moved out of range. A hunter keeps shooting and the pet keeps biting. In the logs the hunter is first, by the median minute and by the best one. The Arcane mage, first in the simulation, is third.
Armour matters for physical damage
Arcane damage ignores armour: an Arcane mage does about 136.5 DPS against every target. A Marksmanship hunter does 159.5 DPS against cloth and 109.6 DPS against the paladin in mail and shield. An Assassination rogue drops from 120.4 DPS to 76.7 DPS. For a physical spec, who you pick a fight with matters.
Warriors last
Warriors hold three of the bottom four places: Fury 24th with 80.0 DPS, Arms 26th with 69.4 DPS and Protection last with 57.7 DPS. The setup works against them. A warrior gains rage from being hit, and the target never attacks. Revenge, Overpower from parries and Execute need the target to fight back or be low on health, so they aren't counted at all.
Before you reroll
Nothing here has been tested in game. Use the numbers to compare specs, not to predict a fight. Every spec's talents, gear and damage by ability are on the level 30 PvP damage page: start with Hunter Marksmanship, Mage Arcane or Warrior Fury.