With the release of World of Warcraft: Dragonflight, players have been scrambling to redefine the PvP meta with all the changes introduced. The new talent tree has made class builds much more dynamic and complex than in previous iterations of the game, and while it definitely increases the flavor of class building in the game, it will leave a lot of new and returning players at a loss for what to do.
Firstly, it’s important to address what has actually changed as part of the most recent expansion. First, there is a massive 40% increase in stamina levels at level 70. This has caused burst damage builds to fall out of favor compared to sustained damage builds. This essentially nerfed burst damage, meaning it takes less of a chunk out of other players’ health bars, and buffs sustain damage since it now takes more effort from healers to keep teammates’ health up. The introduction of Solo Shuffle in Dragonflight also affects which builds are viable since builds that can work without support are now bound to be more popular and see greater overall use.
Contents
Best Ranged Class Build in WoW: Dragonflight
Warlocks have benefited the most from this shift, with plenty of sustained damage options in both the Demonology and Affliction talent trees. They’ve also seen some great new talents at their disposal that make them the dominant ranged class in PvP at the moment.
Affliction has seen special popularity in Solo Shuffle circuits, with the dampening effects introduced that limit healing for casters, making them a nightmare for enemy healers. They’ve also seen the return of extremely strong talents in WoW like Soul Swap, a great DoT spell that helps Warlocks get out damage against melee classes that interrupt their casting, covering a significant weakness they had in Shadowlands. The reintroduction of Soulburn also gives them a tremendous defensive suite of options to use their soul shards on, letting them modify some of their staple spells with powerful effects.
Warlocks also have some of the best defenses against sustained damage in the game through talents like Soul Leech and Soul Link. Then there’s the potent Dark Pact spell for well-needed survivability that makes Warlocks an overall powerful choice in Dragonflight’s meta.
Best Healer Build In Dragonflight
For the best healer class in PvP Dragonflight, look no further than the newly introduced Evoker. Specifically, the Preservation tree Evoker will likely see considerable success in the new PvP field.
While it’s unusual for a new class to succeed in WoW‘s PvP early on, the pure breadth and power of the Evoker toolkit might see them come up on top. Firstly, they have remarkable mobility, with Hover being good on its own but becoming ridiculously good when paired with Tailwind to boost movement speed and Unburdened Flight to render the user immune to movement impairments.
The greatest aspect of the Preservation Evoker is their multitude of defensive options, so much so that they can constantly have damage reduction active with the right ability loop. For example, Rewind heals damage taken over a certain amount of time, which is extremely powerful against sustained damage opponents. Likewise, Emerald Communion is an over-time heal castable even while immobilized and will spill over onto allies at full health. Stasis is another excellent support option for skilled players that allows for storing three beneficial spells to unleash at any point in one go.
There is the question of whether WoW’s newest class will be viable for players in the long term on the PvP scene because of their lack of range. They quickly received a buff to 30 yards, but this could still put them in a rough position on some of the larger maps.
Overall, with so many options for Crowd Control, interruption, recovery, and access to so many schools, Preservation Evoker is bound to be one of the top healers of Dragonflight Season 1.
Dragonflight’s Strongest Melee Build
Melee classes have long relied on burst damage, so the new switch in the meta will hit them pretty hard. With this in mind, the class dominating PvP at the moment is WoW‘s Demon Hunter class, specifically the Havoc tree being the best option for sustained damage across the board. Their great damage output, along with their consistency, lets them put a lot of pressure on other players, with some of the highest overall damage potential of any class.
The new talent trees also give them many utility tools that can make them extremely powerful. For example, the Sigil of Mystery ability used to be exclusive to tank Demon Hunters but can now be used by all Demon Hunters as a great crowd-control ability. In addition, the Mortal Dance talent now being in the Havoc tree rather than a PvP talent also frees up a slot that can be used for more utility. This, combined with the other Demon Hunter CCs, gives the Havoc tree a lot of adaptability to go along with its high damage, which makes it an excellent option for the new solo arena mode introduced with Dragonflight while still also being a perfect pick for team fights as the main DPS of a party.
The downside of all Demon Hunters in WoW is their fragility and susceptibility to stun locks and other interruptions. This can be mitigated slightly by the Gladiator’s Distinction item set, which reduces incoming CC effects duration by 10%. The associated pair of trinkets also both clear any impairment effects. The only downside is being Horde-exclusive. Otherwise, Demon Hunters will have to rely on skill and their passive magic resistance to escape kill windows.
Regardless, with sustained damage being as popular in the meta as it is at the moment, a Havoc Demon Hunter will be a player’s best bet for dominating the first season of World of Warcraft Dragonflight’s PvP.
Editor’s Note: A lawsuit has been filed against Activision Blizzard by the California Department of Fair Employment and Housing, which alleges the company has engaged in abuse, discrimination, and retaliation against its female employees. Activision Blizzard has denied the allegations. The full details of the Activision Blizzard lawsuit (content warning: rape, suicide, abuse, harassment) are being updated as new information becomes available.
-
World of WarcraftFranchise: Warcraft
Platform: PC
Released: 2004-11-23
Developer: Blizzard
Publisher: Blizzard
Genre: MMO
ESRB: T
How Long To Beat: 5309h 48m
World of Warcraft