WoW Forever has three real tanks and three experiments. Protection Warrior, Protection Paladin and Feral (Bear) Druid have full tanking talent trees, while Shaman, Warlock and Hunter players have found ways to hold mobs with builds Blizzard never designed as tanks. Which tank is best depends on the job: dungeons on the way to 60, level 60 dungeon spam or raid bosses.
As of the October 15 beta build, Protection Warrior is the safest raid tank, with the highest threat multiplier, Shield Block every 5 seconds and a Shield Wall that drops to 4 minutes with talents. Protection Paladin is the strongest dungeon tank, the Bear has the most armor and health, and Enhancement Shaman is the best of the new options for dungeons, though it has no taunt. Below you will find the tier list in three tabs, how each tank works, a threat and survivability table, and our picks for dungeon spam and raids.
The three tabs rank the same six tanks for different jobs. Beta testing stopped at level 30, so the Endgame tab is a forecast built from each toolkit and the latest class changes, not from raid logs. Shaman, Warlock and Hunter appear under the spec their tank build is based on: Enhancement, Demonology and Survival.
Tank Tier Lists by Content
Six tanks ranked for leveling, dungeons and raids
Leveling Tank Tier List
Tanking dungeons and questing on the way to 60
This tab ranks how well each tank handles dungeons while you level, and how smooth questing is between them.
The top two tanks can quest and tank in the same spec without long breaks.
If you would rather start tanking at 60 right away, our WoW Forever leveling service can take your character there.
Dungeon Tank Tier List
Level 60 dungeon spam: AoE threat, mana and speed
Every AoE tool in Forever hits a limited number of enemies, so the best dungeon tanks are the ones that hold four or five mobs at once and rarely stop to drink.
Paladin and Warrior share the top for different reasons.
Endgame Tank Tier List
Raid bosses: cooldowns, taunts and raid debuffs
Raid bosses reward big defensive cooldowns, reliable taunts for tank swaps and the debuffs a raid needs. The launch raids are Barrow Deeps, Hyjal Summit and Onyxia's Lair.
The Warrior is the only tank that is close to mandatory.
For the ranking of every DPS, healer and PvP spec, see our WoW Forever tier list for classes and specs.
Warrior, Paladin and Druid are the only classes with a full tanking talent tree in Forever. All three changed more than in any Classic patch, and all three can tank every dungeon in the game.
The Warrior is still the reference tank. Defensive Stance adds 30% threat and Defiance adds another 15% with a shield equipped, which multiplies to the highest threat bonus of any tank. Defiance now needs a shield, so dual-wield tanking is gone, and Bastion adds 10% damage with a shield to cancel the Defensive Stance damage penalty.
Rage is easier to keep. Blocks generate 5 Rage through Shield Specialization, the new Master of Defense does the same for dodges and parries, and critical strikes generate double Rage. Shield Block costs 10 Rage, has a 5-second cooldown, is off the global cooldown and blocks the next 2 attacks with 75% more block chance. Because every block pays you back and opens Revenge, you can press Shield Block almost on cooldown.
The cooldowns finally match the job. Shield Wall reduces damage taken by 60% for 12 seconds and falls to a 4-minute cooldown with Improved Shield Wall, Last Stand grants 30% extra health every 3 minutes, and Retaliation no longer shares a cooldown with Shield Wall. Thunder Clap works in Defensive Stance, slows attack speed by 20% on up to 4 targets and scales with Attack Power, while Vanguard lets you Charge in Defensive Stance. The weakness is recovery: after Last Stand the Warrior has little besides potions and Victory Rush, which heals 10% of your health after a kill.
Every Warrior ability and talent change is covered in our WoW Forever Warrior guide.
The Paladin tanks with Holy damage. Seal of Fury adds Holy damage to every swing, and with a shield equipped half of that damage becomes an absorb shield. Its Judgement taunts the target from 10 yards, twice the range of Taunt and Growl, and Judgement no longer consumes the Seal. Righteous Fury went down to 60% in September and back up to 90% extra threat on Holy damage in the October 15 build.
Consecration is trained by every Paladin at level 20 and deals its full damage only to the first 4 enemies, which keeps Paladin AoE threat close to the Warrior's Thunder Clap. The October 15 build also cut its spell power scaling by more than half. Holy Shield adds 30% block chance and 221 Holy damage per block with 20% extra threat, Swift Judgement resets Judgement for a second taunt, and Iron Creed makes Holy Strike reduce damage taken by 15% while Righteous Fury is active.
The big defensive button is Templar's Bulwark, a level 30 talent that absorbs damage equal to your maximum health for 8 seconds on a 5-minute cooldown. It applies Forbearance, so it competes with Divine Shield. The Paladin has no interrupt, no snare and no AoE taunt, only Hammer of Justice as a stun. Mana stays healthy thanks to Improved Seal of Fury, which refunds mana when the Seal's shield breaks.
Seals, auras and every Paladin talent are explained in our WoW Forever Paladin guide.
Druids get Bear Form at level 10 from the class quest and Dire Bear Form at 40, with 180% and 360% more armor from items. Since the October 8 build both forms give 50% more threat, up from 30%, and Bear crits generate double Rage. Weapon damage now matters too: Bear attacks use your weapon's damage per second at a fixed speed, and potions work in form.
The rotation is close to the one Bears used in later expansions. Primal Bite, the renamed Mangle, is a level 25 talent with a 6-second cooldown and high threat. Lacerate arrives at 42 and stacks 5 times, Swipe hits 3 nearby enemies, Maul spends spare Rage, and Faerie Fire is free in form and generates threat since the October 15 build. Demoralizing Roar also creates threat now, though it does nothing against casters.
For survival you have Frenzied Regeneration, which converts up to 10 Rage per second into health for 10 seconds, Barkskin for 20% less physical damage every minute, and both Growl and Challenging Roar. Bears cannot block or parry, which makes them the hardest tank to heal.
Two tricks help a lot. Before a pull, Furor and Enrage fill your Rage, but Enrage lowers your armor, so let it run out before the boss starts hitting. A Tauren can War Stomp, drop form, cast Regrowth and Rejuvenation, and shift back while the heals keep ticking. Shifting costs mana and leaving form wipes your Rage, so keep enough mana to return to Bear.
Forms, talents and every other Druid change are in our WoW Forever Druid guide.
None of these classes has a tanking talent tree. Blizzard describes the Enhancement Shaman as a temporary tank rather than a raid tank, and Warlock and Hunter tanks are community builds tested in low-level dungeons. Treat them as dungeon options, not raid picks.
The Shaman tank is built around Rockbiter Weapon and the Enhancement talent Spirit Weapons, which gives a chance to parry and raises all threat by 30% while Rockbiter is active (and lowers it by 30% without it). Earth Shock is the main single-target tool: it causes high threat, interrupts and has a 20-yard range. It is not a taunt, and the Shaman has no taunt at all. Stoneclaw Totem only makes enemies attack the totem.
For packs, Fire Nova erupts at your active Fire totem, so the old Fire Nova Totem is gone. Its damage and mana cost were cut heavily in the October 15 build. Water Shield is a level 20 talent that restores mana when you are hit and, since the same build, on any critical spell, and it is the answer to the Shaman's biggest problem, mana. Tidal Focus gives 5% hit, and Improved Ghost Wolf makes Ghost Wolf instant and usable indoors for kiting.
Most Shaman tanks play deep Enhancement. Stormstrike at level 40 makes your next Earth Shock deal 20% more damage, and Rage of the Farseer adds 30% attack speed. A typical pull looks like this:
Talents, totems and the latest Shaman changes are covered in our WoW Forever Shaman guide.
Warlock tanking means the Warlock and the Voidwalker share the job. Demons scale with your stats, and the Voidwalker taunts single targets with Torment and nearby enemies with Suffering. You hold the rest with Searing Pain, a cheap fast cast with high threat.
The survival talents come from Demonology: Demonic Embrace adds 15% Stamina, Soul Link moves 30% of your damage taken to the demon, Master Demonologist cuts physical damage taken by 10% while the Voidwalker is out, and Demonic Pact keeps your Demonic Sacrifice buff when you summon another demon. Since the October 8 build your current demon is stunned while you summon a new one, so resummons in combat hurt.
In dungeons, pull small and from range. Pull mobs with a shield from maximum range with Searing Pain, since their Shield Bash locks a spell school. Ask damage dealers for 3 or 4 seconds on bosses, and save Hellfire for packs your healer can handle, because it burns you as well.
Demons, Banes and Warlock talents are explained in our WoW Forever Warlock guide.
The Hunter tank is a melee Survival Hunter that fights next to its pet. For defense it uses Aspect of the Monkey for 8% dodge, Deflection for 5% parry and Survivalist for 10% more health. Its threat comes from Mongoose Bite, Raptor Strike, the pet's Growl and Distracting Shot, which causes threat from range on an 8-second cooldown.
On a pull of three or four mobs, the plan is to send the pet to the first target, use Distracting Shot on the second and drop Explosive Trap under all of them, with Entrapment rooting them in place. Intimidation adds a stun with high threat. The problem is scaling: Distracting Shot gives flat threat, so it will fall behind as damage dealers gear up.
Pets, aspects and talents are explained in our WoW Forever Hunter guide.
Threat in Forever still works as a multiplier on damage. Defensive Stance, Bear Form, Righteous Fury and Spirit Weapons each raise threat by a percentage, so a tank with a large multiplier and steady damage holds aggro best. The second number to watch is the target cap: Thunder Clap and Consecration reach 4 enemies at full strength, and Swipe only 3.
Survivability comes from three things: passive armor and health, avoidance like block and parry, and cooldowns you press before big hits. The table puts the six tanks side by side.
| Tank | Threat bonus | AoE threat | Taunts | Defensive cooldowns | Main weakness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Protection Warrior | 30% from Defensive Stance, plus 15% from Defiance | Thunder Clap on 4 targets, Cleave, tab-Sunder Armor | Taunt, Mocking Blow, Challenging Shout | Shield Block, Shield Wall, Last Stand | Few ways to recover health |
| Protection Paladin | 90% on Holy damage from Righteous Fury | Consecration on 4 targets, Holy Shield | Judgement with Seal of Fury, Swift Judgement | Templar's Bulwark, Divine Shield, Lay on Hands | No AoE taunt and no interrupt |
| Feral (Bear) Druid | 50% from Bear Form | Swipe on 3 targets, Berserk | Growl, Challenging Roar | Frenzied Regeneration, Barkskin | Cannot block or parry |
| Enhancement Shaman | 30% from Spirit Weapons with Rockbiter Weapon | Fire Nova, Magma Totem, Chain Lightning | None | None, only Stoneclaw Totem | No taunt and high mana use |
| Demonology Warlock | High-threat spells like Searing Pain | Hellfire, Rain of Fire | Torment and Suffering from the Voidwalker | Soul Link, Sacrifice | Depends on the demon |
| Survival Hunter | Flat threat from Distracting Shot | Explosive Trap | Pet Growl only | Aspect of the Monkey, Deflection | Threat does not scale with gear |
Hit Chance matters for tanks too: a missed taunt or opening attack is lost threat. How much you need is covered in our WoW Forever hit cap guide.
For level 60 dungeon spam, play a Protection Paladin. It holds four enemies with Consecration and Holy Shield, heals through its own mistakes and almost never stops to drink. A Protection Warrior is just as good once you are comfortable managing Rage, and it has Challenging Shout for the pulls that go wrong.
A Bear does fine in dungeons but works harder on big packs because Swipe stops at 3 targets. The Enhancement Shaman is the fun pick for players who like kiting and totem placement, and it is fast when the group can burst packs down.
Whatever you play, a few habits make dungeon runs smoother:
Every dungeon, from the new ones to the classic level 60 instances, is listed in our WoW Forever dungeons list.
For raids, play a Protection Warrior. Its threat multiplier, Shield Block every 5 seconds and short Shield Wall make it the most complete tank, and the raid needs its Sunder Armor, Thunder Clap and Demoralizing Shout anyway. Expect most guilds to fill the main tank spot with a Warrior.
The Bear is the natural second tank. It has the most armor and health, both Growl and Challenging Roar for swaps and adds, and Frenzied Regeneration to recover between hits. It has no block, so on bosses that hit very hard it depends on its armor and your healers.
The Protection Paladin can tank raid bosses with Templar's Bulwark and a 10-yard Judgement, and Swift Judgement gives it a second taunt for swaps. Its problem is demand: raids want Paladins as healers and for their blessings, and it has no AoE taunt for adds. Shaman, Warlock and Hunter tanks have no place in raid tanking yet, since beta testing never went past level 30.
Every launch raid is covered in our WoW Forever raids overview.
These are the questions players ask most often about tanking in WoW Forever.
Protection Warrior for raids and Protection Paladin for dungeons. The Feral (Bear) Druid is close behind both and has the most armor and health.
Protection Paladin is the easiest tank to play well in dungeons, since it heals itself and holds packs with Consecration. The Bear has the simplest rotation. The Warrior has the highest skill ceiling and punishes mistakes with lost Rage.
Warrior if you want to main tank raids, Paladin if you mostly run dungeons. Both can do both, but the Warrior has stronger cooldowns and raid debuffs, and the Paladin has better AoE threat and self-healing.
Yes, in dungeons. Enhancement with Rockbiter Weapon and Spirit Weapons holds packs well, but the Shaman has no taunt and no big defensive cooldowns, so it is not a raid tank.
Only unofficially. A Demonology Warlock can tank small dungeon pulls with the Voidwalker and Searing Pain, and a Survival Hunter can try with its pet and Distracting Shot. Neither class has a tanking talent tree.
Yes. With Seal of Fury active, Judgement taunts the target from 10 yards, and Swift Judgement resets it for a second taunt. Paladins have no AoE taunt.
Yes. Potions and other consumables work in Bear Form and Dire Bear Form, including Rage Potion.
Probably. The beta stopped at level 30, and nobody has tanked a level 60 raid boss yet. WoW Forever launches on November 4, and we will update the rankings once players reach the first raids.
Each tank has its own class guide with every ability and talent change. These guides go further:
