Dominate the arenas in WoW: WotLK Classic with this PvP class tier list.

World of Warcraft has had several expansions over the years, and the release of Classic Wrath of the Lich King is an occasion many have looked forward to. Widely renowned as one of the best expansions for PvP, most classes had high viability and Arena gameplay was exciting and fast-paced.

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However, whether you are a WotLK veteran or just starting out on your Northrend adventures, it can be tricky to know what to play. This guide will provide an overview of how every class and specialisation ranks when it comes to PvP in Classic WotLK, including strengths and weaknesses and recommended team compositions.

Defining what exactly makes something good in a PvP environment can be tricky, as player skill is a huge factor in how certain compositions can perform. Lowly ranked specs can easily beat higher ones if piloted correctly, but that being said, there are certain factors that make something well suited for PvP.

These qualities are primarily being considered in regard to Arena, as Battlegrounds have greater variance depending on the map and amount of players involved.

PvP can be simple at times — the team that can output more damage will hold an advantage over the other. Whether it's through high amounts of burst, or constant damage over time, a spec's damage output is key to how successful it will be in the Arena. Likewise, healers that can more comfortably top their teammates will have an easier time, and earn a higher rank in the tier list.

Alongside raw output, utility is paramount to PvP performance. Whether it be through crowd-controlling enemies or aiding their allies, certain specs and classes will have natural advantages over others, and can even hard-counter certain strategies thanks to their tool kits. Alongside this, being able to survive incoming damage is of high importance, and specs that can remain alive via the use of their own cooldowns or off-healing tend to do better, as they rely on less support from their teammates.

Specialisations that naturally go together will be ones that complement each other's strengths and also make up for their weaknesses. For example, an Arena team featuring two high burst DPS specs will naturally have greater combo potential than a team with one burst and one consistent DPS. Doubling down on your spec's strengths is always a strong move, and the best Arena team comps are ones with a clear goal in mind, being able to exploit an opponent's weaknesses via their strong inter-spec synergy.

The bread and butter of any good Arena or Battleground team, DPS players are the ones doing the damage and picking up kills. Some specs are better at high burst damage, letting you destroy your opponents' health bars before they can react, whereas some specialise in spreading AoE dot damage, slowly wearing down the opposition under a constant barrage of ticks.

With so many DPS specs on offer, there are going to be a lot of variances — and some really shine in WotLK PvP, which inevitably causes others to fall by the wayside.

Healer balance in WotLK is pretty good, despite a couple of choices being noticeably better than the others. Most healers can bring something to the table and certain compositions will favor slightly lower-ranked healers for either their burst damage or utility.

When in Battlegrounds, healers are the cornerstone of a good team, and will regularly be targeted by enemy players on account of their ability to keep key members alive. Whether it's protecting your flag carrier or making that clutch heal on your Arena team, you can generally be happy with most of the healer specialisations on offer in Wotlk.

Sadly for the tanks, PvP can be a tough world, and the majority of specs are simply not well suited to Arena gameplay. Tanks do have more specialised roles for certain Battlegrounds, and make excellent flag carriers in instances such as Warsong Gulch where their high durability can allow your team to secure an objective.

For Arena, however, their low damage is an issue, and you may find yourself struggling to climb the ranks when tank-spec — unless you are playing a very particular composition that allows for it.

While many classes can shine in the Arena, when it comes to the premier game mode of 3v3, there are some famous compositions that really show off the inter-spec synergy that helps make WotLK PvP such a fun experience.

NEXT: Classic WoW: Most Useful PvP Trinkets, Ranked

A former teacher and National level rower, Alex now spends his time writing about his favourite games instead. Specialising in the MMO and MOBA genres, he has unfortunately transferred his competitive sporting streak into gaming, and can often be found with head in hands, as his team mates die all around him...