World of Warcraft: Midnight – Best DPS, Tank, and Healer Specs to Main (Winners & Losers)

At the start of any new expansion, choosing which class or specialization to main can feel incredibly stressful. There are so many factors to consider: raw performance, major design changes, full reworks, talent overhauls, and—most importantly—whether the spec actually feels good to play.

With World of Warcraft: Midnight on the horizon, some specs have emerged as clear winners, receiving thoughtful redesigns and exciting gameplay updates. Others, unfortunately, have gone in the opposite direction—over-pruned, stripped of identity, or left unchanged when meaningful updates were desperately needed.

The Comeback Kids shared a video guide on their video channel, breaking down the biggest winners you should strongly consider maining, as well as the losers you may want to avoid, based on design, gameplay feel, and overall excitement heading into Midnight. Now, let’s dive in.

Preparing for Midnight?

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Winner DPS 1: Frost Mage

Frost Mage stands out as one of the best specs you can main in Midnight. This spec received one of the most impactful reworks of the entire expansion, transforming it from the “black sheep” of Mage specs into a front-line contender.

The new Shatter system functions almost like a debuff mechanic. You build and consume Shatter through abilities like Ice Lance, creating a more deliberate and satisfying damage loop. The talent tree has been completely overhauled, and Frost Mage’s primary offensive cooldown is no longer Icy Veins—it’s now Ray of Frost, which integrates far better with the spec’s flow.

One of the biggest wins here is the removal of the nonstop proc-RNG gameplay that plagued Frost Mage for years. Instead, the rotation is simple, focused, and extremely fun, while still feeling distinct from every other DPS spec in the game.

Both Hero Talent trees feel excellent and offer real build variety. The Apex Talent passively flows into your rotation and even features a striking visual effect, sending frost erupting from the ground. Overall, Frost Mage feels like a truly unique, refined, and complete spec—and an easy recommendation for Midnight.

Winner DPS 2: Unholy Death Knight

Unholy Death Knight received the largest rework of any class going into Midnight, and the results are spectacular. The spec has been fully transformed into a true pet-based powerhouse, centered around shadow damage, plagues, and overwhelming minion synergy.

The old Festering Wound system has been completely removed. Instead, Unholy is now about summoning armies of minions, sacrificing them for power, exploding ghouls, and turning them into skeletal mages. Army of the Dead has been buffed into a real cooldown again, and the overall design feels like a perfect fusion of old-school Unholy DK and Demonology Warlock.

Gameplay-wise, the spec no longer feels like a slow, awkward ramp-up melee class. You’re constantly summoning, sacrificing, and amplifying your minions while rotting enemies down over time. It’s fast, thematic, and incredibly fun.

Unholy DK remains tanky and durable, still brings Anti-Magic Zone to raids, and shines across raids, Mythic+, and PvP. Regardless of future tuning, the gameplay itself is a massive win. This is one of the strongest main-worthy specs in Midnight, no question.

Winner DPS 3: Affliction Warlock

Affliction Warlock has finally returned to what it was always meant to be: a true damage-over-time spec.

Malefic Rapture windows are gone. Instead, Affliction now focuses on amplifying classic DoTs, with Soul Shards spent on Unstable Affliction and Seed of Corruption. The result is smoother, more thematic gameplay that rewards proper DoT management rather than awkward burst setups.

The rotation revolves around spreading Agony, instantly applying Wither through Seed of Corruption, applying Haunt to priority targets, and channeling the new Dark Harvest ability while everything melts around you.

This spec perfectly embodies Affliction’s identity: a slow ramp that spirals out of control until enemies simply rot away. It’s especially strong and enjoyable in Mythic+ and PvP, where micromanaging DoTs feels rewarding rather than clunky.

Hero Talent trees remain mostly unchanged—but that’s fine, because Warlock Hero Talents are already excellent. The Apex Talent, Shadow of the Nathreza, summons a demonic soul on your Haunt target, massively boosts Haunt damage, and can even rain meteors from the sky.

If you’re looking for a fresh yet familiar playstyle, Affliction Warlock is absolutely worth maining in Midnight.

Winner DPS 4: Devastation Evoker

Devastation Evoker didn’t receive a massive overhaul—and that’s exactly why it works.

The core design was already solid, so Blizzard focused on smart refinements and Hero Talent improvements. Consume Flame has been baked passively into Flame Shaper, Fire Breath now has two charges, and overall flow feels smoother.

Scale Commander steals the spotlight. The addition of Strafing Run as a capstone talent allows you to cast Deep Breath back-to-back, dramatically increasing damage frequency. Since Deep Breath is one of the most fun abilities in the game—especially because it’s aimed—this feels fantastic.

The new Azure Sweep replaces Azure Strike, delivering strong AoE damage after Eternity Surge. During Dragonrage, it even grants Essence Burst procs, adding more synergy to the rotation.

From visuals to sound effects to gameplay flow, Devastation Evoker feels polished and satisfying. Anyone picking this spec up for Midnight will be very happy with it.

Winner DPS 5: Elemental Shaman

Elemental Shaman is a textbook example of how to prune a spec correctly without destroying its identity.

The talent tree has been significantly reworked, making it easier to distinguish between Fire-focused and Lightning-focused builds. Fire Shaman, in particular, looks extremely strong in Mythic+ thanks to Purging Flames, which turns Voltaic Blaze into a rapid-fire AoE Lava Burst machine.

Both Hero Talent trees are highly viable, and Elemental continues to deliver some of the best visual and sound effects in the entire game. Chain Lightning procs, Elemental Mastery interactions, and Maelstrom flooding lead to massive Earthquake spam in AoE situations—something only Elemental Shaman can truly deliver.

Add in incredible utility, a short cooldown interrupt, strong crowd control, knockups, and a raid buff, and you have a spec that checks nearly every box. Elemental Shaman is absolutely main-worthy going into Midnight.

Winner Healer 1: Holy Paladin

Holy Paladin is one of the biggest surprises of the expansion.

After struggling throughout The War Within, Blizzard dramatically reworked the talent tree from top to bottom. Light of Dawn now heals all allies within a 40-yard radius, while Judgment and Holy Shock feel impactful again.

The Apex Talent grants a third Beacon, enabling massive splash healing through Eternal Flame and Holy Prism. The spec feels incredibly responsive—health bars jump instantly when you cast, which is deeply satisfying.

Holy Paladin now boasts the largest single-target heal in the game with Holy Light and feels fluid, powerful, and rewarding. This spec is absolutely main-worthy heading into Midnight.

Winner Healer 2: Restoration Druid

Restoration Druid received relatively few changes, but its raw healing output is among the best in the entire game.

With stronger HoTs and less reliance on long ramp times, the spec feels smoother than ever. Lifebloom is incredibly strong on tanks, boosted further by the Apex Talent, and now drops Efflorescence automatically for additional cleave healing.

Damage patterns are easy to handle: apply Rejuvenation, Lifebloom the tank, cast Wild Growth, and incoming damage simply disappears. While nerfs may be inevitable, Restoration Druid is currently extremely powerful, fun, and fully main-worthy.

Winner Tank 1: Protection Paladin

Protection Paladin has made an incredible comeback.

Early beta changes looked grim, but Blizzard massively buffed the spec’s passive damage mitigation, and it’s now in a fantastic place. The core rotation remains familiar—building and spending Holy Power, managing cooldowns, and using Word of Glory for self and off-healing.

What truly sets Prot Paladin apart is utility: Blessing of Sacrifice, Lay on Hands, Blessing of Protection, powerful off-heals, and crowd control. A skilled Protection Paladin can practically carry an entire group, and right now, the spec feels perfectly tuned.

Winner Tank 2: Vengeance Demon Hunter

Vengeance Demon Hunter continues its reign as the best DPS tank in the game.

The Apex Talent, Untethered Rage, provides frequent free Metamorphosis procs, making the spec feel constantly powerful. The rotation remains familiar, with minor refinements to Spirit Bomb and Fiery Brand.

Between insane mobility, effortless kiting, massive self-healing, and absurd survivability, Vengeance DH remains a top-tier choice. Across all three Demon Hunter specs, the class looks phenomenal going into Midnight.

Loser DPS 1: Subtlety Rogue

The following specs are not “unplayable.” However, their design changes—or lack thereof—fail to inspire excitement, often stripping away identity or depth. Subtlety Rogue has been over-simplified to the point of losing its identity. Key mechanics and talents—Symbols of Death, Flagellation, Rupture interactions, and Danse Macabre—are all gone. What remains is a shallow rotation of Shadow Strike or Shuriken Storm into finishers, with minimal setup or decision-making.

The spec no longer rewards mastery or execution, and for many longtime Sub players, it’s simply not fun anymore.

Loser DPS 2: Fire Mage

Fire Mage suffers from extreme pruning with nothing meaningful added in return. Phoenix Flames, Sun King’s Blessing, Hypothermia, and more are gone. While Combustion still feels great, gameplay outside those windows is painfully dull. Recent Scorch changes help slightly, but not enough.

Fire Mage desperately needs new abilities or the return of old ones to feel exciting again.

Loser DPS 3: Augmentation Evoker

Augmentation remains fundamentally flawed.

As the only support spec in WoW, it lacks meaningful comparison points and feels uninteractive. No gameplay changes were made going into Midnight, which feels like a major missed opportunity.

Without a clear role or engaging mechanics, Augmentation is likely to remain the least played spec in the game.

Loser Healer: Holy Priest

Holy Priest was pruned harder than any other healer. Divine Star, Lightwell, Renew as an active ability, and Premonition are all gone. While the new Ultimate Serenity talent turns Serenity into a powerful centerpiece, the spec feels visually and thematically stripped down. Despite being effective, it lacks depth and identity compared to other healers.

Loser Tank: Blood Death Knight

Blood DK’s changes have made the rotation feel flat and anxiety-inducing.

Dancing Rune Weapon becoming a flat cooldown and the removal of Rune Tap hurt the spec’s moment-to-moment gameplay. The infamous HP problem remains unresolved, leading to constant near-death experiences. Blood DK needs more passive mitigation and less reliance on Death Strike to feel comfortable again.

Final Thoughts

Midnight brings some incredible class redesigns—but also some disappointing missteps. If you’re looking for specs that feel fun, thematic, and rewarding, the winners above are excellent choices. If depth, identity, and engaging gameplay matter to you, some of the losers may be worth skipping—at least until further changes arrive. Choose wisely, and good luck heading into Midnight.