Content:
Which DPS Should You Play in Midnight Season 2?
Rechecked on 12 October 2026, one day before patch 12.1.5 reaches US realms. Sources: Icy Veins’ Mythic+ list (6 October), Method (5 October) and wow.gg’s week 8 logs (10 October).
The answer depends on what you want from the spec. Elemental Shaman and Arms Warrior are the only two DPS specs at the top of both Icy Veins’ and Method’s Mythic+ lists. Beast Mastery Hunter is the easiest to play through movement. Demonology Warlock has the highest Mythic+ damage on wow.gg. Windwalker Monk is the hardest. This page originally recommended Elemental Shaman, Unholy Death Knight, Frost Mage, Fury Warrior and Shadow Priest; the next section shows how those five stand now.
| If you want | Play | Why (source) |
|---|---|---|
| The best Mythic+ spec by the grading lists | Elemental Shaman, Arms Warrior | S+ on Icy Veins and S on Method for both |
| The highest Mythic+ damage | Demonology Warlock | 393K average DPS, first on wow.gg |
| The highest Heroic raid damage | Marksmanship Hunter | 295K average DPS, first on wow.gg |
| A simple rotation | Elemental Shaman, Fury Warrior | Icy Veins: Elemental is very simple; Fury is relatively simple |
| To move without losing damage | Beast Mastery Hunter | Icy Veins says no other ranged spec keeps its whole rotation going on the move |
| Big burst windows | Arcane Mage | Icy Veins: very burst-oriented, “very strong” |
| A challenge | Windwalker Monk | Likely the hardest DPS spec to play well (Icy Veins) |
Full 27-spec table: Midnight DPS tier list. By role (melee, ranged, solo, group): Midnight Best DPS.
What Happened to the Five Earlier Picks
| Spec | Icy Veins M+ | Method M+ | wow.gg M+ rank (avg DPS) | Icy Veins raid | Verdict, October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elemental Shaman | S+ | S | 5th (373K) | A | Still a top pick |
| Unholy Death Knight | A | A | 2nd (375K) | S | Strong by numbers, one tier below the top on grading lists |
| Fury Warrior | A | B | 18th (318K) | C | Solid in Mythic+, weak in raid |
| Shadow Priest | B | B | 19th (318K) | A+ | Mid-table, better in raid than in Mythic+ |
| Frost Mage | B | B | 26th (282K) | A | Comfortable, but near the bottom for damage |
Sources: Icy Veins Mythic+ DPS, Method Mythic+, wow.gg (week 8; average damage of the top 100 players by Mythic+ rating), Icy Veins raid list (24 September). The gap of one tier is small; the gap from first to last on wow.gg is about 136K (393K to 257K).
“Fun” is personal and no source measures it, so the profiles below stick to what can be checked: damage, rotation and mobility notes from the spec guides, and tuning status.
Elemental Shaman
Elemental is S+ on Icy Veins, S on Method and fifth by Mythic+ damage on wow.gg. Icy Veins’ spec guide (2 October) rates the rotation as very simple and the mobility as middling. Its weak spot is the middle of the target range: two and three targets are where it falls behind, and the 12.1 nerfs to burst left its damage flatter than most specs. The same patch shifted damage away from overload procs and onto the spells themselves, with large increases to Lava Burst, Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning and Flame Shock.
Suits you if you want a simple rotation and a top Mythic+ spec. Raid: weaker, A tier on Icy Veins and 14th in wow.gg’s Heroic logs.
Arms Warrior
Arms is S+ on Icy Veins, S on Method, ninth by Mythic+ damage and fourth in Heroic raid on wow.gg (292K). Icy Veins calls it very straightforward: short Colossus Smash windows, a choice of builds for one target, two targets or heavy AoE, and a brief physical-damage immunity. On 1 September the same source named Arms the highest-damage melee spec. The costs are low burst on large pulls, modest self-healing and the need to stay in melee range.
Suits you if you want one spec that is strong in both Mythic+ and raid. It is the most consistent pick across sources.
Arcane Mage
Arcane is S+ on Icy Veins, A on Method, fourth by Mythic+ damage and third in Heroic raid (292K). Icy Veins calls it a very burst-oriented spec: very high burst during cooldowns, then a lower phase while they come back, plus a mana pool you have to manage with Evocation and Arcane Surge. Single-target damage rises with extra targets nearby, and some AoE comes free from the single-target rotation. It cannot hit targets that are far apart, and its AoE depends on procs, which hurts on packs that die quickly.
Suits you if you like planning burst windows and managing a resource.
Demonology Warlock
Demonology is A+ on Icy Veins, B on Method and first by Mythic+ damage on wow.gg (393K), second in Heroic raid. Icy Veins credited recent buffs for it becoming the highest-damage Mythic+ spec on 1 September, and noted the AoE gain may have been unintended. Its spec guide describes strong single target and AoE, a noticeable ramp-up, no spread cleave and little funneling or target swapping, with an Apex talent that adds power and volatility. It performs best when movement is stable.
Suits you if you want the highest damage and accept that the grading lists rate it lower. Like all Warlocks it brings Demonic Gateway.
Unholy Death Knight
Unholy is second by Mythic+ damage on wow.gg (375K) and S on the Icy Veins raid list, but A on both Mythic+ lists. Icy Veins describes big burst windows every 1.5 minutes with smaller bursts every 45 seconds, good damage from range, a strong execute when Bloodlust lines up with a boss below 35% health, and awkward target swapping because pets need to move and plagues need to be reapplied. It also calls Unholy one of the tankiest classes in the game.
Suits you if you like pets and damage over time and want a spec that survives mistakes.
Beast Mastery Hunter
Beast Mastery is A+ on Icy Veins (C in the Icy Veins raid list), A on Method and eighth by Mythic+ damage on wow.gg (362K). Icy Veins (30 September) calls it highly mobile, since no other ranged spec can play its whole rotation while walking, so dodging mechanics costs it little. It is relatively easy to pick up. Its damage is described as a solid baseline: good single-target and mass AoE, poor cleave, and a lack of burst that holds it back in raid but works out in Mythic+.
Suits you if you want simple, mobile ranged damage and mostly play Mythic+.
Fury Warrior
Fury is A on Icy Veins, B on Method and 18th by Mythic+ damage, but only C on Icy Veins’ raid list and 25th in Heroic raid logs. Icy Veins describes a very active, GCD-locked spec with a fast, straightforward rotation around Rage and Rampage to keep Enrage up. It has high mobility, moderate self-healing and one of the few raid-wide defensive cooldowns, but melee range limits it and it has no immunity or cheat death. It rewards constant uptime and takes time to ramp damage, so it suffers in short encounters.
Suits you if you want a fast, hands-on melee spec for Mythic+.
Shadow Priest
Shadow is B on both Mythic+ lists and 19th by Mythic+ damage, but A+ on Icy Veins’ raid list. Icy Veins describes a builder-spender spec with damage over time and AoE, and two Hero Talents that change how it plays: Archon gives sustained damage through Voidform and Halo, and Voidweaver gives burst damage by building Entropic Rift with Void Blast casts. Both are described as strong in their own right. The 1 September Icy Veins article called its single-target damage weak.
Suits you if you want a ranged spec with two distinct playstyles, and you raid more than you push keys.
Frost Mage
Frost is B on both lists and 26th by damage. Icy Veins (15 August) describes a solid spec with no niche: consistent pull-to-pull throughput that does not depend on cooldowns, little single-target loss when you take AoE talents, and a good spec to enter encounters blind. Its snares and roots make it strong for leveling and world content.
Suits you if you value consistency and control over top Mythic+ numbers.
Windwalker Monk
Windwalker is S on Icy Veins, A on Method and sixth by Mythic+ damage. It started Season 2 weak and climbed back, a rebound Icy Veins ties to the 4-piece set bonus. That source also rates it probably the most demanding DPS spec to play well, with the Conduit of the Celestials build at the hard end.
Suits you if you want the highest execution ceiling and do not mind being squishy.
How Close Is the Gap Between Specs?
Not very close in raw numbers, but the grading lists and the damage logs disagree. On wow.gg’s Mythic+ data the top five specs (Demonology, Unholy, Assassination, Arcane, Elemental) are within about 20K of each other (393K to 373K), and the next eleven (6th to 16th) are within about 40K of each other (368K to 330K). The lowest two, Frost Mage and Augmentation Evoker, are below 285K. For groups, specs in the top two tiers on both Icy Veins and Method are the ones that people actually invite. For solo play or fun, any spec in the A tier is fine, and tier lists do not measure solo play at all.
If you are new, our guide to the best class for beginners goes through the classes.
Patch 12.1.5 DPS Changes
Blizzard’s notes for the 12.1.5 update, due on US realms on 13 October and EU realms a day later, include these DPS changes (12.1.5 content update notes): Devourer Demon Hunter gets several numeric buffs and nerfs, Marksmanship Hunter loses Unload and gains the Blood Fletching talent, Outlaw Rogue’s Blade Flurry Energy cost now rises by 5 per extra target (max 30) instead of a flat 30, and Subtlety Rogue’s Shadow damage modifiers are reworked. None of the specs above except Marksmanship and Outlaw is affected. We will re-check this page after the patch.
FAQ
What is the best DPS to play in Midnight?
Elemental Shaman and Arms Warrior: they are the only two DPS specs that both Icy Veins and Method place in their highest Mythic+ tier. For raw Mythic+ damage on wow.gg, Demonology Warlock is first.
What is the easiest DPS in Midnight?
Beast Mastery Hunter is the easiest to play through movement. Icy Veins also calls Elemental Shaman’s rotation very simple and Fury Warrior’s relatively simple.
What is the hardest DPS in Midnight?
Windwalker Monk, according to Icy Veins.
Is Frost Mage still good in Midnight?
It is B tier on Icy Veins and Method and 26th of 27 by damage on wow.gg. It is consistent but not strong.
Do tier lists matter for solo play?
No. They measure Mythic+ and raid. For leveling a new character first, see our WoW leveling service.