6. Brewmaster Monk
Best Tank Class in WoW: Battle for Azeroth
Now that it has been out for some time, you may be wondering what the best tank class in World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth is. While tanking as a whole has seen changes due to reworking the threat generation system within the game, this has allowed some tank classes to become more and less viable. While there is no definitive better or worse tank in WoW, here is our best estimate of which tank will perform best in the current patch.
Brewmaster Monks are highly mobile tanks. They are unique in that they do not mitigate damage through conventional means. While other classes rely on blocks or parries, they stagger incoming damage to hit them over 10 seconds instead of having it all hit instantly. This makes them potentially the best tank at taking hard hitting attacks. This is further mitigated by activating Purifying Brew which negates 50 percent of staggered damage. As a Monk, they also supply Mystic Touch which will increase physical damage to their target by 5 percent.
Brewmaster Monks are not incredible at sustaining themselves and will require a decent healer to be as effective as possible.
Mitigation / Self Sustain Score: 3.5/5
Utility Score: 3/5
Survivability Score: 3.5/5
Total Score: 10
5. Vengeance Demon Hunter
Best Tank Class in WoW: Battle for Azeroth
Vengeance Demon Hunters are strong tanks that make use of both self-sustaining healing and active damage mitigation. They have the highest mobility of any tank class currently in the game. They also provide exceptional burst damage through AoEs and cleave attacks, though their single target damage is also quite high.
While Vengeance Demon Hunters provide some level of utility and functionality, this is mostly effective in dungeons and will not have much of an effect in raid groups. They also lack a lot in the way of cooldowns that will benefit most encounters.
Mitigation / Self Sustain Score: 4/5
Utility Score: 2.5/5
Survivability Score: 4/5
Total Score: 10.5
4. Protection Warrior
Best Tank Class in WoW: Battle for Azeroth
Protection Warriors are very mobile tanks that can put up with a high level of physical damage. They provide a high level of utility through great crowd control effects as well as raid buffs. They are able to take a lot of damage through their use of block to mitigate incoming damage. They are built around keeping themselves alive through this mitigation, but they are also easy and predictable to heal.
Overall, Protections Warriors don’t excel in any particular aspect compared to other tank classes. Being a purely mitigation tank, they do not feature self-healing abilities.
Mitigation / Self Sustain Score: 3.5/5
Utility Score: 3.5/5
Survivability Score: 3.5/5
Total Score: 10.5
3. Blood Death Knight
Best Tank Class in WoW: Battle for Azeroth
Blood Death Knights are tanks that rely on self-sustaining heals and some limited mitigation abilities. In Battle for Azeroth they have maintained their position as a sought after tank, partially due to their ability Gorefiend’s Grasp that pulls all enemies within a 15 yard radius towards them. On top of this, they also feature two separate taunt cooldowns. While these are useful, they do not quite stack up against some of the stronger utility abilities across all classes.
Blood Death Knights, much like their DPS specs, have limited mobility lowering their survivability overall. While they feature damage mitigation abilities, these are not nearly as strong as their self-healing and can lead to spikes in health if not integrated properly.
Mitigation / Self Sustain Score: 4/5
Utility Score: 3/5
Survivability Score: 3.5/5
Total Score: 10.5
2. Guardian Druid
Best Tank Class in WoW: Battle for Azeroth
Guardian Druids are exceptional tanks in many aspects. While their armor rating is lower than plate wearers, they feature stackable damage mitigation through their ability Ironfur. They feature many utility uses, such as the ability to switch to Cat and Caster forms to provide additional DPS as well as heals and dispels. This makes them highly flexible. They are also relatively easy to pick up and play.
While Guardian Druids feature strong utility features, this comes as a tradeoff to their survivability which is adversely affected by their use. On top of this, they require near constant healing. This makes them less effective when found in a situation where a healer’s attention must be directed elsewhere.
Mitigation / Self Sustain Score: 4/5
Utility Score: 4/5
Survivability Score: 3/5
Total Score: 11
1. Protection Paladin
Best Tank Class in WoW: Battle for Azeroth
Protection Paladins are incredibly well-rounded tanks. They feature strong damage mitigation, as well as excellent self-heals. Their shield block absorbs high amounts of damage. They feature utility abilities that can be used to mitigate damage that would otherwise fall on other party members as well as clearing debuffs. Their Lay on Hands cooldown can also be used as a saving throw for themselves or others in their party.
Due to the overall nerfs to threat generations, Protection Paladins may see their slightly lower mobility cause trouble when facing widespread groups of enemies within an encounter. They must take a more active approach to threat generation in order to maximize their effectiveness.
Mitigation / Self Sustain Score: 5/5
Utility Score: 4/5
Survivability Score: 4/5
Total Score: 13
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