A level-60 character the only tank in a dungeon group, in five-player dungeons in general, played with a level-60 character's full kit: the talents, abilities, ranks and gear it has at the cap. The list is not tied to one dungeon (owner's ruling, 19 Oct 2026, for every dungeon list). The dungeons run at the cap are the sample of what dungeons ask: Blackrock Depths, Lower and Upper Blackrock Spire, Dire 
Maul, Stratholme, Scholomance and any level-60 dungeon Blizzard adds. They are mostly trash packs of three to six pulled one after another, casters and runners, short boss fights, one tank, one healer and three damage dealers, one of each buff at most.
The subjects are the 4 specs that tank : Feral (Bear) 
Druid, Protection 
Paladin and Protection 
Warrior, whose trees are built to tank, and 
Enhancement 
Shaman, which Blizzard calls a "temporary tank in small group gameplay" (7 Oct deep dive) and which has no taunt. Enhancement is rated as a tank on the same anchors as the others, with no allowance for being a hybrid. With four subjects, two tanks in the same tier is a normal result.
This is a forecast. The beta stops at level 30, so nobody has played any spec at 60 in a group. The ratings come from the client's level-60 spell ranks and talent trees, the class guides' projected builds, and what Blizzard has announced.
Dungeons are rated in general, on a level-60 character's full kit, not one dungeon: the sample is Blackrock Depths, both Blackrock Spires, Dire Maul, Stratholme and Scholomance, whose undead, demons, elementals, beasts and humanoids decide which crowd control works, and whose curses, poisons, diseases and magic decide which dispels matter.
Every score is a whole number from 1 to 5 against written anchors, and the tier comes from the weighted score alone: no spec is placed by hand. Two scorers rated every spec without seeing each other's work; where they differed, the score the facts supported better was kept, never an average, and a final pass checked that specs with the same tools got the same scores.
No spec reaches S. The highest score is Protection Paladin at 3.60, short of the 4.25 S needs: nothing yet measures play at 60, so no spec could be called clearly the best on the heaviest criteria. A spec that proves stronger at 60 than its kit suggests would move up in a later version.
Enhancement Shaman is on both lists although Forever ships no Shaman tank spec and Blizzard has said Shaman tanking is "not quite yet": players ask about it, so it is rated on the same rubric as the others, with no allowance for being a hybrid.
This is the first tank list; the raid list ranks the same four against its own rubric.
The formula is open to change: a different weight or threshold makes a new version of the list, with every spec that moves saying why.
The rubric: each criterion scored 1 to 5| Criterion | Weight | What it measures |
|---|
| Pack threat | 30 | Holds four or five on itself from the first second, against three damage dealers using AoE, with threat that keeps growing on every mob: the most Blizzard designs a pack for: 5. Holds three; a fourth mob or early AoE loses one that needs a taunt or crowd control: 3. Holds one or two; packs need crowd control or the damage dealers to wait: 1. |
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| Mitigation and smoothness | 20 | Takes little damage and in a steady stream (armour, avoidance, block, absorbs, self-healing), so one healer's mana lasts the pull: 5. Takes average damage, with spikes a healer must watch: 3. Takes heavy or spiky damage; a lone healer runs dry or the tank dies to a bad streak: 1. |
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| Pulling and control | 15 | Several taunts or a ranged pull, interrupts or silences for casters, and ways to gather runners and casters to it: 5. One taunt and one way to handle casters: 3. No taunt, or no way to bring casters and runners to it: 1. |
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| Pace | 15 | Starts every pull with its resource ready and chains pulls without waiting; nothing to drink or build between packs: 5. Needs a moment, or a drink every few pulls, to be ready: 3. Must stop after most pulls (mana, or no rage to open with): 1. |
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| Single-target threat | 10 | Holds a boss against damage dealers going all out from the first second: 5. Holds a boss if the damage dealers wait a few seconds: 3. Loses a boss to a damage dealer without help: 1. |
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| What it brings the party | 10 | A party buff or debuff the run plans around, a dispel, crowd control or a combat resurrection, and useful damage: 5. One of those: 3. Nothing beyond tanking: 1. |
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An entry’s tier comes from its weighted score:
4.25 or more is S, 3.75 or more is A, 3.25 or more is B, 2.75 or more is C, 2.25 or more is D, and anything lower is F.
A tier set by hand instead says why in its write-up. Within a tier, the best score comes first.
- Talents: the spec's recommended level-60 tanking build from our class guide, or the nearest the guide has; for Enhancement Shaman, its tank build (
Rockbiter Weapon, a shield, 
Spirit Weapons). - Gear: pre-raid: dungeon blues, crafted and reputation items, chosen for tanking. No raid gear, no world buffs.
- Consumables: the ordinary ones a group player brings: potions, elixirs, food, oils and stones.
- Group: a balanced party: one tank, one healer, three damage dealers who use their AoE on packs, the buffs one of each class gives.
- The game rules of the stated build. A patch that changes them makes a new version.
Rated from the client data and our research, before anyone has played it at this level on this build. Where the data stops, the write-up says what it assumed.
Choose a spec on the chart to see why it sits where it does.
The best pack tank of the four, with 
Consecration and absorbs, but mana and a single 
Judgement taunt keep it out of A.
Scores for Protection Paladin| Criterion | Weight | Score |
|---|
| Pack threat | 30 | ●●●●○ 4 |
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| Mitigation and smoothness | 20 | ●●●●○ 4 |
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| Pulling and control | 15 | ●●●○○ 3 |
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| Pace | 15 | ●●●○○ 3 |
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| Single-target threat | 10 | ●●●○○ 3 |
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| What it brings the party | 10 | ●●●●○ 4 |
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Weighted score 3.60, which is B tier.
Consecration hits the first 4 enemies at full damage, and 
Righteous Fury has been 90% Holy threat again since 15 Oct, so a Paladin holds a pack from the start better than any other tank here. Blizzard capped Consecration at four on purpose, to match 
Thunder Clap, so a fifth mob still needs crowd control.
Its mitigation is block and absorbs. 
Holy Shield adds 30% block, 
Seal of Fury adds an absorb on each swing, and 
Templar's Bulwark absorbs 100% of maximum health for 8 s. It pays in mana: Consecration costs 565, and the returns from blocks only partly cover it, so expect to drink every few pulls. The only taunt is Judgement under Seal of Fury, 4 s at 10 yards, with 
Swift Judgement giving a second once a minute.
It is not A because its pace, boss threat and control are only average: mana between pulls, threat that scales with spell power after the 15 Oct cut to Consecration, and no interrupt or slow for casters and runners. It ties with Protection Warrior at 3.60, 0.15 short of A.
Weaknesses
- Mana between pulls
- One taunt, tied to Judgement
- No interrupt or slow
- Consecration's spell-power scaling cut on 15 Oct
What would move it: How much mana a level-60 Paladin spends per pull, and whether spell-power gear restores the threat the 15 Oct Consecration cut took away.
Rated on assumptions:
- Nobody has played past the beta cap of 30, so level-60 tanking is projected from the client's spell ranks, talents and Blizzard's notes.
Read the Protection Paladin guide · Back to the chart
The steadiest boss tank with the best cooldowns, held back in dungeons by rage and a 4-target Thunder Clap on packs.
Scores for Protection Warrior| Criterion | Weight | Score |
|---|
| Pack threat | 30 | ●●●○○ 3 |
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| Mitigation and smoothness | 20 | ●●●●○ 4 |
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| Pulling and control | 15 | ●●●●○ 4 |
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| Pace | 15 | ●●●●○ 4 |
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| Single-target threat | 10 | ●●●●○ 4 |
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| What it brings the party | 10 | ●●●○○ 3 |
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Weighted score 3.60, which is B tier.
A Warrior tanks one mob very well. 
Shield Slam, 
Revenge, 
Sunder Armor and 
Defensive Stance's +30% threat hold a boss, and 
Taunt on an 8 s cooldown, 
Mocking Blow and 
Challenging Shout cover a mob that gets loose. 
Charge and 
Bloodrage open a pull with about 25 rage, and there is never anything to drink.
Packs are the weak spot. Thunder Clap hits 4 targets on a 6 s cooldown and works in Defensive Stance, but Blizzard cut its threat, and 
Cleave reaches only two. Rage spent on the first mobs leaves little for the rest, so a big pack needs crowd control. Plate, a shield, parry, 
Shield Block and 
Shield Wall make damage taken steady.
It is not A because its pack threat is middling and it brings the party only 
Battle Shout and its debuffs: no dispel, crowd control or combat resurrection. It ties with Protection Paladin at 3.60, 0.15 short of A.
What would move it: A measured pack pull at 60 after the 8 Oct rage fix: if Thunder Clap holds four comfortably, pack threat would rise.
Rated on assumptions:
- Nobody has played past the beta cap of 30, so level-60 tanking is projected from the client's spell ranks, talents and Blizzard's notes.
Read the Protection Warrior guide · Back to the chart
A fair kit everywhere and a strong one nowhere: 
Swipe reaches three, no block or parry, and pulls start at zero rage.
Scores for 
Feral Bear Druid| Criterion | Weight | Score |
|---|
| Pack threat | 30 | ●●●○○ 3 |
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| Mitigation and smoothness | 20 | ●●●○○ 3 |
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| Pulling and control | 15 | ●●●○○ 3 |
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| Pace | 15 | ●●●○○ 3 |
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| Single-target threat | 10 | ●●●○○ 3 |
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| What it brings the party | 10 | ●●●●○ 4 |
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Weighted score 3.10, which is C tier.
Bear threat rose to +50% on 8 Oct, and 
Primal Bite's threat doubled on 1 Oct. Swipe hits 3 targets, and 
Berserk makes Primal Bite hit 3 with no cooldown for 15 s on a 3 minute cooldown. 
Growl on an 8 s cooldown and 
Challenging Roar handle loose mobs, but there is no ranged pull, silence or snare for casters.
A bear's armour and health absorb hits, but it has no block or parry, so damage comes in spikes, and its emergency tools are Frenzied Regeneration and 
Barkskin. It opens a pull on Enrage, since the extra rage from 
Furor is unverified. Out of form it brings 
Faerie Fire, 
Demoralizing Roar, 
Leader of the Pack, cures and Rebirth.
It is not B because it scores an average 3 on every tanking criterion and leads on none. 3.10 is 0.15 short of B. Nobody has measured the bear's threat since the 8 Oct changes.
Weaknesses
- Swipe reaches only 3
- No block or parry
- Starts a pull with no rage
- No ranged pull, silence or snare
What would move it: A measured pack pull with the 8 Oct threat changes, or confirmation that Furor gives rage on entering Bear Form.
Rated on assumptions:
- Nobody has played past the beta cap of 30, so level-60 tanking is projected from the client's spell ranks, talents and Blizzard's notes.
Read the Feral Bear Druid guide · Back to the chart
Forever ships no Shaman tank: with no taunt, no defensive cooldowns and mana as its only resource, Enhancement can off-tank at most.
Scores for Enhancement Shaman| Criterion | Weight | Score |
|---|
| Pack threat | 30 | ●●○○○ 2 |
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| Mitigation and smoothness | 20 | ●●○○○ 2 |
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| Pulling and control | 15 | ●●○○○ 2 |
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| Pace | 15 | ●●○○○ 2 |
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| Single-target threat | 10 | ●●○○○ 2 |
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| What it brings the party | 10 | ●●●●○ 4 |
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Weighted score 2.20, which is F tier.
A Shaman has no taunt. Stoneclaw Totem makes mobs within 8 yards attack the totem for 15 s, and that is its only way to pull a mob back. Its threat comes from Rockbiter Weapon and Spirit Weapons' +30%, with 
Earth Shock as an interrupt that adds high threat, so it can hold one or two mobs.
It has mail and a shield, Anticipation's dodge and a parry chance from Spirit Weapons, but no block value, no absorb, no self-heal in combat and no defensive cooldown. Every pull costs mana. Blizzard's Josh Greenfield said Shaman tanks are "not quite yet, but never say never".
It is not D because it scores 2 on every tanking criterion, and only its totems lift it. 2.20 is 0.05 short of D.
Weaknesses
- No taunt
- No defensive cooldown
- Mana only, no self-heal while tanking
- Holds one or two mobs
What would move it: A Shaman tank talent tree or a taunt, which Blizzard has not ruled out.
Rated on assumptions:
- Nobody has played past the beta cap of 30, so level-60 tanking is projected from the client's spell ranks, talents and Blizzard's notes.
Read the Enhancement Shaman guide · Back to the chart
Protection Paladin B tier
Cleanse
Last Stand
Shield Bash