Best melee damage dealer for PvE and PvP

Ranked by the average of our PvE and PvP tiers for each class's best melee damage spec, then by our overall score. PvE desirability (0–5): spec performance, role scarcity, raid utility, and supply — fewer players of a class means more groups want you. PvP (0–5): community PvP tiers plus CC, escapes and self-healing. Equal weight. These are our own scores from those inputs, not a published ranking.

No melee damage spec: Priest, Mage, Warlock.

1. 1

   Warrior Arms

   Our tier A / S

   Our picks: PvE Fury · PvP Arms · Leveling Arms

   Alliance race: DwarfHorde race: Orc

   Mortal Strike (−50% healing) is still the battleground debuff; Bloodthrill got doubled on 24 Sep; Weaponmaster removes the weapon-respec problem.

   Recommendation
   • Sim: 741 DPS Sourced: Sim · 11 Oct run
   • 12.2% of beta characters play a Warrior Sourced: Beta census · 11 Oct
2. 2

   Shaman Enhancement

   Our tier A / A

   Our picks: PvE Restoration · PvP Enhancement · Leveling Enhancement

   Alliance race: DwarfHorde race: Orc

   Windfury burst, Stormstrike, Flurry (requires Mental Dexterity 3/3), Maelstrom Weapon instant heals, Rage of the Farseer (requires Mental Quickness 2/2) as a personal Bloodlust — attack speed only since 24 Sep.

   Recommendation
   • Sim: 713 DPS Sourced: Sim · 11 Oct run
   • 11% of beta characters play a Shaman Sourced: Beta census · 11 Oct
3. 3

   Druid Feral Combat

   Our tier A / A

   Our picks: PvE Feral Combat · PvP Restoration · Leveling Feral Combat

   Alliance race: Night ElfHorde race: Tauren

   PvE: Feral: Bear tank or Cat DPS from one tree; MotW, Innervate, battle res, Leader of the Pack.

   One tree, two roles: the 44/0/7 hybrid below tanks (Natural Reaction, Thick Hide, Heart of the Wild) and cats (Primal Bite, Rend and Tear, Shifting Power, Berserk). Bear fell to last of the tanks on the 3 Oct sim after the Warrior and Paladin buffs; on the 11 Oct run it is second of the three (496, on an older engine snapshot), ahead of Prot Warrior (479). Bear Rage-on-crit got its own buff.

   Recommendation
   • Sim: 715 DPS, 496 DPS as a tank (older snapshot: engine fa25ac5, 11 Oct) Sourced: Sim · 11 Oct run
   • 11.3% of beta characters play a Druid Sourced: Beta census · 11 Oct

4. Paladin Retribution Our tier A / AOpen-world PvP tools: Seal of Command burst, Repentance CC, Hammer of Justice, bubble.
5. Rogue Combat Our tier S / BRaid spec: Hack and Slash, Blade Flurry, Adrenaline Rush, Weapon Expertise (requires Blade Flurry).
6. Hunter Survival Our tier S / BForever's new identity: Lacerating Strikes capstone (requires Expose Prey), Strider Kick, Predator's Edge.