Azeroth Survivors Tier List and Builds: All 9 Classes Ranked From the Game’s Own Numbers (2026)

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Azeroth Survivors is a free, fan-made World of Warcraft survivors roguelike by Aethus. This page ranks its nine classes using the numbers in the project's own source — the same tables the game runs on — and says plainly what that ranking can and cannot tell you. We are not affiliated with Aethus or Blizzard Entertainment, and the game is not hosted here. For installation, WebGPU requirements and controls, read the main Azeroth Survivors guide first.

How this tier list was built (and what it is not)

Two facts decide how much weight to give any Azeroth Survivors tier list:

1. A run's power is your cards, not your class. Every level-up deals you cards, and the cards you accept stack on each other. The class sets your starting spell and the pool the cards are drawn from. (level-up picker source)
2. Nobody has win-rate data. The game has no server and no telemetry; it runs entirely locally. So a "win rate" tier list would be invented. (mode overview)

What does exist is the damage table. Each class owns 6–11 spells with an explicit damage, cooldown, count (targets) and radius in data.rs. The game itself derives a rough "damage per second at rank 1 against a crowd" from those fields to decide how good a new-spell card looks — that function is power() in cards.rs, and it is written as per-cast damage × how many enemies it can reach ÷ cooldown.

This page applies that same formula to every spell of every class and adds up each class's three best spells. That is the rank-1 damage index below. It is a mechanical measure of "how much of the screen can this class delete at level 1", not a verdict on your run.

Caveats you should apply when reading it:

• Utility spells score zero. power() returns nothing for shields, heals, thorns, immunity and totems — so Paladin, Priest, Druid and Shaman are all understated. Shaman's two damage totems (searing_totem 9 damage, magma_totem 8 in a 7-yard radius, both 14 s) never enter the index at all.
• Range and positioning are ignored. A 24-yard bolt that never misses and a 7-yard nova are not the same thing in a crowd, but the formula counts reach, not risk.
• Rank-ups are linear for every class, so the ordering does not change much later — what changes is which class has the cards to keep scaling. Damage rises 30% per rank, cooldown drops to 0.93× per rank, radius grows 8% and duration 10% per rank; count-based spells gain an extra target at ranks 3, 5 and 7. (ability scaling)

The tier list: all 9 classes by rank-1 damage index

| Tier | Class | Start spell | Best three spells (index) | Index | Area spells | Defensive / utility | Mobility (level 5, key F) | | ---- | ----------- | ----------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------: | ----------: | ---------------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------- | | S | Warlock | shadow_bolt | curse_of_agony 67.2, corruption 40.0, hellfire 31.2 | 138.4 | 2 | — | Howl of Terror (20 s) | | S | Warrior | cleave | sweeping_strikes 43.0, execute 40.0, cleave 38.2 | 121.2 | 4 | retaliation (reflect 14, 8 s) | Charge (8 s) | | A | Druid | wrath | insect_swarm 40.0, hurricane 28.4, wrath 10.8 | 79.3 | 1 | thorns (reflect 8, 15 s), rejuvenation (heal 30) | Dash (15 s) | | A | Mage | frostbolt | flamestrike 28.0, blizzard 24.3, cone_of_cold 23.6 | 75.9 | 6 | — | Blink (10 s) | | B | Priest | smite | shadow_word_pain 36.0, holy_nova 22.0, smite 11.7 | 69.7 | 2 | power_word_shield (absorb 30, 10 s) | Fade (18 s) | | B | Paladin | hammer_of_wrath | consecration 32.4, holy_wrath 21.3, judgement 13.0 | 66.6 | 2 | divine_shield (immune 4 s) | Blessing of Freedom (15 s) | | B | Rogue | sinister_strike | rupture 25.7, sinister_strike 17.6, blade_flurry 16.9 | 60.2 | 1 | — | Sprint (15 s) | | C | Hunter | arcane_shot | volley 23.1, multi_shot 15.0, arcane_shot 13.0 | 51.1 | 2 | — | Aspect of the Cheetah (14 s) | | C | Shaman | lightning_bolt | chain_lightning 24.0, lightning_shield 13.3, lightning_bolt 11.5 | 48.9 | 1 | searing_totem, magma_totem (damage, not counted) | Ghost Wolf (15 s) |

Every number above is computed from the spell tables in data.rs with the power() formula from cards.rs; mobility spells come from mobility.rs. Index ≠ damage per second in play: it is damage-per-cast × targets ÷ cooldown, summed over a class's top three spells.

Builds: what to actually take, class by class

The pattern behind the index matters more than its order. Each class has one or two spells that carry it, and the cards that make them work are the ones that multiply what they already do.

Warlock — stack the clocks

curse_of_agony (67.2) and corruption (40.0) are damage-over-time effects: their damage lands continuously while you move. Add hellfire, an always-on aura that pulses around you, and you have three sources ticking while you concentrate on not getting surrounded. rain_of_fire is the fourth area option.

Take: any rank of the three clocks first; Amplify Magic if you are running two ground effects; Renew if you find yourself healing more than once a run. Skip: the single-target bolts (shadow_bolt, searing_pain, shadowburn) until the clocks are ranked — they are 5–11 on the same index.

Why the Warlock tops the list: it is the only class whose two best spells are both DoTs, and DoTs multiply with hellfire because you never stop moving.

Warrior — the AoE melee chassis

Four of the Warrior's eight damage spells are area effects, and its top three are all "hit everything nearby": sweeping_strikes is an aura (43.0), execute a heavy strike (40.0), cleave a sweeping melee hit (38.2). It is also the only class whose damage spells include their own defensive answer — retaliation reflects 14 damage to anything that hits you for 8 seconds.

Take: sweeping_strikes ranks are the single biggest upgrade in the class; then cleave and execute; retaliation before your first boss. Skip: demoralizing_shout (3.8) unless you are deliberately stacking defence — it is the weakest card in the pool.

Druid — the attrition answer

insect_swarm (40.0) is a strong DoT, hurricane (28.4) a ground area, and the class carries both a heal (rejuvenation, 30) and a reflect (thorns, 8 for 15 s). Nothing here deletes a wave as fast as the Warrior, but this is the class that survives a bad card draw.

Mage — six area spells, no defence

The widest AoE pool in the game: flamestrike, blizzard, cone_of_cold, arcane_explosion, blast_wave, frost_nova. Its top three (28.0 / 24.3 / 23.6) are all ground or cone effects, which means they reward standing still — and the Mage has no shield, no heal, no reflect. Ten of its eleven damage spells are on instant or near-instant cooldowns, so the class plays as constant repositioning.

Take: flamestrike + blizzard first (they stack on the same ground), then cone_of_cold for anything that reaches you. Note: frost_nova (7.3) is worth one rank purely as a root, even though it scores near the bottom.

Priest — one strong clock and a shield

shadow_word_pain (36.0) is the second-best single DoT in the game after the Warlock's, holy_nova (22.0) is your area answer, and power_word_shield absorbs 30 for 10 seconds every 14 — the cleanest "I am about to die" button among the cloth classes.

Paladin — the safest first clear

consecration (32.4) is a ground effect centred on you, so it keeps working while you walk away from a wave, and divine_shield gives 4 seconds of immunity every 28. holy_wrath (21.3) is the burst. This is the class to pick if you want to finish a map before you understand the card system.

Rogue — the narrowest pool

Six damage spells, one of them area, and its best card is a DoT (rupture, 25.7). sinister_strike (17.6) is a solid starting melee and blade_flurry (16.9) its only crowd answer. The class leans on movement: Sprint is 80% speed for 4 seconds every 15.

Hunter — ranged, thin

volley (23.1) is the only real area spell; multi_shot (15.0) and arcane_shot (13.0) are the rest of the damage. Great single-target reach (26-yard range on the start spell), poor wave clear.

Shaman — read the totems

The index puts the Shaman last, and that is the clearest case of the formula lying: searing_totem and magma_totem are damage totems with 14-second uptimes that power() does not model, so they contribute nothing to the 48.9 above. chain_lightning (24.0) is genuinely its best direct spell, and lightning_shield (13.3) is a free always-on orbit that zaps whatever comes close. Treat the Shaman as a mid-tier class, not a last-place one.

Level-up cards: how rarity actually works

Card colour is not decoration — the game computes it, and knowing the rule tells you what a card is offering before you read the numbers. (rarity() in cards.rs)

| Card | What it means | | ------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Legendary | A rank-up that reaches the ability's maximum rank (8). | | Epic | A rank-up at rank 3, 5 or 7 of a count-based spell (bolt, strike, melee, DoT, chain, orbit) — that rank adds a target. Otherwise, a new spell whose index sits in the top third of your class's pool. | | Rare | A new spell in the middle third of the class's pool. | | Uncommon | A plain rank-up, a new passive, or a new spell in the bottom third of the pool. | | Common | A passive rank to level 2, or the heal card. |

Two practical consequences:

• "Epic new spell" is relative to your class. A spell that is Epic for the Shaman could be Rare for the Mage, because the pools differ. The colour answers "is this good for me", not "is this good".
• Ranks 3, 5 and 7 are breakpoints for any spell that hits count targets. Taking one of those specifically doubles your hit count on a bolt or a chain.

The 10 passives, and which builds want them

Passives stack to level 5 and apply globally. (passive table)

| Passive | Effect per level | Who wants it | | -------------------------- | ------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------- | | Blessing of Might | +10% damage | Everyone; the default pick | | Power Word: Fortitude | +20% max HP | Melee classes (Warrior, Rogue, Paladin) | | Aspect of the Pack | +10% speed | Rogue, Mage, classes with no defensive spell | | Renew | +0.5 health regen | Long runs, Druid, anyone without a heal | | Arcane Intellect | +8% haste | Warlock, Priest, Shaman — more uptime on DoTs and totems | | Amplify Magic | +10% area | Mage, Paladin, anything with ground effects | | Detect Lesser Invisibility | +40% pickup magnet | Quality-of-life; take it early if you hate walking | | Blessing of Wisdom | +8% growth | Scaling runs — take it before your top spells are ranked | | Mark of the Wild | +1 armour | Melee classes facing bosses | | Blessing of Kings | +5% crit | High-count spells (bolts, chains, multi-target strikes) |

Maps: 16 zones, one boss every 135 seconds

Every map fields 13–20 enemy types and its own ordered list of 6 bosses, arriving every 135 seconds (2 min 15 s) — so a map's sixth and final boss lands around 13.5 minutes in. The Barrens is the exception: it runs a hand-tuned enemy list instead of a zone roster. (map table)

| Map | Zone | Enemy types | Bosses | | ------------------ | ------------------- | ----------: | ---------: | | The Barrens | Kalimdor | hand-tuned | hand-tuned | | The Dark Portal | Blasted Lands | 13 | 6 | | Gates of Ahn'Qiraj | Silithus | 18 | 6 | | Fire Plume Ridge | Un'Goro Crater | 20 | 6 | | Gurubashi Arena | Stranglethorn Vale | 19 | 6 | | Elwynn Forest | Eastern Kingdoms | 16 | 6 | | Durotar | Kalimdor | 16 | 6 | | Teldrassil | Kalimdor | 16 | 6 | | Dun Morogh | Eastern Kingdoms | 13 | 6 | | Mulgore | Kalimdor | 15 | 6 | | Tirisfal Glades | Eastern Kingdoms | 15 | 6 | | Westfall | Eastern Kingdoms | 16 | 6 | | Duskwood | Eastern Kingdoms | 16 | 6 | | Redridge Mountains | Eastern Kingdoms | 16 | 6 | | Mount Hyjal | Kalimdor | 17 | 6 | | Naxxramas | Eastern Plaguelands | 19 | 6 |

Starting zones (Elwynn, Durotar, Teldrassil, Dun Morogh, Mulgore, Tirisfal) have the fewest enemy types; Fire Plume Ridge and Naxxramas are the densest at 19–20. If a run feels unfair in the first two minutes, the map is the variable you changed.

FAQ

More browser games worth a tab - **[Azeroth Survivors: how to play in the

browser](/azeroth-survivors/)** — WebGPU setup, controls, the pick screen, and how to run it locally. - Anime Zero codes — the current code list for the Roblox tower defence. - The Simpsons: Hit & Run in your browser — the Three.js reconstruction, with the full control list. ## Sources - Project source, data.rs @ 72048f4 — the 9 classes and their spell pools, every ability's damage / cooldown / radius / targets, the 10 passives, the 16 maps, enemies and bosses, boss interval and rank caps - Project source, cards.rs @ 72048f4 — the power() damage heuristic and the card-rarity rules used above - Project source, mod.rs @ 72048f4 — per-rank scaling (damage, cooldown, radius, duration, extra targets), base HP and speed - Project source, mobility.rs @ 72048f4 — the level-5 mobility spell, key and cooldown per class - Azeroth Survivors on GitHub — README, legal position, local build steps - Official play page — the browser build --- Last updated 2026-11-03, against project commit 72048f4 (2026-10-26). The game is in active development — spell numbers and card rules can change between builds. Every figure here is quoted from that commit; if a number disagrees with what you see in game, the game is right and this page is stale. Check the commit history before relying on a specific value.