WoW Shadowlands Best Tanks For Raids (Ranked)

Updated:

24 Oct 2022

6. PROTECTION WARRIOR

Protecting yourself is self-defense. Protecting others is warriorship

The Protection Warriors are Gods of War with high block stats who specialize in blocking damage. They are especially effective in fights with high physical damage and situations where tank mobility is required. Prot Warriors also encourage their group members through shouts to fight without any hesitation. They would have been ranked higher than position 6 if they had used their spell reflect more often.

Why Protection Warrior is Great for Tanking Raids:

Great at tanking physical damage with Shield Block and Ignore Pain.
High-damaged output in a combination of Avatar with Shield Slam, Revenge, Thunder Clap, and Devastate.
Strong defensive cooldowns such as Last Stand, Shield Wall, Demoralizing Shout, and Spell Reflection.
Very good mobility thanks to Charge, Heroic Leap, and Intervene.
Group utilities with Shockwave, Intimidating Shout, and Pummel.
Attack power boost for the group with Battle Shout and Conqueror's Banner, and a group-wide defense boost with Rallying Cry.

Protection Warrior Guide

5. VENGEANCE DEMON HUNTER

Vengeance Is Mine

The Vengeance Demon Hunters are dark, shadowy demons with a mix of damage mitigation and great self-healing based on damage taken. By consuming the souls of their enemies, they can both heal themselves and do high amounts of damage. They are the most mobile tanks in the game, and they also have tattoos that passively reduce damage taken. If they focused more on tanking than on getting new tattoos, they would not be in position 5.

Why Vengeance Demon is Great for Tanking Raids:

Great self-sustain via Shattered Souls and Frailty.
Unstoppable tankines in a combination of active mitigation through Demon Spikes with Metamorphosis and Fiery Brand.
High burst damage and self-healing with Fel Devastation, Spirit Bomb, and Soul Cleave.
Exceptional mobility thanks to Infernal Strike and Glide.
Good group utility through Sigil of Silence, Sigil of Misery, Sigil of Chains, Disrupt, and Consume Magic.
They provide a 5% increase in magic damage for the group with Chaos Brand.

Vengeance Demon Hunter Guide

4. GUARDIAN DRUID

The wilds tremble before my fury

The Guardian Druids are big, beefy bears with incredibly strong fur, making them one of the game's tankiest specs. They have some of the best damage-reduction abilities in the game, as well as the most consistent active damage mitigation uptime and the largest health pool of any tank. Because of the raid bosses' use of honey spells, the big bears lost track of their active mitigation and fell to position 4.

Why Guardian Druid is Great for Tanking Raids:

Stackable and without cooldown damage mitigation with Iron Fur, and high self-healing with Frenzied Regeneration and Heart of the Wild.
Very strong defensive skills such as Survival Instincts, Barkskin, and Bristling Fur.
Group utility with Stampeding Roar, Incapacitating Roar, Skull Bash, Soothe, Remove Corruption, Entangling Roots.
Combat resurrection through Rebirth.
Good mobility with Dash.

Guardian Druid Guide

3. Protection Paladin

To the righteous we bring hope. To the tainted we bring fire

As light defenders, Protection Paladins make excellent all-around tanks. A Paladin has more tricks up its sleeve than any other tank class. They excel at both self-healing and damage mitigation, and they have an excellent cooldown kit for dealing with predictable incoming damage. While being busy with all-around tanking, they must have misplaced their shield somewhere and finished in position 3.

Why Protection Paladin is Great for Tanking Raids:

Good active mitigation and self-healing through the Shield of the Righteous, Word of Glory, and Hand of the Protector.
Strong defensive cooldowns such as Divine Shield, Guardian of Ancient Kings, and Ardent Defender.
High damage output for a tank with Judgment, Consecration, Avenger's Shield, and Hammer of the Righteous.
Excellent group utility with Blessing of Protection/Blessing of Spellwarding, Blessing of Sacrifice, Blessing of Freedom, Lay on Hands, and Cleanse Toxins.

Protection Paladin Guide

2. BREWMASTER MONK

The wise brewmaster recognizes the importance of taking a drink

Brewmaster Monks are dodge masters who, aside from their love of brew, are one of the best damage-mitigating specs in the game. They are an excellent choice for progression raiding and raiding in general due to their smooth damage intake. Healers, unlike other tank specs, do not need to babysit them and can instead focus on mechanics. They'd be at the top of the list if they hadn't run out of the brew.

Why Brewmaster Monk is Great for Tanking Raids:

Great at surviving burst damage with Stagger, Purifying Brew, and Celestial Brew, and a powerful defensive cooldown with Fortifying Brew.
One of the most mobile tanks through Roll, Transcendence, and Tiger's Lust.
Decent damage output with Keg Smash, Blackout Kick, Breath of Fire, Tiger Palm, and Rushing Jade Wind.
Utility-wise, they provide Spear Hand Strike, Paralysis, Leg Sweep, Detox, and Ring of Peace.
The Mystic Touch provides a 5% increase in physical damage for the group.

Brewmaster Monk Guide

1. BLOOD DEATH KNIGHT

Let blood drown the weak

In the first place, we have the Blood Death Knight as a mighty defender of the Scourge. Blood Death Knight is the most self-sustaining spec in the game thanks to its self-healing based on damage taken and consistently active damage mitigation. They also have a cheat death talent called "Purgatory." It’s not a surprise they finished in the first place when they can heal up the entire health pool just by pressing one skill.

Why Blood Death Knight is Great for Tanking Raids:

Excellent self-healing through Death Strike, and high damage mitigation uptime with Bone Shield.
Very strong defensive abilities such as Vampiric Blood, Dancing Rune Weapon, Icebound Fortitude, and Rune Tap.
Magic damage immunity with Anti-Magic Shell.
Knockback immunity with Death’s Advance.
Good damage output for a tank through abilities like Bonestorm, Heart Strike, Blood Boil, Death and Decay, and Blooddrinker.
One of the strongest raid-wide cooldowns with Anti-Magic Zone, and raid utility with unique Death Grip and Gorefiend's Grasp.