Balance Druid
vs
Shadow Priest
Debating whether to play a Shadow Priest or Balance Druid? Knowing which currently performs better DPS in PvE might help make a decision.
This page analyzes multiple simulations for both Shadow Priests and Balance Druids using profiles and settings intended to achieve their maximum DPS. Multiple sim environments are used to test how they perform in various conditions. Is one the AoE king? Does one scale better with gear upgrades? Is one more bursty, and more reliant on big cooldowns? Below analyzes the data to find the strengths of each.
Simulation results were created with SimulationCraft
Using game data from Patch 10.0.2 • WoW Dragonflight •
- Balance Druid
- Best boss DPS (in perfect settings)Balance Druid achieved 5.09% more maximum boss DPS than Shadow Priest when there was no movement or lag.
- Best boss DPS (in realistic settings)Balance Druid achieved 5.56% more maximum boss DPS than Shadow Priest when dealing with occasional movement, lag and crowd-control.
- Best AoE DPS (in perfect settings)Balance Druid achieved 36.37% more AoE DPS than Shadow Priest when there was no movement or lag.
- Least affected by movement (single-target)Balance Druid’s single-target DPS was -2.21% less affected by increased movement compared to Shadow Priests.
- Best gear scalingBalance Druid scaled better with increased item-levels, single-target DPS benefited 9.6% more from 372 ilvl to 422 compared to Shadow Priests.
- Simplest GameplayBalance Druid has fewer damaging abilities which could indicate a simpler rotation.
Shadow Priest- DPS less dependant on big cooldownsShadow Priest’s DPS is less bursty, meaning it had more consistent damage. With 12.01% less difference in lowest and peak DPS during a fight when compared to Balance Druids.
While the above highlights the DPS advantages between Balance Druid and Shadow Priests, the DPS potential should not be the only factor in your decision. Ultimately, you should also consider the playstyle that you enjoy most while crushing it in Mythics+ and Raids!
Resources
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