Updated August 15, 2026: this Midnight Season 2 Delves tier list uses the final announced class-tuning pass for the August 18 season start. All Delve tiers and Azta'rec on Tier ? are available during the week of August 11; Bountiful Delves, keys and the Tier Nemesis challenge unlock during the week of August 18.
Short answer: Beast Mastery Hunter is the best low-stress weekly farmer, Guardian Druid is the easiest high-tier progression choice, and Vengeance Demon Hunter is the strongest current Azta'rec safety projection. Demonology Warlock is the best non-tank alternative for players who want a pet, durability and strong boss damage.
This is a pre-season projection, not a ranking built from live Tier completion data. The hardest version of Venomfall Deeps opens on August 18 in North America and August 19 in Europe. Adjacent tiers can move after launch-week hotfixes and representative solo clears.
Midnight Season 2 Delves Tier List: Quick Ranking
| Goal | Best current choices | Best default |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly Bountiful Delves | Beast Mastery Hunter, Fury Warrior, Retribution Paladin, Demonology Warlock | Beast Mastery Hunter |
| Safest Tier 8–10 progression | Guardian Druid, Vengeance Demon Hunter, Protection Paladin, Blood Death Knight | Guardian Druid |
| Fastest easy-tier farming | Fury Warrior, Beast Mastery Hunter, Retribution Paladin, Devourer Demon Hunter | Fury Warrior |
| Best ranged solo class | Beast Mastery Hunter, Demonology Warlock, Frost Mage | Beast Mastery Hunter |
| Best pet specialization | Demonology Warlock, Beast Mastery Hunter, Unholy Death Knight | Demonology Warlock for high tiers |
| Best Azta'rec projection | Vengeance Demon Hunter, Protection Paladin, Guardian Druid, Blood Death Knight | Vengeance Demon Hunter |
| Best healer for solo Delves | Restoration Druid, Mistweaver Monk, Preservation Evoker | Restoration Druid |
Do not reroll for one tier. A familiar A-tier specialization with the correct interrupt, defensive talents and Valeera setup will usually outperform an unfamiliar S-tier character.
How We Rank Solo Delve Classes
Delves do not have one universal meta. A spec that clears weak packs quickly can fail a long Nemesis encounter, while a tank that almost never dies can be inefficient for routine farming. The rankings therefore use three separate scenarios.
| Scenario | What matters most | What matters less |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly / speed farming | AoE, movement, low downtime, simple recovery | Maximum defensive layering |
| Tier 8–10 progression | Self-healing, interrupts, control, sustained boss damage | Peak damage that requires perfect setup |
| Azta'rec Tier | Survival, reliable kick, movement, Echo damage, mechanic consistency | Trash-only AoE and group utility |
The list assumes comparable Season 2 item level, a functional solo build, a developed Valeera and competent play. It does not assume perfect raid gear. Tank rankings account for slower kills; healer rankings account for lower personal damage.
Get any Delves service from ExpCarry: raids, dungeons, PvP, leveling, gold, farming, coaching, and custom orders.
What Changes in Midnight Season 2 Delves?
- Week of August 11: all normal Delve tiers and Nemesis Tier are available, but there are no Bountiful Delves.
- Week of August 18: Bountiful Delves, keys and Azta'rec Tier unlock. Europe receives the reset on August 19.
- New Delves: The Ring of Glory and Gnarldor Isle.
- New Nemesis Delve: Venomfall Deeps, containing Azta'rec.
- Existing Delves: receive new snake- and venom-themed story variants.
- Seasonal outdoor power: Corrosive effects work in Delves and other world-tier content, but not in raids, dungeons, Arenas or Battlegrounds.
This timing matters for search intent: before August 18, no site has representative Tier completion data. Rankings that present a settled live meta before the unlock are projections, even if they do not say so.
Weekly and Speed-Farming Solo Delves Tier List
This ranking prioritizes Bountiful weekly runs, lower tiers and repeated clears where damage and downtime matter more than maximum survival.
| Tier | Specializations | Assessment |
|---|---|---|
| S | Beast Mastery Hunter, Fury Warrior, Retribution Paladin, Demonology Warlock | Fast, forgiving and almost no forced downtime. BM is the easiest; Fury has the highest chain-pull pace. |
| A | Devourer DH, Vengeance DH, Guardian Druid, Protection Paladin, Frost DK, Unholy DK, Havoc DH, Balance Druid, Feral Druid, Devastation Evoker, Marksmanship Hunter, Survival Hunter, Arcane Mage, Fire Mage, Frost Mage, Brewmaster Monk, Windwalker Monk, Shadow Priest, Assassination Rogue, Outlaw Rogue, Elemental Shaman, Enhancement Shaman, Affliction Warlock, Destruction Warlock, Arms Warrior, Protection Warrior, Blood DK | Strong weekly choices with slightly more setup, risk, complexity or travel time than S tier. |
| B | Restoration Druid, Preservation Evoker, Mistweaver Monk, Holy Paladin, Restoration Shaman, Discipline Priest, Subtlety Rogue | Safe or viable, but lower damage or higher execution reduces farming efficiency. |
| C | Augmentation Evoker, Holy Priest | Group-oriented output or very low personal damage creates unnecessarily long solo runs. |
Why Devourer is no longer the automatic number one
The old article ranked Devourer from a July PTR build and treated its earlier damage increase as the latest state. On August 18, baseline damage rises, but Reap, Cull, Eradicate and the four-piece package are reduced. Devourer keeps mobility and sustain, yet its earlier single-target/set-driven position cannot be carried forward unchanged.
Tier 8–10 Solo Delves Tier List
High tiers reward completion consistency. A spec moves up for frequent defensives, recovery after mistakes, a reliable interrupt and damage that continues while handling mechanics.
| Tier | Specializations | Why |
|---|---|---|
| S | Guardian Druid, Vengeance DH, Protection Paladin, Blood DK, Protection Warrior, Brewmaster Monk, Demonology Warlock | The six tanks offer multiple survival layers; Demonology adds a durable pet, Healthstone and strong sustained damage. |
| A | Frost DK, Unholy DK, Devourer DH, Restoration Druid, Preservation Evoker, Beast Mastery Hunter, Survival Hunter, Mistweaver Monk, Windwalker Monk, Holy Paladin, Retribution Paladin, Enhancement Shaman, Restoration Shaman, Affliction Warlock, Fury Warrior | Excellent solo tools with one limitation in damage checks, cooldown execution or time-to-kill. |
| B | Havoc DH, Balance Druid, Feral Druid, Devastation Evoker, Marksmanship Hunter, Fire Mage, Frost Mage, Discipline Priest, Shadow Priest, Assassination Rogue, Outlaw Rogue, Elemental Shaman, Destruction Warlock, Arms Warrior | Capable, but missed interrupts, weak recovery or restrictive damage patterns are punished more heavily. |
| C | Augmentation Evoker, Arcane Mage, Holy Priest, Subtlety Rogue | Low solo throughput or a narrow margin for error makes progression unnecessarily difficult. |
Azta'rec and Venomfall Deeps Solo Ranking
Venomfall Deeps is the Season 2 Nemesis Delve. Current encounter testing favors tanks because armor and larger health pools soften several failed mechanics. That does not mean every tank will be fast enough for every Echo phase, so this section ranks safety and damage together.
| Tier | Specializations | Azta'rec fit |
|---|---|---|
| S | Vengeance DH, Protection Paladin, Guardian Druid, Blood DK | Best current mix of survival, movement or recovery, interrupts and enough boss damage. |
| A | Protection Warrior, Brewmaster Monk, Demonology Warlock, Beast Mastery Hunter, Retribution Paladin, Devourer DH, Unholy DK, Fury Warrior, Enhancement Shaman | Strong answers to movement and pressure, but less forgiving or more dependent on Valeera and gear. |
| B | Frost DK, Havoc DH, Restoration Druid, Feral Druid, Devastation Evoker, Preservation Evoker, Survival Hunter, Marksmanship Hunter, Fire Mage, Frost Mage, Mistweaver Monk, Holy Paladin, Shadow Priest, Assassination Rogue, Outlaw Rogue, Elemental Shaman, Restoration Shaman, Affliction Warlock, Destruction Warlock, Arms Warrior, Windwalker Monk | Viable with correct talents and mechanics; lower safety or boss uptime raises the execution requirement. |
| C | Balance Druid, Augmentation Evoker, Arcane Mage, Discipline Priest, Holy Priest, Subtlety Rogue | Current solo profile is poorly matched to the encounter or has a very small error budget. |
Before attempting Tier, read the complete Azta'rec and Venomfall Deeps guide. A ranking cannot replace the interrupt, Echo and memory-sequence mechanics.
All 40 Specializations Compared
Scores use a five-point scale and describe practical solo play. “Weekly” measures routine speed, while “High” and “Azta'rec” measure progression safety.
| Specialization | Weekly | High | Azta'rec | Survival | Damage | Ease |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blood Death Knight | A | S | S | 5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Frost Death Knight | A | A | B | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Unholy Death Knight | A | A | A | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Devourer Demon Hunter | A | A | A | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Havoc Demon Hunter | A | B | B | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Vengeance Demon Hunter | A | S | S | 5/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 |
| Balance Druid | A | B | C | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Feral Druid | A | B | B | 3/5 | 4/5 | 2/5 |
| Guardian Druid | A | S | S | 5/5 | 3/5 | 5/5 |
| Restoration Druid | B | A | B | 5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Augmentation Evoker | C | C | C | 3/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 |
| Devastation Evoker | A | B | B | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Preservation Evoker | B | A | B | 5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Beast Mastery Hunter | S | A | A | 4/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 |
| Marksmanship Hunter | A | B | B | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Survival Hunter | A | A | B | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Arcane Mage | A | C | C | 2/5 | 5/5 | 2/5 |
| Fire Mage | A | B | B | 2/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Frost Mage | A | B | B | 3/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 |
| Brewmaster Monk | A | S | A | 5/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 |
| Mistweaver Monk | B | A | B | 5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
| Windwalker Monk | A | A | B | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Holy Paladin | B | A | B | 5/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 |
| Protection Paladin | A | S | S | 5/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 |
| Retribution Paladin | S | A | A | 4/5 | 4/5 | 5/5 |
| Discipline Priest | B | B | C | 4/5 | 2/5 | 2/5 |
| Holy Priest | C | C | C | 5/5 | 1/5 | 4/5 |
| Shadow Priest | A | B | B | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Assassination Rogue | A | B | B | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Outlaw Rogue | A | B | B | 3/5 | 4/5 | 2/5 |
| Subtlety Rogue | B | C | C | 3/5 | 3/5 | 2/5 |
| Elemental Shaman | A | B | B | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Enhancement Shaman | A | A | A | 4/5 | 5/5 | 3/5 |
| Restoration Shaman | B | A | B | 5/5 | 2/5 | 3/5 |
| Affliction Warlock | A | A | B | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Demonology Warlock | S | S | A | 4/5 | 4/5 | 4/5 |
| Destruction Warlock | A | B | B | 4/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Arms Warrior | A | B | B | 3/5 | 4/5 | 3/5 |
| Fury Warrior | S | A | A | 4/5 | 5/5 | 5/5 |
| Protection Warrior | A | S | A | 5/5 | 3/5 | 3/5 |
How August 18 Class Tuning Changes Delves
| Spec | Relevant change | Solo impact |
|---|---|---|
| Frost DK | Baseline +9%; two-piece stack values reduced. | Fresh characters improve more than fully geared characters. Durability keeps Frost in A. |
| Devourer DH | Baseline increases, but major attacks and four-piece are reduced. | Still mobile and durable; old set-driven S placement is no longer defensible before retesting. |
| Restoration Druid | Healing +4% and damage +20% outside PvP. | Becomes the best default healer specialization for solo Delves. |
| Beast Mastery Hunter | Four-piece Cobra Shot scaling improved. | Already easy without the set; becomes stronger after four-piece. |
| Mistweaver Monk | Healing +8%; four-piece activates more often. | Safer high-tier progression, though damage still limits speed. |
| Discipline Priest | Damage -30%; Atonement transfer increased. | Group healing intent improves, but solo kill speed falls sharply. This is a Delve-specific downgrade. |
| Assassination Rogue | All damage +4%. | Better boss time, but recovery remains the limiting factor. |
| Enhancement Shaman | All damage +5%. | Strong direct improvement to both farming and Nemesis damage. |
| Demonology Warlock | Two-piece Wild Imp Implosion effect improved. | Strengthens an already safe pet-based high-tier profile. |
| Fury Warrior | Baseline +6%; four-piece scaling reduced. | Excellent before four-piece and still one of the fastest weekly farmers. |
For the full numerical pass, use the Midnight Season 2 class-changes hub. For two-piece and four-piece details, use the Season 2 tier-set guide.
Best Valeera Role for Solo Delves
Valeera can use Damage, Healer or Tank role and equips two Curios plus a poison. Her role should cover the weakness of the player, not duplicate the player's strongest attribute.
| Your specialization | Default Valeera role | Switch when... |
|---|---|---|
| Fragile DPS or no reliable sustain | Healer | Use Damage only when incoming pressure is already controlled. |
| Pet DPS | Healer | Use Damage when player and pet remain stable without external recovery. |
| Tank | Damage | Use Healer for an unfamiliar boss or undergeared progression. |
| Healer | Damage | Use Tank only if Valeera can reliably hold the specific encounter target. |
| High-sustain DPS | Damage | Switch to Healer after the first failed attempt caused by attrition. |
Best-practice warning: do not default to Tank Valeera merely because your class is a DPS. Her threat and durability can be inconsistent across multi-target pulls. Healer is the safer general partner; Damage is the faster option once survival is solved.
Season 2 Delve Rewards and Live Wowhead Items
These live Wowhead links let readers verify the important Delve items and display tooltips through ExpCarry's global Wowhead integration.
| Item | Purpose | Practical note |
|---|---|---|
| Apophic Soul Crusher | Mount from Let Me Solo Him: Azta'rec | Defeat Tier solo before the next season. |
| Delver's Starter Kit | One-time Midnight Delve starter reward | Choose the receiving character deliberately because the purchase is Warband-limited. |
| Restored Coffer Key | Opens a Bountiful Delve coffer | Season 2 Bountiful Delves and keys begin with the August 18 reset. |
| Coffer Key Glue | Toy that combines Coffer Key Shards | Convenience only; Naleidea or entering a Delve can also combine shards. |
The separate first-week Feat of Strength awards the Fabled Vanquisher of Azta'rec title for a solo Tier kill during the opening week. The mount remains tied to the seasonal solo achievement rather than the first-week deadline.
Solo Delve Build Checklist
- Take the interrupt. A small simulation gain is not worth losing the kick that stops a lethal cast.
- Prefer two short defensives. Repeated elite mechanics punish builds with only one long emergency cooldown.
- Add self-healing or passive mitigation. Lower downtime improves both safety and clear speed.
- Keep boss damage. A pure mass-AoE build can stall on Tier 10 or Azta'rec Echoes.
- Use backup control. Stuns, fears, knockbacks and roots cover the moments when the interrupt is unavailable.
- Set Valeera for the failure condition. Choose Healer for attrition and Damage for time-to-kill.
- Re-sim after four-piece. Several August 18 changes move power between baseline abilities and Season 2 sets.
Class-specific talents and rotations belong in the WoW class-guide hub. This page owns comparative Delves intent and should not duplicate full builds for 40 specializations.
Best Solo Classes Beyond Delves
The same classes remain strong for quests, rares and other world-tier content, but the order changes when there is no revive limit or long Nemesis boss. Beast Mastery Hunter is the easiest general solo class; Guardian Druid is the safest; Fury Warrior is the fastest straightforward melee; Demonology Warlock is the best durable caster. Corrosive effects can cover a weakness in Delves and world content, but they should not be treated as raid or Mythic+ power.
Complete Season 2 Delves Faster
For Bountiful runs, tier unlocks and weekly progression, use the WoW Delves services category. For the seasonal boss and achievement options, use the Azta'rec Nemesis Challenge. These are the only commercial destinations required on the page.
Midnight Season 2 Delves Tier List FAQ
What is the best solo class for Midnight Season 2 Delves?
Beast Mastery Hunter is the best default for routine weekly Delves. Guardian Druid is the easiest high-tier choice, while Vengeance Demon Hunter currently projects as the safest all-round Azta'rec option.
Are tanks always best for high-tier Delves?
Tanks are the safest, not always the fastest. They move up in Tier 8–10 and Nemesis rankings because they survive missed mechanics, but strong DPS specs complete routine Bountiful Delves faster.
Is this a live Season 2 ranking?
It uses live Patch 12.1 systems and Blizzard's announced August 18 tuning, but Tier and Bountiful Season 2 Delves have not opened at the August 15 update time. The exact Azta'rec order is therefore a pre-season projection.
Which Valeera role is best?
Use Healer for most DPS specializations, Damage for tanks and healers, and switch based on whether survival or boss time caused the failed attempt. Tank Valeera is situational rather than the default.
What is the easiest solo class for beginners?
Beast Mastery Hunter is the easiest ranged option, Guardian Druid the easiest tank, and Retribution Paladin the easiest melee with strong emergency tools.
When should the ranking be updated again?
Review the affected specs after August 18 tuning goes live, then replace the Azta'rec projection with representative Tier completion evidence after the opening reset.
