Tank Tier List
Mythic+ Midnight tank guide focused on solo queue pugging. Ranking tanks by consistency, survivability, aggro control, and reliability rather than theoretical meta.
Summary
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Vengeance Demon Hunter
Current status: 5⭐ (S+)
Post-fix outlook: 5⭐ (S+ / S)
Why it’s top-tier
- Extremely high self-sustain, comparable to Blood DK but with better mitigation.
- Long-duration defensive cooldowns and strong baseline tankiness.
- Excellent mob control (sigil silence, grip, stops).
- Brings Chaos Brand, increasing group damage.
Design note
- Does not rely on the new patch changes.
- Already performing at a very high level on PTR.
Summary
VDH is one of the strongest tanks on the Midnight beta, combining sustain, control, and utility.
A complete tank package with no major weaknesses in the current PTR environment.
Brewmaster Monk
Current status: 5⭐ (S+)
Expected post-fix status: 5⭐ (S+)
Why it’s top-tier
- Best raw survivability in high keys.
- Stagger + DR + extremely high defensive uptime.
- Can survive even when the healer is under heavy pressure.
- Scales perfectly with large pulls, enabling higher keys.
- Competitive DPS without relying on bugs.
Current bug (penalizing)
- Some absorbs / DR effects are not applying correctly.
- Result: Brew is currently weaker than it should be.
Note: With fixes, Brew can only improve, not decline.
Limitations
- In pugs:
- Requires healer awareness/communication.
- Less “group-saving” utility (battle res, externals).
Summary
Brewmaster is the best-designed tank right now. It doesn’t rely on bugs, survives by design, and is very likely to remain meta.
Protection Warrior
Current status: 4⭐(A)
Expected post-fix status: 3⭐(B)
Patch changes
- Small damage buff (Colossus Demolish +20%), mostly irrelevant.
- Still plays Thane, not Colossus.
Why it falls behind
- Lost War Within S3 tier set → massive damage loss.
- Very limited self-sustain.
- Slow playstyle compared to other tanks.
- Physical damage dealers and Battle Shout comps currently weak.
Summary
Protection Warrior is clearly behind on PTR. Playable, but lacks damage, sustain, and scaling compared to other tanks.
Guardian Druid
Current status: 4⭐ (A)
Post-fix outlook: 4⭐ (A / A+)
Why it improved
- Received a 20% damage buff, fixing its main weakness.
- Still very hard to kill during Incarnation.
- Brings Mark of the Wild and solid off-healing tools.
Limitations
- Not as tanky as Brew or VDH.
- Less damage than Paladin.
- Mob control weaker than VDH.
- Outside cooldowns, survivability drops.
Summary
Guardian Druid is now a solid A-tier tank. Reliable and survivable, but clearly behind the top three.
Blood Death Knight
Current status: 3⭐ (B)
Post-fix outlook: 3⭐ (B)
Patch changes
- +15% damage buff, addressing DPS issues.
Ongoing problems
- Core survivability issues remain:
- Death Strike healing insufficient in sustained large pulls.
- Runs out of cooldowns in high keys.
- Lost major value from War Within S3 tier set.
- Forced into San’layn, which underperforms.
Summary
Blood DK remains problematic in Midnight. Damage is better, but survivability still collapses in very high keys.
Protection Paladin
Current status: 5⭐ (S+)
Post-fix outlook: 5⭐ (S)
Why it’s still elite
- Received only a very minor damage nerf.
- Still doing extremely high damage compared to other tanks.
- Unmatched utility toolkit (interrupts, externals, battle res).
- With Sentinel, can survive almost any dungeon.
Patch impact
- Nerf is too small to meaningfully reduce its power.
- Remains one of the best tanks going into Midnight.
Summary
Protection Paladin remains a top-tier tank in both damage and utility. Still a dominant and very safe pick.
Frequently Asked Questions
Guardian Druid is the safest and most consistent pug tank, with easy aggro control, strong baseline survivability, and minimal reliance on healers.
Because it currently relies on bugs (Firebrand uptime and Versatility scaling). Once fixed, it loses real DR and becomes weaker in massive pulls.
Yes. Brewmaster has the best survivability by design, not by bugs, but in pugs it requires healers who understand Stagger.
Yes, if you’re experienced. It’s the most healer-independent tank, but very RNG-heavy and punishing.
Consistency. A tank that never dies is better than a high-ceiling tank that sometimes collapses.
Guardian Druid, thanks to simple gameplay, strong survivability, and easy threat control.
Protection Paladin, when played well, due to its unmatched utility.
-resp.webp)
