World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is the newest expansion from Blizzard. This massive expansion brings players new content, new locations, new easy-to-get Shadowlands mounts, and more importantly, Covenants to join that give them new abilities. Each DPS spec and class all value different things, and therefore, will want to join different Covenants.
Bastion's Kyrian, Maldraxxus' Necrolords, Ardenweald's Night Fae, and Revendroth's Venthyr are the four Covenants. The standard abilities that come with joining each of these Covenants are mainly about healing for Kyrian, blocking for Necrolords, speed boosting and teleportation for the Night Fae, and stealth from Venthyr. But each Covenant offers class-specific abilities as well as the basic ones, and the class abilities are what players want to consider most carefully. Once players reach level 60 in the new WoW expansion, the should have an idea of which zone they wish to join.
Thankfully, joining the different Covenants is really simple. Players just need to have a chat with the leaders in Oribos. Each of the Covenant leaders are there. Kyrian's leader (36.2, 64.2), the Necrolord's Draka (43, 74), the Night Fae's Lady (39.6, 60.9), and the Venthyr's General (44.7, 68.8) are all in the area, awaiting prospective players to join them. After joining one, players can then focus on getting renown for their chosen Shadowlands Covenant.
Joining a Covenant is simple, and leaving a Covenant is as simple as talking to a new leader. The difficulty comes in, however, if a players wishes to rejoin an old Covenant that they have abandoned. In order to rejoin old Covenants, players have to do tasks in their zone to prove their loyalty. So make sure that the Covenant is the correct one before joining; taking a little time of consider will save players a lot of time in future. The Covenants add a great bit of new interest and flair to the game, making World of Warcraft worth playing in 2020.
Best Frost Death Knight Covenant
- For Raid - Kyrian or Night Fae (if running DW)
- For Mythic+ - Kyrian or Night Fae (if running DW)
Frost Death Knights that either play Mythic+ or duel wield in raid should use the strength stacks from the Night Fae's Death's Due and Obliterate to raise that DPS. If wielding two-handed weapons, raid players should instead take the Kyrian route, as they won't have the strength stacks to make Night Fae worth it. Either way, players should deep dive into the lore of whatever Covenant they chose; the lore and story are unforgettable in Shadowlands.
Best Unholy Death Knight Covenant
- For Raid - Necrolord
- For Mythic+ - Necrolord
Unholy Death Knight will not only sync up well with the Covenant shielding ability given by Necrolord, but also the additional Runic Corruption. For either raiding or Mythic+, go with Maldraxxus. The class-only ability scales with mastery, and Heirmir gives players amazing levels of AoE and Single target DPS.
Best Havoc Demon Hunter Covenant
- For Raid - Venthyr
- For Mythic+ - Venthyr
Raid Havocs should choose the Covenant of Bastion; Kyrian's Elysian Decree boosted by Repeat Decree gives Havoc Demon Hunters an AoE that really fits with what this DPS is looking for in Mythic+. In raids, however, Havocs will want to look to Venthyr; Sinful Brand is the single-target damage hit that will reduce their speed and increase the Demon Hunters' damage a nice amount.
Best Feral or Balance Druid Covenant
- For Raid - Kyrian
- For Mythic+ - Kyrian
Kyrian has the best utility for Druids of all DPS kinds; while Night Fae would be better for single-target, players will most likely want the strong AoE balanced with okay single-target damage that Kryian can offer DPS druids. Pelagos's Soulbind tree will be a boon for any AoE, especially when players get the extra boosts from higher Renown levels. Bastion also has one of the most interesting secret mounts, the Silvermane Larion.
Best Beast Mastery, Marksmanship, or Survival Hunter Covenant
- For Raid - Night Fae
- For Mythic+ - Night Fae
Hunters not only benefit from the new ability to tame undead animals to be their WoW pets, but they also have a Covenant that seems as though it was built for them. There is nothing like the speed boost and the death cheat from the Night Fae Covenant for Hunters of all kinds. While some may think that Kyrian's AoE buffs would pull them ahead, with recent nerfs and the long cast times of the Fae's boosts to AoE, Night Fae is first every time. The damage and Marks from Wild Spirits makes the Night Fae better than the rest.
Best Arcane or Fire Mage Covenant
- For Raid - Night Fae
- For Mythic+ - Night Fae
Another class that loves the Night Fae are Mages. Both Arcane and Fire Mages want to be part of Ardenweald. Frost mages can also do passably well as Night Fae, so those that wield both Fire and Frost should join up with the fairy-folk as well. Touch of the Magi pairs well with Arcane Blast, dealing boosted damage 10% of the casts. Shifting Power's ability to reduce cooldown timers while also dealing nature damage is great for any kind of mage.
Best Frost Mage Covenant
- For Raid - Venthyr
- For Mythic+ - Night Fae
The Night Fae abilities allow faster cooldowns of AoE damage for multiple targets, making it a great choice for Mages looking to Freeze their opponents. It's weak for single-target, which prevents the Fae from being the choice for raiding, but dungeon goers will find the Rune of Power boost to their spells' damage to be quite helpful. If Frost Mages want to raid, they should choose Venthyr. One of the new abilities that appears in Shadowlands, Mirrors of Torment ,gives players additional Brain Freeze casts as well as doing shadow damage and blocking enemy spells.
Best Windwalker Monk Covenant
- For Raid - Kyrian
- For Mythic+ - Necrolord
If a Windwalker Monk decides to raid, they should stick with the number on Covenant for single-target DPS, which is Bastion's Kyrian. Players will get a 12.5% Mastery and both Rising Sun Kick and Fists of Fury will get cooldown reductions from Blackout Kick. For those monks just looking to do dungeons, they should choose Necrolord for its AoE focus, and to be a part of Maldraxxus, one of the creepiest places in Azeroth. If players want to do a little of both dungeons and raiding, the best Covenant would be Night Fae, which offers Monks a jack of all trades but master of none kind of deal. Players won't be the best at either multi targets or single targets, but they should be good enough to at both.
Best Retribution Paladin Covenant
- For Raid - Venthyr
- For Mythic+ - Night Fae
Ret Paladins looking to DPS should choose the Venthyr Covenant. Ashen Hallow is a fantastic ability that both damages and heals. The signature ability from Venthyr also allows players to hide in the shadows if things get a little rough, and there is a lot to love about that. Mythic+ Pallys will want to go with Night Fae to use Blessing of Seasons, which will give rotating buffs to allies just about every fight.
Best Shadow Priest Covenant
- For Raid - Kyrian
- For Mythic+ - Night Fae
Kyrian is the best Shadow Priest Covenant in Shadowlands' multiverse, mostly because of Summon Stewart as a panic button. Other than that, most of the Covenants are about equal for damage, Soultree usefulness, and abilities. The same goes for Mythic+. Shadow Priests seem to thrive under any Covenant's banner, so choose the one that suits. Night Fae is a little bit better than the rest, only because of its get-out-of-death-free card.
Best Elemental Shaman Covenant
- For Raid - Venthyr
- For Mythic+ - Kyrian
After Chain Harvest and Echoing Shock no longer worked together, Venthyr was dethroned as the top Covenant for Elemental Shamans in Shadowlands. It's a shame, because dealing double healing and double damage on Chain Harvest was pretty magical while it lasted. However, the new top Covenant for Elemental Shamans in raids is now Necrolord, mostly because of the Primordial Wave's ability to echo spells and damage enemies. Mythic+ Shamans should focus on Kyrian and its Vesper Totem to radiate both healing and damage around it for 30 seconds.
Best Enhancement Shaman Covenant
- For Raid - Venthyr
- For Mythic+ - Venthyr
The nerf of Pelagos's Soulbind tree changed the best Covenant for Enhancement Shamans in Shadowlands over from Kyrian to Venthyr for both raiding and Mythic+. Chain Harvest is great spell, hitting 5 friendly targets with healing while damaging 5 enemy targets, making Venthyr the best. Players will find that Chain Lighting and the Soulbind trees will make this Covenant one of the best things in Shadowlands for them.
Best Affliction and Destruction Warlock Covenant
- For Raid - Kyrian
- For Mythic+ - Kyrian
Since Affliction and Destruction Warlocks love DoTs, players will most likely lean toward Kyrian's Scouring Tithe for both raiding and M+. Not only does Scouring Tithe explode on contact then continue to deal damage for 18 seconds, it also creates Affliction or Destruction soul shards. Lucky for both raiders and Mythic+ players, Scouring Tithe works as both a multi- and single-target DoT extremely well. So Kyrian wins out over the other Covenants, even though the Summon Steward healing and debuff clearing basic ability is kind of wasted on Warlocks.
Best Demonology Warlock Covenant
- For Raid - Necrolord
- For Mythic+ - Night Fae
Necrolords single-target Decimating Bolt is awesome for Demonology Warlocks who DPS in raids. But the Night Fae's AoE are slightly better for Mythic+. The Soulbinds for both Night Fae and Necrolords will be filled with things that Warlocks will find beneficial, both in and out of raiding. And the Night Fae has an interesting mount too that drops from the elite Humon'gozz.
Best Arms or Fury Warrior Covenant
- For Raid - Venthyr
- For Mythic+ - Venthyr
The Soulbind trees of Venthyr just ramp up the damage for both Arms and Fury Warriors, giving them the edge they need to deal hard DPS in both raid and Mythic+. It makes them one of the best DPS in World of Warcraft. For those who are more cautious, however, Kyrian's Summon Steward is a massive boon that almost makes up for DPS loss by moving to Bastion's Covenant. Venthyr may focus on single targets with Whirlwind, but it deals enough damage for that not to matter as much.
World of Warcraft: Shadowlands is available for PC.