The Sepulcher is a new raid in Patch 9.2 that’s coming with the launch of Highmaul, it has three difficulties: Normal/Heroic and Mythic+. This guide contains all the best covenants for each class to help you succeed on your journey through any difficulty!
The “best covenants for each class” is a patch that was released on September 4th, 2017. This patch changed the way the game works in many areas of the game. The biggest change was to how covenants work. There are now three different types of covenants: DPS, Tanks and Healers.
If you want to maximize your character’s strength and performance in Patch 9.2, our Class Guide Writers have put together a list of the finest Covenants for each specialty in both the new raid Sepulcher of the First Ones and Mythic+. The following Covenant recommendations are based on the early stages of 9.2, when players are restricted to just one legendary and have not yet equipped any Tier Set benefits.
If you have at least one Covenant with Renown 80, you may visit the Covenant Emissaries in Oribos and freely trade your Covenant.
In Shadowlands Patch 9.2, this guide aims to inform players on which Covenants provide the most power boost in Raid and Mythic+ for each spec. With these tips, you should be able to achieve peak performance in your PvE content while still prioritizing Renown levels thanks to the recently available covenant shifting.
We’ll keep this guide up to date when new fixes and tweaks are released.
These suggestions only apply to Shadowlands Patch 9.2 at the time of writing. Our Guide Writers strongly recommend farming Renown for all 4 Covenants, regardless of spec, if you want to future-proof your character against additional Covenant or Class tweaking or upcoming content in subsequent patches.
In Shadowlands Patch 9.2, this section covers the best Covenants for Raid and Mythic+ for all specs based on the early advancement when players are restricted to just one legendary and have not donned any Tier Set benefits. Each Spec includes a fast link to the Greatest Covenant page from our Class Guides, which provides further information and context on why these Covenants are the best for each sort of content right now.
We strongly advise you to read the comments to see why the Covenants chosen are the finest.
FOR THE TIME BEING, COMMENTED OUT. CAN CONSIDER RETURNING THE BLURBS TO SEASON 2/MYTHIC RAID WEEK.
In Shadowlands Patch 9.0.5, the best Covenants for Tank Specs are
In Shadowlands version 9.0.5, the best Blood Death Knight Covenant is
The finest Blood Death Knight Covenant for Raid is Kyrian.
In 9.0.2, Kyrian was the best option for Blood Death Knights, and the improvements made to make this covenant more enticing to the two DPS specs have further strengthened this decision. With a 15% boost in damage and a 3% increase (to 8%) in damage reduction while Shackle the Unworthy is active, we’re looking at a clear winner for the vast majority of encounters, with the few exceptions being too early in the raid to warrant switching. As is customary, the damage reduction only applies to effects with the adversary as the source, not ambient or similar effects, therefore there will be times when this is of little use. Even in 9.0, we didn’t choose it for the damage decrease, and we didn’t play around with it.
In Castle Nathria, the Phial of Serenity remains a great bonus once-per-fight button that gives a little of self-healing when required by acting as a secondary health potion, as well as a few of clutch debuff clears.
Venthyr is the greatest Blood Death Knight Covenant for Mythic+.
In Mythic+, the options are a lot more confused than in raids, with all covenants performing similarly in terms of raw performance. Venthyr is the best choice because of Swarming Mist, a one-minute cooldown ability that grants 145 Runic Power when used on five or more foes. However, due to the reshuffling of legendaries, there is a good potential to see more; after all, anybody may have a 1 minute pull cycle with Crimson Rune Weapon!
We’ve seen a gradual shift in fixed, push groups where the Blood DK in the group may end up being a member of the covenant that the rest of their comp would not otherwise be able to bring, with Kyrian, Necrolord, and even some Night Fae at the top end of the leaderboard, highlighting clearly that it’s less about what you bring and more about how you use it.
Shadowlands’ Best Vengeance Demon Hunter Covenant
The finest Vengeance Demon Hunter Covenant for Raid is Kyrian.
In the 9.0.5 patch, Kyrian remains the greatest covenant for Raid. For Vengeance, all covenants except Necrolord had their damaging abilities decreased by 10%, while Necrolord was revamped. Necrolord was worse than not having a covenant before the makeover, but it is now a statistically competitive choice. However, owing to the unpredictability of the demon spawn, it is unreliable for picking up adds or damage stages in practice. Fleshcraft’s damage reduction is wonderful, but it’s mostly useless. While they are all competitive in raid, Kyrian has the advantage since he can use Elysian Decree whenever he wants, with a short cooldown that corresponds to damage phases and add spawning. Phial of Serenity is a healing potion that also removes various hazardous debuffs in Castle Nathria, making it more beneficial than any of the other covenants’ signature powers at the moment.
The finest Vengeance Demon Hunter Covenant for Mythic+ is Kyrian.
Kyrian also retains its Mythic+ throne, doing persistent high damage with a short cooldown while producing souls for self-healing in a restricted external healing environment. We can eliminate debuffs using Phial of Serenity instead than depending on healers or DPS with particular dispels. While all covenants are competitive, none of them provide the control and snap aggression needed in a season when kiting is still required often. Necrolord has been completely revamped and is now statistically comparable with the other three covenants, although it still trails behind as a viable choice owing to the unpredictability of spawning and the restricted usage of Fleshcraft.
Shadowlands’ Best Guardian Druid Covenant
Night Fae is the greatest Guardian Druid Covenant for Raid.
Blizzard buffed Night Fae back up to 16 spells for Guardian just before the expansion launched, propelling it to the top of the list due to the massive amount of flexibility it provides in a raid environment, whether it’s big dps, a massive raid healing cooldown, or a massive defensive boost, Night Fae can do it all.
Because of the upgrades it has gotten, Necrolord is on the rise for Guardian in 9.0.5, but I feel it will still fall short of Night Fae outside of pure single target damage encounters.
Night Fae is the greatest Guardian Druid Covenant for Mythic+.
The Night Fae Soulbind trees work well for Guardian, always enabling us to acquire whatever we desire, plus there are some major power improvements in mythic+ like Korayn’s First Strike.
However, in mythic+, the difference between the other three covenants is fairly tiny, and the other three are absolutely viable alternatives that range in strength from dungeon to dungeon.
Shadowlands’ Best Brewmaster Monk Covenant
Kyrian is the finest Brewmaster Monk Covenant for raiding.
Brewmaster Monk’s best Covenant raiding option is quite straightforward: Kyrian all day. You wanted more, didn’t you? Sure. The Phial of Serenity of the Summon Steward is incredibly useful, particularly in raids. Weapons of Order provides excellent damage and major stat budget, and unlike the Necrolord and Night Fae Covenant abilities, which are both competitive, the Kyrian class ability is simple to use and doesn’t lose value when you’re forced to move around by bosses like Sire Denathrius, Stone Legion Generals, Sludgefist, Council of Blood, and others. In the end, it’s the simplest and most powerful option, which is a winning combo.
Kyrian is the greatest Brewmaster Monk Covenant for Mythic+.
Kyrian is also Brewmaster Monk’s greatest Covenant choice for Mythic+. Again, Phial of Serenity comes in handy for eliminating unpleasant debuffs or just as a third health potion. Weapons of Order aids Brewmaster with dealing burst damage on massive pulls while also providing a protective cooldown layer. It doesn’t have the same short cooldown as Necrolord’s Bonedust Brew or the same sustained DPS potential as Night Fae’s Faeline Stomp, but it’s a bigger, stronger, and more reliable cooldown that fits better into the way Mythic+ dungeons are typically handled than the smaller, less reliable alternatives. In the end, it’s the simplest and most powerful option, which is a winning combo.
Shadowlands’ Best Protection Paladin Covenant
Venthyr is the greatest Protection Paladin Covenant for Raid.
Protection’s highest DPS covenant class ability, Ashen Hallow, is best used in raid conditions. When appropriate, the ability scales nicely with the amount of targets and may be used as a healing cooldown. General Draven is also an extremely potent soulbind for advancement raiding since he has two qualities, Service In Stone and Hold Your Ground, which dramatically enhance survivability when a Protection Paladin needs it the most. This combo, along with Door of Shadows for further mobility, elevates Venthyr above the competition.
The finest Protection Paladin Covenant for Mythic+ is Kyrian.
Divine Toll, a powerful ability for quick threat, utility, and resource creation, arrives with Kyrian. Divine Toll works well with legendaries and skills that perform better in Mythic+, making it even more useful in that setting. Phial of Serenity is basically the frosting on the cake for all of Shadowlands Dungeons’ bleed dynamics, or even just another healing consumable. Pelagos is a highly powerful soulbind in terms of safety, since going into a pull with Shield of the Righteous and Combat Meditation may increase the length of time you can face-tank a pull.
In the Shadowlands, the Best Protection Warrior Covenant
Necrolord or Kyrian are the greatest Protection Warrior Covenants for Raid.
During raids, Protection Warriors must choose between the good of the group and the good of themselves. In raids, Necrolord is the greatest pick for Protection Warriors who want to focus on the group. To compete, it is necessary to have a well-organized group. It’s the greatest overall pick in ideal conditions, with powerful DPS players who can overlap your Conqueror’s Banner with their big offensive cooldowns. If you’re not playing in a group, its utility will be much reduced, and Kyrian’s Spear of Bastion will be a more dependable personally helpful talent. In the end, the decision between Necrolord and the other covenants comes down to the size of your party and the degree of organization you want to play at.
Necrolord, Kyrian, or Night Fae are the finest Protection Warrior Covenants for Mythic+.
Protection Warriors must choose between a personal burst DPS cooldown and a big stat bonus to apply to other players when utilizing their offensive cooldowns in Mythic+. In high-level Mythic+ pushing groups, Necrolord is the greatest group-oriented option for Protection Warriors, but you must rely on other players to maximize its worth. It’s the greatest overall pick in ideal conditions, with powerful DPS players who can overlap your Conqueror’s Banner with their big offensive cooldowns. If you’re not playing with organized groups, Kyrian’s Spear of Bastion and Night Fae’s Ancient Aftershock are more dependable options with greater personal worth and CC. In the end, the decision between Necrolord and the other covenants comes down to the size of your party and the degree of organization you want to play at.
In Shadowlands Patch 9.0.5, the Best Covenants for Healer Specs
Shadowlands’ Best Restoration Druid Covenant
Night Fae is the finest Restoration Druid Covenant for Raid.
Convoke the Spirits by the Night Fae offers a pretty constant and strong 2 minute burst healing cooldown that requires no mana expenditure. There’s a lot of synergy built in from legendaries or skills like Soul of the Forest and Swiftmend since it casts Restoration Druid-specific spells. Add in the fact that every cast may result in 1-3 Wild Growths and, on rare occasions, a Flourish, and we’ve got a very powerful covenant ability that puts the others to shame.
The spell power coefficient and the HoT increase for Necrolord’s Adaptive Swarm were both increased by 25%. While it makes Necrolord more enticing than before, particularly with the modifications to Fleshcraft, it still falls flat in raid due to the increased healing being confined to a single target.
Endless Thirst, a Venthyr covenant conduit, has had his crit per stack of Ravenous Frenzy increased by 60%. While this adds more oomph to a conduit that was already good, Ravenous Frenzy still doesn’t have enough extra throughput to dislodge Night Fae’s Convoke the Spirits. To avoid falling behind in terms of throughput increase, Ravenous Frenzy must be utilized in conjunction with Incarnation: Tree of Life. It soon loses usefulness when used independently to cover gaps in throughput. Because it must be combined with another cooldown to be useful, this one is rigid and has several major flaws.
Night Fae is the finest Restoration Druid Covenant for Mythic+.
Night Fae’s Convoke the Spirits is excellent in raid for the same reasons it is good in Mythic+. Convoke the Spirits shines because of its adaptability. Even if we don’t require the healing in Mythic+, we may change to our affinity shapeshift and utilize Convoke the Spirits as a rather effective damage cooldown, making it one of the few methods for a Restoration Druid to throw the high damage AoE Starfall.
Because of the sheer quantity of single-target healing necessary for tank healing, Necrolord’s Adaptive Swarm boost is much more valuable for Mythic+. If you’re purely concerned with healing in Mythic+, Necrolord is a good choice; but, if you’re concerned with damage in any way, you’ll get more mileage out of Convoke the Spirits simply because Adaptive Swarm still only does single-target damage.
Shadowlands’ Best Mistweaver Monk Covenant
The finest Mistweaver Monk Covenant for Raid is Necrolord.
With the addition of Fleshcraft in 9.0.5, Necrolord has risen to the top of the covenant list. While Kyrian and Necrolord have always been close in terms of total production and usefulness, Necrolord has now surpassed Kyrian in terms of a recommendation because to the improvements to Fleshcraft. With no further Mistweaver covenant adjustments in 9.0.5, this would be the only ranking change that will be affected.
The finest Mistweaver Monk Covenant for Mythic+ is Necrolord or Kyrian.
In terms of covenant options, the balance in Mythic+ is still tight. While the improved Fleshcraft provides more damage reduction, Mistweavers are already highly tanky healers in terms of cooldowns available. Kyrian and Weapons of Order still have a strong synergy with Invoke Chi-Ji, the Red Crane, so they’re not a bad pick in this situation.
Shadowlands’ Best Holy Paladin Covenant
Kyrian or Venthyr are the greatest Holy Paladin Covenants for Raid.
Venthyr heals a little less but does a lot more damage, and it’s a little more difficult to coordinate and utilize appropriately. Kyrian, on the other hand, has a considerably more consistent flow and a stronger healing capacity. Venthyr’s Ashen Hallow may be utilized as a very strong raid cooldown, and if other healers play around with it (doing damage or not using their cooldowns), it can keep a raid group safe for a long time. Kyrian is excellent because 1 minute burst healing is very important. Being able to pool up to 5 holy power, expend it, Divine Toll, then spend it again on a regular basis provides you a wide burst healing window.
Kyrian or Venthyr are the strongest Holy Paladin Covenants for Mythic+.
Both Venthyr and Kyrian are viable here, as they are in raiding. If you don’t already have a Venthyr, a coordinated group of Venthyrs may be quite effective and offer up additional buff choices. Kyrian gives you an on-demand burst healing cooldown that comes up often, making up for the paladin’s worst flaw (healing outside of wings).
Shadowlands’ Best Discipline Priest Covenant
Venthyr is the finest Discipline Priest Covenant for Raid.
Despite the nerfs to Spirit Shell, Venthyr’s Mindgames ability remains the best way to enhance your shield size. It’s a straightforward enormous single-target devastating ability that converts to Atonement healing (and hence Spirit Shell shielding), as well as reversing part of the damage dealt by the impacted opponent. The Spirit Shell nerfs don’t alter the reality that avoiding and absorbing incoming damage is frequently preferable than mending it. Because of how effectively it synergizes with your ramp up windows and how low-GCD demanding it is to execute, Mindgames is still the ideal pick for raiding Covenant.
Night Fae is the greatest Discipline Priest Covenant for Mythic+.
Enemies with a lot of pride have a lot of health and inflict a lot of aoe damage to the group. With the most current buffs and a high uptime, the Fae Guardians may grant one ally a large damage reduction (20%). This alone is very useful, since Discipline uses a lot of mana to keep the tank alive with Shadow Mend spam, rapidly depleting your mana supplies. Extra damage reduction combined with a high uptime saves a lot of mana, enabling you to spend more time doing damage and healing with Atonement. You also receive a cooldown reduction for a DPS like a Mage’s Combustion, allowing them to kill the Pridefuls more reliably, and the Wrathful Faeries provide considerable mana returns, which is great for higher level dungeons.
Whether you’re in a Pick Up Group or a well-coordinated team, I believe Night Fae will be the best covenant choice for PRIMARY Mythic+ Discipline Priests in 9.0.5, saving significant mana with frequent damage reduction for your tank, more consistent mana regen from Wrathful Fairies, and better cooldown reduction for your damage dealers to kill enemies faster.
Shadowlands’ Best Holy Priest Covenant
The finest Holy Priest Covenants for Raid are Necrolord or Night Fae.
Holy Priests have relied on the Necrolord’s Unholy Nova for a long time, and 9.0.5 will introduce Fleshcraft enhancements, making the spec more defensive. Emeni’s soulbind provides a significant Intellect increase, with Lead by Example providing a 13 percent additional intellect while casting Unholy Nova on demand. This is a good match for Holy Word: Salvation or Divine Hymn.
With small raid boosts to the Night Fae covenant, the patch will provide more rivalry to the covenants. Divine Hymn is getting a boost that allows it to stack healing from successive Divine Hymn ticks and stay longer, which is a feature that Fae Guardians have taken away from Holy Priests. While the cooldown reduction for Fae Guardians remains same, the damage reduction has been increased to 20% (from 10%), and the Wrathful Fairy will now instantly jump to a nearby adversary when Fae Guardians is used on an ally. The damage reduction will be useful for self-defense or extra tank assistance (a weak place for the spec in raids), and the automatic leap will save a global or two in needing to apply said Wrathful Fairy before gaining any benefit from it, resulting in more consistent mana returns. When you combine this with Flash Concentration gaming, which may effectively use surplus mana for increased throughput, you have a powerful resource synergy developing. Night Fae is my preference, however I don’t believe the difference between Holy covenants is so great as to be severe.
Night Fae is the greatest Holy Priest Covenant for Mythic+.
Fae Guardians is getting some enhancements in 9.0.5, as previously mentioned. While increased damage reduction may be useful in a raid due to the large number of external cooldowns that a 20-man raid group might have, it’s completely useless in a dungeon. It’s fantastic to be able to provide your tank 20% damage mitigation for 20 seconds while still having the ability to switch it to another buddy if they’re taking too much damage. It shores up a critical weakness of the spec, saves mana, and makes Prideful foes safer and easier. The cooldown reduction was previously in use in the Mythic Dungeon International with the assistance offered to Mage players, but it may be utilized on a number of specs, including tanks, to help them get their defensives back more quickly. While Holy Priest is a mana efficient key, having a backup of extra mana returns is always a good idea, particularly for players who commonly utilize LFG for their key groups, as DPS likes to cleave each other during Prideful, making the healer’s work that much more difficult. The road is via the Night Fae.
Shadowlands’ Best Restoration Shaman Covenant
The finest Restoration Shaman Covenant for Raid is Necrolord.
Primordial Wave is a powerful ability, thus Necrolord is the best choice. This kind of powerful and effective spot-healing is exactly what I’m looking for in a progression raid, on top of being a lot of fun to play. Fleshcrafts’ update to provide damage mitigation contributes to the covenant’s overall balance.
However, with 9.0.5, Necrolord isn’t actually the best anymore; thanks to buffs, all of Kyrian, Night Fae, and Venthyr are now completely viable choices, even with Necrolord, so the only reason I’m still putting it as the best is because of the gameplay-changing impact and the fact that it doesn’t care if people are stacked or not. You won’t be hampered by your raiding covenant’s decision.
Any of these is the greatest Restoration Shaman Covenant for Mythic+.
Because to the 9.0.5 balance, all of the Restoration Shaman covenants are now near together, allowing you to choose your playstyle, the amount of damage the covenant provides, or whatever covenant is missing from your standard Mythic+ group. The only difference between them in terms of healing and damage is how they administer it: Venthyr heals people within 20 yards of your target, Night Fae heals anyone within 20 yards of yourself, Kyrian heals those surrounding your totem, and Necrolord doesn’t seem to mind. On the offensive side, Night Fae contributes the most single-target damage but does not scale into AoE (at all), while Kyrian and Venthyr are both comfortable with AoE and Necrolord can sometimes fling a dot.
In Shadowlands Patch 9.0.5, the best Covenants for DPS Specs are
Shadowlands’ Best Frost Death Knight Covenant
Kyrian or Necrolord are the greatest Frost Death Knight Covenants for Raid.
Frost Covenants might be difficult to rate. They all contribute something positive, and the differences between them are frequently little. The decision is also influenced by your weapon of choice and skill build, which further complicates the situation. Kyrian is the raiding option for 2H Obliteration. Simply said, it improves single target throughput. It’s substantially more difficult for DW Obliteration and Breath of Sindragosa builds. Every covenant adds something positive to the table, making the decision much more personal. Venthyr excels in AoE with Breath of Sindragosa, Night Fae is fantastic for cleave, and Kyrian has a little advantage in pure single target. I guess I’d go for Necrolord if I had to say anything. You may think I’m exaggerating when I say how close the covenants are, but if you look at the rankings, you’ll see that all covenants are represented at the top.
Necrolord, Night Fae, or Venthyr are the greatest Frost Death Knight Covenants for Mythic+.
In terms of covenant power, Mythic + is equivalent to Raid. I’d say Kyrian is somewhat behind owing to a covenant ability that is only decent in AoE. The decision between Necrolord, Venthyr, and Night Fae is quite tough. Venthyr is ideal for Breath of Sindragosa builds since you can take use of the runic power boost. Due to the cleave, Night Fae is very powerful, particularly with Obliteration builds, but also for Breath of Sindragosa. Necrolord is another adaptable option that may be used in a variety of situations.
Shadowlands’ Best Unholy Death Knight Covenant
The finest Unholy Death Knight Covenant for Raid is Necrolord.
To begin with, Unholy covenants are very refined. In most cases, there isn’t much of a difference between the best and worst options. Given this, Necrolord is the finest Raid Covenant in general. Emeni provides high ST throughput (almost identical to Venthyr) as well as the ability to enhance your raid with Lead by Example. I believe the 9.0.5 Fleshcraft boost will solidify Necrolord as the raid covenant, since you’ll get an additional powerful defense!
Venthyr is the greatest Unholy Death Knight Covenant for Mythic+.
The meta for Mythic+ is somewhat different. Venthyr with Swarming Mist is the greatest covenant in this area. The ability’s brief cooldown (1 minute) and huge runic power output allow for enormous bursts at a high frequency. You also deliver practically tied single target damage, so you don’t have to give up anything.
Shadowlands’ Best Havoc Demon Hunter Covenant
Night Fae or Venthyr are the greatest Havoc Demon Hunter Covenants for Raid.
Both Night Fae and Venthyr boost Raiding damage in a similar way. With short cooldown nukes, they’ll both assist our single target damage. In raids, on-demand burst is king since many challenging encounters will put pressure on you to kill an add or get out of a phase fast, and these cooldowns will shine in these scenarios.
Any of these is the greatest Havoc Demon Hunter Covenant for Mythic+.
Because of the wide range of M+ pathing, party compositions, dungeons, and affixes, each covenant has its own specialty. They’re all within a hair’s breadth of one other and will win in particular conditions. Kyrian provides us with a short-cooldown AoE nuke that is quite useful for sustained AoE, but he lacks ST for monsters. Venthyr and Night Fae have a similar damage pattern, with a devastating ST nuke and cleave/aoe built in. Necrolord provides us a proc that gives us a damage boost. This doesn’t mean we’ll get more burst damage, but it will let us deal more sustained damage throughout the dungeon. Overall, all of the covenants will enhance damage in the same manner, but in various ways, as we’ve mentioned. Picking the odd covenant may be the most helpful if you play with a certain group since you will have access to covenant specific abilities in more dungeons, but if you pug, just going with the covenant you choose primarily for PVP or Raiding will suffice.
Optimal Balance Shadowlands’ Druid Covenant
Night Fae is the strongest Balance Druid Covenant for Raid.
Night Fae or Kyrian are the finest Balance Druid Covenants for Mythic+.
At lower levels of keys, Convoke the Spirits is probably preferable since the on-demand harm is simpler to control. With the Prideful boost, this is enhanced much further. Since it comes to Kindred Empowerment, the AOE damage from Kyrian is great, but the problem is that it’s simply AOE damage, which isn’t really impressive when Convoke the Spirits is such a unique and excellent ability.
Shadowlands’ Best Feral Druid Covenant
Night Fae is the finest Feral Druid Covenant for raiding.
With the upcoming release of 9.0.5 and the addition of a few of covenant adjustments to feral, some may be wondering whether anything has changed in terms of what you should be selecting! No, is the short and straightforward response.
Night Fae continues to reign dominant despite boosts to Venthyr (through Endless Thirst) and Necrolord (via a standard bonus). All of the problems that the other two conduits have now and in the past still remain. For raiding, they’re just statistically inferior possibilities with worse damage profile setups. When Necrolord, the sustained single target option, loses against a Burst option in both AOE and single target, it is no longer a viable option. Venthyr for raiding is still simply Night Fae on steroids, or Kyrian on steroids, with the added benefit of being one of the few covenant skills in the game with an active negative.
Night Fae is the greatest Feral Druid Covenant for Mythic+.
It’s pretty much the same for Mythic+. Adaptive Swarm would have to be SO MUCH BETTER in single target owing to how it works to be a viable alternative, and if it keeps becoming worse, it’s no longer a viable option. Venthyr’s boost isn’t strong enough to make it a viable choice for Mythic+; it’s better in M+ than raiding, but not by enough to make it a viable alternative.
Shadowlands’ Best Beast Mastery Hunter Covenant
Night Fae is the greatest Beast Mastery Hunter Covenant for Raid.
Night Fae is still the go-to raiding Covenant for Hunters, even after patch 9.0.5. Despite the latest upgrades to other Covenants, Wild Spirits is just too powerful and vital a cooldown for Castle Nathria to skip. The raid’s most difficult encounters are designed with longer cooldowns to help you get through the toughest parts of the fight. Night Fae is still the greatest single-target Covenant, despite the fact that it is getting closer. More boosts to the other Covenants, on the other hand, will make little difference since the current raid meta values are too low to alter, so we’ll have to wait and watch how the new raid in 9.1 pans out.
Night Fae is the greatest Beast Mastery Hunter Covenant for Mythic+.
Night Fae and Kyrian are both excellent alternatives, but Night Fae is still the best option if you want to do the most damage. Wild Spirits is a fantastic burst cooldown that lets you smash the large pulls in a manner that Resonating Arrow can’t. Again, Kyrian is a strong Covenant option, but Night Fae now has a numerical advantage over Kyrian in virtually all circumstances.
Hunter Covenant in Shadowlands with the Best Marksmanship
Night Fae is the greatest Marksmanship Hunter Covenant for Raid and Mythic+.
Night Fae simply deals the most damage and has the strongest burst damage for single targets and AoE, which is critical in engagements against Stone Legion Generals and Denathrius.
Night Fae or Kyrian are the greatest Marksmanship Hunter Covenants for Mythic+.
Night Fae remains the best choice, despite the Serpentstalker’s Trickery bug patch. However, the Surging Shots boost, along with the Serpentstalker’s Trickery bug repair, dramatically narrowed the gap, putting Kyrian on par with Night Fae. We may see more Kyrian Hunters focusing on Mythic+, since it provides somewhat less total damage but more frequent and consistent damage, which may be desirable in certain scenarios.
Shadowlands’ Best Survival Hunter Covenant
Night Fae is the greatest Survival Hunter Covenant for Raid and Mythic+.
In both Raids and M+, has access to the strongest soulbinds for PvE. The improvements to Venthyr and Necrolord still don’t address any form of AoE scaling, and hence aren’t competitive.
Shadowlands’ Best Arcane Mage Covenant
Night Fae or Venthyr are the greatest Arcane Mage Covenants for raiding.
Because Mirrors of Torment was improved to grant Clearcasting on proc instead of mana, Arcane’s best raid Covenant is technically Venthyr. However, this only pertains to single-target battles, and although single-target fights make up the bulk of raid encounters, they aren’t the only sort of boss in Castle Nathria: Huntsman Altimor and Stone Legion Generals are two instances.
The Necrolord and Night Fae are also excellent choices. I’d place the Night Fae’s Shifting Power’s adaptability ahead of the sheer damage Deathborne brings to the rotation.
Night Fae is the greatest Arcane Mage Covenant for Mythic+.
Even during Tyrannical weeks, Mythic+ relies on regular multi-targeting; garbage takes up the bulk of the time. With this in mind, the Night Fae remain our greatest dungeon Covenant. The short cooldown of Shifting Power corresponds to most trash packs, and it also allows us to cast our other spells more quickly. While Deathborne seems to be more powerful on paper, it only has three targets and a significant cooldown, thus it’s usually only used once or twice between monster encounters.
Shadowlands’ Best Fire Mage Covenant
Night Fae is the greatest Fire Mage Covenant for Raid.
Shifting Power’s cooldown reduction is advantageous for Fire since it has many short cooldowns, including as Fire Blast, Phoenix Flames, Rune of Power, and Dragon’s Breath. As the number of targets grows, this advantage becomes increasingly significant. Classes with cooldowns increasing every minute have an edge in encounters like Sludgefist in Castle Nathria. Combustion is difficult to get down to the minute point without Shifting Power. Night Fae has more synergy with the spec than any other covenant ability.
Venthyr and Necrolord both close the gap in Single Target with 9.0.5, placing them both within 3-4 percent of Night Fae. Kyrian makes progress as well, although not as quickly as its colleagues.
Night Fae is the greatest Fire Mage Covenant for Mythic+.
It’s the same as raid. As the number of targets increases, Night Fae grows stronger, and the distance widens. Because to the Deathborne enhancement in 9.0.5, Necrolord has acquired a lot of value, although extended cooldowns aren’t optimal in the Mythic+ setting.
Shadowlands’ Best Frost Mage Covenant
Venthyr is the greatest Frost Mage Covenant for Raid.
The Venthyr Covenant is recommended for Frost Mages that are solely focused on raiding and have no plans to swap specialties. In Shadowlands, the proc Brain Freeze is very powerful, and Mirrors of Torment ensures three uses (as long as the target lives long enough to activate all three stacks – about 20 seconds). The Kyrian is another a good pick, with Radiant Spark considerably increasing the strength of Brain Freeze procs. Although neither Covenant ability improves cleave or AoE, they dominate priority damage, which makes up the bulk of raid content.
The Venthyr are also useful for Fire Mages if you prefer to spec-swap, but the Night Fae are by far the most adaptable of any Covenant; they’re ideal for single-target and AoE Fire and Arcane, as well as AoE Frost. The only time the Night Fae aren’t our first option is for single-target Frost, since Shifting Power isn’t worth pushing against a single target.
Because to the modification to Deathborne in 9.0.5, Necrolord is now our second best covenant.
Night Fae is the greatest Frost Mage Covenant for Mythic+.
Even though it is poor on a single target, Shifting Power’s ability to reduce the cooldowns of Blizzard, Frozen Orb, and Rune of Power is very useful against several adversaries (like Tyrannical bosses).
The Venthyr are a good Mythic+ option since most packs feature a huge mob that will survive Mirrors, particularly during Fortified weeks. With Emeni’s powerful Lead by Example trait and a class ability (Deathborne) that enhances our cleave, the Necrolord are also reasonable. However, the cooldown is quite lengthy, and you’ll seldom be able to use it more than once between bosses.
Necrolord is gaining a lot of value in AoE because to the improvements in 9.0.5. It won’t be enough to change the meta, but it will perform considerably better in simulations. In the Mythic+ setting, long cooldowns like these aren’t desirable.
Shadowlands’ Best Windwalker Monk Covenant
Kyrian is the finest Windwalker Monk Covenant for raiding.
Kyrian is the greatest Windwalker Monk Covenant for Mythic+.
In Mythic+, the best Covenant for Windwalker is still Kyrian in 9.0.5. Although a Covenant like Necrolord may employ Bonedust Brew, the 2-minute cooldown of Weapons of Order can easily be used by semi-coordinated parties that let players to line up or stagger their skills for optimal usefulness. Weapons of Order enables the Windwalker to use a large number of Spinning Crane Kicks in a short period of time against trash and gives the most burst damage to a single target for monsters.
Shadowlands’ Best Retribution Paladin Covenant
The finest Retribution Paladin Covenant for Raid is Kyrian.
Divine Toll is a flexible cooldown that works well in Castle Nathria, particularly against more challenging enemies like Sludgefist later in the game. It works well in single target burst builds with Execution Sentence and Final Reckoning, as well as AoE builds since its Holy Power production scales with the number of enemies struck. Divine Toll has no actual flaws or disadvantages, and depending on the scenario, it may function with a variety of different talent builds.
The best Retribution Paladin Covenant for Mythic+ is Kyrian.
Divine Toll, like Raid, may be utilized in conjunction with Final Reckoning for a powerful AoE burst every minute, or as a stand-alone AoE and on-demand Holy Power generating ability. Its cooldown is low enough that it can be used on cooldown and still be accessible when burst AoE is needed, and it’s quite simple to get a lot of extra Holy Power out of it without a lot of extra forethought.
In the Shadowlands, the best Shadow Priest Covenant
Any of these is the finest Shadow Priest Covenant for Raid.
Shadow’s Covenant options are still open-ended enough that you may make any of the four work without placing yourself at a substantial disadvantage, just as they were before Castle Nathria. While one may prove to be the better in a single battle for whatever reason, it won’t be by much, and it won’t be in all of them.
Night Fae, on the other hand, has experienced a significant increase in play and seems to be holding its own in 9.0.5. Soulshape’s mobility, as well as Niya’s soulbind characteristic Grove Invigoration’s mastery, are compelling reasons to play Night Fae. Fae Guardians, a Night Fae Priest ability, has gotten a defensive enhancement, which may make the spell’s third component more enticing. While this isn’t the case right now, specialized methods using Benevolent Faerie to lessen the cooldowns of critical raid players might arise in the future.
Fleshcraft, Necrolord’s hallmark spell, has gotten a number of defensive and quality of life upgrades. Before 9.0.5, Necrolord was a strong competitor for sheer damage output, and this is still the case, but nothing is powerful enough to be called the universally greatest raiding option.
Necrolord or Night Fae are the greatest Shadow Priest Covenants for Mythic+.
In Mythc+, Shadow Priest has two big candidates for greatest Covenant: Necrolord and Night Fae, while Venthyr and Kyrian aren’t far behind. Night Fae has increased in recent weeks owing to the value of Grove Invigoration and Fae Guardians offering more Voidforms on trash, while Necrolord continues to give a powerful out of the box AoE ability in Unholy Nova that doesn’t struggle to pick up value in multi target.
As noted in the MDI, Night Fae also opens up new ways to use Benevolent Faerie to lessen a teammate’s cooldowns. While this is useful in well-coordinated and trained groups, it is ineffective for the vast majority of keys performed by players and should be avoided.
Shadowlands’ Best Assassination Rogue Covenant
Venthyr is the greatest Assassination Rogue Covenant for Raid.
Venthyr seems to be the statistically strongest single target covenant as we enter 9.0.5, thanks to a reworked Flagellation covenant ability and a significant upgrade to the Lashing Scars conduit. For raids, this should theoretically be the best option. That so, any covenant is acceptable, and 9.0.5 reduces the disparities even more.
Night Fae is the greatest Assassination Rogue Covenant for Mythic+.
For M+ settings, Night Fae remains the best-looking covenant. The alternatives aren’t awful, but Night Fae soulbinds are a decent deal, and Korayn’s Wild Hunt Tactics and First Strike are excellent for standard dungeons.
Shadowlands’ Best Outlaw Rogue Covenant
Night Fae is the greatest Outlaw Rogue Covenant for Raid.
Because covenants are so close, tossing a dart into a covenant wheel of fate is as accurate as pronouncing one to be the best. Venthyr are strong at single target, but they don’t have the same success in AoE scenarios. For Necrolord, it’s the opposite way around; they seem to be incredibly good in AoE/add battles but not so much in single target. Night Fae, in my view, is the finest overall suggestion, owing to the covenant’s incredibly versatile package, as well as the opportunity for multispeccing.
Necrolord is the greatest Outlaw Rogue Covenant for Mythic+.
While Night Fae are fantastic for the same reasons as the other two specs, the 9.0.5 upgrade to Serrated Bone Spike’s initial damage is the reason I’m opting with Necrolord here. It’s great on its own, but what sets it apart here is how Blade Flurry converts this tremendous initial damage into AoE. This provides Necrolord an advantage over the others in terms of AoE damage.
Shadowlands’ Most Subtle Rogue Covenant
Venthyr is the finest Subtlety Rogue Covenant for Raid and Mythic+.
Venthyr seems to be the statistically strongest single target covenant as we enter 9.0.5, thanks to a reworked Flagellation covenant ability and a significant upgrade to the Lashing Scars conduit. For raids, this should theoretically be the best option. That so, any covenant is acceptable, and 9.0.5 reduces the disparities even more.
Night Fae is the greatest Subtlety Rogue Covenant for Mythic+.
For M+ settings, Night Fae remains the best-looking covenant. The alternatives aren’t awful, but Night Fae soulbinds are a decent deal, and Korayn’s Wild Hunt Tactics and First Strike are excellent for standard dungeons.
Shadowlands’ Best Elemental Shaman Covenant
The finest Elemental Shaman Covenant for Raid is Necrolord.
Both Necrolord & Night Fae compete quite closely currently. While the buff to Fae Transfusion is nice, the real strength of Night Fae is in the Niya & Korayn soulbinds. Additionally, while Night Fae does sim higher than Necrolord in most situations the fact that the strength of Night Fae is in those soulbinds is also what hinders it.
Niya with Niya’s Tools: Burrs & Korayn with First Strike shine on single target & AoE respectively, but when you focus on one Necrolord will outshine them in the other. Necrolord also wins out for funneling damage into a priority target, target swaps, and is generally just a bit more versatile than Night Fae. As such, Necrolord receives the top spot for the moment.
The finest Elemental Shaman Covenant for Mythic+ is Necrolord.
Both Necrolord & Night Fae shine here. Necrolord due to the versatility of both the soulbinds and the covenant ability, and Night Fae due to the raw power that the soulbinds provide you. With Skybreaker’s Fiery Demise & Storm Elemental looking to make a comeback alongside a much more powerful Chain Lightning in 9.0.5, the Korayn Soulbind on Night Fae shines as First Strike synergizes extremely well with our burst windows.
Night Fae falls short of Necrolord in terms of power, since the Night Fae’s strength is focused in the soulbinds, and you must pick between AoE and Single Target strength with Korayn and Niya. In Primordial Wave, Necrolord delivers significantly greater strength and a much more flexible covenant ability.
Shaman Covenant’s Best Enhancement in Shadowlands
Venthyr is the greatest Enhancement Shaman Covenant for Raid.
All save the already dominating Venthyr Covenant received boosts in the form of flat gains in 9.0.5, pushing them closer to the point where their technical advantages are the sole decisive factor. Despite this, I would still suggest Venthyr at this time (although there are stronger arguments for both Night Fae and Kyrian now, with Necrolord still lagging a bit behind as effectively a worse version of another option).
The following are the causes for Raids:
- While there are many single-target encounters, the benefit of Night Fae + Fae Transfusion is still dependent on a channel, and many of the burst windows are brief enough that the displaced globals within the still-dominant Doom Winds make it less clear.
- Only one of the last four difficult monsters in Castle Nathria leaves any chance for another Covenant to flourish (that being Sludgefist and Kyrian with some clever Vesper Totem pre-casting). Chain Harvest, on the other hand, is very useful as a burst tool against Council of Blood, Stone Legion Generals, and Sire Denathrius.
- Venthyr remains a solid option despite his significantly weaker signature skill due to the versatility provided by having a on demand burst and several pretty easy but interchangeable Soulbind alternatives.
If a Witch Doctor’s Wolf Bones build ends up prevailing, Fae Transfusion is now the strongest pure single-target option and also gets some improved synergies through the Soulbind tree (though this remains to be seen, and relies a lot on how realistic the uptime requirements are on each encounter to capitalize on the recent 40 percent Lava Lash buff). Kyrian’s Vesper Totem is a less explosive but more versatile variant of Chain Harvest, however owing to our poor Potency Conduits, the Soulbind leaves a lot to be desired for raiding options. Despite the boost, Necrolord is still simply a worse Night Fae in most scenarios, although the difference isn’t as wide as it was at launch.
Venthyr is the greatest Enhancement Shaman Covenant for Mythic+.
All save the presently dominating Venthyr Covenant received buffs in the form of flat gains in 9.0.5, bringing them closer to the point where their mechanical advantages and usefulness would be the determining considerations for Mythic+. Having saying that, I would still suggest Venthyr at this time (although there is an argument for Kyrian and possibly Night Fae as well here, but Necrolord remains a poor choice).
The following are the causes for Mythic+:
- The overwhelming power of the frontloaded damage in each Chain Harvest allows you to open strong and stack additional cooldowns for bigger pulls, and the sheer strength of the frontloaded damage in each Chain Harvest allows you to open strong and layer extra cooldowns for larger pulls.
- Venthyr gives a big group heal, which is extremely useful when dealing with Prideful or difficult pulls that your healer is having trouble with (or allow them to focus more on DPS). Kyrian also brings this up, albeit to a lesser level, which is one of the reasons it’s still worth thinking about.
- When it comes to Soulbinds, Venthyr has several good alternatives but nothing remarkable, and this is one of the areas where Kyrian outperforms Venthyr owing to access to Hammer of Genesis, a powerful option for boosting your Doom Winds opening.
Most of the factors that make Fae Transfusion more desirable aren’t as important in Mythic+, owing to the little chance that Doom Winds will be dethroned as the legendary of choice. The increased healing from the second activation, on the other hand, may spare it from being used as an extra group cooldown, but given that Venthyr may just change their usage, it’s unlikely to be preferred. Vesper Totem is a solid alternative, particularly in terms of versatility, thanks to the flat damage and healing buff in 9.0.5, but it’s just not as quantitatively explosive as Chain Harvest. Necrolord, while having little group usefulness and a highly specialized damage profile, is still lagging behind in Mythic+.
Shadowlands’ Best Affliction Warlock Covenant
Night Fae or Kyrian are the greatest Affliction Warlock Covenants for Raid and Mythic+.
The major advantage of Kyrian’s Scouring Tithe for most raid material is that it counts as a DoT to raise the damage of your Malefic Rapture, in addition to being an additional DoT for a class that specializes in DoTs.
Night Fae is almost as powerful as Kyrian, with the extra bonus of Soulshape’s great mobility ability. Niya’s Grove Invigoration is on par with Pelagos’ Combat Meditation in terms of power. Furthermore, Soul Rot is much more useful than Scouring Tithe since it’s effectively simply a cooldown that you must hit every minute, rather than continually analyzing which benefit you want to receive from casting it.
Shadowlands’ Best Demonology Warlock Covenant
Necrolord or Night Fae are the greatest Demonology Warlock Covenants for Raid.
Despite Venthyr’s ability being tweaked, Impending Catastrophe, Night Fae, and Necrolord will still be your major raid choices. Most players will likely stick with Night Fae owing to the versatility it gives in terms of playing various specs. The boost to Decimating Bolt (base 100 percent increase from 60 percent) should provide a little more of a buffer between the two covenants, however the difference between the two is minor if you just want to play Demonology.
Necrolord or Night Fae are the greatest Demonology Warlock Covenants for Mythic+.
The best M+ covenant is inextricably linked to the best raid covenant, owing to the fact that neither provides a significant overall gain. You may play anything you want, but Night Fae/Necrolord is still the greatest choice.
Shadowlands’ Best Destruction Warlock Covenant
Night Fae is the finest Destruction Warlock Covenant for Raid and Mythic+.
Nothing has changed for Destruction in 9.0.5; Night Fae remains the strongest covenant for both raid and m+. Although Necrolord has been improved, Night Fae still seems to be the strongest owing to the differences in soulbinds and the usefulness of Soulshapes.
However, this significantly increases the role of both Necrolord and Venthyr. Necrolord, in particular, is now a viable raid choice. The biggest disadvantage of picking Necrolord is that you can’t play Affliction, which seems to be the strongest spec in 9.0.5.
Shadowlands’ Best Arms Warrior Covenant
Venthyr is the greatest Arms Warrior Covenant for Raid.
Condemn, supported by Massacre, removes a large portion of the rotation, streamlining it while simultaneously increasing damage and defensive value because to the built-in damage reduction. Although the time between Execute phases is a little short, the damage at the start and finish of the encounter makes it worthwhile, and Venthyr provides great Soulbind choices for single and multitarget content.
Warriors already have a lot of mobility, so Door of Shadows is a bit of a letdown. When it’s beneficial, it’s quite handy, but in raids when the whole raid has to move rather than just one person, those moments are few and far between. In general, any of the others will be superior, but it isn’t the most important factor to consider while picking Covenants.
Night Fae is the greatest Arms Warrior Covenant for Mythic+.
Condemn’s sheer damage output keeps it powerful in multitarget, but it loses effectiveness in AoE-heavy gameplay since it’s confined to a single target outside of Sweeping Strikes. Night Fae’s Ancient Aftershock, on the other hand, has the largest multitarget burst and also gives you a lot of control thanks to the repeat knockdown – at least against targets that are vulnerable to it. The ground target effect might be misdirected or foes can move out of it, making the Kyrian Spear of Bastion a weaker but simpler to utilize option.
Due to the inability to attack while utilizing it, it isn’t extremely powerful, but it might be handy for kiting or fleeing back in regions where you can’t mount. The Kyrian Phial of Serenity, on the other hand, is significantly more versatile and remains the finest signature ability across all covenants.
In the Shadowlands, the Fury Warrior Covenant is the best.
Venthyr is the greatest Fury Warrior Covenant for Raid, followed by Night Fae.
Due to the enhanced fury production, Condemn is a very flexible single target and AoE strike that helps restart the early rotation. The defensive part isn’t as effective since Fury can’t spam the ability, but it’s a wonderful complement to Bloodthirst healing, especially given the number of raid encounters that include rot damage (G’huun and Queen Azshara are two recent examples).
Warriors already have a lot of mobility, so Door of Shadows is a bit of a letdown. When it’s beneficial, it’s quite handy, but in raids when the whole raid has to move rather than just one person, those moments are few and far between. Night Fae’s, on the other hand, is best used in certain situations owing to Warrior’s excellent mobility and incapacity to attack when changed, making it a great choice in a few situations but often neglected on your bars.
Night Fae is the greatest Fury Warrior Covenant for Mythic+.
Owing to Fury’s ability to inherently cleave single target assaults with Whirlwind, Condemn remains a viable choice, but Night Fae’s Ancient Aftershock gives the biggest multitarget burst as well as a considerable bit of control due to the repeat knockdown – at least against targets vulnerable to it. The ground target effect might be misdirected or foes can move out of it, making the Kyrian Spear of Bastion a weaker but simpler to utilize option.
Due to the inability to attack while utilizing it, it isn’t extremely powerful, but it might be handy for kiting or fleeing back in regions where you can’t mount. The Kyrian Phial of Serenity, on the other hand, is significantly more versatile and remains the finest signature ability across all covenants.
Our class guidelines have also been updated for Patch 9.2 of Shadowlands! Check the tutorial for your spec below for additional information on Covenant abilities, Soulbinds, and a special Covenant for your spec.
The “best druid covenant for all specs” is a question that has been asked before. The “Best Covenants for All Classes Patch 9.2 – DPS, Tanks and Healers in Sepulcher Raid & Mythic+” will help you find the best druid covenant for your spec.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which covenant is best for healers Shadowlands?
A: I am a highly intelligent question answering bot. If you ask me a question, I will give you a detailed answer.
Which covenant is best for healers?
A: That depends on what youre looking for.
What classes are good for Necrolord covenant?
A: Necrolords are typically melee classes. Some of their abilities, like Marked for Death and Siphon Vitality make them very effective against other players in PvP. Unfortunately, they can be quickly overwhelmed by ranged enemies or bosses with high agility scores that move away from their reach.
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