The community needed this reality check.Bludgeon it into them. Too many people are so easily influenced by faulty sims that don't factor in the necessary considerations. They see a minuscule number different on a chart, and they proclaim "X spec is trash". A tiny buff occurs that shifts overall DPS by a negligible amount, and they now believe this spec to be the only viable one.
A fantastic article! Thank you for this. It really taught me a lot.
I think something valuable to consider in this discussion is what defines the general player perception regarding what is actually considered to be powerful and effective, and what is not? For instance, a player might not be doing the most damage, but they are contributing by interrupting critical abilities, providing combat buffs to their party members, and assisting in ways that are not as easily recognizable.Abilities like Gorefiend's Grasp and Shadow of Concealment are not only hugely beneficial to a group's success, but they are also clearly recognizable to all members of the party. Every time a Rogue uses Shadow of Concealment, every person in the party takes notice of it, and acknowledges it's immense power. Same thing goes with Gorefiend's Grasp and other similar abilities. If you are interrupting abilities, and providing buffs to party members, chances are these things will not be noticed in any kind of comparable way.How many opportunities do each class and specialization actually get to be able to use these kinds of powerful abilities in ways that demonstrate the potential of their class and spec? The most well designed dungeons account for the wide arrange of specializations and abilities that each role and class has to offer. However, often times dungeon design seems to lean too heavily one way or another, and perhaps the majority of people have yet to figure out clever ways to utilize the toolkit of their preferred spec.This kind of thinking demonstrates why it is a good idea in PUGs to use your damage cooldowns even on trivial trash. It places you higher on the DPS meters, and when you are in a PUG, doing the things that get you noticed as being valuable is very much important if you want to keep your spot there. Whatever class/spec that I am playing, I do my utmost to provide the most for my group and raid. If I am playing a Priest I frequently use my Power Word Fortitude buff to make sure people always have it. I utilize abilities like Power Word Shield and it's movement speed boost on my party members even as a Shadow Priest in order to provide utility and value to that party. I also use a mod that announces my interrupts, not only to coordinate with my party, but also to get noticed for actually doing it.This is a great discussion because I believe that some players who don't have things like Gorefiend's Grasp or Shadow of Concealment end up feeling so discouraged for not having them, that they end up making excuses instead of putting forth the effort to actually utilize their character to the best of their ability.
Still waiting for arms to be anywhere close to viable in raids. Simming 3k less than fury after the laughable 4% overall dps (Yes it was 8%, but only to execute, MS, slam, overpower, rend. Big portion of damage is warbreaker,bladestorm,deepwounds and autoattacks that were left untouched) buff after they said they'd keep a close eye on the spec is not right. Not even desired as an execute class anymore either since execute hits for noodle damage.Warrior already has no raid-wide utility that can not be replaced/neglected by picking a superior ranged classes doing twice the damage in current tier, battle shout can be replaced by scroll.
The truth is, for vast majority of players, it's flatout unnecessary to get the "Optimal" comp. The optimal comp only comes to play when you're trying to push extremely high keys.Every class can do +10, it's when you're hitting +17/+18 area that some classes start to shine better. Blizzard obviously didn't balance classes around that and I can't fault them. Balancing classes around that extreme would mean giving nearly the same tool to every class, diminishing the uniqueness of classes. All that bad just to appeal for a small numbers of high M+ pushers.
I was really looking forward to a more in-depth look into the ebb and flow of the Meta. A very recent example is Explosive Potential for Demonology Warlocks. IMO this makes the rotation clunky and can lead to worse performance than the previous Azerite trait recommendations. To me, the Meta feels like simulations get posted and people take those specs/classes as carved in stone instead of finding what works best in-game for the content they participate in. For the record, I've despised Affliction on my 'lock and resent what Assassination has become for my Rogue over the last few xpacs as a casual player. I don't get turned away from content because I've learned how to play the other specs to a better potential.
This article was fabulous and I hope a lot of people take it to heart. Bring the player, not the class. Play what you enjoy and stop believing dps is everything when things like interrupts and following mechanics are far more useful.
And this is why Windwalkers get screwed over time after time. Who cares if we do a lot of damage when Blizzard refuses to give us any kind of utility, making us useless for anything other than damage, which isn't as needed, and actually isn't as high thanks to them constantly nerfing us.
Didn't really understand article, but, I have killed Hogger...does that count for anything?
Meta doesn't skew spec strength. Spec strength creates the meta. When Blizzard goes full ham fisted on specs they either die or shine. For example, Rogues are mandatory to push keys and highly sought after due to their damage and utility. No one is going to objectively take a far inferior class over a rogue even if you aren't trying to push. Same goes for Druid/Monk healers or Warrior tanks. These classes far outperform other classes full stop, sure you can take a Shaman healer for your +10 but it will never perform nearly as well as the Druid or Monk. Same goes for DPS or Tanks. To argue that we're blindly following the meta because you can find a super niche fit for a class is mind boggling.