Solo vs. Elite Mobs

[nobbie]

Title says it already:

Which classes in WoW are able to defeat "normal" (non-special) Elite Mobs (of similar level) SOLO without major problems or hassle?

So far I've figured out just these 3 classes:

- Druids
- Shaman
- Warlocks (fear-kiting)

with Druids being the best, then Shaman and then the Warlock. The Warlock is great and can literally melt through elite mobs with powerful DOT's and SM/Ruin skills, but the chances on adds are very high using the "fear-kiting" technique.

Am I missing something? How about Rogues, the big damage dealers in WoW?

[Quark]

Am I missing something? How about Rogues, the big damage dealers in WoW?
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A pure combat build would be better suited, but in my experience as a dagger build? No.

Rogues simply do not have enough ways to avoid/heal damage to constantly go against elite mobs. Back when I was 21/8/22, I was farming for recipes in Azshara. One of them dropped from an elite giant. Tried it one time -> burned Evasion, Preparation, Evasion and barely survived. Tried it a second time -> burned Evasion, came out with high life. Tried it a third time -> burned Evasion, Preparation, Evasion, and eventually had to Vanish.

Way too inconsistent, as it completely relies on your dodge.

Rogues are the best class when you're going against some lower level mobs (Much lower = AoE classes). Against even level? Nope.

[Mirajj]

Am I missing something?

Only the best solo'ing class in WoW...Hunters. There is very little a hunter can't match up to, even level to even level, PvE.

[Kevin]

Title says it already:

Which classes in WoW are able to defeat "normal" (non-special) Elite Mobs (of similar level) SOLO without major problems or hassle?

So far I've figured out just these 3 classes:

- Druids
- Shaman
- Warlocks (fear-kiting)

with Druids being the best, then Shaman and then the Warlock. The Warlock is great and can literally melt through elite mobs with powerful DOT's and SM/Ruin skills, but the chances on adds are very high using the "fear-kiting" technique.

Am I missing something? How about Rogues, the big damage dealers in WoW?
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The whole point of the paladin is to survive and I would often solo elites that were +2 or +3 to me and while it might take some time I could usually walk away with more health and mana than I starte the fight with.

My hunter can solo tons of stuff too.

My druid can solo faster on elites but no one has an easier time than a paladin for me.

My rogues and warriors have the hardest time on even level elites.

So I would say

- Paladin
- Druid
- Hunter
- Shaman
- Warlock

for me are the only classes that I feel comfortable soloing even level or above elite mobs and feel I won't be drinking a potion or burning a bandage to do it with. Of those classes I have the first 3 at level 60. The others just at 30ish.

[Bob the Beholder]

A mage can solo anything that he can slow. And some things that he can't.

I've seen a mage solo Borelgore, Emberstrife, and Axtroz.

[Warlock]

Anything melee that a ranged class can stay away from can be soloed, with varying amounts of risk (eg. Hederine Slayers move fast and hit hard - I can solo them with both my Druid and my Warlock, but a single resist at the wrong time can result in a black and white screen).

I imagine Rogues find caster elites easier than I do, thanks to all the interrupts and being able to start the fight in melee range.

[Zarathustra]

A dagger-specced rogue could do just fine by stunlocking and landing ample backstabs.

A Beast Mastery Hunter would likely be able to have his pet tank the mob while he pelts them from afar.

A Paladin generally has 3 lives when fighting enemies; 2 if they're using magic. He can outlast most elite mobs of similar level one-on-one.

[Artega]

Warriors can handle caster elites fairly easily.

[nobbie]

With a Hunter vs. (similar level) elite mobs .. how dou you keep your pet alive in such a tough fight? I sometimes had problems to keep my pet alive against normal mobs :)

[TotoGuy]

With a Hunter vs. (similar level) elite mobs .. how dou you keep your pet alive in such a tough fight? I sometimes had problems to keep my pet alive against normal mobs :)
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Mend Pet works for me :)
Usually coupled with a Scatter Shot / War Stomp / Bomb to buy some mending time.

If I'm dealing with a ranged mob I can also aggro it on purpose to eat some damage myself, since I can always just lose the aggro easily when I need to, and if you have First Aid you can just heal yourself afterwards and repeat.

[Kevin]

With a Hunter vs. (similar level) elite mobs .. how dou you keep your pet alive in such a tough fight? I sometimes had problems to keep my pet alive against normal mobs :)
[right][snapback]99419[/snapback][/right]

I'm a beastmaster hunter so the pet usually doesn't need to be healed until the fight is over. A mend pet here or there is sometimes needed though. Intimidation then mend works well. Marks hunters can scatter shot to get more time. Have the pet cower and you distracting shot (yes cower has a purpose) and use some of your 3-4K HP battery while you finish the mob off as well, or just kite it to death. If you keep your melee weapons trained most hunters can still do pretty decent DPS up close and personal and a survival hunter could even use improved wing clip or counterattack in a situation like that to kite out some more (tell the pet to follow to get it some times as well if you want). If you are fighting an elite beast scare it off and get some time too and if the pet dies and I live, I still won. :)

[NotSoDarklord]

Rogues can kill any gouge-able mob in the game solo... if they have improved gouge.

Gouge mob. Run away. Gouge mob just as he gets back in range. Run away. Repeat until you have 5 combo points and can kidney shot and sneak a few backstabs/ss's in. Gouge mob. Run away. etc :)

Really though, this technique works wonders. Helps if you have a good amount of + to hit gear or precision, but you can make up for missed gouges by blowing various timered skills (evasion blind sprint etc)

[MongoJerry]

My first instinct was to say mages are the best at soloing elites if they can slow and root the enemy, although after reading other posts here, I'll agree that hunters are probably better. Mages have all the dps advantage of warlocks without the messiness of accidentally fear kiting mobs into adds. Let me tell you, it really pissed me off that the Eye of Shadow dropped in a zone (the demon area of Winterspring) where mages could solo the mobs easily and where my priest couldn't (or could maybe kill succubi barely at a really slow pace if exactly spec'd right).

[Xukuth]

Paladins are absurdly easy to solo *anything* with.

Leveling up, you can take +3 elites without dying, although it's a long fight.

[Drasca]

Mages have all the dps advantage of warlocks without the messiness of accidentally fear kiting mobs into adds[right][snapback]99439[/snapback][/right]

Dps advantage and fear kiting don't go together. Dps advantage comes with a 'burn all' mindselt of frontloaded nukes, and the pet factor. Like hunters, we're a lot more survivable due to having useful and powerful or durable pets that we can bounce aggro off of, or add damage with, or use for special effects.

Fear kiting has steady damage, varying with the safety level of the enemy. I have three words mages are always aware of: out of mana. That's the main limiting factor. With mages, once you've perfected use of your skillset, you either need the gear for increased mana / mana efficiency, or face less challenging mobs.

The main advantage of warlock fearkiting is longevity. Steady damage, and ability to mitigate lost health and mana at a steady rate ad infinitum. A lock can wear down any fear-able or banishable enemy, via his mana and life steal/tap cycle and bandages. Battling Volchan solo is particularly fun as he stomps around, not aggroing dragons (been too long to be sure) because he's considered to be of a seperate faction. Battling those elemental fire guys in BRD 3 at a time solo is also fun. Fear one, curse of doom and banish one, pet on other to attack with. No, they do not aggro the gnomes in that room with archangel golem, but they do aggro other fire elementals. Much easier with a priest at my side, btw, but soloing three via banish, fear, pet and curse of doom is not nearly impossible

Big, really big hp enemies can be worn down by warlocks when other classes run out of health or mana... and btw, having fear resisted is only a problem for those not prepared for it. When I was in winterspring solo'ing those hederine slayers guarding the gates, I lured them out onto the hill near the bears (they spawn slowly), I had been resisted for fear plenty of times. I was prepared for that though, fearing twice in a row, and had Big Blue around for an emergency defense.

Once you realize different factions don't aggro each other, the process becomes a whole lot easier. Bats won't aggro alliance guards to you, for example. Nor can shadow trolls speak with and aggro wildkin / owlbeasts.

Yes, as everyone knows, warlocks own PvE with great versatility, either burst damaging something to death within moments (Pet attack, shadowbolt, shadowbolt, dead), or choosing to wear it down, or any other series of warlock combined firepower which make combat interesting... choosing to fight fast or slow.

[Rinnhart]

Paladins are absurdly easy to solo *anything* with.

Leveling up, you can take +3 elites without dying, although it's a long fight.
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Aye, paladins can solo anything, it just takes all day. Smart resource management is the key, of course.

[Mak]

Shadowpriests easily kill elites, on lower levels was soloing 1-2 higher lvl elites then me...

[MongoJerry]

Shadowpriests easily kill elites, on lower levels was soloing 1-2 higher lvl elites then me...

They're certainly better at it than holy/disc priests, but it depends very much on the mob whether a shadow priest can take down a particular mob. The obvious examples are the mortal striking elite demons in winterspring. Many classes can solo those guys, but no way a priest of any stripe can. They hit way too hard and you can only fear them once every 26 seconds if you have improved psychic scream. If you're looking to make a character specifically to efficiently take down elite mobs, priest is going to be far down the list.

[Luminon]

Mages have all the dps advantage of warlocks without the messiness of accidentally fear kiting mobs into adds

A good warlock never gets adds through fear, that's what rank 1 Curse of Recklessnes is for. Curse of Exhaustion helps too if you have it.

[Lissa]

Mages have all the dps advantage of warlocks without the messiness of accidentally fear kiting mobs into adds

A good warlock never gets adds through fear, that's what rank 1 Curse of Recklessnes is for. Curse of Exhaustion helps too if you have it.
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Exactly, a good warlock can control where a feared mob will run. It takes practice, but very doable.

I would say that the two top classes for soloing elites are Warlocks and Hunters, the pet classes just excel at being able to take out anything in the game.