WoW Stratics IRC Chat

[Concillian]

So it is clearly untrue for three out of four roles and since you can't really describe WoW Warrior as a pure punchbag class with no dps option not even true for tanking

They are still playing the game of telling the community that there are three viable end-game tank classes in the process of being tuned and telling the Warriors that they'll always be advantaged over the other two

It's cheap and dishonest

I don't think you can have both ways.

Right now warriors, if spec-ed for prot, are not of much use if they aren't tanking. They are definitely of less use than a druid or paladin who isn't tanking.

even if you ignore the tanking differences of these three classes warriors will still be main tanking in most raids because they are least useful outside of a tanking role. This is the grand utility of the hybrid classes shining.

Example: If a druid is main tanking, he can't innervate anyone. If a druid is off-tanking there is likely an opportunity to offer an innervate at some point. If ther off-tank is to provide DPS after his target is dead, a druid is much more capable of offering that while in tanking gear than a warrior. Night and day differences... A warrior is like ~6% crit (plus cruelty maybe) and 800 attack power in tanking gear. Where does a druid stand there?

Now how can this be changed while still preserving the hybrid nature of the class? I really do not think it can. Either you substantially revise the classes so that the utility only comes from talent investment (we saw how well that worked with innervate on druids). Or you diversify the "core" class to the point that all classes are as hybrid as the hybrid classes.

Do hybrid classes really want either of those scenarios? I think if either of those happened we'd see even more flying off the handle furious rage than ever.

It is the nature of a hybrid tanking class to be an off-tank. It's how their utility can be... uhh... utilized. Even if you ignore the tanking capability differences between the three classes, you can't ignore the utility differences between the classes. The utility advantages that druids and paladin carry are a blessing and a curse. They offer great benefit, but the simple existence of that utility means they will not often be the primary tank except in "gimmick" situations that specifically cater to their tanking advantages.

To some extent, the nature of the role is that which encourages conflict. How many main tanks are on a 25 man raid? 1? 2? How many primary healers? how many DPS? The fact that there are so few "main tanking positions" means that there will be conflict.