04-27-2005, 10:05 PM
One thing that I think is important to keep in mind is the extent to which mistakes and sub-optimal play characterize the casual gaming experience. Mistakes, such as bad pulls and failures to manage adds, tend to have more serious consequences to a player in the short term. Sub-optimal play, such as failing to use bandages or having sub-level equipment, tends to slow down a player's progress in the long term.
In a comparison of paladins and hunters (the only two classes for which I feel qualified to discuss), I think that paladins come out significantly ahead in terms of both mistakes and sub-optimal play. The fact that some people feel that hunters are easy to play might be an indication of just how far ahead paladins are from the field in terms of ease and forgivingness.
Some factors that favor paladins over hunters:
1. None of a paladin's saves (the two shields and lay on hand) involve a chance of not working on use. A level 30 paladin can be attacked by a level 62 elite and have a reasonable chance of surviving the encounter (in terms of getting away, not in terms of winning the fight). In contrast, all of a hunter's saves could potentially fail on use. Disengage and feign death can both be resisted. Transferring aggro to the pet (and running) requires growl not to be resisted.
2. Paladins have less chance of being stuck with sub-level equipment than hunters. I generally do not think that sub-level armor is ever an issue in most circumstances. There are enough pieces of armor so that the benefits are distributed. Having a sub-level helmet or belt just is not going to make that much difference. However, having sub-level weapon makes a tremendous amount of difference in survivability. (A dead mob is the best form of defense.) Paladins have a choice of swords, maces and axes for fighting and my experience is that it is just not that difficult to have at all times at least some weapon within reasonable level range from those three categories. In contrast, hunters rely primarily on guns, bows and x-bows for damage-dealing, and those weapons are much more difficult to maintain on-level. Moreover, keeping a hunter's primary attack optimized, through use of scopes and better ammo, require keeping up with both mining and engineering. I would maintain that a casual gamer would have a much easier time finding a suitable sword, axe or mace from drops than finding a suitable gun, bow or x-bow while maintaining advancement in gather/trade skills.
3. An inefficiently played paladin will differ less from an efficiently played Paladin than an inefficient played hunter will differ from an efficiently played hunter. Forget blessing of might and seal of crusader? Your dps is less, but probably not enough so that you would notice. In contrast, for a hunter to forget to put up hunter's mark, keep a sting on a mob and set a fire trap before combat starts makes a much bigger difference in terms of the time to take the mob down.
There might be other factors in a comparison between paladins and hunters, but I am just not remembering them now. I have to say that playing a paladin can really teach some bad habits in WoW. For example, I played my paladin for a long time without ever using food, pots or bandages, which is negligent at best and I am embarrassed to admit it.
Perhaps strangely, I would argue that paladins are more difficult to play in groups than hunters, but that is the subject of another thread.
In a comparison of paladins and hunters (the only two classes for which I feel qualified to discuss), I think that paladins come out significantly ahead in terms of both mistakes and sub-optimal play. The fact that some people feel that hunters are easy to play might be an indication of just how far ahead paladins are from the field in terms of ease and forgivingness.
Some factors that favor paladins over hunters:
1. None of a paladin's saves (the two shields and lay on hand) involve a chance of not working on use. A level 30 paladin can be attacked by a level 62 elite and have a reasonable chance of surviving the encounter (in terms of getting away, not in terms of winning the fight). In contrast, all of a hunter's saves could potentially fail on use. Disengage and feign death can both be resisted. Transferring aggro to the pet (and running) requires growl not to be resisted.
2. Paladins have less chance of being stuck with sub-level equipment than hunters. I generally do not think that sub-level armor is ever an issue in most circumstances. There are enough pieces of armor so that the benefits are distributed. Having a sub-level helmet or belt just is not going to make that much difference. However, having sub-level weapon makes a tremendous amount of difference in survivability. (A dead mob is the best form of defense.) Paladins have a choice of swords, maces and axes for fighting and my experience is that it is just not that difficult to have at all times at least some weapon within reasonable level range from those three categories. In contrast, hunters rely primarily on guns, bows and x-bows for damage-dealing, and those weapons are much more difficult to maintain on-level. Moreover, keeping a hunter's primary attack optimized, through use of scopes and better ammo, require keeping up with both mining and engineering. I would maintain that a casual gamer would have a much easier time finding a suitable sword, axe or mace from drops than finding a suitable gun, bow or x-bow while maintaining advancement in gather/trade skills.
3. An inefficiently played paladin will differ less from an efficiently played Paladin than an inefficient played hunter will differ from an efficiently played hunter. Forget blessing of might and seal of crusader? Your dps is less, but probably not enough so that you would notice. In contrast, for a hunter to forget to put up hunter's mark, keep a sting on a mob and set a fire trap before combat starts makes a much bigger difference in terms of the time to take the mob down.
There might be other factors in a comparison between paladins and hunters, but I am just not remembering them now. I have to say that playing a paladin can really teach some bad habits in WoW. For example, I played my paladin for a long time without ever using food, pots or bandages, which is negligent at best and I am embarrassed to admit it.
Perhaps strangely, I would argue that paladins are more difficult to play in groups than hunters, but that is the subject of another thread.