Zarathustra,Sep 27 2005, 04:46 PM Wrote:That's not really looking at things broadly... but semantics are best argued in another thread.
I get a good chuckle anytime someone states that X class MUST be Y build in order to enter Z dungeon. And since the Druid is my pet class in WoW, this comment - at the Lounge, of all places - stuck out in my mind.
I'm playing a Balance Druid and have been quite successful in the Molten Core. We've gotten as far as Domo on a farming basis now, and he should be going down within a week or two once we get everyone on the same page for dealing with the adds. Granted, I've not been further than Razorgore in BWL, so maybe there's some mystical property to that instance that means I'll be useless there. If so, I have neither seen nor heard of it.
Our typical Group 1 setup in the Molten Core is the main tank, main priest, a Paladin, Warlock, and myself, a Balance Druid. I play all across the board. The high crit% I have with spells means Nature's Grace kicks in often for a faster heal, and I've been doing it well enough that my gear compensates for some of the relatively weaker healing I'm seeing. I use Hurricane to slow enemy attacks on anything that doesn't have an AoE. It comes in very handy for Core Hound packs, Garr, Sulfuron, and Golemagg. Aside from that I spend my time decursing and, if we lose a warrior, going Dire Bear and filling in as an offtank.
So what am I missing? Innervate and Nature's Swiftness. *shrugs* I have to cope with that.
Come v1.8, I'll be shifting in and out of Moonkin form as needed during the battles. While in Moonkin form, the crit% will aid the warlock when he's nuking, the Paladin (holy spec = free spells on crits), and the Priest for a greater chance of Inspiration on casting. I'd call the critical heals a liability if not for the experience of all involved. Healers don't generally pull aggro for us.
Just wanted to give that example, showing firsthand that you don't NEED to be Restoration in order to go into the Molten Core. The comment rubbed me the wrong way, on a forum that has celebrated variants and thinking outside of the narrowminded box so many feel constrained to. I don't like hearing anyone say you NEED to be a cookie-cutter build.
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OK, I apologise, I'm guilty of something I've criticised other people for of spouting back a phrase commonly used by the WoW public without properly considering it
And it's not appropriate, you can be an under-powered variant or even a level 1 alt and still do well in endgame raids if the other people can pick up the slack
But the question is, is a non-Resto Druid an underpowered variant in end game raids?
I would argue that, as I explained previously, it is indeed that and that while you may not need Resto to function in MC you might need Resto to secure a place on a raid if you're raiding with people who are seeking to optimise, people who aren't tolerant of interesting but sub-optimal builds (ie 99% of the end game raiding population)
In 1.8 if you're mainly nuking then are you pulling the weight that a mage or a warlock would? Even with the +3% buff to others I suspect that overall more damage would be done by the group if they had a specialist
If you're nuking and healing as appropriate then can I question your raid organisation? Why aren't the specialist healers doing the healing?
If you're mainly healing with the occasional nuke tossed around then you're surely sub-optimal without Resto
I'm not denigrating your build but I am questioning it. I don't see how it would help most teams as much as a Resto build would. Maybe in your raids you have too many healers so it helps if some of the druids are Balance and some of the Priests are Shadow. Or maybe your guild is sufficiently ahead of the difficulty curve that it doesn't require everyone to optimise
But from your specific situation, it's hard to draw a general assertion that counters the one I made up-thread. Specifically, that Balance spec means a half-strength nuker is taking the place of a real nuker. Sure you have versatility but I really can't see how a big raid needs hybrid versatility. And I'm also thinking that 20 in Balance (which will get you more crits + bigger crits) plus Innervate and Nature's Swiftness is simply a better hybrid than a mainly Balance spec since Innervate and NS add flexibility which is what the hybrid role is about
So please make the case for those of us who would like to try end-game Feral or Moonkin form in raids beyond the rather basic outline you've given. Because that outline to some extent comes down to my guild lets me and I'm a good player. The only concrete tactical thing that you've mentioned that's a positive resulting from your talent allocation is Nature's Grace. Can you give details of your damage meter rankings if you and other nukers are going all out?
As for the LL and variants while it's partly true that we champion underpowered variants for their own sake, one of the ways we've always done it is by demonstrating that variants can be really good. Will that the case with 31 Balance Druids in 1.8? Or with 31 Feral Druids?