#73 - June 22, 2009, 1:51 a.m.
Q u o t e:
I'm still having a hard time seeing why you can't substitute DPS classes into this statement and have it be any different... except you don't push niches for DPS, you do the opposite. Because you realized that "niches" were holding people back.
First, there are more dps slots in the typical raid so even if you bring say 5 mages, you have plenty of room for everyone else. Second, if you stack too many of one particular class then you risk not having enough of the buffs and debuffs you need. Third, there are niches for dps classes too, but they are also not overly rigid niches. If you bring too much melee, you suffer on some fights. If you lack strong crowd control, your pulls may be a little messy.
All I am saying is that the design is, more and less, working. Players are still concerned about being curbed, sometimes only when they are trying to look into the future or having bad memories of the past. But for most guilds out there, it isn't a problem. In most cases, bringing a more skilled player of any class will have a bigger net effect on your raiding success than bringing someone for their buff or narrow healing or damage niche, provided you have your bases covered.
On the other hand, man did that soundbite stick. :) I don't think anything I could say at Blizzcon this year could have that kind of staying power.
Q u o t e:
You're seeing a diverse group of healers right now because they are relatively well-balanced. Druids are the best healers at PvE raid damage, but they don't have a tank cooldown. Holy priests can do almost as well as them situationally, but they also provide Guardian Spirit which *MUST* be brought to several hard-modes now (tank instant-gibs).
That's one opinion. There are plenty of paladins and shamans who feel overshadowed or even gimpy in the current content. Having priests brough just for Guardian Spirit also violates our policy of having no mandatory buffs that only one spec can provide.
Q u o t e:
GC, just wondering but do you take any days off or do you read the forums at home?
I try to read them on my own time. I have plenty to do during normal business hours. :)
Q u o t e:
This "Bring the player, not the class" quote has been blown way out of proportion. This was said after Sunwell raid stacking. If you have never done Sunwell before, our raid group would routinely carry at least 4 shamans, usually upwards of 5, because of stacking heroism and the incredible buff they brought to a raid. Holy priests were basically required to heal fights like the eredar twins and mass dispel was absolutely required for Felmyst. Or ask mages how Sunwell was, most of ours sat outside the instance while we brought 4 warlocks. No fights in Ulduar even come near the level of raid stacking required to do much of Sunwell.
I am quoting Cujicoo here. One very important phenomenon that might not occur to many of our readers is that very, very few playerss raided Sunwell, while an enormous number of players have raided Naxx (and are hopefully making their way in Ulduar). So you have to remember (and I often have to remind myself) that a lot of these players worried for their raid slot didn't experience raiding prior to Lich King. That isn't an intent to automatically dismiss concerns of anyone who hasn't been doing this for years. But you do have to keep it in perspective.
Q u o t e:
you think if ensidia, the best guild in the world, who are there because of not just teamwork/skill but also the ability to theorycraft, thought to themselves, hey we have x paladins who are better than priests at tank healing but lets not bring them so we can cripple our raid, i dont know what to say.
Ensidia is a fantastic guild. Players often underestimate just how much better guilds of this caliber are than say what is likely the best guild on your own server. That's skill (and a little tenacity). However, what works for them doesn't work for everyone. There will be more guilds killing Algalon, and they will have different raid comps. Someone had to be first and that doesn't mean their way is the only way.
Q u o t e:
Ensidia isn't affected by class balance. If they need 5 resto druids, they will get 5 resto druids.
We are affected by class balance.
I didn’t research your guild, so I am not trying to put anyone down when I say that you will probably get far more progress by teaching your players how to play better than you will by stacking classes. The skill difference between world-first guilds and other guilds is enormous. Worrying about raid stacking is the functional equivalent of messing with the air pressure in your tires when you can’t win a race. Sure every bit helps, but make sure you are really obsessing over things that will give you the most bang for the buck. For most guilds, that is not what class of healers they bring.
