CC for everyone!

#0 - Oct. 6, 2010, 5:02 p.m.
Blizzard Post
CC will be different in this expansion, in that a lot more people and classes will be expected to do it. Here is a handy list.

Mage: Sheep. Works on humanoids and beasts, 50 second duration. Heals damaged targets. If you played pre wotlk, you probably know how to CC already.

Rogue: Sap. Works on humanoids, beasts, demons and dragonkin, 60 second duration. Can only be used at the beginning of the fight, since you need to be in stealth to use it. Dps will kill the sapped target first(out of any CCed targets). Same deal as mages as to pre wotlk.

Hunter: Freezing Trap, Freezing Arrow. Works on anything not immune to CC(i.e. most non bosses), 20 second duration. Launch it next to the mob you are assigned, but make sure not to hit it. Pre-wotlk hunters were often called on to CC.

Warlock: Banish. Works on elementals and demons, 30 second duration. Banished targets can't be attacked, so you do not have worrry about braking this CC. Seduce. Works on humanoids, 15 second duration. A short duration, and easily broken, since it's channeled, which also takes your minion out of play. Hopefully your group won't be relying on this one. Glyphed fear. Works on anything, 20 second duration. Ask if the warlock in question has the glyp beforehand, please. Pre wotlk warlocks may have banished a few elementals in BRD or demons in the varied BC dungeons.

Druid: Hibernate. Works on beasts and dragonkin, 40 second duration. Unlike sheep, hibernate does not heal the target, and roots it in one spot. Pre wotlk druids might have some experience from ST, or BC dungeon beasts.

Paladin: Repentance. Talent, requires 20 points in the retribution tree. Works on humanoids, demons, dragonkin, giants and undead, 60 second duration, 60 second cooldown. Ask if a ret paladin has this talent before pulling. If gets broken, the paladin won't be able to reapply it until it comes off cooldown. Pre wotlk retadins were a rarity(and for good reason).

Priest: Mind Control. Channeled, 60 second duration. Works on humanoids only. A powerful spell, but with risks and limitations. Some mobs are immune to it, and you/the party leader should know these before hand. It can break without warning based on distance and the resistances of the target. It also produces a lot of threat, so yell at your tank if it breaks. Not very often used pre wotlk. Shackle Undead. Works on undead, 50 second duration. Standard cc, breaks on damage, does not heal target. Not sure how many undead there will be in cata, but you never know. Fond memories of Moroes :P.

Shaman: Hex. Works on humanoids and beasts, 60 second duration, 45 second cooldown. Almost exactly like polymorph, only the duration and debuff type are different. Also does not heal the target. Spell did not exist pre wotlk. Bind Elemental. Works on elementals(duh) 50 second duration. New in cataclysm, subject to change.

Warriors and Death knights: Lucky/Unlucky you, you don't have any CC! There should be more than enough to go around though, looking at that list.

Things to keep in mind: Most of these break when the mob is damaged. Only dps will be expected to CC. Anyone who joined wow post Wotlk, and any of the non BC CC staples, esp shaman, probably have never CCed before. Shaman, you have the unique quality of being given 2 very useful CC abilities, and have probably never used it before in a dungeon. You will probably be expected to CC in every dungeon group you join. Congratulations, you are now better than mages!
#24 - Oct. 6, 2010, 5:59 p.m.
Blizzard Post
Not a bad start. Priests also have shackle undead which obviously has some limited use based on whether the target is categorized as undead or not.

I'm always interested to see how people handle managing mobs beyond just the obvious CC options, whether it's an off-tank keeping aggro or a dps kiting as well.
#39 - Oct. 6, 2010, 6:24 p.m.
Blizzard Post
Q u o t e:


I put in Shackle. Thought we got all these nice CC options so that we wouldn't have to resort to OTing and kiting. :P


It's not about "having to resort" to something so much as making sure you utilize all of your options to overcome the challenges before you. I'm sure we've all had that moment when everything went haywire, the CC got broken etc, and from there you had to punt to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat by getting creative with what abilities you have at hand.