The two previous posts dealt with the raid buffs provided by Boomkins, Resto Druids and Feral Druids.
The conclusion again in a nutshell: You will always want to have at least one Boomkin and one Feral Druid in a raid. Resto Druids are more expendable, as far as buffs are concerned (however, due to their unique healing abilities, at least one Resto Druid should usually be present, especially on fights like Iron Council hard mode or Twin Valkyrs).
This has important consequences for Druids in raiding guilds.
I'm going to assume progress oriented guilds here, working on hard modes. During raid progression, dps counts. Your raid will need to beat hard and soft enrage timers, both of the complete encounter, as well as of all the little sub-goals (like killing the portals in time on Jaraxxus hard mode). Therefore, apart from the survival considerations (are tanks adequately geared, does the raid have enough healing power), there will be dps considerations which influence the raid setup.
And here's the kicker: Even though Blizzard wants guilds to "bring the player, not the class" (i.e., classes are supposed to be more or less equal, so that it comes down to the ability of the player to decide whether to invite him to a raid or not), Blizzard has also stated that "pure dps classes" are intended to have a higher theoretical dps than "hybrid dps classes". The current class balance may not have achieved that goal quite yet (Feral Druid dps is too high), but it's close, and we have to expect that eventually Blizzard will succeed, and "hybrid dps" will be slightly lower than "pure dps".
The number which was mentioned by Ghostcrawler (quite a while ago) was 5%. That's how much lower "hybrid dps" is intended to be. Not a lot of difference, you might say. Well, let's have a look.
Here is a raid setup with 3 tanks (Warrior, Druid, Paladin) and 6 healers (2 Paladins, Holy Priest, Disc Priest, Shaman, Druid). Then I added 6 dps classes, and look: all buffs and debuffs are covered. This means, for the remaining 10 dps spots, you can bring any class you like. If the theoretical dps of a pure dps class is 6000, then the theoretical dps of a hybrid dps class would be 5700. Multiply this by the 10 empty dps spots, and you have 3000 dps difference between taking hybrids or taking pure dps classes. For progression raids, that's a lot of dps.
What does this mean for druids in raiding guilds?
Well, it means this: The first Boomkin is always going to be welcome to raid. The buffs he provides more than make up for the lower theoretical dps. A second Boomkin, however, is likely to be benched during progression. He does not privide any additional buffs, so he will be judged by his theoretical dps (all other things being equal), which is lower.
So, as a Boomkin, you might find yourself in a guild with more than one Boomkin, in which case you can expect having to rotate, as only one Boomkin will be in any given raid. Or, you will find yourself being the only Boomkin, in which case you will be expected to be there all the time. The middle ground, like "raiding 4 out of 5 days", is unlikely.
The same basically goes for Feral Druids. Resto Druids, on the other hand, might have a slightly easier time in raiding guilds, as it's not so crucial if they miss one raid each week, for example.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Know Your Buffs or How Many Druids Does a Raid Need? Part 2
Last week, I took a look at the raiding buffs provided by the Boomkin spec.
Today, we'll go through the Feral and Resto buffs. Let's jump right into it.
Restoration
Tree of Life - +6% healing received - buff
This is the only buff that a Resto Druid brings, and it can be argued whether it's really necessary, but it certainly helps.
Alternatives:
- Improved Devotion Aura (Prot Paladin or Holy Paladin specced deep into Prot)
If you are doing hard modes, chances are that you've got a Holy Paladin in the raid, specced deep into Prot. If you don't, and you don't have a Prot Paladin either (which is much more likely), then your Resto Druid will be the only option for getting the healing buff.
Feral
Leader of the Pack - +5% crit chance for melee and hunters - buff
It's a pretty big dps increase for all physical dps, not only in terms of direct damage but also through secondary effects triggered by critting. Provided by both cats and bears.
Alternatives:
- Rampage (Fury Warrior)
The range of Rampage and Leader of the Pack is the same, the only difference is that Rampage needs a crit to proc, giving an uptime of less than 100% and making Leader of the Pack superior.
Improved Leader of the Pack - heal 2% of max health on crits - buff
A unique buff, this can be a huge benefit to a raid on certain fights, where incoming raid damage is high (e.g. Iron Council, General Vezax). Provided by both cats and bears.
Alternatives:
- none
Mangle - +30% bleed damage - debuff
The various melee classes benefit from increased bleed damage to different degrees, but it's still a very nice raid dps buff. Indirectly it may even be a slight caster dps buff, if casters are threat capped and the main tank is a warrior (it buffs Rend damage). Bears use Mangle in their regular tanking rotation, while cats prefer to have a bear tank apply Mangle (but they will use it, if noone else provides the debuff).
Alternatives:
- Trauma (Arms Warrior)
Trauma again suffers from the fact that it requires a crit to proc, resulting in less than 100% uptime. Mangle on the other hand can be controlled (except for miss/parry/dodge), which is why it comes up superior on single targets. On multiple targets, Trauma is superior.
Summary
Resto Druids are by no means a requirement to a raid, as far as buffs are concerned. They do provide unique healing abilities, of course, and any raid / guild leader will know the value of having a Resto Druid in a raid, but they don't really provide any inexpendable buffs.
Feral Druids, on the other hand, provide much more (and very valuable) buffs, and in order to make up for not having one in the raid, you would have to bring:
- an Arms Warrior
- a Fury Warrior
The chances of your raid having both regularly are pretty slim. Ergo: make sure you always have a Feral Druid in the raid (and a Balance Druid, as we saw last week).
Today, we'll go through the Feral and Resto buffs. Let's jump right into it.
Restoration
Tree of Life - +6% healing received - buff
This is the only buff that a Resto Druid brings, and it can be argued whether it's really necessary, but it certainly helps.
Alternatives:
- Improved Devotion Aura (Prot Paladin or Holy Paladin specced deep into Prot)
If you are doing hard modes, chances are that you've got a Holy Paladin in the raid, specced deep into Prot. If you don't, and you don't have a Prot Paladin either (which is much more likely), then your Resto Druid will be the only option for getting the healing buff.
Feral
Leader of the Pack - +5% crit chance for melee and hunters - buff
It's a pretty big dps increase for all physical dps, not only in terms of direct damage but also through secondary effects triggered by critting. Provided by both cats and bears.
Alternatives:
- Rampage (Fury Warrior)
The range of Rampage and Leader of the Pack is the same, the only difference is that Rampage needs a crit to proc, giving an uptime of less than 100% and making Leader of the Pack superior.
Improved Leader of the Pack - heal 2% of max health on crits - buff
A unique buff, this can be a huge benefit to a raid on certain fights, where incoming raid damage is high (e.g. Iron Council, General Vezax). Provided by both cats and bears.
Alternatives:
- none
Mangle - +30% bleed damage - debuff
The various melee classes benefit from increased bleed damage to different degrees, but it's still a very nice raid dps buff. Indirectly it may even be a slight caster dps buff, if casters are threat capped and the main tank is a warrior (it buffs Rend damage). Bears use Mangle in their regular tanking rotation, while cats prefer to have a bear tank apply Mangle (but they will use it, if noone else provides the debuff).
Alternatives:
- Trauma (Arms Warrior)
Trauma again suffers from the fact that it requires a crit to proc, resulting in less than 100% uptime. Mangle on the other hand can be controlled (except for miss/parry/dodge), which is why it comes up superior on single targets. On multiple targets, Trauma is superior.
Summary
Resto Druids are by no means a requirement to a raid, as far as buffs are concerned. They do provide unique healing abilities, of course, and any raid / guild leader will know the value of having a Resto Druid in a raid, but they don't really provide any inexpendable buffs.
Feral Druids, on the other hand, provide much more (and very valuable) buffs, and in order to make up for not having one in the raid, you would have to bring:
- an Arms Warrior
- a Fury Warrior
The chances of your raid having both regularly are pretty slim. Ergo: make sure you always have a Feral Druid in the raid (and a Balance Druid, as we saw last week).
Know Your Buffs or How Many Druids Does a Raid Need? Part 1
Maybe you've heard about the mantra "Bring the player, not the class", which is supposed to illustrate the intention of Blizzard's game design that the individual skill of a player should matter more than their class/spec, when deciding who to bring to a raid/guild.
This mantra, however, does not apply equally to all classes, and druids are one class to which it applies least.
Before I go into the details of all the buffs which druids bring to a raid, I'll give the short (and incomplete) answer to this article's question: Usually, you want at least three druids in a raid, a feral, a boomkin, and a resto druid.
Now, let's look at the Boomkin buffs in detail.
Balance
Earth and Moon - 13% more spell damage taken - debuff
This is the big one. Any raid absolutely always wants to have this debuff on all targets that are currently being damaged, if dps matters at all for the fight. The debuff is applied/refreshed whenever Wrath or Starfire hit the target, and lasts for 12 seconds.
Alternatives:
- Ebon Plague (Unholy Deathknight)
- Curse of the Elements (Warlock)
Curse of the Elements has a much longer duration, which makes it more practical for fights with multiple targets in which the Boomkin has to swap targets and/or fulfil special roles (rooting etc.). Curse of the Elements however comes at a loss of personal dps for the Warlock, so sticking the Boomkin on the (main) target is always the preferable choice.
Ebon Plague has the distinct advantage of being easy to apply to multiple targets, so it is much more useful than the alternatives in multi-target fights. However, in the absence of an Unholy Deathknight, I have found myself being assigned to keeping Earth and Moon up on multiple targets (e.g. Mimiron).
Moonkin Form - 5% spell crit - buff
Another big buff to the raid, not only for dps, but also for healers. The buff is applied by simply standing within 45 yards of the Boomkin.
Alternatives:
- Elemental Oath (Elemental Shaman)
Elemental Oath requires that the Elemental Shaman is dpsing, and critting, and is then applied for 15 seconds. If there is something to dps at all times, the uptime of Elemental Oath will be close to 100%. However, in fights with periods of "nothing to hit", Elemental Oath might drop off. On the other hand, Elemental Oath has a range of 100 yards, which is a significant advantage. You may often find it hard to position everyone within 45 yards of the Boomkin at all times, but it is virtually impossible to be more than 100 yards away from the Elemental Shaman.
Improved Moonkin Form - 3% haste - buff
It's not such a big buff, but it applies to everyone, melee, casters, healers, making it quite valuable. Again, the buff is applied by standing within 45 yards of the Boomkin.
Alternatives:
- Swift Retribution (Retribution Paladin)
The two alternatives here are pretty much the same, constant uptime, with Swift Retribution having the slightly lower range of 40 yards. If possible, bring both, so that the buff is always on ranged and melee.
Improved Fairie Fire - +3% chance to be hit by spells - debuff
This debuff is again a huge dps boost for casters. Most casters will select their gear based the assumption that this debuff is always present when fighting a boss, therefore not having this debuff is a huge dps loss.
Alternatives:
- Misery (Shadow Priest)
The alternative, Misery, is automatically applied when a Shadow Priest dpses a target, so it's rather easy to have (and this is what makes it so practical for all casters to assume the debuff is always present). However, since Fairie Fire also buffs melee dps (see next), and to prevent the debuff from falling off should the Shadow Priest die or have to swap targets, the Boomkin should always apply it. And since it lasts for 5 minutes these days, it's only a minor inconvenience.
Fairie Fire - 5% reduced armor - debuff
This is a pretty good boost for melee dps, who probably select their gear based on the assumption that Fairie Fire (or alternative) and Sunder (or alternative) are always present on their target.
Alternatives:
- Curse of Weakness (Warlock)
- Sting (Hunter pet)
The chances of a hunter raiding with a pet that casts Sting are virtually nil, and the chances of a Warlock sacrificing personal damage for Curse of Weakness are about the same, so it falls to druids to apply Fairie Fire. The Boomkin is usually the spec who can do this most easily (in a multi-target fight), unless there is a dedicated cat in the raid.
Summary
So, in order to effectively replace a Boomkin in a raid, one would have to bring:
- an Unholy Deathknight
- an Elemental Shaman
- a Retribution Paladin
- a Shadow Priest
- a Feral Druid (preferably dps)
Pretty tough, eh? Right!
This mantra, however, does not apply equally to all classes, and druids are one class to which it applies least.
Before I go into the details of all the buffs which druids bring to a raid, I'll give the short (and incomplete) answer to this article's question: Usually, you want at least three druids in a raid, a feral, a boomkin, and a resto druid.
Now, let's look at the Boomkin buffs in detail.
Balance
Earth and Moon - 13% more spell damage taken - debuff
This is the big one. Any raid absolutely always wants to have this debuff on all targets that are currently being damaged, if dps matters at all for the fight. The debuff is applied/refreshed whenever Wrath or Starfire hit the target, and lasts for 12 seconds.
Alternatives:
- Ebon Plague (Unholy Deathknight)
- Curse of the Elements (Warlock)
Curse of the Elements has a much longer duration, which makes it more practical for fights with multiple targets in which the Boomkin has to swap targets and/or fulfil special roles (rooting etc.). Curse of the Elements however comes at a loss of personal dps for the Warlock, so sticking the Boomkin on the (main) target is always the preferable choice.
Ebon Plague has the distinct advantage of being easy to apply to multiple targets, so it is much more useful than the alternatives in multi-target fights. However, in the absence of an Unholy Deathknight, I have found myself being assigned to keeping Earth and Moon up on multiple targets (e.g. Mimiron).
Moonkin Form - 5% spell crit - buff
Another big buff to the raid, not only for dps, but also for healers. The buff is applied by simply standing within 45 yards of the Boomkin.
Alternatives:
- Elemental Oath (Elemental Shaman)
Elemental Oath requires that the Elemental Shaman is dpsing, and critting, and is then applied for 15 seconds. If there is something to dps at all times, the uptime of Elemental Oath will be close to 100%. However, in fights with periods of "nothing to hit", Elemental Oath might drop off. On the other hand, Elemental Oath has a range of 100 yards, which is a significant advantage. You may often find it hard to position everyone within 45 yards of the Boomkin at all times, but it is virtually impossible to be more than 100 yards away from the Elemental Shaman.
Improved Moonkin Form - 3% haste - buff
It's not such a big buff, but it applies to everyone, melee, casters, healers, making it quite valuable. Again, the buff is applied by standing within 45 yards of the Boomkin.
Alternatives:
- Swift Retribution (Retribution Paladin)
The two alternatives here are pretty much the same, constant uptime, with Swift Retribution having the slightly lower range of 40 yards. If possible, bring both, so that the buff is always on ranged and melee.
Improved Fairie Fire - +3% chance to be hit by spells - debuff
This debuff is again a huge dps boost for casters. Most casters will select their gear based the assumption that this debuff is always present when fighting a boss, therefore not having this debuff is a huge dps loss.
Alternatives:
- Misery (Shadow Priest)
The alternative, Misery, is automatically applied when a Shadow Priest dpses a target, so it's rather easy to have (and this is what makes it so practical for all casters to assume the debuff is always present). However, since Fairie Fire also buffs melee dps (see next), and to prevent the debuff from falling off should the Shadow Priest die or have to swap targets, the Boomkin should always apply it. And since it lasts for 5 minutes these days, it's only a minor inconvenience.
Fairie Fire - 5% reduced armor - debuff
This is a pretty good boost for melee dps, who probably select their gear based on the assumption that Fairie Fire (or alternative) and Sunder (or alternative) are always present on their target.
Alternatives:
- Curse of Weakness (Warlock)
- Sting (Hunter pet)
The chances of a hunter raiding with a pet that casts Sting are virtually nil, and the chances of a Warlock sacrificing personal damage for Curse of Weakness are about the same, so it falls to druids to apply Fairie Fire. The Boomkin is usually the spec who can do this most easily (in a multi-target fight), unless there is a dedicated cat in the raid.
Summary
So, in order to effectively replace a Boomkin in a raid, one would have to bring:
- an Unholy Deathknight
- an Elemental Shaman
- a Retribution Paladin
- a Shadow Priest
- a Feral Druid (preferably dps)
Pretty tough, eh? Right!
Welcome to Caster Form
Good to see you! (and what a surprise it is that you found your way here)
This is my attempt at a WoW blog. I often find myself discussing theoretical and practical issues regarding WoW with other players, I sometimes get asked for advice, and this will be the place for me to share the thoughts that occur to me during those conversations with a wider audience (or so one hopes).
A little bit about me, before I start writing proper blog entries.
Characters
Borke - resto / balance druid, 80
This is my current main character, and the inspiration for the name of this blog. My focus is on the two spell casting specs of druids, although I try to keep broadly up to date with the feral theorycrafting basics as well. The last time I seriously used bear or cat form was at level 70!
Gormane - resto shaman, 80
This was my main character throughout TBC, and I raided with him almost exclusively as resto (although by the end, my elemental gear was pretty well developped, too, and I put it to use occasionally). These days, although I leveled Gormane to 80, I'm not playing him much.
Greamon - death knight, 80
Like so many people, I tested out a death knight in WotLK. It was quite entertaining (can anyone say "faceroll"?), and so he made it to level 80. I geared him as a tank, and he saw quite a bit of Naxx 25, ToS etc. before the arrival of Ulduar. I don't play him much, these days, though, only if anyone badly needs a tank for some heroics.
Rational - rogue, 80
My current "alt project", my rogue has seen Naxx 25 and some Ulduar 10.
Gornak - hunter, 72
I'm mentioning this alt, because he was my original main, back in vanilla WoW. Other hunters will feel my pain when I say that he's been through a lot of specs in his time. I've still got a lot of fond memories of raiding with Gornak, but these days the hunter playstyle just doesn't fit me any more.
Guild and raiding history
Black Dragon Yakuza
What started out originally as a leveling guild, eventually even made it to Zul'Gurub guild runs (and of course UBRS runs, which was still a hot thing back then!). After a while, the guild fell apart, but quite a few of the former members made it into proper raiding guilds, including me!
The Dominion
I joined The Dominion when they already had Molten Core and Blackwing Lair on farm, and were progressing in AQ40. Eventually we killed C'Thun (before the arrival of Naxxramas), and in the original Naxxramas we cleared 3 wings, but got stuck on Gothik the Harvester (who wasn't a pushover back then).
Rising
Shortly after the launch of TBC, I went on a 5 month or so break, and when I came back, I was far behind in gear (and experience) in The Dominion, so I left and joined a slightly less progressed guild, Rising. We made our way through SSC and TK and unlocked MH and BT, before they were opened to the public! I also, after a few months, became the guild leader of Rising, and under my management we eventually proceeded to clear MH and BT, and even kill Kalecgos and Brutallus (pre-nerf). Alas, Felmyst proved to be more than we could chew, and WotLK was on the horizon, so we left it there.
The Dominion (again)
A short while after WotLK launched, I went back to The Dominion, and here I am now. We are happily progressing through the current content (6/9 hardmodes in Ulduar 25, 9/9 hardmodes + Algalon in Ulduar 10, and now we are running against the wall that is "Northrend Beasts heroic" on 25).
What to expect in this blog?
As you can see, my focus is on PvE raiding. You can expect some discussion of resto and balance raiding theory and practical experience, as well as raiding theory and strategy in general. Furthermore, there may be the occasional article about guild leadership and the various problems assiciated with it. And finally, though I don't expect to break any general WoW news here, I will certainly comment on general hot topics, when others break them ;)
This is my attempt at a WoW blog. I often find myself discussing theoretical and practical issues regarding WoW with other players, I sometimes get asked for advice, and this will be the place for me to share the thoughts that occur to me during those conversations with a wider audience (or so one hopes).
A little bit about me, before I start writing proper blog entries.
Characters
Borke - resto / balance druid, 80
This is my current main character, and the inspiration for the name of this blog. My focus is on the two spell casting specs of druids, although I try to keep broadly up to date with the feral theorycrafting basics as well. The last time I seriously used bear or cat form was at level 70!
Gormane - resto shaman, 80
This was my main character throughout TBC, and I raided with him almost exclusively as resto (although by the end, my elemental gear was pretty well developped, too, and I put it to use occasionally). These days, although I leveled Gormane to 80, I'm not playing him much.
Greamon - death knight, 80
Like so many people, I tested out a death knight in WotLK. It was quite entertaining (can anyone say "faceroll"?), and so he made it to level 80. I geared him as a tank, and he saw quite a bit of Naxx 25, ToS etc. before the arrival of Ulduar. I don't play him much, these days, though, only if anyone badly needs a tank for some heroics.
Rational - rogue, 80
My current "alt project", my rogue has seen Naxx 25 and some Ulduar 10.
Gornak - hunter, 72
I'm mentioning this alt, because he was my original main, back in vanilla WoW. Other hunters will feel my pain when I say that he's been through a lot of specs in his time. I've still got a lot of fond memories of raiding with Gornak, but these days the hunter playstyle just doesn't fit me any more.
Guild and raiding history
Black Dragon Yakuza
What started out originally as a leveling guild, eventually even made it to Zul'Gurub guild runs (and of course UBRS runs, which was still a hot thing back then!). After a while, the guild fell apart, but quite a few of the former members made it into proper raiding guilds, including me!
The Dominion
I joined The Dominion when they already had Molten Core and Blackwing Lair on farm, and were progressing in AQ40. Eventually we killed C'Thun (before the arrival of Naxxramas), and in the original Naxxramas we cleared 3 wings, but got stuck on Gothik the Harvester (who wasn't a pushover back then).
Rising
Shortly after the launch of TBC, I went on a 5 month or so break, and when I came back, I was far behind in gear (and experience) in The Dominion, so I left and joined a slightly less progressed guild, Rising. We made our way through SSC and TK and unlocked MH and BT, before they were opened to the public! I also, after a few months, became the guild leader of Rising, and under my management we eventually proceeded to clear MH and BT, and even kill Kalecgos and Brutallus (pre-nerf). Alas, Felmyst proved to be more than we could chew, and WotLK was on the horizon, so we left it there.
The Dominion (again)
A short while after WotLK launched, I went back to The Dominion, and here I am now. We are happily progressing through the current content (6/9 hardmodes in Ulduar 25, 9/9 hardmodes + Algalon in Ulduar 10, and now we are running against the wall that is "Northrend Beasts heroic" on 25).
What to expect in this blog?
As you can see, my focus is on PvE raiding. You can expect some discussion of resto and balance raiding theory and practical experience, as well as raiding theory and strategy in general. Furthermore, there may be the occasional article about guild leadership and the various problems assiciated with it. And finally, though I don't expect to break any general WoW news here, I will certainly comment on general hot topics, when others break them ;)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)