3.1 and Flag Carrying

Which Class is best at FCing in premades post-3.1?

  • Paladin

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    1

Painaid

The Immortal
Although it's quite obvious that 3.1 has brought about some sweeping changes to the 19 bracket, there is one change that I would like to get some more people's opinion on. With the 3.1 patch, and the subsequent nerf of stamina, druids may no longer be the undisputed best FCer; I think paladins may have taken that slot for premades. At first this sounds nuts since ever since the beginning, paladins have always taken a backseat to druids.



First, let me construct the typical argument as to why druids were better than paladins pre-3.1.

  1. Druids have higher HP
  2. Shapeshifting > Blessing of Freedom
  3. Until Paladin abilities are self-cast only, they will be better off as a Support Role

Now let me address each of these points and explain why things have changed so drastically in 3.1 as to why Paladins may have the upper hand now.



1. Druids have higher HP

The HP gap between the two classes is becoming less and less drastic. The recent stamina nerf (Nethercleft/Librams/Shoulder enchant/etc) has hurt the druid class far more than paladins because stamina is transferred into even more HP in bear form. Without as much stamina, druid bearform obviously has less health.



Another point to establish here is the huge misnomer that HP = survivability. A staple of Paladin flag carrying is melee defense. Paladin FCing gear will focus on 3 basic stats: Sta, Agi, & Str. While the Druid will focus on Sta, Int, Agi. The three paladin stats all contribute to more survivability, while only two stats for the druids do.



Sta: Obviously it helps increase HP. Sta is more important to the druid than to a paladin because of bear form.

Agi: Increases dodge, armor, and crit strike rating.

Str: Increases block (only relevant to paladins)

Int: Required for druids in order to shapeshift effectively. Intellect is not required at all for paladins.



Stamina obviously is the primary stat of both classes. However, stamina becomes much less important when debuff hits since overall damage is increased by 50/100%. This is a major fault within the druid playing-style.



Once debuff hits, as I said earlier, stamina becomes less important (to an extent) and agi and str becomes much more so. Why? Because these two stats actually work to prevent damage being done to you at all. Agi will help you dodge that incoming attack more often, while Str will help you block. Sta has no such defensive nature.



To explain this in a better format:

Before debuff:

10 sta = 100 health

After Debuff:

10 sta = 50 [normal]health.



Once debuff hits, stamina becomes much less valuable because attacks do more damage. However, 10 agility is still worth the same. Since paladin gear focuses on all three stats, and druids focus primarily on stamina, this works towards a paladin's favor. Now, does this mean that once debuff hits we should immediately take off our stamina gear in favor of agi? Obviously not. A healthy pool of health always going to be required. However, with debuff, your HP pool is effectively halved. Therefore, what I am arguing is that a druid with 2400 HP is not nearly as good as a paladin with 1900 HP with debuff because a paladin's agi/str stats will actually provide more overall survivability than the druid's extra 500 HP. 1900 HP is still plenty of cushion to kite an offense and for healers to get heals off.



Another thing I would like to address is the intellect issue. Druids must invest a large portion of their gear/enchants into intellect so that they can shapeshift. Paladin abilities, on the other hand, require hardly any mana at all. The class as a whole faces hardly any risk of mana exhaustion like a druid does. The requirement of druids to divert gear to intellect reduces their ability to choose gear that might help their survivability more, such as agi. As a example, a druid gets 'of the eagle' gear instead of 'of the monkey' gear like a paladin would get.





2. Shapeshifting > Blessing of Freedom



Another staple argument of why druids have been better than paladins is because druids are more resistant to purge/dispel since BoF is dispellable while shapeshifting has no such counter. However, I believe this has become less and less of an issue.



As I mentioned earlier, shapeshifting does have a counter: mana. And with the recent spirit nerf, druids are not going to have the excess mana they used to. Not only will this hurt their shapeshifting ability, but it will prevent them from wasting mana on other abilities like rejuvenation.



Another problem with shapeshifting goes straight to the core. Shapeshifting, by nature, is reactive; meaning, the druid must first be slowed before they can shapeshift. While it may seem trivial, the fact that the druid is slowed initially does make a difference. On the other hand, BoF can be applied preemptively.



Having played both classes, this is my main beef with druids. Often times I will find myself doing a jump and I will get conc-shotted in mid-air causing me to miss my target. On my paladin, this does not happen since I am guaranteed not to get slowed. Once again, this may seem unimportant to some, but it has caused many unnecessary deaths on my druid because of this, and there really is nothing the druid can do about it -- no matter how good their reaction is, the initial slow will still be applied before shapeshifting can effectively remove it. I cannot begin to stress how much this seems to be overlooked.



The other side of the coin on this issue is that BoF can be purged. While this is true, I find this also to be less of an issue. With full buffs constantly kept up, and a competent kiting defense, this is not much of an issue at all. Again, with the spirit nerf, mana is more scarce than before. This means that purging shamans/dispelling priests will not be able to be as liberal as they once have been in terms of dispels.



With paladin abilites such as the range taunt and the glyphed Hammer of Justice (increasing its range by 10 yards), along with an effective mage on D, melee combat should be avoidable for the most part.





3. Until Paladin abilities are self-cast only, they will be better off as a Support Role



The argument here is that since Blessing of Freedom, LoH, Purify, etc are all castable on other players, then Paladins would be better off as an assist to the druid rather than carrying the flag.



However, this begs the question: Paladins must first have their abilities nerfed before they are better than druids at FCing? Wouldn't the better argument be to run a dual-paladin Defense without any druid at all?





Here are an additional list of changes made to the paladin class:

  • LoH now down to a 15 min cooldown
  • Divine Protection CD reduced from 5 min > 3 min
  • Forbearance effect reduced from 3 mins > 2 mins



So why do I think that paladins are better now?

  1. With the stamina nerf, a Paladin's overall survivability now surpasses a Druid's.
  2. Shapeshifting is reactive; BoF is not.
  3. Lay on Hands - Free health pool every 15 minutes now.
  4. HoJ > Bash. It has a longer range and Paladins don't have to face the target they wish to stun, unlike druids. This makes them vulnerable to things like Gouge.
  5. Divine Protection: -50% damage reduction every 3 minutes now.
  6. Blessing of Protection: An addtional support utility that Paladins can use to help their healer/mage if they are being mowed down by a melee class. Obviously, druids have no such thing.



Tell me what you think. Has 3.1 called for a reevaluation of which class is better at Flag Carrying, or am I completely missing the picture?
 
When it comes to flag holding, warriors can also be a decent choice and are often overlooked. They can get the same amount of stam/str/agi as a pally but have an extra 5% avoidance available in talents, 10% damage reduction from defensive stance, hamstring/shield slam to kite attackers, and shield block with a lowly 1 minute cooldown.. Not to mention that disarm now affects ranged weapons as well :)

When running the flag however, if I had to choose between the two, I'd say Druid. I have both a druid and a pally, and the instant druid HoTs are the deal-breaker for me.
 
I would also put forward a case for Rogues.

In particular gnome rogues.



Sometimes, being fast is the best thing to escape both damage and movement impairment attacks.



A rogue can get out of sight pretty quickly with a well timed Sprint and a Swiftness potion.

A couple of escape abilities (such as Escape Artist and Trinket) is usually enough.



With my warrior, I only pick up the flag if a healer is with me. On my own I'd be stuck pretty soon.

My vote also goes to Druids.





And btw, yes, disarm does take away ranged weapons.

Unfortunately, Hunters insist on being a long way away, and I don't seem to convince them to come near me so that I can disarm them :(

Bastards!
 
1. With the stamina nerf, a Paladin's overall survivability now surpasses a Druid's.

2. Shapeshifting is reactive; BoF is not.

3. Lay on Hands - Free health pool every 15 minutes now.

4. HoJ > Bash. It has a longer range and Paladins don't have to face the target they wish to stun, unlike druids. This makes them vulnerable to things like Gouge.

5. Divine Protection: -50% damage reduction every 3 minutes now.

6. Blessing of Protection: An addtional support utility that Paladins can use to help their healer/mage if they are being mowed down by a melee class. Obviously, druids have no such thing.



1. You act like a stamina nerf doesn't affect paladins at all... Sure, it affects a druid more, but only slightly. IMO, this isn't much of an argument.

2. Shapeshifting might be reactive, but it's also usable over and over again (no cooldown, unlike BoF).

3. LoH may have a lower cooldown, but it's still only gonna be usable 1-2 times per BG. So, not much of an advantage.

4. Again, bash has a lower CD than HoJ. Also, you fail to consider Nature's Grasp.

5. Ok, this might be the only decent argument here.

6. What's your point? Paladins have always had BoP.
 
Druid and Pally are about equal. As a pally popping all CD's, BoF, divine protection, Lifebloom, AGM, BoF, LoH, BoF in that order usually gets me across the field for a cap.
 
HoF is easily countered while shapeshifting is not. sure you can stack buffs but if someone's role is to just purge spam then your HoF will be taken out. plus HoF has a cooldown.



paladins are solid pug FCs but druids are definately better for organized play.



just an FYI if you jump right before a slow hits, then doubleshift, you won't be slowed at all (unless they changed it in 3.1 :confused:)
 
warrior, biatches!
 
When it really comes down to it, and I'm sure Painaid knows this just as well as I do...the class carrying the flag doesn't tend to be the huge factor. It depends more on the person behind the character.



Specific class abilities and stats are nice little nuances to look at, however, to each class their own. Played well, each can have their own significant advantages and disadvantages.



In truth, if the player's skill was entirely not a factor, I think I would probably tend to lean towards a Paladin FC now, just for extra damage mitigation, blocks, and a better set of skills for supporting themselves.
 
Well personally I think it depends on the situation. Sometimes a druid will be better and other times a paladin will be better. Shapeshifting at times can be pretty worthless, and other times is the cat's pajamas. I really haven't played my Paladin much but they have some nice advantages also. I think both classes make a good choice when making a flag carrier, but that shouldn't mean that other classes aren't good carriers.



Rogues are great when you want the flag dashed across the field. No one can run a flag faster at lvl 19. Shammy can be great also with effective use of earthbind totems, but unfortunately can't get nearly as high on the HP. Mages make great carriers also because they move fast and break snares using blink. They also have an AoE root and a direct damage slow that makes kiting really easy too.
 
Elude said:
1. You act like a stamina nerf doesn't affect paladins at all... Sure, it affects a druid more, but only slightly. IMO, this isn't much of an argument.

Which is my point, it affects druids a lot more than paladins. Druids rely on stamina much more because of bear form. I'm not talking about one single, sweeping change as the reason I think Pallies are now up to par with druids. I just think 3.1 was finally that patch where the difference between the two classes is negligible.

2. Shapeshifting might be reactive, but it's also usable over and over again (no cooldown, unlike BoF).

It is restricted to mana, but I will agree that it is very difficult to be in a situation where so many shifts would be required. As for BoF having a cooldown, that is why I suggested a dual-paladin defense.

3. LoH may have a lower cooldown, but it's still only gonna be usable 1-2 times per BG. So, not much of an advantage.

I cannot begin to name the amount of times LoH has won games in premades I have been in. To classify this as hardly an advantage is a bit of an understatement, and the 15 min cooldown only makes this ability that much better.

4. Again, bash has a lower CD than HoJ. Also, you fail to consider Nature's Grasp.

They're both 1 minute cooldowns.

6. What's your point? Paladins have always had BoP.

And it's a great asset to have on defense. What other point am I supposed to have?
 
your argument about the 2 pallies do not hold its line either... isn't double druid the same then ? one can heal while the other keeps its mana ? isn't mana regen hapenning when you are in bear form ?



i play mostly in PUG... druids always gave me a hard time while your pally has to defend himself... but parry and block cannot happen if you are back to the target. only dodge can happen. thus your str and things like that is nullified by it ! and if you decide to put it to go use and face your opponent, you are bound to slow down and that will eventually cause your demise.



in the end, pally might be good at getting the flag out of the room... but druids are better at keeping the flag in play !
 
Megamann said:
Mages make great carriers also because they move fast and break snares using blink. They also have an AoE root and a direct damage slow that makes kiting really easy too.



Move fast? Blink? ...what? /sigh



i play mostly in PUG... druids always gave me a hard time while your pally has to defend himself... but parry and block cannot happen if you are back to the target. only dodge can happen. thus your str and things like that is nullified by it ! and if you decide to put it to go use and face your opponent, you are bound to slow down and that will eventually cause your demise.



Few things here buddy. First of all, if you want to make a constructive response, at least try to make it look/sound slightly decent. Second of all, in the majority of PUGs (notice the "s" there), anyone with decent running skill and the gear to match it can run the flag. So by saying "i play mostly in PUG" you're making your own credibility fall down immensely. Also, you cannot dodge from behind. (Officially. Though experience tells me otherwise...) There is a decent point about facing towards your opponent making you "slow down" (though very hard to understand the way it's written), but when debuffs hit, it's not going to matter much at all. Survivability becomes key there, and that's not all about the ability to run away.



In my experience, 3.1 changed the defense aspect of WSG greatly, in the fact that protecting the flag has become much more of a group project, so to speak. I daresay that no single class has a large enough advantage to be the sole proprietor of the "FC" title. Though, if you want to be specific, I think I'd prefer a druid to run it upon initial pickup, and for a pally to hold it when it's across the map. Throw that druid BOF through the mid and you'll make it across easily. Throw that pally hots and roots to enemies and he'll live much longer. But as it's been said before, it's all up for discussion. This is just the way I think things would work best.



(btw: 2-pally-fc-combo on defense for the win?)
 
ArthurianKnight said:
your argument about the 2 pallies do not hold its line either... isn't double druid the same then ? one can heal while the other keeps its mana ? isn't mana regen hapenning when you are in bear form ?

No, doubling down on pallies is much more effective than druids. Pallies have BoF in addition to things like LoH. Mana regen happens only outside the 5 sec rule. Besides, spirit was nerfed, so normal regeneration is not much.

i play mostly in PUG... druids always gave me a hard time while your pally has to defend himself... but parry and block cannot happen if you are back to the target. only dodge can happen. thus your str and things like that is nullified by it ! and if you decide to put it to go use and face your opponent, you are bound to slow down and that will eventually cause your demise.

Should be pretty easy for a paladin to get away. As for the dodge/block comment, that's why moonwalking, etc is important. My point is that pallies have better damage mitigation. Never expose your back unless you know a rogue gouge is incoming.
 
i still think for premades a druid is a superior FC. not only does it have the most health, it can escape snares at will and has more health, making it better against burst. in the long run paladins might be better, but they are not as good against slows because BoF is not as reliable as shapeshift in premades.
 
again, might be just my battlegroup being very different then all others...

ut druids have always given us more trouble then pallies for the sole purpose that we cannot stop them or slow them down. even after 3.1 has hit the shore. while pallies tends to be going down quite fast. but then again there are a few priest twink that always gets in BGs and just dispel everyone they see with a bubble, may it be AGM or pallies, even priest bubbles !
 
again, might be just my battlegroup being very different then all others...

ut druids have always given us more trouble then pallies for the sole purpose that we cannot stop them or slow them down. even after 3.1 has hit the shore. while pallies tends to be going down quite fast. but then again there are a few priest twink that always gets in BGs and just dispel everyone they see with a bubble, may it be AGM or pallies, even priest bubbles !



by the way, saying that i have no credibility cause i play PUG more is just bullshit.

so is your argument about me failing to see how it works...

because seriously, there are so many things to know about when you flag carry that not just anybody can do it. not even in a PUG !



routes, defense strat, knowing where your team is are just 3 of those things you gottas know. it doesn't matter if you are in a PUG or not, all that matters is that you know how to play ! and NOPE its written on blizz websites about how certain things works... PARRY and BLOCK have to be facing their enemies for them to happen. while dodge can happen from anywhere ! makes sens to me since you wouldn't need to turn around to actually evade an attack !
 
I think if you go back and re-read his post, he questions your knowledge based on your using the term "PUG" over the correct "PUGs." He's right about the usage. "Pick-up Group" is singular. That said, I don’t think anyone can discount your experience because you use a wrong word.



At the end of the day, this is OPNION- so you’re all allowed to believe different things, and still be right.
 

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