Dreams
fastest shadowstep in the west
Hello everyone.
Recently I've noticed what I personally think is an overuse of the term "fotm" - flavor of the month, with people calling certain classes/specs fotm as soon as they 'discover' that they're competitive/viable (prot warriors, hunters, feral druids etc)
So my question is: which classes/specs do you personally think are the strongest within the bracket? And which ones would you call fotm?
Here is my list (this is all my personal opinion):
Dps specs/classes:
#1 Shadow Priests
Priests are definitely the strongest class in the bracket right now. You simply don't see teams without a priest in them once you get past a certain (very low) mmr.
Shadow priests have incredible burst, decent cc and crazy off-healing. Also their 15% extra damage reduction from shadowform allows them to build a lot more offensive in terms of gems.
#2 Protection Paladins
Protection paladin is probably the easiest spec to play in this bracket right now. The most popular playstyle seems to be running around pillars all day while waiting for your 3 holy power to go for a random oneshot, then try again if it fails. They are a bit lacking on the cc, with repen being very easy to death. The thing is though, they often don't need more than a single HoJ to randomly kill someone with an avenger's shield + harsh words combo. I would like to add that I think we see very few to no protection paladins played to their full potential in the bracket.
#3 Balance Druids
They have really good burst, decent cc and are extremely hard to kill unless kept stunned or silenced from pretty much 100% to 0%.
Druids probably have the best off-healing of all the hybrid classes due to rejuvenation being really strong. Balance druids also gain 15% passive damage reduction from their moonkin form.
#4 Hunters
Hunters are the first non-hybrid class on my list, simply because of their incredible cc.
I would argue that hunters have the best cc capabilities in the bracket. On top of that, their damage is really strong, although lacking the burst that the above classes have, It's still good enough to keep up the pressure. Their biggest weakness is of course their lack of off-healing, which often forces them to build extremely defensive in terms of their gems.
#5 Feral Druids
Really high sustained damage from bleeds as well as good burst. They also have really good utility, being able to jump all around the place, easily eating traps or LOS'ing when in danger.
The strongest point of feral druids is their off-healing, being able to top anyone in a single global.
#6 Rogues
Rogues are kind of similar to hunters. They have really strong cc capabilities but lack the off-healing of hybrid classes.
Unlike hunters though, they are not forced to gem/gear defensively because of their many escapes and defensive cooldowns. And of course because they are a stealth class.
Because of this, most rogues have really good burst.
Those are what I consider the best within Dps specs. I would only call the top 2-3 specs listed "fotm". I think It's important to remember that there's a middle ground between completely useless and fotm.
Healing specs:
#1 Discipline Priests
I consider disc priests the best healer in the bracket, even though they funnily enough aren't a part of what I consider the best 2s comp in the bracket (Shadow priest + Restoration Shaman). This is simply due to DR conflicts. If somehow a shadow priests and a discipline priests fears didn't DR, disc/sp would definitely be the best comp.
They have amazing assist-damage and cc.
#2 Restoration Shamans
While having less assist damage and a lot less cc than a discipline priest, they do have some cc, and also an interrupt, which can be really valuable.
On top of that they have a really strong major defensive cooldown (something that discipline priests do not) which is Spirit Link Totem.
Another strong point of restoration shamans is that they have higher utility from ghost wolf, which means that they can move in and out of LOS faster, and also have an easier time coming back to a fight after having been feared to africa.
#3 Restoration Druids
While being the healer with probably the worst cc and worst assist-damage, they do have the strongest healing in the bracket.
Once three lifebloom stacks are up on a target, the enemy team are gonna have a very hard time killing anything (especially if they only have one offensive dispel in their comp).
#4 Holy paladins
Lots of instant heals, decent cc but not amazing assist-damage.
They also have bubble, which admittedly mostly serves as an extra trinket when you're a healer, but still a good thing to have.
What I do like about holy paladins is the ability to prevent bursts from the enemy using denounce, once your partner is topped. Which makes it very hard to set up a kill opportunity.
That was my lists of what I think are the strongest classes in the bracket. I'm looking forward to see what other people think.
I'm very open to changing my own opinion if someone brings up things that I hadn't considered. Also please try to keep the flaming down if you disagree with my opinions. ^^
Recently I've noticed what I personally think is an overuse of the term "fotm" - flavor of the month, with people calling certain classes/specs fotm as soon as they 'discover' that they're competitive/viable (prot warriors, hunters, feral druids etc)
So my question is: which classes/specs do you personally think are the strongest within the bracket? And which ones would you call fotm?
Here is my list (this is all my personal opinion):
Dps specs/classes:
#1 Shadow Priests
Priests are definitely the strongest class in the bracket right now. You simply don't see teams without a priest in them once you get past a certain (very low) mmr.
Shadow priests have incredible burst, decent cc and crazy off-healing. Also their 15% extra damage reduction from shadowform allows them to build a lot more offensive in terms of gems.
#2 Protection Paladins
Protection paladin is probably the easiest spec to play in this bracket right now. The most popular playstyle seems to be running around pillars all day while waiting for your 3 holy power to go for a random oneshot, then try again if it fails. They are a bit lacking on the cc, with repen being very easy to death. The thing is though, they often don't need more than a single HoJ to randomly kill someone with an avenger's shield + harsh words combo. I would like to add that I think we see very few to no protection paladins played to their full potential in the bracket.
#3 Balance Druids
They have really good burst, decent cc and are extremely hard to kill unless kept stunned or silenced from pretty much 100% to 0%.
Druids probably have the best off-healing of all the hybrid classes due to rejuvenation being really strong. Balance druids also gain 15% passive damage reduction from their moonkin form.
#4 Hunters
Hunters are the first non-hybrid class on my list, simply because of their incredible cc.
I would argue that hunters have the best cc capabilities in the bracket. On top of that, their damage is really strong, although lacking the burst that the above classes have, It's still good enough to keep up the pressure. Their biggest weakness is of course their lack of off-healing, which often forces them to build extremely defensive in terms of their gems.
#5 Feral Druids
Really high sustained damage from bleeds as well as good burst. They also have really good utility, being able to jump all around the place, easily eating traps or LOS'ing when in danger.
The strongest point of feral druids is their off-healing, being able to top anyone in a single global.
#6 Rogues
Rogues are kind of similar to hunters. They have really strong cc capabilities but lack the off-healing of hybrid classes.
Unlike hunters though, they are not forced to gem/gear defensively because of their many escapes and defensive cooldowns. And of course because they are a stealth class.
Because of this, most rogues have really good burst.
Those are what I consider the best within Dps specs. I would only call the top 2-3 specs listed "fotm". I think It's important to remember that there's a middle ground between completely useless and fotm.
Healing specs:
#1 Discipline Priests
I consider disc priests the best healer in the bracket, even though they funnily enough aren't a part of what I consider the best 2s comp in the bracket (Shadow priest + Restoration Shaman). This is simply due to DR conflicts. If somehow a shadow priests and a discipline priests fears didn't DR, disc/sp would definitely be the best comp.
They have amazing assist-damage and cc.
#2 Restoration Shamans
While having less assist damage and a lot less cc than a discipline priest, they do have some cc, and also an interrupt, which can be really valuable.
On top of that they have a really strong major defensive cooldown (something that discipline priests do not) which is Spirit Link Totem.
Another strong point of restoration shamans is that they have higher utility from ghost wolf, which means that they can move in and out of LOS faster, and also have an easier time coming back to a fight after having been feared to africa.
#3 Restoration Druids
While being the healer with probably the worst cc and worst assist-damage, they do have the strongest healing in the bracket.
Once three lifebloom stacks are up on a target, the enemy team are gonna have a very hard time killing anything (especially if they only have one offensive dispel in their comp).
#4 Holy paladins
Lots of instant heals, decent cc but not amazing assist-damage.
They also have bubble, which admittedly mostly serves as an extra trinket when you're a healer, but still a good thing to have.
What I do like about holy paladins is the ability to prevent bursts from the enemy using denounce, once your partner is topped. Which makes it very hard to set up a kill opportunity.
That was my lists of what I think are the strongest classes in the bracket. I'm looking forward to see what other people think.
I'm very open to changing my own opinion if someone brings up things that I hadn't considered. Also please try to keep the flaming down if you disagree with my opinions. ^^
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