A lot of tremendously bad takes following your point, so I’ll circle back here with a reply…
Totally. And the situation actually then ends up being worse. Imagine an Explosive week where some specs simply can’t pop orbs. Madness. The problem is all about access to the affix that then informs how groups are made. Do I personally think you need a full five dispels to deal with Afflicted? Nope. But would I expect a keyholder to take their time in passing on Rogues and waiting for a full five with trivializing dispels to ensure the key happens? Yep! And that’s precisely what’s been happening. To the question, “Poor rogues, whatever will they do in M+?” – I guess we’ll get iced out for a week while everyone else enjoys seven days of free push affixes? Hello?
What’s funny is that you could intuit that they’re maybe trying to balance Raging 2.0, another have/have-not affix, with Afflicted, whereby you have some people that can do one but not the other (Rogues can soothe, but not dispel), but then you have some that can resolve both (Druids - of course), with some still that can’t do anything for either (Warriors, DKs). The problem ends up being disparity. Few classes can soothe. Most can dispel. Raging is arguably less dangerous, particularly in some dungeons versus others.
Any system or mechanic that includes an unlucky outlier in the minority is just absolute abysmal design. Compound this with the way certain specs are already crawling along on their knuckles against brez and lust classes when applying for groups - no thanks. This is an astounding design miss.
Said the paladin who can both heal and cleanse the adds, and heal with both flash heal and WoG, and in an emergency pop LoH.
Paladin is by fat the BEST class for this affix, my main is a paladin, we are not allowed to say how good or bad this week and the entangle one is, or even the incorporeal one, we have TWO CC that can be used on those adds. (HINT: A paladin can Blessing of Freedom the entanglement affix before it even goes off and it does nothing).
Shamans and paladins, and once upon a time druids, are just support classes without the hybrid tax. I suppose it’s still a ‘tax’ when you count how many things they can do that don’t count towards their own DPS and HPS.
Brief aside: my favorite thing about Incorporeal (which is whatever as an affix, it’s amazing by contrast to Afflicted) is that it illuminates just how many players incorrectly assume that Blind is a short CD that can be cast every pull. Hello?
It was, but we are still limited now, say you cast your windrush totem, no DPS meter or log is really going to show that as something people look for, so that’s one GCD gone, than you cast your stun totem, another GCD and so on. It all adds up to a fair amount of GCD you are not using for direct healing and damage.
But “pure dps” classes also have plenty of utility. I have never felt all utility needs to be quantified into dps numbers.
Cause I mean in raids, shaman actually have some of the least utility typically. Because it just doesnt translate well. Where suddenly the utility of many pure dps classes starts to shine.
As a class that has very little to almost no interaction with the affliction affix, I’m super cool with it. I did enjoy actually having the ability to counteract incorporeal, I’m also happy that this week I can just RoF spam and not have to worry about it.
Not to sidestep too severely into this conversation, but I like using “role-dedicated” instead of “pure DPS” these days, as it gets at the meat of the hybrid vs. pure discussion a little better. You could argue that there are some hybrid and semi-hybird classes that are now more “purely” (ie. effective) DPS by comparison to the role-dedicated classes (ie. role-immobile classes, classes with three damage-only specs in isolation) competing with them in the meters.
The only class that is ever dedicated to a specific role is DPS.
I am absolutely fine still saying “pure DPS”. If there was a class that only had 3 healing specs, or 3 tanking specs I would see the need for a more general term.
“purely” has never meant “effective” in this conversation. It has always meant you only have 3 dps specs available.
Immobile is not a role.
And “hybrid” classes should 100% be just as effective as “pure dps” classes at DPS. Because the hybrid tax does not exist, and it is stupid. There is no reason why a hybrid class should be unable to perform as well as (or sometimes better) than a “pure dps” class.
Ope! My bad, I think you just misunderstood my points completely. “Role-immobile” is meant to imply a class that is locked into a specific role. I’ll also avoid walking into the full of the hybrid-vs-pure argument, but suffice it to say that my opinion is something like this: “Hybrid classes shouldn’t be the worst because they have multiple roles, but they certainly shouldn’t be the best.”
Any argument against that point ignores ideas of “spec identity” (ie, designing specs to be capable of a lot on their own because it’s the only one a player prefers to play) only currently being afforded to, you guessed it, hybrid classes.
Afflicted is a great example of where the range of zero-hybrid-tax thinking is perhaps a bit too…afield.
My issue with it from a healer perspective is when you have a total of two classes with a dispell. The healer and one dps.
2 afix mobs spawn and a dispellable debuff that goes out on a party member that if not dispelled destroys them. (Underrot trash)
It puts you in a situation where your damned if you do, damned if you don’t. It is not fun being put in a situation where you don’t have all the tools to deal with a situation. Yes i know you can heal though it but on higher keys that is a struggle with all tbe group damage.
What is the difference between role-immoble and role-dedicated?
Why?
Your argument is based on ignoring spec identity. You want to see everyone as classes, not specs. Which is not how the real world or the world of warcraft works.
When I show up as a shaman to a group or raid, I am not able to be there as an enhance/resto/elemental. I am there as my spec defined role. Not all 3.
Your entire argument is based on being against specs, and ignoring that even within “pure dps” specs, they can play and be different.
I need you to give me a specific reason why “pure dps” needs to be always the best dps. Because so far, the only thing you are pointing at is utility.
And if utility is the criteria, then you must support all/most utility being stripped from “pure dps”.
This includes mobility and survivability. Iceblock, slow effect from blizzard, poly, sap, shroud, fear, etc.
Bro it’s like two ghost dudes that pop up every 10 mins or something just play the game lol. Make a cheer and massage emote macro to support your teammates while they dispel… your mega dps is just as important, don’t be so sad.