This is just a odd opinion that I was thinking about earlier. The game is constantly raising and lowering skills to balance gameplay to the best of their abilities. But are the classes themselves at the core balanced? For example a Warrior compared to a Paladin or Death Knight. A Warrior is pretty much cut and dry where as the two other classes have so many utility options. Same with Rogue compared to a feral druid. Even priest has some competition in its core identity as a class. Classes like Demon Hunter have wings where you can legit glide. Should other classes be upgraded with these small utilities to make them more playable.
As a side note I’m not saying these classes are weak. Just under tooled.
Utility is a hard thing to measure. Until it’s needed it’s just a button on your bars.
If I’m in a group with an awesome tank and healer then I may never have to use Divine Shield or Lay on Hands. However if an encounter requires clearing bad from the ground DS just shot up in value.
In a bg such as Arathi Basin a rogue’s presence is utility in and of itself as the other team has to respect the ninja cap.
But why play a warrior over a paladin? Why play a rogue over a feral druid or even Demon hunter. IMO I feel warrior is the weakest class then next would be rogue. It feels like all the other classes have aome crazy cool set up going but these classes are kinda boring.
Again, that’s an issue with utility, until it’s needed or useful in certain situations, then it might as well not exist. This is an issue with encounter design, I feel, to some extent. I completely agree there is some disparity, but not all abilities will be useful for all game modes.
An AoE stop is less valuable if not worthless in a raid setting depending on the design but is invaluable in mythic +. In PvP being able to provide the mortal wounds debuff is fairly useful, but in PvE unless the encounter is designed to use it then it’s worthless.
As for why play x above y, that is purely a preference. Yes, there will always be those that chase the FOTM, and because of that mindset it’ll be harder to find groups, but what you get out of it is what you put in. The ultimate question is if the payoff is worth the effort? Also, it’s a choice to meta chase.
Specs bring both utility and throughput. Judging by how meta is more regularly decided by which specs can pump the most, utility is far less important.
For example a lot of people make the false claim that sigils keep vengeance meta. Well vdh had better sigil of silence in df season 1 and wasnt meta. Because tuning wise it was that poor compared to other tanks. And currently vdh is no longer meta as it does significantly less dmg and is less tanky than pala or warr.
Because you want to? Ret paladin is the most played spec in the entire game. People aren’t playing it for its utility(many don’t even have it binded), but they like the gameplay/fantasy.
But I do get your point that utility seems to be a bit unbalanced. But is blizzard willing to rip stuff away from those that have too much?
Other games would tune some specs higher damage wise if their utility is lacking, or compensate them in other ways. But in a game where the community cares too much about a weekly ranking/logs, it’s a hard sell.
At the end of the day, some of the classes are just mechanically too different to ever balance them completely in terms of power.
Tanks are a good example because of weird outliers like BDK and Brewmaster that function completely differently on a mechanical level than the others do. Aug is another really good example because the core of its design is such that if it’s good it’s basically so strong that it’s mandatory and if it’s bad it’s nearly unplayable.
So they just give everyone their moment to shine from season to season and try to keep things in line to a somewhat reasonable standard.
Paladins get various shields and have tons of healing even as DPS. Those skills are useful in every situation. I’ve watched demon hunters solo things well beyond what they should’ve been able to handle because they have a constant heal effect. Warrior cannot compete with that. Now I’m not sure if warrior class hits harder. That would be a good trade off if warrior and rogue could do more DPS. Basically what I’m saying is these classes seem obsolete compared to the vast ability of others. Warrior and rogue weak compared to other classes.
Sure be a prot warrior and out DPS some DPS and make every other tanks damage look like a joke in comparison while you take 0 damage, also you have some stuns, mobility, raid buff
Or rogue and do insane aoe damage this patch, basically ignore aoe damage with feint as your healer doesn’t need to watch you also enjoy all the CC you have
Warrior tanks compared to paladin tanks is no contest. A paladin has incredibly more survivability than a warrior with various shields and healing. Druid tanks pretty sure have a constant heal along with demon Hunter. Blood DK has various anti magic shields and defense plus steady healing. I can go on. I’m not saying warrior class can’t get the job done. I’m saying they are lacking compared to other classes.
Because you get to hit things in the face with nothing but the unrestrained powers of being mad.
Realistically, Prot Warriors are still extremely durable with good DPS to boot, all have great AoE control, Battle Shout is always welcome to make the bad things go away quicker, and some just like the visceral sound and style of Warriors.
The bang from Shield Slam is still one of my favorite in game sound effects.
I’m not sure what you’re looking for in regards to utility. They have a ton of CC, they have a lot of survivability with or without a shield and they’re fun to play. They can’t heal or do anything fancy but that’s also part of the Warrior fantasy: You’re just punching things in the face, man.
Warrior, rogue, hunter, and monk all have utility issues. Meanwhile Mage gets loads of utility, defensives and somehow always ends up being one of the top damage dealers.
War, rogue and monk also have an aoe cap issue Blizzard has refused to discuss.
Dude… I’m bringing up points and sharing my opinion. In no way am I trying to upset you. If you cannot handle a simple debate then simply disengage. Calling me a troll because you disagree and cannot come up with a solid reason to counter my opinion is a You problem.
Not saying they are not functional. But a Druid, BDK, Paladin, and monk are all better functioning classes. If you had a choice between a warrior or paladin as a tank or DPS who you picking? Both have same Ilevel and are equal. Your going to pick the paladin for the battle rez, the various shields that allow the healer to focus on other party members. Now lets try DPS. Your still picking paladin for the utilities.