All the data in this thread is extracted after Ret Friday nerf (Not at the beginning of the 10.07 patch release)
So, first of all, I would like to discuss Ret’s utility:
Sanc + BOP + Sacrifice + Spellwarding + Lay of Hands
Self-healing + shield + Divine protection + etc. minor healing
Insane dispel - healer class 8s CD only dispel one debuff, ret - 9s CD with the greater judgment, two stacks (like priest dispel pvp talent) dispel three debuffs!!!
For example, Shadow priest is hard countered because of ret dispel:
Compared to any classes, Ret has tooooooooooo many CDs and helps the healer to rotate. Even healers like disc priest only have 2 PS + 1 Dome + 1 Swap.
Tell me why Ret is reasonable in the arena right now. Look at the check PVP recent activities; Rets still gains tremendous points even after nerf.
With 3s CR above 2400, you will see a ret in 90% of the games. If you are not playing war/ret hunter/ret. Demo/ret, or any comp hard counter ret comp, you deserve a free loss of CR.
Ret became the second-strongest melee in just four days after 10.07 was released. And all the data below are from 24 hours after Ret nerf. What an insane class!
Spec count above 2400 CR in 3s Ladder, generally speaking, it is dominated by melee class. The top three are arm war, ret, and assassin rogue:
Look at the games played; the Ladder is not healthy. Look at the poor rogue, mage, and DK; they seem to not exist in 3s right now:
And almost every ret is gaining CR with high win rates:
After the nerf, Ret representation is dropped. However, I think it just filters out some bad or new ret players:
War/Sham/Ret spec win rate, the most popular ret comp after 10.07 was released, and now they find a reliable way to win games above 2100 CR. See this insane win rate chart:
Popular Comp win rate, Sham/Ret/War reaching 57.6%:
Tell me how this benefits the PVP environment and community. Ret 10.07 is the most ridiculous Spec in the history of WOW PVP.
And perhaps Arm (Even better than Ret) and Shaman (Win Rate almost 75%) also need a nerf.
Many PVP players may hate this thread. War is the most played class before 10.07. Shaman is silenced during the whole patch and only shines for a few days. However, I do think these two classes are comparatively as strong as Ret.
Possible class balance:
Ret - Completely remove judgment dispel, or only dispel debuffs on the player but not the team
Rshaman - Maybe some healing reduction for earthen totem, reapply -25% modifiers because each can absorb 900k damage, which is about three times higher than Caccon, life swap, lay of hands, etc. Totem recall is so powerful. Also, please adjust the healing stream totem AOE heal as now Elemental shaman/SP/balance druid, and all AOE damage-based specs are hard countered.
War - Charge CD increased, and the anger management effect can be reduced in PVP. Also, Blizzard could nerf Shapen blade MS effect to 35% - 40%. It is unhealable when combined with Ret/Hunter burst damage.
Buff classes like rogue/mage/DK/DH, as their presence is too low, and no one has incentives to play these specs. Also, Rouge is not OP right now because of the Ret counterplay, and Supatease already listed assassin as a B-tier spec.
Balance Healer: a slight buff to Rdruid’s overall healing; the talent tree changes significantly impact this Spec. And add some mana reg for Evoker. Don’t forget Hpally, and they need some big buffs like Rshaman 10.07 to be competitive.
Season ends in about five weeks, and now only ret/war, ret/hunter + shaman/Fistweaver on the ladder every game!
Also plz, change the drop rate of Concentrated Primal Focus 10.1, PVP players also need this!
So leave your opinions, and I welcome criticisms. Thanks!