Just got back into wow shadowlands after messing through BFA for a year or so.
To preface this with a bit of info, I never have raided, mostly dungeons. However, I’m hoping to finally getting into raiding now, as my life allows for it. But as it stands I have zero experience in raids.
Was looking to get back into DPS. I was thinking of a few different classes such as balance Druid as an example, but many of them have several class mechanics that make the rotation sound difficult and easy to mess up.
Which dps classes out there would you consider a great class for a player new/looking to get into raiding try out? I don’t expect to be amazing or anything and I understand it will require work to get better. But I also don’t want to be overwhelmed with a 20 step rotation as my first foray into raiding!
Any advice would be great! Thanks all.
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Ret is easy enough. has two builders and two special builders and two finishers. in total about 7 buttons you care for.
and lots of utility.
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Feral Druid, SP, Survival Hunter
I’m only really experienced with ranged dps, and I’d go either Hunter or Warlock. They have multiple specs that do very well in raids.
Frost mage is pretty simple. It relies around a very easy one-two punch shatter combo. In the core rotation (single target) there’s about 4 spells. Frozen Orb, flurry, frostbolt, ice lance. It gets a bit fancier when you take into account cooldowns such as Rune of Power and Icy Veins, but for the most part it’s very simple and easy to get into.
Not sure I’d say warlock’s an easier dps class, which is what he asked for.
BM or MM hunter, sure. HDH is pretty easy for melee. I haven’t played it since last expansion, but Frost Mage was always relatively straight forward.
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If you want to be sought after by groups stick to RDPS. Go Hunter as, it’s ez, boring but ez (I find most specs for whatever reason unappealing).
Avoid melee to be honest unless you have a group that doesn’t care.
But yeah, Hunter is an ez go to.
Don’t worry about playing an easy spec. Anything will feel easy with enough practice. Figure out what kind of content you want to excel in, and pick a spec that’s good for it that you like thematically that is also good for that content. The important part is that you stick with it and actually play it long enough to where you don’t have to think so much about your rotation anymore.
It depends. Ranged will have less difficulty dealing with mechanics in raids due to being ranged so you can focus on the rotation more. You’ll have to learn as you go to manage movement with casting and whatnot to min max but yeah.
Melee generally have a harder time with mechanics due to positioning but can generally use all their abilities on the move.
For easy rotations I would go with frost mage or fury warrior. Both of these are fast paced (high apm) but not difficult. So, if you don’t mind the fast pace they’re both great.
Ret would be a bit slower, but I honestly can’t recommend pally if you have no interest in the other specs.
BM hunter is probably one of the easiest specs to play in the game but I find it to be pretty boring personally.
Havoc Demon Hunter is high apm and low difficulty as well.
Those are all the classes that don’t have an obvious learning curve (that I can think of of the top of my head).
My best advice would be to just pick one regardless of if it is difficult or easy and practice the rotation until it’s muscle memory.
The other thing to think about is most classes have either a set rotation (fire mage during combustion for example) or a priority rotation (frost mage for example) and neither is inherently superior and all classes have at least a little bit of each element so it’s another thing to consider which you would find easier for you.
Don’t take anything I said as a hard and fast rule, I just kept listing off things as they came to mind of some of the things I’ve picked up when deciding if I like a spec or not and applied it to difficulty. You may find different aspects difficult than I do. I find set rotations difficult cause I get distracted and mess it up usually whereas with priority rotations I’m reacting to procs or other priorities which is much easier for me to manage. So yeah, I hope some of the rambling helps.
Hunter is in an awkward spot after the Wild Spirits nerf imo. They’re not bad ofc, but I am wary of recommending them for the first time in a long time because I feel they’re performance in the next tier is gonna rely heavily on 9.1 tuning.
Go mage or lock. They will make your group happy with arcane intellect, water, ports, health stones or summons. They are classes that always have a competitive dps spec. Download the hekili addon. That will teach you the rotation.
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For someone new to raiding etc, Hunter is actually a great ‘starter’ recommendation but ultimately the best thing is for OP and others alike to pick what they really enjoy, are good at or can stick with because there is nothing worse than playing something you dislike… you won’t stick with it and be good at it 9 times outta 10.
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Baseline Elemental Shaman is pretty foolproof if you want to be a caster (although BM Hunters are typically recommended for beginners, and that’s a fair route to go, since they can freely move while attacking).
Not sure what talents are meta right now though. Icefury complicates things a little bit if it’s “mandatory” rn. Sometimes its really strong sometimes it’s whatever.
Thanks for the great and in-depth replies everyone.
I certainly feel the advice of play what you want and let the rest fall into place is a great thing. Although I’ve read a lot online that if you don’t take “meta” classes you tend to get passed over and won’t ever see much action compared to others who do.
That said, you can play a meta class and suck at it, and play a non-meta class and be great, so I guess there’s always that to consider. Unfortunately a person may never get a chance to prove it if they aren’t even considered because they are non-meta.
I feel the classes that interest me the most are frost mage or maybe a Hunter class. I’ve never, ever played a Hunter before. I don’t have much interest in survival, but marksman or beast master sounds kind fun.
Easy rotation is ok with me, although I don’t really wanna be stuck pressing only 2-3 keys at all times…but nor do I want overly complex.
Are frost mage or Hunter needed a lot in raids? Or are they considered non-meta? Also, what’s going on with arcane? I played them before and enjoyed them, but it sounds like they are not in a good position according to different sites.
If I can play Destro Warlock, anyone can. I’m pretty casual and I find Destro extremely easy to play. I am sure there are people who are better at it than me, but after 11 years in the game, I probably only know hunter better.
Don’t let folks lie to you, almost every class and spec in the game can be picked up by even the noobiest of noobs. Play what you feel drawn to.
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any class you find fun.
raiding isn’t so hard the issue is you need to understand it’s a group metric and not a solo one meaning your group is as weak as your weakest link. so you need to make sure your doing everything you possibly can to benefit yourselves as individual players. consumables, learning fights prior, learning from mistakes, gearing up and wearing the proper gear, using the right talents.
outside of this its just as easy as running a dungeon but on a larger scale. learning fights as you go along and wiping to the mechanics, etc… after a few wipes you understand the mechanics i mean it’s not really that hard unless your tunnel visioned and your heavily undergeared.
any dps class otherwise is viable even in mythic biggest issue is in mythic and pushing world first but obviously your not doing that. ranged is typically more sought after in raiding imo and from my experience so if you want easier time getting raid spot go for a caster. typically mage or lock. outside of that dont matter tbh. most people end up screwing up on either mechanics or heavily lacking gear/not playing their class properly.
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Balance druid is insanely easy, eclipse makes your buttons glow when they are strong and it’s a basic builder spender with 2 dots
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That’s good to know. I read on icy veins about them and after a page of “what not to do” as a balance Druid otherwise your dps tanks, it sounded anything but easy to a shadowlands noob looking to get into raiding!