I think the cutoff on OBR is 60 seconds? It won’t use DA but it will use void torrent and that’s 45~
As a self-appointed mentor myself, I would say: If anything, a rotational helper could actually reduce the burden on awareness and execution by allowing players to focus less on their rotation and more on reacting to mechanics. In that sense, rather than making mechanics more important, it might just make them easier to handle, allowing game design to improve.
But does that truly shift the priority? I’d argue it more streamlines the experience rather than fundamentally changing what’s most important. Players who were already good at juggling both rotation and mechanics won’t necessarily see a shift in their priorities—just a reduction in mental load. Those who struggled with optimizing their damage while handling mechanics might feel more capable, but they still need to execute properly to succeed.
So while it might shift focus toward mechanics, it’s still no replacement for mastery over your own rotation.
If you can win just spamming 1 button, why do anything else? It’s just more consistent.
Focus on mechanics, collect loot.
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I wouldnt use 1 button even if it was better than doing the rotation yourself, cuz thats just boring
Sounds like people just play to be on top of meters and gear
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And that’s the issue with OBR.
Many people will use it, if it’s a benefit. And they’ll probably quit out of boredom.
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I mean, objectively yes. There’s no arguing that. The only question is whether or not that’s the kind of game WoW should be.
But they will significantly change how they interact with the game. I spend a lot of my time outside of raid planning how I would handle various mechanics that would disrupt my rotation. It’s the main way I grow from pull to pull. Automating my rotation takes a lot of that away from me and even in the best case where a fight doesn’t need that much custom tailoring, it means that the fights themselves will be nowhere near as engaging to me.
And yes I know, the option to not use the OBR is always there. But to that I say the same thing I say to every game that has an overpowered tool that people tell me to just not use. How can I ignore the most powerful option a game has given me? At what point does establishing an arbitrary limit on yourself for the sake of personal challenge just become trolling your group?
Do I want to group with people too prideful to use obr?
Or like do I just invite ret paladins because they benefit most? (Assuming other specs don’t.)
Meta is a thing, but meta because of OBR just feels wrong to me.
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I actually wonder if the OBR will start to affect tuning passes. If one spec benefits from OBR so much more than everyone else such that their average damage is so much higher than every other spec, do they get hit with nerfs even though without OBR they’re perfectly fine?
I feel like this season I could time 15-16s on a Ret paladin using nothing but OBR for dps. That’s still using defensives and utility, but all damage buttons replaced with OBR.
Highest key I’ve done is a 14 this season -_-
Wellph, time to reroll one button ret.
That’s simple—it’s not powerful at all. In fact, I wouldn’t even consider it optimal, it’s a low bar baseline. its like watching the highlight reel of a movie instead of the full film—you get the basic idea, but you miss the depth, nuance, and details that make it truly meaningful.
if baseline allows you to complete the hardest content in the game (that most people cannot currently do) it’s an absurd baseline.
The concept of a baseline is perfectly fine with me, but where should it be?
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I’m getting two very conflicting stories here which is a problem since the health of the feature very much relies on this exact point.
I know Hpellipsis better so I’m more inclined to believe them. But I do very much hope Blizzard is keeping a VERY close eye on this.
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Just disable the tool in mythic level content. It is a tool for access to world content, exploring, and the story, not for competitive or rated play. 75-80% of sim feels too close
But spamming worst ability already provides access to that content, so what value does OBR bring?
A more complete rotation
There’s a distinction between giving control to someone who has mastered the fights, understands timings, defensive usage, and has built a well-optimized team versus handing it to just any average player. The impact is entirely different—one leverages deep experience to refine and elevate performance, while the other might simply rely on the tool without fully understanding its nuances. This isn’t about general player skill; it’s about how automation interacts with mastery. As mentioned, establishing a baseline allows encounter designed to be more complex.
But it’s not a rotation you get to engage with. At best it’s just a more varied series of animations. For the player it’s no different.
I think I would prefer a game with a healthier balance between rotational complexity and encounter complexity rather than a game which expects me to automate away all of the rotational complexity in order to turbo-charge encounter complexity.
Can I pose you a question? Would it be reasonable to expect a player who wants to be the very best to eventually grow beyond the rotation helper and if so, what does that process look like?
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Absolutely—it’s reasonable to expect that a player striving to be the best would eventually move beyond a rotation helper. At the highest levels of play, mastery isn’t just about executing a rotation efficiently—it’s about adapting, optimizing, and making strategic decisions in real time.
That growth process typically looks something like this:
- Mastering the Basics – Early on, a rotation helper might be useful for learning optimal ability usage and timing.
- Building Situational Awareness – As the player improves, they start focusing more on fight mechanics, positioning, and cooldown management.
- Recognizing Adjustments – Top-tier players learn when to deviate from a standard rotation based on encounter demands, personal defensive usage, or group needs.
- Internalizing Muscle Memory – At this stage, the player no longer relies on external guidance; their rotation becomes second nature, allowing full focus on execution and adaptation.
- Performing at Peak Levels – Now, the player isn’t just following a rotation—they’re actively finding ways to push performance further through efficiency, optimization, and innovation sometimes even theory crafting trying new abilities in difference situations.