With boxes out and my lack of interest in playing shuffle on my main (LOL, queue times at 2400+ MMR pre-degen hours), I’ve decided to give a few specs a rip and thought I’d share my experiences. This is for anyone interested in trying something new and expanding their class pool.
Disclaimer: I don’t consider myself an expert or amazing at every class listed here. These are personal opinions that some of you may or may not resonate with.
Disclaimer 2: “And I got one in the front, two in the back — do what I want, don’t need to relax.”
A bit about myself:
My friends online call me Garlic. Why? Well, I’m a Middle Eastern cuisine enthusiast and a man who loves shawarma. I even married a Lebanese woman to get closer to the source.
A long time ago, I started my arena journey in WOTLK. Like everyone, I wasn’t great at it to start, but I managed to hit 2400 for multiple seasons in Cata as a DK.
I took a LONG break while I finished my degree and took the early steps into my career. When I had a bit more free time, I decided to pick up WoW again in SL. I managed to snag a few titles in SL and DF on Warrior. During that time, I also played alts quite frequently, hitting 2400+ in various brackets on multiple characters, and even having the opportunity to play in R1 3s and shuffle MMR ranges on my main.
At the end of the day, I’d consider myself quite good at the game—not the best, but good. I’ve played against or with some VERY good players, and I can notice the gap. I’m like a cheeseburger at the end of the day: same toppings, same number of buns, but missing that second patty.
ANYWAYS… let’s talk about the class experiences, in no particular order.
Ratings have been provided for each spec based on the fun factor.
Ele Shaman
This is one spec I could never get the hang of. It was really fun last expansion when I could one-two people with procs, but now I actually have to cast? YAWN. In all seriousness, this spec isn’t really my jam. It has a lot of great utility, but it feels like you’re doing nothing all game and praying you hit 3 buffalos for 20 free spins.
Maelstrom generation is just a snooze fest. Your “go” every 30 seconds is kind of meh. Your 2-min CD is absolutely bonkers, but between those moments, you’re essentially just trying to stay alive and be annoying.
Picture this: You’re playing a VLT at your local dive bar and hit a mini jackpot on your first pull. You decide to celebrate by ordering a drink and letting it roll. Next thing you know, you’ve lost all your liquor money, your friends are mad at you, and the bouncer wants a word. The next day, you come back with a few bucks you made from cashing in cans and bottles, only to hit another dinger, followed by another dinger. The only constant is that the waitress and other patrons are upset about your presence. That’s Ele Shaman. You proc or you don’t.
Overall rating: 4/10 (10/10 if I proc after I send Ascendance).
Outlaw Rogue
Remember when I said I was old? Yeah. This class was the catalyst for that realization. I’m sure you’ve all queued into one of these abominations, but the reality is that there’s an unreal amount of dexterity and awareness required to play this spec to its full potential.
Should you keep your rolls? Is the healer off stun DR? When do I vanish defensively (lol, JK vanish is just dance — sending dam here)? When was the last time I checked the mail? Did that last Between the Eyes proc 5 combo points? Should I Pistol Shot or Sinister Strike right now? Did I forget to turn off the BBQ? Do I need to pre-Gouge my target before I Kidney the healer? Did I accidentally roll before pressing Adrenaline Rush? Did I leave the toilet set up? Can I Grapple Kick that? Did that enhancement shaman get a cash-back Visa card? Should I DR stun this guy to get the kill or just send dam?
If you’re a perfectionist, this spec will give you nightmares. However, even if you play it somewhat decently, you’re going to give the other team nightmares.
This spec is for nerds, btw, but I’d be lying if I said it wasn’t fun. Definitely OP in the right hands (NOT MINE).
Overall rating: 7/10 (Would’ve been an 8, but I just DCed in my last shuffle lobby).
Feral Druid
Feral has been right up my alley this season. Insane damage, great control, and phenomenal utility. I understand that this spec left a really bad taste in everyone’s mouth after the first bit of the season, where it was basically Kittyland Love Center for Cats.
The great thing about Feral is that you have a load of viable comps (FMP, Jungle, SPriest/Feral, etc.). My only complaint is that you have to kite a lot into certain comps and abuse roots. It makes you feel like a sweaty nerd abusing mobility and Precog for dirty clones.
Another huge bonus is being able to shift roots and slows. As a Warrior main, this feels incredible.
Overall rating: 8/10
Fury Warrior
I’m basically a one-trick. Warrior is definitely the class where I play the most competitively. Don’t let some of the hard-stuck 1900 geeks complaining deter you from trying this spec. It’s probably the only spec I’ve played this season where you feel like you’re destroying something every time you touch it. Every button feels impactful, and your cooldowns feel strong.
Frost Mages are rough to deal with, but hey, that’s the experience of every melee spec outside of Feral (that matchup is still annoying, btw).
Overall rating: 8/10 (Easy to play — turn brain off — ape do big dam).
Arms Warrior
This is basically just a worse version of Fury. Runs slower, does less single-target damage, Bladestorms less often, takes more damage, and has fewer root breaks. If you’re going to play Slayer Arms, you might as well grab another two-hander and go smash.
Colossus Warrior is really fun, but getting your initial 10 stacks for Demolish is brutal.
Arms used to be a lot more fun when there was more flexibility in PvP talents and bigger chunks during CDs. You kind of feel gimped compared to the other S-tier melee.
Overall rating: 5/10
BM Hunter
Yuck.
Overall rating: 1/10
xoxo, Garlic