Since we have subjective XYZ is broken! threads basically every day, lets start the year with a more objective point of view.
In the following table I compare the count above 1600 with the count above 2400 of each spec. The data are from seramate.com
I had to pick >=1600 rating because the ladder size is for all specs limited in the same way, but not all specs are equal popular obviously. By picking 1600 rating we can fix that issue for now. Later into the season we probably need to pick a higher min rating.
Spec
>=1600
>=2400
Value
Enha
413
12
2,90557%
Devastation
919
25
2,72035%
Arcane
479
12
2,50522%
Demo
1744
42
2,40826%
Destro
1657
39
2,35365%
Outlaw
429
10
2,33100%
WW
1712
38
2,21963%
Ele
1564
31
1,98210%
UDK
4051
77
1,90077%
Boomkin
1481
27
1,82309%
Havoc
4817
87
1,80610%
Feral
408
7
1,71569%
Frost
1336
22
1,64671%
Sub
1203
19
1,57938%
Shadow
659
9
1,36571%
BM
2521
34
1,34867%
FDK
464
6
1,29310%
Ret
2840
36
1,26761%
MM
983
11
1,11902%
Arns
4345
43
0,98964%
Affli
826
8
0,96852%
Survival
582
4
0,68729%
Fury
683
4
0,58565%
Assa
1045
6
0,57416%
Fire
520
2
0,38462%
Aug
156
0
0,00000%
That is the table for NA, EU has some specs doing better and more worse, but overall is quite similar. However, it is striking that Devastation and Arcane Mage are basically God Tier if we look onto NA and EU. Those are the only two specs reaching a value above 2% in both regions, even though Devastation is actually Godfather tier!
Spec
>=1600
>=2400
Value
Devastation
1933
48
2,48319%
Arcane
1167
25
2,14225%
…
…
…
…
So what are the conclusions? That is up to you. For me, it just clearly shows that wizards are doing way better than the forum trolls are trying to tell us and people cry about the wrong specs!
Yes, I know that this isn’t the perfect way to describe meta / balance since for unpopular specs a single count more or less could shift them into another tier, but no matter what, it is showing spec strength better than some stomach feelings.
I mean I don’t see how we’re in a melee or wizard meta. Feels like everything is viable in its own way. Just people tunnel onto the things they don’t like rather than face reality.
That’s kinda my 2 cents tbh. Everything feels OP in its own way, even shadow.
But by god mage needs a mobility nerf. Having an arcane mage blink across the map in 3 seconds was the most tilting thing I have ever seen last night
It’s a nice thought, but the data is pretty skewed when you don’t have all the needed information. For instance, since you can’t remove players that have multiple toons on the ladder, it’s hard to know how many ‘duplicates’ you’re actually seeing. This goes for people playing pilots as well.
Look at enhance.
That’s 2-3 players.
How many other alts do they have? How many pilots have they done? If you could account for that, the numbers would likely look much different. I’m sure this is true for plenty of other specs as well.
Also, melee can be both strong and weak depending on the MMR. Same is clearly true for casters. Melee can be totally busted at 1600 and actual need nerfs, but also be very weak at 2400. So when a 1600 player says a warrior is busted, they may or may not be wrong. The further you move up the ladder, the more and more casters you’re going to see.
So, you have potentially opposing view points that can both be true. Regardless, good to take a stab at the numbers.
Performance >>>>>>>>> Fun in most forms of content. Particularly when you hit any sort of wall, whether that’s prejudiced group rejection, throughput issues, ease of play or reliability.
Maybe not the first issue you have, but eventually most people are going to make the switch if there is a real or perceived value in changing spec. It’s natural to take the path of least resistance.
Particularly in PvP, there are often dead specs. Frost DK is good example as well as any tank spec. I don’t know if Survival is quite that bad, but it’s crazy easy to just go BM and have better performance with less skill required. No brainer.
While that is true, I think we have that for a lot of specs. But like I said
Enha is one of those specs. In EU for example it is one of the worst while Aug, which is the worst in NA, is the 2nd best in EU with that sort of evaluation. But most specs were around the same in NA and EU, especially those with enough players above 1600 and above 2400.
I think one of the very difficult things for us players to see is how the MMR works in the very top brackets. While there likely isn’t any very clear cut off, I would wager that a lot of the MMR progression we are seeing from 2300-2400+ is all coming from a relatively small group of players. Basically, what happens up there probably translates to the lower brackets even less what we think it does.
