I’m looking to make a new character thats based on supporting a team, not in terms of healing but in terms of buffing. Whats a good class that gives a lot of good buffs to the team? I was thinking mage but as i got into the class i wasnt seeing much to it in terms of what i want, so I thought id turn to you guys.
Hopefully you can fill me in on your wonderful insight on what the best buffing class is.
“Support classes” don’t really exist in WoW anymore.
Party buffs aren’t a thing anymore. There are a couple, but the big ones are all accessible through consumable scrolls. There’s never really been a class whose whole thing was buffs – no bards or anything.
You’re tank, healer, or DPS. Some classes can specialize in more than one, albeit not at the same time.
Agree with Patches. No support as such but:
I’d say Warlock for those yummy fel cookies or Retribution Paladin because you will have quite a few save-life moments with your mana buff on the healer or your full heal spell. Plus you can keep a set of Prot gear and get instant queues. I just keep a set of chest, helm, shoulder and sword/shield as it’s good enough to m2.
aww thats too bad. I couldve sworn there was a class that gave temporary enchantments to peoples weapons and stuff, buuut maybe im confusing that with a different game…
I’ll echo those saying a true “support class” isn’t a thing in WoW, sans the “anymore”. It was -never- a thing. Even Shamans back when they had their totems weren’t really a buff class. It was fire and forget then you were just a DPS or whatever.
It’s not a super popular archetype in modern MMOs, I don’t think.
Not really a thing in WoW.
Not really a thing in FFXIV (they even took that stuff away from Bard).
Not really a thing in BDO.
I didn’t see anything like it in ESO.
I don’t think it was a thing in Wildstar.
You get my point.
The closest you can get is probably still Shaman, but it’s not at all based around being a support class as its core gameplay design. You have limited offheals (~5 casts before OoM if not spec’d for healing) and a couple super niche-use totems. Namely a fear ward (proactive, can’t react with it), AoE speed boost if talented, and AoE root if talented (otherwise AoE slow). But the fear ward is the only thing that’s unique to Shaman. Other classes can bring those other 2 things.
Enchanting is a profession available to every class that gives permanent buffs to weapons and stuff. Some classes like shaman can give temporary buffs to themselves. Most classes can give one temporary buff to nearby party members.
There’s never been a class centered around it on the large scale though. Most of those buffs are minor and forgettable anyway.
well this is all really heartbreaking for me. i was really hoping to be a good buff support class. but it seems the only way i could get close to that is with proffessions like enchanting… thanks for the info guys, maybe ill just stick with what i have or go healer or tank or something…
I edited my other post a bit, but I’ll respond here just in case.
While I don’t think Shaman is what you’re looking for, I do think it’s the closest you’re going to get, so I’d recommend that.
It has a healing spec if you want to do that, but if you prefer to be a DPS that can provide some minor support, either DPS spec would be about equal in regards to this kinda thing.
Wind Rush, Ancestral Guidance, and Earth Shield are all talents, but there’s no harm in taking them.
The AoE Root talent I had mentioned before is apparently Resto specific. Resto also has a totem that redirects damage (but no one uses it because passive max health increase is better).
Druid is probably the next best bet though, so if you enjoy your Druid don’t feel obligated to change. I know they have a lot of utility available in one spec or another, but I don’t play the class so I’m honestly not sure how much of it is available at the same time in the same spec.
thank you so much for your information. i really appreciate it!