As you alluded to though, it’s not just about perception, it’s also that some classes just handle some situations better than others. I play boomkin and the same goes for me, I’ll do a lot more DPS if the group pulls big around my 3 minute cooldown. But unorganised groups don’t do this because it’s riskier, and it requires more communication than you typically have in PUGs.
Rogue and DH both have amazing utility in M+ apart from their damage. The other melee classes don’t. WW is the only one that’s close because of dmg buff, leg sweep and RoP
Their CC isn’t as good as DH’s because it’s not instant and will put you in proximity combat, but it’s still a CC.
They have lay/bop/freedom/bubble/dispel, most of which can allow you to completely negate major mechanics on some bosses, which is a huge in higher tyrannical keys.
On the contrary, DH utility shines in AoE play (which makes up most of the M+ content), darkness is strong AF (and incredibly underused by most DH’s these days), and a short CD AoE stun is fantastic.
But yes, some classes are better suited for certain situations, and 1% groups pushing bleeding edge M+ are required to min/max. What’s silly is how those requirements filter down to 10-12 keys where most Pugs happen.
This is an oft repeated falsehood. Min/maxing matters at every key level, unless you’re 3 chesting all your keys, which you aren’t. Shroud still works in a +10. Chaos Nova still stuns mobs in a +10. Perhaps meta classes are the meta classes for slightly different reasons at lower key levels (e.g. like you said, most of them probably aren’t getting much use out of darkness, but DH still put up better numbers than almost every other class and are impossible to play badly), but they still matter.
What is true is to say that play skill matters more than class at lower key levels, but still, all other things being equal, some classes are simply better than others. And with no real way of being able to differentiate skill before you pull, that means decisions are made on the basis of class if IO scores are similar.
it’s a similar idea to when someone asked in another thread ‘does ilvl really matter ??’
yes it does, assuming approximately equal player skill in both cases, so if we’re comparing two players playing the same spec
(better gear + good skill) > (crappier gear + good skill)
Now in the case of spec comparison you can’t at a glance assess based on IO score whether someone will perform up to 90%+ of their potential, so you must assume comparable player skill (if you’re pugging all your spots) between applicants of different specs (but relatively similar IO scores) and of course most group leaders at this point will pick the spec that brings the throughput AND some kind of special utility
Does shroud/AoE stuns make it ‘easier’…? sure. But they are by no means required the way they are in top keys. And for +10 groups to demand the same comps as the bleeding edge groups is just silly.
With current gear levels you can almost bash your face against your keyboard and succeed in a +10.
I watch with anticipation on an alt as the leader says cc that, smoke bom this and shroud that only for some bad to stuff it up. I despise using utility at low levels for this reason.
Unfortunately getting thru to 12+ on a new char is like eating a poo sandwich and is also the source of the most whinging. Once above that it’s really enjoyable.
I still blame titan forging for giving people at least a foot in the door rather than just be looking thru the window. At least then you couldn’t hear the whining.
With all else equal or evened out for people in my queue for my key (their ilvl/rio score), I rather take a pure dps over a ret pally. Pure dps classes like a rogue or mage can only queue for that, it’s hard on them. A class that can tank or heal (and in this case, BOTH) really gets no sympathy from me.
I open LFG and look to see what runs need a healer.
If the title doesn’t already says “DRUID”, mousing over the particular run will usually say “pref rdruid”.
I’ve been spending more and more time waiting in que the higher I’ve pushed. I do run my own key, but sometimes I end up with an annoying dungeon or one that’s not an upgrade.
I can’t blame these people though and honestly I would do the same were I in their shoes. Having a brez, typhoon/mass entanglement, vortex, soothe, great mobility, mana efficiency and great hps output…you’d be crazy not to ask for a druid in high keys.
Which is why I’ve bit the bullet and boosted one. I will shelve this pala for now and hope that one day paladins return to their former glory.
Unfortunately this is what M+ has come to. If you enjoy it (and a lot of people do) then you basically have no choice except to choose one of the 7-8 specs that are best at it.
I tanked through all of Legion but i’ve had to play boomkin/resto in BFA. I don’t mind those specs but I’d rather be playing Guardian if I had a choice.
Similar to mythic raiding and high rated pvp, high mythic keys aren’t inclusive to all specs. I guess we need to draw a line that separates what level of content requires comp setup and what level of content is all inclusive.
The devs could also implement affixes which advantage the groups and change gameplay strategy to promote creativity.
The annoying thing is that they could be, but Blizzard has never made any attempt to balance specs for M+. At least not during an expansion. The changes they made at the end of Legion (bringing back class specific raid buffs, removing utility from many specs) were inexplicable and a massive step in the wrong direction.
When raids get badly out of balance, Blizzard usually does something about it. But in M+ the situation looks likely to persist for an entire expansion.
Well if favoring the meta at least stayed to the same extent in season 2 as it did in season 1 that would be less bad. Instead blizzard pushes it more with the introduction of reaping.
Being lazy and leaving a system alone is one thing, making it MORE imbalanced is either some grand form of delusion or implied malice.