Classes don’t ‘need’ utility to be decent in high level content. Especially so in raids. Just vampiric embrace is plenty enough utility for raid. The only spec we have that really lack utility is Holy and well, Holy’s utility literally makes them the best class in one of CN’s fights.
Even in M+, you generally don’t need a wild amount of utility to be a viable spec there. The problem is entirely lust/bres. Not every spec has one, and that’s what’s considered the necessary utility in M+. So if the group lacks one, no other classes are getting in unless that class is WAY over the line in balance.
I don’t think this is something Blizzard currently sees as a problem, though. They really don’t care about the minute amount of people pushing high level keys. They never really have designed around that content, so I don’t see why they’d start now.
While I agree these two pieces of utility are paramount, especially in 5 man content, these aren’t the only examples of lacking utility which precludes priest, namely Holy and to a lesser extent Shadow, from high level content.
For example, Holy Paladin and Disc Priest lack this specific utility, but they’re respectively the #2 and #3 represented healers in 20+ keys. Other top performing classes already are bringing this utility, with Fire Mages bringing Time Warp and Boomkin/Unholy DK bringing bres. Which means other classes are preferred for other reasons, notably their additional utility above and beyond these two requirements.
Right. And it’s not like Shadow brings excessive DPS or holy brings excessive throughput to offset their utility. Why bring either then?
Completely agreed. I don’t think Blizzard can or should design or balance the game around this level of content. But I also think it’s not entirely unreasonable to expect some notable class changes in content updates to attempt to try to bridge the big gaps that appear when looking at class/spec representation in the content, as well.
OK yes, but you have to think about why that is for longer than a nebulous ‘utility!’
They’re up there because they bring a ton of damage. Hpriest could easily be, too. And I know you think I’m crazy for saying that, but PI is HUGE damage gains. What Hpriest lacks is the personal damage and DR for extremely large pulls, which Disc and Pally have. Note, Pally’s throughput options are considerably worse in keys than a Druid - druids have an insane amount of utility. But a Druid isn’t going to TOUCH a pally’s DPS, and a druid can’t pull as large as a pally can, so they aren’t taken anymore.
20+ keys are nothing like +15 keys, though. At all. What works there won’t even be SEEN in +15 keys.
Holy does bring excessive throughput in 5-mans and you still don’t take them because you don’t need throughput. Shadow doesn’t bring excessive DPS and it really shouldn’t. I wasn’t making this point to say ‘oh yes, all the dps classes without lust should just have absolutely ludicrous DPS.’ I’m pointing out that it’s been a thing for a while in high keys. If you can’t fit a bres/lust elsewhere in the group, then you’re not gonna take a class without it. In BfA, the top healer was Druid - you didn’t need to look for a bres in your dps slots. You do now.
Spriest is perfectly viable to bring even up to +25s. But your comp has to have a spot for one. Most pugs, it won’t. It’s not a problem unique to priest, or some massive oversight by Blizzard. It’s a spot a TON of DPS are in.
Blizzard rolled back power on all kinds of stuff in Shadowlands because players were complaining about how the choices would pigeonhole them into specific builds.
It’s pretty clear that happened because almost all covenant abilities and leggo abilities got brought WAY down partway through the beta when they were getting a ton of hate on that specifically.
This isn’t really a ‘priest’ problem as much as this forum’s making it out to be. Most classes don’t have legendaries that do anything super crazy.
Might be an unpopular opinion, but I do miss spriest from legion/bfa.
Voidform was a nice mechanic, and while it did kinda feel like a boring minigame, it was much more interesting than just building up insanity just to spend on a DoT.
Of course, that’s not saying that I don’t like DP, but just feels kinda meh as a spender.
I agree the legendaries are bad, but it’s probably due to them putting all the class design effort into reworking shadow to not suck. I’ll take the trade for now. Hopefully they’ll add some more leggos later.
