Why have rotations become a whack-a-mole circus?

Community General Discussion
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I feel like I am constantly chasing flashing buttons, reacting to multiple simultaneous procs, hoping my muscle memory keeps up while my eyes flick and fingers twitch between ten weak auras…

Everything is a jittery mess of what used to just be a theme for a few specs, like prot paladin with their rotating hammer.

It feels as though every class is like a casino and playing them like dancing freestyle to The Weeknd´s “Blinding Lights”. There’s no breathing room, no room for actual EXPRESSION or nuance. It feels way too robotic. I am not PLAYING, I am executing some pre-ordained formula to as machine-like perfection as I can.

Surely I cannot be the only one that despises this proc ping-pong and whack-a-mole?

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So same way we always played

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How many toons are you playing?

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Rotations haven’t been a thing since like…cataclysm maybe? We went from one button spams or, at best, SS/Evisc while maintaining SnD to locked in rotations to priority systems. They’re definitely more complex priority systems than they used to be (on most specs) but it’s better than one button mash or memorizing the 5:4 or 4:3 elemental rotation we had in WOTLK (yes I still remember it).

These days you just have to pick a spec that has a playstyle that resonates with you. Also the idea that priority systems is robotic is kind of laughable. It’s a reaction game for sure, and relies on muscle memory, but it sure aint robotic. Rotations are robotic.

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I currently play about seven specs on four different classes and for the most part, it’s not that hard, except for multi-target Afflic, where keeping track of which mobs have which DoTs is a pain, but OBR has mostly solved that – only spec. I use OBR on for some stuff. It knows what needs to be applied to the next mob in the pack faster than I can. The GCD penalty is totally worth it. Maybe not at the highest levels, but as I don’t do anything competetive, it’s fine.

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I actually have an add on that changes my ability icons to animated rodents.

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All of them.

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I used the OBR and the highlight functions to set my rotation up, and now I simply press 1-7 and the occasional 2nd row stuff. Makes it a lot easier.

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Yeah I wonder why a feature that was touted as being about accessibility had an announcement video about it where two high-end raiders were present…

It is a cover for maintaining the apparent “awe” of seeing all those buttons and “flashy” playstyles on streams so that people would take to WoW and start subbing. But there is no actual depth there at all-

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Could you give an example of a time period when you liked the rotations?

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I have to disagree. The OBR and spellflash have helped me learn the rotations on 4 classes I was struggling with. I don’t use the button, but I do watch it to see what is next in the rotation so I can keep learning, and also where to pause to add in the other rotation items to maximize my gameplay. I do not have a damage meter. I just want to use a visual aid to build muscle memory for my rotation. I’me sure it is abused by some and “useless” to others. But for me, and gamers like me, it is nice not to put a strain on a group to carry.

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Some of the specs in Cata were excellent, and Mists was absolutely peak. A lot of spells like now, but each one had a reason besides simply existing and needing to be reacted to. Classes did not have “identity issues” like they do now where the talent trees attempt to squeeze all previous iterations of classes/specs into one.

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What does this even mean

Like I genuinely dont know

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We are men of action. Lies do not become us. You are baiting what is bound to be either a flat out lie, or a horribly worded response. :wink:

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Synergy. Interactions.

Nowadays, it feels like a lot of specs try to cram every previous main iteration into the talent tree which ends up making classes feel like a patchwork of old ideas rather than a coherent identity.

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Ok.

Lets look at the elemental shaman rotation.

Which spells in the rotation do not have interactions and such?

Now mind you, this may be tough. Because it lists interactions there. For like. Every single spell.

If anything, I would say one of the top complaints is that current rotations have TOO MUCH synergy and interactions. Because people constantly complain that rotations are too complicated.

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Just look at that laundry list of conditional procs and super strict priority checks. It is way too scripted. It’s reaction-heavy, mechanized, and leaves very little room for personal rhythm or creative decision making.

And the point about TOO MUCH is on point(!).

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That was not the point of discussion.

You stated the abilities did not have synergy or interactions.

I showed they did.

You don’t have "creative decision making " in your rotation. There is always a mathematically ideal option to press.

You’ve gone from “there is no interactions” to " there is too much interactions"

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Turn off the assist. Ta da

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That might sound contradictory, but it’s actually part of the core problem: when a system becomes so hyper-optimized and filled with layered conditions, it ceases to be interactive in an intuitive sense and instead becomes mechanical.

This is where the paradox comes in right there, because when you go to the extreme of interaction complexity, you paradoxically end up with the reason I created this thread. It becomes deterministic. And that’s where Mists for me personally stood apart: it struck a balance between rotational depth and intuitive flow.

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