So, on my fire mage, I found a build I moderately enjoy – problem is it does 17% less damage than the WoWhead build (it will get somewhat better next season due to hyperthermia buffs, but will probably still be at least 10% less damage). I do not enjoy the WoWhead build, as it’s way more rotational and repetitive, and isn’t really interesting to play.
Is it trolling to run my build in group content? Like if I’m in your key and I’m doing nearly 20% less damage than I should be doing, but otherwise do fine, would that upset you?
Really thinking about whether I should stick with DPS or just go back to healing which I know I’m good at, but I think is overly easy even in higher content.
(As a side note, I also moderately enjoy shadow priest, and my build does 94% of what the WoWhead build does, is 6% less damage acceptable?)
Edit: The content I do is AOTC in the first couple weeks and M+ going up to 17s this season. Looking at reaching for 20s next season.
Some players may get annoyed if you’re playing a build that does 17% less damage, but they can be annoyed, because not playing optimally isn’t against the rules. You can’t be reported for it. You may get kicked out of group content, but that’s the worst they can do.
At the end of the day, it is your $15 a month, and if you’re playing a fun build and you enjoy it? Play it.
I did it with my lock for a couple of tiers, they made affliction (particularly one that picks drain soul) a joke, it was literally a dps loss over taking no talent at all on that row, but i just kept playing it because i prefer the playstyle over casting shadowbolt lol
If you’re not doing super challenging content, who cares
Nah that’s fine imo. I personally don’t even have a problem with the 17%, I just know people are cruel when you don’t pump out enough damage to their liking
Personally no, Doing mechanics is fine and people think that parse is everything but its not.
When I ran mage back in bfa I was always Arcane because I basically would just use whatever that move was that launched like 6 bolts at a time and almost only that move and would be the lowest mage in a raid but still one of the highest dps’ing classes.
My point is if you do it well people should hardly notice.
Are you a CE Mythic Raider? If not, knock yourself out.
You’d be self-trolling by playing a build you do not enjoy.
What’s “acceptable” depends on the group’s goal and expectations.
If you’re “pushing” (with PuGs), as you say, then presumably your goal and that of your peers would be reaching the highest key level you can, so you should suck it up and optimize, as you’d be trolling the rest of the group by not giving it your all.
I honestly feel like that depends on the content you’re trying to clear.
For solo play or lower end content such as Normal/Heroic dungeons (and possibly even LFR)? By all means, go for it.
Once you start reaching into Mythic instances/M+, N/H/M raids, or higher end delves (I’d say T6+) however, you’re reaching into a grey area. The higher you go, the most folks are going to expect you to be doing the best you can, and if someone notices you’re performing significantly worse compared to what is expected, a case can be made that you are purposely griefing/trolling everyone else in the group. Granted, they technically shouldn’t be able to report you for it, but I’m always concerned with doing things that COULD potentially get that animalistic portion of the fanbase riled up.
I myself don’t like being a total slave to the meta, but there also does come a point where the “fun” build might not be getting the job done. By all means, you do you, but do it at your own risk, especially within your own server community.
With that said however, if you do manage to find friends, a group, or a guild that isn’t concerned with raw numbers so long as stuff is dropping, hold onto that group! I understand wanting to run the meta, but sometimes you got to think outside the box too, and I frankly feel not enough of that happens in certain games anymore (especially RPGs and by extension MMOs)
As an example, if folks didn’t think outside the box and try new things, Super Mario Brothers would still be well over the five minute mark on the world record speedrun.
Not in the average key no. Playing a build you enjoy will be far more beneficial to any group content than a build you do not enjoy. With the exception of the highest levels of content, 20% damage varience can simply be size of pull, proc rng, cd management etc.
Id assume your build and playstyle will still comfortably be enough for heroic raiding, keys to ksm, it might excel beyond that of the cookie cutter builds also due to the fact those builds are min/max based on thousands of sim in bis gear.
I for years played arms warrior with my own build/playstyle and played above average in all content because i enjoyed it more and understood its strengths.
To push higher than this pugging can be brutal and the expectation to bring the biggest possible damage is often needed as a means to overpower the level of content. Find a group to push with that understands why you play the build that you do and look at a higher damage build when that iss the only reason you cannot push higher.
Your build is not the limiting factor to clearing content, until it is.
A frost mage doing 17% less damage will likely do less damage than aug, so if you are bailing on aug because of low damage then dont expect to happy with that frost build.
