So there has been a Healing survey flying around, then there was the Tanking survey. Well the DPS survey finally broke through the clouds and I thought that digging as deep into Boomkin DPS as I have since Wrath launched that putting in my own 2copper wouldn’t be farfetched. So here goes nothing:
What is the name, class, and spec of your primary dps?
Fealen, Druid and I run a 58/0/13 Boomkin Raid spec
What is your primary dpsing environment? (i.e. raids, pvp, 5 mans)
I do raid 3-4 times a week and occasionally I fill a heroic slot. Mostly it’s 10/25-mans
What is your favorite dps spell/ability for your class and why?
I love Force of Nature. The spell name sounds like something Mother Nature would send to stop earth from being destroyed. Plus treants have the coolest death animation in the entire game.
What dps spell do you use least for your class and why?
Currently being spec’d out of it, Typhoon, I see no use for it in 10/25man environment so far. Even glyphing it and using it for NG proc’s seems a little wasteful.
What do you feel is the biggest strength of your dps class and why?
Utility, utility, utility……and mobility. Even thou we carry the hybrid tax I still feel on gimp on DPS is justified seeing as I have 3 other forms I can change into with the click of a button. One comes with a stun (Bear), one has a 40% speed increase (Travel) and Dash in kitty form has saved me on FC countless times. Plus I have can rez someone in combat and feed mana to healer with the click of a button.
What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your dps class and why?
In 10/25man raiding our weaknesses don’t really appear. Slip a raid spec boomkin into a heroic and our flaws come out. These days everyone is so geared that mobs die before my first wrath is cast sometimes when in a melee heavy group. Instantaneous burst damage is not our cup of tea. Sure not casting dot’s is an option but muscle memory keeps me from doing so. 😀
In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best dps assignment for you?
Stick me on one target from the beginning to end. Boomkin’s have awesome damge increases the longer they fight something, where has taking the time to dot up and start casting on one mob than another gimps us a bit.
What dps class do you enjoy dpsing with most and why?
I love Mages! FM is a a god send. Ele shamans are also a DPS increase, and they have BL/Hero which makes my numbers go up and up. Warlocks are nice too, CoE helps quite a bit.
What dps class do you enjoy dpsing with least and why?
Melee…..they have instant DPS on the boss so when damage overall is posted they have some top spots if the fight was long. Plus I waste a lot of Brezzes on melee only to have a healer/tank die a minute after and the raid leader than feels like an idiot for telling me to rez the melee. STAY OUT OF FIRE MELEE!
What is your worst habit as a dps?
Getting so riled up with “move out of fire” and “You have aggro!” (only on FC) that I always forget Eclipse/Moon procs and on long fights I constantly forget to reapply IFF so I start missing and than /facepalm.
What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while dpsing?
I get frustrated because I can’t understand why people can’t see fire, or Icehowl staring them down. Just in general I can’t stand people who don’t understand basic mechanics to keep themselves alive, are people virtual emo’s with intent on suicide? << Heated subject for me!
Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other dps?
We are on par with where we are suppose to be. I shouldn’t be topping the charts, but I can understand that with all the other things I can do to keep myself alive or help the raid.
What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a dps’er?
Recount is all I use. I compare it to other Boomkins in our raid or I have a nice little circle of friends on the server in which all we do is sputter numbers around. If the raid leader isn’t picking on me than I believe I’m performing within the benchmarks I need to be.
What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your class?
That Rebirth is theirs when their corpse is laying under the boss cause they blew all CD’s before the tank had established threat, that and everyone seems to believe Rebirth is always up! Plus apparently Boomkins once spec’d into the moonkin form lose ALL their healing spells. Yea….heard that one before.
What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new dpsers of your class to learn?
Understanding the timing of Eclipse/Solar procs, and the time and place for Trees/starfall. What is also a hassle sometimes is making sure all your dots are up in a sit-and-cast environment.
What dps class do you feel you understand least?
Warlocks…….I just don’t get their DPS rotations and I can’t understand how one fight they can be 6k and the next week on the same fight only be 4k. They confuse me cause I never see a real rotation on them, like I always cast Wrath or SF depending on the proc…..I’ve seen ‘locks use 5-6 spells in a 20sec window without rhyhme and reason (that I could come up with).
What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in dps?
I recently installed Xperl for better targeting/debuff awareness, and I got bartender to make my button layout more user-firendly for myself. I plan on getting SqwakandAwe or power auras depending on which one works better for me when I do a trial with it.
What stat to stack, and why?
I love shooting for +Haste gear first, than looking for +Crit. Spell power is a stat that just comes naturally with the other 2 stats.
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Did alot of rearanging of Fealen’s UI the last couple days, I’ll try to get a post up about it here shortly in the days coming.
Revenged did an awesome job last night of blowing some achievements down in Ony10 and ToC10. Tonight is the 25man (if I remember right) so hopefully my back piece drops or I’ll get my trophy on FC. The trinket on Anub seems a little out of reach until we get more gear and people learn to listen.
Peace out! For the Horde!
Cow and Bones 
What is the name, class, and spec of your primary dps?
“Insert Name Here”, Level 80 Enhancement Shaman. Usually use a 20/51/0 spec.
What is your primary dpsing environment? (i.e. raids, pvp, 5 mans)
I used to raid hardcore, I’m taking a break until Cataclysm, or somebody “hires me” by paying for my account. :}
What is your favorite dps spell/ability for your class and why?
Stormstrike and Earth shock count as one. An instant attack with both weapons and extra attack power on top, which gives 20% more nature damage from the following earth shock, which is an instant spell that debuffs the target? There is no greater symmetry between melee and spell in the entire game.
What dps spell do you use least for your class and why?
Frost shock, there simply isn’t enough usage in a raid environment for it, even lava burst/flame shock can be used to get a 9% melee crit boost via the 100% crit chance of the combo at the start of a fight.
What do you feel is the biggest strength of your dps class and why?
There are a hundred different reasons I play an enhancement shaman. Our totems, bloodlust, and self resurrection can buff and possibly save a potential wipe, as well as cover any mistakes we make, and our melding of melee and spell casting allows us to fufill dps roles on any boss, due to our completely hybrid nature. I cannot count the times on specific bosses where I have interrupted completely alone on General Vezax, or was able to stand back and fire spells at the horsemen to avoid chaining the raid together and killing us.
Not to mention our spec is a bunch of cheaters. We get the buffs from both the melee and the casters, so the bigger the raids, the higher our dps.
What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your dps class and why?
The fact that we require time to start hitting hard. Maelstrom 5 stacks and stormstrike need to be on the target to fully maximize our dps, as well as keeping our totems down, so if we’re in a fight where we have to move alot, our capabilities are truly gimped, as where for another class, a lack of spells and synchronization between abilities allow for quick start and stop of dps. The only dps loss for them would be a rogue’s poison stacks during movement.
In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best dps assignment for you?
Right behind the boss’ ass, to eliminate parry chance, therefore shooting my dps up to the top of the meters.
What dps class do you enjoy dpsing with most and why?
Rogues, mages and hunters. Before my break, it was always amusing to listen to these “pure” classes complain about how they were getting outdpsed by a hybrid class, be it either due to lack of skill or how they chose to gear and play. I feel this led to the recent statement of hybrid dps gimping.
What dps class do you enjoy dpsing with least and why?
I don’t dislike any particular class, because I get a dps boost from virtually any dps buff in existence, be it caster or melee, however, this means I detest raids with duplicate classes and specs. 15 Death Knights in a raid give me ABSOLUTELY no DPS buff, as every buff they can give, I can give 2x better via improved totems anyways.
What is your worst habit as a dps?
Getting so involved in the dps race and being at the top of the chart that I fail to call out other people when they’re not doing their job, especially since I stopped guild and raid leading, before my “break”. Worrying only about my own problems is great for me, as it solidifies my dps by not dying and doing the best job I can, but if 24 other people in the raid are dead because I didn’t tell the raid leader something I saw, that’s not a good thing.
What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while dpsing?
Retards. People who don’t learn the fights, don’t learn the optimal spec and playstyle for their class, and then insist that they’re doing their best. There ARE top dps specs for every class, and unless you’re 100% verified that you’re giving something to the raid that nobody else can, you’re failing the raid if you’re not in that top dps spec. I don’t give a shit if you enjoy playing one spec over another, when raiding, boss deaths are solely determined by the players in the raid doing the most damage they can.
Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other dps?
We’ve been recently gimped, a few times over, and the lack of shaman updates in the last 2 major patches is a bit disheartening, as I know a few things that can be done to improve us, but overall, I find our insane utility and hybridization allows for us to be a tad down on our luck.
I mean, what other class gets melee AND mana, totems, not one but 2 crazy strong pets every 3 minutes and a THIRD summon/minion every 10 minutes, the ability to do both spell AND melee damage, which helps to get around invulnerabilities, and crazy cool abilities that require NO effort to jack up our dps, and operate simply on autoproc like windfury, flametongue, searing totem or lightning shield?
What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a dps’er?
Recount. I used to utilize shock and awe, but I scrapped it when I perfectly timed my dps macro, so that I was only missing one global cooldown every… minute. The awareness of the fights I got was far worth the 50 dps lost from the one missed proc. I only need 2 buttons for my main rotation, and 5 for the entire fight, 😀
What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your class?
That shamans aren’t fun to play. This is probably the sole reason that shamans are the least played class in the entire game. Everybody writes us off as not fun to play, so nobody WANTS to play one, but they always want somebody ELSE to play one, and raid with them.
Why the hell would you not play a class you always want 2-3 of in every raid? It doesn’t make sense.
What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new dpsers of your class to learn?
YOU ARE THE MOST UNIQUE NICHE IN THE ENTIRE GAME.
New enhancement shaman are often too lazy to do theorycrafting research, and the biggest problem 80% of them have is that they equip fast weapons like daggers, or two handed weapons. THIS IS A PROBLEM! Enhancement shamans are designed to use the slowest one handed weapons possible, with 3.0 speeds being the optimal one handed weapon to use. DO NOT USE DAGGERS, DO NOT USE 1.5 SPEED AXES, DO NOT USE FAST MACES, DO NOT USE BIG FAT 2H WEAPONS UNLESS YOU’RE DICKING AROUND IN PVP FOR BIG WINDFURY CRITS!
Damn retards! Makes me so angry!
What dps class do you feel you understand least?
I’ve played every class up until at least 20-30, so I have the most basic grasp of every class. I’ve raided prot war/fury/arms/enhance/resto sham/destruction/affliction at level 70, up to t5 and t6, and enhance/resto sham/prot war at level 80.
However, if there’s a dps class AND spec I truly don’t understand, it would have to be beast mastery hunters. Not for playstyle, but for sheer impracticality. As an enhancement shaman I get pets, but they’re only alive for 2 minutes and 45 seconds respectively, then they fade away, so if they die, it doesn’t really matter, and I don’t ever need to worry about them as for the most part they’re A.I. controlled. Why the hell would anybody want to play as a spec that if your pet dies, your dps drops from 100% down to like, 30%, forcing you to stop, and res your pet before you can get back in the fight? Not to mention having to micro your pet, and pull it out of fire, lava, void zones, etc.
Not to mention it’s a only like… ON PAR with survival anyways!
Stupid hunters, respec survival! You’re just gimping your raid by raiding BM!
What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in dps?
2 macros, one for dps, and one to pop my 3 minute racial and class cooldowns. God I love shamanistic rage. 30% less damage and 15% of damage as mana back? Hells to the yes I’ll use it every damn minute!
What stat to stack, and why?
Expertise or hit until dodge is off the attack table and you’re spell capped so you can’t miss with spells, and then you stack AP>Crit>Haste, in that order. I hear AP has been gimped recently, but since my break I haven’t done any CRAZY theorycrafting, just basic patch note and EJ/dps forum runs.
What is the name, class, and spec of your primary Tank?
“Fealen Stalker 101”, level 80 Protection Warrior.
What is your primary group Tanking environment? (i.e. raids, pvp, 5 mans)
I’ve tanked 10 man and 25 man, and done a few different heroic achievements, which is stupid because I have more unique “hard mode” achivements on my tank than my shaman main.
What is your favorite thing about the class you chose for your primary Tank and why?
We are beefcake! No complicated theorycrafting like my shaman, or other tank classes. It’s a simple: “Get rage, stack stam/dodge/parry/expertise/hit/str, AND THEN BUTTONMASH! Seriously. 4-5 buttons you just spam every time they’re off cooldown.
Heroic strike spam makes my fingers tired though. :{ Blizzard needs to fix that.
What do you like least about your class and why?
The fact that we’re gimped in utility and threat compared to other tanks, and that we’re always rage starved in trash, but always max rage on bosses. ALSO, heroic strike spam! IT SUCKS BALLS!
What do you feel is the biggest strength of your Tanking class and why?
Simplicity. A ret- wait, scratch that, a retard couldn’t play a warrior, but, somebody with significantly lower intellect than the pro wow player can tank on a warrior, although… You don’t want that, they tend to get the warrior, but not the fights. :{
What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your Tanking class and why?
Rage starvation on trash, lack of threat gen compared to DKs, pallies, and often even druids, and heroic strike spam, killing the fingers of warriors everywhere!
In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best tanking assignment for you?
Main tank. If I’m ever on adds or interrupt roles, I never have rage to do ANYTHING.
What Tanking class do you enjoy tanking with most and why?
I’ve only tanked on a druid and warrior, so I’ve only had experience with rage mechanics, I prefer a warrior over a druid because plate is cooler looking and the skills are more fun. :}
What Tanking class do you enjoy tanking with least and why?
Druids? I’ve never tanked on a pally or DK so I can’t speak for em.
What is your worst habit as a tank?
Laziness. If dps try to pull threat off of me, I generally let them die instead of try to save them. That and sometimes during trash, because I suck balls at it anyways (see: rage) and the pallies and DKs have all the threat, I autofollow another tank and afk.
What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while tanking?
Other tanks pulling off me with like… One button, and I’m trying my hardest to keep threat. :{ BUFF WARRIOR THREAT!
Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other tanks for PvE tanking?
Not at all. Pallies and DKs are hands down the best tanks right now. Druids follow, and Warriors are back of the pack.
What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a tank?
Diamond/Omen or some other threat meter, that’s all you ever need as a tank if you’re watching your cooldowns.
What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your tanking class?
That we’re awesome tanks. Just because there are 50 thousand tanks around that were awesome in Vanilla and TBC, does NOT mean that they’re still good in WOTLK.
What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new tanks of your class to learn?
Learn to tank, learn angles, positions, threat building, and holding threat on multiple targets.
If someone were to try to evaluate your performance as a tank via recount, what sort of patterns would they see (i.e. lots of threat, low dps output, etc)?
Sloth, the fact that I do dick all during trash, and fail miserably when I’m doing anything but main tanking, or at least tanking a mob that actually does damage and gives me rage.
Avoidance, Mitigation or Stamina and why?
Stam, then avoidance. They’re nerfing dodge in Icecrown, so tanks will need to stack stam and parry.
What Tanking class do you feel you understand least?
DKs, I’ve never played one past level 61.
What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in tanking?
A threat meter, and whatever addons I use on my shaman, although they don’t matter NEARLY as much.
Do you strive primarily for balance between your tanking stats, or do you stack some much higher than others, and why?
Def cap>Stam>Dodge>Expertise and hit for threat>Parry>Str for more threat>Armor.
* What is the name, class, and spec of your primary healer?
“Fealen is a sexy beast”, level 80 Resto Shaman.
* What is your primary group healing environment?
10 or 25 man Raids.
* What is your favorite healing spell for your class and why?
RIPTIDE! Instacast heal that ALSO applies a HOT, with synergy with other spells, and only a 6 second cooldown! Reduces overhealing TONS.
* What healing spell do you use least for your class and why?
None, I use the 4 main heals of my spec all the time depending on the scenario.
* What do you feel is the biggest strength of your healing class and why?
Utility and group healing. Chain heal and riptide rock! 😀
* What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your healing class and why?
Fail at main tank healing, due to slow cast times on our big heals and only earth shield and riptide as constant: “Keep ups” on the MT., compared to beacon of light, hots, etc of other healers.
* In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best healing assignment for you?
Raid heals or off tank healer spot.
* What healing class do you enjoy healing with most and why?
Shaman or priest, very easy and straight forward, with not AS many direct heals.
* What healing class do you enjoy healing with least and why?
Druids, keeping hots up is boring. :{
* What is your worst habit as a healer?
Trying to be top of the healing meters so sometimes I’m bad at overhealing.
* What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while healing?
DPS who stand in fire and cause unnecessary healing! Mana should be conserved for tanks as much as possible!
* Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other healers for PvE healing?
Yes, they’re often top heals due to their crazy raid healing abilities.
* What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance as a healer?
Healing meters on recount, mana usage.
* What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your healing class?
They’re hard to kill due to their mail armor class. Resto shammies are very squishy. :{
* What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new healers of your class to learn?
Using up your mana and overhealing is BAD! Both are connected!
* If someone were to try to evaluate your performance as a healer via recount, what sort of patterns would they see (i.e. lots of overhealing, low healing output, etc)?
Low heals on the MTs, high heals on the raid, low overhealing due to addons like healbot or visualheal. SOMETIMES grid.
* Haste or Crit and why?
Crit, Shamans get alot of synergy when they crit with spells, reduced damage, extra haste, etc, and riptide and earth shield are insta cast anyways.
* What healing class do you feel you understand least?
Pallies, never played one. :{
* What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in healing?
Healbot or another addon like it is a MUST. For the reduction of overheals.
* Do you strive primarily for balance between your healing stats, or do you stack some much higher than others, and why?
Spellpower, intellect, crit, and mp5.
Int and spel power increase healing done, due to a specific shaman talent, intellect and mp5 increase mana regen, which is always good, and crit helps with NUMEROUS things, it increases healing done, helps mana regen, gets mana back, and gives all sorts of nifty effects.
Basically Crit is a godsend for resto shammies due to the spec and abilities alone.
I hope you enjoyed my spam good sir!