Why are there so many dps specs and so few heal/tank specs in WoW?

[Deleted]

As it is now we got a total of 12 classes, that cover:

• 24 dps specs;
• 6 tanking specs;
• 6 heal specs;

I can imagine raiding being a major factor here, but at the same time it doesn't seem to encourage trying to play specs that are in demand much.

[Lumineus]

Tanking is not really in demand. People just don't want to tank pugs. Adding more tank specs will not fix this.

Healing is very niche in terms of entertainment value. Adding more healing specs will not change this either.

[Deleted]

tbh, that's a really easy awnser.
Tanking only needs 1-2 at most, some situations even 3 (cleave / fucked up add to tank off) + since vanilla it moved from 1 tank specc to 6
Healing is almost in the same spot as tanks, but if you get used to stuff and you feel ok we can outgear all that shit, get more dps in the group
Dps is just the most demanded role (ok wow has really way too many but!), you just need a lot of them in either PvP / PvE.

[Murderdoll]

Its a gigantic misconception that adding new Healing and Tank specs correlates to more people playing those roles.

Time and time again its proven to not work and everytime they use that as a reason its a really good laugh. The only thing that happens is that the current people who tank and heal get spread across those specs thinner.

You can add another 6 tanks and 6 heal specs and the amount of people within those roles will not change dramatically and the only content where Tanks and Healers are in demand is for pug, the reason for this is simple. Why do I want to tank and heal for a bunch of idiots?

You simply need more DPS for end game content. More people play DPS. Theres a higher demand for DPS.

[RH92]

I personally think there are way too many similar specializations.

For example I would rather see a single DoT class covering both mechanics from Shadow Priest and Affliction Warlock for example. If there were less classes, they could make them really unique and not what we have now.

Healing is very niche in terms of entertainment value. Adding more healing specs will not change this either.

Healing can be entertaining, it is just they make all classes similar and boring. Every single healer has 1 fast efficient heal, 1 slow big heal and 1 fast inefficient heal as core of their kit while having some different niches and cooldowns to differentiate them.

I personally think Mistweaver Monk in MoP and WoD was very fun spec to play, with very unique play-style before they butchered it in Legion.

[Vargur]

Ideally we want all classes to be able to perform all roles, so that there's less of a shortage of any role at any given time.

[yetgdhfgh]

Most people like me prefer to kill things plus healers and tanks are the ones who always gets it in the neck so most people dont want that responsibility also in movies how many action heroes or in fantasy healed or stood there taking a beating?

[Sevyvia]

Ideally we want all classes to be able to perform all roles, so that there's less of a shortage of any role at any given time.

Except, as is even already mentioned in this thread, it doesn't work like that. The kind of entertainment/satisfaction you get out of healing is different from DPS, for example, and so the people who do it don't generally change. New class or not. Even within my raid group I see plenty of people wanting to shuffle between various classes, but almost never roles. Healers stay healers, DPS stay DPS, tanks stay tanks. There's more overlap between tanks and DPS, but not a ton.

We even already have 2 classes that can perform all roles, Druid and Paladin. If people truly were like what you say, shifting to whichever role is most in demand, you would see waves of those 2 shifting specs as the overall mass of players shifted. Instead, this really doesn't happen. I main a Holy Priest, but I have a Druid (and Shaman, Monk, Paladin) too, and the only time my Druid was not resto was when I was leveling.

[Murderdoll]

Healing can be entertaining, it is just they make all classes similar and boring. Every single healer has 1 fast efficient heal, 1 slow big heal and 1 fast inefficient heal as core of their kit while having some different niches and cooldowns to differentiate them.

I personally think Mistweaver Monk in MoP and WoD was very fun spec to play, with very unique play-style before they butchered it in Legion.

Problem with having different niches is you end up with having Priests OP as shit and a lot of other weak classes.

[Deleted]

Except, as is even already mentioned in this thread, it doesn't work like that. The kind of entertainment/satisfaction you get out of healing is different from DPS, for example, and so the people who do it don't generally change. New class or not. Even within my raid group I see plenty of people wanting to shuffle between various classes, but almost never roles. Healers stay healers, DPS stay DPS, tanks stay tanks. There's more overlap between tanks and DPS, but not a ton.

We even already have 2 classes that can perform all roles, Druid and Paladin. If people truly were like what you say, shifting to whichever role is most in demand, you would see waves of those 2 shifting specs as the overall mass of players shifted. Instead, this really doesn't happen. I main a Holy Priest, but I have a Druid (and Shaman, Monk, Paladin) too, and the only time my Druid was not resto was when I was leveling.

I can name more than just a few people in my raid/friendlist that only play 1 character and switch between DPS/Heal/Tank specs all the time whenever it's needed.
As a hunter, I can't do that, but I would - just because there are people that only like to play healer, or only like to play tank or DPS, doesn't mean that there aren't a lot of players who would do all 3 of them, but can't.

So, it actually does work like that, or at least it would help if everyone had 4 specs instead of 3.

[RH92]

We even already have 2 classes that can perform all roles, Druid and Paladin.

...and Monk.

Problem with having different niches is you end up with having Priests OP as shit and a lot of other weak classes.

Like it is any different now, I mean the balance.

[Thelxi]

Adding more tank specs would not do anything. Look at monk tanks and how unpopular they are.

There might be room for one more healing spec though as the healing population seems pretty evenly spread out.

[Murderdoll]

Like it is any different now, I mean the balance.

Numbers are far easier to balance (well, they SHOULD be) than mechanical imbalances.

Ive always been in favor of splitting the raid down the middle. DPS on this side do sustained, this side does burst. Split them again. You do good cleave, you do good aoe. Split them again, you do it via dots so on and so forth.

Same for healers.

But you know, perfect world.

[ComputerNerd]

DPS can have ranged and melee.
Can have pet and non-pet.

Healers are casters, tanks are melee.
Without some significant change, and a huge risk of breaking things horribly then I don't think that will or should change.

Tanking is not really in demand. People just don't want to tank pugs. Adding more tank specs will not fix this.

Healing is very niche in terms of entertainment value. Adding more healing specs will not change this either.

This too.
Increasing the number of tank specs has not had any long-term effect on tank shortages.
It is obvious when you look at guild recruitment's, which from my observations have been overwhelmingly for dps roles, in complete contrast to random groups.
The experience of tanks and healers often sucks in random content, when "efficiency" at any cost comes above remembering you are part of a group and did not sign up as that role.
Let someone do their job, rather than you stepping on their toes without a damn good reason.
If you think tanks and healers suck, then how will they learn if they never get to do their job.

No addition of new tanking specs or healing specs is ever going to resolve the shortage.
It is purely a community problem.

[TheVaryag]

As it is now we got a total of 12 classes, that cover:

• 24 dps specs;
• 6 tanking specs;
• 6 heal specs;

I can imagine raiding being a major factor here, but at the same time it doesn't seem to encourage trying to play specs that are in demand much.

The problem Is people don't feel rewarded when healing or tanking this expansion. Hell It's not been rewarding since TBC/Wrath In my opinion, even Vanilla. People just yell at you, blame you for their own mistakes, their own mis-agro and breaking CCs.

People just blitz through heroics like this: Tank pulls half the dungeon, pulls the first boss too, everyone AoEs, even the healers have an AoE now so that makes It less challanging and Interesting for the healer. Half the dungeon dies, you pull the other half of the dungeon, pull last boss, AoE damage/heal the whole area, win. Done In 10 minutes.

That's not a dungeon experience, that's a gauntlet that you can half-sleep through. Blizzard forgot what a dungeon experience Is, simple as that. I mean who even does Mythic dungeons? And I'm not talking about Mythic + I mean regular Mythics... anyone? They're challanging enough, but If you're overgeared for that It just becomes too easy too.

Hell, even running normal dungeons when you're leveling through Broken Isles are MORE challanging and hard than heroics. It's the way the game Is setup for the last few expansions that doesn't Inspire people to tank or heal, I haven't wanted to heal or tank since TBC/Wrath. I had fun tanking on my paladin and healing on my priest back then... since Cataclysm It's become boring, too easy, and not challanging enough.

[Lochton]

As it is now we got a total of 12 classes, that cover:

• 24 dps specs;
• 6 tanking specs;
• 6 heal specs;

I can imagine raiding being a major factor here, but at the same time it doesn't seem to encourage trying to play specs that are in demand much.

As Blizzard once said, just because they bring more tanks or heals, doesn't mean more people will play them. And to be honest, you have certian classes whom are only dedicated for DPS, that is just life.

[Razaron]

Its a gigantic misconception that adding new Healing and Tank specs correlates to more people playing those roles.

Time and time again its proven to not work and everytime they use that as a reason its a really good laugh. The only thing that happens is that the current people who tank and heal get spread across those specs thinner.

You can add another 6 tanks and 6 heal specs and the amount of people within those roles will not change dramatically and the only content where Tanks and Healers are in demand is for pug, the reason for this is simple. Why do I want to tank and heal for a bunch of idiots?

You simply need more DPS for end game content. More people play DPS. Theres a higher demand for DPS.

While that may be true there is no evidence that having a 4th spec that adds a tank or healing role will not increase numbers. I'm the type of player that just plays my class, Shaman. There are many others out there like me who play just a couple of classes and if they added, for example tanking for my shaman then I'd jump at the chance to play it.

[Arrowstormen]

snip

Heroic is just a difficulty. I see no reason to differentiate Heroic and Mythic+ in the way you do. And you can't just pull half a Mythic+ dungeon if the level is at where it should be for your group, so your point is moot.

[Deleted]

...and Monk.



Like it is any different now, I mean the balance.

Now i really, really want a tanking shamman spec with earth spec :drooling:

just as ppl mentioned: tanking is quite fun with animation as long as its a little more than being a sponge but i dont have any idea how healing can be seen as rewarding and fun, despite being needed in raids...
We already have many healers, we need a little more fun class fantasy, not more healers

[schwarzkopf]

Dungeon : 1 tank 1 healer 3 dps
Raid : 2 tank 4 healer 16 dps

Seems 1/1/4 is a solid ratio OP.

If only 1/1/4 was how dungeons worked.