[WoD] Prospects for hybrid PVP

[guff]

Hey community.

I would like to get a discussion going about the current state (beta), prospects, ideas and hopes for hybrid PvP. There is just so much information available that I am unable to keep up, so lets just share what we are excited, worried or wondering about here.

So, what class will you pick for your hybrid?
Do you think it will feel "hybridy"?
How is the state of off-healing?
Do you have some ideas for fun hybrid builds?
Have you spotted changes that make your hybrid better/worse?

Share your thoughts, ideas and questions here, and lets get a conversation going on the future of hybrid PvP!


Best regards,
Sergeant Guff


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Personally, I am uncertain whether I want to pick my shaman or druid this expansion. My original idea was to go back to my shammy (what i played vanilla-wrath), but I keep on looking back to my cow (druid). It is so versatile, and with the gear changes it seems like specc swapping will be even easier (i know the gear will be sub-optimal, but better than my current ele in agi gear :P)! Any input on the pros and cons for druids and shammies?

I am, however, a little worried about whether any of the speccs of either hybrid class will actually be any more hybrid than "pure" classes. It is a long time since Blizzard went away from the hybrid design, but it has at least been possible to gear/glyph/talent into hybrid-ish qualities. Hopefully that is still the case, and I wish it would be more so for shammy/pala/druid/monk than "pure classes". I know I wont be playing anything like my dual-wielding elemental shaman with stormstrike from Wrath, but a man can dream, right?


Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, dreams, memories and ideas about hybrid playstyles!

[Deleted]

Feral druid is insane in the beta and PTR.

[willtron]

Feral druid is insane in the beta and PTR.

Probably Druids as a whole- the fact Moonkin heals can damage enemies in the vicinity worries me a bit. Ferals are always strong at the start of expansions.

[WarTV]

hybrids in general are way too good on beta.

[Blithe]

Anything Druid-related will be the go-to hybrid, I don't see Feral moving from the top spot any time soon.

In the middle we'll have the Enhancement Shaman and the Retribution Paladin, and the rest seem to be below that following the rules of either 1) being a caster who's going to have a tough time against melee (Elemental, Shadow) or 2) a melee that's in a bad place, such as Windwalker.

[Professor Chaos]

Just play druid. No matter what spec you play you will be the best at whatever role you pick, they are literally that good...

[creamo42]

Just play druid. No matter what spec you play you will be the best at whatever role you pick, they are literally that good...

Yup just like mages, locks, rogues and hunters. /sar

[guff]

Thanks for the input guys.
So, as per usual, the opinions differ! I am, however, getting closer to choosing a druid as a main in WoD.

On a related note, have any of you guys spotted alternative playstyles that is possible to specc into? As an example, I saw a discussion about the shock-focused elemental shaman. It looked really promising and fun, with a focus on shocks, totems and instant proccs. However, it seemed the shock talents and damage were balanced, giving it less of an Oomph. Do you have any other ideas such as those for druid/shaman/pala/monks? Anyway to make the shockadin-like speccs work? what about a survival-focused feral?


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note: I am aware that the experimental speccs are far from optimal in a DPS race (or possibly in any situation). But I find it fun to play around with, and as I am not very good in any case, I find the element of surprise to work to my advantage in PvP encounters. Let the ideas roll!

[Terahertz]

Feral druid is insane in the beta and PTR.

Feral druids really are insane on PTR. Got hit for a 51k non-crit ferocious bite on my mage as well as 23k shreds while my frost mage can't even do that much dmg like, at all lol.

As for WW monks on PTR, well, they lost quite a bit of sustained healing which is OK in my eyes. A WW monk shouldn't be able to constantly run around pillars and what not while spamming healing spheres 20/7 while his healing elixir heals him for 15% every 18 seconds. I am a bit troubled though how underwhelming surging mist is for WW monks. They should at the very least give us a maelstrom-variant for Surging Mist. It only heals me for 6k on PTR outside of PvP combat compared to 13k my spriest friend did. Chi Wave still does a fair bit of healing though.