Difficulty Deciding Which Class To Play

[Finny]

Hello,

I've been totally unsure of what class to play for when Mists comes out. I know I want to tank. I played a warrior and bear druid as heavily competing alts all through the Cataclysm (I've been a warlock since the tail end of BC). I also have a blood DK, who is fun but I've never really clicked with the class and I don't enjoy paladin. I dabbled in the beta, and like most people, I tested out the monk class. I enjoyed the brewmaster spec quite well, so much so, that I piped up to my guild that I was most likely going to be switching from warlock to monk. They were fine with this, since my raid leader was aware that I would be switching roles to tank. After taking a few steps back I remember the DK swarm that happened when Wrath was released. One of my other guildees have decided to drop their rogue in favor of WW monk. I thought about grinding my toon to 90. The potential roller coaster of buffs and nerfs. I was suddenly not as sold on brewmaster.

Then 5.0.4 is released and I no longer find my guardian druid to be as fun...the play style is now tweaked just enough that it's not as entertaining. If I am tanking, I want to feel sturdy. I want to prevent as much damage as I can. How FR is now, just bothers me. I don't like relying on a flat out, reactive heal after getting blasted with some magic attack. On my warrior, I can actually mitigate. As it stands now, I really enjoy my warrior. I like the changes they made in the patch, I love the aesthetic and having a shield. So, after much debate I decided on prot warrior and I felt quite good about this.

I spoke with a guildee the same day. He said he would like to come back and raid with us. He wants to bring the same character he raided with in the past, a prot warrior. He offered to go dps (I know he vastly prefers tanking), but we need a second tank. It seems like a bad choice to have both tanks of the same class, with the same weaknesses and competing for the exact same gear. There is -going- to be competition, of course. And I feel like if I'm going to hurt the raid if I don't make the switch. So, now I have to decide if I am going to go through with the prot warrior, or go with the tank I currently enjoy second-best, the brewmaster. I am willing to make the switch.

For other reference, our guild is a 10man that does not have its roster for Mists of Pandaria totally fleshed out. We plan to down heroic content.


TL;DR: Returning guildee wants to play prot warrior, I do as well. Should I go warrior or monk?

[Bethrezen]

Play what you enjoy. Derp.

[Motocarota]

When I am unsure about what class to play I always think about these factors:

1- Roles I want to play
2- Classes I like and dislike
3- Other Guildie's class and specs
4- Loot Tables competitions
5- Always remember that I'm not the only one who can change his class
6- Always keep rolling an alt of each class, just to see how the other class and roles are

In strict order of importance.
So if you ask me you should go Prot Warrior. Have a nice day!

[Tearyn]

There is honestly nothing more important than enjoying your class and role. I've seen plenty of people adjust their class to fit with a guild group, and those people are always the first to get burned out.

It sounds like you definitively prefer your warrior, i think it would be a mistake to main something else.
Besides, it sounds like you've been actively raiding with your guild for a while now, and the other warrior has not, sounds like he needs to be the one to adapt into the situation, not you.

[WaitingforMoP]

Warrior or Monk you say? I don't know... personally I'd try Monk 1st and see how it is, maybe it's better maybe it's not but it is something new and new = exciting

The only classes I've been not-dissatisfied with the changes on have been DK & Mage, they seem roughly the same as before only better, but that's not Monk or Warrior

[idefiler6]

Play what you enjoy. Derp.

This. Tanking ability is player-based before it is ever developer-based. It's all about how much you want to commit to it.

[Calamari]

If you know you are going to be raiding with the prot warrior buddy, then i'd go for the brewmaster. Has also very strong mitigation through stagger and strong absorb shields, + a strong self heal for emergencies, and a good sortiment of raid defenses like the channeled -90% magic damage on raid cd and heals from the ox statue.

Warriors will be the ones who can take the most brutal beating out of all tanks because of our magnificent +25% armor buff and our godlike -25% damage taken in defense stance, and the ability to keep Shield Block rolling almost all day long against melee heavy hitters. But Brewmasters with their stagger will be very strong tanks too, they also have quite decent mobility like warriors with their rolling about.

[tempest420]

Warriors are the best class in any game, definitely make one.

[Finny]

Thanks for the responses, everyone, from what is probably a much-too-common post popping up on these boards. It's just getting down to the home stretch to Mists launch day, and it's good to have some outside opinions on the matter. I almost feel like it's more a social question than "plz tell me best tank"! I don't want to make the other guildee play a class he doesn't want to play, and I won't tell him that spot is already mine. When I told him my intentions were to roll warrior, he didn't seem concerned (but I'm paranoid, and I didn't want to step on his toes) in the slightest.

[Ulfhedinn]

I have played all the tanks... paladin and warrior the most. Followed by druid and then DK. More than anything what I like about warrior is mobility. If that is what you want then Monk has the best chance of being fun for you.

I am rerolling Monk and seeing if I like it. I love the heck out of my warrior but I want to give it a chance. Two warriors can work for tanks. Some fights may be a bit harder but there are others that will be easier I am sure.

[chaddd]

I find myself in the same 2 choices as well at this moment. Monk or Warrior. I enjoy both, possibly the warrior more, but I want to try and go for whichever is going to be the strongest in endgame content. I may end up DPSing if I let one of our current dpsers go tank, and I would still have the same 2 classes I would pick from. The warrior feels quite a bit more fleshed out then the monk does currently. DPS wise (single target) I think the monk may end up being better all around. The current DPS warrior seems to be lacking single target damage, and relying on more AOE damage. The monk is the opposite; lacking AOE and pretty good single. Just my observations with my playstyle.

But yeah, I am torn and how I figure it out soon. I have my monk up to 89 on beta and i will probably push for 90 before launch. I want to play something fun, and possibly new would be fun but idk... /sigh.

[Finny]

But yeah, I am torn and how I figure it out soon. I have my monk up to 89 on beta and i will probably push for 90 before launch. I want to play something fun, and possibly new would be fun but idk... /sigh.

Hopefully you will be able to make up your mind once the monk is at max level, if you chose to do that. I haven't leveled much on the beta because once I got there, I didn't want to burn out of the content before it was released.

I can say that I think monk is definitely fun. Chucking kegs of beer? Hell yes. The animations and idea of attacking with fists and feet is appealing, and it's got some interesting abilities. After playing warlock and druid so long it just feels wrong to not have plenty of abilities at my disposal. (My guardian druid feels quite boring now.) No one can say how the monks will fare through the expansion. Some people say Blizzard knows better than to have a repeat of the DKs, and some people think Blizzard won't let their shiny new class be overshadowed. For the time being, monks take a lot of damage upfront but further into the expansion things may change. I'm not so much worried about playing the best class or spec, I just want to have fun and be an asset to my team.

[Eluo]

Veteran Warrs may hate this post, but I honestly HATED prot tanking, and really warrs in general, before 5.0.4. Now, it its by far my favorite tank and I adore fury. They made prot so much better. I'll probably be leveling my hpally just because I finally fell back into healing, but my warr could steal my main spot, which I would have laughed at any time before 5.0.4. Play what you want to play, but remember, come MoP, there will be a lot of monks... A LOT.

[Deleted]

Warz are gud

[chaddd]

Well looks like I will be tanking for sure, I was trying to wimp out in a DPS spot... oh well. Not including me, we will have a combat rogue and a guardian druid in melee range. So my plan of rolling a monk may not be the best idea here. It will be on a different token then the other 2 melee so that could be a bit redeeming. My other option is to tank on a DK, if I decide against a warrior and, through better (speedier gearing) judgement, a monk.

Have any of you played the DK/Warrior/Monk at 90 tanking and can make any comparisons on how they feel; One feel sturdier? Looking at the list of raid and personal utility abilities, the DK seems to be able to most help himself while the warrior seems to be able to most help the raid. Thoughts?

Death Knight
• Anti-magic zone talent (51052) defensive
• Icebound Fortitude (48792) defensive
• Anti-Magic Shell talent (48707) defensive
• Lichborne talent (49039) healing
• Death pact talent (48743) healing
• Bone shield blood (49222) defensive
• Dancing rune weapon blood (49028) defensive
• Rune tap blood (48982) healing
• Vampiric blood blood (55233) healing
• Raise ally (61999) battle rez


Monk
• Zen meditation (115176) defensive
• Avert harm brewmaster(115213) defensive
• Fortifying brew (115203) defensive
• Dampen harm talent (122278) defensive
• Diffuse magic talent (122783) defensive
• Guard brewmaster (115213) defensive & healing
• Expel harm (115612) dispel enemy
• Detox (115450) dispel
• Grapple weapon: tank upgrade (123232) potential defensive cooldown, less use in raids

Warrior
• Shield wall (871) defensive
• Rallying cry (97462) defensive
• Mass spell reflection talent (114028) defensive
• Safeguard talent (114029) defensive
• Vigilance talent (114030) defensive
• Enraged regeneration talent (55694) healing
• Die by the Sword fury (118038) defensive
• Last stand protection (12975) defensive [health]
• Banners. 1 DPS CD, 1 damage avoidance.

[Travex]

Since it sounds like you're on the fence after debating which one you probably like most, I recommend picking based on what will maximize the loot/class/buff/debuff/tier token distribution for your raid as maximizing this increases your likelyhood for success, even if small in significance, and thus will likely increase your enjoyment of your raid group.
That being said, a 2nd warrior will just be competing with the 1st warrior for every gear slot.
A monk, while on the same tier token will not be rolling for the same non-token pieces, shield, or weapon.
To see your token distribution + buff/debuffs you can use http://raidcomp.mmo-champion.com/
Don't forget to factor in the Symbiosis of each tank spec in your rotation post there, as they are vastly different, IE: 45% dodge is useless vs magic damage fights while 25% reduced damage from all sources has benefit no matter what fight you do or where damage is coming from. If you choose the druid tank your symbiosis will likely be on any Death Knight > Holy Paladin > The prot warrior OT.

[chaddd]

Since it sounds like you're on the fence after debating which one you probably like most, I recommend picking based on what will maximize the loot/class/buff/debuff/tier token distribution for your raid as maximizing this increases your likelyhood for success, even if small in significance, and thus will likely increase your enjoyment of your raid group.
That being said, a 2nd warrior will just be competing with the 1st warrior for every gear slot.
A monk, while on the same tier token will not be rolling for the same non-token pieces, shield, or weapon.
To see your token distribution + buff/debuffs you can use http://raidcomp.mmo-champion.com/
Don't forget to factor in the Symbiosis of each tank spec in your rotation post there, as they are vastly different, IE: 45% dodge is useless vs magic damage fights while 25% reduced damage from all sources has benefit no matter what fight you do or where damage is coming from. If you choose the druid tank your symbiosis will likely be on any Death Knight > Holy Paladin > The prot warrior OT.

Ah I should have linked a raidcomp.

http://raidcomp.mmo-champion.com/?c=...00000000000000

So swap around the Brewmaster for DK/Monk/War. That would be me. Either way there will be 3 people on the token for whichever I pick. My main concern is that there is 2 leather melee wearers already in the group. Should I sacrifice some gearing time/ distribution annoyance possibly to fun factor? We will kill everything but it won't be server 1st.

[Travex]

Ah I should have linked a raidcomp.

http://raidcomp.mmo-champion.com/?c=...00000000000000

So swap around the Brewmaster for DK/Monk/War. That would be me. Either way there will be 3 people on the token for whichever I pick. My main concern is that there is 2 leather melee wearers already in the group. Should I sacrifice some gearing time/ distribution annoyance possibly to fun factor? We will kill everything but it won't be server 1st.

Eh? Where's the other Prot Warrior you mentioned, now? :O
If the raid comp you just posted is correct then the answer is undeniably Prot Warrior.
Token distribution without you is 4/3/2, and with a Prot warrior is 4/3/3. Moreover you have nobody rolling against you for prot plate or a shield/defensive 1-h.

[Finny]

So swap around the Brewmaster for DK/Monk/War. That would be me. Either way there will be 3 people on the token for whichever I pick. My main concern is that there is 2 leather melee wearers already in the group. Should I sacrifice some gearing time/ distribution annoyance possibly to fun factor? We will kill everything but it won't be server 1st.

I would say if your guild is okay with you rolling a Brewmaster, go ahead. If it is what you enjoy. The big thing I want to avoid is to log in during raid time thinking, "man I wish I would have picked my other toon for my main..." Also, I don't see the prot warrior you mentioned. If you chose either of the plate wearing classes you will be handed the gear, as Travex said.

[chaddd]

No there is a guardian druid currently. I would either be on a monk, dk, or warrior tanking. There was a DK tank in the raid currently who will be swapping to his priest. So yeah I would be the only plate wearing person in the raid if I went warrior or DK. Don't get me wrong... the endless possibilities of swimming in DPS and tank gear do make me giddy. I really want to try the monk but in an interest of gearing the raid as fast as possible I think that may be a bad idea. Token wise the warrior and the monk are the same, so that would keep a fairly even distribution. Between the 2 plate wearers it comes down to the subjective, "what is more fun to me", and of course the token. If I tanked on the DK, the token distribution would then be 4,4,2 correct?