Why you are forced to play this class one way

[Deleted]

I mean before patch 5.0.4 there was "one way" to play, and now possible so called people who want to take fun from video game makes those videos that you must play this class this way, our way is the only good way.

I ask why, you are not in a freaking job, let us play the class how we want to play it, even blizz nowdays days says this is the optimal way to play the game.

I hate that, that optimal way can be for you but for example it can't be for me.

From where the seriousness comes from in a computer game, we all take it to chill out and have good time, so why do we have to follow the path that someone else have made for us.

I personally always like to play games my way, i never read any guides in any games, any walkthroughs.

I get that i do not need to learn everything myself, but i kinda prefer this way.

[Imnick]

You can play the game however you want, you just won't do as much DPS as if you were playing it some other way.
I don't really understand this topic, are you asking Blizzard to just make it so that mages do a set amount of damage per second regardless of which buttons they press and how often?

[Ineko]

You can play however you want, just don't expect to be raiding in H modes or doing good dps/tanking/healing if you're not playing the optimal way.

/thread

[JohnnyQuest]

I personally always like to play games my way, i never read any guides in any games, any walkthroughs.

And that is absolutely fine if you want to play that way. As the guys above me have said, you can play the game however you want.

But unfortunately for you WoW is an MMORPG, and when you step into a dungeon/raid with 5/9/24 other people your opinion on how that situation is going to play out is now no longer the only consideration. Those 4/9/24 other people also have a say in how the situation develops.

You are playing a mage, so you are playing a DPS class. You have no healing or tanking abilities, so regardless of how you want to play you are actually playing a class whose sole job is to deal damage. When you step into a group scenario you are facing NPCs that have their health tuned with the expectation that the tanks, healer, and DPS are able to output a decent amount of threat, HPS or DPS for the gear that they are in and the level they have reached. It is not unrealistic for those other 4/9/24 people to expect you to know how your class does damage and for you to be able to meet those expectations. If you do not meet those expectations then the best case scenario is that 4/9/24 other people have to put more effort into their game play than the game is tuned for them to need to (thereby carrying you) or worst case scenario your group just cannot proceed because while those other 4/9/24 people are just able to output the required numbers, they are short 1 person.

Now you have 4/9/24 people's gaming experience being worsened or hindered by your actions. Those 4/9/24 people do not want that. And that is why it is best for everyone that everyone knows how to play their class to its best in any given situation.

I get that i do not need to learn everything myself, but i kinda prefer this way.

Lots of people like to play that way. There are plenty of guilds who will go into dungeons and raids completely blind. A lot of our guild has done that this expansion - none of us spent much or any time on the beta. None of us knew anything about the 5 man dungeons, and we all learnt them as we went along. If you are with a group of people who are happy to learn that way then there's no problem.

But as I said before, there are other people in your group to consider. If you jump into LFR with 24 other people who all know the fights, who are just there for the gear and don't want the hassle of teaching the raid to 1 person, then you are going to have a bad time. Maybe you don't want the game to be just about the gear. Maybe you don't want to just zerg through LFR. But in this hypothetical situation there are 24 people who do, so you lose 24 to 1.

[Deleted]

Am I the only one who doesn't understand what the hell OP is talking about?
I tell you what : I play this game how the hell I want to play. No one else is telling me how to do it. It's maybe just you, your state of mind.

[Deleted]

Play how you wish. If you want to perform as best as possible you have to play a certain way. This is just a fact because its all about math in the end.

[xChurch]

I think one thing that needs to be said is that with MoP now in full swing, you have more ability to choose the spec you prefer than ever. Most specs I've read up on so far (mages specs especially) seem pretty close together. Even Icy veins doesnt post a clear Mage spec winner like they do with other classes. So enjoy the freedom you've gained and don't get bogged down in "You must go Arcane/Fire/Frost because the sims have it pulling .0001% more dps than the other specs!!!!1!"

[Keske]

as long as you are fine with getting kicked from my groups I don't see why you shouldn't play the game your way.

[dirtlits]

Am I the only one who doesn't understand what the hell OP is talking about?

You are not alone. I really don’t understand what the OP is talking about either unless their DPS is terrible and was called out on it.

The fact is, every class has an optimal way to play it and mages have 3 specs that can do good dps. You can play the game the way you want, it's your money and time. Just be prepared that if you are not doing what is expected of you DPS to be called out on it. Why should one person feel they are special enough to do things how they want and make the other people work harder to cover their slack is beyond me.

If that is what this is about then, well ... I juess you will be that one person at the office that does just the minimum amount of work. Just enough to not get fired while being that person everyone dislikes for getting paid the same but does 25% of the work of others.

[Valort]

Because this game went from being creative and special, to min/maxing, a game in which you either follow guides or you're a noob. You either watch every encounter video and read every strategy, or you're a noob. A game where you either have that specific BiS piece of gear, or you're a noob.

[Imnick]

Because this game went from being creative and special, to min/maxing, a game in which you either follow guides or you're a noob. You either watch every encounter video and read every strategy, or you're a noob. A game where you either have that specific BiS piece of gear, or you're a noob.

I think the reverse happened, every expansion since Vanilla has added more levels of choice...
If you weren't min/maxing in Vanilla you just weren't raiding.

[Dariela]

There are 2 aspects to the game. You can either strive to the upper pinnacle of performance, or you can sacrifice a bit off the top end to do whatever you want.

Your problem is your trying to merge them. When you are in a 5 man or LFR or whatever, do whatever you want. If the mobs are dying then your doing it right. When reaching deep and trying to progress, learn to play the right way and push yourself to perfection. It is apples and oranges.

[namelessone]

You can play in any bloody way you want to play. No one is FORCING you. What is presented here is simply a way to optimize your performance, according to the math. In 90% cases in this game, you won't give a shit about optimizing - those cases include LFD, LFR and even most Normal raids. But if you want to top DPS meters and be among the top 10% - you have to optimize. Again, you don't HAVE to be the top 10 to enjoy the game.

[reflection]

I love the new talent system so much great stuff and other stuff on other encounters! Great!

[Elegiac]

I love the new talent system so much great stuff and other stuff on other encounters! Great!

Clearly you don't play a Mage at 90, then. Our talent "choices" are god awful.

[Xires]

Play how you'd like. However, if you are under performing and your group suffers from it...stand by to be replaced or kicked.
Example: In Cata I was doing some dungeons on my healer (my main is a Mage) The Mage we had was hard casting pyro's and spamming Ice Lance...so he sucked...badly. I tried whispering him that as a fire mage he should be casting LB, FB, and pyro's from his hotstreak while scorching while on the move. He told me "I play how I want to play". Welp...he was doing 1,200 DPS as an 85 and things were dying MUCH slower then they should have....so he got replaced...but hey...he got to play how HE wanted to play. If you got kicked from a group for being very bad....then just get better...remember...there are either 4 other people, or 9 other people, or 24 other people in your group that want to actually down the content and people don't feel like breaking out a stretcher to carry you on.

[Deleted]

I think the reverse happened, every expansion since Vanilla has added more levels of choice...
If you weren't min/maxing in Vanilla you just weren't raiding.

Wait... 100% forstbolt in molten core wasn't complex ?

OP: Play as you please. Just don't expect others to appreciate it. It's as if you had a football team (soccer for the west) and you were the goalkeeper, yet still ran out of the box to score goals just because you want to play the way you want to play. It if makes you happy do it, just don't be surprised that you won't be part of the same team shortly after or get yelled at on the spot .

[Mitchell Rane]

As others have said, play the way you want.

If you're going to be doing Heroic raiding before the 5%/10%/15% etc....raid buffs then you should aim to optimize by choosing the highest dps spec and becoming very good at it in a hurry.

Honestly, very few of us fit the category of the heroic raider defeating the final tier boss before the periodic buffs/debuffs are instilled by Blizzard. Are you honestly in this category? If not, play how you want and get comfortable with the spec that you prefer.

If you join a raiding guild that is "hardcore" and demands you to play a certain way, ask yourself, do you want to follow the guild's mandate and play how they tell you in order to progress at maximum speed? or do you want to play the way you feel comfortable and proceed in a moderate pace? Those questions are up to you.

So no, I don't feel anyone is "forced" to play a certain way. I do, however, believe a certain level of sacrifice will be required if you are to take this game to a serious enough level. Honestly though, if you're not racing to get the heroic final boss kill, then relax and just get good with the spec that you do prefer.

[Wishblade]

Hello Seweryn. I wanna play a game.

1. You play the optimal way and can do all the "advanced" endgame.
2. You play however you want but you're not gonna do all the endgame.

Will you be what they want you to be, or will you do whatever you want? Make your choice.

[slime]

I agree with most here, this really only applies to raiding - anything else it really doesn't matter how you play - whether it is a 1k dps boost or not matters little in a dungeon or while questing. But, raids have raid leaders, other players are all depending on you to do your best - and research where research is needed.
But otherwise, play how you like - you are right it's just a game...

but raiding is srs biznes.