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  1. #21
    Short answer: Yes

    Long answer: No

    And this applies to any class and role. It is fairly easy and user friendly to do ok in this game. If one doesn't want to get too much into the high end mechanics it doesn't really mater. However, mastering the classes and specializations is where the interesting part of the game begins. Doing this while not dying and being useful for a group of players is what any dedicated player will aim.
    So, while playing Elemental is easy (let's be honest), performing on par with higher dps classes is where the challenge is.

  2. #22
    Quote Originally Posted by Gimlix View Post
    BM is harder then you make it believe.
    A friend of my tried out BM, and he is a boomkin and was overwhelmed what he actually had to do with all these buttons.
    It really isnt, and a newbie to boomkin will do more dps as a newbie bm hunter. I also find it hard to believe any GOOD druid would have trouble switching to a hunter, if he is pretty bad and can only tunnel then yeah, a lot of things are hard.
    Quote Originally Posted by Endus View Post
    which is kind of like saying "of COURSE you can't see the unicorns, unicorns are invisible, silly."

  3. #23
    ALL classes take mastering for optimal dps/healing/tanking.

    A class being easy to play, does not mean it's easy to master. I see so many FOTM-players jumping between classes and they rarely stick with one class to truly learn how to master it. It's about that stage when you see something happen and you can account for what procs you have, what you should make sure procs at that time and what to do to maximize your performance then and anytime else whilst also keeping track of everything else going on. This is not something that everyone can or wants to do with the classes of this game. I haven't done it on my other toons, and for that I won't perform at the same level as people with a true knowledge of the class. Be it mage or shadow priest or warlock. I'm not so self-absorbed that I'll sit and say I COULD play at their level because the class is so "easy". If it was truly TRULY easy, then I'd perform at their level the way I play already but alas, I have one class I consider "mine" and that's enough for me.
    Last edited by Queen of Hamsters; 2013-10-07 at 08:01 PM.

  4. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by Elestia View Post
    I would say hunters, dks, assassination rogues, frost mages, are amongst the easiest specs to play.

    Imo the elemental opener, macro combinations, totem utility, and off heals provide both complexity and depth that no other class has. This is something so commonly overlooked.

    People that say ele shaman is easy either don't invest time in actually learning their subtleties, haven't played competitively/aggressively or never bother with utility. Because even if you're skill capped, and your raid is dying / failing mechanics, dps isn't going to matter. Ele is the essence of Blizzard reminding us that raiding is a team sport. You may only be as strong as your weakest link, but ele does a fair bit to reinforce the weak.

    Examples, stressful fights, ie Thokk, conductivity with healing rain and water totem support helps tremendously. Or spoils / add fights, capacitor with earth grabs, or knockbacks to the tank, interrupts, etc. Totem utility all at its finest.

    Stack the utility spells that Ele has against any other class / spec combination and we come out on top every time.
    I play Resto and Ele OS, so I'm very aware of the healing utility and the totem utility, but I'm curious what you mean by the "opener" and "macro combinations." I've always been a decent amount of DPS lower than our Ele Shamans when I have to DPS, and I thought it was more to do with gear optimization, but maybe I'm missing something.

  5. #25
    Here we go again :P if Ele is soooo easy as ppl say then why we ar so few hmmm??

  6. #26
    Deleted
    It's always the same ppl complaining about ele being "too easy".

    1. ele shamans (mostly alts) who run lfr or flex a few times with beating some ppl and then thinking ele is easy
    2. ppl who get smashed in cleave fights by eles who spam chain lightning because it's most efficient for us even tho it's just 1 button

    There is a huge difference between just playing ele a bit and getting world 1-20 rankings on various bossfights.
    Especially if you run with Unleashed Fury and T16 2 Set in multidot fights, it's not THAT brain-afk, quite stressful to do max dps there.

  7. #27
    Quote Originally Posted by Sodia View Post
    Here we go again :P if Ele is soooo easy as ppl say then why we ar so few hmmm??
    Well
    1. easy doesn't mean popular, look at rogues. Never popular almost always have an easy top dps spec.
    2. elemental shamans dont have high dps going for them either at top end, at least not single target.
    3. squishy as fuck
    4. hybrid
    5. last patch enhance was strong (and first time I saw more than 2 other enhancement on my realm through a patch), this patch resto is strong. Elemental last strong patch was er.... 4.2? :P
    Quote Originally Posted by Endus View Post
    which is kind of like saying "of COURSE you can't see the unicorns, unicorns are invisible, silly."

  8. #28
    Elemental is ez in theory but master the damagemeter is a riddle for some ppl, I am able to compete sometimes but rarely. Personally I feel like ele is okey but will never get better than pure dps. Some hybrid speccs has proven to be rly good this exp though but ele hasnt. 5.2 was pretty good, and prolly one of our best in a long time and I was able to rock the dps on at least 50% of the fights.

    Being the best dpser aint gonna happen in a decent hardcoreguild, some fights perhaps but overall be sure to accept bottom or close to bottom this tier. Just make sure to do what ever your mission is, kiting, killing adds, offheal, use cds to help out during tough phases. Not to forget, this is important!!

    Single target, no no. With movement, perhaps but most classes is still stronger.
    Multi target(separated), no no, focusing on 1 is the best choice and keep FS on the other will generate more Lava surges for increase dps but will never get close to other range classes.
    Target switching, Decent but we dont have any kaowbam Burst unless we RNG.
    Aoe, yes yes, we are pretty strong here, CL and magma totem/FE totem. But it will not last for long, the adds is dead and if u meet a hunter/warlock/mage or some other stronk melee you will find yourself beaten hard.

  9. #29
    Scarab Lord miffy23's Avatar
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    Any class is easy to learn, hard to master. This applies to them all. Some might seem "simpler" at first, at a high end level they all have their subtleties and depths to master that make you that much better a player.

    Elemental is a classic example of being very easy on a low level, and thus being quite popular. However ramp it up to heroic progress and actually using more than chain lightning, or being competitive on single targets, and the majority of the Ele community falls short.

    Enhancement is a step further (my spec) - it brings all the same complexities and depth that Ele sports, but is a far harder spec to master, in my opinion. I can count the number of Enh shammies i've encountered that match up to me on one hand, over 3 expansions - and i'm not even at a regular heroic progress level, or that great.

  10. #30
    Quote Originally Posted by Elestia View Post
    I would say hunters, dks, assassination rogues, frost mages, are amongst the easiest specs to play.

    Imo the elemental opener, macro combinations, totem utility, and off heals provide both complexity and depth that no other class has. This is something so commonly overlooked.

    People that say ele shaman is easy either don't invest time in actually learning their subtleties, haven't played competitively/aggressively or never bother with utility. Because even if you're skill capped, and your raid is dying / failing mechanics, dps isn't going to matter. Ele is the essence of Blizzard reminding us that raiding is a team sport. You may only be as strong as your weakest link, but ele does a fair bit to reinforce the weak.

    Examples, stressful fights, ie Thokk, conductivity with healing rain and water totem support helps tremendously. Or spoils / add fights, capacitor with earth grabs, or knockbacks to the tank, interrupts, etc. Totem utility all at its finest.

    Stack the utility spells that Ele has against any other class / spec combination and we come out on top every time.
    So I'm a Frost DK, which you claim to be easier. I can go through a similar list to yours.

    ___

    Imo the Frost DK opener (diseases, cooldowns, etc), macro combinations, defensive/cooldown utilities, and self-healing provide both complecity and depth that no other class has. This is something so commonly overlooked.

    People that say Frost DK is easy either don't invest time in actually learning their subtleties, haven't played competitively/aggressively or never bother with utility. Because even if you're skill capped, and your raid is dying / failing mechanics, dps isn't going to matter. Ele is the essence of Blizzard reminding us that raiding is a team sport. You may only be as strong as your weakest link, but ele does a fair bit to reinforce the weak.

    Examples, stressful fights, <any fight>, Remorseless winter, Anti-Magic Zone, Death Grip and Strangulate support helps tremendously. Or spoils/add fights, Howling Blast with the slow talent, interrupts, etc. Abilities at its finest.

    Stack the utility spells that DK's have against any other class/spec combination and we are fairly average, really.


    For the record: I am saying this while agreeing Frost DK is one of the easier classes to play. Yet I can fill a very similar list to yours
    I honestly think Elemental shaman is one of the easier classes to play, about as easy as Frost DK/Survival Hunter.
    Last edited by Unilythe; 2013-10-08 at 01:13 PM.

  11. #31
    At highest level of play ? One of the easiest, not the easiest tho.

  12. #32
    Nobody mentioned destro lock yet...
    Zhulrak
    Kil'jaeden-US

  13. #33
    Bloodsail Admiral zenga's Avatar
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    Elemental got dumbed down a lot since cata released. For me that means the level of control you have over your damage. Every spec/class has a rotation that doesn't take a degree in rocket science to understand (well bar feral maybe in wotlk).

    Reasons why I think why ele got dumbed down since cata release:

    - lightning bolt glyph (that later became baseline) made moving, anticipating moving a joke. the damage difference between a good and a bad ele was higher than today
    - removal of cd of chain lightning: before it's removal it was a matter of mixing up flame shock, fire nova and chain lightnings, while not wasting your lava bursts, and using earthquake properly. right now it's dumb 1 button spam chain lightning and you do insane damage
    - intoduction of rppm (and the lack of on use trinkets): dot classes can micro manage their dots based on rppm, ele's lack those tools and rppm has turned gear procs for the most part into a completely passive experience for ele
    - ascendance: so much dmg in such a CD with the rppm change took away any planning: it's entirely possible that all your shit procs during ascendance, including echoes and /or mastery, but it's entirely possible they won't proc either. losing an ascendance by sitting on it for too long is either a dps loss or non optimal for your raid (not to mention that the lack of a warrior in your raid influences your ascendance as well).

    Things that could make the spec more interesting again (PVE):

    - remove the ability to cast lightning bolt on the move
    - give spirit walkers grace 3 charges, like how deterrence/charge/dark soul works, but reduce the duration to 5s.
    - make ascendance a 1min cd, 5second duration
    - change chain lightning to early cata style, where you have to spread flame shocks and use fire nova, though with better number tweaking so it can be competitive
    ...
    giving SWG 3 short charges on the same cd would actually make movement an issue again
    turning ascendance into a shorter cd would allow for a more reactive playstyle to rppm procs
    the aoe: self explaining

  14. #34
    Scarab Lord miffy23's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by zenga View Post
    Elemental got dumbed down a lot since cata released. For me that means the level of control you have over your damage. Every spec/class has a rotation that doesn't take a degree in rocket science to understand (well bar feral maybe in wotlk).

    Reasons why I think why ele got dumbed down since cata release:

    - lightning bolt glyph (that later became baseline) made moving, anticipating moving a joke. the damage difference between a good and a bad ele was higher than today
    - removal of cd of chain lightning: before it's removal it was a matter of mixing up flame shock, fire nova and chain lightnings, while not wasting your lava bursts, and using earthquake properly. right now it's dumb 1 button spam chain lightning and you do insane damage
    - intoduction of rppm (and the lack of on use trinkets): dot classes can micro manage their dots based on rppm, ele's lack those tools and rppm has turned gear procs for the most part into a completely passive experience for ele
    - ascendance: so much dmg in such a CD with the rppm change took away any planning: it's entirely possible that all your shit procs during ascendance, including echoes and /or mastery, but it's entirely possible they won't proc either. losing an ascendance by sitting on it for too long is either a dps loss or non optimal for your raid (not to mention that the lack of a warrior in your raid influences your ascendance as well).

    Things that could make the spec more interesting again (PVE):

    - remove the ability to cast lightning bolt on the move
    - give spirit walkers grace 3 charges, like how deterrence/charge/dark soul works, but reduce the duration to 5s.
    - make ascendance a 1min cd, 5second duration
    - change chain lightning to early cata style, where you have to spread flame shocks and use fire nova, though with better number tweaking so it can be competitive
    ...
    giving SWG 3 short charges on the same cd would actually make movement an issue again
    turning ascendance into a shorter cd would allow for a more reactive playstyle to rppm procs
    the aoe: self explaining
    ...or Enh in TBC
    Ascendance: basing an entire cooldown design on the broken rppm procs? That's your solution? Eeeh...no, don't agree with that. Besides 5 second duration cooldowns would feel pathetic and insignificant, the whole idea behind the design of a major cooldown like that is to have an "aw yeah" button.

    Also don't agree with removing LB on the move, it's one of the factors that have made Ele highly competitive in progress again. What's wrong with it? Whether you're casting or not u still have to move - I'd even argue that keeping your rotation flawless while moving is harder than moving, then casting, then moving. So I don't get how that would make it "more interesting".

    You're really exaggerating a lot of factors there, rppm procs RNG and cooldown uptime affect almost all classes, and about micromanaging dots: ever heard of refreshing?

    I just don't see how making movement an issue again will make the spec more interesting, if anything you're gimping yourself in competition with many other ranged specs.

  15. #35
    Easy to play, but you still need to know how to play them well or your dps can suffer. It's all about the 'ABC' or you're screwed. Having to move out of something for example, but having to continue to cast can be tough to get used to.
    Last edited by KCguy; 2013-10-09 at 10:12 PM.

  16. #36
    Titan Frozenbeef's Avatar
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    I thought that was arcane blast.....i mean arcane mage? Haven't played any of my alts for a few years hough...

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