MDI West Spring Cup

[dragnipur]

I was rooting so much for Learn to Fly and they played so bad the 3rd game damn....Why?!?!?!?!?!
Do you think peeps is Abrakeydabra closer as skill to Method NA/EU now?

[hellhamster]

It's gonna be a major upset if the 2 Method teams aren't in the final.

It's all boring though, this meta literally ruined MDI.

[dragnipur]

Elserat is like a 5th Affix lol.

[huerohueroxxx]

lul all teams warrior tank druid healer 2 rogues and 1 monk or what?

[thebdc]

Do you think peeps is Abrakeydabra closer as skill to Method NA/EU now?

Abrakeydabra had very good times in the time trials. I guess their problem is lack of consistency.

[Poe]

Pretty sure Abrakeydabra still has Method sponsored players. They are still a Method team just without the name.

[Taeldorian]

Pretty sure Abrakeydabra still has Method sponsored players. They are still a Method team just without the name.

Yeah drjay is still sponsored by method afaik. They were method pogchamp last year but maybe they changed it now that there’s an entire roster of method raiders on one team in the MDI? Wasn’t like that last year iirc.

However I don’t think they’re a method team anymore. 1 or 2 players are from Sjells angels last year, I think only DrJ was on a method team. They might be individually sponsored by method but it doesn’t seem like theyre representing method this year as a team.

[Cracked]

It's gonna be a major upset if the 2 Method teams aren't in the final.

It's all boring though, this meta literally ruined MDI.

It's not entirely fault of the meta. The teams are only allowed to change 1 class between maps, and this comp is insanely safe for all maps. So even if you wanted to do something interesting, blizzard just doesn't let you.

[Relapses]

It's not entirely fault of the meta. The teams are only allowed to change 1 class between maps, and this comp is insanely safe for all maps. So even if you wanted to do something interesting, blizzard just doesn't let you.

...uh, ultimately the meta is the result of the game Blizzard has developed so it's really not fair to say that "it being safe" is the only reason it's popular. It's safe because Blizzard has done a fucking garbage job making ranged DPS even remotely appealing due to the length of ranged interrupts and many of their affixes simply don't work well with BfA dungeons.

e: Just reread your post. I think we're saying the same thing. It does serve to point out that the Blizzard is ultimately in control of the meta, not the teams.

[Eggroll]

Abrakeydabra had very good times in the time trials. I guess their problem is lack of consistency.

Drjay said on his stream that they had issues with disconnects two weeks ago, especially Elserath. So we will only see how good they really are on the lan event.

- - - Updated - - -

I was rooting so much for Learn to Fly and they played so bad the 3rd game damn....Why?!?!?!?!?!

Yeah, nobody really expected them to lose against Limit...

[Twdft]

...uh, ultimately the meta is the result of the game Blizzard has developed so it's really not fair to say that "it being safe" is the only reason it's popular. It's safe because Blizzard has done a fucking garbage job making ranged DPS even remotely appealing due to the length of ranged interrupts and many of their affixes simply don't work well with BfA dungeons.

e: Just reread your post. I think we're saying the same thing. It does serve to point out that the Blizzard is ultimately in control of the meta, not the teams.

While it is a bit boring that everyone uses the same teams, it is kind of inevitable. At the cutting edge of dungeoneering if a class is even 1% better than another it will be picked. I don't think it is even possible to tune classes evenly enough to not have clear favorites.

[Relapses]

While it is a bit boring that everyone uses the same teams, it is kind of inevitable. At the cutting edge of dungeoneering if a class is even 1% better than another it will be picked. I don't think it is even possible to tune classes evenly enough to not have clear favorites.

The 24-second range interrupt is a clear disadvantage when every dungeon has multiple interrupt-this-or-die-horribly mechanics. The only exception to this rule is Ele Shaman's 12-second Wind Shear. Coincidentally, Ele Shaman is the only consistent ranged DPS I've seen at MDI (and even then it's a rare pocket pick).

[Leonora]

While it is a bit boring that everyone uses the same teams, it is kind of inevitable. At the cutting edge of dungeoneering if a class is even 1% better than another it will be picked. I don't think it is even possible to tune classes evenly enough to not have clear favorites.

One approach might work: affixes that hinder melee and benefit ranged. Right now we see that on CoS.

[Soluna]

There are a couple players in Abrakeydabra who aren't Method sponsored, not that it matters much ofc. I think that they could rival at least Method NA, considering that these two teams have been beating each other in the past quite a bit. The question is more like 'Can ANY team come even close to Method EU's skill level? If you look at the waycrest manor pull last night from either Method NA or Abra, they both failed in the big pull that Method seems to be doing properly, and they are 2 mins behind on clear time due to that.

[hellhamster]

One approach might work: affixes that hinder melee and benefit ranged. Right now we see that on CoS.

It's a class balance problem, not an affix problem. Some affixes are admittedly much harder on ranged though

The design problems are
1)interrupt cds favoring melee
2)utility heavily favoring rogues. Double shroud is incredible
3)survivability favoring rogues
4)tank dps favoring warriors
5)instant heals and healer dps favoring druids, which are also a combat res class.

Other classes are decent, but there is no way they can compete with classes like rogues, who also bring ridiculous dps for all scenarios. You are shooting yourself in the leg by going with any setup that isn't double rogue.

[Twdft]

5)instant heals and healer dps favoring druids, which are also a combat res class.

JB said some time ago on his stream, that the main reason to bring a druid is because warris are tanking and you need a battle rez. He also said if he has time to dps the pulls are not big enough.

[hellhamster]

JB said some time ago on his stream, that the main reason to bring a druid is because warris are tanking and you need a battle rez. He also said if he has time to dps the pulls are not big enough.

Yeah druids from a healer perspective are not that much better than let's say a paladin, but the cr is mandatory.

[Leonora]

It's a class balance problem, not an affix problem. Some affixes are admittedly much harder on ranged though

There is always a top meta. Once that meta is found, there will be very little diversity, because why cut in your own chances?
UNLESS matters are forced, which we (for example) now see in CoS, where the first boss favors multidotting, and the second boss favors ranged.
As others have pointed out, affixes currently favor melee over ranged. In addition, traditionally melee in wow has always been the harder choice with better synergy and better interrupts. So a well practiced team will favor melee over ranged. Always has been that way.
Btw, survivability of rogues may be balanced by them knowing this and playing more risky.

Right now there seems to be generally only one balance question - can teams plan large pulls in such a frequency that the burst dps of a dk trumps the general 5% dps increase of a monk. Quite often in these matches I see that dk only can trump monk when the team is very good in planning and execution. Since large pulls mean more chance to fail, and one failed pull can already negate the advantage of a dk.

Now, if affixes would favor ranged over melee, the meta would change. Maybe one less shroud would be ok since generally more dps. Maybe one melee next to tank to only interrupt the two nastiest abilities. Maybe some abilities can be negated by los pulls. People would adjust and the end result might not be that different from the current end times. But in the end, I bet yet again one meta would be considered best and the complaints would go again .

[dragnipur]

What is special about a dwarf tank?The commentators keep mentioning it`
AbraKeyDabra vs Method NA was so cool.I really liked it.The poor Elserat the rng was not good for him.He was hit 4 times i think at one of the bosses in the 1st dungeon.
Limit vs Learn to fly was such a disappointment.Limit were playing so bad.Why were they even on the MDI I just don't know.Their time trial runs are so far behind the 4th place.
Oxxxxxxxxxx i forgot the most important thing lol.Team Games revolted this Ashmonbald is he mocking Ashmongold???If so thumbs up!!
This sentence heroically unheroically leaps out of the group like a cowered was so funny.I couldn't stop laughing

[Xath]

It's gonna be a major upset if the 2 Method teams aren't in the final.

It's all boring though, this meta literally ruined MDI.

Blizzard's decision to only allow one class change per dungeon ruined MDI you mean. There would be more varied comps if you could actually swap them between dungeons.

- - - Updated - - -

What is special about a dwarf tank?The commentators keep mentioning it`
AbraKeyDabra vs Method NA was so cool.I really liked it.The poor Elserat the rng was not good for hit.He was hit 4 times i think at one of the bosses in the 1st dungeon.
Limit vs Learn to fly was such a disappointment.Limit were playing so bad.Why were they even on the MDI I just don't know.Their time trial runs are so far behind the 4th place.
Oxxxxxxxxxx i forgot the most important thing lol.Team Games revolted this Ashmonbald is he mocking Ashmongold???If so thumbs up!!
This sentence heroically unheroically leaps out of the group like a cowered was so funny.I couldn't stop laughing

Dwarf Tank Racial allows them to reset Necro. Limit definitely played off but last time trial they actually had a top3 and believe top 5 time but their motherlode was awful in terms of time so they ended up not making the cut. Not sure why they are playing so off but they absolutely do have talent. As to why they were there because nobody else had a lower aggregate time to hit top 8. That said no excuse for what the commentators were pulling show some actual class if you have the ability and if you don't you shouldn't be commentating.