Is there any such analysis present? I think there is a balance issue present amongst some classes (this is not a hint that warlocks are underpowered for those who thought it were), but I want to see if anyone know where I can find an analysis that shows:
- % amount of classes present in teams that succeeded in silver runs.
- % amount of classes present in teams that succeeded in gold runs.
- % amount of specs present in teams that succeeded in silver runs.
- % amount of specs present in teams that succeded in gold runs.
Class and talent breakdown in top 200 teams across all dungeons in EU, US and World.
As it is now, we're all aware of the fact that DKs are superior in almost every aspect in challenge mode runs compared to other tanks (Feral tanks have no place there whatsoever if aiming for gold / ladder). Aside from that fact, I want to see if there are any similar differences amongst DPS classes, because I want to brainstorm in how Challenge Modes (not the dungeons themselves, but class balance) can be improved.
I don't mean to say that the Devs should have challenge modes in mind when tuning class abilities, but rather when developing dungeons. They should have in mind that no dungeon should render a class / spec extremely potent, or equally useless - a perfect example on the former, are Death Knights in Scarlet Monastery and blood DKs in Stormstout Brewery.
For those of you who are not heavily knowledgeable on the mechanics of Scarlet Monastery on Challenge mode, let me give you an example of the point I'm trying to make. The first boss is surrounded by 2 packs of spirits, which enrage whenever they are dealt damage. This enrage effect stacks, and upon reaching 40+ stacks, they start doing insane dps (750k+). If you have a DK to control undead when they're stacked, you've basically finished the first fight by just doing that, and that in a much shorter time than you'd ever be achieving without a DK. This fact leads to DK being so potent in that dungeon that it's not justifiable to not bring a DK for scarlet monastery if you're aiming high (talking about saving at least 30 seconds, which is 5% of the total time - which translates to mandatory when aiming high). In my opinion, this tactic is not clever use of game mechanics, but a lame and mandatory gimmick that has to be done - which imo is the wrong way to go about challenge modes (what happened to "bring the player, not the class?").
As for my example in Stormstout Brewery and DKs, this really only shines when there are a) no melee present or b) a hunter / rogue (MD / Tricks) present. To put this into an example, imagine the first bossroom of Brewery. The standard tactic is to pull everything up to there, and start a kiting / barrelbombing fest. Now, if the group does NOT have a DK tank, that means that keeping aggro as a tank will be slightly harder. This fact is made even more important if they do not have any class with misdirect, and more than 1 melee in the group. The scenario I described is almost impossible if you've got a warrior tank, feral dps, DK dps and elemental shaman. Just as an example. The reason I'm mentioning this is not because I want a nerf to the content (and I really stress this, this is NOT a cry for nerfs), but because I disagree with the way it's designed. The scenario I mentioned just now could've been prevented if there were placed objects around the room that could be thrown on the mobs for AE damage. This would ensure that misdirects and / or ranged tanking (dks) were not a 100% mandatory to not fail while doing maximum dps.