Class Balance Review in Raid
DPS
Dratnos and Tettles start with Raid, where they find DPS balance to be quite good and trending in a good direction, with several small tuning passes that have helped bring the outliers towards the middle of the pack, and several specs that were way below par getting there with the help of lots of small buffs over time. In their opinion, this is one of the best jobs of DPS balancing for Raid that Blizzard have done in a patch. In Mythic Plus, the DPS balance is similarly great – it’s normal for M+ representation to be more polarized than Raid, and that’s still true this season, but compared to previous seasons there are so many good options for DPS even in the highest keys, and the weaker choices tend to be nowhere near as far behind as in other seasons.
Healers
Healers are a bit of a weaker point, where Dratnos and Tettles note that Evoker has been a solid outlier for a long time and has taken very few nerfs. It’s good to note, however, that healing balance still looks quite good compared to previous seasons in raid, with several underused specs being buffed, and the specs that do less HPS tending to bring more in the form of utility or Damage Reduction value. M+ is a bit of a two-horse race for healers, with Evokers and Druids combining to have over 80% of the highest keys, but that’s still one horse more than many seasons get, and other specs remain not too far behind.
Tanks
Tanks are also somewhat contentious, with many players perceiving this season to be a Warrior landslide, but in realty Warriors are likely not the best pick for either raid progression or high key pushing at this point, with choices like DK, for Raid and Paladin for M+ being arguably stronger. Monks and Demon Hunters are also great, with Guardians looking great on damage statistics but having some survivability challenges at the highest levels of PvE content, but in a similar vein to the Healers and DPS, the gap is not wide, and Blizzard has done a fantastic job of creating an environment where players can mostly play whatever they’re best at or enjoy most.
What Class Should be Reworked in Patch 10.1?
Finally, Dratnos and Tettles nominate classes for reworking in 10.1, following Druids in 10.0.5 and Paladins in 10.0.7. Both chose Hunter as the class most in need of some defensive and utility additions, with Tettles also suggesting Death Knights as a class to look at.
Do you agree with Dratnos and Tettles’ assessment of the balance situation? Are there any class or spec trees you think would be best to look at in 10.1? Let us know in the comments!
