The Survey meme scene has been getting pretty popular amidst the WoW blogging scene. Curse you, MySpace generation kids! No, seriously though, it’s actually pretty interesting. Rather than just a “I like pie, my bf is a dbag” survey, you get to see why different people play their classes in various ways. It’s a nifty little community family portrait. Quick, get in and have your picture taken too! Alright, now a silly one for the year book. Great!
It all started with the healing survey from Miss Medicina. Then there was the spin-off tanking survey by Koriel. It was only logical we’d see a DPS survey too. The trinity is complete!
I’ll be filling out the DPS sheet, because Calhi usually fills the role of Critty Kitty. I have a tank spec, but I rarely get to use it and it’s not my forté. Enough yammering. Let’s roll.
What is the name, class, and spec of your primary dps?
Calhi, Druid, Feral. AKA, Critty Kitty.
What is your primary dpsing environment? (i.e. raids, pvp, 5 mans)
I really don’t have raiding experience. 5 man or PvP? I enjoy BGs more, but melee DPS is something I’m still adapting to in PvP. So, though it’s not my most successful, I’m going to say PvP.
What is your favorite dps spell/ability for your class and why?
Since it’s technically an ability, Cat Form is the obvious answer. Without it, I would not be the Critty Kitty. That’s not really a fair answer for druids though, as every role/spec depends on at least one form. My favorite cat ability? Thanks to a little talent called King of the Jungle, I’m going to pick Tiger’s Fury. This is a talent that rivals even the Rogue’s Combat Potency in raw energy generation. Assuming a Rogue with a 1.5 speed dagger, he’s looking at an average of 120 energy over a 60 second period. (40 attacks each producing 15 energy 20% of the time). It’s random, but decent. Tiger’s Fury will produce 60 energy on command once every 30 seconds, which averages to the same 120. I favor the kitty version, as I can drain my bar, call upon the 60 energy, then drain it again for a nice burst, and the fact that it comes with a 6 second damage buff is just good synergy. Then you point out that that same Rogue also has Vitality and my comparison loses weight fast, but I still really like it. My Mangle is still cooler than your Sinister Strike. /raspberry
What dps spell do you use least for your class and why?
Nature’s Grasp. That isn’t to say it’s not useful. I just can’t seem to find a place on my screen to put it where I’ll remember to keep it up. It’s actually a great leveling and PvP tool as, unlike Entangling Roots, it can be cast in your Feral forms as a quick escape from a melee attacker. I also don’t use my Balance abilities, but it’d be silly to ask a Feral druid to do so.
What do you feel is the biggest strength of your dps class and why?
As a class, it’s the variety. If I ever got tired of being a melee DPS, a little gear-grinding and a respec later and I could be a ranged caster. Only Shaman have similar freedom, and they don’t have a tank spec. Speaking strictly Critty Kitty, we really don’t have much a Rogue can’t do too. Many of our abilities are copies of theirs, but we have the other non-DPS abilities to fall back on if we need to, most noteworthy being healing, which I’m sure any Rogue would kill to have when out leveling.
What do you feel is the biggest weakness of your dps class and why?
The usual stuff. The difficulties of melee. Squishy leatherness. The life of a rogue-clone. When your other cars are a plate like grizzly bear, a life giving tree and a laser hurling chicken, you have no room to complain about giving it all up for silent but deadly.
In a 25 man raiding environment, what do you feel, in general, is the best dps assignment for you?
You know, I really don’t know. I just don’t have the raiding experience to say. I think I’d enjoy the bursty, mobile action of chasing down and dropping adds. I’m not a “stand there and press 1″ person. If I were, I’d have gone boomkin.
What dps class do you enjoy dpsing with most and why?
Silly puppy. You ask funny question. We’re talking about my Critty Kitty, so of course I’m going to say Druid. Why? It’s my favorite class all around. Pure fun factor. I just enjoy it. If we ignore that a moment, my fall back is Hunter. I primarily play my hunter on the BGs, and it’s the class I most effectively PvP. Juggling half-a-dozen CC assaults feels as natural as a glove with them, and I hope to some day feel so at ease with my kitty.
What dps class do you enjoy dpsing with least and why?
Assuming all classes are technically DPS classes, um… Shadow Priest, I guess? I’ve tried every class and several specs, but Priests just never played well for me. Calhi rolled with a shadow priest for a while, so I got to see their face melting power, but I just can’t do it. I’m an altaholic, so I’ll give it another good faith effort some day, but for the moment, we’ll call them my least favorite.
What is your worst habit as a dps?
I don’t think I have room to put all of that here. Ha! Nah, DPS can do no wrong. Stay out of the green crap and keep your slot on the Recount higher than the tank. Blame the tank and healer for everything else that goes wrong. We are the raid cowboys, baby. All glory, no responsibility!
What is your biggest pet peeve in a group environment while dpsing?
Probably the same pet peeves of any group environment. Any 5 man PUG I manage to be part of, I’m the bottom of the Recount list (the list kept by the other DPS members of the party, of course), because I’m always the last one into every encounter. The attacks usually go in this order: DPS, second DPS attacking different group of mobs, healer now drawing aggro trying to heal dying DPSers, then the tank. After the tank has started attacking, I pop out of stealth and Shred his current target, but it’s all a big mess by then. This assumes the rare moment that all members of the party are actually in the same room for an encounter. Even as a DPSer, yeah, my pet peeve is still stupid and selfish DPSers.
Do you feel that your class/spec is well balanced with other dps?
Melee DPS gets no love, but I don’t think that is for a lack of balance or ability. Kitties aren’t exactly the peak of the DPS world, but we do well for ourselves, if given a nurturing environment. When it comes to raw theorycraft damage, I really don’t know where we are. Every list I see assumes Druid DPS to be Boomkin, end of debate, lolheresacookie.
What tools do you use to evaluate your own performance?
I don’t. /blush. I should, but DPS meters being flashed in my face get old fast, so I don’t really use them. I’ve only recently hit levels where I can actually attack training dummies, so I’ll probably pick one up to practice my rotations. Bleed-based rotations, which raid cats excel at, aren’t that difficult or unforgiving, though. Keep the bleeds and debuffs going, Shred the rest of the time.
Okay, I do use Omen, but I’m not very good at watching it. There’s too much else going on to stare at it, and I find it doesn’t usually flash the red “oh crap” alarm until a second or two after the enemy has already turned to make a lunch of me. Bleeds are usually pretty good at not spiking the aggro, though if you do manage to steal the show, they work in reverse in that you can’t just turn them off until the tank takes it back.
What do you think is the biggest misconception people have about your class?
That I am a Bear. Or that I am a Tree. Or that I’m a Moonkin. The expansions saw to it that Druids could be anything, but only with a proper investment of talents. It takes different gear and talents to do different things, and if I’m dressed for kitty play fun time, I’m not healing your group. I’d be as effective as a Rogue with a sack full of bandages. I think all healer classes have to deal with this, though.
What do you feel is the most difficult thing for new dpsers of your class to learn?
The same challenges as all melee DPS. Mobility is a learned trait. It’s honestly something the ranged DPSers could learn a bit of too, but it isn’t a barrier to their success. In order to maximize damage, you have to be able to quickly get to your target, get out when it gets hairy, then leap back into the fray as soon as it’s safe to do so. Take advantage of your speed boosts and gap-closers. Stay light on your toes and practice your battlefield awareness.
What dps class do you feel you understand least?
You mana-guzzlers baffle me. I tried to be a Boomkin for a time, and it’s just not my speed. I guess “understand” isn’t the best way to put it. I get it. Mana-management, that is. I alt around. I’ve got a basic understanding of most of the classes, and none of them totally escape me. I just like my yellow bar more.
What add-ons or macros do you use, if any, to aid you in dps?
For the sake of your sanity, I’ll keep this answer shallow. I am a macro junky, and use a variety of keys that change functionality based on my current form. I have Mik’s Scrolling Battle Text tweaked out to keep watch on my combo points and other effects through audio cues. I prefer noisy instruments for this task. For example, anytime I generate a combo point, a loud electric guitar “bwrarrrr” blasts in my ears. When I hit 5 combo points, it jams out a guitar rift. Toss in a few other warnings on drums, keyboard and the like, and me taking my kitty for a spin sounds something like a heavy metal concert. It’s my dream to have an add-on that generates a techno mix with variations and clips that play based on live conditions of the battle, similar to the PS2 game Rez. I can dream…
[Your class's preferred basic stat] over other stats or balanced stat allocation, and why?
Aww, crit crit mutha fudga! There’s a reason they (they being me) call me the Critty Kitty. Agi and crit ’til the sky turns red, woo woo! Haste is near worthless to me (I’ve tried it, but when you generate one white number per second and all of your yellows are instant, it just doesn’t show). I hear armor penetration is nice, but I haven’t bothered to try and figure out the math on that one. Stamina shouldn’t be totally ignored when you’re in the melee fray, but it’s just not a focus. Agility really is center ring for the kitty circus. No getting around it.
And then we come to the tag portion of our tale. Unfortunately, I’m new to this community, so I haven’t a budding roster of neighbors to pester. I’d bug the lovely Ophelie over at Bossy Pally, but I know for a fact she doesn’t enjoy donning her Ret gear that often, but if you’d like, love, I know you’ve already done the Tank and Heal survey, and so you could give Rykga the whole shabangabang. I’d also like to briefly thank Jaedia at The Lazy Sniper, just because hers was the first DPS survey I read. Good times.
And now, I’ve been pondering. What would an MSG laden meal like a MBTY post be without a stale fortune cookie at the end to leave your mind reeling with profound wisdom and mild brain damage? So as not to leave you feeling unfulfilled, here’s your blog fortune cookie:
If Kate ate a date too late, what date was Kate’s late date ate?
Eh, maybe you should’ve called out for Pizza instead. Now you’re just going to be hungry in an hour.
