So I am trying to decide which class and talent tree to pick for Classic but I've seen in a couple yt videos saying that some aren't viable for dps,levelling,raiding and so forth such as ret paladin, Elemental/Enhancement Shaman and druids for dps. I want to know if that's truly the case or people are exaggerating and these are trivial differences in dps because those are some of the classes/ skill tree focuses I had in mind. In general are classes simply not playable at certain roles.Can I pick any 'spec' of my class and still enjoy the game?

Every reply is greatly appreciated!

Flabbytax wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Can I pick any 'spec' of my class and still enjoy the game?

Only you define and know what is enjoyable for you. Everything is viable for something, but you should not expect people to bring you into raids when everyone else is going for optimal progression and you play a suboptimal spec. But if a ret paladin is what you wanna play, then you should play a ret paladin.

Flabbytax wrote: ↑

5 years ago

So I am trying to decide which class and talent tree to pick for Classic but I've seen in a couple yt videos saying that some aren't viable for dps,levelling,raiding and so forth such as ret paladin, Elemental/Enhancement Shaman and druids for dps. I want to know if that's truly the case or people are exaggerating and these are trivial differences in dps because those are some of the classes/ skill tree focuses I had in mind. In general are classes simply not playable at certain roles.Can I pick any 'spec' of my class and still enjoy the game?

Every reply is greatly appreciated!

Hey flabby and welcome :)

Here are some links that might interest you in your quest:

Gallow's Class Picking guide - a really nice TLDR summary that answers a lot of the questions in your OP.

Race/class comparison tool for making further decisions derived from base stats/racial synergies

ShamelessEU wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Flabbytax wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Can I pick any 'spec' of my class and still enjoy the game?

Only you define and know what is enjoyable for you. Everything is viable for something, but you should not expect people to bring you into raids when everyone else is going for optimal progression and you play a suboptimal spec. But if a ret paladin is what you wanna play, then you should play a ret paladin.

Thank you this was the answer I was looking for. I consider being able to play the game in it's entirety as enoyable for me so you definetly helped me make up my mind.

Flabbytax wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Thank you this was the answer I was looking for. I consider being able to play the game in it's entirety as enoyable for me so you definetly helped me make up my mind.

If you find a guild that would allow suboptimal specs you should have no problem getting into raids, or if you are OK with being holy on progression and ret on farm then you should probably also be good to go!

ShamelessEU wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Flabbytax wrote: ↑

5 years ago

Can I pick any 'spec' of my class and still enjoy the game?

Only you define and know what is enjoyable for you. Everything is viable for something, but you should not expect people to bring you into raids when everyone else is going for optimal progression and you play a suboptimal spec. But if a ret paladin is what you wanna play, then you should play a ret paladin.

This is exactly right. There is a massive distinction between viable and optimal. The top tier players and content creators will likely focus on what is optimal. The majority of the playerbase will play things that are viable. Will it be easy for you to get group invites as a boomkin? No... Lets be real, it wont. But that just means that you will need to be willing to make your own groups or be willing to adapt and occasionally heal or tank for 5 mans. Will it be easy to get a raid spot as ret? No, it will be MORE challenging than choosing an optimal spec, but that shouldn't dissuade you from playing what you want to play.

In my experience, players who choose sub optimal specs are typically more adaptable and willing to compromise their own role for the sake of the group. If this is you, playing hybrid is likely the way to go. Concerning raid spots, attendance and attitude will go a lot further than throughput. We can sit here and talk about min/maxxing all day, but the reality is that most vanilla content is relatively trivial so most guilds will be content to find 40 players with a heartbeat that show up to raids.

Stfuppercut wrote: ↑

5 years ago

In my experience, players who choose sub optimal specs are typically more adaptable and willing to compromise their own role for the sake of the group. If this is you, playing hybrid is likely the way to go. Concerning raid spots, attendance and attitude will go a lot further than throughput. We can sit here and talk about min/maxxing all day, but the reality is that most vanilla content is relatively trivial so most guilds will be content to find 40 players with a heartbeat that show up to raids.

This, and so much this.. Much prefer people with this mindset!

Our raid team does not allow suboptimal specs at the moment, due to starting out with wanting to progress as fast as possible with our limited schedule. Once we are a few runs in and everything is on farm status it will not be an issue. But doing a dungeon run or whatever I will invite a boomkin / ret / shadow no problem day 1.

Stfuppercut wrote: ↑

5 years ago

In my experience, players who choose sub optimal specs are typically more adaptable and willing to compromise their own role for the sake of the group. If this is you, playing hybrid is likely the way to go. Concerning raid spots, attendance and attitude will go a lot further than throughput. We can sit here and talk about min/maxxing all day, but the reality is that most vanilla content is relatively trivial so most guilds will be content to find 40 players with a heartbeat that show up to raids.

This!

in most guild it will way more important to show up on raid days then doing super crazy dmg or heals.