Am I the only one that doesn't care about the typical builds and specs?

[Maeloda]

I hope you're the only one. That said, I usually don't care what someones spec is in 5mans (after that you need to l2spec or find friends who don't mind carrying you). That's assuming dps or hps is relatively decent.

In pvp, I don't care what people play, i'm content laughing at them in vent for being terrible.

I don't mind manipulating my builds for later content, as long as I can still use that soul. For my main, it would be involving Pyro, and maybe some Ele/Archon. For my Defiant, it would be Marksman. For my new alt, it would be Justicar.

I'll Archon on my mage, and Bard on my rogue, and DPS or heal on my cleric - just don't take away my distinguishing feature (which I even dye my armor for) away from me.

[Relair]

I'm an immersion player.

My main Lv 50 Mathosian mage doesn't heal unless he absolutely has to. I otherwise use Pyro-Elementalist (until Greater Earth) for soloing, and full Pyro for dungeons sometimes. It's just *him*, regardless of what Trion does to the soul.

My Defiant alt (only Lv 38 right now) is Marksman-Ranger. Using the Razorback Greater for soloing, but full Marksman in dungeons, or full Bard/Marksman if really needed. Might it be sub-par? Maybe, but we almost always clear the dungeon.


I'll see how it goes when CASUALLY raiding, but I'm not there yet. I'm not going to be forced to be a Chloromancer if a)I don't like it at all and b)I'm simply not good at it - just because I'm told to. I'm good, very good at DPS, put me there.


I'm making a Guardian cleric alt for tanking. His secondary soul is Warden. Is that sub-par? Maybe. But it also allows me to put HOTs on my character to assist healers in topping my health off, so I've been good so far.

Yep, too many people only read massively multiplayer and forget about the role playing game part on the title. I dont mean everyone should be stay in character and be a roleplaying fanatic, but at least pick a class you enjoy not just hop on the fotm bandwagon constantly. Half these people I think wouldn't care if it was text only and they just hurled numbers at bigger numbers. Such a pity =/ Stop and smell the virtual roses people!

[ShalarLight]

I honestly think a lot of people are intimidated by the options, and going with a tried and true spec that has been well tested, discussed, min/maxxed, over analyzed, debated, and still acclaimed is a good jumping off point.

Not everybody has trouble putting together specs that perform well, sometimes better than the "best" specs simply because not every combination will be readily apparent to any one person. But this is a community, not just one person. so coming to the forum, reading up on what people have found, using this new found base knowledge to make educated decisions about your personal flavor is a good way to do it.

[Ruprect1]

I don't see how anyone can enjoy a game and not care what class they are. If, in character creation, there was a grey featureless square who's only attack was to hurl smaller grey featureless squares but its name was TopDPSClass, you would pick that? Unbelievable. Why even bother playing a game then, go crunch some numbers in spreadsheet or something all day instead.

Yes, if it was the top dps spec I would play it for raiding and play something else solo.

[Naethir]

Your not the only one. I play Sabo for PvP and I do Champion for PvP and Single Target Storm caller or Pyro/dom. I won't ever, EVER raid on this game simply because its a min/max and not play your way. However, I'm sure there are still some hidden builds that will top charts, people haven't discovered them yet. Play around with souls, and see what wacky thing you can come up with. If it actually does decent DPS roll with it if you like it.

If you don't like it, shelve it and and play around some more.

[VeroMaestro]

Your not the only one. I play Sabo for PvP and I do Champion for PvP and Single Target Storm caller or Pyro/dom. I won't ever, EVER raid on this game simply because its a min/max and not play your way. However, I'm sure there are still some hidden builds that will top charts, people haven't discovered them yet. Play around with souls, and see what wacky thing you can come up with. If it actually does decent DPS roll with it if you like it.

If you don't like it, shelve it and and play around some more.

There are plenty of guilds that don't require certain spces, the super funny part is most bosses aren't downed because of specs but are downed because of players handling raid mechanics. Most players wait for the actual people who like to play different builds to tell them what's best, it's just the way it is.

[Nekonix]

It might be "fun" to you, but I /facepalm when I see DPS only pulling like 200 DPS in a T2 because they are using a terrible spec/rotation. I feel it's just as bad as tanks that can't keep aggro and healers that can't heal very well. I really don't care much what people play, and I'm all for people being able to play what they want (it's their 14 bucks they should be able to) but there also comes a point where someones "fun" spec can possibly be a detriment to the group. Teamwork means that everyone needs to pull their weight and some do not. But if you can pull your weight, then go nuts.

Me personally, I like to be the best that I can be and enjoy pushing myself to my limits. I strive to be the best player that I'm capable of. Squeezing the most I can out of my spec is part of that. Even in EQ1 I used combat parsers to maximize my potential. These things are nothing new.

[Maeloda]

It might be "fun" to you, but I /facepalm when I see DPS only pulling like 200 DPS in a T2 because they are using a terrible spec/rotation. I feel it's just as bad as tanks that can't keep aggro and healers that can't heal very well. I really don't care much what people play, and I'm all for people being able to play what they want (it's their 14 bucks they should be able to) but there also comes a point where someones "fun" spec can possibly be a detriment to the group. Teamwork means that everyone needs to pull their weight and some do not. But if you can pull your weight, then go nuts.

Me personally, I like to be the best that I can be and enjoy pushing myself to my limits. I strive to be the best player that I'm capable of. Squeezing the most I can out of my spec is part of that. Even in EQ1 I used combat parsers to maximize my potential. These things are nothing new.

That's true, and its why my examples were of specs that still pulled competent DPS. And my new tank is well... able to tank (once I got Fan Out lol).

Of course there's a problem when DPS is doing very lackluster DPS, but that's nothing new. The issue I have is when players are pushed and pushed to get the very max DPS ever possible, regardless of a)their personal enjoyment of the spec and b)their actual competence and reactionary skill with the spec.

But yeah, if you can't heal your group worth ****, that's not good. And if you can't kill the enemy in a timely manner, that's not good. And if enemies keep on attacking and killing your group and ignoring your threat (or worse, killing you easily as a tank), that's not good.

[Naethir]

There are plenty of guilds that don't require certain spces, the super funny part is most bosses aren't downed because of specs but are downed because of players handling raid mechanics. Most players wait for the actual people who like to play different builds to tell them what's best, it's just the way it is.

Thats all fine, but not for all guilds. I guess Pvp will always be my thing. For instance I made a para/Pala build for pvp. Its mostly for the small arms spec and the ranged stun, but it works somewhat......-shrug- to each their own. I will never understand the war between PvE and PvP.... live and let live I say

[Wintervoid]

Speaking strictly from a PvP view.

Sometimes the optimal build on paper is not the optimal build for an individual.

I think Dissb on Sunrest is a perfect example. His build is critisized because it is not the accepted top build. I believe it has been shown that he could get a few more DPS and some better burst out of using a sightly different build. He is comfortable with his build and it works. I do not believe I have seen him in a WF that he did not top KBs, Damage and has never had more then two deaths, normally none.

This build fits his playstyle.

I believe that having the correct build for your playstyle can add effectiveness above and beyond what a specific build will give you. Of course, this is assuming a build that is at least competitive, but not considered the top build.

[Relair]

It might be "fun" to you, but I /facepalm when I see DPS only pulling like 200 DPS in a T2 because they are using a terrible spec/rotation. I feel it's just as bad as tanks that can't keep aggro and healers that can't heal very well. I really don't care much what people play, and I'm all for people being able to play what they want (it's their 14 bucks they should be able to) but there also comes a point where someones "fun" spec can possibly be a detriment to the group. Teamwork means that everyone needs to pull their weight and some do not. But if you can pull your weight, then go nuts.

Me personally, I like to be the best that I can be and enjoy pushing myself to my limits. I strive to be the best player that I'm capable of. Squeezing the most I can out of my spec is part of that. Even in EQ1 I used combat parsers to maximize my potential. These things are nothing new.

Obviously your dps has to be competitive, I'm not talking about total basement dweller, afk dps. I just mean if you're doing 1100 instead of 1250 in the 10 mans or in t2 days like 600 instead of 700 then play whats fun, who cares. Stuns, interrupts, debuffs, etc dont show up on parses, alot of builds doing slightly less dmg make up for it in other ways. As long as you are pulling your weight its fine, some players are just bad regardless of spec.

[Dantes]

Yep, too many people only read massively multiplayer and forget about the role playing game part on the title. I dont mean everyone should be stay in character and be a roleplaying fanatic, but at least pick a class you enjoy not just hop on the fotm bandwagon constantly. Half these people I think wouldn't care if it was text only and they just hurled numbers at bigger numbers. Such a pity =/ Stop and smell the virtual roses people!

While I do enjoy the beauty of these games, I don't play them for the roleplaying aspect. If I want a good story, I'll play a single player RPG. I blow through the story line in MMOs because I gain very little from them and they don't impact me personally.

[wingedarr0w]

Yep, too many people only read massively multiplayer and forget about the role playing game part on the title. I dont mean everyone should be stay in character and be a roleplaying fanatic, but at least pick a class you enjoy not just hop on the fotm bandwagon constantly. Half these people I think wouldn't care if it was text only and they just hurled numbers at bigger numbers. Such a pity =/ Stop and smell the virtual roses people!

Too many people forget about the multiplayer part of the title.
Play whatever you want however you want, but if you commit to a group with a goal, you better fulfil that role otherwise you are wasting other peoples time.
Also very few people hop on the fotm bandwagon, hence the epic rage every time something gets changed, if there were so many people like that, few would care which class was the best and just switch every month.

[nicat]

To me it's funny the people trying to bash the min/maxers

from my perspective I really don't care what the buttons I push do, they are just buttons.

I will say roles matter, as they are truely different playing styles.

Roles in my eyes are tank/heals/mDPS/rDPS/support.

If your spec isn't a different role, is the game really so different if your casting a fire spell or a shadow spell?

I can understand the use of different spec's in different environments, but to me the enjoyment comes from the content I munch, whether it be pvp/pve/solo/group/raid/ect...

Personally I just like grinding through that content as quickly as possible.

That being said in a raid I think the goal should be to min/max, I have wiped sub 1% on so many different encounters over the years, where if a few more people were min/max'ing maybe the boss would be dead.

And to the "I will do what I want until you pay for my sub" people, you know what I will do what I want until you pay for my sub to, which included deciding to or not to play with you, and in general I like to play with like minded gamers, which obviously people who don't min/max are not always as like minded with me.

[Zartanic]

I really call foul on those that claim raid leaders force them into a spec. What utter tosh. If you are doing competitive DPS, tanking, support or healing a RL will not give a damn if you're naked or have the weirdest spec in the world. The reason why RL's want to know someone's spec is to know what abilities they have to use, such a purges and interrupts or other roles such as certain support buffs.

Otherwise you are judged by your performance and if that is not up to scratch you are letting down the whole raid so you do not deserve to be part of it. That is true using a cookie cutter build or not, it is irrelevant.

I think some of you are just making things up based on assumptions with no basis in reality.

Also the fact some of us like to choose the best spec for the role does not mean we do not enjoy other aspects of the game.

I can enjoy raiding and smell the roses, no problem. In fact I smell them better than many as I aim to see all the content not just some of it.