Last post was not meant to be combative or argumentative, it was meant to illustrate the fallacy of believing that DPS is any easier than some other archetype.
As I stated then, it is really easy to be a terrible DPS player. You can get to level 70 as a DPS class with no knowledge of anything without much difficulty. You can play a rogue, and stack feral druid gear because you think Strength is the shiznit. You can play a hunter, never train or feed your pets, and stack spirit gear; you’ll be fine!
However.
By it’s very nature, an archetype does not fit everyone’s mindset. Take a quick glimpse at the comments to the last post.
As long as tanks are alive, healing is by FAR the easiest. XD
I do personally think DPS is by far the easiest and least stressful raiding activity
Already, disparity. Interestingly, there’s have a primary healer (that would be Cay) saying healing is the easiest. Then there’s DPS people (pretty much everyone else, heh) saying DPS is the easiest thing they do.
…which role is the easiest/least stressful largely comes down to personality and individual play style.
Yes! Thank you. Exactly.
As a mage, I find this class ridiculously easy to understand, and the hardest thing I ever have to figure out is whether to gem +9 spell damage, or blow my money and get the +12 ones.
On the other hand, put me behind the controls of a priest, and by level 16, I am reduced to tears and screaming “WHY?!” at the uncaring sky. Gimme a premade priest, decked out in S2 gear to test a patch, and I spend 15 minutes boggling at all these buttons that say strange things like “Power Word” and “Binding Heal”. Toss me into AV, and I push healing buttons at random and hope one works.
Shadow Priesting is even worse… this one’s a DoT, and this one is too, except only sometimes, and this one is a DoT too, but it has a cast time, and so does this one, except when it doesn’t… JUST MAKE SENSE DAMN YOU.
Which is roughly my reaction when I play any tanking class. Except Paladins. Paladins rawk.
Everything “clicks” for me when I play a Paladin. I absolutely adore tanking as a paladin, and it’s the only healing class that makes sense to me. “I’ma gonna heal ya, beyotch, and youse gonna stand there and LAHK IT!”
At one point, I got a premade Resto druid over to the PTR… and had a blast. None of the mechanics made any sense to me, but running around healing/cycloning people was incredibly fun. Until I ran out of mana a minute later. Stupid spirit, where was it when I need it most?!
Oh yeah, on mage gear. /rimshot.
I tried boomkin. Then ran screaming back to the druid trainer. Never doing that again. EVER. EVEREVEREVER.
Uhm. Where was I?
I had a point here…
*rummaging noises*
GHAAH! SONAVA! Friggin assjockey! Blood all over the number pad, just fantastic.
Whatever class/archetype your most comfortable with, obviously that is going to be the least stressful for you. There are people I know who think tanking Black Temple as a warrior is the greatest thing ever. I think they need serious mental help, perhaps best provided by a fatal dose of lead.
I told him as such, and he frowned and said “I thought mages couldn’t use guns.”
My old guild leader, for instance, loved healing as a priest, and loathed paladin healing. He even swore up and down that he would delete his paladin before he healed with it.
In conclusion, there really isn’t a conclusion. Thanks for reading anyways 
PS.
DPS have plenty of “OSHI-” moments, it’s just when we do, we’re usually dead within one or two seconds, so it’s largely irrelevant.
PPS.
There are probably going to be some monster arse changes to some of my old “guides”. They seriously need some sprucing up. The entire “Critical” section will probably be completely redone.
PPPS.
It is now 11:34 PM, this post is going live. So yes. I update at really strange times. I’ve posted many times at 3am. It’s what I do.
This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.
I have a level 70 priest and absalutely love it. I’ve healed and dps’d every boss, pre as well as post BC in the game up to Mu’ru. When I don’t raid i’m Disc for PvP and do Badge runs as Smite (yes smite, 3.3k Smite crits followed by instant 2k smites ftw). It is the only class i can continuously play because there is so much diversity in it. IMO shadow is the only DPS class that actually takes skill to play because to do it right you can’t just sit there and spam one button (caugh locks caugh mages), healing… ok in a raid it’s pretty damn easy with renews Gheal r1′s and the occasional CoH, but Disc takes some extensive knowledge of the class to be done correctly. And that’s why it’s such a great class, there is so much at your disposal no matter what way you go. There is so much going on that you never have time to just sit back and spam 2, 2, 2, 2, 2, 2 oh let’s reaply CoS/scorch… 2, 2…
I’ve healed and tanked as a paladin and i’ll tell you this, paladins are easy as hell to heal with and understand because first of all, they only have 2 freaking spells they should be using in PvE, and for tanking… grats consecration and pressing block does all the work for you.
I was going to post this in the last thread because i completely disagreed with the statement that DPS was hard, but never got around to it. It isn’t, between hunters using a damn macro, A MACRO PEOPLE!! along with locks, mages and rogues spamming ’2′ I don’t want to hear it when ppl start talking about how managing trinkets, potions, and 3 minute CD’s is hard. Reroll shadow and talk to me then, we don’t get the luxury of having a spell rotation, we have spell priorities. An ever changing ‘rotaion’ of keeping 2-3 Dot’s up on a mob at all times while maintaining 2 other direct damage spells on constant cool down while cutting mind flays off after the second tick to maximise DPS along with all the above mentioned management of trinkets and pots and all that good stuff takes a substantial amount of more skill to play. And what do we get for it? a measly 1.5-1.6k dps on the likes of Brutalus when those one button wonders top meters with 2.7k…
@Scaith
I will not disagree that a shadow priest takes a great deal of skill to play properly. I do take a bit of exception to your macro comment. You give the impression that topping the WWS with a macro is easy. It is not, sir. If one miskeys any part of the marco, it doesn’t work right
For a raid boss fight there is little work for any class that is very hard. All any class has to do is learn their role and the nuances of the boss. One or two wipes later, the new boss is down and it’s off to another. Raid bosses are not a test of skill as much as a test of timing…getting 25 people to spread-out or bunch-up while they do what they can to cause 2,000,000 HP in damage.
Remember when Kara was hard?
Oddly, it is usually the trash pulls that demonstrate the skill of individuals in the party/raid more than the boss fights. We have all been in a party that recovered from a screwed up trash pull that was so bad we expected a wipe. You know the pulls. The one’s where everyone types /p “Nice job guys. Great heals! Good trap! Nice taunt!” That’s when skill shows up.
Just one huntard’s opinion.
Shadow Priesting is even worse… this one’s a DoT, and this one is too, except only sometimes, and this one is a DoT too, but it has a cast time, and so does this one, except when it doesn’t.
You might want to avoid shaman then.
Druids rock. You can be a stealthy rogue, a HoT loving healer, a big mean bear, or a mana-based tactical nuke; and switch between them all instantly. Whenever I play an alt I’m always missing stuff that class can’t do. The same goes for Taurens, once you get used to having War Stomp you’ll wonder how you ever got along without it. I’m really looking forward to the unification of crit, haste, and hit ratings. Maybe I can free up some bag space.
p.s. Cowboy Bebop rocks too.
“PS.
DPS have plenty of “OSHI-” moments, it’s just when we do, we’re usually dead within one or two seconds, so it’s largely irrelevant.”
WELL SAID SIR !
and being an Arcane Mage, I find I only give that whole mp5 thing a SLIGHT bit more thought than I did as a Fire Mage …. if you are geared out T5 or more, Arcane is the only way to fly !
@ Morane
I actually love playing shamans. Go figure.