DPS is easy. All you do is sit there and spam two or three buttons, and watch shiny numbers show up on your screen.
It takes no skill.
DPS is easy, it’s low stress, and you don’t even have to pay attention to what you’re doing. So you could watch TV and raid or something.
ALL LIES.
Well. Almost all.
We do watch shiny numbers show up on our screens. That is true.
But the rest of it is LIES. Borderline HERESY.
Dare I say… BLASPHEMY?
I could just as easily say that main tanking a raid boss is easy. All you do is use the same few abilities over and over again, and just produce as much threat as possible.
I could say healing the main tank is ridiculously easy. Just cast the exact same heal, over and over again…
But you don’t see me saying that, do you? You know why? Because it isn’t easy.
“But as main tank, you have to be able to react within seconds if something goes wrong!”
“But you have to be able to move in a split second!”
“But you need to switch targets rapidly!”
And DPS people don’t?
Allow me to bust out the car examples. For some reason, these vehicle analogies just work.
Here we have two vehicles. One is a Prius, one is a mini van, and the other is an F1 racecar.
All three cars serve the same basic function. They provide a way to go from point A to point B. The Prius is designed to do so economically and efficiently. The mini van is to designed for multiple people, and for comfort.
The racecar is designed to get from point A to point B faster than the other racecars. Millions of dollars are spent to wring every possible millisecond of speed from this vehicle.
Picture this F1 vehicle as a DPS class. We are geared, tuned, and trained to do one purpose and one purpose only.
Passengers? Don’t bother, they’ll be dead in a few seconds.
The driver’s comfort? Screw him, he could die for all we care, so long as he can get across the finish line first. Why don’t we cut off his legs to cut down on weight? He doesn’t need to walk.
This is the mind set of a DPS class.
Try talking to a mage about mp5 and mana regeneration. It’s like trying to talk to a french guy, and the only french words you know are “warranty”, “extent”, “this” and “dinosaur”.
Try talking to a mage about being uncrushable, and they’ll respond with “I CRUSH PUNY PALADIN DPS!” followed by cackling.
Try talking to a mage about the need to downrank spells, and you will merely confuse them. (Why the hell would you downrank a spell!?)
Try talking to a mage about Block value, and they’ll get pissed off about Spell Reflect.
A DPS class contributes directly to the length of an encounter. The longer a boss is alive, the more healers have to heal, the more chances a tank has to suddenly find himself in a sudden “OHGODNO” with no cooldowns, the higher chances somebody has to suddenly die…
In other words, shorter fights lead to less time for things to go wrong. Which typically means less things actually do go wrong.
It’s understandable where this assumption that DPS is easy comes from. Tanks and healers have to pick their gear, gems and enchants with two things in mind. Tanks need to simultaneously worry about their own survivability and their threat output. Healers need to be concerned with not only the amount they can heal, but for how long they can keep healing for.
DPS care only for how much DPS they can put out. There is some consideration for longevity, but it’s an afterthought, not an actual concern.
Remember that patch when Icy Veins was introduced? Raiding fire mages across the world happily abandoned Clearcasting, which essentially provided you with 10% cheaper spells, to pick up an ability that let them cast 20% faster for 20 seconds. Were there second thoughts? Briefly. Right up until we actually activated Icy Veins for the first time. Mages have never looked back.
In this regard, a DPS class is somewhat simpler. There is no balancing act, there aren’t any trade offs to make… it’s all about damage output. Absolutely nothing else is relevant.
A tank who doesn’t produce very good numbers on a DPS report? Irrelevant. If the boss dies, the tank did his job fine. A healer who doesn’t produce very good numbers on a DPS report? Largely irrelevant. If the boss died and nobody else died, they did good.
A DPS who doesn’t produce good numbers? S/he’s looking at being benched on the next raid.
No skill? BAH! DPS takes a lot of skill to do correctly, just like anything else. The stereotype is there because it is incredibly easy to be a bad DPS player. It isn’t hard to be a rogue, run up to a boss, and then mash Sinister Strike over and over again. It isn’t hard to be a mage and chain cast Scorch for all eternity.
Neither of those methods will produce much, damage wise. You know why? The strategy they are using is utter stupidity, that is why.
A proper DPS player will expend a great deal of time researching how, exactly, s/he would be able to produce the biggest numbers possible for their chosen spec/class. They will then spend a great deal of effort perfecting the timing of various abilities to produce the best damage per second they can.
This is why Dr. Boom is so popular for ranged classes. It allows us to get a rough idea of the amount of damage you can put out, and allows us to try new things in a risk free environment.
If you haven’t tried Dr. Boom yet, I heartily invite you to give him a try. Turn on your damage meter (if you don’t have one, stop lying) and try stuff!
As a quick example for fire mages, try this out: chain cast nothing but Scorch for 60 seconds. See how much damage you did. Now try casting Scorch just often enough to build and keep the Scorch debuff, and spend the rest of the time casting fireball. Compare the results.
DPS don’t need to pay attention? Keep believing that. Feel free to sit back and watch as a DPS class who isn’t paying attention wipes your raid over and over again.
DPS? Low stress? One of the best jokes I’ve heard all year. A DPS class lives every day with the knowledge that s/he can be replaced at any time by anybody.
Let’s face it.
Every single class in this game is a DPS class. Some of them are able to spec into healing or tanking; without exception, every single one of them can spec to become a ruthlessly effective damage dealer.
As a tank? You’re nearly indispensable. There are few tanks in the world, and even fewer good ones. If you don’t show up to a raid, the raid will find it incredibly difficult, if not outright impossible, to progress without you. It can take literally weeks to replace a good tank.
Healers are almost in equally high demand. There are more healers than tanks, but only slightly more. If a healer misses a raid, it’s not the end of the world… still potentially disastrous, but recoverable. It can take days to replace a good healer.
As a DPS? If you don’t make a raid, it will take the raid approximately ten seconds to find a replacement. Twenty, if your guild leader types slowly. It can take up to sixty seconds to replace a good DPS player.
Low stress? Sure. There is nothing stressful about the fact that anybody in the game can replace you in as much time as it takes them to type “i can dps”.
Suffice to say, DPS isn’t as easy as you think it is.
Nice.
Just want to add though, that some mages (Arcane) DO worry about Mp5 and mana management.
Don’t forget that we Mages have to manage our cooldowns in order to maximize our DPS. Popping Trinket + Elemental, or saving our Trinket + IV for when when Bloodlust/Heroism is popped, and so on.
We don’t just mash three buttons over and over again. We STRATEGICALLY mash three buttons over and over again.
hear hear. The mage has spoken what the warlock isn’t allowed to say.
Good post, fun read.
I dunno. In order of stress for me:
Warrior tanking > Druid Healing > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > > Moonkin DPS
I still try to max my DPS, watch my surroundings, etc. On my warrior, I’m staring at every mob plus every party member. If I die or my healer dies, everyone probably dies. On my druid while healing, I’m staring at every party frame, the mobs, or 25 raid frames. If I miss a heal on the tank, everyone dies. While DPSing, I’m staring at one target, maybe two. If my dps cycle lags out for half a second…nothing happens. If mob movement happens (ie a cc breaks), then I look at it. Overall, I find it much more relaxing.
Euri, you’re either in another time zone, or you just publish at ridiculous times at night. And I’m up entirely too early, but there’s this empty PC over at Fio’s desk and a beta just BEGGIN’ to be gandered at….
ANYWHO: What I wanted to say was, after going from healing in a 25 man setting, to tanking, to DPSing in SSC for the first time, lemme just say DPSing was THE most stressful for me.
Not because of that whole “replaceable” thing, but more because OMG I HAVE TIMERS I MUST WATCH! Healing as a holy priest? I think that’s FAR easier than smelting face as a shadow one. So many damn things to watch for, cooldowns, DoT timers, mobs, threat, DON’T STAND THERE IDIOT, etc.
The tanking stint was a lot easier. Ferlol tanking is pretty brainless because of the retarded amounts of threat you can produce right of the the bat (LOLMANGLE).
So yea, I don’t find DPS as an easy job in the raid dynamic either. As long as tanks are alive, healing is by FAR the easiest. XD
I think that figuring out which role is the easiest/least stressful largely comes down to personality and individual play style.
That being said, I do personally think DPS is by far the easiest and least stressful raiding activity, and I’ve done significant raiding in all three roles. DPS is the only role I’ve never burned out in, it’s just so much more relaxing. How often do you really have a DPS emergency? Tanks and healers have “OH SHI-” moments all the damn time. DPS may have such moments when they first encounter a new fight, but once you know it they’re few and far between. And typically any emergencies they have, everyone else including the tanks and healers are dealing with it too, on top of everything else. I just don’t think there’s a comparison.
I do think good DPS is really really important to raid success post-TBC, and that being a good DPS is not simple. I mean, I’m a guy who argued with his fellow tanking corps about giving up tank-priority on gear as an outdated pre-TBC notion, because I think it’s just as important to have well geared DPS as well geared tanks now. But it’s still way less stressful–including how easily I can be replaced. I know the raid will go on if I don’t make it. To be indispensable is a burden I don’t really need when I’m playing a game.
I hear ‘DPS is easy’ all day long with the added ‘especially as a hunter’ thrown in.
True, hunters can solo level/quest to 70 faster than any other class. This assumes the hunter has a fucking clue how to be good at his class. How many times have you heard people you are grouped with say comments like, “If I were a hunter I’d get rid of my pet because he doesn’t do much damage anyway?”
In a raid it is my job to DPS. After quite a bit of play, practice, and research I have tuned my toon to top the WWS charts on bosses without pulling aggro off of the tank.
Let’s not forget to remind the tanks and healers out there that we DPS are designed to down bosses faster that they can handle. If we perform at max capacity the tank loses aggro within 10 seconds of the encounter. Tanks and Healers out there…we have to ride the razor’s edge of damage vs. threat for 10 minute fights. That’s a bit stressful.
As a hunter running a simple instance I can be replaced by any other DPSer in the area until something goes wrong. I have saved the arse of a healer many times because he pulled aggro. Nothing makes a priest love you more than a Freezing trap at his feet.
DPS is cake…if you suck.
Melvin is my Dr. Boom.
“Melvin, you really need to work on that damage output…”
“That’s all you care about, isn’t it!”
/wrists
But, I have to disagree… dps is easiest, followed by tanking, then healing.
Melvin has 3 dps chars. Melvin has a tank. But Melvin’s stupidity won’t reach far enough for him to try healing. The only reason we see so many healers these days is that Arena requires 1 healer fer every 2 dps. (more or less) Tanks need not apply. In the old days.. healers were harder to find…
Arms&Fury really needs to post his “DPS is like sex” arguement. It’s really funny.
Well, first of all – I agree totally about this brilliant post – except for the mana stuff. I’m arcane and I care A LOT about mana – its a much bigger issue to me than threat management actually.
That said I’m just wondering… why make such a big deal about what’s easy or not? Would it be so bad if it WAS easy?´
I wan’t to compete – a little – on the dps chart, I just can’t help it, it’s in my nature.
But I’ve really got no need to compete who’s doing the hardest work in the game. We’re all needed, it’s a team work, that’s enough for me.
First off I hope the title is a reference to Cowboy Bebop and secondly as a mage I have to agree. My two brothers take on the other roles (Priest Healer and Druid Tank) and they both now have DPS classes and realize its not just face planting on your keyboard and rolling your face in raids.
Very well written post! Heck, I’ve even read it and am commenting on it the same day you posted, even, it was that well written! (Okay, maybe not. I just had time to go through the blogroll today. Still through.)
You’re right. I play all three: a mage, a tree, and a bear. For me, stress levels depend on the rest of the group — as a bear, I worry about if the healer is good enough to keep me up, and if the CC is good enough to re-sheep/sleep/shackle/banish/whateverthehelltheydoasCC (except sap) so it doesn’t go mush the healer’s face. As a tree, I stare at health bars and hope to god that the tank doesn’t pull more then I can handle, and wish the DPS good luck on watching their aggro, because the tank and myself are far more important than healing them.
As a mage… I sheep. I frostbolt twice, ice lance once, move on to a different target, rinse and repeat, and resheep. Tiny bit more complicated on your not-so-average-trash-mob, but still. It takes a bit less brainpower than the other two roles I play (as all I really have to do is to watch my aggro, watch my sheep, and do what Tuna says we do: “strategically mash three buttons over and over again”), but, at the same time, I put in a lot of initial work to make sure that my job isn’t nearly as difficult when the time comes.
Still. It is all lies. DPS may be *less* stressful, and it may be *less* hard, but it doesn’t mean that it’s a bunch of us snogging the keyboard and having pretty numbers flying up because of it.
I know tanks blame themselves for a wipe.
I know healers blame themselves for a wipe.
But I also often find I blame myself for a wipe.
Not the I pulled aggro type of wipe… that could never be may fault
Rather the, “missed by that much” wipe, or the “mob beelines for healer” wipe.
In those circumstances I start looking which cooldown wasn’t used, or why I didn’t build enough aggro on the loose mob to take the hit rather than the healer.
btw.. great post!
DPS isn’t as easy as its made out, but in general its a lot less stressful than as a Tank or Healer.
Actually I lie there, when I play a healer its very non-stressful since I am a tank folspamming just in case.
However I do actually play a tank (prot paladin) and a dps (destro lock), and as a DPS I have it a lot easier. As a tank my role is to watch the boss and my threat, to watch for adds and to maintain myself (yes I should never get into a danger zone, thats the healer’s job, but timing my pots / seeds / stones / cooldowns) is my job). Its my job to stay alive and ensure the boss stays in a good position (things like bloodboil where he moves between phases, having to ensure a good rotation on the way back so he sits nicely and gives the other tanks space to sit at the side, and the melee at the back, so that the OT is in position for when I get dazed.
In most DPS fights I am concerned with a lot less, my sphere of concern is myself and my environmental hazards rather than watching the raid as a whole, perhaps this is because I tend to MT rather than just tank so am co-ordinating stuff as well, but tanks tend to take on that role as well (or should) meaning its an additional layer of difficulty.
I won’t say DPS is easier, but its a lot less stressful to do a fight, even if we are watching the same stuff otherwise, and not have to worry about the big guy hitting me. Mind you I wouldn’t trade the stress, I like being the tank and its fun, as a DPS I don’t have the control over the fight or the threat generation so I have to concern myself with someone else, rather than being able to focus on the boss and the fight as a whole.
Actually that is the difference, a healer / tank tends to focus on the raid and the fight, a dps tends to focus on the target and the tank. While there is overlap its quite a stark difference, as a DPS I don’t really need to worry if bob the warlock goes down, as a healer or tank I am concerned (likely because I will slot bob the warlock out to get better use of group synergy). There are challenges to both, but taking the wider view of the fight is a challenge you don’t see until you start tanking if for no other reason than because of what you can’t see, there is no easy way to simple move around an obstacle or the boss.