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* Pets usually serve as substitute tanks, and are fairly easy to replace. When properly specced, pets can be a menace to casters in [[PvP]]. |
* Pets usually serve as substitute tanks, and are fairly easy to replace. When properly specced, pets can be a menace to casters in [[PvP]]. |
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* [[Trueshot Aura]] (tier 7 Marskmanship talent) buffs all party physical damage. |
* [[Trueshot Aura]] (tier 7 Marskmanship talent) buffs all party physical damage. |
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− | * Various methods of scouting, including Tracking, Eyes of the Beast and |
+ | * Various methods of scouting, including Tracking, Eyes of the Beast and Eagle Eye. |
;Disadvantages |
;Disadvantages |
Revision as of 10:34, 21 September 2007
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Hybrid classes are classes which carry elements of the three core types: tank, healer, or nuker. Realistically, no character can tank, heal, and nuke at the same time, but hybrids are frequently flexible enough to serve in one role or another (no matter what spec they have), if they've collected the gear required to serve that function.
There are different views on how many possible functions are needed to consider a class a "hybrid". The most limited definition here would be any class that has three or more different possible functions they can be good at, given the correct talent spec and/or gear. This definition would only consider Paladins, Shamans, and Druids as hybrids. Some consider hyrbids to be any class that has two or more functions that they can spec for – their "token group role" (healer, tank, or dps) and a side role, usually taken as helpful in soloing or in PvP. If the definition is widened in this manner, Warriors and Priests are added to the list of hybrids, as well as Hunters and Warlocks using their pets or themselves as an Off Tank.
World of Warcraft has several hybrid classes, as listed below.
Druid
The Druid is a hybrid of scout, tank, healer, and nuker.
- Advantages
- Excellent healing abilities.
- Arguably the most powerful buffs in the game make for more effective parties.
- Shapeshift ability allows druid to serve as a tank (Bear/Dire Bear form) and increases survivability if drawing aggro by accident, can scout (Cat form).
- Crowd-control abilities allow a well-played druid to manage aggro in a group situation.
- Only class with combat usable res.
- Can root virtually any mob (only usable outdoors, which means in an exceptionally few instances).
- Moonkin form (tier 7 balance talent) has a caster buff aura.
- Leader of the Pack (tier 7 feral talent) has a physical damage buff aura.
- Disadvantages
- Lightly armored, just a little better than a cloth wearer, next to no survivability vs. elite if out of mana unless feral specced and geared.
- In a large group, the druid will not tank as well against a raid level boss as a warrior or nuke as well as a mage, so he shouldn't be considered a complete replacement for any of those classes.
- [Rebirth], a combat resurrect, is on a 30 minute timer.
Hunter
The Hunter is a DPS class with tank abilities. A good puller class.
- Advantages
- Good DPS usable at range, and are the only ranged class that deal physical damage.
- Can effectively continue to DPS even when low on mana, and can regain mana quickly at higher levels.
- Pets usually serve as substitute tanks, and are fairly easy to replace. When properly specced, pets can be a menace to casters in PvP.
- [Trueshot Aura] (tier 7 Marskmanship talent) buffs all party physical damage.
- Various methods of scouting, including Tracking, Eyes of the Beast and Eagle Eye.
- Disadvantages
- Pet is based on hunter level, so is not usually as powerful as the opponents in a group hunting situation.
- Healing can only be used on pet.
Paladin
The Paladin is a hybrid of tank and healer.
- Advantages
- Armored in plate, paladins can take a lot of punishment, and are widely regarded as the single hardest class to kill.
- Ability to heal and resurrect makes them sometimes vital to a party.
- Wide variety of important buffs for all classes.
- Several auras with various beneficial effects for the party.
- One of 3 classes capable of recovering the raid with their Divine Intervention (the other being Warlocks and Shaman).
- Great tanks, having [Consecration], [Holy Shield], and [Righteous Defense] avaliable to them.
- Disadvantages
- Very little in the way of ranged attacks.
- Lowest DPS output of any class specced for it, except when fighting Undead or Demons, against which they have some of the highest damage output.
Priest
The Priest is a mixture of a healing and DPS class with buffs as well.
- Advantages
- Considered the best healing class overall, while other hybrids are competetive in particular areas, the priest is an excellent healer for just about any situation
- Shadow priests provide good DPS, as well as healing with the [Vampiric Embrace] talent, mana recovery with [Vampiric Touch], and abilities to increase damage from other classes on an enemy.
- A wide variety of utility and defensive spells, including [Mana Burn], [Mind Control], [Power Word: Shield], help party survivability and effectiveness.
- Several escape and aggro lowering abilities, [Psychic Scream], [Fade], though psychic scream is not very useful in instances.
- Disadvantages
- Cloth armor and no pets leave priests more easily damaged than other hybrid classes, though they do have defensive abilities such as [Inner Fire].
- In shadowform, has no healing aside from [Vampiric Embrace]
Shaman
The Shaman is a hybrid of healer, melee DPSer and nuker.
- Advantages
- Very versatile, considered the true hybrid class
- A wide variety of totems can be used to buff party members and debuff opponents
- Ability to heal and resurrect makes them very useful to a party.
- Powerful, instant-cast direct damage Shock spells with secondary effects (slow, damage over time, and interruption of spellcasting)
- Only class capable of solo-recovering a raid via Reincarnation, albeit only once per hour. A Warlock's Soulstone and a Paladin's divine intervention both need the caster and a target, as Paladins can not DI themselves and Warlocks can't resurrect the raid should they Soulstone themselves.
- Disadvantages
- Jack-of-all-trades, but master of none. Does not tank as well as a warrior, nuke as well as a mage, melee DPS as well as a rogue, or heal as well as a priest, even when trying to specialize for one of these roles.
- Stationary totems that can only affect party members, not a raid.
- Mana-inefficient
Warlock
The Warlock is a nuker with tank abilities. A decent puller.
- Advantages
- Pets add to the firepower of the party and number of targets available to the enemy; variety of pets can fill roles vs. caster/melee/humanoid mobs.
- Can switch pets during a run at the cost of shard(s) if one particular pet is especially needed for a specific encounter.
- DoT spells are ideal against opponents that like to run away when heavily damaged and for steady damage in boss fights where burst damage can get you killed.
- Can make a [Soulstone] which will allow one party member to self-res for 30 minutes. Good to put on primary healer so they can res the group after a wipe.
- A [Master Demonologist] Warlock using the Voidwalker with [Soul Link] has roughly 50% damage mitigation.
- Disadvantages
- Not really a true nuke class, as most of their spells are DoT rather than sheer damage.
- High level pets (Infernal and Doomguard) are inneffective at accomplishing anything but causing chaos.
- Management of [Soul Shards] can be difficult and take inventory space away from necessary items.
Not a Lot of Hybrid Classes
Rob Pardo said it was their goal to not have a lot of hybrid classes. Because of this, the Death-Knight and Necromancer classes, which were originally slated for, got the axe early on.