What Class has the strongest AOE?

[Diwa]

I'm planning to boost 1 character to 80 that has a very strong AOE. Ideal scenario will be pally will pull as many mobs as he can then this AOE class will finish it up in 1 cast. What will be the best class and skill for this scenario?

May I plz has Talent build tipz concentrating in AOE damage? :)

[valkry]

Well, today in our raid, a feral druid in cat form pulled 24k dps on Freya trash with imp swipe. But prob mage cos they can bubble themself and just spam arcane explosion or blizzard.

As for a single cast powerful aoe, maybe an arms warrior with bladestorm?

Anyone else got any ideas?

[Redbeard]

Many classes have strong AOE these days.

Fury warrior is decent with improved cleave and whirlind
Ret pally has consecration, divine storm and seal of command (soon to hit an additional mob)
Surprisingly enough, bear swipe is very decent (and if you pull aggro youre less likely to die). This is the only option in the list that you can SPAM everytime the GCD is up. Bear swipe is awesome.
Cat swipe feels like cheating but its hard to spam it cause its so expensive.
Unholy DK has a good amount of AOE but a lot of it is in DOT form so that might not be your best bet.

I dont have any dps numbers to compare them all, but they all have options. I dont know casters so wont comment there.

[Diwa]

Thanks for the suggestions. The AOE class that I'm looking for doesn't need to tank. The setup will be 2 level 80s boosting lowbies: 1 Pally tank to pull all the mobs and 1 lvl 80 AOE class (which I'm looking for) that will finish it up really fast .

[Multibocks]

That pally will be able to kill lots of low level stuff by himself and pretty quick. It gets slower in the 60s, but before that he's all you need. I hear mind sear is hax at 80, but I havent been too impressed on my priest by it. I like the arms warrior aoe bladestorm, I mean jeez it rapes 80s as is....

[Jubber]

Go with the Pally/mage combo then.. Consecration and Blizzard are awesome together. Also no runaways.

[shaeman]

Moonkin druid. Starfall and hurricane put out insane dps. Plus an extra helping of treeants when available.

[Sam DeathWalker]

I use prot pally and arcane mage (I don't use blizzard cause of targeting) everyday.

Prot pally with the consecration glyph:

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#sZxGxAMuMGsIufdyb00b:oMNczV

Arcane Mage with the right glyphs for arcane explosion maxed:

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#sZxGxAMuMGsIufdyb00b:oMNczV

[Multibocks]

Sam you need to take the 15% talent if your paladin is going to be a protadin. 15% STR > 5% extra healing.

Also, you listed your paladins talents twice.

[daviddoran]

Mind sear is the kind of spell that is kinda weak for only a handful of mobs and utter silliness (in a good way) with tons of tiny mobs. On some of the spider wing pulls in naxx 25 man my shadowpriest was peaking at over 10k DPS, by spamming one spell.

I think arcane mages are the easiest aoe to box however. just keep spamming a key til stuff dies. Works well with prot pally as mentioned earlier, as well as a holy priest spamming holy nova. Trifecta :) I was able to achieve higher dps by spamming blizzard, but it's too hard to box that way, requiring too much micro.

FoK rogues are also good for aoe dps, but they are getting a much needed nerf. Sword spinning warriors are pretty good too, albeit on a long cooldown. Just glyph for arcane explosion, gear for spellpower, maybe spirit, you just need your mana to last longer than the mobs, then drink self made water :)

[Naysayer]

The best aoe in the game right now is Fan of Knives, but that's getting nerfed so it is going to be blizzard mages again.

[Redbeard]

Holy crap, I thought Sam was dead.

/backontopic All of these are good solutions. Youve got a lot of choices.

[Sam DeathWalker]

Yur right strenght increases block rating .....

Here is mage:


http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#ofcifhrhzcGuGxcd0xfb:p0mM0 (http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#ofcifhrhzcGuGxcd0xfb0mM0)



Redid the Paliden:

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#sZEGxAMuMGsIufdtb:oMNczV

[Zamok]

Str increases lots of things on a prot pally. The most important being AP for dps and threat. Sacred shield will soak up most damage when boosting lower levels.

That is one wierd build on the pally there Sam...

I like the Prot pally/priest one also for fast ae. It might not be fast as a mage but its constant nonstop dps combo.

[Otlecs]

The setup will be 2 level 80s boosting lowbies: 1 Pally tank to pull all the mobs and 1 lvl 80 AOE class (which I'm looking for) that will finish it up really fast .
In your shoes I would focus entirely on the pally so that you can boost four others at a time and rely on them to provide the additional DPS you're after to speed up instance clearing.

To just answer your question, though, I'd add my vote to the Frost / Arcane mage camp.

[Sam DeathWalker]

Rats changed the Paliden again lol:

http://www.wowhead.com/?talent#sx0bZEGxAMuMRsIucdx:oMNczV

[Diwa]

Thank you guys for the tips! Thanks Sam for the talent builds, I already bookmarked it! I wonder why nobody mentioned warlock? Is Rain of Fire any good like Mage Blizzard or Druid Hurricane? It's kinda hard to ignore the convenience of a lock since he also have Summon stone, Soul stone etc.. But I don't know if he's a good AOE class. I haven't played any DPS class since day 1 as I always tank or heal so I really have no clue on DPS classes. My alts are all instance boosted by my Pally while I level my professions (Enchanting/Mining) and farm for gold. I felt the need to have a strong AOE class because I'm beginning to feel the slowness at lvl 65-80. AV is also a good option but not all of my lowbies can do that. Letting them DPS will force me to buy them equips and it's kinda waste since they will out level it. I'm planning to dress them up at 80 and do dailies. It's also tough when you're boosting tanks, melee and heals like warriors, paladin, rogues and priests at 65 or maybe they have something to offer which I'm not aware of. Though I know they have buffs to offer but not DPS. So I guess having an AOE DPS class will be faster and cheaper.

[accretion]

A Druid would give you both casting (Moonkin/Hurricane) or melee (Feral/Swipe) options. Plus Druids generally bring more utility to the table than Mages, imho. I'd much rather have MoTW, Thorns, FF, 5% crit and battle rez than + Int, ports, and food/water. But that's just me.

[multiman]

Hi, ive been playing my PVE trio for a couple of months now, 2 paladins: healadin + tankadin and balanced druid. Usual sequence is hurricane and wrath, and treants for extra dps in boss fights, awesome... why druid and not a mage (has more firepower) well, all 3 char can ress, speeds up instance runs, and gives extra heal whenever u need it:)

[Tasty]

Sword spinning warriors are pretty good too

Bladestorm is obscenely overpowered.



IMO

[Redbeard]

Do you think, for AOE, that an arms warrior with sweeping strikes and bladestorm, is more powerful than a fury warrior, with whirlwind in their standard rotation?

[Marathon]

Dude I just want to say I love your signature. The Alts progject is awesome !!!

[Smoooth]

Don't use bladestorm, it only hits 4 mobs at a time. You want to go with something that hits everything within so many yards like blizzard, fan of knives, or mind sear. I personally like mind sear because it is a targetable spell, you can /assist and cast it without clicking.

[Multibocks]

Don't use bladestorm, it only hits 4 mobs at a time. You want to go with something that hits everything within so many yards like blizzard, fan of knives, or mind sear. I personally like mind sear because it is a targetable spell, you can /assist and cast it without clicking.

Ah you are right forgot about that one. Guess its mage, I just cant get excited about the SPriest AE. Unless you have godly spellpower it hits for a pidly amount. Mages with similar gear can outdo it with one hand tied behind their back.

[Tasty]

Do you think, for AOE, that an arms warrior with sweeping strikes and bladestorm, is more powerful than a fury warrior, with whirlwind in their standard rotation?

I meant op in the sense that if a warrior bladestorms my lock team their health plummets at an astronomical rate :p

[Mokoi]

oh my god.. why are we even talking about this? Feral Cat swipe in good gear > all aoes :P

here's why:

A: you DONT DIE like a mage / priest / lock etc when you get aggro
B: you DONT DIE!
C: if looks as though you will die, switch to bearform, don't die, and ... SWIPE AGAIN!! lol

this really is a no-brainer.

[Mokoi]

double-post, sorry!

[Diwa]

Mind sear seems to be interesting and easier to setup. I wonder how fast can he wipe the trash if fully equipped. You just have to set the target to the highest HP and everything will be fine. One thing I like about blizzard is it slows down the mobs melee speed, if you shoot them with a lowbie druid typhoon when frozen it will free up the tank from damage for 3-5 sec since they'll walk back to the tank really slow. Knowing Cat Swipe is melee range, I'll be also required to heal him when he pulls aggro and bear to cat form switching might decrease the dps.

What's the mechanics behind warlock's aoe where you must plant the seeds first?

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Sam DeathWalker]

Unlike EQ1 where agro has to be managed very very carefully I never get agro with a mage doing arcane explosion off my prot pally doing consecration with righetous fury up.

Also both these specs are very mana efficient with the mage having evocation every two minutes and the pally the wisdom spell that gives mana when you get hit.

Not to mention with crusader aura adding 40 percent to riding speed you can round up mobs easy.

[Redbeard]

Its a 20% increase not 40%.

Correct me if im wrong, but wont having 2 80s gimp the XP gained over having just 1? Personally I think 1 paladin should be fine.

[blast3r]

Starfall alone on druids is insane but add hurricane and a typhoon and everything dies.

[Mokoi]

Its a 20% increase not 40%.

Correct me if im wrong, but wont having 2 80s gimp the XP gained over having just 1? Personally I think 1 paladin should be fine.

and one feral druid, better!

lol. In equal gear levels, Cat swipe is the best aoe in the game. I mean, that it will do the most damage and it is all burst, since at high levels cats have some of the best crit chances in game, the burst damage is incredible. With a mage, you run the risk of being knocked down, interrupted and other spell mechanics that all casters, priests, mages, boomkins and locks alike will share. you cant channel a spell when you are being hit, and you get hit, a lot. If you get hit as a cat, and want to tank, switch to bear, and your DPS only suffers a bit. PLUS bear form hits 360% which makes it better in some ways than cat swipe.

I have boosted MANY toons to 60 and beyond, feral is by far the best way, a paladin is slow, a mage, lock and boomkin is risky and no other aoe competes with a feral druid. hands down, the best plan. nobody else can aoe as hard as a cat in tank gear and still dodge 50% of all attacks :P

[siwoolley]

Surprised no one has mentioned Warlocks yet!

Seed of Corruption (http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=47836) + Rain of Fire (http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=47820) + Immolation Aura (http://www.wowhead.com/?spell=50589) = dead mobs / players!

Yeah you have to be meta specced and fire up your demon for the immolation aura. But with all 3, you're knocking out some serious AE dps!

[Diwa]

Dude I just want to say I love your signature. The Alts progject is awesome !!!

Thanks!


Now that AV XP is nerfed, I need to experiment on what's the next dungeon to AOE grind my lvl 71 alts. Any ideas?