Have you changed your team comp?

[Lyonheart]

Short version: Has anyone switched their team of warrior.healer.3xmages to paly tank? or replaced a mage with a warlock? or both? Looking for advice from you!

I am 36 with my team, currently Warrior+Priest+3Mages. The group can get it done for sure. I am progressing through SM and its all good.. BUT! I have to port back to SS when my bags are full and or I need to repair. I'm guessing this will always be an issue got forward. SM is a little more punishing for this due to it being in a horde zone. I hate the long run there! Just not sure if that is a reason to switch up my team ( adding a warlock for summons extra utility)

Another issue has been discussed a lot. The AoE threat of the tank. I can make it work, but it takes a time and a lot of work to make it happen. I cant pull too big of packs or someone always dies ( i only attempt large pack when the mobs are green to me ) I am getting better at it though. My question to those of you who have switched from warrior to prot paly tank. Is the aoe threat much easier to maintain? would it be worth it to PL a paly to replace my prot warrior? I'm mostly interested in advice from anyone who has actually made this change in their team. I know a lot of people were talking about adding locks for eye pulling/summons and paly tanks for better aoe threat.

[nodoze]

Tank+Priest+2Mages+Warlock is one of the most common PVE dungeon grinding team compositions (along with Tank+Priest+3Mages).

Having at least 1 Warlock for just the eye pulls alone have been worth it for many people (with the extra buff/stones & summons all being bonuses).

In those configs Paladin is a popular Dungeon Tank choice for Alliance not only because of good AoE threat but almost more importantly being able to reduce the other team-mates threat by 30%. Multiple people have reported great success from Pally tank but I don't remember off hand anyone switching a Warrior &/or Mage to a Paladin &/or Warlock.

You are smart to ask for experiences from those who have actually switched though I fear there may not be many people who have done both on current live servers to any decently high levels to give you relevant feedback.

If you do decide to add a Paladin+Warlock and can't particularly power level them you could level a 2nd team of Paladin+4Warlocks (or whatever) and at least leverage them for crafting cooldowns. Getting them to 35 would be the exact level needed to start that passive income (you could switch the Warrior & Mage to that as well).

The other added benefit of extra Warlocks is you can park them at strategic locations to summon your team there.

I hope you get multiple responses but in case not I figured I would give you what input I could...

[nocops]

The amount of time it will take you to level a lock will greatly exceed the amount of time saved in ports. Perhaps just triage the loot and only take greens, blues, stackables, and valuable greys/commons (like weapons). Invest in better bags. I think you are better off to just keep grinding. After sixty you could use a mage to powerlevel a team of warlocks for ports to the common areas.

Also, consider powerleveling a warlock to twenty now (have your mages follow the lock out of combat and fireblast on round robin). Leave the lock outside SM in a safe spot and swap over to port when needed (obviously, whatever account has the lock can't port, so probably pick the account with the toon that dies the least and needs to repair the least)

[Vipeax]

That's what you get for playing the wrong faction. I think SM is the only dungeon / level range where you will ever encounter this issue. I wouldn't change a composition just for SM. Adding a warlock will destroy the combat mobility of your group as well as decreasing the effectiveness for a lot of its utilities (chain frost nova, counter spell, arcane explosion, cone of cold) so as soon as you swap in a warlock a lot of these complications will harm you. As an Alliance player having a warrior in your group as a tank will always be a second choice, since the paladin has the easy aoe rotation and buffs, while the warrior brings no synergy.

[Apatheist]

Paladins have solid AE threat early game just from consecration and retribution aura. They only rely on gear to survive. Warriors rely on gear/consumables for both threat and survival. So, while the paladin might be easier early on, warriors will equal and then exceed them at AE tanking as your gear progresses. Late game warriors can manage AE pulls that paladins won't survive.

Also, I've said it before but it's worth mentioning again that paladins support warriors better than priests. If you're going with a paladin tank then priest makes sense because you already have ret aura and salvation. A paladin healer will increase a warriors effective AE TPS immensely.

[Lyonheart]

Wow! didn't expect so many replies this fast. Thanks for the info guys! I think ill PL some warlocks at some point. Ill stick to my original team for now 8)

[Apatheist]

Are you using battle shout? If all of your characters are within 20 yards battle shout should now be generating more threat than demo shout on large groups.

And you put your first 2 talent points into arcane subtlety on the mages?

[spdy]

Started with Warrior 3x Mage Paladin and swapped the Warrior for a Priest and went with the Paladin and the AE threat + salvation really made a difference for me. Its so much easier to AoE and it also fitted my end-game plan to main the Paladin as a healer.

Good reference for my setup. One of the reasons i made the switch.
https://www.twitch.tv/deepgift/videos

But there are counter examples from the horde side.
https://www.twitch.tv/isabellae/videos

If you are alliance both setups are fine. For smooth sailing i think Paladin is easier.

[Lyonheart]

Are you using battle shout? If all of your characters are within 20 yards battle shout should now be generating more threat than demo shout on large groups.

And you put your first 2 talent points into arcane subtlety on the mages?

I have been using a combo of demo shout and bat shout..should i just be spamming battle shout? I do have the 2 points on arcane subtlety..although i also cone of cold the packs


Started with Warrior 3x Mage Paladin and swapped the Warrior for a Priest and went with the Paladin and the AE threat + salvation really made a difference for me. Its so much easier to AoE and it also fitted my end-game plan to main the Paladin as a healer.

Good reference for my setup. One of the reasons i made the switch.
https://www.twitch.tv/deepgift/videos

But there are counter examples from the horde side.
https://www.twitch.tv/isabellae/videos

If you are alliance both setups are fine. For smooth sailing i think Paladin is easier.

thank you..i think ill level up the pali as he gets rested exp.

[pinotnoir]

My alliance team is warrior tank, priest heals, mage, lock, and hunter. Currently in SM. I hearth out to sell and use the lock to summon back. The group is pretty solid. Lots of cc, soul stone, buffs, and more.

[nodoze]

... thank you..i think ill level up the pali as he gets rested exp.Why not hedge your bets and level up Paladin+Warlock?

[Lyonheart]

Why not hedge your bets and level up Paladin+Warlock?

I got a lock and a paladin out of starting area and parked them in SW for rested exp. Still going over it. I will start PLing them soon.

[Kojiiko]

Did u put a lock in your group?

[Apatheist]

I have been using a combo of demo shout and bat shout..should i just be spamming battle shout?

I only cast demo once for the debuff then I use battle shout to collect any strays that are running to my healers.

[smk]

My alliance team is warrior tank, priest heals, mage, lock, and hunter. Currently in SM. I hearth out to sell and use the lock to summon back. The group is pretty solid. Lots of cc, soul stone, buffs, and more.
I am really wondering if i made a mistake with this melee team, I find trying to get into higher dungeons a pain in the ass.

[nodoze]

I am really wondering if i made a mistake with this melee team, I find trying to get into higher dungeons a pain in the ass.I hear you... For me on my 3Warrior+2Paladin team it may get worse once I start raiding on my Paladin main he will be separated from the group with no way to summon him back. This will only happen even more often once BattleGrounds are out as at least our mains will be going to the WSG, AB, AV vendor/entrances.

My most important goal is having Paladin mains for my brother and I and to have a Warrior option for my brother when we duo battlegrounds together. If one or more of my 5 kids join us in battlegrounds on the other warriors that is just a bonus... If things go that route then I may end up with the team all spread over the map when I sit down to grind some dungeons for gold...

With that in mind I am thinking I will need multiple summons options and may next level a 2nd team of something like:

-4 Warlocks+Priest

That should give me decent summons options to get my teams together as well as a good large scale PVP option. I could potentially park one or more of the Warlocks at some places where I want to get close to though I may just create some level 20 warlocks for that...

I will decide at that point whether I do my next team on my 5 current accounts or whether I do the new Recruit A Friend (RAF) promotion to resurrect my 5 other accounts.

If I RAF I may ultimately be able to get online at the same time something like upto 8Warlocks+2Healers to mess with people who mess with me.

[Kojiiko]

RAF is not for classic thou? just retail isnt it?

[nodoze]

RAF is not for classic thou? just retail isnt it?Yes and no...

I could be wrong but I thought I head that if you recruited subscription time (whether it be for regular or classic or both) that free subscription time you earn applies to the account so benefits your classic side as well.

I believe the in game bonus items and bonus grouping stuff is only on the regular side but even a "classic only" account recruiting another "classic only" account should get the free subscription time. Since I am paying for Classic I consider any retail stuff a bonus (that I may or may not use). I did already get free level ups to 100+ on several accounts (just for reactivating I guess). I likely will use those and get the free items on the retail side before they expire.

[azboxer]

I'm currently running warrior + priest + 2 mages + lock, really considering switching to a paladin tank. I'm suffering a bit on the aoe threat, the other great thing about warlock is the imps fire shield adds some thorns damage on the tank. I think my brain would handle it better managing 5 mana bars instead of 4+1 rage, I'm not a big fan of rage.

[Lyonheart]

I'm currently running warrior + priest + 2 mages + lock, really considering switching to a paladin tank. I'm suffering a bit on the aoe threat, the other great thing about warlock is the imps fire shield adds some thorns damage on the tank. I think my brain would handle it better managing 5 mana bars instead of 4+1 rage, I'm not a big fan of rage.

I hear ya.. I just 40 on my team and i have to be patient with my pulls. I cant do unlimited pulls because i have to go get them( takes time ) and get them back.. the shield fades long before i get the pack back.Then i have to get enough battleshouts off so that the mobs dont immediately attack my healer or mages. It works, but if i start healing/attacking too soon, someone dies..if not a wipe. So most of the time I'm learning what i can and can not handle lol. I'm getting better at it for sure!

I do plan on leveling the warlock and paly at some point, just dont feel like doing all the running around at this point. And although I can't pull like an eye of zomm can..or get fast aoe threat like a paly. I like the team in almost all other situations and have zero issues on bosses and such. So ill level the paly and lock only when they have rested, im sure ill be 60 before I have them high enough. But I want both classes anyways., for the future.

[Apatheist]

I hear ya.. I just 40 on my team and i have to be patient with my pulls. I cant do unlimited pulls because i have to go get them( takes time ) and get them back.. the shield fades long before i get the pack back.Then i have to get enough battleshouts off so that the mobs dont immediately attack my healer or mages..

Are you using an imp and putting fiery shield on your tank? The reflected damage from buffs like fiery shield, thorns and ret aura helps quite a lot at low level.

I also wouldn't use shield on tank. Absorbed damage gives you no rage which means less shouts.

A paladin healer would give you ret aura and 30% less threat on your casters. Paladins are just better support for warriors than priest IMO.

[Lyonheart]

Are you using an imp and putting fiery shield on your tank? The reflected damage from buffs like fiery shield, thorns and ret aura helps quite a lot at low level.

I also wouldn't use shield on tank. Absorbed damage gives you no rage which means less shouts.

A paladin healer would give you ret aura and 30% less threat on your casters. Paladins are just better support for warriors than priest IMO.

Yea. i plan to add both a paly and lock in time. But for now im still on my original war+priest+3 mages. if i were to start over i would do paly tank+priest+lock+2xmages.

[nodoze]

... if i were to start over i would do paly tank+priest+lock+2xmages.I think my ideal party would be similar except I would do 2 locks so I have double summons (everyone can get repairs/etc):

paly tank+priest+2locks+mage

[smk]

I hear you... For me on my 3Warrior+2Paladin team it may get worse once I start raiding on my Paladin main he will be separated from the group with no way to summon him back. This will only happen even more often once BattleGrounds are out as at least our mains will be going to the WSG, AB, AV vendor/entrances.

My most important goal is having Paladin mains for my brother and I and to have a Warrior option for my brother when we duo battlegrounds together. If one or more of my 5 kids join us in battlegrounds on the other warriors that is just a bonus... If things go that route then I may end up with the team all spread over the map when I sit down to grind some dungeons for gold...

With that in mind I am thinking I will need multiple summons options and may next level a 2nd team of something like:

-4 Warlocks+Priest

That should give me decent summons options to get my teams together as well as a good large scale PVP option. I could potentially park one or more of the Warlocks at some places where I want to get close to though I may just create some level 20 warlocks for that...

I will decide at that point whether I do my next team on my 5 current accounts or whether I do the new Recruit A Friend (RAF) promotion to resurrect my 5 other accounts.

If I RAF I may ultimately be able to get online at the same time something like upto 8Warlocks+2Healers to mess with people who mess with me.

I would of swapped out my warrior for a paladin, but I plan to raid as either tank or dps. I was planning on 3 warlocks 1 mage and 1 priest, but I decided to go with pally, 3 mages and priest, i still enjoy tanking. I might switch out a mage for a warlock still for the nice utility. I will have at some point 2 paladins at 60 3 warriors 2-3 mages 1 priest and 1 warlock.

[southeastbeast]

Team is 29 right now warrior/3mage/priest. Trying to level up a mage but it's freaking brutal. I leveled a mage up to 14 to get AE and enter dead mines, but the mage is getting like 4xp a kill.

Any tips? Just leave out of group and heal and solo level? If it were like a warrior/rogue it would at least benefit from a healbot following but a mage doesn't get any real benefit of a team of 4 following. If I tag and have team out of group kill, it's like 1/4-1/2 the experience (depending on damage done). I suppose I could just keep questing, but I was hoping to dungeon level.

[Shlink]

Team is 29 right now warrior/3mage/priest. Trying to level up a mage but it's freaking brutal. I leveled a mage up to 14 to get AE and enter dead mines, but the mage is getting like 4xp a kill.

Any tips? Just leave out of group and heal and solo level? If it were like a warrior/rogue it would at least benefit from a healbot following but a mage doesn't get any real benefit of a team of 4 following. If I tag and have team out of group kill, it's like 1/4-1/2 the experience (depending on damage done). I suppose I could just keep questing, but I was hoping to dungeon level.


This is my main question right now. If i did want to make any swaps or add a character, how would catch them up other than solo leveling...

I'm currently enjoying just 2 boxing hunters around level 30ish, and a 3rd account full of play time has fallen into my lap. I want to add a 3rd character, but not sure how to have it catch up without putting the hunters on a long pause. I think the mobs I tag need to be at least green to the high level guys for them to do damage out of group.
Looking for any other suggestions for mini power leveling...

[EaTCarbS]

Looking for any other suggestions for mini power leveling...

power them through quests

[Purpleflavor]

5 paladin are so good, but i just cant bring myself to play alliance and all my retail guildies are horde. I've started two more teams of 5 priests and 5 locks, so i'm leveling my paladin on rested exp for a bit. Playing with a small community of friends just amplifies the fun for me.

[Kojiiko]

5 paladin are so good, but i just cant bring myself to play alliance and all my retail guildies are horde. I've started two more teams of 5 priests and 5 locks, so i'm leveling my paladin on rested exp for a bit. Playing with a small community of friends just amplifies the fun for me.


5 priests? sounds alot of fun, 5 shadow? what level are they now?

[Purpleflavor]

5 priests? sounds alot of fun, 5 shadow? what level are they now?

yah, shadow for pvp, probably deep shadow hybrid. 23 atm, it's going very fast. Wands are very op early leveling.

[Peregrine]

started 4x mage 1x disc. not too super fond of 4x lock 1x disc in pvp, we'll see in time how it faires with gear but i think that 4x mage 1x disc is best setup, we'll see:) my locks are 60 so they can rest until dm :)

[Toned]

I was Alliance in Vanilla, so I decided to try Classic as Horde (the preferred faction)
My first group is War/Priest/2xMage/1xLock -- it's going fairly well, but I really miss grinding with a paladin. Threat is the worst part, and salvation + paladin aoe threat is noticeably absent.

I made the first group to be my "farm" group to then be able to plvl / grind gold for other groups.
Was planning on doing
Alt1: Bear Tank \ 3x War \ 1x Sham
Alt2: 5x Shaman -- eventual main group for pvp

Basically just play the above 2 groups through rested / plvl with the 60 War (still grinding main group, just started last week)

Validates how much I miss doing Paladin 4x Sham or Paladin 4x Hunter 1x Sham

I'm playing on Faerlina, and the queue times are rough some nights. Half tempted to re-roll alliance and go Pal/Priest/3x Mage

[straky]

i did 4sham dps & 1druid tank, and now i wanna reroll 5 Hunters elf (op FeignDeath/stealth & stealth/ PetAttack in pvp without the "/follow" in bg) i dunno what can i expect in dungeon with this...

[nodoze]

i did 4sham dps & 1druid tank, and now i wanna reroll 5 Hunters elf (op FeignDeath/stealth & stealth/ PetAttack in pvp without the "/follow" in bg) i dunno what can i expect in dungeon with this...I would do Healer+4Hunters over 5 Hunters. NE Priest will give you ShadowMeld like your Hunters (though Dwarf is better when you discount stealth). A Druid is likely better as it gives you some movement ability and even better you can kite people into traps.

Oh look at the little NE female picking flowers... Lets gank her... Damn catch that slippery druid... Holy shit how did the girl oneshot my buddy? Where did these 4 cats come from? Crap... 4 big red kitties is the biggest bullshit... Stupid Shadowmeld... Where is my body...

[nodoze]

This is my main question right now. If i did want to make any swaps or add a character, how would catch them up other than solo leveling...

I'm currently enjoying just 2 boxing hunters around level 30ish, and a 3rd account full of play time has fallen into my lap. I want to add a 3rd character, but not sure how to have it catch up without putting the hunters on a long pause. I think the mobs I tag need to be at least green to the high level guys for them to do damage out of group.
Looking for any other suggestions for mini power leveling...If you don't find a good way to boost then maybe run your new third character+2Warlocks (on your original accounts)... Warlocks level pretty fast solo and should only help your 3rd charater overall... At 20 they can summon your team anywhere on the map (especially with 2 as you can chain summon) and if you get them to 35+ you can leverage them for passive crafting cooldowns.

[Peregrine]

I am just totally enjoying my 4x mage disc. That is busted. 5 more levels to go. Making steady 400g per day from Brd dungeon.

Ive also wiped 8 people who ere 60 while i was 52.


In 2,3 days ill have 10 toons at 60.
I might make 5x sham for tbc prepping. Might actually do sick pvp with them once aq patch is out.

Also, ive finally devised my 100 mob brd pull so i plan to release a video of that after i hit 60 shortly.

Totallly happy that i rerolled from my locks.

Did rough estimate and i can hit 6500 mana super easy. Wiith pots etc i can get 8-9 k mana with tailor chest ma a gem and mana pot.

[nodoze]

I am just totally enjoying my 4x mage disc. That is busted. 5 more levels to go. Making steady 400g per day from Brd dungeon.

Ive also wiped 8 people who ere 60 while i was 52.



Totallly happy that i rerolled from my locks.

Did rough estimate and i can hit 6500 mana super easy. Wiith pots etc i can get 8-9 k mana with tailor chest ma a gem and mana pot.I will be looking to watch your videos especially when you hit 60 and get semi-geared. I was thinking of just having 1 mage but may switch to heavy mages.

When you get a chance please post what spec(s) you tried at 60 for your Warlocks.

[Biomasse]

I started on classic launch with 4xwarr1shaman and leveled them up to 58 (10d playtime ...) and decided after getting a little exhausted and invited to a guild project on another server to roll on 4mages1priest:D

Now I am lvl 60 with my MMMMP and I don't regret it. I really thought mobs like the mymidones in SM:arms will destroy me when I get to close while spamming AE, because even my warriors were having trouble with this hard hitting mobs. But suprisingly not! Same in BRD Angerforge destroyed my Warrios in the lvl 55-57 range.

I think one big reason for it is the healer. Priests are so strong compared to shamans heals. Flashheal and shield are crazy efficient and successfull, I cannot count my wipes with my 4warr1shaman in BRD. I am pretty sure when I am 5x prebis with my mages and priest line up, I can clear all dungeons except ubrs and scholo.

I think the warriors and the shaman comb are heavily more gear dependent to let their potential shine. The fun with the 4Warrior1Shaman stopped for me personally after Zul Farrak.

[nodoze]

I started on classic launch with 4xwarr1shaman and leveled them up to 58 (10d playtime ...) and decided after getting a little exhausted and invited to a guild project on another server to roll on 4mages1priest:D

Now I am lvl 60 with my MMMMP and I don't regret it. I really thought mobs like the mymidones in SM:arms will destroy me when I get to close while spamming AE, because even my warriors were having trouble with this hard hitting mobs. But suprisingly not! Same in BRD Angerforge destroyed my Warrios in the lvl 55-57 range.

I think one big reason for it is the healer. Priests are so strong compared to shamans heals. Flashheal and shield are crazy efficient and successfull, I cannot count my wipes with my 4warr1shaman in BRD. I am pretty sure when I am 5x prebis with my mages and priest line up, I can clear all dungeons except ubrs and scholo.

I think the warriors and the shaman comb are heavily more gear dependent to let their potential shine. The fun with the 4Warrior1Shaman stopped for me personally after Zul Farrak.Thanks for sharing! I have been thinking of doing a group of 3 Warlocks+Mage+Priest to join my Paladin+Warrior group around level 40 and then swap in a Paladin & Warrior if/as wanted to have a full Dungeon Tank option at cap (in part to maybe contrast/compare).

Did you consider Warlocks instead of Mages (all or in part) and or in have thoughts on Warlocks vs Mages?

Which project on which faction on which server?