Deciding on a good Main 5 box team for Classic WoW.
by
, 06-18-2019 at 10:15 AM (16923 Views)
Summary:
Without other considerations the overall best first dungeon clearing party for multi-boxers is likely:
-Paladin+2Mages+Warlock+Priest (or Druid instead of Paladin if Horde);
Details:
When building a dungeon clearing team for Classic WoW the most frequent question seems to be focusing on what is the "Best" first party composition for farming dungeons...
Though I think that "dungeon grinding efficiency" is only one factor a person should consider I will try to answer that single question generically first...
If we are strictly talking what is the theoretical best 5 boxing dungeon clearing team for any/all circumstances I believe Blizzard has designed around the following proto-typical 3 role "Trinity Team":
-1 Tank;
-3 DPS;
-1 Healer;
With that in mind for strictly Dungeon clearing of all content by the average multi-boxer doing all 3 of those roles I would recommend for a first party:
- -1 Tank: Paladin (or Druid if Horde though Warrior is also a solid option);
- -3 DPS: Mage(s)+Warlock(s) (having at least 1 of each helps most parties);
- -1 Healer: Priest Dwarf/Undead (though Paladins & Shamans are decent healer options with pros/cons);
The biggest thing I like about the above party composition is that it can clear every de-buff, gives good Area of Effect (AoE) Threat, AoE Damage, & AoE healing options in addition to single target options & from a boxer perspective likely gives more simple & consistent timings, rotations, management, & positioning than other options. It is also very resilient due to having 2 characters able to resurrect the dead (both the Paladin & the Priest) & full wipe protection due to the Paladin being able to Sacrifice himself to save the Priest & the Warlock being able to Soul-Stone the Priest.
I think the Alliance option is overall best because the Paladin Tank seems the simplest for maintaining threat on the largest number of targets as well as being able to reduce the other party member's Threat and the Paladin can self cleanse poison while the Priest can clear magic & disease and the Mage(s) clear Curses. If things get rough the Paladin can also self/off-heal and cleanse magic & disease as well as shield a party member. The other advantage of a Paladin Tank is that by just swapping gear you have a 2nd solid World PVP healer for redundant PVP healing...
This group composition is even capable to strong Area of Effect (AoE) grinding as the Warlock(s)+Mage(s) can do AoE with no-push-back with the Paladin running Concentration Aura (and the Paladin and Priest can also contribute to AoE damage). Note that Mages are sorta interchangeable to Warlocks for ranged DPS and each have their pros/cons. Mages have slightly higher direct DPS and more control (sheep, etc) but are more brittle and are optimal when they can be mobile which is difficult for most boxers. Warlocks don't need to face their targets for dots and are more tanky and their pets provide lots of benefits (including an off-tank option) and Warlock(s) can make fights with "runners" trivial by giving each the 'Curse of Recklessness' so they do not run. Bottom line is that I would include at least 1 of each in your first team and the third can be either class (most folk tend to only include 1 Warlock).
It should be noted that there are some disadvantages of the above composition with the main one being that Paladin Tanks don't have a hard taunt which can make the few "Aggro-wipe" fights harder and while both Druid and Warrior tanks do have a hard taunt I think Paladins are still better overall first time tanks for most people.
I love Druids and Druids are probably my favorite overall class but, while they can be decent healers with a nice long cool-down combat rez, their lack of a regular rez makes me hesitant to have them as the party's single healer. I guess they can be a good option if you have things fully on farm and rarely if ever wipe and/or if you can leverage another team member as a rezzer (like a Paladin Tank).
Druids Tanks also have strong AoE threat but on fewer targets and also can't reduce the aggro of their teammates and while they they can theoretically self-clear both Poisons & Curses I believe they have to shift to do so which can be dangerous... They also cannot use engineering devices nor self/off heal when in bear Tank form.
In the end there are lots of options and what is theoretically best may not necessarily be the best for your personal play-style, preferences, and/or skill level and/or the specific content you are targeting. If you want to consider various classes to include in your party you may want to review the following:
CHART OF DEBUFF CLEARING OPTIONS BY CLASS
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All the above being said, unless your ONLY goal is most flexible dungeon clears (or your dungeon clearing party is separate from your main(s)), when building a dungeon clearing team I think the best thing to do is to first think about all your other possible long term goals by answering questions like:
1) For boxing in dungeons do you prefer certain play-styles and or group mixes?
2) Can you live without Warlock utility (summoning/stones/etc) in your main party?
3) Can you live without Mage utility (like water/food/portals) in your main party?
4) What class-role(s) would you like to take as a main(s) for 40 man Raiding, if any?
5) What class-role(s) would you like to take into smallscale &/or mass World PVP, if any?
6) Do you plan to go for High Ranking among the 14 PVP Ranks in Phase 2+ for any/all of the team?
7) Assuming multi-boxing will not work in PVP BattleGrounds, would you have one or more main characters for BattleGrounds and if so which class-role(s)?
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Taking that approach for myself as an example I came up with the following answers for myself:
1) For dungeons I like Paladin Tanks the most and find ranged DPS the safest & like having an AoE DPS option. If running a single healer I prefer AoE healing and even better AoE healing with some HoT options. Flexible though and willing to move from any/all of those for the right reasons.
2) Normally no, but yes because I plan on having a second group of 5 level 20+ Warlocks that I park at up to 4 key locations which will include the instance(s) that I am farming; Personally I will likely farm mara/scholo/strat until I get everything I want from those instances and then I plan to move to BRD & LBRS (and hope to group for UBRS) so I will likely part warlocks there and at the Scarlet Monestary.
3) Normally no, but yes because my 5 Warlocks will help with Transportation and my party will have very mana efficient healing & my DPS won't require mana;
4) I plan to Progression Raid as a Paladin-Healer; Would love to also try a druid (any role/all roles) if allowed once some Raids are on farm;
5) Personally at least as a single client Paladin-Healer in a larger PVP raid and my brother &/or kids may join as Paladins or Warriors on their own PCs. I would like to have a hybrid Druid option to solo stealth scout out areas and/or to join stealth groups of rogues & other druids. I am wanting to try to multi-box up to 5 clients in world PVP though I am also fine with just playing a single client in a larger group if I don't enjoy the multi-boxing. If I duo instead of 5boxing one of the strongest Classic combos is Warrior+Healer-Paladin...
6) For my Paladin-Healer I want at least the Rank 6 Title (Knight). My stretch goal is to unlock PVP gear for most slots so ideally I only need to reach rank 8 as I don't care about the PVP Helm because once I get the Paladin Tier 2 Helm I am never taking it off ;-). Anything over that would be great but just gravy (and who doesn't want more gravy).
7) BattleGrounds are my favorite thing and Paladin-Healer would be my normal main though sometimes I may go "Tanky" Paladin in AV and lead a charge into the Horde or in WSG if no druid will carry the flag (so I plan on having at least 2 sets of Paladin gear on my main). I love WSG and if there are repeatedly no Druid Flag Carriers to carry the flag I would like to have the option to queue up a Druid Flag Carrier instead of having to carry the flag as a Paladin.
With the above in mind the group I am planning on running dungeons as either:
3 DPS-Warriors (no designated Tank but any could shift to defensive stance/shield);
2 Healer-Paladins (very mana efficient);
Notes: I find the lack of a designated Tank for this group interesting and see merit in trying it (it was recommended by Apathiest). Though Paladin's don't natively have AoE healing each warrior should help soften any damage spikes with dual Crusader Enchants giving self-healing and melee hits on the targets also giving heals due to Paladin seals/judgments. I would run both Paladins in melee range so they would regen both mana & health from melee hits. Even though the remaining healing is single target I have 2 Paladins doing quick efficient heals and plan to use ISBoxer's VFX features to make it easy.
OR:
1 Tank Druid (minimal mana);
2 DPS Warriors (no mana);
1 DPS Paladin (maybe bad mana, don't know);
1 Holy Paladin (most mana efficient healer in game);
OR:
1 Tank Paladin (bad mana -> lots of drinking);
2 DPS Warriors (no mana);
1 DPS Druid (minimal mana);
1 Holy Paladin (most efficient mana healer in game);
TLDR:
While I think Paladin+2Mages+Warlock+Priest is most efficient for a first party for dungeons, with my goals in mind, I plan to run:
2Paladins/3Warriors (though I might swap a Druid for one Warrior);
If I don't include a Druid in my initial main group I will likely later level Druid or a mix of Druids/Rogues/Shadowmeld-Hunters for fun.
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