Requesting feedback on wotlk class combo for instance runs

Hi all! and thanks for taking the time to read this post.

In light of all the talent revamps and upgrades, plus class mechanic changes, I was wondering what people thought of the viability of other 5x class groups? To date, I have played the flavor of the month 5x shammy group and it works great, but I want to try something new.

Specifically, any thoughts (esp from those who have had beta experience or are currently running these groups in TBC) on how a 5x pally, 5xhunter, or 5x druid group would do? If I need to swap out one of em for a dedicated role, such as a healer in the 5x hunter group, would that make the group more viable?

My goal is primarily to see the game content, so not as concerned about pvp; ability to see the wotlk in heroic versions of its instance is what i'm interested in.


To my thinking, in order for a 5xclass group to be viable in that capacity, you have to meet these two most basic of criteria:

1) high armor class, preferably with shield capabilities or else armor bonuses to make up for this: Shammy, pally, druid, dk, hunter to a degree because of mail armor (warlock w/metamorphosis armor bonus? j/k!)

2) heals: shammy, pally, druid, hunter/warlock for gimp pet heals

What brought this up was I was looking at the new talents, specifically the new pally talents; and I was thinking with the big buff to the retribution tree and group heal ability for the holy tree, a 5x pally group might not be too far fetched? thoughts? comments? I just want to hedge my bets and have multiple instance running groups in case my one of my class gets adjusted in such a manner that running instances become more trouble then its worth, that I have a fallback group. Or just so if some instances are easier for certain group makeups.


does anyone here MB in wotlk beta? any first hand impressions and advice and warnings before I run off to start my new teams?

Also, I've been looking at some dps videos for the various classes in wotlk. What's considered to be the range of good dps now in the expansion? I'm seeing numbers like 5-7k crits in those videos, but for all I know that wont be that impressive versus the toughter mobs? What should my future dps be at to clear instances without undue difficulty? 1k? 2k? 3k? (insert obligatory "over 9000!!!!" jokes here)

Thanks in advance to any who can answer these questions. Have a nice day all! :)

Some of the new hunter pets supposedly can be setup far better as "tanks" than before (such as a gorilla). One would think an entire group of them would do quite well.

Personally, I'd stick with a diverse group, in case they gimp the heck out of a group all of one class. But now that more classes will be able to CC than before, there'll be more options (Balance druids and roots, Shaman and Hex, Hunters and the distance freezing shot).

Thanks for the feedback! And yes that's also part of what I was thinking. I saw with the change to pally CC, they can control a mob for a minute, and can affect a wider variety of them so i figure with 5 pallies I can lock down a number of creatures that way. But I heard that they're trying to go with smaller groups per pull in expansion so maybe that wont be as critical.

And thank you for the advice. I have tried running a mixed group before, but I just felt that I wasnt as efficient with them as I was with my 5x shammy group. Maybe I'll just take the time and try to optimize the macro and control setup for a mixed group. Would be nice to have variety to my buffs anyhow. :)

but I am still curious though. would a 5x pally/druid/hunter group do well in instances do you think? what with the new talent changes? was hoping to get a mb perspective from people who are familiar with the wotlk beta. :D