Angry Shammy :(Follow

Resto sham's can solo just about anything, but would I recommend it? No. I tried to take out a 69 elite this weekend, I managed after 15 minutes of trying... It might have been easier to find someone around to kill it while I heal them. :)

A miserably geared 'weak' class can out-do a well-geared 'strong' class in any event just by changing who is at the keyboard. Good player > all other factors. Granted, an xlnt tank with rotten gear won't tank as well as a mediocre one with mediocre gear just because he doesnt stay alive well :) - but overall, it's about the player, not the toon. I am a healer - hand me a T6 geared warrior and I'd still be the worst tank you have ever seen. But I assure you I can heal any instance in OL in L70 greens, and most raids in appropriate blues - and do better than some snots in brilliant purples.

What *you* can do depends on you playing a class you are comfortable with, that works well with your style. Same for that druid. If I really had to evaluate the meaning behind his statement, it would be "he must have really sucked as a shaman, before he rolled that druid."

~Nax

L73 Resto Shaman (H)
L70 Ele Shaman (A)[leveled wholly solo, without ever running an instance]
L66 Boomkin (A) [Levelled wholly solo, stealth-ran Gnomeregan at 35 with a rogue friend]
L70 Disc Priest (H)
L60 Resto Druid (H)
L34 Ele Shaman (H)[solo again]
(Gave up on Rogue and Pally because *I* suck at them - not because the classes sucked)

This is an idealistic and ultimately naive point of view. Skill can compensate for gear, spec, and class up to a point, but the reverse is also true of class and spec. A perfectly played Elemental Shaman may indeed out-DPS a mediocre Balance Druid, but the difference would be a lot less noticeable than if the better player was manning the Balance Druid and the mediocre player was steering the Shaman. When a man with a pistol meets a man with a rifle, the man with the pistol is a dead man. This is likely true even if he's the best pistolier in the world. A rifle just shoots more powerful, faster, accurate shots from longer range.

Ret Paladins (I really don't mean to keep picking on them, but if the glove fits...) after 3.0.2 illustrate this point rather forcefully. A Ret Pally has only to charge in and start keeping all their attacks on cooldown and they're very nearly guaranteed to post 30% of their party's DPS in any five-man instance. And that's in spite of skill, not because of it, because I have seen plenty of obnoxious, poorly-played Ret Pallies do just that.

Edited, Nov 25th 2008 10:23am by Gaudion

Yes, if taken to an out-of-context degree of extremity, your statement is true. However, the quote in your note clearly shows that the statement explicitly eliminates those extremes.

Using a valid comparison, try taking two identically-geared and specced toons, alllowing one to be played by a skilled player who iknows the class well, and the other by an amateur - the difference will show. Now gear up the amateur, and gear down the 'pro' - the pro will still outperform, until the gear variance passed that point of "out-of-context extremity."

Good playing can't balance out a total lack of gear. Nor can excellent gear balance out a total lack of skill. With that in mind, any class can be successful, when played by a person with skill for the game and an affinity for the playstyle required by that class.