Pure CW DPS - Is it viable?

vestige321

Can a control wizard spec pure DPS and be at least 5-10% behind a rogue or GWF? Could they be made viable strikers?

imivo

According to this thread, yes.

Personally, I have not run enough epics for an informed opinion. Up to 60, my CW was never behind a TR or a GWF, and I did not go for a pure dps setup. I think if you play a CW, you should not completely ignore the task of buffing/debuffing and CCing. Granted, it's rarely been necessary before epics, and I lack the epic experience (queues are very slow while people catch up on levels).

pyrosthesecond

The thing is you don't actually need to be "pure DPS" to do good DPS. You can easily do equal to slightly lower damage than rogues while having the 15% duration CC passive, the choke and steal time or conduit of ice(in mastery for large aoe and chill stacks), at least I do all the time. On trash mobs I use conduit on mastery(large aoe dot), ray of enfeeblement, choke, sudden storm(more aoe), magic missile/whatever for at wills, the aoe pull for daily. I'm speced for crits and with the 30%dmg on at wills at close range(which doesn't work with the lightning at-wills though, so it's for magic missiles mostly), just aoe everything, choke one of the elites then ray it for more dmg and spam magic missile at close range. I swap conduit for steal time on bosses to deal with the adds more easily(do less dmg though).

kittledorf

I would say NO, at least for now. Perhaps things will change once new paths come, but as it is now your DPS will be strong until you start grinding Epic Dungeons, then you will notice that others beat your dps and it gets harder and harder to keep up. I wanted to aim for DPS too, but found out that it's better to just skip the dpsmeter and focus on classic CC. It's a bit boring beacuse CC ain't that needed until you get even later into the game so i dont really get this whole "CONTROL" wizard part. The game is a bit odd in that perspective and at least in the first few epic dungeons you can clear them without Tank & Healer :O it's harder but doable indeed.

cptfrankzappa

It makes me sad that DPS contests have made it into a D&D game.

lisau1974

kittledorf wrote: »

I would say NO, at least for now. Perhaps things will change once new paths come, but as it is now your DPS will be strong until you start grinding Epic Dungeons, then you will notice that others beat your dps and it gets harder and harder to keep up. I wanted to aim for DPS too, but found out that it's better to just skip the dpsmeter and focus on classic CC. It's a bit boring beacuse CC ain't that needed until you get even later into the game so i dont really get this whole "CONTROL" wizard part. The game is a bit odd in that perspective and at least in the first few epic dungeons you can clear them without Tank & Healer :O it's harder but doable indeed.

I agree. Rogues and GWF's always outdamage us at 60, the good ones anyway. Hell I would go as far as saying that at 58, my TR does more damage than my 60 CW.

The control a CW has at 60 is also nonsense since it doesn't wok on any dungeon boss whatsoever.

Very disappointed in my CW. The good news is it only takes a few days to get to 60, so it's no big deal making a new toon.

gukter

I still say it's a -good thing- that CC does not work on bosses. Use it on the adds, be usefull for saving your cleric.
Bit out of topic, but still.

kittledorf

lisau1974 wrote: »

I agree. Rogues and GWF's always outdamage us at 60, the good ones anyway. Hell I would go as far as saying that at 58, my TR does more damage than my 60 CW.

The control a CW has at 60 is also nonsense since it doesn't wok on any dungeon boss whatsoever.

Very disappointed in my CW. The good news is it only takes a few days to get to 60, so it's no big deal making a new toon.

Ya i'think i will reroll as well :O, but i want the Warlock release first. The CC is fine i would say, bosses is just about kiting while you clear the adds. I dont know, i could be damaged from WoW but at'least there you could both CC and DPS. However i guess that dosen't fit D&D, and thats fine it's just i wish they made dungeongrinding needing a CC more.

licourtrix1

We are not strikers, but I rolled my CW for pure damage, and can beat most rogues in total damage done (single target never). I ALWAYS beat GWF's total damage, and I mean always. Our contribution to boss fights isn't our single target abilities, but our add control. Having reached (and defeated) second boss in Castle Never I can assure you that a CW is a MUST have in all end game dungeons, 8300gs and above.

If all you want to do is hit hard take a TR. If you want a class that takes thought and coordination, Take a CW. A good CW will make any fight much easier to dispatch, with properly controlled targets and the ability to bring all the mobs together, we are very valuable.

gukter

licourtrix1 wrote: »

If all you want to do is hit hard take a TR. If you want a class that takes thought and coordination, Take a CW. A good CW will make any fight much easier to dispatch, with properly controlled targets and the ability to bring all the mobs together, we are very valuable.

^ -this-. People really need to understand this..

wizend14ever

As forefront on this subject I will say this. I out DPS almost everyone as a CW, even in Epic Dungeons, but that has nothing to do with the fact that you are a striker class or what not. It has to do with how the mobs are killed. AoE DPS will win out over single target every time due to the amount of adds on boss fights and such. TBH as a CW your job is to constantly CC every mob and I do mean EVERY mob that comes after your healer. To do this you will be using a variety of tricks, but for the majority of it Steal Time / Oppresive Force are your best spells to do so. In order to ensure you can spam these two you need to charge your Daily OVER and OVER and OVER. The best spells to get you to that are Shield with Chill Strike in your spell mastery slot and Lightning Maelstrom. This is the case because if you were smart you picked up the 5% Action point gain on critical in your feats. This procs off EVERY mob crit. I however have found that this lightning spell places you in a predicament you don't want to be in all that often to do damage and opted for an instant spell that can debuff boss damage and kill annoying ranged adds that don't come near your AoE circle of doom.

Certain boss fights play out differently but for the most part this is the case of what will be happening on every single one. I have cleared Every Epic except for the Dread Vault (not attempted), Rothe Valley (bugged) and Castle Never.

Most Tier two dungeons are hard / buggy and not worth the effort of clearing.

I also agree with licourtrix. A CW is required in EVERY tier 2 and higher dungeon. You cannot do it without the AoE CC. The damage from the mobs will just kill your cleric everytime. I would even go so far as to say Lair of the Mad Dragon and up.

nawdle

It seems to me that people have missed the fact that this game (which will eventually have a tonne of classes) is not making an attempt to make every class capable of every role. If a class has 'Control' as its role, get used to it, or re-roll. Take pride in doing your specific job well. Deal some hurt while keeping your party alive through your incredible CC skills. Accept that hybrids may literally be that- viable in two concurrent roles, but simply not as good as a pure dps class.

You have more utility, more ability to have a positive effect on your party members. Take pride in it, because the party only works if every member fulfills their role well.