Glamrin
Staff Emeritus
Ok so, basically this is going to be a post about the situation of endgame beastlords and their functions/useability in raids. It seems that the class function/ identity isnt quite defined. Beastlords basically have a few possible functions : first off theres the buffs ie SV, SB, Savagery, Cunning and Paragon. Out of these bard song (fiery warcry) can somewhat replace cunning (11% vs 16,5% spelldmg increase or so on char with 6% magic focus, 7DI)
SSS has more hp than SV (although sv does give the extra atk) and mana song can somewhat replace sb. Of the buffs / aa bufs savagery and cunning (single target and on timer) are the only ones where there arent any somewhat comparable buffs available to other classes.
Then theres offtanking, although bst hp can get fairly high and pet stance where pet takes half dmg would allow for this, the low ac on the class compared to monks and bards for example makes them end up pretty low on this list (although they do have excellent agro capabilities and no good ways of shaking it).
Slower - although the lvl 65 slow can be pretty nice and sometimes have easier to land than shaman slow, most of the time the beastlord slow wont be really necessary with a shaman slowing.
Pet Class - Beastlord is supposed to have among the best pets ingame, however in endgame atleast the beastlord pet is quite a bit below both magician and necromancer pet in dps on most encounters. For example a Necromancer pet is usually around 95-115 dps with pet strength 6 item, Magician pet usually at 110-140 dps with pet str 7 (aa haste used during highest numbers), and Beastlord pet between 80-105 dps with pet str 7.. these numbers assume full buffs, and all pet aa's and also include aa haste constantly on the beastlord pet. Beastlord pet dmg is also the dmg that fluctuates (changes) the most between different mobs. (sometimes goes as low as 40)
(numbers from parses on IP nameds, ValorB and LT nameds)
First off, these numbers dont seem quite as things should be and I think that beastlord pet ought to 1. be around same dps as magician pet and 2. fluctuate less on different mobs in different zones.
Dps
- Comparing beast dps to a few other classes. same zones as with pet comparisons, most of these fights with savagery on the beastlord,
BST: 136 / 156 / 171 / 190 / 226 (even adding avg bst pet dmg ie 90 to these numbers its way below the lesser geared monk)
MONK: 307 / 365 / - / - / 428
Shadowknight: 214 / 191 / - / 171 / - (not counting/showing sk spelldmg and sk attacking from front, bst from behind)
Warrior: 152 / 163 / 159 / 172 / 107 (from front of mob)
Unfortunately the above chars arent geared equally, the beastlords gear is a lot better than that of the monk tierwise (bst is among the highest dps bsts in game), sk is also worse off geared and warrior ofcourse is better geared but not with dps in mind.
As can be seen by the numbers the beastlord is beaten by the monk (this is ok, even though the beastlord is better geared), what however is a bit sad is the huge difference between the beast and the worse geared monk in dps, what is even worse is that the sk often is higher dps than the beastlord when attacking mobs from front vs bst attacking from behind. Unfortunately I dont have any comparisons with equally geared paladins but since they are supposed to be higher dps than SK's they should be even further above the beastlord.
---
Suggestions:
So those are the facts of the current situation and I would like to suggest some changes to rectify the situation:
First off: beastlord pet dps should go up and fluctuate less (higher dex/higher lvl on pet - part of the needed solution?)
Second: the total usability of the class,
The bst should be better defined, and although yes the buffs are useful, it would be nice if the bst was good for other things than buffs, especially when most of these buffs have decent equivalents from other classes (bards and paladins). The solution I would like to see done with beastlords is to somehow make beastlords manapool useful in some way (today a beastlord will never go below 50% mana on raid if doesnt die, usually manabar wont move down much after initial buffing). The best way I think this could be done would be by giving beastlords a useful, short cast, highly mana demanding dmg spell that could serve to increase beastlord dps during a short period of time if the beastlord is actively focusing on his character. The total change of increasing pet dps and making it possible for the beastlord to become higher dps for a short duration should bring the beastlord closer to the dps of a monk or maybe above it (for a shorter duration, depending on available mana)
Basically this suggestion would make the bst a more useful character in raids, it would make his now useless mana pool do something and it would define the role of the bst better.
If you've read this far, thanks for your time, suggestions and thoughts.
SSS has more hp than SV (although sv does give the extra atk) and mana song can somewhat replace sb. Of the buffs / aa bufs savagery and cunning (single target and on timer) are the only ones where there arent any somewhat comparable buffs available to other classes.
Then theres offtanking, although bst hp can get fairly high and pet stance where pet takes half dmg would allow for this, the low ac on the class compared to monks and bards for example makes them end up pretty low on this list (although they do have excellent agro capabilities and no good ways of shaking it).
Slower - although the lvl 65 slow can be pretty nice and sometimes have easier to land than shaman slow, most of the time the beastlord slow wont be really necessary with a shaman slowing.
Pet Class - Beastlord is supposed to have among the best pets ingame, however in endgame atleast the beastlord pet is quite a bit below both magician and necromancer pet in dps on most encounters. For example a Necromancer pet is usually around 95-115 dps with pet strength 6 item, Magician pet usually at 110-140 dps with pet str 7 (aa haste used during highest numbers), and Beastlord pet between 80-105 dps with pet str 7.. these numbers assume full buffs, and all pet aa's and also include aa haste constantly on the beastlord pet. Beastlord pet dmg is also the dmg that fluctuates (changes) the most between different mobs. (sometimes goes as low as 40)
(numbers from parses on IP nameds, ValorB and LT nameds)
First off, these numbers dont seem quite as things should be and I think that beastlord pet ought to 1. be around same dps as magician pet and 2. fluctuate less on different mobs in different zones.
Dps
- Comparing beast dps to a few other classes. same zones as with pet comparisons, most of these fights with savagery on the beastlord,
BST: 136 / 156 / 171 / 190 / 226 (even adding avg bst pet dmg ie 90 to these numbers its way below the lesser geared monk)
MONK: 307 / 365 / - / - / 428
Shadowknight: 214 / 191 / - / 171 / - (not counting/showing sk spelldmg and sk attacking from front, bst from behind)
Warrior: 152 / 163 / 159 / 172 / 107 (from front of mob)
Unfortunately the above chars arent geared equally, the beastlords gear is a lot better than that of the monk tierwise (bst is among the highest dps bsts in game), sk is also worse off geared and warrior ofcourse is better geared but not with dps in mind.
As can be seen by the numbers the beastlord is beaten by the monk (this is ok, even though the beastlord is better geared), what however is a bit sad is the huge difference between the beast and the worse geared monk in dps, what is even worse is that the sk often is higher dps than the beastlord when attacking mobs from front vs bst attacking from behind. Unfortunately I dont have any comparisons with equally geared paladins but since they are supposed to be higher dps than SK's they should be even further above the beastlord.
---
Suggestions:
So those are the facts of the current situation and I would like to suggest some changes to rectify the situation:
First off: beastlord pet dps should go up and fluctuate less (higher dex/higher lvl on pet - part of the needed solution?)
Second: the total usability of the class,
The bst should be better defined, and although yes the buffs are useful, it would be nice if the bst was good for other things than buffs, especially when most of these buffs have decent equivalents from other classes (bards and paladins). The solution I would like to see done with beastlords is to somehow make beastlords manapool useful in some way (today a beastlord will never go below 50% mana on raid if doesnt die, usually manabar wont move down much after initial buffing). The best way I think this could be done would be by giving beastlords a useful, short cast, highly mana demanding dmg spell that could serve to increase beastlord dps during a short period of time if the beastlord is actively focusing on his character. The total change of increasing pet dps and making it possible for the beastlord to become higher dps for a short duration should bring the beastlord closer to the dps of a monk or maybe above it (for a shorter duration, depending on available mana)
Basically this suggestion would make the bst a more useful character in raids, it would make his now useless mana pool do something and it would define the role of the bst better.
If you've read this far, thanks for your time, suggestions and thoughts.
