Surviving to see another ding
by Mike Schramm 
Apr 12th 2007 at 1:23PM
I'm facing exactly this issue right now (in fact, it's one reason why I'm thinking of rolling a hunter again and ditching my mage)-- Peterxt from Dragonblight want to know what the best class for surviving is. That is, what's the class that, when things go wrong, can get themselves out of trouble alive? I'm assuming he means solo-- everyone should stay alive in a group setting, or something is going wrong.The obvious answer, of course, is the paladin. It's one reason they're so hated-- they wear plate, they can heal, and just when you think you've whittled them down, they have that stupid bubble. In terms of solo play, paladins aren't the fastest killers, but they are very good at taking on adds one after another. When things go wrong, paladins have lots of escape routes.
And in fact, mages have lots of escape routes as well. They fall apart easily when getting hit, but they have so many abilities to keep from getting hit that a mage with a little mana and their wits about them can actually survive almost anything-- drop a Frost Nova, Blink away, keep Frost Armor up to slow attackers when they do hit, and you can pretty much run your way out of trouble (not to mention, if you're frost, that ice block can be the ultimate survival tool). That requires a lot of technique, though-- if you really want to stay away from a graveyard, a mage isn't your cup of tea.
Every class has their own escape plans (Vanish for rogues, Last Stand for warriors, and so on), but for my money, no class is better at surviving solo PvE then a hunter. Feign death is terrific, and if it doesn't work, there's always the option to let your pet tank while you flee. Or, now that they work in battle, traps. Or Scatter Shot. Or Concussive Shot. Heck, Misdirection even works on NPCs, so if you happen to see someone around that you want to tank for you, you can throw up Misdirection and exit stage left.
Every class can survive if it's played carefully and well. But if you never, ever want to see a graveyard, I'd say hunter or paladin.
Filed under: Hunter, Mage, Paladin, Analysis / Opinion, Leveling, Classes
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Freehugz Apr 12th 2007 1:35PM
PvE - Hunters
World PvP - Druids
felunost Apr 12th 2007 3:06PM
I agree that hunters are the best - even better if you spec BM like me your pet can sturn and remove agro - you can fen every 30 secs and if all else fails fen remove gear and die - lol - done that a few times;p
Nyx Apr 12th 2007 1:47PM
How does Misdirection work on NPCs when it works on party members only? How is Last Stand an escape ability?
WTB someone who actually plays game, PST.
ObtuseMoose Apr 12th 2007 1:49PM
No doubt that paladin is the top survivor in the game. Bubble/heal/bandage of course, but even more powerful is Lay Hands for those "clinging to the cliff edge by one fingertop" moments. And if you're a protection speccd PVE pally??!...fuhgeddaboudit!!
Everything else will outDPS and outKill us, but when the smoke clears on the PVE battlefield it will be the paladin left standing when the crap has hit the fan.
Kemayo Apr 12th 2007 1:48PM
Warlock.
If you're running around with a voidwalker out then there's very little you can't get away from if you Sacrifice. (The ability Sacrifice makes you invulnerable for a while, for those of you who have never played a Warlock.)
Of course, if you're a Warlock and you actually have to run away, well, you must be doing something wrong...
Dave Snider Apr 12th 2007 1:51PM
Ultimate survivability skill? Shaman's reincarnation. Really don't know who can compete with that.
Hunter's are awesome though for the main reason that you know right away when you are in trouble, but are normally at range when this happens so you're starting off a lot quicker on your flee.
Mike Schramm Apr 12th 2007 1:53PM
Tbh, I have never had a hunter with misdirection, but I have been told about hunters who were able to cast and use it on flagged NPCs.
However, I have played a warrior with Last Stand, and that can be used as an escape ability-- either popping it as you're about to die to give you just enough time to kill a mob off (that's it's main use), or popping it to give you enough time to run away. What do you think Last Stand is for?
Heymish Apr 12th 2007 1:57PM
I don't mean any offense here, but you guys are crazy! Rogues have an escape button. You don't have to do anything but push it. I'll give you feign death, but to focus on Pallys? I give them 3rd place behind rogues and hunters. I usually group with a 70 pally, and he dies a lot more than I do, a 70 rogue.
Before you say, but what about DOT's? Granted they cancel stealth, but cloak of shadows takes care of magical DOT's, and Anti-Venom for poisons.
Vanish + Goblin Jumper Cables = Wipe save!
Matt Rossi Apr 12th 2007 1:59PM
Last Stand is a tanking ability that's ten points up the protection tree: if you have it, you can use it to kill the mob before it kills you, yes, but that's not an escape. Escape means you get away. You might as well argue Shield Wall is an escape ability.
Massa Apr 12th 2007 2:02PM
Rogues are clearly the winner here. There is no need to go on about Pallys. Vanish is an aggro dump and puts you back into stealth, which saves you in PvE and PvP respectively. There is no contest.
Hunter's would get a second place. They can Feign in PvE (and PvP, ish).
Then, there are Shaman and Warlocks, if only for their self-res abilities. I don't value those above Vanish or FD, though. You still died.
Franchi Apr 12th 2007 2:06PM
I cant say for other classes as my main is a hunter and first alt is a pally, but I generally seem to survive raids better then others long as I keep my wits about me. Granted I'm nowhere near endgame instances as about to ding 50 within day or so but if history holds true, Ill be fine. Then again, I do sigh with envy a rogue's ability to stealth...I can shadowmeld but then can't move at all and only activate it when not in combat...
Heymish Apr 12th 2007 2:06PM
Yes! Amen Massa!
rogue Apr 12th 2007 2:08PM
Rogues all the way.
Between Blind, Gouge, Kidney Shot and Deadly Throw you should be able to immobilize an opponent long enough to run off drop combat so you can stealth. Sprint works if you can't drop combat.
And of course with Cloak of Shadows to get rid of annoying DOTs, Vanish is the best escape (as long as you're not stupid about where you move in PvP situations -- get away from hunters who are going to flare, etc.).
And depending on spec you don't have to wait the full 5 minutes between Sprint and Vanish to reuse them either.
Nyx Apr 12th 2007 2:09PM
Take five seconds to check out Misdirection:
Misdirection
Threat caused by your next 3 attacks is redirected to the target raid member. Caster and target can only be affected by one Misdirection spell at a time. Effect lasts 30 sec.
If you know how to get a flagged NPC into your party, I am all ears.
The reason we can't cast it on people outside the group is to keep us from using it as an anti-asshole ability [or, conversely, an asshole ability], casting MD on some bystander, and multishotting a large group for shits and giggles. God knows I'd use it on people who try to ninja nodes, chests, and mobs from me.
As for Last Stand, no, that does not make it an escape ability - killing a mob doesn't count as an escape, that's a kill. [You may as well say Rapid Fire is an escape ability because it lets me kill mobs very quickly.] It doesn't allow the warrior to get away any easier, as do the other genuine escape abilities - Feign drops my aggro, Frost Nova keeps them from chasing me and Blink gets me further away, Ice Armor slows them, Vanish drops aggro, even Scatter-shot counts... but I wouldn't count Gift of the Naaru as an escape ability, either, and that's something much the same as Last Stand.
Don't give warriors credit they don't deserve - they have no escape abilities because their class is designed to sit there and take it, not to run away.
armi0022 Apr 13th 2007 11:10AM
I know they are not the best, but from about level 40 until Outlands I don't think I died once with my frost mage. I played solo the whole way. Frostbolt, Cone of Cold, Frost Nova, Blink, Sheep, Mana Shiled, Frost Shield, etc, etc. Tons of tools to escape!
Superbeef Apr 12th 2007 2:15PM
Paladins can last for a while when taking a beating, and in terms of taking waves of enemies, we're pretty much a clear winner. I can't tell you the times I've stood my ground, OOM, HP under 50% and lived. But, as far as escape tactics... well we're relatively light there. Sure we can HOJ, bubble, blessing of freedom and run like a girl, but that's not exactly a guarantee against swarms of things or big hitting mobs. Getting out of trouble isn't really our forte, living through it is.
Jason Apr 12th 2007 2:21PM
Technically, what he's referring to is an escape from "death" -- not an escape from a given mob. This may be accomplished by running away but also by having an ability that increases your likelihood of defeating a mob when other resources are expanded.
I would seriously add druids to this though -- bear + bash, cat + dash, travel form, hibernate, entangling roots, and cyclone are a whole lot of tricks.
Savok Apr 12th 2007 2:14PM
Rogues are a class built around running away, but nothing else. Rogues need to run away because more often then not, it all goes wrong.
Hunters and Paladins at least are able to kill stuff, my current hunter can kill elites over his lvl in gear which honestly should of been replaced 10 lvls ago.
Ovcydian Apr 12th 2007 2:58PM
I'm a hunter. When caught up in sticky situation when I'm soloing. I will let pet tank, ice trap the add.. dismiss pet.. then feign death.. when all clear.. fly up on mount to awaiting ledge.. call pet.. (which should be at full health once more.) bandage me up or drinkage for mana. =D. Basically no death for me and pet. - note: sometimes doesn't work if you have 2 other adds.. still can be pulled off.
Jason Apr 12th 2007 2:22PM
expended*