Should I betray?

[Kelson]

<DIV>Hi everyone,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'm a 35 Mystic and I'm seeking some honest advice.  I've read a few Mystic vs. Defiler threads and I'm still just not sure which is best for my playstyle.  Thus, I thought I'd ask here and get your opinions.  Please note that I'm not trying to start any flame wars or anything.  I'm just torn and looking for some input.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'm only concerned with grouping and raiding for this character.  PvP and soloing are not what I will be using this character for.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>That said, I'm primarily concerned with which has better warding and healing capabilities.  From what I have seen, Defilers have larger heals, but their heals require them to sacrifice some health (which isn't a huge issue, but it's there).  Is this still the case?  It seems my Mystic's straight heals are pretty weak in comparison with other priests (I also play a Warden and a Templar - what can I say, I like healers).</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I like the ability to stack lots of wards.  This is a big thing for me and I'm not sure if Mystics have more ward-ability (heh) than Defilers or not.  Mystics get Oberon and Torpor, while Defilers get a a warding pet and a ward proc debuff.  We both have access to the ward proc from AAs.  Do you see any big advantages or disadvantages to the different ways you can layer wards between the 2 Shaman classes?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Finally, are the health and power taps that Defilers get decent?  They seem handy.  I know my Mystic is a true power hog (especially compared to my Warden), so the ability to siphon power to myself and the group seems handy.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I know both Shaman classes are good at debuffing.  To be honest, while debuffing is a handy tool, it's not why I choose to play a Shaman.  I really do it for the Wards and debuffs compliment wards quite well.  Besides Defilers not getting any AoE debuffs, are there any other major differences between how well either class can debuff?  While not a primary concern, it'd be good to know what my limitations are.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks a lot for your replies!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>-Kulrick</DIV> <DIV>Lucan DLere</DIV>

[Banditman]

Defiler heals have a longer recast time.  If you look at a 1 minute chunk of time, you'll probably see the Mystic healing for a greater amount due to Torpor.<div></div>

[Eepop]

Defilers get a single target buff that procs a attack speed slow + DPS debuff on anything hitting the target...thats close enough to an AE debuff. Mystics get two AE debuffs, an attack speed slow and a resist debuff. The two attack speed slows are the same level, highest version is 63, for both mystic and defiler. In place of the AE resist debuff of mystics, defilers have a debuff that causes the target to proc wards when attacking.  So if angry_mob_01 attacks the MT, it places a ward on the MT. <div></div>

[Terq]

<DIV>It really depends on your guild roster.  For a raid, 1 defiler and 1 mystic are better than 2 mystics or 2 defilers.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>For single group purposes, the differences are pretty negligible.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Are you in a raid guild at this point, or are you just looking ahead?  </DIV>

[Judist]

<P>For group/instances/solo I love the defilers 2 fear spells. </P> <P>One single target 14-sec fear and one AoE 5-sec fear+deaggro. The single target fear makes solo mobs cake. Debuffs do not interrupt fears, so pull with fear and within the first 14 seconds you can land every single debuff you have before even engaging the mob.      This makes ^^^ heroics not so heroic <img src="/smilies/3b63d1616c5dfcf29f8a7a031aaa7cad.gif" border="0" alt="SMILEY" /></P> <P>Also nice... </P> <P>The T-7 wraith form gives 104 in-combat health regen (master1)<BR>Single target de-buff that reduces <U>every</U> attribute by 33% for 36-sec (master2) 36-sec recast<BR>Spiritual circle, 1-min static pet that refreshes a 600hp AoE ward every 5 secs (Ad3) 2-min recast<BR>Cannabilize, drains mob power and gives you power. Recast is same as its duration so it can be up 100%</P> <P> </P> <P>All in all, the 2 shaman (defiler/mystic) are balanced regardless of what anyone says. Best thing to do is decide which you'll have more fun with. I picked defiler because I liked the name, health/power regens and wanted an evil charater.</P>

[Kelson]

<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE> <HR> Terq wrote:<BR> <DIV>It really depends on your guild roster.  For a raid, 1 defiler and 1 mystic are better than 2 mystics or 2 defilers.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>For single group purposes, the differences are pretty negligible.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Are you in a raid guild at this point, or are you just looking ahead?  </DIV><BR> <HR> </BLOCKQUOTE><BR>Thanks for asking.  I'm just looking ahead.  I'm most interested in the points I made above for grouping (fun-factor and playstyle), but do want to keep raid usefulness in mind.  From what I've read, both Shaman classes are desired in raids.  So that's not a big issue.  I'm just trying to iron down how the differences in wards and heals stack up.

[Kelson]

<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr> <DIV> <HR> Eepop wrote:<BR>Defilers get a single target buff that procs a attack speed slow + DPS debuff on anything hitting the target...thats close enough to an AE debuff.<BR> <HR> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE> <P>Good point.  That does make it work similarly to an aoe debuff.</P> <P>The more I hear about Defilers, the more I like.  I just worry about giving up Oberon for Maelstrom.  Oberon seems very useful.  Maelstrom seems like a waste of a good class-defining level 50 spell.  My Warden's Oberon-equivalent (Hierophantic Genesis) is handy.  It works just like Oberon, except it's a regen over time instead of a replenishing ward.  I don't find the need to use it very often (hard to focus only on the MT's health when you don't have wards protecting the squishies - unless you have another healer in the group to cover for you), but it is handy in a pinch.  I don't know how often I'll be able to use the Maelstrom line since there's no Ward component to it.</P>

[Leji]

<DIV>I dont recall using any single target heal in months.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I fail to see how they can remotely be a factor in a shaman class choice.</DIV>

[Terq]

I hardly ever use the ST heals anymore.  ST wards?  Yeah, all the time, but not so much with the direct heals.  Of course, with a MT who isn't quite geared up yet, that might change. 

[Banditman]

It also changes when raiding, specifically when more than one Shaman is raiding.In general, we have the Shaman outside the MT group casting ST Wards and the Shaman in the MT group casting Group Wards.  Doing it that way makes each more efficient.  Once the Wards are cast, it's down to Torpor (if Mystic) and strait heals.Sure, if there is a lot of damage incoming, we both spam whatever we have available.<div></div>

[Sokolov]

<div><blockquote><hr>Banditman wrote:Defiler heals have a longer recast time.  If you look at a 1 minute chunk of time, you'll probably see the Mystic healing for a greater amount due to Torpor.<div></div><hr></blockquote>I find this statement somewhat misleading.In terms of the shared direct heal lines... all priests are roughly equal despite the differences in heal sizes and cast times - they are balanced such that HPS over time is approximately equal.Defiler heals are also more power efficient due to the health component providing a decrease in power use.It is true, however, that if you add Torpor on top of the shared heal lines the Mystic will of course heal for more - but that's to be expected when you are casting an extra heal.</div>

[Banditman]

It's not misleading.  The OP said Defiler heals were larger, I said that their recast timers were longer, and went on to point out that given Torpor on top of it a Mystic would come out ahead.Seems simple enough to me.<div></div>