Mythic+ in World of Warcraft is in a poor state. At least the pros are angry – because 5 specializations dominate all others hopelessly.
That there is a “meta” for the best of the best in World of Warcraft is not a new thing. The best players have always tended to play the currently strongest classes and specializations. But with the introduction of the Enhancement Shaman, the problem has completely gone out of control. Virtually all pros play the same specializations – and others cannot keep up.
Which classes are overpowered? Currently, there are exactly 5 specializations that stand out particularly and are basically found in almost all “Mythic+” groups at the highest level. These are:
- Guardian Druid (Tank)
- Holy Paladin (Healer)
- Shadow Priest (DPS)
- Fire Mage (DPS)
- Enhancement Shaman (DPS)
Professional groups with these specializations usually manage to complete dungeons even two or three levels higher than groups with other compositions. Accordingly, this graph shows the distribution of specializations in the top 2,000 “Mythic+” runs from each week:
Weeks 28, 29, and 30 are all since the introduction of the Enhancement Shaman, which incites the other specializations in the group to soar.
This is what pros say about the combo: The streamer Critcake is quite disappointed with the current state. He aimed with his group to be among the top 0.5% in order to earn a special title at the end of the season. However, based on the current state, that will not be possible for him. Therefore, Critcake and his group already felt forced to switch classes just to have a chance:
Critcake has put his warrior on hold and has been playing a Fire Mage since then. He says after just under a week of practice:
Fire Mages deal crazy damage. No one can compare to their area damage. They seemingly have endless defensive abilities, mobility, and general utility. It’s just insane how good their whole kit is for Mythic+. […]
I have been playing this mage for 4 days now. Yesterday, [my item level] was 437. I’m still not really sure how to play this class. And already this mage has reached the level of my 447 warrior in DPS in Mythic+. I don’t understand how this is even possible in the game. I have so much experience on the warrior, unlike basically a noob-mage that I’m playing.
He has similar views about almost all the other meta specializations – and the professional community largely agrees with him. The statistics speak for themselves.
Is Blizzard doing anything about it? In recent weeks, Blizzard has made some tweaks to the balance, significantly cutting the area damage of Shadow Priests. Nevertheless, nothing has changed in the meta.
The great hope of the pros, who would like to see some other specializations in the high-end area, rests on Patch 10.1.7, which is expected to be released in a few weeks. However, the balance changes being made there are minimal.
It is also important to mention that this problem primarily affects the pros who play at the top level. In Keystone levels up to 20 (and even a few levels above), any specialization can succeed, and the composition of the group is not as one-sided as the approach of the pros suggests.
How do you feel about “Mythic+” this season? Do you enjoy it? Or can you hardly relate to it?
