Top of the DPS Chart!

As a DPS class, everyone knows all that matters is that you're the top person on the DPS chart. Who cares about aggro! It's the tank's job to keep it off of me, not MY job to keep it off of me! Pfft.

Now, to some extent this is true. There is nothing worse to a high output DPS character than to have a tank that doesn't generate good quick strong aggro.

On the other hand, a GOOD DPS class isn't just all about the output. It's about aggro management and staying alive. Which is something that poor DPS shaman's had such an issue with for a while, though I hear with the new patch, Blizzard made it a bit easier on the poor poor shammies. Most (not all) other DPS classes have some way of dropping aggro. Poor shammy's really only have death to drop their aggro. (Did I really just spell shaman in three different ways? Why yes. Yes I did.)

Today I was in Shattered Halls with some guildies/mixed pug. I've posted before what happens to my DPS when I'm in a 'normal' instance with good DPS. We had a BM hunter, an elemental shaman and myself. Things were dying like.. things should die! It was lovely. But the shaman was out DPSing me. Now, this shaman has been in Karazhan with me, where I'm way out over him on DPS usually. Granted, he's updated his gear quite a bit since our last Kara run together, but he was still quite shocked about matching me for DPS in the instance. Myself, I was dismayed at my performance. After a little bit of finangling with what I was casting, I caught up.

And bonus, he didn't die! Which is grand. I died more often than he did -- PUG healer was very very good, but probably not expecting the amount of hate that I tend to pull. I died two or three times before the healer learned -- the warlock is going to tank more than the tank sometimes. Gotta watch her! In those cases, it was a bit of me and a bit of the tank not doing what we should. Live and learn! I gotta remember when I'm not with my faaavorite tankadin, Owaru with my faaavorite healadin, Boon, I need to be a good little warlock and not play with Seed of Corruption and multiple dotted targets.

Anyway... I won't go on again about how in longer lived mobs and bosses I tend to be high on the DPS chart, because I've already talked about how in longer lived mobs and bosses, I tend to be high on the DPS chart. And there's no need for me to reiterate that on longer lived mobs and bosses, I tend to be high on the DPS chart, since this isn't about how on longer lived mobs and bosses, I tend to be high on the DPS chart!

Later on, I was asked to go into Zul'Aman for the last boss, because the raid leader wanted some good DPS. I was #4 on the charts -- but, the last boss of Zul'Aman has a phase where you CANNOT DO MAGIC. This is, I think, entirely unfair.

Not only do melee DPS have no mana to watch (excepting hunters), but then you make a boss where you can only do melee DPS? I mean, the boss in normal Mechanar is bad enough in the whole 'melee, magic, melee, magic' switcharoo, but at least the melee have to stop DPSing for a time too. This boss -- no magic. It was a very sad sad time for me. I had to sit and watch others do all the DPS. I was a very sad panda. A very sad warlock panda.

Anyway, the point of this is that I tend to be too focused on the DPS meters. I hate seeing myself not in the top 1 spot. Seeing myself down at #4 or #5 is even more hideous, but something I need to get over, because at times, when I'm crowd controlling (see previous post on why the warlock is the premier crowd control class! :), or saving the butt of the healer (deathcoil FTW!), or trying to stay alive after I pulled aggro from five mobs at once... my DPS isn't going to be so hot, but that's okay... because I have more important things to focus on other than merely being the top of the DPS charts (though it's nice to be there, anyway.)

I'm a good warlock. I'm a good DPSer. But I'm not the best. No where CLOSE. But I'm still pretty dang good.