[Basics] Melee DPS - Choosing A Class 1/5

Preacher goes through the scary process of choosing a class for melee dps
----------
Swag: shop.spreadshi...
Twitter: @Preachgaming
Live Stream - twitch.tv/preachlfw
The Good Book - / preachgaming
P.O. Box:
Preach Gaming
PO Box 420
SK14 9DR
---------

[@RickyChops]

There is no choice because the correct answer is always going to be "Warrior."

[@jodyboles8208]

Nah. Shaman really good too.

[@mercerwing1458]

Nah I'd rather be an invincible blood dk

[@jodyboles8208]

Mercer Wing for a dps melee.....

[@mercerwing1458]

Jody Boles He's still the best soloing class for bosses and strong enemies so.... Yeah

[@jodyboles8208]

Mercer Wing no not really. either way you dont play blood as a dps spec. you do realize that right? lol

[@HeyImDaki]

I legit forgot survival even existed

[@MGC-XIII]

I love survival! It's such a fun spec.

[@sarkanix6801]

Always bottom dps! Survival is such a fun spec.

[@MGC-XIII]

I guess if the Hunter has bad gear and rotations ;) I can pull more on Ursoc as Surv than I can as MM

[@MrJustinArt]

+Sarkanix A bad spec can still be fun.

[@Relbl]

Seemed to me Preach was topping the meters in the HoV run he was showing over mages and whatnot... I've never actually grouped with a survival hunter so I have no idea what their output could be

[@sarkanix6801]

MrJustinArt Maybe for some people, I actually played a survival hunter and it was alright; it's just that I was the bottom dps in every dungeon so I started playing mm

[@alexandruiordan4579]

Such high value content lately dude. It's awesome

[@Wheel_of_Kain]

One can always rely on PG Twitch chat for best choices and great bantz.

[@ForthexDemgaimz]

cant wait on a new legacy of the .... they are sooo good.

[@LukesGamerRoom]

the troll is strong with this one. so looking forward to this suevival journey lol

[@zwolf-cf5rk]

duh hes a troll hunter

[@niklasstahl98]

It's an Orc...

[@Kunshi666]

Best way to choose your melee class : Asking twitch chat. Kappa

[@Apoxiosis]

YES! Survival is literally the best designed spec in the game. It's so much fucking fun.

[@jodyboles8208]

You must be joking right.....

[@silverspear21]

He said fun, he is not implying top dps.

[@Ross97512]

its terribly designed. you may find it fun but calling it the best designed spec is not true.

[@Apoxiosis]

It's excellent design, every button feels like it has a purpose. Nust because you don't have the mental fortitude to play it well doesn't mean it's bad design.

[@Ross97512]

"dont have the mental fortitude to play it well" ok man. thats deflecting criticism of the spec. there is a very good reason why barely anyone mains survival. even if it was top dps in the game it would still not be played. there is just too much wrong fundamentally in the design of it.

[@tommymuggus1221]

oh man good luck Preach mate! loves the idea of a melee hunter, hated survival so much!

[@MrLSD]

Have you ever though about getting Ghost to play a role outside of his niche with no help but your videos to see how he does? It would be an interesting way to gauge not only his progress but also how well your videos help someone who is new to a role. Ive had a super busy festive period which Im just back from but Im wondering if you compared pulling methods with tanks as well (in your tanking videos)? I feel the pull is an area which a lot of dps and tanks could benefit from extra attention to tidy up general gameplay. Example being spell reflecting a distant mob to maintain aggro if you for some reason cant move a pack. Maybe you could highlight in your melee vids how interrupting an freecasting mob to draw its movement to a tanks aoe can help tidy pulls. Looking forward to a good vid marathon from these series at some point when I'm done unpacking!

[@asphtherogue]

I think it will be super interesting to see one of the least played/most hated specs get some time from a decent player like Preach. To be honest I always like the idea of going for an underdog class; a month ago that was Brewmaster but now people are beginning to realise how good it is and we're slowly seeing more of them. Anyway, looking forward to the series! I wonder what range option he'll take - ele shaman or a warlock perhaps?

[@Raytexifire]

preach, i hope you will talk about in short about outlaw rogue (THE RNG SPEC!) vs. the other specs (more consistant in my eyes). thanks for making this series really helped my tanking on my main, now i hope i can something more on my dps on my rogue :)

[@dylansimcox7288]

Damion Will top 10 outta 14 lol?

[@DerTannenSchredder]

Where is the rest of the series D:

[@oosmexypandaoo4194]

I honestly like the survival hunter play style, wish they had done some more interesting things with the artifact traits and talents though.

[@Fireontire]

I chose to main a Survival Hunter in Legion and I am still doing that, love the spec, especially on a Tauren, just fits really and it hits god damn hard.

[@ArokhX]

Preach, weren't you going to do a Disc priest specific healer video? For some reason I've been under the impression that was going to happen.

[@SSHayden]

I thought the video will go into dissecting why and which melee specs are useful for what :( Someone explain to me why play an Unholy?

[@kennethwright5664]

Maglev Maybe they are a masochist? Maybe big numbers scare them? (shrugs)

[@camzoman]

Because they like how the spec plays and the level that they play at means that player skill is a far bigger factor in determining DPS than class choice?

[@Ashaeron]

At the moment; flavour, RNG, enjoyment of the spec, don't want to reroll legendaries, RNG, enjoy a pet melee, and don't mind heavy RNG. Frost is stronger in pretty much every way right now, and doesn't look to change with 7.1.5, and has greater reliability.

[@Zero5762]

Because you always wanted a Necromancer and Unholy is the closest option

[@saigautam7015]

Maglev simple. cuz its fucking fun and awesome

[@dreadsyth_]

"Why do you hate Survival hunters Preach" best quote of 2016

[@oake5869]

..Working hard on that legacy video I imagine

[@jrobpaqthe2nd]

I love survival hunter, it's not a joke.

[@Relbl]

Honestly I've been meaning to try it myself as I've literally NEVER seen one in a single group I've run since Legion launched... and I did the marksmen artifact and hated the gameplay so haven't touched my hunter since...

[@Geraduss]

Its fun, but fiddly. My suggestion FORGET about the first tier talent that boosts your Attack Power, just don't. Its minimal dps boost.

[@Squary94]

I encountered 3 survival hunters. All of them very early on at the launch of legion.

[@Zonjo-]

Being a raiding survival hunter this should be interesting because I love the spec and i don't think it has as many problems as the community thinks it has

[@Voolcan]

x3 mongoose bite > snake hunter (granting 3 charges of MB) > MONGOOSE BITE x3 with each strike doing like 300x more dmg + free procs

[@mattyone78]

I think they could make survival a mail tank build where your pet takes agro as active mitigation, but then need time to recuperate so the hunter is directly attacked then. Shared health pool, if pet is attacked whilst recuperating takes extra damage. Just thoughts.

[@SigFrid1985]

2:46 (Moongose system) and 2:53 (so damn buttons for nothing) are the key moments about why I don't like Surv.-spec and I play Hunter as my main (MM when in groups and BM for single-play).

[@kadjotamed]

Preach, at some point you talked about doing a video talking about disc priest. While I understand your time is limited, is there a chance you could talk about it briefly in your last healing video?

[@elilucas3361]

this is what happens when you trust in democracy, you get a melee series with SV hunter...

[@kaczor451]

You also said there will be separate video about discipline priest in your healing series. Will you upload one?

[@seajayxd]

Preacher, concerning the pet following you problem, I found making a petattack macro and putting it on a bunch of my basic abilities I use on my primary target.

[@Craftee6]

Such a shame they didnt pick outlaw, maybe i'd learn how to do more then 50% of damage im doing as assa with 883 gear on it. Single target ofc.

[@Wunderkind04]

Good God, this just made my day. I've been looking forward to playing a true melee Hunter for eight years, and then they slap down this garbage mess of a spec. REALLY looking forward to what your opinions on changing it are, Preach. Hoping Blizzard does a massive overhaul of it sometime in Legion (Even though they said they wouldn't do big classes changes, kek).

[@alnanngaming8178]

Survival is what I main, and I'm one of the highest DPSing hunters on my server. It's a lot stronger than people give it credit for. I'm part of my guilds mythic raid group and we are 5/7M Emerald Nightmare. It definitely has it's weaknesses and strengths, but the utility it has makes it stronger. As far as the pet not following you with harpoon, just macro Dash or Charge with harpoon. That way your pet gets a massive movement ability when you use harpoon. My pet always makes it to my target with me.

[@Magziesfuntime]

You could macro the pet attack command and the grapple and just use the botton instead of the reg botton that way you are always getting the pet to follow suit.

[@Lee-hf9ci]

Was there any taught to melee when making this choose? A majority of melee dps don't have the option to go range if they don't like the spec.

[@zenoftw]

I love the fact that there's a spec in Legion that's arguably more forsaken than half the specs in vanilla, especially when a lot of classes only had 1 viable spec.

[@dvides89]

Please dont forget the discipline guide you promised in the healing series.

[@Xsetsu]

We have a survival hunter in my raiding guild that pulls really good numbers. As many naysayers are they are out there, I don't know if the class is as big of joke as some make it out to be. One of the tricks I have learned talking to her is to make sure you have a carrion bird for mortal strike as it helps with mongoose far more often they other pets.

[@MrEcoho]

hey preach quick question what are your thoughts on sub rouge? and do you have a video on the spec? like the spec alot but not so sure about sustained damage for raids and mythic plus

[@valeriodellacasa5360]

could anybody please tell me what the name of the addon is that modifies his enemies action bars and shows a timer on the debuff he applies on them? thanks :)

[@ConfusedRaccoon]

awwww yeah. that choice =D I have to say, it gets a lot better with gear and once the artefact tree fills out a good amount. Flanking strike works similar to kill command, as to say, it charges your pet to the target if it's within x meters. Mongoose bite procs more often but is still a bit iffy sometimes. Fuck the Mok'Nathal buff but that's supposed to be getting more manageable in 7.1.5. Since I've swapped some mastery gear for vers/haste gear I've seen my numbers shoot up to nearly double my dps.

[@vitsavicky]

Will you be doing a similar series on Ranged DPS? I am right now transitioning from playing a Healer since Vanilla into raiding as a Boomkin and I am really looking for any info I can get on how to get into the DPS mindset as that is completely foreign to me. I can track the fight and predict almost anything happening before it happens (as a healer should), I can tank and form death-balls and get the mobs under control, but for some reason I really struggle with the DPS mentality of "always be casting".

[@Yaeshi]

I am 100% sure that he will make ranged dps series after meele one

[@joeboston2719]

can someone please tell me the song in the background in the beginning? thanks

[@meganlowder9648]

You ever going to finish this?

[@stalok5963]

I've been thinking about returning to wow after some burning out mid october. DOnt want anything big, bulky and wearing plate, so was thinking about going back to my rogue or leveling a surv hunter (for the option to go ranged). Hope that series hepls me out!

[@Halexar]

"Cleaving passively" seems to be an approach that Blizzard decided to give a lot of melee specs this expansion, and it's become really stupid since they can't nerf AoE without affecting ST in some way.

[@AirshipFury]

Seeing as you're going to play a gimp spec for melee, does this mean that you're going to play a Warlock for your next one, or are the ones you did with your mage enough?

[@enva1n]

I've been playing survival since launch. I felt like it was going to be the underdog and get shit talked to oblivion..and it does but honestly I don't care it's a fun spec to play and has its faults but as a player that makes it all the more fun when you actually bring it and beat other hunters in DPS. I've finally unlocked all my traits In it and going to keep dumping in AP into it. hope you enjoy it preacher and I hope you can get blizzard to listen to really help this spec out. I'll be looking forward to watching your upcoming videos on it.

[@TheLordDracula]

if you want to spin plates play feral. got that shit is complicated. only gets worse as you add mechanics and more targets

[@mrdelioncourt8226]

Wotlk Feral.

[@Chopstorm.]

Mr De Lioncourt wotlk feral wasn't that hard, especially if you raided with an arms warrior. Survival right now is the more difficult spec by far.

[@mrdelioncourt8226]

YOU FUCKING WOT M8!@! I WILL FIGHT YOU SO GOD DAMN HARD. Also I play surv now. Its not hard its clunky. Theres a difference.

[@Chopstorm.]

There is, but even if you fixed some of its clunky attributes (fixed pet AI, extended the mongoose bite buff, etc), it still would be the most challenging spec to play currently. It really says a lot about the current state of the game.

[@mrdelioncourt8226]

Its more like if you play the spec how its currently implemented you feel like a sub par ranged/melee hybrid. Sure you can do some cool stuff but the raid would be better off having an actual focused ranged or melee class. Theres no mechanic I can think of that surv can deal with better than another class. I cant think of anytime I've sat back and said "Survival would make this a lot easier/better".

[@boxenkj]

I play survival. Its can be a fun spec once your get used to it. Steep learning curve, and sometimes you have to let all the plates crash to the floor so you can keep pressing mongoose bite.

[@alexanderchipman9571]

When will you be doing the disc priest guide?

[@eon993]

Survival? I thought Preach would be breaking out the Rogue or Warrior for this one. This will be interesting.

[@kurtisbrown8323]

Summed it up in your first dungeon there preach The spec can be competitive in the right hands but setting up damage and the clunky unpolished style just puts a lot of people off. Great potential and as you said I like that I kinda do aoe without really pressing aoe buttons too much

[@goran77ish]

So, if I see SV hunter in random dungeon now I know it is Preach. ONLY SV hunter out there.

[@Noobbane01]

When are you gonna do a disc priest video for the healing series?

[@CoachNezzy]

The PG chat picking the spec for the melee series... If you've been here for awhile you had to have seen survival hunter coming. As a melee I'm looking to this but I'll have to look away as much as possible from the footage.

[@Brucelectricmoose]

Recon Blitz will ban these pay to boost tossers springing up? There seems to be loads in group finder.

[@Yaeshi]

Am I the only one who likes Survival Hunter ? :D I know it has its issues and is not an optimal spec, but I still ahve fun playing it :D

[@tharadoondoomhammer4519]

I just got to the part where you announced your pick and I threw up in my mouth a little bit, so I had to pause and type this... This may be the first WoW video of yours I don't make it through.

[@codyspinks2466]

Love the varian on the thumbnail, thought you'd picked warrior Lol. This'll be fun to watch. #surviable

[@Brekner]

If only SV had the same stats as the other 2 hunter specs....maybe people would give it a try. But to change all gear, yeah, not gonna happen.

[@gorrumKnight]

This has been my biggest issue gearing my offspecs. None of my high versatility/haste/crit gear translates over to either ranged spec.

[@kloaf1131]

gorrumKnight on top of that BM and mm are some of the easiest specs I know of top switch between start wise

[@XanderCottrell]

i've always wanted a melee hunter in the game, i hope blizz decides to make some changes to it to make it more enjoyable

[@runelateralus9265]

Shhh....behold, a rare survival Hunter is out there alone in the wild. Be careful not to startle, or me not have a chance to see a rare creature until next winter.

[@havtor007]

The moment i saw the name here i knew it was survival simply by what your reasons for choosing the other 2 classes

[@whiteclaw4531]

You know that normal 100-109 dungeons don't scale properly when a survival hunter is top dps :D

[@cameronzepeda3314]

Me and all my guides think your a god preacher

[@Apoxiosis]

He's no god, just a preacher.

[@jedidiah4004]

Odds he flakes out and changes his choice before the next vid like the tanking series? I'm actually genuinely curious where he heard that blood DKs are weak/underperforming tanks, I've seen nothing but amazing results from them both in mythic raids and all levels of M+

[@dominic.h.3363]

where are 2-5/5?

[@abiybattlespell8401]

hmmm is there a sheet tht list wht the important things to interupt are for dungeons atleast

[@kloaf1131]

best part of survival is the artifacts hidden passive

[@Vigstad]

this'll be a blast

[@mad-eel]

I like that choice (y) Now I'm really curious how far you can go with it as mythic raider and experienced player. Maybe even I'll play this spec then - I was considering playing as surv hunter but lack of community support made me change my mind. I picked up Outlaw Rogue as a melee spec for me, so... I have fun though :D

[@diamondz28]

any chance i can have the wa string for the surv hunter? looks good

[@StpRyder]

I thought the title card was Garen for a second

[@Speeds_Gaming_Corner]

ahh melee. the biggest cluster fuck in the game

[@Boragh92]

not gon' finish?

[@ReggaeHarmony]

Preach, you ever played Wow in a Guild called Darklight?

[@HavocHounds1988]

Personally I enjoy Survival's playstyle.

[@ethanavrigean6734]

Josh Gamauf ditto, super intensive and fun

[@MyViolador]

plus you character roars everytime you use mongoose bite at 5 o 6 stacks

[@HavocHounds1988]

Yep, my hunter is an Orc, so very fitting.

[@cris1500pher]

my alt is acyually surival, the spec does become better with some really needed traits, and i love how fun it is, since marks and bm just feel so braon dead to me.

[@angryshoe69]

"Even if this thing did great damage, I wouldn't want to play it." - This is exactly how I feel about Survival. And that comes from more than just a veteran Hunter that hates the idea of a "melee Hunter." I understand the spec and what I need to do with it... it's just not for me. - All the best to those who do like it! ^^

[@easye137]

I dont think damage is the real issue with survival. Mostly that no one wants another melee class in their raid. Melee has been pretty strong so far this xpac that there is usually a surplus of them in a lot of guilds and a lack of ranged. Why play survival and give up the utility a bm or mm brings to the group?

[@TheGoldblaze]

Preach, what's that song you always use? The soft one with female vocals that goes something like "... I don't wanna... like this". It's in this video aswell.

[@suisiders7181]

TheGoldblaze Anevo Electric Heart ft. Ameria

[@TheGoldblaze]

Thanks man!

[@TheCoDzillaPlayer]

Windwalker, Enha, Frost and Fury all are great melee specs to me :D Havent tested most of the remaining ones.

[@wmen48]

Arms is 1000times better for me. Because I love off gcd stuff. Fury is well not furious enough.

[@Shuyin8999]

I'm considering leveling a Monk atm, I don't have a main atm because I don't have time to raid. Are monks fun to play as WW?

[@wmen48]

Yes it actually is great. Dunno about dps competiveness but as gameplay goes its fun.

[@Shuyin8999]

Yea its been good so far leveling. Also where do you buy heirloom in legion? Im alliance.

[@wmen48]

Ironforge explorers guild place one of npc there. For fhorde it's Undercity .

[@saigautam7015]

Melees that i recommend are Dk's, Feral druids, warriors (duh), enhancement shamans or rogues

[@logarth]

What happened to parts 2-5?

[@Prayse9]

Right now I am rolling a Tauren Paladin .. have a 110 warrior with one legendary and a 110 mage... but i am not so satisfied with the warrior right now (limited options for me).. so i roll pala now because i like the lore, the animations, and the option to play different roles..keeping my mage for when i want to rdps again :)

[@MyViolador]

isnt survival getting another buff next patch?

[@incredibletitan4525]

I main survival and idk why people put so much hate onto it, yes the build is weird but it's efficient, I started out the expansion playing the demon hunter but I found it to be too simple and repetitive so I decided to switch and it puts out great dot damage and cleave damage with mongoose bite and raptor strike.

[@Goatseven]

Preach we just put up with your educational videos so we can get the final video. Afking in Dalaran: Things not to do.

[@xsvmalice8541]

hunter?!?!?! ohh man thats rough. played for many years and I just can't roll one 😂.

[@eyebite007]

Does survival perform? Not exactly. But does that make the spec any less fun if you love the play-style? Ofc not, we've always been one to play the spec we like. Go community!

[@Greenscyth22]

I still would have preferred that Survival hunters get to choose to use more than just a polearm...I kept so many melee weps for my hunter since TBC, I half expected Blizz to copy D&D down to the details with melee hunters. I would love to use two swords or two axes, but the dmg is still fun to dish out.

[@Greenscyth22]

Yes, but you can't dual wield 1H swords as survival...shame imo.

[@Telleryn]

I wish they had made BM the melee spec instead, playing off the bestial wrath idea of taking on the aspect of the beast and carving up your prey like a true predator.

[@sparda9060]

Now the spec is a lot less cluttered up if they made mongoose buff duration refresh when you get a mongoose bite proc from the mastery (your pet gives chance to proc a mongoose bite) or at least increase the duration of the mongoose bite buff for like 3 seconds per mastery proc. Also to cap out that duration extension to like maybe 20 sec added duration from the original. SV is way too complex for the amount of dps pay off that is barely on par with the shittiest melee dps spec out there. Plus they need to give BM and SV pets a 3 sec speed boost and a charge when the pet is within charge range when you use Kill Command or Flanking Strike. some bosses outrun the fucking pet making it annoying to use abilities when your pet is not in melee range for you to use it and it makes you pretty much waste a global hitting the button with an error message.

[@arviiq2088]

Its a bit too late...But is it possible to be good at melee after 7 years of only casting?

[@solowing216]

name of the song?

[@lordjorach]

It's actually somewhat fun to level as survival

[@BlasphemousVerses]

Survival has so much potential but as of right now it's just a mess.

[@greatshaman0724]

ill be sticking with this one if you remain survival ;)

[@Ray13star]

I am really enjoying my DK (both frost and unholy) now that I have earned decent gear.

[@AiTheKitsune]

Welp. Now that Preach is playing SV, im forced to break out mine.