| Big Congratulations to Paragon to be the first guild in | | | | the best single target damage Mage spec while Fire is |
| the world to beat the Lich King in 25-Heroic mode! | | | | the best, AoE damage spec, mages will have |
| This is a really big achievement, as the fight seems | | | | problems catching up on the rest of the damage |
| to be extremely difficult and not forgiving even the | | | | dealers in terms of both single target and AoE |
| smallest mistake. This kill is much discussed in the | | | | damage. Mages are also known to be the squishiest |
| gaming community at the moment, especially with | | | | class out of the casters, so my guess is that the |
| the guild Ensidia not succeeding in getting this world | | | | mages got left out because of mana and survivability |
| first kill before Paragon even though they have said | | | | issues at this high-risk fight. |
| that they don't see competition in the face of | | | | The lack of a DPS shaman could be because both |
| Paragon when it comes to who will get the first Lich | | | | Elemental and Enhancement shamans have been left |
| King kill. This kill was also done with 5% buff which | | | | behind on DPS for a very long time now and as |
| proves it possible, even though Blizzard is planning to | | | | hybrid classes, will have problems keeping up with the |
| implement 10% and 15% buffs in the upcoming | | | | rest of the damage dealers. Additionally, the |
| weeks to make the encounter easier for more casual | | | | enhancement shaman will have to use the |
| guilds who would still like to see the end content. | | | | survivability cooldown for DPS boost, which will make |
| | | | | the shammy more vulnerable and in danger of |
| Paragon got 2 weapons drop of Lich King - | | | | potential death. The Elemental shaman will also have it |
| Glorenzelg, High Blade of the Silver-Hand and Archus, | | | | difficult to be on the ball and compete with the rest |
| Greatstaff of Antonidas together with the Invincible's | | | | of the ranged damage dealers; additionally they do |
| Reins - the Lich King's flying mount which is said to be | | | | lack AoE damage abilities so the choice to leave the |
| guaranteed drop for defeating the Lich King in heroic | | | | DPS shamans out at least at this point does make |
| mode. The mount was won by one of the warlocks | | | | sense. |
| in the raid, once again - congratulations to the | | | | |
| winners. | | | | The most interesting part is the fact that Paragon did |
| | | | | 5 heal the encounter. This is very difficult, yet they |
| One of the most discussed things about this kill is the | | | | still managed it. Hats off to them and their healers for |
| raid composition. Here are the classes Paragon took | | | | being able to pull this off. With the number of |
| with them to ensure their successful kill and world | | | | available spots for healers being cut down to five, |
| first. | | | | here is how their healers' composition looked: 2 Holy |
| | | | | paladins, 1 Holy priest, 1 Discipline priest, 1 Resto |
| 3 x Death Knight - 2 x Frost, 1 x Unholy | | | | shaman and no Resto druids. |
| 4 x Druid - 1 x Feral Tank, 2 x Feral DPS, 1 x | | | | |
| Balance | | | | The way I see it, the lack of Resto druid is mostly |
| 2 x Hunter - 2 x Marksmanship | | | | coming from the fact that the raid spots for healers |
| 5 x Paladin - 1 x Protection, 2 x Holy, 2 x | | | | are cut down to 5, it is a 2 tank fight and there are |
| Retribution | | | | no other shamans in the raid. This means that the |
| 3 x Priest - 1 x Shadow, 1 x Holy, 1 x Discipline | | | | Resto shaman will be needed for the totems and the |
| 3 x Rogue - 1 x Mutilate, 2 x Combat | | | | direct raid heals, the 2 Holy paladins are there |
| 1 x Shaman - 1 x Restoration | | | | because normally you bring 1 Holy paladin for each |
| 3 x Warlock - 1 x Demonology, 2 x Affliction | | | | tank when you expect massive damage on the |
| 1 x Warrior - 1 x Fury | | | | tanks and a long fight - Holy paladins are the most |
| | | | | mana efficient Main Tank healers. This leaves 2 healer |
| What everyone notices is the fact Paragon did not | | | | spots for priests or druids. The Discipline priest is one |
| bring mages, elemental or enhancement shamans and | | | | of the immediate choices - Power Word: Shield and |
| the Resto druids were also left out of this particular | | | | the damage mitigation provided by the talents from |
| raid composition. The question is why? There are of | | | | the Discipline tree are most definitely needed on a |
| course only speculations and guesses as at this point | | | | fight where everything is tight and the boss is still not |
| there is no official interview from the guild with exact | | | | on farm. This will leave 1 spot for either Holy priest |
| explanation, but most of the guesses seem quite | | | | or Resto Druid. My guess is that the Holy priest got |
| logical. | | | | that spot mostly because of the Inspiration |
| | | | | (increasing the armor on the healed target after a |
| First of all, I have to point out that this fight is very, | | | | critical heal landed) as well as the Guardian Spirit, |
| very long. There was a post from a member of | | | | especially if glyphed (30 seconds cooldown unless it is |
| Paragon stating that the kill took 15 min and 50 | | | | triggered). |
| seconds. This is quite a long time for any caster, and | | | | |
| mana will quickly become an issue. Additionally, this | | | | Of course until Paragon post some details about why |
| particular fight requires high survivability as well as | | | | exactly their raid composition looked like this, we can |
| AoE damage for the adds. | | | | only guess and speculate; however, from my |
| | | | | understanding about how the classes work, it seems |
| When you compare mages and warlocks under these | | | | Paragon stacked heavy melee raid to eliminate the |
| particular circumstances, it is obvious that warlocks | | | | going out of mana problem, provide all needed buffs |
| are a more viable choice. For 16 minute fights, even | | | | and have few Innervates ready for the healers, while |
| with 2 minutes evocation, mages will run out of mana | | | | at same time bringing the most mana efficient |
| way too often which will most likely result in lower | | | | healers who are able to deliver high single target |
| damage output. Additionally, as at this point Arcane is | | | | heals. |