[Troxx]

Originally Posted by Raev [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

It's silly to write off the endgame performance of a class.

Look man, I'm not trying to write off the end-game performance of a class. Bleeding edge single group content (Ie HoT single grouped, SG, Juggs) isn't exactly a huge part of the game. It's the end of the road for a lot of folks and many who don't commit to hardcore raiding aren't going to be spending a significant portion of their time farming Juggs, HoT with a single group, or Sirens Grotto. Many of those who do the latter (HoT/SG) are sporting raid gear. As you've already mentioned, raid gear shifts the balance in a very significant way towards melee, and those really high end areas sport mobs with nasty high resistances, which further favors any melee over every caster with the exception of a class that can charm. Nobody is denying any of that.

For most players and for most of the time, focusing in exclusively on this content isn't really relevant to the broader discussion. On that note, disparaging "mid 50's PuGs" is pretty silly as every toon will spend most of their time in at this level of play. Until players hit that end of the line group content, pet Int classes do shockingly well across the board for raw damage output.

Originally Posted by Raev [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

I guess you get your guys to 60 and then are mostly finished with them? Nothing wrong with that, but most people are going to want at least basics like their epic and a set of HOT gear, or will want to farm up some platinum for a twink.

Like I said, I've been overseas for 6 years (will be back in the states in a few months). Euro and Asian time zones don't really allow for traditional raid progression as guildmates are generally asleep or at work when I have time to play. I have a professional career and a family, so I can't/won't engage in p99's preferred style of raiding which involves calls going out at odd times to mobilize. I carve out some me time to play and if something doesn't happen during that narrow window, I'm not available to participate.

I enjoy playing my 60s, but sitting around xp capped lfg for 1-3 hours before finding something productive to do (I don't need experience) isn't exactly fun - so alts enter the equation. I'll scout around for a bit and if I don't get any bites, I swap over to a character I can make progress with.

So yes, unfortunately I get to 60, get to coldainish level of content gear, and then that character has a tendency to start collecting dust.

Originally Posted by Raev [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

And the endgame performance of Necromancers just isn't great in my experience.

From a raw dps standpoint, at that level of play damage potential comparatively does take a nose dive. 70-80 dps is nothing to sneeze at, but it's not going to keep up with raid geared melee. If you factor in other abilities the necromancer brings to the table, that performance is still pretty great.

Originally Posted by Raev [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

But hey, you could always post some parses and prove us wrong!

My work day is just starting, I'll sift through logs when I get home. Want necro, mage, or both? Necro logs in particular will be more challenging to find accurate representations for dps as when I'm in a group I rarely get to focus exclusively on dps. Time spent rooting, healing, and on demand twitches group mates want all subtract time and mana from the equation. It's a rare thing to be in a group where my only job is dishing out damage, hence why I initially said I'd get new ones where I can focus on nothing but damage.

What is pretty consistent is the expected damage from the pet. In crappy/low places like KC the 53 rog pet is close to 60 sustained dps. In places like seb it's in the 50 range for standard areas and 40-45 on the very high level mobs with a tank who knows how to position. From there, it's not hard to calculate sustained dps potential with absolutely zero down time (it's just math). Every extra med tick or bit of down time shifts the balance more in favor of the caster.