Will any classes that are typically too strong on TLP launch (enchanters...) or too weak (rogues...) be different on Vaniki? I'm having trouble wrapping my head around what the experience will even be like. Do we need to wait until they provide more details to know what it'll be like?
Considering we actually have zero idea what is being changed maybe we should wait before speculating.
It will be based on who is strong at what expansion. Only a small share of players continue into GoD on TLPs so your guess is as good as mine.
Rogues are janky at low levels regardless of era... at least any era I've ever played one in, but I anticipate casters to be particularly strong at the start of this server, based off the very limited info about the ruleset I have seen so far. That may change though.
Really don't know. I could see something like a Ranger being a pretty strong dps. They get decent nukes with PoP spells plus their melee isn't terrible at 40. That's just for the first level lock. Have to factor in the expansions that are unlocked plus the level cap. Add in whatever changes they are planning; I don't know yet.
I think a lot will depend on how effective casters can be once we see how them lowering resists and other things actually work. I hope they do some in house testing to make sure its not broken one way or the other. Even nicer would be putting the server up for a week of beta testing then wipe it before launch.
I'd imagine chanter being chronically underpowered for pushing content on Vaniki since their mez/stun/charm spells have hard level caps, unless that's relaxed in some way too.
In GOD era, the spell focus items will be available and it sounds like at least some mobs will have lower resists, maybe only boss mobs? That's good for casters. But throw in a few high ratio weapons from LDoN or other expansion zones and melee may yet have the edge. All in all, sounds like fun!
Depends on how Caster changes stack up against any melee gains, but fact is the caster v melee debate has swung like a pendulum across expansions, casters were strong in some eras & weaker in others as melee did the opposing swing. But at L40 taking on L50 content I expect Casters to be the "front loaded" damage unil melee weaponry-ownership catches up at which point they'll probably have an edge (pun intended).
Magic weapons don't matter any more. Out of all the classes, monk will see the least gain for Vaniki. Better weapons will allow Rogues, berserkers and rangers catch up on dps at these levels
The main question is whether the hard caps on certain spells will be lowered. If, for example, Cajoling Whispers is still capped at 46, Enchanters won't be as good pushing lvl 50+ content as they are normally. I predict certain classes like Wizard will be almost useless. Their spells landed less than half the time when they were lvl 50, at lvl 40 (even with reduced resistances) I don't see their spells landing often. And their Lure spells are all 50+, so they will behind the curve the whole time. This is a real shame because I love playing Wizard, but I think I'll pass this time to play either a monk or necro. Clerics get CHeal at 39, this is going to be the primary factor. Clerics, Monks, and Mages (at least for Classic) will be the go-to classes. I see clerics being extremely high demand on Vaniki, even more so than past TLP servers.
My guess would be casters will be OP because they will overdo the resist thing to make them work, they haven't mentioned anything yet about adjusting mob ac to allow melees to actually hit them, so a level 40 monk trying to hit a level 70 raid mob will be doing almost no dps, while a necro landing dots will do decent damage that they may not have been able to do on prior servers due to resists. The lower cleric mana pool though I'm guessing necros will be twitching a lot until people start gearing. Melee will probably start catching up at some point where spell resists become less of an issue, but early on my guess would be necros OP.
That's assuming a tank (of any kind) will be able to stand there and tank that level 70 raid mob. And on far more easier and lower level content, the decreased resists could be overdone with raid mobs ping ponging all over the raid. A lot of unknowns, and I like it. Even with all the experience we have, there is no telling how indeed class balance will work. What class I will be playing is always a thing before TLP, but this time it's even more difficult to sort of know what you are getting into.
Cleric CH will not be really op, i mean that mana pool and hp on tanks even with gear might reach 2k?? Better off spamming other heals yeah? A good ch chain that knows how to skip properly maybe, but emem. Chanters are so far the op winners from what most think. Having charms hit 10 lvls above the normal range. Depending on how they break and how good people are snaring the damn mobs. I'm curious to see what beast and zerkers will bring at lower lvls. Other classes also have added and updated spell lines available that are not usually in classic era. Might give the monks a run for the money this go around. However it goes, I bet 10 krono Rogue armor still gonna rot after the token lockpicker/cr one is done gearing. Also, wizards may be able to hit sky mobs this time since them being 13 to 20 lvls above does not affect the spells. Idk.. here is hope the glass cannons get to shine. Not that I would raid sky really, but maybe just to say hey we did it. Unless they update the damn achievement list with some hard mobs and worthy awards.
Having seen the ruleset listed in the FAQ, my prediction now is that enchanters will be extremely powerful being able to CC and charm in-era mobs despite the level cap. Melee should be significantly more powerful than they'd otherwise be for their level once geared even if that gear is somewhat scaled down. Caster dps will likely be the weakest, stuck using level appropriate spells with at most an extra average few percent damage from focus effects above their level (does wearing gear while below the recommended level range even give focus effects?). That's mostly talking from the perspective of after the server progresses a bit. Things will be a lot less standardized until a few unlocks in, so balance will probably be all over the place, but in general I think melee stand to gain a lot more from gear above their level assuming the combat algorithms don't hold them back.
