What's the verdict on these two classes on TLP? I know they both change somewhat throughout era's, but is one much more noticeable then the other or both pretty much the same and trivial differences? I would prefer to play the one that does more dmg, not taking into consideration any other utility they may have. Thanks.
"On TLP" doesn't really help a ton since there are several TLP's in different era right now. You may get a better answer if you are more specific. That said, Beastlord is not really a strong DPS until many expansions in and it isn't until TBM that they get one of their truly class defining skills, Dichotomic Fury.
Beastlord is an ok class, however they have run into a major obstacle, which happened at change to dots, and is present atm. At first they got a good change to their dots, so they could use them as DD, but then they ran into major nerf which has devalued the value. The DD part of their dots was more than halfed. Beastlords can use dots as DD at present, but then expect to run out of mana within 1,5 min max or or use proper dd, but using them the value of melee goes down. You mention dict fury, they got 2 new dissident fury and composite fury, there you should continue to use dissifury because the 2 new ones are just worse in mana cost, and no benefits. Savage rancor has not been continued RF has not been continue, except maybe can say DF is continued of it lvl 98 There are no new focused clamor of claws since lvl 98, single target claw. The new 2h weapon change is underpowdered, from what it should be
They're both pretty capable and both play well solo. Just saying "most dps" invites the question; In what situations, snarekiting and autofiring for headshots? Single target nameds? Grouped with a main tank and priest trinity? I have played both, still do. I like beast buff package, always enough mana in reach. Pet is great fr aggro management and starting fights with two hitpoint pools to work with. Ranger has better fallback (running away / kiting) dps without taking hits, pet class harder to manage that way. If pet is attacking, mob turns to it. Modern pet behavior adds will switch to pet even if beast has DoTs etc on it but is out of melee range. Mobs used to follow the aggro. Both are fun and capable DPS. If i had to choose one over the other I'd chose ranger. Never needs pet toys, never has to worry about pet aggro management, subastantial DPS with zero mana, and TRACKING did I mention TRACKING? ;-) Oh and headshot is a thing. So are AAs/Glyphs. "more damage" is subjective. The one that does the most damage will be the one you put the effort into and really want to play. "Uitility" can be defined as not dying when fights go bad. No DPS in the lobby.
Every ability you called by name is at least ROF or later. The new bst dots don't really kick in until the HoT era (86+ IIRC). You just reinforced what I said. Beastlords get good, but much later. So depending on what era OP is in, they will have a different bst experience. Side notes: While it's true that the newer versions of our Dicho do not increase adps any further, they do heal more HP and mana with each cast. Personally I use Dissident because that is my preference. It's true the single target clamor hasn't been updated. However, there are very few situations where it's not okay to use the ae one anyhow. Don't let that one single thing be a sway point. Our DD's are focused at 0.4sec cast. They do not "make the value of melee go down". When you're burning it's true they are not ideal, but outside of that you won't lose much if anything.
Great, thanks for the feedback. I'm thinking LDON/GOD era, but not really raiding. Named, groups, open world. I already have a 65 SK and mage, so I'm not looking to be parsing - just something that can down stuff faster then the SK between those two classes when I'm soloing. Will also be geared if it makes any difference. Leaning towards the Ranger more so now.
I currently main a beastlord on a progression server in a top tier raiding guild and I honestly don't recommend it to anyone. The damage throughout the expansions is always a let down, even though you get new features and abilities they always seem behind the curve. Your dots tend to not land very reliably that burn your mana and have no negative resists. You spend most of your time in raids buffing Ferocity on a 2 minute cooldown, Spiritual X on the raid, and when you finally get it, Focus Paragon like every 1.45 minutes. All your other AE buffs you tend to not use, unless for whatever reason you don't have a shaman or ranger/paladin in the raid. You find yourself grouped with casters all the time because of your group paragon, and when you finally get spire/bestial you may finally find yourself in a melee group (SOF era). Need a BST for raid, make it a box. They honestly aren't worth playing main screen, and can easily be macro'd for all their effects.
Beast if you prefer molo life, ranger in later eras when you start to seriously stack HDex for HS goodness. The beast probably has the edge.
