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Making the Band
50 Cent is a warrior, Tori Amos is a paladin, Jimi Hendrix is a
mage, Tommy Lee is a priest and J Lo is a warlock. Not only do
they make sweet music, but theyd also make a great instance
group.
After spending a Saturday night in WoW-land, I went to church
the next morning. I really didnt pay too much attention to what
the pastor was saying as I was still fuming over the crappy
pickup group I was with the night before. Then the church band
started playing and I had a revelation: putting together a good
WoW group is a lot like putting together a good rock band. If
you think about it, each party member is like an instrument in a
rock band. And if all the instruments play well, you have a good
band. Bad instruments = crappy band. There are 3 main functions
that a person can perform in a group: tanking, DPS and healing.
Tanking requires getting and keeping aggro, so I liken that to
singing. DPS is about causing damage, so liken that to
instruments that damage your ear drums. And healing is like
keeping a beat and being the backbone of a party. So here is my
metaphor for what instrument each class plays:
Warrior = Lead vocals. The main job of the warrior is to tank. A
good tank grabs all of the aggro and keeps the attention of the
mobs away from the other party members. The lead singer is the
one person in the band who draws the most attention when on
stage. Cameras are always on them and the most famous rock stars
are usually the lead singers. Not many people come to a concert
to watch the drummer or the bassist; they pay their hard-earned
money to see the lead singer. Famous warriors: Gwen Stefani,
Mariah Carey, 50 Cent.
Paladin = Piano/Vocals. When I think of a paladin, I think of a
big hulking mass that grabs the attention of the mobs. When I
think of a piano in a rock band, I think of a big hulking mass
on stage that grabs the attention of the fans. In the few rock
bands that use a piano, the pianist is also the lead singer,
just like sometimes the paladin is the main tank of the group.
In some songs, pianos are used to keep a beat, just like in some
instances, paladins are asked to heal. Famous paladins: Tori
Amos, Ben Folds, Elton John.
Priest = Drums. Drummers are the lifeline of the group. They
keep the beat and control the pace of the music. Priests are
arguably the most important member of the group. Their healing
skills (or lack thereof) control the pace of how fast groups can
go in an instance. The tank wouldnt dare pull if the priest was
oom. Most rock bands need to have a drummer, just like most
groups need a priest. Famous priests: Tommy Lee, Lars Ulrich,
Keith Moon.
Mage = Electric Guitar. Much like how a mage spams out DPS and
AOE on mobs, the electric guitar wails out guitar riffs on the
audience. Like the mage, the electric guitar is the loudest
instrument on stage and thus creates a lot of attention. No
instrument can cause more damage to your ear drums than the
mage/electric guitar. Famous mages: Jimi Hendrix, Eddie Van
Halen, Santana.
Rogue = Bass Guitar. Most people dont even notice the bassist
when hes on stage. But thats exactly how the rogue works, under
the radar. Bassists use stealth; they dont want to draw
attention to themselves but they do make a big difference.
Listen to a band play with the bassist. Now take the bassist out
and hear how the song sounds different. Group with a rogue. Then
take the rogue out and youll notice a big difference, especially
with the DPS. Famous rogues: Bootsy Collins, Sid Vicious, Les
Claypool
Hunter = Acoustic Guitar/Vocals. A mage is to electric guitar as
a hunter is to acoustic guitar. In a group setting, the hunter
is primarily a DPS. Like the electric and bass guitar the hunter
is a stringed instrument. Of course, the acoustic guitar will
never be as loud as the electric guitar but the acoustic guitar
has one huge benefit over their electric cousin: the ability to
solo. The singing ability is like a hunters pet. The pet can
off-tank or be used for soloing. Famous hunters: Dave Matthews,
Jewel, Jack Johnson.
Druid = Keyboards/Synthesizer. The druid is versatile. He can
heal, tank, and DPS to a lesser degree. The druid and paladin
play similar instruments; they both tank, heal and DPS to a
lesser degree. But druids are more healer and less tank, thus
the keyboard can create electronic beats similar to a drummer.
Thats why many druids are recruited to be the healer for the
group. Famous keyboardists: Chemical Brothers, Trent Reznor,
Vince Clarke.
Shaman = Turntables. Turntables and DJs are more prevalent in
hip-hop music and usually have a more bad boy image about them.
Shaman are horde bad boys that are similar to druids in that
they are a jack of all trades and master of none. DJs can create
beats (heal), scratch records (DPS), and play records (totems).
Famous shaman: Jam Master Jay, DJ Lethal, Mix Master Mike
Warlocks = backup dancers. They dont tank, they dont heal and
they dont DPS. Thus, they dont play an instrument. With the
exception of certain instances, the warlock is the least sought
after class. Do you need a warlock in your party? No. But theyre
pretty cool to have and theyre certainly not worthless.
Soulstones, curses and off-tanking pets are just a few of the
things a warlock can do in a party situation. Where are a
warlock outshines all other classes is their ability to solo.
Dancing is an art form all on its own and when theyre on stage
at a concert theyre pretty cool to watch. Famous warlocks: J Lo,
Paula Abdul, NSync (ok they also sing, but theyre better dancers
than they are singers).
So lets inspect some of the popular music groups out there:
U2: warrior, priest, mage, rogue. Your basic rock band, and a
functional WOW group.
Green Day: mage, rogue, priest. They spam out so much DPS, they
dont need no stinkin tank!
Limp Bizkit: warrior, rogue, priest, mage, shaman (would make a
nice 5-man instance group)
Grateful Dead: 2 hunters, 2 priests, 1 rogue, 4 druids, 1
paladin and 1 warrior (if you count them all)
NSync: 5 warlocks. No wonder why this group sucks.
Cypress Hill: 2 warriors, shaman, priest
The White Stripes: mage, priest. A magical duo.
Chemical Brothers: 2 druids
Ben Folds Five: paladin, rogue, priest. An interesting combo but
the tank/DPS/healing trio is there.
The Carpenters: priest, paladin. Karen is better known as a
warrior.
P-Funk: lets just say theres enough here for an MC raid.
Much like in WoW, I have yet to think of a group/song that
contains a piano and a turntable.
Twinkletoes C 60 Electric Guitarist - Feathermoon !
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