Which specs are actual "sidegrades"? (heavy edition)

Hey everyone.

I was thinking about e-specs today, and some of the intention behind them was to make them sidegrades, not direct upgrades. So which e-specs do you think actually met that goal?

This poll is about the heavy classes. I would say of the heavy classes, spellbreaker is the closest to a sidegrade. It isn't meant to outright increase warrior's damage ouput, only its survivability. Obviously on first release it was OP in that regards (in PvP0, but that has since been toned down.

Spellbreaker used to be a pure sidegrade to Core but after a few choice buffs to it, it is pretty much an upgrade as far as power damage is concerned (to the point where us Warriors finally got a power DPS spec for Raids, yay!).

It remains a sidegrade as the power counterpart to Berserker’s condi however and in PvP Core still remains a viable choice due to the Defense traitline being an option for more sustain/defense (whereas neither Berserker nor Spellbreaker really has any space left for it).

So yeah, I’m not sure I’d still be willing to call it a sidegrade anymore. At least not a clear-cut as it was at launch (where it was nigh-useless for PvE and seemed exclusively aimed towards PvP). Were it not for missing out on Defense it would be a straight upgrade in all modes as is now.

The only real side grade here is RenegadeEverything else was either an upgrade at its time of release or is still directly used as an upgrade

Well, potato again. Kinda like the the light thread. Guardian elites are the least offenders. But I think this has to do more with guardian balance being more based on core lines. The power build can be played using virtues instead of DH. A bit of damage loss, but close. Condi core also somewhat works. Though guardian as a class had the best build diversity for a while.

Rev core does not exist. Renegade is the biggest offender, being nothing more than absolute power creep on PvE condi build already existed pre PoF.

For warrior, I always hated berserker, but it is a sidegrade. SB is basically core warrior with a block and boon removal. It even plays in PvE exactly the same, down to every utility. Such a shame, daggers have really cool animations, yet little use outside of main hand as a utility weapon in spvp.

I'm gonna say Firebrand. The reason for this is because it's an elite specialization that is designed in the context of what the guardian was always meant to be, a team supporter. Core guardian can be played one half support and the other half damage dealer, while Firebrand leans more towards the support side.

Warriors have by far the worst elite specializations, one is designed for being annoying with conditions which thankfully got nerfed a few years ago and the other one is designed to help bad warriors who can't time their blocks on time or can't evade so they use a stupid bubble (Full Counter) to daze their opponents.

I've never played a Revenant so I'm not too sure about the profession, but from what I've seen on the forums it doesn't look too amazing for Revenants. Not bad, just not amazing.

Dragonhunter is the worst specialization for guardian not only because they were hated when HoT launched, but because of how selfish the profession is. It focuses on shooting arrows at you, then pulling you into their traps to deal a lot of damage which is both lame and not heterosexual.

Also, Potato because of Wooden Potatoes. He's been with us for a long time and is a really good friend.

@Hoodie.1045 said:Dragonhunter is the worst specialization for guardian not only because they were hated when HoT launched, but because of how selfish the profession is. It focuses on shooting arrows at you, then pulling you into their traps to deal a lot of damage which is both lame and not heterosexual.

Is that a bad thing? That being the spec is selfish. Considering core guardian is kind of mixed regarding personal DPS and team support, so a spec that takes the support rich profession and takes a new direction seems to be the purpose of elite specs. Like, if Warrior gets a new elite spec that aims at long range attacks and support/sustain (like maybe a Paragon with a throwing spear and some kind of capabilities to fill out a team support role that isn't spamming might) would be bad? Or all the players that constantly bemoan Ranger and begged for a pet-free spec?

No, I think it's a good thing to veer away from the norms of the base profession (veer, not abandon) to make the specs varied for players that like specific professions or playstyles.

The only bad thing about Dragon Hunter is how seemingly terrible the Longbow is. 99.99% of Dragon Hunters run GS and the 00.01% that remains simply haven’t discovered the truth yet.