The Case for the Spear

[Sebazy]

So I'm coming to the conclusion that the OP's post is a:

1) Thinly veiled snipe at raiders and people farming content.

2) Said snipe is then used as an automatic counter to pretty much any disagreeing response.

3) Try to think about using spear more.

4) Dropping it on a healer is likely good, dropping it on a DPS is likely bad

Regarding points one and two, I think you're missing one of the biggest factors that drives high end raiders along. Raid gear? Meh, we know we will get everything we want from a raid tier within a month or two now, most of it is ugly as sin and is just going to get glamoured over anyway. Rather the majority of us are there for the path of self improvement vs the limits of our own ability, the competition vs the limits of our peers, the banter with rivals as well as all the other social facets of the raiding scene and FCs in general.

Given that I spent most of my A10 farming sessions dodging troll button pushes and raising those that got caught napping, I find it kind of hard to agree with your assessment

Onto point 3 and the spear topic itself, it's a pretty legitimate point, the card does have it's uses (as do all the others that are invariably seen as RR/Crown fodder frankly). I also completely agree with point 4, dropping it on a DPS is a distraction that they likely neither want nor need, in a chaotic dungeon or 24 man run it's likely not going to be a big deal. In a Savage turn it's going to cause issues tho.

However, there's another aspect to this that the math always overlooks, quite simply, the time it takes for you to work out what to do with the card as well as the speed with which I can deal with a card appropriately and get Draw back on CD. If I waste a GCD or two flapping about what's best to do with a card that's not balance, I've likely lost any value that it would have offered and perhaps more. Any time spent with a card held waiting to be used is eating into my opportunities to pull a balance. I want to pull and use/dispose of cards as quickly as I can with as little thought as I can get away with.

In the end, it's usually more efficient to just auto arcana anything that's not conductive towards an AoE balance and instead concentrate on maximising your personal DPS.

[NocturniaUzuki]

So I'm coming to the conclusion that the OP's post is a:

1) Thinly veiled snipe at raiders and people farming content.

2) Said snipe is then used as an automatic counter to pretty much any disagreeing response.

3) Try to think about using spear more.

4) Dropping it on a healer is likely good, dropping it on a DPS is likely bad

Regarding points one and two, I think you're missing one of the biggest factors that drives high end raiders along. Raid gear? Meh, we know we will get everything we want from a raid tier within a month or two now, most of it is ugly as sin and is just going to get glamoured over anyway. Rather the majority of us are there for the path of self improvement vs the limits of our own ability, the competition vs the limits of our peers, the banter with rivals as well as all the other social facets of the raiding scene and FCs in general.

Given that I spent most of my A10 farming sessions dodging troll button pushes and raising those that got caught napping, I find it kind of hard to agree with your assessment

Onto point 3 and the spear topic itself, it's a pretty legitimate point, the card does have it's uses (as do all the others that are invariably seen as RR/Crown fodder frankly). I also completely agree with point 4, dropping it on a DPS is a distraction that they likely neither want nor need, in a chaotic dungeon or 24 man run it's likely not going to be a big deal. In a Savage turn it's going to cause issues tho.

However, there's another aspect to this that the math always overlooks, quite simply, the time it takes for you to work out what to do with the card as well as the speed with which I can deal with a card appropriately and get Draw back on CD. If I waste a GCD or two flapping about what's best to do with a card that's not balance, I've likely lost any value that it would have offered and perhaps more. Any time spent with a card held waiting to be used is eating into my opportunities to pull a balance. I want to pull and use/dispose of cards as quickly as I can with as little thought as I can get away with.

In the end, it's usually more efficient to just auto arcana anything that's not conductive towards an AoE balance and instead concentrate on maximising your personal DPS.

I was certainly not trying to snipe at anyone here. I never made any claim that one type of player is better than another, or more "correct". I'm also aware that some high-end raiders are in it for the challenge. I think everyone plays for self-improvement, whether they are conscious of it or not, so it really can't be classed into either Material Goal Achievers or Immaterial Goal Achievers. Technically, it's an Immaterial Goal, but even Material Goal Achievers pursue it. The bottom line is that people always strive to self-improve so they can better reach their goals, whatever they may be. The high-end raiders you refer to sound like people who are Material Goal Achievers that tend to pursue immaterial goals when they've met their material goals. This is pretty common among this group of players, since they so quickly achieve their material goals. When there are no material goals for them to pursue, many of them start to dabble in their immaterial interests, and some of these people may even develop more of an interest in the immaterial than the material. Meanwhile, others will latch onto the infinite material goal: amassing wealth. And others still will just quit the game until new content comes out for them to pursue (this group is probably the largest contributor to the depopulation of the game between patches).

I like your point about the time taken in figuring out what to do with cards. I agree too many people overlook it and I don't think I actually mentioned it in my own analysis. If the player thinks quickly and plans in advance, it doesn't make that much of a difference. In other cases, it can cause long delays. For those who aren't overly concerned with DPS, though, it's a moot issue. Personally, I'll even sit there with a drawn card ticking down if I deem that it will be useful between 30-60 seconds from the time I draw it (e.g. I draw a Bole but have something held; I know that a major tank buster is coming in about 45 seconds and want to ensure it goes well, so I hold on to the Bole for about 20-25 seconds then use it on the tank). Such situations are quite rare though. Most tank busters in regular battle formats are not a threat. It really only starts becoming something to consider when you're doing things with odd party compositions - like trying to get a solo tank through one of the longer Akh Morns in Royal Menagerie when they've already used their best defensive cooldowns, or getting a low-geared solo tank through synced ShivaEX bow form.

Of course, the response that many people would give to such situations is: "Why are you even trying that. If the tank isn't geared enough, then get a new tank." But as long as I can fix it as a healer, I don't exclude players in that way (not that I'm blaming the people who do; I can fully understand the frustration of having a weak player dragging down a farming party, etc). I actually enjoy the challenge of dealing with such chaotic situations, which is why I can often be found helping parties with a very low level of mechanical competence to clear difficult battles.