How to understand... this game.

Basically I feel that many people have a narrow understanding of most things they do. Be it games, food, hobbies ect... most people are content in a rudimentary understanding of the specific rolls/functions they are comfortable doing.

It is my theory that the more you know about the entire realm of the specific domain of your focus, the better equipped you are to handle it.

"There is no knowledge that is not power" - You get a cookie if you know where that quote came from. No asking the internet. :P

There are much better things to tie this in with, but most of us play wow. Since it has a class system, understanding gives a lot more edge than it would in a more freestyle environment.

First thing I recommend doing is trying out your perceived "worst" talent tree. Go at least 41 once, and make a build that you think will work. Then play it for a few days. With any class, I think you will be surprised at how your perception of that tree will change. You will find many viable aspects that looked horrible at a glance. I would honestly recommend doing each tree once, then 2 hybrid builds. Test realms work best for this as you don't get taxed harshly for your golds T_T. Make sure you pvp, solo, and instance (raid if possible) with each build. This is one of, if not the best way to learn all the ins and outs of your class. Many people never go outside their preferable trees, have no idea how the other specs function. This generates a contagious ignorance among classes, and sets grounds for bias that make no sense.

"Sap that dragon" "Sheep that undead" "Shackle the demon" "Banish that beast"
We all hear something like that, and more often than we like. This strain of ignorance comes from no one doing research on other classes. Its easy to get a basic understanding of every class, via the forums or wowwiki. Most people however are put off at the thought of research, so I always advise them to roll new characters. This puts you in a whole new set of shoes and will definitely broaden your perspective. It is the best option for truely learning a classes roles and functions keenly. As you are forced to go slow via leveling. An alternative is again the test realms, get a premade and check out the different specs at 70. You won't learn as much this way unless you already have played the class quite a bit.

Investigating specs, playing different classes and doing a little bit of homework on game mechanics will make worlds of difference in any player.

We have all heard tanks screaming at healers, dpsers wtfing @ tanks and healers /wrists.

I ask most people that throw fits about or blame other classes if they have ever played, or know anything about the class they are whining about. Wanna guess what the answer is 99% of the time?

Funny thing is the most bitching I see is generally from an appointed raid leader. Some of them try to cover their ignorance with careful wordings.

"Im not a healer, but come on guys you really need to heal" <-- Clearly never played a healer. Because wtf else would a healer be doing in a raid?

" bandage." <--I don't disagree with this statement as it is. But every time I hear that line, there are either dots, aoes or something else that will make bandaging pretty pointless. Also I seldom hear the healers say it ;)

" you guys need to " <-- Few times have I heard a line like this make sense. It generally happens after a wipe or a failed tactic in a bg. Its also rarely stated from anyone of the said class.

"your spec is useless" <-- Unless you totally face roll your talents (even then I bet I could still play it :P) I strongly disagree with that statement. Yes, there are needs for specific specs for core rolls such as tanking and dedicated healing. But in every tree there is good stuff to be brought to the table.




As far as this game goes, do the following and your aptitude as a player will be much higher.

If you think its overpowered, play it.
If you think its easy, play it.
If you think you can do better, play it.
If you think it cant be beat, play it.
If you don't know it, play it.
If you you don't want to play it, research it.