What Your WoW Main Spec Says About Your Personality

[00:04] are an extrovert? Or are you an extrovert because you enjoy red paladin? How about hunters? >> Oh. Oh, sorry buddy.

[00:28] the personalities of WoW gamers and what kind of people like which kind of specs based on their own psyche. Fun, am I right? And I don't even charge by the hour. But what type of personality do you have? Or rather, what does the spec

[00:43] you enjoy playing says about who you are deep inside when nobody's looking? Well, I'm sure by now you have heard of the MyersBriggs 16 personality types your fancy educative friend tried to trick you into getting tested for. Or probably

[00:59] you are mostly familiar with the big five. Openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness, extroverted, and neuroticism. We will be using none of those because the 16s are way too complex and actual red paladins will

[01:14] fall asleep midway. Neither we will use the big five since they have little to do with wo specs. And even if we would humor them, five is a bit too few to classify the diversity of DPS classes in modern WoW. Instead, we will be talking

[01:29] about your personality and the spec you choose to main based on the data provided by Quantic Foundry, a platform and study group that specializes in and study group that specializes in games and gamers with data from over 1.7

[01:42] million gamers online. And we will cross reference their findings with World of Warcraft. Quantic talks about nine types of gamers based on their gaming preferences, gaming motivation, and gaming personalities. the acrobat, the

[01:56] gardener, the slayer, the skirmisher, the gladiator, the ninja, the bounty hunter, the architect, and the bard. This literature goes way deeper and is more sophisticated than what we will do here in this video because right now we

[02:12] will just have some fun. So, let's start with the first type. and discovery. There are very few specs that embody this feeling more than Havoc

[02:28] and Windalker. Both are the most mobile DPS in the game with a lot of skill expression in their glide and lighter than air mechanics. On the side of challenges, we have to talk about Arcane Mage. A spec that, granted has been

[02:43] simplified over the years. It still retains a challenging approach and always seems to find new ways, creative ways to unleash mayhem. Acrobat gamers enjoy games that have a moderate pace, require thinking, and figuring out game

[02:59] mechanics on their own. Although Havoc and Windalker shine more on solo content with their use of skill expression to overcome challenges, Arcane also embodies that through its mage utility kit. It shares its it utility kit of

[03:13] course with the other two specs, but those two belong in different those two belong in different categories. side of the acrobat spectrum. They like their mechanics upfront and clear while

[03:29] they undergo their gaming needs. Specs like Beast Mastery come to mind. It's not about being simple, it's about being straightforward. BM Hunters know exactly what they need to do and how to get it done with close to no deviations from

[03:43] the norm. Gardeners are also gamers who enjoy spontaneous and reactive gameplay. Fire Mage embodies this probably more than anyone else. With its simplified gameplay and very few rules, the only thing taking you out of a routine is

[03:57] when your fire procs hit. Whether it is a crit you are building up for a hot streak or a pyrolasm proc that you need to respond to, fire mage gives gardeners the style of gameplay that they enjoy most. Gardeners are motivated by the

[04:11] feelings of completion. This can be said about the WoW player more so than the class or spec itself, but usually the best class for completionists will be druid. And to mesh with the rest of the gardener personality type, balance has

[04:25] to be the specialization. It matches the simplistic game style gardeners enjoy on top of having reactive gameplay to procs, mostly related to resource procs, mostly related to resource generation.

[04:43] on a class and spec basis. In gaming, they want to be the main characters, the hero, the protagonist in an epic story. Devourer embodies the main character syndrome maybe more than even Havoc. Sure, anyone can be the guy, and

[04:58] everyone wants to be him or her, but in Midnight, nobody shines brighter than the new kid on the block. There are also RP players and solo content players. A lot of specs can fit here and they do have their overlap, but the ones that

[05:13] enjoy a slower paced gameplay and still feel like the story can revolve around them have to be the frost mages and [music] devastation evokers. Frost mage of Warcraft spec maybe outside warriors.

[05:26] Wild devastation is an epic as close to a dragon as we can get damage dealer with a straightforward rotation. And if you really want to go there in the world soul saga as we are chasing a riddicron's tale what better class and

[05:39] race than the draier thematically to be on the front lines. There are other evoker specs of course but more on that later. Slayers are motivated by the need for fantasy story and destruction and the three specs here have all those in

[05:55] spades. But there is one more that fits the criteria. Another main character syndrome we have not discussed that also embodies the slayer traits. Unholy death into this category with the midnight

[06:10] rework. Its simplistic play style fits perfectly as a slayer. Also, unholy is a pet class which naturally works well for solo content that slayers enjoy, especially with its design on half the time being able to deal its damage from

[06:23] range. You never have to directly face the threat of death. And even if you have to, you're still a death knight and one that can easily spend runic power on one that can easily spend runic power on death strikes to survive.

[06:40] type of gamer to classify and express within World of Warcraft. They are highly motivated by action and fast-paced combat, not necessarily challenging or with a lot of depth, but rather exciting. In general video game

[06:54] areas, they would be the ones looking to quickly jump into the fray, duel anyone, fight and win, [music] and yes, arms and fury warriors are perfect for this. The warrior class as a whole could actually fit here altogether, but we will get to

[07:09] protection in our tank video. Feral also oddly fits in the skirmisher category. It is deceivingly fast and feels like a spec designed for competitive combat, especially PvP and arena oriented since that's where skirmisher type gamers

[07:24] usually find themselves. Although WoW isn't as much about PvP as it used to be, since arena style combat fits skirmishers more than anything else, there are hardly other specs in the game that embody the need to zug more than

[07:39] charging, leaping, parrying, and rampaging over your enemies more than fury and arms. And I haven't seen more specs die on a boss pull than ferals while charging behind the boss instantly to apply their bleeds and getting

[07:53] meleed. Rejoice in the slaughter. Overcome your enemies. Emerge victorious as the skirmisher you know to be deep down inside. Skirmishers are motivated by the need for destruction and completion. And with abilities like

[08:06] execute and victory rush. There are no other specs in the game that are more interested in finishing a fight quick to get to the next one than the warrior damage dealers. While Feral Frenzy, Apex, Predator, Chomp, all of these

[08:21] speak to the vibe that Fereral has when it comes to both PvE and PvP combat.

[08:33] that enjoy engaging with combat, dungeons, or raids with a large variety of skills and features. Retribution Paladin does this better than anyone else. It's hard to analyze every class's utility kit and come up with a better

[08:47] and more diverse one than the paladins. Blessings for every type of damage, immunities, hybrid heals, tankiness, but also mobility. Red just has it all. On

[08:59] top of this, gladiators are also a fan of fast-paced explosive gameplay with an epic vibe to them. I mentioned frost mage being one of the most iconic epic Warcraft class. Paladin has to be the other. And no paladin is more epic and

[09:13] explosive than retribution. We literally had a cinematic with Artor making every believer and non-believer question as to why they haven't rolled a rat yet. There is another iconic Warcraft class. Man, you know what? It feels like all of them

[09:27] are iconic at this point. But what I am talking about is affliction warlock. This is a spec. I did not see it make it into this category initially, but as far concerned, this is the most fitting place for affliction. It has overlaps

[09:41] with other categories for sure, but as far as explosive, fast-paced and epic gameplay, Affliction embodies it with the spread of its dots, popping your cooldowns, and then just following it up with 10 seconds of nonstop burst

[09:54] explosions of Seed of Corruption. Although tuned a bit low lately, Affliction used to be at the top of the food chain when it came to burst AOE damage, and his design has remained. We just need the buffs to make it work.

[10:09] Gladiators are motivated by challenges, a sense of completion, and also community. For the challenges part, Red has the skills available to answer anything coming its way. As for the completion, that is a bit harder to

[10:21] parse in [music] WoW since it has less to do with class and more to do with the player, but red paladins are so fanatically loyal to their class, they just end up pretty much completing most of the game on their main red paladin.

[10:35] Warlock players usually default to demonology for any completion tasks that they do, but I do believe affliction makes that better since you can actually walker and just not die. Until they buff Felgard to be better than void walker at

[10:48] taking damage, it's going to be rough. Not to mention, affliction interacts more with drain life and pet heal abilities than other warlock specs. Lastly, a sense of community can be represented by the paladin side of

[11:01] threat with a lot of support abilities to help its allies. Paladin ends up in their groups for the value that they bring. Warlocks have been the most desired raid class since forever with

[11:15] their gates, health stones, and summons and battle reses. And for the longest time, that has been affliction. Granted, nowadays any warlock can do this, but there are other categories for demonology and destruction.

[11:35] most difficult of challenges posed to them for World of Warcraft specs. That has to be what Outlaw, Enhancement, and Frost Death Knight mostly deliver. The first two are fairly obvious. Outlaw and enhance are some of the most engaging

[11:50] specs to play with very strict rotations that really punish you hard when you mess up. Actually, France Death Knight is in this category because this very thing for the longest time it has been seen as the simple brother of the death

[12:04] knight siblings. But with the rework it got last expansion, it's playing most of its mechanics in every gaming content. With obliteration, if you don't generate your killing machine the correct way, you will end up with no runes and forced

[12:18] to munch procs, lose damage just to be able to come up for air. I won't even comment more on the other two specs. Ninjas are motivated by the sense of completion and challenge. We talked about challenges and once again

[12:32] completion is a bit harder to include in the discussion of the specs since it has mostly to do with the gamer needing to finish games, campaigns, stories, and achievements. You can think of that as being a personal goal you set for

[12:46] yourself. Whether it is to get a perfect legendary parse on a boss fight or push [music] And that usually happens on specs that are a little bit more skill inensive. Fun fact, both Marcelin and myself have scored as ninjas in our

[13:02] assessment. I will tell you more about this at the end of the video. far, you've thought of at least three or four specs that should have been

[13:16] mentioned so far, but haven't. And likely, it's because they will be introduced here. First of all, marksmanship and survival hunters. Bounty hunters are orientated in discovery and exploration. Once again,

[13:29] that can apply to all specs, sure, especially BM hunters when it comes to this particular class. But I do believe marksmanship and survival do this better. Interacting with the open world is easier with one or no pets. Not to

[13:42] mention, the trap fantasy has always been a survival thing more than any other hunter. Where survival can use its pet to tank enemies and tackle openw world content, marksmanship can just use pure range shooting a mob in

[13:56] Zulleon from godamn Negrron. Bounty hunters are gamers highly motivated by destruction and fantasy within their gameplay experience. We talked about destruction before, but here is where it actually kicks in, which is why here is

[14:10] where we will have Destro Warlock. But that's not all. Destruction Warlock is There are very few more flavorful fantasy characters than Gul'dan. He even got a cinematic where he destructions his own birthplace. Man sick. Fellfire

[14:27] sick. That is. Of course, you cannot talk about destruction without the foil of warlock shaman. And elemental is what we have here. You literally crack the ground open and spew lava on your enemies. And that's when you aren't too

[14:42] busy bringing down the skies on your foes. We don't need to talk about Warcraft Fantasy and explain why Thrall, despite mainly an enhancement shaman, is iconic for its lightning and earth cracking attacks. We don't even need to

[14:56] Drethar. [music] Just look at this guy crashing down a mountain on an incoming army and Thall's mountain on an incoming army and Thall's uncle. Lastly, subtlety rogue. Subrogue

[15:09] has been particularly difficult to analyze with the nine types because you would think it would be a ninja. I mean, subrogue is World of Warcraft's take on ninjas, but ninjas are all about challenge and skill expression. And up

[15:22] until Midnight, maybe even the War Within, Subrogue players would have definitely been classified as ninjas 100%. But we know that's not true anymore. Subrogue actually seems to be the spec that has lost the most flavor

[15:36] and death out of all of the specs in the game. And the one thing it still shines at is burst damage or destruction if you will. It is the rogue spec specialized in exploding enemies. And together with affliction used to be the king of burst

[15:50] damage that has been dialed down, but out of all rogue specs, it is the one out of all rogue specs, it is the one that still has it.

[16:02] mostly in solo gaming or a lack of competition period. We could probably throw all of the F-tier specs here as a meme, but rather we can take a more interesting approach. Architects are smart and strategic and prefer specs

[16:15] with buildup and payoffs. Assassination rogue, shadow priest, and demonology warlock fit really well here. All three specs are slowpaced specs with deliberate resource building up to a predictable big DPS moment. Whether it

[16:30] is King's Bane, Void Form, or Tyrant, Architect are also solo gamers, which these specs might struggle a bit with. Maybe just shadow. But if you are a priest, you are unlikely to go solo as holy or disc and not want to play

[16:43] solitire instead. I talked about how affliction really works well for solo content despite a lot of people playing demonology. Well, demo still enjoys its solo aspect, and that's why it is also a spec that architects enjoy. Architect

[16:56] gamers are interested in planning and payoffs. Setting up dots properly with wellplaced tentacle slams, prepping your mind blast charges for a void weaver entropic rift window fits shadow priest like a glove. Architects are also

[17:11] motivated by strategy and completion. And in wild terms, the strategy was is basically the same as before. cannot see a better spec than assassination. subtlety might give it a

[17:26] run for its money, but if your target doesn't die in your shadow dance, then really as a subtlety, you can only go hard in delves and rituals once every 2 minutes when you have shadow blades, while assassination can do that every

[17:40] minute with King's Bane or simply putting bleeds and poisons and then just running around and letting enemies die on their own.

[17:53] surprise and likely very thematically accurate, augmentation fits here perfectly. Bards are WoW players that are very social and open to being part of groups. And augmentation kind of forces you into that with its design,

[18:08] whether you like it or not. They're also interested in rich lore and story discovery and customization. Like it or not, augmentation was one of the most heavily addressed spec in terms of story. We had to wait a patch and a half

[18:20] for the story to catch up to actually get us the spec since that's when the story of the game made them available to us. And we don't need to explain why customization is core to evokers in this case draers. As far as discovery, I

[18:35] wanted to point it out for Devastation as well, but there is something to be said about soaring on your own wings. Despite technically being a mount yourself, flying on your own just hits differently when it comes to feeling

[18:48] immersed in the World of Warcraft and flying knowing you are needed somewhere is peak augmentation fantasy. Quant Foundry has a lot of data gathered from almost 2 million gamers at this point and even have a free quiz that we link

[19:03] below that you can do to figure out your own gaming preferences. Of course, it's not about woow specs, but rather your tendencies as a gamer, what motivates you, and what games you could even try out. Marcel and I scored as ninjas,

[19:16] which makes sense when it comes to what we enjoy in WoW and other games. We both started as PvP players. We both enjoy pushing Mythic Plus, aka challenging and competitive content. And we started doing YouTube with Heroes of the Storm,

[19:31] a mobile game focused on competition and skill expression. By the way, this video was all in good fun, so don't take it too seriously. There's no such thing as a spec suited to one personality type. You can play what you want. Marshall and

[19:44] I enjoy other non- Ninja specs, probably even more. It was very fun though to cross reference the psychological data with World of Warcraft, and we hope you enjoyed it. We will have a tank and healer video coming out soon. And until

[19:56] then, you can check out the Outlaw Rogue and see why we as ninjas tend to like this spec so much, especially with the changes coming to it in 12.1.