Friday, September 3, 2010

Top 5 Most Useless Skills

There hasn't been a top 5 list in a while! So it's time for my Top 5 Most Useless Skills. This is a tricky one since when people think "useless" they think "bad". Well that is partially true, but I am also thinking "least used" since a skill can be absolutely awesome, but if there is no setting in which it is used, it isn't any good. Or at least that goodness will never show. The problem with listing bad skills is that it really depends. Most skills that are in use regularly are good for their special setting. This is a list of skills that have potential that never really shows, because of many reasons, mostly simply bad game design.

5. Healing Touch
It's not completely useless. In fact before level 80, if glyphed, it's not god-awful. Or you don't really have a choice so you have to use it. Unfortunately, when you get Nourish you'll never ever use this spell again. Oh wait yes, you will use it with Nature's Swiftness. But considering that's the only good usage you can have of that spell at level 80, Healing Touch is on number 5.

4. Lightwell
You -know- I love this skill! That doesn't hide the fact that it is a bad one. The idea is great, but it just doesn't make it all the way, because of poor game design choices. Having to force people to retarget to be able to use it is probably the main reason it's bad. I put it here as a sort of protest really. Look what you've made me do to this lovely skill Blizzard! I've still specced into it, since there are other areas of usage for it. It makes a nice bookstand. You can hide behind it (somewhat). You can use it as a marker. So many practical things. Except what it's actually meant to do. Which makes it get into number 4 on my list.

3. Greater Heal, Lesser Heal and Heal
More priest skills! You're not suprised I hope, I do main a priest after all. I also realize these are in fact three skills. But I don't want to clog this list with nerdrage over the fact that Priests have plenty of skills with virtually no area of usage. Lesser Heal isn't used at all after level 16 and Heal somewhere around level 30. Ever again. Greater Heal is still good when you're a lowbie, but as with Healing Touch it just doesn't work at level 80. Not even in heroics. Not even if you've specced every talent that improves Greater Heal. Trust me I've tried. And priests don't have a Nature's Swiftness to warrant the use of this spell, ever. Eventhough Greater Heal was our main heal once, and for a long time, it has since fallen into the abyss of skills that just don't cut it for the current raid healing situation. And ends up on number 3.

2. Lava Lash
Yeah I had a fit on this a couple of posts ago, and no I still don't see what it's supposed to do. The skill annoys the heck out of me, because all it really achieves is getting all my other skills off synch. Should I stormstrike first, then Lava Lash? No, then they go off cooldown at the same time. Stormstrike, Earth Shock, then Lava Lash? No, then Stormstrike and Earth Shock go off cooldown at the same time. Lava Lash, then Stormstrike, then Earthshock? No, I want to Stormstrike as soon as possible in the fight so I can do it again as soon as possible. And etc... Maybe the real problem is that the entire rotation of an enhancement shaman still perplexes me and I just use Lava Lash as the scape goat since it seems to be the least useful skill. In any case I'll put it at number 2.

1. Sentry Totem
Ok so this was the easy choice, no suprises really. But then again, I could've chosen Far Sight/Eagle Eye. I could've chosen Eyes of the Beast. But I didn't. Because those skills actually have a decent area of usage. Not often, but when you want to do what they do, they do it good. Being able to steer your pet is more useful than people think, I remember back in MC when you pulled bosses that way (don't remember the name of the guy). Being able to see far into the distance would be more useful if you could load more data than you currently can. That would mean you could see if there were enemies of the opposing faction lurking around somewhere and then ambush them! Muahaha, why don't people do that more often? Oh yeah, like I said probably because the view distance is limited anyway to what you load into your cache. But these skills are still useful to some extent.

Sentry Totem on the other hand, has no use whatsoever. I know what it's supposed to do, it just doesn't do it. Or rather, the opportunity to ever use Sentry Totem doesn't ever present itself. It's like it's supposed to complement Stoneclaw (taunting mobs) and Grounding (taunting spells) in some way. But I'm not really sure how. And what really confuses me is that Blizzard hasn't done anything about Sentry Totem since it was first thought of. Some small changes and it might actually become slightly useful. Make it invisible or stealthed, that way it might be useful in pvp. Because what you really want isn't to know that it has been destroyed, but to be able to sneak peek on what opposing players are up to in certain areas. Make it increase stealth sight, like Paranoia. Or anything! But right now it doesn't do anything and that is why it makes my number 1 least useful skill.

Apparently they're removing it on Cataclys, so Blizzard are throwing in the towel on this one. Too bad Sentry Totem, you could've been something.

What would your list look like?

Oh and in case you'd like to know what the other "Top 5"-lists are;
- Top 5 Best Pop References in WoW
- Top 5 Healing Skills
- Top 5 Tanking Skills
- Top 5 Most Annoying Mob Skills
- Top 5 Most Annoying Items

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