1st one is not fun at all but at least takes close to no time.

2nd one is fun for a small minority but I would say that majority do not find it fun. It’s also complex and takes a lot of time.

3rd one has a couple of drawbacks:
- feedback from the game is needed. In WoW, DPS get very little if any feedback regarding their performance.
- consider stats as an example: for DPS, you can use hit which increases your DPS, haste which increases your DPS, critical which increases your DPS, mastery which increases your DPS… A feedback issue again.
- the players need some time to find how does the change effect their performance, again simple environments make this easier

I would say that an environment that is too complex does not exactly encourage the players to try out various changes. And the players that are the most likely to do so are the most likely to resort to creating a mathematical model too.

XD

Lol right. Now that that’s outta the batter…

What Tesh said, and also… I’m a minmax nugget at heart. This is part of the reason for my enduring love for GW.

Minmaxing *can* be very creative. It’s a wonderful feeling to stumble upon (usually after much tinkering) something that gives awesome numbergasms that you haven’t seen anyone doing – and even better when you haven’t been able to google anyone doing it either!

It’s the whole discovery thrill, only hidden in game mechanics, and not in world environment.

I did so many fun things with my priests and warlocks, prior to the new talent trees.

New talent trees, just one more reason why I cancelled yet again after one month of Cata, levelling a new char from scratch to 85, with no intention of ever going back to WoW.

I don’t use any addons while dpsíng. Just the standard recount stuff but that isn’t needed really.

I think the only optimisation needed for 5 mans is wearing the apropriate gear, and speccing according to your role. No further research except reading the description of spells and talent trees is needed. Similar for finding the rotation.

The point where min / maxing comes in to play is really hardmodes in raiding. Anything below that can be done by players that have the minimal requirement in skill.

If wearing spec appropriate gear / using a sensible rotation is considered too much optimisation, or too much effort then perhaps group content isn’t for that player.

Optimising to me is picking the appropriate option between being 12 pts over the hit cap, or 8 points below compared to the gain of say 20 haste and 10 mastery.

If optimising is considered picking the intellect leathers as a moonkin and agility as a cat, then we’re not really talking about the same stuff here. As far as i’m concerned that isn’t optimising at all.

And like i posted before, optimisation isn’t what makes or breaks an encounter. Skill and execution do. Look at improving the positioning of a boss. Kite some adds rather then having the tank tank them. Huddle up close together on aoe phases to help the healer deal with it.

Take a look at the encounter and figure out why it is going wrong. Adapt for it. Better gear or optimisation doesn’t help you complete these encounters, all it does is make the “zerg” option come closer, and since zerging is ignoring every tactical aspect in favour of just nuking a boss down fast enough that will in the end, given high enough gear always work. This is where the “need more / better ” gear mentality comes from. In the end, if everyone is geared enough, you can kill bosses fast enough shortening phases and getting a boss down.

It’s not needed though, likely the phase that was giving you trouble, is executed wrongly, players are taking avoidable damage, or positioned wrong for a healer to deal with it. Or possibly just missing some key tactical element. Like interrupting a special ability the boss does.