The Hybrid Tax

After reading Rossi’s Care and Feeding today, I ran across a comment by Ample Vigour that made reference to the Hybrid Tax.

I have never seen the idea that pure classes should do better DPS than hybrids referred to as the Hybrid tax, but it’s nothing short of brilliant.

The reason Blizzard should recognize it as a tax is because it allows them to mathematically justify reducing a class or even a spec by assigning a percentage tax on the utility. I have never liked the idea of a druid doing as much DPS as a lock or a paladin doing as much DPS as a rogue. Having both an 80 prot pally and an 80 resto druid that only recently took advantage of dual specs, I have to admit that I am a little old school in the idea that if you can tank or heal, you should tank or heal if there is a need. All of the Hybrid jack asses in LGF that say they are only DPS makes me want to throw up. I have recently rediscovered the joy of topping DPS meters with my leveling lock, but I also understand the importance of a healer hybrid as I am also leveling my resto/elemental shaman, both of whom are in the lvl 75 range.

Now, I know GC has made several posts about pure dps classes and how they should be slightly higher than a hybrid, but the real number has never really been decided upon. My other issue in the DPS tax is that no one seems to think that there should be a tax for utility. I know that some utility has always been available to most classes, but the one that comes to mind currently is replenishment. Why is there no tax for replenishment? Shouldn’t destro locks and survivalist hunters be punished with the hybrid tax in a way that is similar but not exactly like other hybrids. Now that replenishment is a required raid buff, shouldn’t there be a price to pay for your raid if they do have it since there is a price to pay if they don’t? From what I have been able to find, thanks to some help over at The Hunting Lodge that survivalist DPS is the best spec for raiding hunters. With the required buff to replenishment and the overall best performance in DPS all hunters HAVE to be survivalist if they want to best contribute to their raid. Shouldn’t the hybrid tax apply to those hunters since the other hunters aren’t bringing that kind of required raid buff?

GC has done a great job in admitting that there is fact a philosophy that hybrids should be taxed, so why in the world is it some phantom tax where only the developers are allowed to know the percentage it is supposed to carry. I say if there is an open tax, then all talents that boost utility can then do so at the cost of DPS. I am not saying it should happen, but if Blizzard is adamant about balancing classes, then allowing us a little closer look behind the curtain could prove to be advantageous to them, even if GC is convinced that the developers have to play their cards close to their chest.

-Rhab