According to grifts in hardcore and softcore achieved by rank 20 players, the six classes can be grouped into three tiers.
Hardcore Softcore
Top tier, Bard: 68 73
Monk: 67 74
Middle tier, WD 65 72
wizard 65 71
Bottom tier, DH 61 66
crusader 61 66
There is a difference of 7 levels between the top and the bottom tiers. The data is more evened out statistically for achievements at rank 10 or rank 20.
I agree with Monk being the best atm. It's also the most fun for me so far. He currently has the highest solo potential + can fill 3 roles in the fotm meta setup:
Only he can be the Healing-Monk (well, obv. )
He can not be the Support-Barb
Only he can be the SWK-Monk
And he can be the lone dps, competing with Barbs, WDs and DHs.
I think, this "reign" results from the defensive op-ness and the number of viable (and fun) specs.
Solo leaderboards are no indication of how well the class is doing, 2,3,4 player leaderboards are devoid of wizards as well as crusaders and DHs so i would not put them (Wizards) in the WD tier for sure.
Monk is too strong, then hota barbs and carnevil doc's and you got the party full if you wanna do 70+
PS: What are toons? why call your characters cartoons? it's a hero or character, reminds me of lol kids calling champions to every player controled char they see...
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Those Who Do Not Know True Pain Cannot Possibly Understand True Peace...
I took the liberty to change the title from "toons" to "classes". Toons really doesn't make sense here; it refers to an individual character or avatar, and you're not grouping those but you're creating categories of D3 classes.
To a certain extent I wouldn't read too much into the rankings; the crowd always follows what "seems strongest", and since barbs and monks were on top ever since the 2.3 PTR started, that's what almost all the (very few) theorycrafters focused on. It's not to say that the playing field would be even without that effect - not at all, they're without a doubt the strongest classes this patch; just saying that the effect is a bit exacerbated due to this particular mentality. Just watch the sheer amount of monks these days, and compare it with last season's roster (almost everyone playing DH). It's not like the playerbase was exchanged, many people just switched classes.
Monk is certainly the most interesting class at the moment as the meta shifted a few times this season and is still evolving. If nothing changes it will probably stay the way it is (monk > barb >> wizard = WD > DH > crusader). However, I wouldn't be surprised if certain builds emerge towards the end of the season that push one class a tier higher or at least closer to the next tier. At the same time, it's even possible that the gap between monk and crusader widens. It's hard to tell because there are only very few of the top players actually pushing and testing stuff, but most competitive people know that every minute you do not spend on speed GRs might cost you valuable paragon in the end that denies you the rank 1 spot. It might actually lead to a situation like last season, when people started pushing "too late", and couldn't switch anymore to the "best meta" (crus/WD/double wiz).
In any case, it's too early for a final conclusion, but it looks as if the balance this season isn't that awesome.
That being said, I feel Blizzard doesn't get enough recognition for their class balance in season 3. Al classes where within 4-5 GR ranks, and there were even multiple different competitive builds for some classes. It was obvious that they couldn't repeat it in back-to-back seasons, but maybe they'll get close to it in season 5 again.
According to grifts in hardcore and softcore achieved by rank 20 players, the six classes can be grouped into three tiers.
Hardcore Softcore
Top tier, Bard: 68 73
Monk: 67 74
Middle tier, WD 65 72
wizard 65 71
Bottom tier, DH 61 66
crusader 61 66
There is a difference of 7 levels between the top and the bottom tiers. The data is more evened out statistically for achievements at rank 10 or rank 20.
Don't know about three tiers, to me it looks more like two:
1: Barb, Monk, WD, Wizz
2: DH, Crusader
What do you want to say with this post though? Is it just a statement or are you implying anything?
I agree with Monk being the best atm. It's also the most fun for me so far. He currently has the highest solo potential + can fill 3 roles in the fotm meta setup:
Only he can be the Healing-Monk (well, obv. )
He can not be the Support-Barb
Only he can be the SWK-Monk
And he can be the lone dps, competing with Barbs, WDs and DHs.
I think, this "reign" results from the defensive op-ness and the number of viable (and fun) specs.
http://eu.battle.net/d3/en/profile/Sol77-2972/hero/66110450
Solo leaderboards are no indication of how well the class is doing, 2,3,4 player leaderboards are devoid of wizards as well as crusaders and DHs so i would not put them (Wizards) in the WD tier for sure.
Monk is too strong, then hota barbs and carnevil doc's and you got the party full if you wanna do 70+
PS: What are toons? why call your characters cartoons? it's a hero or character, reminds me of lol kids calling champions to every player controled char they see...
Those Who Do Not Know True Pain Cannot Possibly Understand True Peace...
I took the liberty to change the title from "toons" to "classes". Toons really doesn't make sense here; it refers to an individual character or avatar, and you're not grouping those but you're creating categories of D3 classes.
To a certain extent I wouldn't read too much into the rankings; the crowd always follows what "seems strongest", and since barbs and monks were on top ever since the 2.3 PTR started, that's what almost all the (very few) theorycrafters focused on. It's not to say that the playing field would be even without that effect - not at all, they're without a doubt the strongest classes this patch; just saying that the effect is a bit exacerbated due to this particular mentality. Just watch the sheer amount of monks these days, and compare it with last season's roster (almost everyone playing DH). It's not like the playerbase was exchanged, many people just switched classes.
Monk is certainly the most interesting class at the moment as the meta shifted a few times this season and is still evolving. If nothing changes it will probably stay the way it is (monk > barb >> wizard = WD > DH > crusader). However, I wouldn't be surprised if certain builds emerge towards the end of the season that push one class a tier higher or at least closer to the next tier. At the same time, it's even possible that the gap between monk and crusader widens. It's hard to tell because there are only very few of the top players actually pushing and testing stuff, but most competitive people know that every minute you do not spend on speed GRs might cost you valuable paragon in the end that denies you the rank 1 spot. It might actually lead to a situation like last season, when people started pushing "too late", and couldn't switch anymore to the "best meta" (crus/WD/double wiz).
In any case, it's too early for a final conclusion, but it looks as if the balance this season isn't that awesome.
That being said, I feel Blizzard doesn't get enough recognition for their class balance in season 3. Al classes where within 4-5 GR ranks, and there were even multiple different competitive builds for some classes. It was obvious that they couldn't repeat it in back-to-back seasons, but maybe they'll get close to it in season 5 again.