Quote Originally Posted by OnnMacMahal View Post
Hello Captains! I'd like to start a discussion about the current state of the captain class. Whether you've been playing captain for years, or only recently took up banners to support and inspire your allies, how do you feel about your abilities right now? Do you wear the heaviest armour and stand directly in the face of evil, or do you anchor your allies, supporting them with words of inspiration when lights grow dim? Do you wish it were easier to encourage one specific ally in times of great need? Do you feel the strength of Elendil in your veins when striking servants of the enemy? What would you improve about this iconic class?
Hi OnnMacMahal, thanks for asking! To answer your middle questions right now, yes, yes yes and yes! I love being able to stand directly in the face of evil, I love supporting allies with words of inspiration, I love encouraging specific allies and I love striking down servants of the enemy. Probably like a lot of people that play a Captain I love our utility - to be able to fill different roles.

How do I feel about abilities right now? Many others have posted about the specific mechanics of abilities - I want to give an idea of what I want to feel the class to feel like - I want to tank and feel like I'm actively tanking (I don't tank raids). I want to be able to have healing that is wanted. I want to be able to be able to 'save the day'. I want to buff and support allies, and I want to do respectable damage.

The trouble is yellow has a lot of redundant traits and the rotation feels clunky. There are also a lot of situational skills in this line which which have been nerfed - I think it would be good to make this trait line less reliant on so many situational skills, and move some of them to all lines and replace them in this line with other abilities. Another (hard hitting!) melee attack would be good to add to rotation.

Blue line is fun to play but not very useful. It needs a buff to healing, at least single target healing or something. As others have said overall damage, including in red line, needs to be boosted.

I know could be controversial and could be hard to balance, but ideally I think the Captain should be a viable group tank in all trait lines (not raid tank except in yellow). Blue line maintains healing (healing tank), red line damage buffing (damage enhancing tank) and yellow line has utility / situational abilities that can be traited from other lines but traiting as a core spec increases tanking ability and greater threat generation (for raids etc.). This is similar to what exists but removes the pressure on blue line to be only about healing, makes red line more than just about 'being a buff stick in groups' and still allows yellow line to be a viable raid tank.

Thanks - I hope you can give the Captain class some love!