Wizard dps vs melee in groups?

[Broot]

I played a Wizard on both Live and have a 49 on Classic. I love this class.

People tend to get caught up in ideals and believe "rogue is better because it has the best sustained damage". Let's compare what both classes have to offer, because they fill different roles with the dps role -

Rogue = Highest consistent dps and good aggro management with Hide / Evade.

Wizard = Damage on a throttle. Crowd control (turbo roots). Evacuate. Snare. Agro management (Concussion line)

In an ideal situation with nice pretty single pulls, a good tank and no adds, rogue will be the better choice hands-down. No contesting this.

When the group finds itself in deep trouble, and the Wizard has managed his/her mana properly, the Wizard has a few tricks up his/her sleeve that a rogue does not:

1.) Completely melt a mob with dps that cannot be matched by any other class and isn't dependent on having the mob's back open. (Resists must be factored, but in exp groups they are often blues)
2.) Plant the mob at a distance for a LONG root.
3.) Evacuate the entire group to safety.
4.) Agro-Snare kite up to 4 mobs (not very plausible in most dungeons, but sometimes this is viable)

Rogues don't have many options at their disposable to handle situations gone poorly. They can CR really well, though.

Damage control is also very important in raid encounters. A wizard can more or less choose exactly how much damage they do and at what point they do it. Best for full burn situations. Best for shorter encounters. I like doing the math involved in "How do I go from 100% to 0% mana on this boss fight without getting myself killed but still getting the most mana to damage (yea I'm a nerd).

I think people overlook how both these classes deal damage. Being able to throttle damage exactly to how you want to deal it is what makes Wizard a situationally better DPS. Don't let it get you down you aren't ideal for the perfect situation grind group - you fill a great and important niche and you could surprise a group and make them really happy they have you around.

If you don't mind sitting down a lot [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.] LOTS of sitting. I get a lot of chores done when I'm soloing.