World of Warcraft Classic is a solved game. Players began figuring out the best combinations of gear, talent specs, and consumables over 15 years ago. The fact that some people still debate over a certain build or item's viability over another is a credit to the complexity inherent in the game. It also might be a credit to the unavoidable ignorance of man, but that's a subject for another day.
By now, everyone knows the most optimal way to build their chosen class. But World of Warcraft isn't a game in a genre that necessitates optimization. It's an MMORPG. The core assumption of all RPG's is that you can become the fantasy character that you want to be. So don't let someone else's obsession with spreadsheets and big numbers prevent you from playing the game the way you want to play it. Beyond that, there are a number of reasons to play a meme spec that will benefit both you and your raid party. Let's take a look.
10 Nightfall
The two-handed axe nightfall was recently added to the game with the release of phase 3. While the weapon doesn't provide especially good damage for warriors, it does have a chance on hit to apply a debuff that increases all spell damage the target takes by 15% for 5 seconds.
Enhancement shamans, retribution paladins, and especially melee hunters are all great candidates for wielding this weapon. As a meme specced character, you've got to realize that other classes are capable of higher damage output. As a result, your primary purpose shifts to that of a support role. Wielding nightfall not only provides your raid's spellcasters with a significant damage increase, but also allows your raid's warriors to use weapons with higher dps.
9 Charisma
Speaking of playing a support role, since you're not forced to focus on competing for high parses, playing a meme spec opens up time to build on your relationships with your fellow guildies. While you're not bringing much damage to the raid, you can bring other things. Perhaps the most important among them is a likable personality.
Speak up in your raid discord, provide topics for conversation, bring consumables for players who might have forgotten to buy them or left them in their bank. Damage and healing aren't the only contributions you can make to your raid. Become the person that your guildies enjoy sharing conversation with and the gear will eventually come your way no matter how much of a meme your character might be.
8 Leader of the Pack
Feral druids do more than just up your raid's overall cuteness factor. The leader of the pack talent increases the melee and ranged critical strike chance of all party members within 45 yards by 3%. This is a powerful boon for your melee party members, giving their dps a little bit of a bump.
Despite the fact that your spec's a meme, you still could very well have raid members arguing over you so that their party can enjoy the benefits you have to offer. Especially those extra sweaty fury warriors and combat sword specced rogues.
7 Dedication
Playing a meme spec is the equivalent of giving yourself a handicap, but that's no excuse to wallow in your ineffectiveness. Rather, it's an opportunity to show the rest of your guild your dedication to earning your keep. Yes, meme specs start with a leg down.
But with the right consumables, items, and world buffs, your memes will quickly begin to convince other players that the spec might indeed be "viable". You're going to have to work harder to earn the respect you deserve, but that just makes the moment you earn it all the more worth it.
6 Moonkin Aura
As with feral druids, balance druids also bring to the table a notable party-wide buff. This time, it's moonkin aura which provides a 3% increase to the chance for party members to critically strike with spells.
Any warlock or mage player will tell you that one of the most exciting moments during raids is when they score those fat shadowbolt or frostbolt critical hits. When you can deal upwards of 8k damage with a single spell, you're going to want to enjoy that feeling as often as possible. Moonkin aura supports your other raider's enjoyment of the game. That's something worth doing, even if it does come at the cost of a little dps overall.
5 Reputation
For evidence that meme specs are capable of building up quite a reputation, you need to look no further than the Twitch streamer Esfand. Chances are you're going to get a lot of attention for playing a meme spec. Instead of railing against it, why not make the most of your audience? Rolling a meme spec is one of the easiest ways to make a reputation for yourself in your guild.
While resto druids and holy paladins are a dime a dozen, your meme spec will stand out from the crowd by the virtue of its rarity. Embrace the crowd and you'll end up with more friends than you can count.
4 Sweeping Strikes
You may be surprised to learn that the sweeping strikes ability learned in the warrior's arms tree can actually provide an astounding amount of damage in a fight against multiple mobs. While geared fury warriors are the undisputed kings of damage in classic wow, sweeping strikes can provide an impressive amount of cleave damage against pulls that involve multiple mobs.
While there aren't many bosses that provide multiple mobs, an arms specced warrior will have a lot of fun during trash pulls. If you've picked up an OBE or BRE from molten core, give it a try one week. It's fun to spice things up every once in a while.
3 Played Out Content
Speaking of spicing things up, one of the best reasons to go with a meme spec is because classic's content is so played out. Topping the damage meters in molten core is a rewarding experience, but, eventually, that fun will turn into a monotonous grind. One of the main reasons people play games is in order to be faced with a challenge.
As far as World of Warcraft Classic is concerned, the content was challenging 15 years ago but with modern-day knowledge its a trifling affair at best. By playing a meme spec and making your character less powerful, the content's original difficulty has a better chance to shine.
2 Shadow Vulnerability
Remember when I mentioned those 8k damage shadowbolt crits? They wouldn't be possible without the shadow vulnerability that meme specced shadow priests apply. Shadow vulnerability increases the shadow damage a target takes by 20%. This debuff is so desirable that it's elevated the shadow priest spec out of memehood in many player's minds.
Of course, it's effectiveness depends on the number of warlocks in your raid, but even with just 3 or 4 that's a 60-80% damage increase spread across all of them. Once you've got 5 warlocks, applying the debuff is essentially equivalent to adding another player to the raid.
1 Memes
At the end of the day, the coining of the term "meme spec" happened on justified grounds. If you're a serious player that gets off on achieving the sweatiest parses after spending hours every week grinding consumables and world buffs, it's highly unlikely that a meme spec is going to appeal to you.
But if your enjoyment of the game comes from a place of fulfilling the roleplaying fantasy that you desire, don't let the term meme spec get you down. Embrace the meme! It makes your character charismatic, is an opportunity to show your dedication to the game, and revitalizes the game's content.