Being an effective DPS raider
Being an effective DPS raider
Now I'm not sure I'm the #1 person to spearhead this topic -- and I've said some of these things in various threads before, but perhaps this can be a good repository of information.The key to being a successful DPS is really based on paying strict attention to the tank's threat. You only need to do 10% more threat to pull aggro from a tank, 20% if you're ranged. Read that carefully, it isn't the spells you cast -- it's your distance from the mob. You could be at 115% threat, and step close -- pull aggro. The ideal situation would be to trail the tank by just a little bit, it leaves you a bit of a buffer if you get a series of crits ..If your opening move is a big damage dealer, make sure that you delay enough so that if you inadvertantly crit -- you dont pull aggro. Personally on Drumble (scorch build) I start out scorching, it's not a huge damage spell and adds the utility of vulnerability to fire damage -- in this way, I can measure the tanks threat against my own -- if he ever gets ahead of me, I can throw in a fire blast / fireball for the added burst and burn effects, or then toggle my trinkets. Going for broke will kill you fast.As effective DPS, you should be at a situation where you have to throttle yourself behind the tank's threat. If you're going for broke all the time and never able to catch him, there's something you're probably doing wrong. Know your shot/spells rotations to optimize this, decide when the best time to poke your trinkets or pull back. Figure out what elixirs, food, potions, buffs, etc you need so that you get to the point where you need to pull back. If you have some sort of aggro dump, used effectively - you can go a little more nuts on the DPS.VERY IMPORTANT SECTION -- AGGRO MANAGEMNT:If ONE person pulls aggro on an untauntable mob, EVERYONE must stop DPS. At this point, only one person has exceeded the tank in threat -- and it is very difficult for a tank to get that aggro back when a mob isn't beating on him for the rage. This should not be something called out -- it should be a reflexive response. Mob loose = dump threat if you can, but *definately* don't keep DPSing. VERY IMPORTANT SECTION -- FOLLOW THE KILL ORDER:Usually on an initial pull - a tank is going to have "bloodrage" up, which generates a good amount of rage and gives us the ability to use some opening high threat moves. On secondary targets, depending on what happened with the first -- the tank might not have shield slam/taunt/any rage at the start of the next DPS target. WAIT for it. Secondary targets are the ones that typically come eat your face - the tank might have had 500% of your threat on the prior mob, this doesn't transfer over - it's a new bucket to fill.VERY IMPORTANT SECTION -- LEARN THE ENCOUNTERS AND GAME MECHANICS:Know that you need to stand on certain mobs -- or that they are going to charge secondary threat targets and fear. That they're going to reflect spells when they turn mauve. That they're going to take 50% less physical damage while ghosted (therefore tank will have lower threat). One good example of knowing game mechanics is dealing with fear -- mobs that fear typically run after a non-feared person. If there is no fear ward, it might behoove everyone to get within the fear range (if the tank isn't able to stance dance it away every time) so the mob sticks on the highest threat target still. This of course - depends on the encounter, you dont want to get feared into a cleave on Nightbane for example.
Being an effective DPS raider
Very good post 
Some notes about Druid Tanking ... Druid's, to my knowledge, DO NOT have any high opening threat generation skills. We take longer at the beginning of the fight to build threat, however the longer the fight lasts the more our threat scales up to a point where a Druid can exceed a Warrior's threat on the same target ... for those in group 2 you might have seen this on the Curator fight, if you were watching the threat meter you might have seen Mahnalor open with a HUGE about of threat and I, Blave OT for that fight, was way at the bottom, lower than the DPS people. But half way through the fight I had to stop all DPS to allow Mahnalor to build more threat than me ... at that point, my normal attacks were generating more threat than Mahnalor could keep up with. ( I admit, I do not know exactly how these mechanics work in Druid's. I am still researching it and if you know more about how this works, please lets start a thread in the Druid forum )
Another thing about DPS, there are two different schools of thought for Melee DPS ...
- High strength + High hit rating = consistent DPS (non-crit based, very good for raids)
OR
- High agility + High attack power = bust DPS (crit based, very good for PvP)
Both will net to about the same DPS over the length of the Boss fight. I believe it is best to pick one of those fighting styles and stick with it ... mixing items between different styles will only lower your total DPS over the length of the fight.
Another side note: Burst DPS is great for PvP, but as Chuunks as point out, IT TAKE A LOT MORE MANAGEMENT in raid environments. My finishing move in cat has a range of 300 to 4k (burst) ... when I see a 4k flash on my screen, I spam hit the Esc key
Some notes about Druid Tanking ... Druid's, to my knowledge, DO NOT have any high opening threat generation skills. We take longer at the beginning of the fight to build threat, however the longer the fight lasts the more our threat scales up to a point where a Druid can exceed a Warrior's threat on the same target ... for those in group 2 you might have seen this on the Curator fight, if you were watching the threat meter you might have seen Mahnalor open with a HUGE about of threat and I, Blave OT for that fight, was way at the bottom, lower than the DPS people. But half way through the fight I had to stop all DPS to allow Mahnalor to build more threat than me ... at that point, my normal attacks were generating more threat than Mahnalor could keep up with. ( I admit, I do not know exactly how these mechanics work in Druid's. I am still researching it and if you know more about how this works, please lets start a thread in the Druid forum )
Another thing about DPS, there are two different schools of thought for Melee DPS ...
- High strength + High hit rating = consistent DPS (non-crit based, very good for raids)
OR
- High agility + High attack power = bust DPS (crit based, very good for PvP)
Both will net to about the same DPS over the length of the Boss fight. I believe it is best to pick one of those fighting styles and stick with it ... mixing items between different styles will only lower your total DPS over the length of the fight.
Another side note: Burst DPS is great for PvP, but as Chuunks as point out, IT TAKE A LOT MORE MANAGEMENT in raid environments. My finishing move in cat has a range of 300 to 4k (burst) ... when I see a 4k flash on my screen, I spam hit the Esc key
Being an effective DPS raider
Thanks for the post! Glad to know other people are thinking about it too. I have thoughts on the Curator in particular and why you were able to potentially overtake Mahnalor -- from my (limited) experience with a druid, you get a healthy dose of rage based on your attacks, and with a warrior we're reliant on the mob punching us in the face for it. When the Curator evocates, unless you've somehow saved a full bar - your blood rage and a rage pot, you're going to be threatting with the meager gains from your melee attacks. In fact, I used to switch to berserker stance to try and take full advantage of the damage I can do during evocation, but I've since found it better overall to keep turtled up for the extra 15% threat and hopefully land some really big shield slam crits.This is one of the reasons I love it when Fargol switches off to the last flare of a set and the first flare of the next set. If he goes full DPS through the vulnerable stage as well, he's going to be pushing up daisies once the evocation is done.
I have thoughts on the Curator in particular and why you were able to potentially overtake Mahnalor -- from my (limited) experience with a druid, you get a healthy dose of rage based on your attacks, and with a warrior we're reliant on the mob punching us in the face for it. When the Curator evocates, unless you've somehow saved a full bar - your blood rage and a rage pot, you're going to be threatting with the meager gains from your melee attacks. In fact, I used to switch to berserker stance to try and take full advantage of the damage I can do during evocation, but I've since found it better overall to keep turtled up for the extra 15% threat and hopefully land some really big shield slam crits.This is one of the reasons I love it when Fargol switches off to the last flare of a set and the first flare of the next set. If he goes full DPS through the vulnerable stage as well, he's going to be pushing up daisies once the evocation is done.Being an effective DPS raider
That might explain it ... I was a full rage for most of the fight and I did unload on him when it was time (I just spammed swipe really). Even tho I was in tank gear, which sucks for DPS, I think I was doing more DPS than Mahnalor ... so that does help explain it.
This is why I think Bears make great OTs ... the main tank can charge the first MOB, generate a huge amount of threat right away so everyone can start fighting. Meanwhile, the Bear is playing checkers with the second MOB in the corner, telling bad jokes about his mother and what not, building threat. By the time the group is done with the first MOB, the second MOB is so pissed at the Bear's poor sense of humor that he does not even realize the FULL group is hitting him ... basically the Bear has full rage at this point and can start heavy DPS-ing when the group turns to his MOB, with the ugly mother and no father, to help off-set the additional DPS from the group.
This is why I think Bears make great OTs ... the main tank can charge the first MOB, generate a huge amount of threat right away so everyone can start fighting. Meanwhile, the Bear is playing checkers with the second MOB in the corner, telling bad jokes about his mother and what not, building threat. By the time the group is done with the first MOB, the second MOB is so pissed at the Bear's poor sense of humor that he does not even realize the FULL group is hitting him ... basically the Bear has full rage at this point and can start heavy DPS-ing when the group turns to his MOB, with the ugly mother and no father, to help off-set the additional DPS from the group.