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Officer Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 94

At this point, the Rangers are progressing very nicely through Karazhan! Within a matter of a month or two, we will be looking at the more difficult fights -- Netherspite and Nightbane. And shortly after that, we will be capable of a full clear!

Currently, we have Attumen on farm (everyone does), as well as Moroes and Opera (and the beast wing, if we so choose).

Even as we continue to press deeper into Medivh's Tower, we must consider that there are ways to greatly improve what we already excel at. Claiming a full Kara clear is great, indeed, but it is very different than having Kara on farm status. Besides the obvious difference of the number of wipes is a more discrete difference -- time.

As we begin to have more and more of Kara on "farm" status, players will look to progress through the "easy" parts of the instance with greater speed. Here's my two cents on the issue:

(I should note that these suggestions apply to bosses and their trash mobs that are on "farm" status, not those that we are still learning and struggling with.)

- NOT DYING

The number one greatest time sink in a raid is death. Wipes are obviously the worst, but even one death can slow the raid down by a few minutes as the resuscitated person must be rebuffed and all involved in the resurrection must get their health/mana up.

So how do you avoid dying? The best measure against dying comes via experience -- knowing the fights, even the trash pulls. Not dying is a group effort, so everyone should have a good idea of what will happen during any given fight. Know your "oh shit" buttons -- Ice Block, Fade, Vanish, Feign Death, etc.

Keep traps in front of healers and ranged DPS if there is any concern of the tank losing aggro. If the tank loses aggro on the target, sacrifice your DPS for a stun (or aggro-reducing ability if it's coming after you!). If the tank is low on health (you should have target-of-target enabled via Interface Options), stun the target or taunt if you are the offtank.

- SAVING MANA

Having to sit around and wait for healers and casters to recover mana is a pain, but a necessary one. But what if you could lessen the amount of time spent doing this? You can.

Know your skills. With moonkins, for example, Wrath may provide the greatest DPS, but Starfire provides the greatest damage per mana (DPM). Insect Swarm is another good DPM spell. For healers, alternate the "main healer" and "raid healer" roles to accommodate mana. For casters, if the target is getting low on health, pull out a wand to finish it off rather than blowing mana on spells.

If you are a DPS class and need to drink, you may do so in combat, as long as you start before the raid -- and you -- enter combat.

akumastew wrote:

Mana users should drink at every opportunity, even if they have plenty of mana left. Mages create the biscuits for free, use them.

akumastew wrote:

Tanks; if your healer has more than 50% mana left over from the previous pull, and you have a similar pull coming up...it is safe to pull.

That said, it goes without saying that whoever is pulling (usually a tank) should have both 5-man groups pulled out on their screen. If you are unsure how to do this, please do not hesitate to inquire in-game. People are always happy to prove how much they know!

- FAST PULLING

Generally speaking, if one tank can be used, then only one tank should be used. Let the offtank DPS until needed. Everyone knows this and we do a good job of putting this into practice.

But this rule does not apply to all pulls. In some areas, including the beast wing and the ballroom (the one before Moroes), both tanks can pull at the same time. Why do this? How does it speed up the raid? In the case of the ballroom, it allows the tanks to pull the patrols when they have the chance, rather than waiting for the first target to be dead before pulling the next.

Note to tanks when doing this: know what you're pulling. Some mobs hit harder than others, and these should not be pulled if the raid is DPSing another target. Also, when employing this tactic, the main tank should not taunt the offtank's target, but rather go and look for his own next victim.

Along this same concept, if CC is being used and the current target is near death, the tank should switch to another target to start building threat. The DPS will kill the old target soon enough and will be able to continue with full-strength DPS on the next target without fear of pulling aggro.

Recognise that these last two concepts can be combined when there are two tanks. I'll use the stables pulls as an example here. Consider one of the four-pulls. CC two mobs, have the tank on one and the offtank on the another. DPS should hit the tank's target first. When that one dies, DPS will switch to the offtank's target. During this time, the main tank should NOT taunt the offtank's target, but rather start building threat on one of the CC'ed targets. Similarly, when the offtank's target is dead, DPS will go back to the main tank's target while the offtank breaks the other CC and starts to build threat. When there is only one target left, the main tank may taunt the offtank's target so that the offtank can DPS. This is ideal for fury warrior and feral druid offtanks, or moonkin or shaman offtanks.

- SCHEDULING

Have a plan going in. For example, we're going to form the raid group and start summoning at 12.45, and start the instance at 1.00. The entire raid group should be inside the instance, fully repaired, buffed, and with plenty of mage-snacks before 1.00. This simple step requires no more than discipline and will save 10, or 30, or even 60 minutes in some cases.

akumastew wrote:

I highly recommend planning ahead for how many hours you will be in the instance.

If you will be there for 4 hours, bring at least 3 flasks, food to buff yourself every 30 mins, and oils to put on your weapons every hour.

Schedule breaks at logical stopping points. For example, plan on killing Attumen and Moroes and completing Opera before taking a break. Have an idea of how long that break should be -- say, 15 minutes, or whatever -- and have an understanding that in 15 minutes, everyone should be back and ready to go (this means repaired, if people needed to repair). If you must leave the instance during a break, make sure that people are prepared to summon you back before the 15 minutes has elapsed.

Know the instance. After Opera, the back door opens, and after Shade, you can teleport directly to Shade's library from the front door. These are the two most ideal times to take breaks because it is easy for people to leave the instance and be summoned back and in position quickly. That said, even though Terestian Illhoof is before Shade in the instance's progression, Shade should be done first so the teleport is available sooner. (Also, Terestian has fewer mobs on his timer and they are out of the way.)

- KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS

As a raid, it is important to realise which fights you are equipped to handle and which fights you cannot handle. This is primarily the job of the raid leader, but anyone who has a concern about the feasibility of a fight should feel free to voice such concerns. For example, the Maiden and Terestian fights are both group-dependent... as is Netherspite. It is important for time and, more importantly, morale to know whether the raid can handle a given fight.

akumastew wrote:

Research the optimum spec and spell/attack rotation.

Stew also suggests using an optimum spec for raiding, even if it means changing from an "unusual" spec between trips. While it is true that you will be more effective using whatever the "optimum" raiding spec is for your class, the Rangers does not, nor will it ever, require a specific spec for raiding. It's your character and your choice.

- UPDATES

I will try to keep this updated as I think of more things. Also, if anyone else thinks of something, feel free to post a reply and I will incorporate it into this thread.

- MY THANKS

My thanks goes out to all who have taken me on raids in the past, for it is from them that I have learned so much. I may have read about every fight, but experience is ultimately the best teacher.

Special thanks also go out to those who have helped, and continue to help, the Rangers prepare for Kara and beyond.

First on that list is Stew, who has always offered his help, his characters, his experience, and his wisdom, without expecting anything in return. I know you have not had the opportunity to do as many runs with us as you might like, but I am not kidding when I say how valuable a friend and ally you are, and I sincerely hope to see you among our ranks in future raids.

- Aari

Officer Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 94

- ADD-ONS

While the Rangers will never require add-ons for participation in raids, it is highly recommended that you get class-specific add-ons that you feel comfortable with, as well as the Omen threat meter.

akumastew wrote:

Get some add ons: Recount and Omen

Recount so that you can monitor how much dmg you are doing. This is not for bragging rights, it is to ensure you are operating at your theoretical optimum. Omen to make sure you are not pulling aggro from the tank.

Other popular add-ons include: Decursive, (more to come?).

Officer Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 94

Reserved.

Officer Joined: 22 Mar 2007 Posts: 94

Reserved.

Officer Joined: 31 Jul 2007 Posts: 34

Mana users should drink at every opportunity, even if they have plenty of mana left.

Mages create the biscuits for free, use them.

Tanks; if your healer has more than 50% mana left over from the previous pull, and you have a similar pull coming up...it is safe to pull.

For DPS classes:

Get some add ons: Recount and Omen

Recount so that you can monitor how much dmg you are doing. This is not for bragging rights, it is to ensure you are operating at your theoretical optimum. Omen to make sure you are not pulling aggro from the tank.

I highly recommend planning ahead for how many hours you will be in the instance.

If you will be there for 4 hours, bring at least 3 flasks, food to buff yourself every 30 mins, and oils to put on your weapons every hour.

If you know thee is an item that drops that you would like to use straight away. Bring enchanting mats; there is normally an enchanter in a riad, and you can use your nice new shiney item staright after it drops.

Research the optimum spec and spell/attack rotation.

You might like your unusual spec, but the math has already been done to work out the optimum spec for almost every scenario in the game.

If you PVP mostly, take the time to respec for PVE for the raids you go on...it will help significantly.

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