Look, I get it. You’ve never had to deal with crowd control before. You’re used to rushing in, pulling aggro, and AOEing the mobs down without a second thought. It worked in Wrath of the Lich King so why not, right?
What some of my DPS brethren don’t seem to understand is that this isn’t Wrath. It’s closer to vanilla WoW than Burning Crusade and Wrath of the Lich King combined. You know how the old timers in trade chat always talked about how easy BC and Wrath are? Yeah, now you see where they were coming from.
I’ll admit, I’ve caused a wipe here and there while learning the ropes and fight mechanics of Cataclysm. It’s a learning experience and that’s expected during the first week. But what you may have noticed is that as we get farther away from the release day, some people are starting to expect nothing but good groups who know the fights in and out. While I’m not going to teach you every fight (seriously, there are guides galore for that), I am going to teach you some cataclysmic common sense for DPS.
Do not stand in the fire.
Standing in the fire has always been the most basic no-no of nearly every MMO. Hell, it’s a pop culture reference at this point. Even people who don’t play WoW likely know what it means. With that said, don’t fucking stand in the fire.
That includes fire, lava, crud, spikes, ooze, ice, snow, and even tornados. Anything that a boss or mobs spawn on the floor will likely harm you. Don’t stand in harms way.
The damage for standing in the fire this time around is greater than in any expansions before it, especially on Heroic. In harder difficulty dungeons and raids, the ‘fire’ will one or two shot you. Don’t except the healers to heal you because you are too lazy (or dumb) to move. In some cases the damage is too much for them to heal through. Again, do not stand in the fire. I cannot stress that enough.
Speak up.
“Hey, mage. Do you understand this fight? Huh? Well, I guess you do…you’re jumping up and down and whatnot… Okay, let’s g……..WHY DID YOU PULL THOSE MOBS?! GOD HELP US! MY LEGS ARE ON FIRE!”
This happens more than you think.
Lack of communication is a wipe just waiting to happen. If someone asks you if you know the fights or not, you take the time to answer them. Don’t be afraid to ask for tips if you don’t know your role in the upcoming pull. 95% of the time someone will take the time to fill you in without screaming profanities and kicking you from the group.
That tank is marking targets for a reason.
See that skull over that enemy? Good. Do you see that diamond on that one? Mhmm, that’s nice. Besides looking pretty, they have a purpose. Learn them.
As always, a skull is priory one for DPS and the X is priory two. Kill those in that order. Now if you see a square, diamond, or any other emblem, you best pay attention to your fellow group members.
You will be expected to sap, freeze, mind control, fear, and do other things that will keep the targeted enemy out of the fight. If you’ve never used those abilities in a PVE fight before, learn how to use them and hotkey them as you will be expected to use them before nearly every mob pull.
Keep your threat in check.
If the tank is targeting Mob-X, don’t start doing massive damage on Mob-Y. As stated above, the markings are used for a reason. No tank or healer is at fault if you die from pulling aggro off the tank.
There’s a little saying that always rings true in this situation:
A dead tank is the healer’s fault.
A dead healer is the tank’s fault.
A dead DPS is the DPS’s fault.
If you continue to have trouble with threat, I suggest using Omen Threat Meter.
Don’t leave the group just because the tank and healer left.
As soon as the tank and healer get frustrated and leave, I’ve noticed that 80% of the time the DPS will leave as well. If you want to finish the dungeon, don’t leave. You are still at the beginning of the queue. Your band of three DPS get priority over any tanks and healers starting their queue.
Oh, and I almost forgot: Have fun!
