When playing wow you need to decide what role you want to play and this is something you need to think about if you are playing either PVP or PVE. The roles in world of Warcraft are the tank healer and dps. I’ll be talking about each one and if you’re thinking about trying a different role it will hopefully help you make your decision.
DPS
Every class has a Dps spec, some or ranged, including the Mage warlock, etc. and some are melee which include warrior demon hunter and rogue, and some can even play as both (not at the same time) shaman and hunter.
So simply your role stands for Damage Per Second, which may be too simple to some people but I just want to make it clear. Your job is to deal damage and that could be by using poisons as a rogue, throwing fireballs as a mage or slashing an enemy as warrior, each class has a unique range of ability to deal damage to your foes. When you start a new character you’ll only be able to Dps and won’t be able to check out the other roles until you hit Level 10. Bear in mind though if you are playing a class which can play multiple roles, then you may have some ability from the them such as a small heal or a taunt, make sure you don’t ignore these as they may be very useful in certain situations. If you would like to check out the other roles then you can always use the 110 trial boost at the character creation screen.
In some raids the leader may inform you that there is a minimum Dps check which means if you are not doing enough damage you may be removed from the raid. This may be because of Ilvl the gear you are wearing or maybe you don’t understand the fight, although this may be disheartening when this happens, don’t take it too personally, I’ve been kicked out of raids too so you’re not the first or last. Just thank the leader for taking you this far and leave. Once you have left try to find out what you were doing wrong, having addons such as details and DBM can really help with this and try to improve. If yourself or someone was logging the run then you can use a website called Wow analyser, which can help you in more detail.
And that pretty much it, so keep hit and applying more dots and make sure you’re not standing in the fire and you’ll be well away in your DPS role.
Healer
The healer, to those of you who know me, you’ll know I’m a healer and I love it ever since I came to the US server I have played a healer, surely I don’t need to tell you this but your job is to well….. heal. Not every class can heal other people, for example the warlock has a spell called Life Drain, which heals them.
Although healers have become more popular, I still feel people are worried about playing them, keeping other people alive can be daunting if they die then they stop dealing damage and that could mean either a wipe in a raid or a loss in a PvP Area, so knowing your class is really important. Being a healer is like being a parent, you’re always picking up the mess that your children (dps) are making, if one stands in fire you’ve got to heal them up. If some dies in fire we’ve got to res them if some is covered in fire we’ve got to dispel them, as you can see healers don’t like fire and DPS love it, especially you mages. And if that person dies it’s our fault, even if they are one shot it’s always the healers fault, and you know what I love that. Each situation is different, different people make different mistakes, I’ve got to change how I healed that boss from the last time, it always keeps your mind fresh, you’ve got to be ready for the worst and manage things such as cool downs and mana so you are prepared for that and if you don’t understand that then….Death
Joking aside it can be difficult but the rush is when everyone’s about to die just as the boss is and I drop the spirit link totem on my Shaman and save everyone it’s great. The thank yous you get from people make you enjoy the win even more. I will point out as a healer you should never be doing nothing if no one needs healing then cast a few damaging spells as just like the DPS you will have a range of abilities too. So again healing may be daunting but with the right practise I think it’s the funnest role in the game but of course I’m biased.
Classes that can heal:
Restoration Druid
Holy + Discipline Priest (2 specs)
Mistweaver Monk
Restoration Shaman
Holy Paladin
Guides for all these healers can be found on the JustLootIt WoW page here
Tank
Do you like getting hit in the face ? Do you want to stand there like a rock as it happens? Well you should play a tank!
All have a unique spell set to stop them taking damage. Your job is to make sure that the boss isn’t smacking them poor rogues and the rest of the dps across the map whilst you take load into your face. Taunting adds and making sure that you’re dps is alive to kill them is basically your role, although tanks can deal a moderate amount of damage and some classes including the death knight and demon hunter may actually out heal the healer in some cases. Tanking is seen as the hardest role to play because you are the one who can’t make any mistakes because it can cause real problems for the rest of your group. Understanding each situation you’re in it also needed, and being able to quickly rectify a problem, is in your job description. I don’t know if people dont play tanks because they think its hard or if it’s boring,
Most tanks are raid leaders and in raid communication with your other tank is really important. Working together is the only way you’ll start clearing content. The one upside from tanking is that you are always needed, if you sign up in a queue you’ll probably be invited instantly. However make sure you understand whatever you’re getting into as messing up will only get you kicked from the raid and you’ll end up getting someone send you abusive messages but apart from that it’s fun so please check it out, please tank my raid I’ll pay you.
Classes that can tank:
Brewmaster Monk
Guardian Druid
Protection Paladin
Blood Death knight
Protection Warrior
Vengeance Demon hunter
So hopefully that has helped you in some way, with picking a new role please check them out as you may be missing out on something you really enjoy and if wow is becoming boring for you then doing this may spice things up for you. Let us know if you check something out and you enjoy them, or let us know why you picked the class and roles you did.
Remember you can find Guides to each Role and Class on the JustLootIt WoW page here
Pro Healer (If I’m tabbed in), otherwise a total Moob