MMO Instances: Things to know for DPS

You’ve just started playing World of Warcraft and you’ve about to take your DPS character into some instances. Perhaps you are already level 80, and you wonder why the invites to instances and raids have disappeared. There are few things to know that hold true from your first Ragefire Chasm instance all the way though the end game. I came up with a short list of tips for DPS characters a year ago on the [HDL] forums, and they still hold.

• Kill order must be followed at all times. If you are unsure about the marks being used, please ask.
• Do not call for healing – any healer worth his salt will be very aware of your current status. In all likelihood the healer is either focused on the tank, being beat down, or waiting to heal to minimize his threat.
• Even if you can handle a mob, do not pull and attempt to tank or kill the mob yourself unless you are the off-tank. Doing so causes the healer to split his heals between the tank and you and generates a lot of threat pointed directly at him.
• Follow kill order.
• Remove debuffs if you have the ability as soon as possible. This reduces the amount of work on the healer(s), and in certain fights, with the mages and warlocks and paladins.
• In line with not trying to tank is the need to dump threat as you can. Feign death, soulshatter, bubble, fade, vanish, iceblock – anything you can to get threat where it belongs.
• If you are a DPS character, do not hesitate to use your potions, healthstones, and bandages. Again, the healer needs to be focused on the tank, who does not have the opportunity to break from keeping all the hate.
• Do not hesitate to ask questions. A moment of frustration is far less than the pain of a wipe.
• Damage meters are merely a means to determine some level of competence. It is not a determination of who is best. 
• Follow kill order.

Remember – running an instance or a raid is a team event. Success is measured by our success, which is measured by how much fun we have.

Some of us have been playing WoW for years and we make assumptions that may not be clear to our newer members. Please ask questions and ask for explanations. Understanding “LoS pull, sheep caster, DoTs on the MS warrior, HoJ if healer breaks, seed the non-elites, and keep HoT on the OT.” comes with experience and asking questions. 

Oh, and one last thing - Follow kill order.