There are a lot of raiding guides on the Internet and they all
claim to provide the best, biggest and most thorough routes
through the different aspects of end-game content. But, the
truth is that many of them are incomplete, poorly written, or
hard to understand for noobs. While I’m not exactly in that last
category, I remember when I was and it was tough going. Finding
someone who understand what a noob knows and doesn’t know and
can write for them is tough.
So, when I found out about T Dub Sanders’ new PvE Bible, I was
excited to see what he could do with all that bulky end-game
content. After all, |
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with dozens of different encounters, hundreds of
different modes, and thousands of different group compositions, there
are a lot of different little details you can get snagged on in a raid.
And T Dub is the guy who everyone knows can pull it all together. His
PvP guide is still the biggest and best one on the Internet, months
after its release. He has even further grown his profile with his
monthly Warcraft Formula updates and now he has the PvE Bible which I
think we all know will be a big success.
But, the real questions is whether or not the guide is going to be worth
the purchase price. Is this thing as good as we are all assuming it
should be?
The answer is a big resounding yes. T Dub Saunders is a big star in the
WoW guide community and he’s gotten there by showing that he has an eye
for detail and a skill for the game that is nearly unmatched by his
peers. The result is the PvE Bible.
Just to give you a quick idea of everything he throws in, this thing is
complete with every single encounter in WotLK content up through patch
3.2 and is currently being updated for the new Onyxia encounter and the
upcoming Icecrown Citadel. The guide is massive too – over 300 pages of
solid content, all of it written with the deft hand of someone who
understands what it takes to truly get through a raid with a group in
mind (not just a single role). If you need a raiding guide, don’t settle
for the cruddy free stuff floating around out there. Check out what T
Dub is offering with his PvE Bible – trust me, you won’t regret it.
When you start raiding for the first time, the biggest culture shock
many players face is the fact that the character style they’re used to
playing might not be good enough for the raid leader. There are players
who, as Paladins, Druids, Warlocks, or Priests might be required to
shift their talent specs, their style of play or their location in the
raid according to who shows up on raid night and how many players are
going into the raid. If you want to be drawn upon as much as possible
and to prove that you are worth the efforts of your guild leaders, you
need to be flexible and willing (plus able) to adapt quickly.
How Will You Adapt
To be fair, some classes don’t need to adapt all that much. Mages,
Warlocks, and Warriors are not going to be asked to change what they do.
They have roles in a raid that don’t change all that much. They might be
asked to get a certain ability ready or to make certain items, but
they’re not going to need to move. A Warrior with Protection spec is
usually a tank, and Mages and Warlocks are always DPS (though Warlocks
might on occasion prove useful as ranged OTs for short spurts).
However, those of you out there with hybrid classes such as the Paladin,
Druid, Shaman, or Death Knight (and sometimes Priest), will find that
your role in the fight becomes much more fluid. In some fights, a DK or
Druid might prove to be a more effective tank for resistance reasons
while Shamans might be great at support in one fight and work as off
healers in another fight.
The long and short of it is that if you have abilities that work for
tanking, dps and healing together on your character, you should be ready
to use any of them at any time.
How Will I Know to Switch
In a raid, once the fight is started, you’ll almost always have a set
position to work on. You’re not going to be tanking for one trash mob,
then DPS for the next and then Healing on a boss. But, between bosses or
instances as a whole, you might find that the needs of your raid party
change and that is when you should be willing to switch.
Of course, you need to be honest. If you know nothing about DK tanking
(it’s a tough role), you should say so upfront. Everyone in that raiding
party is going to rely on the tank to keep them alive (by staying
alive). If you fail to do that one thing repeatedly even when you claim
to know what you are doing, your peers may not be pleased.
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