Maximizing your character's potential

[tkoreaper]

The time for fun and games is over kids. More and more recently we are reminded that as content progresses, there is less and less room for error and player laziness. I hope to solve this by writing a very in-depth guide on how to get the most out of your character. I will try to cover everything and keep it as neat and organized as I can. I'm not going to assume all of your are as tech-savvy as me so I will make this very simple.

First, and most importantly, you should always be aware of any changes and bugs that pertain to your class. Keeping yourself up to date allows you to be ahead of the game and have time to prepare for anything. This can easily be done by visiting MMO Champion and Elitist Jerks on a daily occasion. MMO Champion keeps you up to date on any blue posts and incoming changes and EJ will teach you everything you need to know to be successful with your class.

Talent Specialization:
Knowing how to pick your talents is very important. Refer to the EJ website above to find the appropriate talent spec for you. These can be found in the class forums.

Gear:
This is the most difficult part of playing wow and one of the most common questions asked by a newbie is "What kind of stats do I use?". This can be solved also from the EJ website.

Knowing what stats are important to you is one thing, but knowing which stats are the most important is another thing. It's very important that you are aware of any kind of stat caps that are specific to your class. If you are a caster then you have the spell hit cap to achieve. If you are melee then you have expertise as well as the hit cap. Hunters have hit and healers have no needed caps. It's your responsibility to know which caps exist for your class.

Beyond knowing the basics on how to gear, there is much more that you can do to ensure your are really pushing your character to his/her max.

Programs:

Rawr
First, I will introduce you to a wonderful program called Rawr. It was initially only a Druid program, but has since then branched out to cover all classes and roles. Rawr is important because it takes almost all the trouble away that gearing causes.

When you first open up Rawr it may look confusing to use, but I assure you it couldn't get any simpler. You start by importing you character's profile from the armory by going to "File" > "Load from armory..." Type in your character's name and server and click OK. Rawr will then start the process of importing your character. Once it's done you are now free to make any changes.

First thing you always want to do is make sure that "Enforce Gem Requirements" is checked. This makes sure that your meta will be activated when we run the optimizer. Next thing you want to do is click the "Buffs" tab and go through the list to check off the buffs that you usually have in a raid. Once that is set then it's off to the "Options" tab. This tab is different for every class and role. In this tab are the different options that you can set. They should be fairly self-explanatory.

Now on to the next part. The thing about Rawr that sets it apart from every program out there, is that you can tell it all the gear you have that you do not have equipped. By doing so, the program can determine the best set of gear when you run the optimizer.

To tell the program what pieces of gear you have, you just simply click the diamond on the left side of the piece's name in the gear list. You can switch to different item slots by using the drop-down menus provided to you. You can also do the same for gems and enchants.

Once you have given the program all of the information you would like it to have, you are ready to run the optimizer. This is done by going to Tools > Optimize..

There are several things you can do in the optimization window. You can tell it what to optimize by using the drop-down menu beside "Calculation to optimize". There you can choose several options like, overall, threat, health, dps, ect. The "Thoroughness" slider lets you set how thorough the optimizer works (I always set mine all the way to the right).

Using the "Add" button under "Additional Requirements" allows you to tell the program to meet specific requirements. What this is mainly used for is caps such as hit, spell hit, defense, and expertise. This should be pretty self explanatory on how to use.

Once you are done it's time to optimize, but before you do you can check the unchecked boxes to have it optimize other things outside your gear such as food, pots, and talents. This comes in handy, for example, when you have a hit cap to meet and it can be reached with hit food rather than gemming or switching out a whole piece of gear entirely. Click optimize and let it works it's magic.

Rawr can also do other things such as help you decide which gear choices you should make next and which piece of emblem gear is the biggest upgrade for the cost, but I will save that for another guide.

Simulationcraft
Another nice program is simulationcraft. It used to be a pain to setup and learn how to use it, but has since then become exceedingly easy. In a nutshell, this program is a raid DPS/TPS simulator. By using this program you can get a clear idea on how much DPS potential your character has. Simply download and extract the files somewhere. You can open the main program by double clicking the simcqt.exe file. Once you open the program you will be brought to a page explaining the main gist of the program. Reading this can help you to better understand how to use this program.

the simplest way to use this program is to click the "Import" and then "Armory" tab. Proceed to search for your character like you normally would and then click "Import!" on the bottom right of the window. Alternatively you can just paste your armory URL into the text box provided on the bottom of the window. After telling it to import, it will grab all of your character's data. From here you click "Simulate!" on the bottom left. Once it is finish you should be provided with an in-depth page that included the breakdown of your DPS.

Addons
The last part of effectively gearing for DPS is using stat weights. You can find stats weights by checking the EJ class forums or by using Rawr/Simulationcraft. It is recommended that you get the weights from Rawr or Simulationcraft because stat weights constantly change with your character's gear so by using the weight provided from those programs you can be sure to have accurate weights.

Pawn
Pawn is the most common addon used manage stat weights in-game. This will allow you to make basic assessments between pieces of gear.

Rhadatip
Rhadatip is a fairly new and, in my opinion, much better addon for DPS specifically. Rhadatip does much more than Pawn does when it comes to features. Please refer to the addon's webpage for details.

Power Auras Classic
Power Auras Classic is very helpful for classes that must be reactive to procs. For example if you are an enhancement shaman you want to know when your Maelstrom weapon reaches 5 stacks so you can use your instant lightning bolt. This addon makes it very easy to see. It is also helpful for managing stacks of debuffs.

ForteXorcist
ForteXorcist is mainly targeted at warlocks, but is usefull for all classes. The spell timer comes in handy if you're managing dots or other CD's such as knowing when your diseases will fall off if you're a DK, or when to reapply other debuffs such as DoTs, sunders, living bomb, ect...

Obtaining Stat Weights
To obtain stat weights in Rawr, simply click on the drop-down menu located on the top left of the gear list and select "Relative Stat Values". You can then click the "Export" tab and select "Copy Pawn string to Clipboard". Now you can import them into Pawn in-game by pasting the string into the import window that the addon provides. Unfortunately Pawn doesn't export to Rhadatip, but you can type in the stat values manually.

To obtain stat weights in Simulationcraft, simply click on "Options" and thenthe "Scaling" tab. Select the stats that are appropriate for your class and then import/simulate your character. The stat weights can then be found towards the bottom of your results.

[EcHoEs]

Can I use Rawr for seeing best lvl 70 gear upgrades? Cause I'm raiding BC :P

[Unholyshaman]

Lol what guild Echoes?

[Fyrex]

Yeah this isn't a guide. This is telling people to use EJ and Rawr, two things people already know about, which aren't yours.

[EcHoEs]

Unholy, I just quit the guild and started leveling, but it was Destruction of TBC in Stormreaver EU

[tkoreaper]

Yeah this isn't a guide. This is telling people to use EJ and Rawr, two things people already know about, which aren't yours.

You're wrong, a lot of people are unaware of these things. If it were true then we wouldn't see so many noobs.

[tkoreaper]

Can I use Rawr for seeing best lvl 70 gear upgrades? Cause I'm raiding BC :P

No, but you can still get your stat weights and input those into LootRank or Lootzor to find upgrades.

[Sno]

No, but you can still get your stat weights and input those into LootRank or Lootzor to find upgrades.

im pretty sure just turning off the irelavent filters in Rawr does work, i've often done it.

[thegraynobleman]

Enough with the flaming plz