Check your raid comp
by Eliah Hecht 
Oct 8th 2008 at 4:00PM
However, all the new buffs and debuffs can make a raid leader's head spin, in case they do decide they want to organize a raid so as to optimize buff coverage (and surely some raid leaders will want to do that). Fortunately, MMO-Champion has made an outstanding web tool to help you figure out your raid composition. Just drag-and-drop specs into the raid groups, and check the right-hand column to see what buffs and debuffs you'll get.
It will also tell you whether you have the best buff in a given category; in my sample raid comp (my last Karazhan run), for instance, we only have Battle Shout, which is not as good of an AP buff as Blessing of Might. If you're missing a buff and want to see how you could get it, just mouse-over the buff, and it'll tell you what classes bring it. The one thing I really wish this tool had that it doesn't is a corresponding ability for specs: mouse over the spec and it'll tell you what buffs they bring. Overall though, this is really useful; I'm not a min-maxing raid leader (or a raid leader at all, actually), but I'm probably going to make use of it just to check what my raids and groups be getting. And because it's really cool.
Filed under: Raiding, Classes, Buffs, Wrath of the Lich King
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Dyermaker Oct 8th 2008 4:05PM
Battle Shout and Blessing of Might are the same AP. Battle Shout still has Solarian's trinket, which will now impact the whole raid. There is no equal for Blessing of Might. Battle Shout is the better buff.
niko Oct 8th 2008 4:37PM
Especially now that Battle Shout affects ranged AP + as you mentioned the raid-wide buff. Sure, the warrior has to make sure the buff stays up 100% of the time, but it's a small price to pay to see so much AP for the price of 10 rage.
Solarian's Sapphire has never been more valuable now, IMO. It just got buffed indirectly a whole lot.
DaleMox Oct 8th 2008 5:27PM
Actually no, it grants only you 110 ap (instead of 70 before) nothing additional to the group or raid....
http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?item=30446
niko Oct 8th 2008 6:25PM
oh no, that was such a great trinket, too!
KHANNNNNNNNN!!!!
Barnister Oct 8th 2008 4:12PM
Damn, I miss the old times where raiding actually was all and only about raiding.
Not about theroycrafting the shit out of a min/max raid...
Blackhorn Oct 8th 2008 4:40PM
How exactly did you define "raiding" in the old days? Flying under the radar while 39 other did all the min/maxing and theorycraft FOR YOU?
Ravenice Oct 8th 2008 4:44PM
When was this? *Every* hard-core raid leader have always been min-maxing. If anything, the 10 and 25 man boss fights will rely less on stacking enough people with high-end gear (like the old MC days), and more on group dynamics and individuals following instructions.
Barnister Oct 8th 2008 4:48PM
Um...you both know raid and raiding wasn't invented by WoW?
WoW has brought raiding to mainstream, but it existed in different forms long before WoW.
Joker Oct 14th 2008 10:39PM
When was this time you speak of? Every raid had to do with theorycrafting in order to ensure the fewest wipes and thus fewest repair bills. Theorycrafting also means that you can figure out what to use a class for if you really wish to raid
Manatank Oct 8th 2008 5:10PM
@Barnister:
I'm not sure when you are talking about, but I suppose that you would have to agree that things are going to be better for you now that min/maxing isn't as difficult or rigid anymore.
Kastirin Oct 8th 2008 5:23PM
Some of us *actually enjoy* theorycrafting...squeezing a few more points of dps out of our composition, rotation, spec...
It's not everyone's cup of tea, but that's why the theorycrafters come up with the cookie-cutter specs.
varilhigh Oct 8th 2008 4:47PM
They forgot two mage talents:
Focus Magic - +crit to 1 raid member
http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=54646
and
Improved Water Elemental - Mana to raid
http://wotlk.wowhead.com/?spell=44561
darian Oct 8th 2008 6:11PM
That's true, but those don't fit into the normalized raid buff categories. They have no mutually exclusive equivalents, and have a smaller scope.
Celton Oct 8th 2008 5:15PM
This is pretty nice. According to this tool, you can easily get every buff and debuff you need with only 17 people. The other 7 slots you can fill with whatever class/spec you want, and of course, those people will also have overlapping buffs and debuffs to cover a buff if someone drops. This proves that raids will bring people more for their skill and gear and less because of their class and buffs/debuffs.
darian Oct 8th 2008 6:22PM
Let's play Towers of Hanoi!
I've got it down to 13 for all green, 12 if you're content having "Cast Speed Slow" as Yellow.
darian Oct 8th 2008 6:32PM
Got it down to 11.
http://raidcomp.mmo-champion.com/?c=rcfgdtu4nms00000000000000000000000000000
Kastirin Oct 8th 2008 7:36PM
May as well drop the destro lock, since bosses can't be cast-speed-slowed. Aside from hyjal trash, I daresay noone needs to bring this debuff.
darren Oct 8th 2008 7:45PM
Darian,
take out your prot warrior, and you get all the buffs. Not sure how you'll instance without a tank, but you only had 1 healer on there to begin with, so maybe your arms warrior is just that leet.
darian Oct 8th 2008 8:00PM
I wasn't trying to make a *viable* group, just one that had all the buffs.
From this framework you could easily make a 25 man with all the buffs, although I'm guessing that most 25 man raids are not going to have trouble getting them all by pure accident.
But you guys are right, the Prot Warrior and the Destruction Warlock are entirely superfluous given my purpose.
9!
Thundrcrackr Oct 8th 2008 5:33PM
This thing is a sweet idea but has a long way to go before its very accurate. I entered in all 4 specs that I play all the time and am extremely familiar with but they were all 4 wrong. Some buffs/debuffs were missing and others were flat out wrong. I wouldn't use it to plan any raids until its fully accurate.