We're taking a break from bare-bones basics this week to address a topic that pops up for fresh level 80s who are still adjusting to their new curve of power. When is the best time to use long-cooldown abilities, trinkets or anything else that provides a massive, temporary boost in power? (The quick, easy answer: Regularly. Unused abilities that you're saving "just in case" tend to remain ... well, unused.) Things get more complicated, though, when you're juggling cooldowns in a raid group that's savvy to the benefits of a well-timed Heroism (Alliance) or Bloodlust (Horde). When is the right time to go for broke?

Dear Glorious WoW.com Writers,

I have a question on my mind that I suspect a lot of other people have on their minds as well. Should DPS pop their cooldowns/trinkets during Bloodlust or after Bloodlust? I would think you should stack your cooldowns with Bloodlust because you get the effect of them plus 30% haste, increasing their effect by that much. On the other hand, maybe the wiser option is to use cooldowns after bloodlust, so you have the effect of the Bloodlust then the effect of the cooldowns, which spreads it out a little more. What are factors in deciding to use cooldowns with Bloodlust or after Bloodlust? Does mana limits factor in to this at all? I can't find a straight answer on the internet anywhere, and was hoping you could provide me with one.

Thank you,
Bownzy of Blackwing Lair (US)

Join us for a quick roundup of thoughts from WoW.com staffers, after the break.

Should you pop your trinkets and cooldowns during or after Herolust?

Matt Low: During Bloodlust.

Matthew Rossi: It actually depends on fight duration and length of cooldowns. For instance, on BQL, I use my DPS cooldowns right at the start of the fight, because they'll be back by the time we pop Hero. Any fight with longer than three minutes between the start of the fight and a Lust/Hero phase, you should use them twice.

Daniel Whitcomb: Generally, I recommend death knights do it all at once, especially since the only way Gargoyle and Dancing Rune Weapon get buffed by Heroism/Bloodlust is if they're popped while you're buffed with it. Generally, though, it seems like the idea once Bloodlust/Heroism is popped is to get the boss burned down ASAP, and popping trinkets/haste potions/major cooldowns helps get that going. I even made "pop during Heroism/Bloodlust" macros for my Lichborne elementary macro article.

Rich Maloy: I try to time as many on-use abilities (Sham Rage + Troll 'zerk + trinkets) with Hero/BL, plus Potions of Speed. I've been watching my weapon speed during recent attempts and have not reached the haste cap (floor?). We announce when BL will be used before the fight starts so people can time out their CDs. We try to use BL either early or late. Early means all trinky/CDs are available. Late means enough time to use them one to two times before we pop it off.

Also, haste is multiplicative, not additive, so it makes sense to stack it and other abilities.

Chase Christian: Rossi's got the right idea: Either Bloodlust immediately with cooldowns, or at 3 minutes with the second round of cooldowns. Bink at EJ did the math; it's better to use Lust/Hero with cooldowns than it is to wait for 35/20% boss life, so 0/3/6 minutes are the ideal times. That way, your DPS can always pop their CDs when available, and BL will always sync up with those.

Michael Gray: I would caveat: If it's a boss whose last quarter/third of life means the tank is getting hammered by a freight train, and the tank or healer is having trouble with that phase, save the BL/Heroism to minimize your exposure to that risk. Raids with dead tanks do 0 damage.

Fox Van Allen: I generally find that in real-world practice, adding haste bonuses on top of haste bonuses for DPS is a bad idea -- it mostly magnifies latency and makes your occasional mistakes all the more pronounced. I generally use Wild Magic during Heroism and recommend others do as well -- that way you get a nice synergistic effect between the haste, crit and SP without the frenzied button-pushing. It's one of those situations that theorycrafting just can't model exactly.

Mana limits don't factor at all into Heroism unless you're already having significant mana issues with your character. Running the numbers in my head, Heroism equals ... what, an extra 12 seconds' worth of mana use? How many people cut it that close? Besides, even if you are having those mana management issues, you should still be going all out for Heroism. Save mana management for when you're casting at normal speed and can't benefit from cooldown synergy.

Are the sounds of "Herolust" your cue to pop your own cooldowns? Let us know what strategies have worked best for you in the comments.

---

Visit the WoW Rookie Guide for links to all our tips, tricks and how-to's. WoW Rookie walks you through all sort of new-player concerns, from game lingo for the beginner to joining your first guild as a mid-level player and on to what to do when you finally hit level 80.

---

Tags: Bloodlust, cooldowns, featured, guide, Heroism, how-to-play-wow, new-to-world-of-warcraft, noob-guide, popping-cooldowns, rookie-guide, trinket-management, trinkets, world-of-warcraft-guide, world-of-warcraft-help, world-of-warcraft-noobs, world-of-warcraft-rookies, wow-guide, wow-help, wow-noob-guide, wow-noobs, wow-to-play-world-of-warcraft

Filed under: WoW Rookie