dps-guide
Latest
Blizzard's new level 90 crash-course videos
Blizzard has released 11 instructional videos designed to give a new level 90 a quick and dirty introduction to their class. The title is perhaps a bit misleading, because these are not complete class overviews. Instead, each video focuses on a particular specialization of that class--and specifically, a DPS specialization. The specs featured are: Frost death night, Balance druid, Survival hunter, Arcane mage, Windwalker monk, Retribution paladin, Shadow priest, Combat rogue, Elemental shaman, Destruction warlock, and Arms warrior. If you've got a brand-new 90 that you're still figuring out, or if you're looking to busy yourself learning a new aspect of your class before Warlords of Draenor, these might be of interest to you. It is nice to see a Blizzard-sponsored guide for specs such as the Balance druid, which I personally find annoyingly complicated to play, but I'm a bit puzzled by the extremely specific nature of the videos. Are there going to be further guides for tanking and healing specs? Or for the DPS specs not covered here, such as Affliction warlocks, Fury warriors, Feral druids, Subtlety rogues, and more? I think videos like this that come straight from the horse's mouth of Blizzard are a great idea, but it's strange to see a set of them that feels so incomplete. Still, if you're toying with the idea of learning one of the specs covered, the videos are a good place to start.
Chaos Theory: Testing my Secret World DPS makeover
It's no secret that The Secret World is just a wee bit different than the majority of MMORPGs out there. Hallelujah for that, right? And one notable area it differs from the rest is how it treats gear and classes. As such, players can't necessarily bring habits and know-how from other titles and translate that into immediate success in TSW. It's no wonder that even good players can sometimes feel stumped or at a loss when navigating through builds. For that very reason, Chaos Theory brought you the first episode of What Not to Wear, a live makeover that focused on sharing hints and tips that non-theorycrafters (like yours truly) could use as a base for forging their own path. It was a simple makeover really -- just minor changes in my focus and equipment using gear I already had in my bag and abilities I already had access to. Did it help? Did my effectiveness as a damage-dealer increase? The outcome was rather surprising.
5 tips to improve your DPS, no matter your spec
Readers may have recently caught our six simple tips for getting started in tanking, and the follow-up, six simple tips for getting started in healing. We couldn't really come up for six simple tips for getting started in DPS, other than, you know, hit things with damaging spells, don't stand in bad, that sort of thing, so we're taking a slightly different angle with this short guide. And yes, some of the tips will be kind of obvious to old hands, this guide is aimed at new players, but you never know, you might just learn something if you stick around. While tanks and healers are in the spotlight by merit of their lower numbers in groups, DPS stress comes from the fact that your skill is almost always visible. No, a mistake from you isn't as likely to wipe the group as a mistake from a healer or a tank, and yes, there is safety in numbers, but there's no escape from Recount or Skada, or another DPS meter of your choice. As such, DPS is a numbers game, and it's a case of the bigger the better in many cases. So, what can you do to improve your DPS? 1. Don't fear the meter That is a retro song reference if I ever saw one. I mentioned meters a moment ago and they're back again, from a positive angle this time. While DPS meters can be less than perfectly accurate, and a source of stress for DPSers, they're also a great way to analyse your performance. DPS improvement, as we'll see going forwards, is a lot about information.
5 ways to keep your DPS players happy in 5-man heroics
OK, you can't pretend you didn't see this one coming after the healing and tanking editions. As I may have mentioned, I have less DPS experience than tanking and healing, but from that time in Azeroth, I have gathered that there are things everyone can do to make their DPSers happy bunnies rather than melancholy murlocs. Actually, being a murloc would be pretty cool. One of my GMs does an awesome murloc impression. So, tanks and healers, and other DPSers, how can you keep your DPS buddies happy? 1. Mark your targets. Tanks, or whoever is experienced, or whoever is taking on that role in the dungeon, mark your targets. Telepathy is not a standard talent in any tree, and while sure, it's possible to click the tank and then use an assist macro, you can easily keybind or add a button to your action bars that marks your target with a skull, a cross, a moon and so on.
