Raid DPS Fundamentals

Raid DPS is dungeon damage plus choreography. The encounters are scripted, the burst windows are scheduled, and the targets that matter are rarely the ones the meter rewards hitting.

Switch to what matters

• Priority targets — adds that must die before a cast finishes, objects that must be destroyed — outrank the boss. Always.
• Padding on irrelevant targets while the important one lives is how raids wipe at 1%.
• Keep the boss in range of your cleave when possible; efficient cleave is free, tunnel-visioning the boss is not.

Burst windows are a raid resource

Many bosses have burn phases, damage-taken phases, or shields that must break fast. Save meaningful cooldowns for those windows even if it costs you uses elsewhere — organized raids plan them.

Mechanics first, meter second

• Assignments — soak groups, bait spots, interrupt rotations — come before your rotation.
• A dead DPS contributes nothing and often forces a battle res that could have been saved.
• Use defensives on scheduled raid damage; it is the easiest way to look like a veteran.

Stuck on something here? Post a note on the Academy Learning Board — someone aboard has been exactly where you are.