10 Tips for Nub Raiders

Changelog
v0.9 First Version
v1.0 Fixed errors
v1.1 Updated class builds section, Community contributions.
A Note about me i have 2 70's which i currently use to raid. My warlock http://www.wowarmory.com/search.xml?searchQuery=soulsiffer&searchType=all
and my Prot Pally
http://www.wowarmory.com/character-sheet.xml?r=Stormreaver&n=Tabular

Ive been a semi-casual raider for almost 3 years now, so i know how my stuff works, and because i
have these classes i have experience from all 3 roles of raiding, healing, tanking and DPS.

I'm writing this guide in an attempt to educate new 70's on what they need to know before they come to their first raid, which indeed is an exhilarating experience. Hope you enjoy

1. Your spec
THIS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT THINGS YOU WILL NEED
In wow, your spec is HEAVILY dependent on how you play. HEAVILY. A feral druid, for example has no chance of out healing a resto specced druid, even if the feral is in full kara quality gear. Equally, i as a prot paladin cannot hope to out heal my fellow holy paladins in raids. So one of the first things you need to do is have a decent spec.

This is a controversial section, and is subject to change. Every suggestion here may not be perfect, and I will do my best to guide you to the best one for your class

Druid

The most wanted druid build is by far resto, but feral druids are also VERY good tanks for raids. Feral druids are also very viable for increasing DPS of a melee group, through use of their 5% crit talent. Balance druids, while putting out very good dps, are still prejudiced against with people retaining there pre-bc mindset. Balance druids are VERY good for increasing dps where casting is dominant.

Hunters
For hunters, your most likely going to want to go BM for raiding, Ive never grouped with a survival hunter, so i wouldnt know their viability.Ive been told though, that use of expose weakness is good for increasing group DPS.

Mage

For mages, you have a bit more flexibility than other classes. Frost is still very viable for raiding, but most mages prefer a fire/arcane build over frost.

Paladin
Paladins are incredible endgame healers, and holy pallys are most likely to get raid spots out of the other 2 talent trees. Prot paladins are EXTREMELY powerful tanks, but people with a pre-bc mindset are going to be doubtful, but don't let them get you down. A good guild will realize what an incredible asset you are for raids. Ret with recent buffs from tbc are still very good dps'ers, but they are like balance druids in the fact that they are still prejudiced against.

Priest

I'm not going to lie, with the current state of the game priests are one of the weakest healers currently, But what they lack of strong and low mana heals, they make up with their HUGE array of group heals which will make the difference between life or death in fights with high ae damage. Shadow priests are HUGELY wanted for their mana battery abilities through vamparic touch. Priests of any spec also make kara much easier because of shackle, and therefor it is usually a good idea to carry around a priest or 2.

Rogues

Rogues are the best single target dps'ers in the game. The general consensus for rogues state that the best spec for them is a combat swords spec.

Shaman

Shaman are likely to be taken to raids no matter what their spec. They are strong healers, and if specced elemental, can greatly increase the dps of a caster group, especially when paired with a balance druid. Enhancement is also VERY good at boosting melee groups dps through use of windfury totem, especially when paired with a ret paladin.

Warlock

Warlocks are very strong dps'ers. They bring strong damage over time spells, and also have valuable healthstones, soulstones, and an imp which increases your tanks health by nearly 1k. Affliction is probably the best spec for you when starting, but when you get into t5 content, most people go destruction for more dps.

Warrior

For raiding, your best bet on getting a position is prot. Prot warriors are currently the most powerful single mob tanks in the game. If tanking really isn't your thing, fury is your next best bet. Arms, while able to put out decent dps, is more of a pvp spec if anything.

2. Your gear

After you have a good spec, you need to have decent gear.

To get through kara, you could probably do it in mostly 70 blue dungeon gear.

For ZA, you will need at least full kara gear to be able to make it past the second boss.

For Gruul, you will need at least half kara gear, and mostly blues.

For most classes, look at these stats

To start kara, a tank will need
490 defense
11k UNBUFFED hp
Uncrushable is a HUGE +++ to get to anything past curator, but is not a requirement until prince or nightbane.

To start kara, a healer will need
1.1k UNBUFFED healing
8k UNBUFFED mana
140 UNBUFFED Mana per 5 sec

To start kara, a dps will need
1.1k UNBUFFED AP
20% UNBUFFED crit
7k hp will help for fights like maiden, curator and aran where the raid will take significant ae damage

A Caster will want
600 UNBUFFED spell damage
9k mana for mages, 9k HP 8k mana for warlocks
20% Crit for mages, around 50 or so spell hit for warlocks (affliction)

Destro warlocks can usually use the same stats for mages
3. Your buffs

If you feel you need it, flasks can become an important asset to any group. Flasks can do anything from give you 10 bonus defense for tanks to 70 spellpower for casters. Food buffs are also very good for increasing your dps. Weapon buffs like adamantine stones and wizard oil also help. Depending on your class, here is a general amount of buffs you should have

For tanks, you should have on you at all times
Blessing of kings and/OR Light
Flask of fortification
Fisherman's feast or equivalent
Mark of the wild
Power Word Fortitude
Blood pact

For a healer, your going to want
Blessing of Kings, Wisdom or Salvation
Flask of Mighty Restoration
Golden Fish sticks
Superior Mana oil
Gift of the wild

For dps you will want
Blessings of Kings, Salvation Might or Wisdom
Flask of relentless assault or Flask of pure death
Gift of the Wild
Prayer of Fortitude (for warlocks)

4. Your raid makeup

For a group entering kara your probably going to want

1 PROT SPECCED TANK
1 Offtank
3 Healers
1 Mage
1 or 2 Priests
1 Hunter
2 Dps of your choosing

This group allows room to breath, having 2 tanks for a group starting kara is ideal because most likely you will not have the HP or mitigation to successfully tank high ammounts of mobs. 3 healers is imperative for starting groups for the same reasons. A priest is very important for fights like moroes where CC is important, and hunters are also very viable cc'ers. Mages for keeping your raid fed, while dishing out respectable dps

5. Addons

Addons play huge roles in your successfulness in a raid. I hate it when people join my group without a threat meter and are constantly pulling threat. Here is a list of addons you should have before starting a raid.

Omen threat meter
http://wow.curse.com/downloads/details/9101/
Allows you to watch your threat so you dont pull aggro and die. Fairly simple to use

X-perl unit frames
http://wow.curse.com/downloads/details/3416/
Allows you to see your entire raid, without having raid tab open at all times

Deadly Boss mods
http://www.curse.com/downloads/details/4940/

VERY important mod. It tells you when bosses are going to do certain spells so you are prepared for them. Very helpful for new raiders.

6. Communication

Most raids require a VoIP Program like Ventrilo or Teamspeak. These programs are very helpful for keeping your raid organized and increasing response time. Its allot harder and slower for people to type when they could just yell at you instead

you can download these Here:
Ventrilo
http://www.ventrilo.com/download.php
Teamspeak
http://www.goteamspeak.com/

Your raid may use another program, or blizzards in game voice, but these are the most common.

7. Attitude

I HATE it when people join a progression raid and expect to one shot everything. Progression raids are for guilds that want to get farther, for example, a guild that has been running kara and then going to Gruul for the first time would be considered a progression raid. A Farm raid is where the guild has downed the bosses many times and doesn't need to explain anything.

If you are in a progression run doing kara for your first time, realize that it might not come just like that. Downing bosses requires extreme coordination between players and for complicated fights it may take more than 2 tries.

8. Come on time

I HATE it again, when people come online a half hour after the raid was scheduled to start, and then find that they lost their position because of this. I, and many other people will not wait for you if you are taking 30 minutes to log on, and if you were late accept it and move on. You cannot expect 9 or perhaps 24 other people to wait for you and only you when they could find another easily.

9. Know the fights

It is a very good idea to look up boss fights and have a general idea of how a boss strategy will work before coming to raids. A good place to look this up would be

Wowwiki
http://www.wowwiki.com/Main_Page
Provides general walkthroughs for most boss fights and strategies on how to best defeat them.

Bosskillers
http://www.bosskillers.com/
Provides guides and videos on how to down bosses.

10. REPAIR REPAIR REPAIR!

If it is your first time in kara, MAKE SURE YOU COME REPAIRED!!! this is the same for other raids where a place to repair may be very far away.

In kara, There is not a place to repair until very deep into the instance if you are not honored with the Violet Eye, so make sure you are fully repaired before you come.

Well, hopefully you found these tips helpful. If you have any questions or comments feel free to post or PM me. Thanks for reading and GL On your raids!