(R) by blizzard entertainment

What do I need in my group?

• The Tank
• The Healer
• The DPS
• The Specialist

Group play

• Customising strategies
• Looting

I suggest to rate unorthodox builds based on the player, not on the build in general. Just because Trollfrost, the Shaman could tank your dungeon last week, it doesn't have to mean Earthmender the other Shaman can do it too.

Finding a tank can be hard, so don't shy away from picking a uncommon tank or even buy a tank. Some people on your server might be promoting tanking services in general chat. Ask them for their conditions and you might find a tank really fast. It sounds counterintuitive to buy a tank for gold but if you really want to do the dungeon, gathering some gold off all members to pay a tank isn't a big expense. Tanking services may cost you 20-40g for your usual 5 man lvl60 dungeon. Special drops like world epics or flask recipes might be a thing you need to haggle out too. Most rent-a-tanks want a share based on 20% action house price.

The following classes and specs are sorted by rarity and reliability.
Shamans, like hunters, are also viable (but not optimal) tanks that can shine if played with the correct amount of knowledge and experience. Check out Devner (Caperfin's) Shaman tanking guide here on the site for an in-depth exploration of Shaman tanking.

Healing in WoW Classic is greatly enhanced with specific gear that gives +Healing, so feel free to pick a healing class with a non-healing talent specialisation, if they got have sufficient healing gear. As with tanks you might need to buy healing services - its just less common than buying tanks.

Compared to tanks, there aren't rare builds that can work; your class can heal or can't heal and that's that. The following list of healers is done with the following questions in mind: what is the disadvantage of this healer and what other utility over healing and buffs do they bring?
Check out Seebus' guide to Holiness which is a great compendium of Holy Priest healing information.


Remember: a bad tank can be fixed by a great healer, and a great tank balances out a bad healer. But if you only fill up with poor DPS, your run will take ages and you may never see the death of the final boss, particularly for those that enrage. Don't overlook damage.

Keymaster
You cannot enter specific sections of some dungeons without the proper key. Some people like to gather them all and offer Keymaster services for gold.

• Blackrock Depths requires several keys: You need 14 https://classic.wowhead.com/item=11078/relic-coffer-key to spawn the Dark Keeper, who drops the https://classic.wowhead.com/item=11197/dark-keeper-key which opens the Black Vault. You might need the https://classic.wowhead.com/item=11140/prison-cell-key to open up Holding Cells. Finally, the https://classic.wowhead.com/item=11000/shadowforge-key lets you enter deeper sections of BRD more easily.
• For entering specific wings of Dire Maul you'll need the https://classic.wowhead.com/item=18249/crescent-key.
• Inside Gnomeregan you might need the https://classic.wowhead.com/item=6893/workshop-key.
• In the Scarlet Monastery's Library, you find https://classic.wowhead.com/item=7146/the-scarlet-key which helps getting into the Armory and the Cathedral.
• If you are bored of doing 4 hour runs to get to the princess in Maraudon, you can use the https://classic.wowhead.com/item=17191/ ... f-celebras which opens a portal closer to her location.
• For getting into Scholomance, you need the https://classic.wowhead.com/item=13704/skeleton-key. In addition, deeper into the dungeon, you need https://classic.wowhead.com/item=13873/viewing-room-key to progress further.
• In Stratholme you need the https://classic.wowhead.com/item=12382/key-to-the-city to access the back entrance and the Baron gauntlet. Also your https://classic.wowhead.com/item=7146/the-scarlet-key comes in handy again for opening the Scarlet Bastion.
• Its not easy to get the https://classic.wowhead.com/item=12344/ ... -ascension for opening Upper Blackrock Spire put it really pays off, because you could easily sell Keymaster services for several gold per opening. Also, it gives cool effects in the UBRS arena event.

Extraordinary objectives
In addition to the keymaster role, you might find any of the following useful persons to incorporate into your group:

• In Blackrock Depths you might wan't to bring a rogue. He can stealth around in the Lyceum area, and kill mobs for https://classic.wowhead.com/item=11885/ ... orge-torch so you don't have to move your group around a lot.
• For Dire Maul North's Tribute run, you need the https://classic.wowhead.com/item=18266/ ... rtyard-key, which only Hunters and Rogues can solo reliably, or a good Druid. Additionally, it's useful to bring https://classic.wowhead.com/item=3829/frost-oil and materials for https://classic.wowhead.com/item=18258/gordok-ogre-suit. If your Rogue doesn't have good lock picking skill, he also can pickpocket the https://classic.wowhead.com/item=18268/ ... r-door-key, or you could even blast the inner door with https://classic.wowhead.com/item=18594/ ... ium-charge or open it with a https://classic.wowhead.com/item=15871/ ... eleton-key.
• In the Sunken Temple you'll need someone on the quest The God Hakkar for https://classic.wowhead.com/item=10465/egg-of-hakkar to summon the Shade of Hakkar.
• In Scholomance there are some quest summoned bosses like https://classic.wowhead.com/npc=10506/k ... the-herald or https://classic.wowhead.com/npc=14516/d ... darkreaver which are spawned by the Paladin's epic mount quest or the Shaman's https://classic.wowhead.com/item=20134/skyfury-helm quest.
• For several summoned bosses, like https://classic.wowhead.com/npc=16080/mor-grayhoof you need someone who has done the Tier 0.5 quest line and has https://classic.wowhead.com/item=22057/ ... invocation. After completing the tier 0.5 questline you always can use the https://classic.wowhead.com/item=22057/ ... invocation, so you might be able to sell summoning services.

Mass CC


Suggested for groups with multiple and , sometimes or

AOE Bombing


Suggested for groups with and and sometimes . Profits from a tank and multiple engineers in group.

Focus fire/Assist Train


In TBC WoW 'asssist trains' became a thing in arena mode: just agree on one main player who calls the targets, and attack the same target with the help of the assist key (default bound to F). With a group used to that you can focus pretty fast without having to mark your mobs, it even helps if you need to switch your target quickly, just target the shotcaller, hit F, and you are right on track again.

Suggested for all groups. Super smash brothers


For example, in specific fights, like the Baron in Stratholme undead wing, adds will spawn. But if you are tightly grouped they will always come to you, and you just kill them without having to move and lose damage. It's highly suggested for a good super smash brothers strategy, to make clever uses of doorways and corners to stack the mobs right up next to your melee squad.

Suggested for all melee only groups, which means all DPS (and the tank ofc) need to melee.
Kiting


For kiting it is incredible useful to look for usable geometry features like stairs and ramps, because mobs can never jump and most of the time use a walking path which may be slower. It really helps kiting mobs back to such a place even if that makes it a longer pull.

Suggested for all groups with ranged DPS, especially with at least one . In some circumstances, a good or frost specced can be big, sometimes a with https://classic.wowhead.com/spell=18223 ... exhaustion too.
Aggro Rotation


It is never a good strategy to use without care, but in the right moment it can save your group a corpserun. Sometimes it helps the tank and the healer that you pull aggro for a couple of seconds, throw some defensive cooldown and tank the damage, then after the tank has recovered let him take aggro again. Smart use of aggro rotation lets you do trashpacks without a healer, just with bandages and food in between fights. Also in fights with too many adds, you could do aggro rotation to keep some mobs off the tank and nuke them fast.

Suggested for all situations, where you need to move around the target which takes the damage from mobs. Both and excel at that, also multiple or with using taunts.
Precasting


Then, the tank just hits taunt and will get the aggro on the mob, and because taunt sets you above the highest threat target he might even keep aggro. This can blow off big chunks of the mobs hp on the pull already, and helps to kill it faster. Druids and Rogues can jump a target out of stealth at the start of the combat, which while no precasting, also supports this strategy.

Suggested for all groups with ranged dps like , or .
Death Grind


In the early days of WoW 'death grinding' was way more common than it is today, because people didn't have 15 years of experience and theorycrafting on the game. It's more a meta strategy than some smart tactics, so if your group is under performing but still committed, it can be the time to do this.

Suggested for all groups that struggles with the dungeon's trash but can kill the bosses.

A small historical fact: in the medieval England, there was a court for knights that was used mainly to settle fights over loot distribution. Heated discussions about loot distribution are nothing new!

In the following paragraphs, I will explain some loot guidelines that are commonly used on today's pservers.
MS > OS


The same applies to a healer: you are expected to roll need on every healitem you need, but greed on DPS pieces. Nethertheless, you can still announce that you will roll on a specific item or ask if that's okay, but its best doing so before even starting the dungeon. If no DPS needs a specific item, its almost never an issue if you need it as a healer or tank if you actually use it.
Reserving Items


People are indifferent about reserving items, but no one likes joining a group where you have not announced your reserves and get 'robbed' at the boss. So if you are planning on reserving specific items announce it while you are looking for your group. A example would be 'LFG BRD hand of justice / HOJ reserved'. Some people are very greedy with their reserves, but no one forces you to join their groups.

Don't forget BOEs!


Especially in the case of drops that can always drop in your dungeon, it could be a good thing to discuss beforehand - what you do if it drops? Winner get's it all? Do you sell it in the auction house and split the earning through all 5? Will you just treat it as another drop, so the one who can use it roll need, all others greed?

A special case are https://classic.wowhead.com/item=12811/righteous-orb in Stratholme living wing. Most groups use the 'first to tank, then round robbing' style for looting them - that means everyone pass on the first except the tank, then after you won one, you pass until everyone of your group won one. After 5 drops, it either starts again with round robin, or any additional orb is for whoever wins.

Here's an interesting discussion we had recently that split people between needing or greeding for BoE dungeon drops for example
Ninja protection


Like that Mage needing some cloth item with +shadow damage. In all these cases, it can also help having someone who rolls last, or at least wait until you see who rolled what. Be careful with addons that hide the rolling process like LazyPig, sly Ninjas abuse that to roll need!

@FTHforever thank you very much for the shaman tank guide shoutout!

THis is amazing, thank you guys for your contibution!

Great work. Was taken back when I seen mention of hunter tanks, you're clearly an experienced member! When I tell people that I competently tank as hunter from 15-45 they are usually aghast. Despite hunters pulling an INSANE amount of TPS, being able to revive/heal their own pet, being able to kite/cc adds themselves, etc etc etc. A good point of mention here is that a hunter tank means 4 DPS in a group which also offers a higher level of CC. Overall this will decrease damage taken (more cc=less damage) and 4 DPS increases kill speed which leads to a net gain of efficiency. Nothing is worse than being a fully able hunter watching a low level tank (who likely cant afford all of his skills), with no hit and no rage wave his 1 hander around in a mobs face... Uuuuuugh. Just let me do it big guy. =)

Great guide. i have never seen someone pay for a tank or healer unless it’s a carry thru a high level dungeon. Folks, don’t pay gold to play with people your level

Very nice, I appreciate the discussion of loot methods. Many guides I've read tend to forget that part.

Nice, well written guide. Thanks for covering so many aspects of Classic so well.