Raids & bosses
Raid cooldowns in WoW Classic: when and what to use
Raid cooldowns decide whether the raid survives a dangerous phase or wipes. WoW Classic 1.12 has few of them, but each is powerful — from the warrior's Shield Wall to the warlock's Soulstone. Below is what cooldowns exist in vanilla, when to use them and how to build a rotation across a boss's phases.
Vanilla has no Bloodlust/Heroism — that is TBC. The only damage boosts in 1.12 are the priest talent Power Infusion and world buffs. Do not wait for "lusts" — plan the fight around defensive and mana cooldowns.
Contents
Tank defensive cooldowns
The tank cuts incoming damage on dangerous phases (see main and off-tank):
- warrior — Shield Wall (heavy damage reduction), Last Stand (talent, +HP), Retaliation, Recklessness;
- protection paladin — Divine Protection, Divine Shield (bubble), Blessing of Protection on an ally;
- coordinate: do not burn all cooldowns at once, stretch them across the spike.
The tank announces a cooldown by voice or macro so healers do not panic (see raid macros).
Healer saves and buffs
Class emergency buttons:
| Class | Cooldown | When to use |
|---|---|---|
| Paladin | Blessing of Protection | remove physical damage from a target |
| Paladin | Lay on Hands | full HP to a tank at zero mana |
| Priest | Power Infusion (talent) | boost a caster or healer |
| Druid | Tranquility | raid-wide damage spike |
Blessing of Salvation lowers DPS threat so they do not pass the tank on threat.
◆Mana cooldowns
Mana is scarce in vanilla, so mana cooldowns are planned:
- druid Innervate — a burst of mana regen for a healer, 6-minute cooldown; put it on the busiest healer;
- paladin Blessing of Wisdom and mana aura — background for the whole group;
- healers keep the five-second rule and downrank (see mana management).
Shaman Mana Tide Totem is TBC and not in 1.12.
◆Self-rezzes and anti-wipe
Cooldowns that save a full wipe:
- warlock Soulstone — placed on a healer beforehand; one active, lasts ~30 minutes, lets them stand after death;
- shaman Reincarnation — self-rez with an Ankh reagent, ~1 hour cooldown (Improved talent reduces it);
- druid battle rez — Rebirth in combat (see battle rez).
Hand out the Soulstone before the pull — it is cheap wipe insurance.
Cooldown rotation by phase
- Write down who uses which cooldown on which phase (Shield Wall on the enrage, Tranquility on the volley).
- Do not stack two identical cooldowns — spread them across the fight timer.
- Keep one defensive cooldown in reserve for a surprise spike.
- Wipe review and timings are in wipe recovery.
◆Getting started on WowX5 x5
List your raid's cooldowns and map them to the first boss's phases. Fast WowX5 x5 rates deliver the talents and gear for a first raid in a couple of evenings. Create an account, download the game and connect to play.wowx5.ru.
FAQ
?What defensive cooldowns does a tank have
Warrior: Shield Wall, Last Stand (talent), Recklessness, Retaliation. Protection paladin: Divine Protection, Divine Shield, Blessing of Protection. Use them on spikes of tank damage.
?Is there Bloodlust or Heroism in vanilla
No. Shaman Bloodlust/Heroism is TBC and later. In WoW Classic 1.12 the only strong damage buffs are the priest talent Power Infusion and world buffs.
?How do I restore raid mana
A druid casts Innervate on a healer (6-minute cooldown in vanilla), a paladin gives Blessing of Wisdom and a mana aura, and healers downrank. Mana Tide Totem is TBC and not in vanilla.
?How do self-resurrects work
A warlock places a Soulstone (one active, lasts ~30 minutes), a shaman uses Reincarnation with an Ankh reagent (~1 hour cooldown, the Improved talent reduces it). It saves a wipe.
Related
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- Put into realmlist.wtf:
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