DPS track
A short course in tanking, healing and DPS in a group: how to think, what to set up first, and a calm road into dungeons.
Pre-flight checklist (tick when ready)
Your ticks are kept in this browser only. In the game, the Academy keeps its own.
The buttons of each spec
Open your spec. This is the toolkit the Academy shows in the game, with the same coloured labels, like [Block] or [Heal].
The site cannot see your character, so it lists every button of the spec, talents you may not have picked included. In the game you only see the ones you have, each with the key it is on.
Frost Death Knight
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Pillar of Frost (45s)
- [Burst] Frostwyrm's Fury (1.5 min)
- [Burst] Breath of Sindragosa (2 min)
- [Burst] Reaper's Mark (45s)
- [Burst] Empower Rune Weapon (30s)
- [Burst] Remorseless Winter (20s)
Unholy Death Knight
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Army of the Dead (1.5 min)
- [Burst] Dark Transformation (45s)
- [Burst] Putrefy (30s)
Devourer Demon Hunter
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Void Metamorphosis
- [Burst] The Hunt (1.5 min)
- [Burst] Soul Immolation (1 min)
- [Burst] Voidblade (30s)
Havoc Demon Hunter
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Metamorphosis (2 min)
- [Burst] The Hunt (1.5 min)
- [Burst] Eye Beam (30s)
- [Burst] Essence Break (40s)
Balance Druid
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Celestial Alignment (3 min)
- [Burst] Incarnation: Chosen of Elune (3 min)
- [Burst] Fury of Elune (1 min)
- [Burst] Force of Nature (1 min)
- [Burst] Convoke the Spirits (2 min)
What you can dispel
- Remove Corruption — removes Curse, Poison from a friendly target.
Feral Druid
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Tiger's Fury (30s)
- [Burst] Berserk (3 min)
- [Burst] Incarnation: Avatar of Ashamane (3 min)
- [Burst] Feral Frenzy (45s)
- [Burst] Convoke the Spirits (2 min)
What you can dispel
- Remove Corruption — removes Curse, Poison from a friendly target.
Augmentation Evoker
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Breath of Eons (2 min)
- [Burst] Ebon Might (30s)
- [Burst] Upheaval (40s)
What you can dispel
- Cauterizing Flame — removes Bleed, Poison, Curse, Disease from a friendly target.
- Expunge — removes Poison from a friendly target.
Devastation Evoker
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Dragonrage (2 min)
- [Burst] Fire Breath (30s)
- [Burst] Eternity Surge (30s)
- [Burst] Deep Breath (2 min)
What you can dispel
- Cauterizing Flame — removes Bleed, Poison, Curse, Disease from a friendly target.
- Expunge — removes Poison from a friendly target.
Beast Mastery Hunter
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Bestial Wrath (30s)
Marksmanship Hunter
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Trueshot (2 min)
- [Burst] Rapid Fire (16s)
- [Burst] Explosive Shot (30s)
Survival Hunter
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Wildfire Bomb (18s)
Arcane Mage
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Arcane Surge (1.5 min)
- [Burst] Touch of the Magi (45s)
What you can dispel
- Remove Curse — removes Curse from a friendly target.
Fire Mage
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Combustion (2 min)
- [Burst] Meteor (45s)
What you can dispel
- Remove Curse — removes Curse from a friendly target.
Frost Mage
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Ray of Frost (1 min)
- [Burst] Frozen Orb (1 min)
- [Burst] Ice Nova (25s)
What you can dispel
- Remove Curse — removes Curse from a friendly target.
Windwalker Monk
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Zenith (1.5 min)
- [Burst] Invoke Xuen, the White Tiger (2 min)
- [Burst] Fists of Fury (24s)
- [Burst] Strike of the Windlord (35s)
What you can dispel
- Detox — removes Poison, Disease from a friendly target.
Retribution Paladin
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Avenging Wrath (2 min)
- [Burst] Divine Toll (1 min)
- [Burst] Execution Sentence (1 min)
- [Burst] Wake of Ashes (30s)
What you can dispel
- Cleanse Toxins — removes Poison, Disease from a friendly target.
- Cleanse — removes Magic from a friendly target.
Shadow Priest
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Voidform (2 min)
- [Burst] Power Infusion (2 min)
- [Burst] Void Torrent (30s)
What you can dispel
- Purify Disease — removes Disease from a friendly target.
Assassination Rogue
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
Outlaw Rogue
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Adrenaline Rush (3 min)
- [Burst] Killing Spree (3 min)
- [Burst] Blade Flurry (30s)
- [Burst] Blade Rush (1 min)
Subtlety Rogue
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Shadow Dance (20s)
- [Burst] Shadow Blades (1.5 min)
- [Burst] Secret Technique (25s)
- [Burst] Goremaw's Bite (45s)
Elemental Shaman
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Stormkeeper (1 min)
- [Burst] Ascendance (3 min)
What you can dispel
- Cleanse Spirit — removes Curse from a friendly target.
Enhancement Shaman
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Ascendance (3 min)
- [Burst] Doom Winds (1 min)
- [Burst] Sundering (30s)
What you can dispel
- Cleanse Spirit — removes Curse from a friendly target.
Affliction Warlock
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Summon Darkglare (2 min)
What you can dispel
- Singe Magic — removes Magic from a friendly target.
Demonology Warlock
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Summon Demonic Tyrant (1 min)
- [Burst] Call Dreadstalkers (20s)
What you can dispel
- Singe Magic — removes Magic from a friendly target.
Destruction Warlock
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Summon Infernal (2 min)
- [Burst] Channel Demonfire (25s)
- [Burst] Cataclysm (30s)
What you can dispel
- Singe Magic — removes Magic from a friendly target.
Arms Warrior
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Colossus Smash (45s)
- [Burst] Avatar (1.5 min)
- [Burst] Bladestorm (1.5 min)
- [Burst] Ravager (1.5 min)
- [Burst] Champion's Spear (1.5 min)
Fury Warrior
Your damage cooldowns
Press them on cooldown for more total damage — or line them up on the pull / a boss's key phase.
- [Burst] Recklessness (1.5 min)
- [Burst] Odyn's Fury (45s)
- [Burst] Avatar (1.5 min)
- [Burst] Bladestorm (1.5 min)
- [Burst] Champion's Spear (1.5 min)
DPS mindset
Your job is damage - but a dead DPS does zero. Staying alive and doing mechanics comes first, damage second.
You don't need the top of the meter. Steady damage while doing your job beats huge numbers followed by a death.
Priority, not a fixed rotation
Most specs build a resource, then spend it. Keep your builder and spender flowing; don't cap your resource and don't let dots/buffs fall off.
One or two buttons pressed at the right time beats mashing five. Learn the priority, not a memorized order.
Line up your cooldowns
Your damage cooldowns are most of your damage. Pressing them on cooldown beats saving them for a "perfect" moment that never comes.
On a boss, open with them or save them for the phase that matters. Your toolkit above lists them for your spec.
Mechanics beat damage
Move out of the bad stuff even if it costs a cast. A stack of avoidable damage wipes the group faster than low DPS does.
Greedy is standing in fire for one more cast. Good is taking half a second to reposition and living to press the rest.
You're not just a damage bot
Interrupt dangerous casts, use your crowd control, and press your personal defensive when you take a big hit.
A DPS who kicks and survives is worth far more than one who only pumps numbers.
Common beginner mistakes
1. Sitting on cooldowns "just in case"
2. Capping your resource (wasted generation)
3. Standing in the bad stuff for one more cast
4. Never interrupting or using utility
5. Tunnel-visioning damage while your health bottoms out
Pick one to fix each run - not all five at once.
Target practice
Hit a training dummy for two minutes: keep your resource flowing, weave your cooldowns, and watch what falls off.
Then delves, then normal dungeons. You don't need a perfect rotation to start - you need to keep pressing and stay alive.
Thinking about tank or heal?
You already know the fights from the DPS seat, and that is most of the work. Tanking gives you instant dungeon queues; healing asks the most nerve but is the most wanted.
Try the new role in a delve or a follower dungeon first, where nobody is waiting on you. Then keep one role as your main for a while instead of swapping every pug.
In the game the Academy knows your character. It ticks the steps it can see, shows only the spells you have, puts your own key behind every button and turns a button red when it is not on a key yet. Type /mh academy.