WoW Classic Tips & Tricks - Dungeon Melee DPS

Hey dudes - Silvite Soltis here and today I'm happy to be continuing my Tips & Tricks series with another dungeoneering guide. As always, if you like what you see here, then add yourself to my mailing list, or just leave a comment below!

Are you the kind of person that likes to get up close and personal in your conflicts, but doesn't necessarily want to get smacked around? Does the idea of wildly flailing your weapons around appeal to you? Does the idea of having a Windfury Totem make you weirdly excited? Well then, you're probably a melee dps at heart. So, grab your blades and drink up that Winterfall Firewater because today, we're going to discuss my tips and tricks for playing a melee dps in WoW Classic dungeons.

 Let's get right into it...

Pre-Dungeon

As with every class, there are a few things you should prepare before you step into any dungeon:

Tip #1 - Get Appropriate Addons 

First and foremost, you're going to want to have some general addons to make your dungeon runs easier. DPS and threat meters, such as Recount, Details! and ThreatClassic2 are a good place to start, but you'll probably also want to find a swing timer, such as WeaponSwingTimer, and an enemy castbar addon, such as Gnosis, as well. Finally, DeadlyBossMods (DBM) is incredibly useful for all players as it includes useful timers for boss mechanics both in dungeons and raids. In general, these addons will help you a lot.

Tip #2 - Clarify Goals

Clarify goals for the run

If you have anything in particular that you need to do in the dungeon, make it known before starting. Working on a quest? Tell the group! Aiming for a specific drop, let them know. You can avoid a lot of problems and drama later if you let everyone in your group know what you need there. Likewise, ask if anyone else is looking for or to do anything specific in the dungeon while you run it, as it's common courtesy to repay the favor.

In-Dungeon

Alrighty, now you're in the dungeon. What should you do now? Well, for starters...

Tip #3 - Find Out Kill Orders and Marks

Typical marks for dungeon groups

You should make sure you know what marks or kill targets you should be looking for. While the tank is typically the one marking and pulling, and the first kill target is usually marked Skull while the second is X, sometimes dungeons are run differently. So, make sure you know what to expect when you start. Similarly, you should identify whether you have a sap, stun, or offtanking target - depending on your class, of course.

Tip #4 - Attack Current Kill Target

Look guys, tanking isn't easy. It involves carefully attacking several mobs at the same time and making sure none of them start running toward the other party members. As such, as a DPS it's super-important to remember that no matter what the tank is targeting, always attack the current kill target. If, for example, the kill order is Skull-X-Unmarked, you should stay off of X until skull has fallen.

When DPS - melee or ranged - starts attacking the wrong target, you end up taking longer to kill all of the mobs in the pack, meaning more healing needed on the party and thus slower progress overall. What's more, the tank is likely working on building threat on the next kill targets while you all should be killing the current target, so if you aren't careful you can end up messing up his entire threat rotation in a pack.

So, to put it bluntly, as long as you have a clear kill order, kill the current kill target.

Tip #5 - Cleave!

Cleave!

One of the greatest advantages to doing dungeons as a melee class is the combination of two things - the close proximity of the mobs your tank is holding and your ability to cleave. Most, if not all, melee classes have some sort of multi-target ability - Whirlwind, Magma Totem, and Blade Flurry to name a few. And while you should focus down the current kill target, it's definitely a good idea to utilize cleave damage to burn down packs of mobs quickly.

So yeah, cleave is your friend in dungeons. However, do be mindful of any crowd control abilities that are being used. You wouldn't want to wipe the group by popping a sheep early, would you?

Tip #6 - Watch the Runners!

I've mentioned this many times before, but it bears repeating for anyone planning to run dungeons - watch out for runners! When some enemies, typically humanoids, get low on health, they may try to flee. If left unchecked, these runners can pull additional packs of mobs which can lead to a horrible wipe.

As a melee dps, you typically can't risk chasing them all over the place. However, you do have other ways in which you can help take them out. Stuns, slows, and quick execute abilities can help destroy these dangerous enemies before they cause any problems, so make sure to keep your eyes peeled when your foes get low on HP.

Tip #7 - Interrupt Casters! 

Watch for cast bars and glowy hands!

One of the most important tasks that melee DPS have in dungeons is interrupting dangerous spell casts. Whether it's a large AoE spell such as a Flamestrike, or an extremely common heal, your biggest priority as melee should be to make sure that the spell doesn't go off.

So rogues, Kick that enemy. Warriors, smash that Pummel. Shamans, Earth Shock (Rank 1 if you need to save mana, by the way)! Everyone else...just hope that someone else has an interrupt, I guess.

Tip #8 - Don't Butt-Pull

Next up is a very simple tip that everyone in any dungeon should keep in mind - be careful not to accidentally pull additional mobs or packs. All too often when running a dungeon, one of the dpsers will back into or run just a bit to close by a pack of mobs. If this happens when the tank or healer is focused on something else, such as marking the next pack or drinking, it can lead to a disaster. As such, you need to be mindful of where the enemies are - including patrols! Be careful not to fatass it and you should be golden!

Tip #9 - Dispels and Purges

Purge

Occasionally, enemy mobs cast harmful abilities on you and your party, as well as buffs on themselves. And while not every melee class has abilities to counter such buffs and debuffs, paladins and shamans do. So, if you're playing one of those classes and are able to dispel or purge, help the group out by doing so!

Tip #10 - Admit Your Mistakes

Everybody makes mistakes. And while you could pretend that you have no idea why something went wrong, it's usually appreciated a lot more by party members when you own up to mistakes that you make. If a runner got away because you moved to the next kill target too early, take the blame. It shows that you are capable of recognizing and fixing your own issues, which is a very positive characteristic to have - even outside of Azeroth. What's more, you'll be less likely to repeat the mistake going forward if you are able to honestly admit something was your fault when it happens, thus growing into a better player overall.

So yeah, own up to your mistakes if you mess up.

Tip #11 - Get +Hit Gear

Hold onto any hit gear!

When an item with Hit that you can equip drops, Need it. Unless you already have an item for the same slot with +hit that is equivalent or better, it can't hurt to have more options.

Though it may not be necessary to do well in dungeons, +hit is the most valuable stat for every DPS class in the game. As a melee dps, you want your weapons and abilities to hit enemies as often as possible, since any misses that occur are completely lost dps. And even if you manage to reach the hit cap, you'll still want to mix and match pieces as you obtain better gear for various slots through whatever means you use.

As an example, my Enhancement Shaman has 4 additional +hit items in his bank - including 2 Tarnished Rings from the DM North Tribute chest, a helm, and some shoulders from a quest. Though I don't use these at the moment, I hold onto them just in case I get a wrist or trinket upgrade. And in the months since I've capped him, I've never gone back below the hit cap no matter what new gear I obtain, meaning higher dps in all of my dungeons!

Hoard that +hit!

Tip #12 - Use Niche Abilities and Cooldowns

Keep this handy - even if you're fury!

No matter which melee class you're playing, you're bound to have some niche abilities and cooldowns that you can make good use of. So...use them! Rogues, use Distract on a patrol that's about to get out of range to keep it close while your healer drinks! Warriors, slap on a shield, AoE taunt, and pop Shield Wall if the tank goes down. Shamans, purge enemy buffs like I mentioned before. And Paladins, use Divine Intervention on the priest when your group is about to wipe! It might seem like common sense to many of you, but you'd be surprised just how many players forget what tools they have at their disposal (hell, I'm guilty of forgetting DI on my tankadin all the time).

Similarly, don't forget that you've got a plethora of dps cooldowns at your disposal as well. You don't need to save everything for the boss fights, since many of the dungeon trash packs are harder than the bosses themselves. Make use of your trinkets, burst cooldowns, and more to make your dungeon run smoother and more enjoyable for everyone.

Post-Dungeon

Ok! The final boss is slain and your goals have been met! Now what?

Tip #13 - Note Good Tanks and Healers

As always, you should add the tank and healer to your friends list if they were good. These roles are always in high demand, so it's usually beneficial to have a few people you can ask for help on the fly. Of course, mention that you added them to your friends list so they can expect to hear from you in the future as well, and don't wait for months before inviting them to another group, as they'll probably forget all about you by then. After all, even if they only run one dungeon a week, that's 3 different dps to remember every time and you're really just a drop in the bucket at that point.

So yeah, note them down and be ready to invite them to things soon.

Tip #14 - Self-Reflect

Accept and make use of feedback!

Finally, just like I advise in every one of these guides, you should reflect on your dps and dungeon performance when you complete the dungeon. Obviously, you can look at Recount and try to play better, but don't forget that you can also ask the other group members how you did at the end of the run (which is especially useful if they also play your class as a main or an alt). As a melee dps, though, I've found that getting feedback from others is really hit or miss though, so be mindful of that and try to catch your own mistakes.

No matter how you get the feedback, it's just as important to act on it, so make adjustments as soon as you notice an issue or an area for improvement, then try them out in the next run. Experiment with new trinkets, keybinds, and ability ranks, and then reflect again after the next one! There's always room for growth in the DPS world!

Final Thoughts

So there you have it - 14 tips and tricks for dungeoneering as a melee dps in World of Warcraft: Classic. Overall, melee gets a bit of a bad rap for being a bit dumb and standing in bad things like fire, but that just means that you can shine all that much brighter! So long as you're observant, know your class's abilities, and have enough hit to actually land some blows, you should do well in those dungeons!

Anyway, that's it for today. If you liked this guide, or found it useful, then leave a comment down below, and add yourself to my mailing list so you get updated about more content like this in the future. Follow me over on Twitter for updates as well, and consider checking out my videos over on YouTube too! Finally, if there's any particular Classic or TBC content or guides that you'd like to see in the future, let me know by leaving a comment down below as well, as I love getting ideas like this one from readers like you! In any case, thanks for reading, have an awesome day, and as always...

Take it easy!