WoW Classic Tips & Tricks - Dungeon Ranged DPS

Night Elf Hunter - Ranged DPS

Hey dudes! Silvite Soltis here, and today I'm back with another Tips & Tricks post.

Do you like to do damage, but hate the idea of being too close to enemies? Does the idea of casting spells or shooting arrows appeal to you? Do you like being able to actually see what's happening around you? Well then, you're probably a ranged dps! 

So, grab your waters, pick up your pet from the stables, and get your spellbook ready because today I've got some tips and tricks for how you can be effective in Classic dungeons as a ranged dps! As always, if you enjoy this guide or find it useful, add yourself to my mailing list below and check back soon for more content like this!

But anyway, let's get right into the tips!

Pre-Dungeon

As with any class or role, there are a number of things you should take care of before you start heading out to any dungeon:

Tip #1 - Get These Addons! 

First and foremost, make sure you have appropriate addons for dungeon content. The four main ones to be sure you have are:

ThreatClassic2 - Keeps track of the threat on enemy targets.
Decursive - Allows quick and easy dispelling of debuffs on your party.
Recount - Tracks damage, healing, dispels, and more.
DeadlyBossMods - Gives timers and warnings for dungeon encounters.

There's a lot more amazing addons you can make use of, but really these four are the biggest ones when it comes to dungeoneering as a ranged dps.

Tip #2 - Bring Water (or a Mage)

Get (or be) a mage!

Next up, be sure to bring enough water, or a mage, for your dungeon run. Other than wiping repeatedly, not being able to drink up to replenish your mana is, in my opinion, the worst feeling in a dungeon, so avoid that situation at all costs.

Tip #3 - Empty Bags

Also, while you're in town picking up water, make sure to empty your bags of non-essentials as well - especially if you're a hunter! In any given dungeon run, you can expect to pick up around 10-25 items, so make sure to have plenty of space!

Tip #4 - Set Goals 

Finally, before the dungeon make sure to set and clarify your party's goals for the dungeon. Usually, it's just to beat the last boss, but occasionally someone will have a special quest or ask to do an optional boss. Tell your groupmates what you want to do there, and find out what they're looking to do as well!

In-Dungeon

Alright, when you get to the dungeon, there's quite a bit more that you should keep in mind, oh caster of spells and shooter of arrows:

Tip #5 - Clarify Marks and Kill Order

Polymorph

As with any role, it's important to take note of which marks mean what, as well as identify the expected kill order of enemies. If you're a mage, you'll likely have a polymorph target. Hunters and warlocks, you may be asked to trap, seduce, or fear an enemy. No matter what crowd control ability is asked of you, be ready to use it, then follow the assigned kill order.

Tip #6 - Zoom Out!

Another useful thing to do as a ranged dps is to zoom your camera out pretty far so that you can see enemies and patrols wandering nearby. If you haven't already, adjust the system settings to increase the maximum camera distance. Moreover, you can also use this command to zoom out even further: 

/console cameraDistanceMaxZoomFactor 4

Tip #7 - Hold DPS!

On any given pack, you're going to want to let the tank get a bit of threat before you start nuking the mobs. For smaller numbers, wait for around 3 seconds before you start attacking the first kill target. For AoE packs, however, hold for just a bit longer - around 5 seconds should do. By holding just that little bit, you can ensure the tank holds all the mobs in one place, thus making the run go all that much smoother in the end.

Tip #8 - Focus Kill Target

When killing enemies, make sure to focus down the current kill target - especially if there are only 2 or 3 mobs in the pack. Since good tanks usually focus on building threat on the next kill target(s), it's important to burn down the current kill target as quickly as possible, then move onto the next one. Unless, of course, it's a large pack of mobs...

Tip #9 - Use AoE

AoE

If a pack that your tank pulls has more than three enemies, make use of your area of effect (AoE) abilities. Blizzard, Rain of Fire, Volley, and more are all extremely useful in destroying large packs of enemies and can make your dungeon run go much faster - especially if your tank is good at AoE threat like a paladin or druid! That said, remember to give a bit of time for your tank to get initial threat before opening up!

Tip #10 - Use Cooldowns!

All too often we as dps try to hold onto our cooldowns for boss encounters. However, since trash takes up a large majority of the time spent in dungeons, and since most trinkets and bursty cooldowns have cooldowns under 5 minutes, you should make use of them constantly throughout the dungeon!

Tip #11 - Drop Threat Often

Even when waiting for the tank to establish threat, it's pretty common to over aggro in dungeons. As such, dps should try to drop threat often if they have such an ability. Whether you're fighting trash packs or bosses, don't wait until you've pulled aggro to use Feign Death, hunters!

Tip #12 - Watch Runners

Another general tip for everyone doing a dungeon is to keep an eye out for runners - enemies who flee when their health gets low. As ranged dps, however, it's especially important to do this, as you're the least likely to accidentally pull other packs. By shooting the runners from afar, you can be the savior of your group! So watch out and burn them down!

Tip #13 - Drink!

Drinky drinky!

When the final mob in a pack dies, the first thing you should do is sit down and drink to full if you have less than 60% mana. Looting can be done any time, but if your tank pulls and you don't have the mana to defeat the pack, you're gonna have a bad time. So, drink fast and drink often.

Tip #14 - Positioning!

Next up is a simple tip, but it bears repeating. Always position yourself well. Hug walls and take note of what mobs are around you. Typically when a butt pull happens, it's because a hunter or mage backed up a bit too far or stood too close to a wandering patrol. So, just be mindful of these enemies when you choose a place to shoot from!

Tip #15 - Decurse! Dispel!

Decursive

In Classic, different classes have different abilities that can be used to help the party. This means that not everyone can remove every debuff that's going out. So, while priests and paladins can dispel magic and disease, only druids and mages can decurse. What's more, healers are generally focused on healing, so even if they can dispel or decurse whatever bad things are going out, they'll definitely appreciate it if you help them out with a quick click on Decursive!

Tip #16 - Watch the Healer

Finally, while you're running a dungeon as a ranged dps, try to keep an eye on the healer. Though the tank should be holding enemies to make sure they don't target everyone else, occasionally threat is lost - especially when adds spawn! So, as a ranged dps help keep an eye on the healer and use your abilities to keep him or her safe from harm should your tank be unable to defend them! Remember, healers are squishy!

Post-Dungeon

Alrighty! When the final boss has fallen, there's only two things left to do:

Tip #17 - Note Good Players

Just like melee dps, ranged dps should make sure to add good tanks and healers to their friends list whenever a dungeon went well, and of course invite them to more dungeons soon. However, ranged should also note any great melee dps warriors, paladins, and druids as well, as they may decide to tank dungeons in the future. Remember to mention that you're adding these players to your friend list and contact them for another dungeon soon!

Tip #18 - Reflect

Finally, the last thing you should do after completing a dungeon and before running the next one is reflect on your performance. While ranged dps in dungeons isn't particularly difficult, thinking about any mistakes you made - such as butt pulls or missing an Eye of Naxxramas, for example - can help you to improve future dungeon runs. Consider asking your groupmates for feedback too - especially if they also play your class in some way. In general, though, ranged has it pretty easy here.

Final Thoughts

So, there you have it - 18 tips and tricks for running dungeons as a ranged dps. Overall, I feel that this particular dungeon role is the easiest to fulfill, but that certainly doesn't mean it's a walk in the park. Still, as long as you know what abilities to use, how to use them, and where to stand at all times, you should have a good time.

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!