World of Warcraft Accessibility Raiding Tips

 

 

World of Warcraft Accessibility Raiding Tips

For anyone with special abilities raiding can be a challenge. Fights are long with high mobility mechanics, colors are sometimes hard to distinguish, and many guilds ask for voice chat. Don’t let these things scare you off! Here are my World of Warcraft accessibility raiding tips for becoming a better raider:

 

Raiding Tip 1: Include Your Raid Leader

No matter what type of guild you are in, casual or hardcore, if you’re having any issues with a fight (or nervous about starting) then my first advice to you is to talk with you raid leader. Be open with them, and consistently let them know about your strengths and weaknesses per fight. This allows them to give you assignments that match your strengths or weaknesses. If you have mobility issues, the raid may stack on you for certain mechanics. If you’re colorblind, you may be assigned to areas where colors and hues are as big of an issue. Beth’tilac in Firelands… I’m talking about you! Tweaking mechanics can optimize your strengths, so talk it out!

 

Raiding Tip 2: Rest Between Pulls

Another reason to communicate with your raid leader is so you can rest between pulls! Boss fights can last over ten minutes, and that’s ten minutes with lots of chaos and movement going on. This can wear any mouse-only gamer’s arm out. Wait to be resurrected. I hear raid leader’s everywhere crying out and facepalming at me for suggesting “You don’t run back.” Not releasing and running back gives you a few minutes to let your mouse arm/hand rest which can make the next fight less tiring.

 

Raiding Tip 3: Have a “Raid Buddy”

I can’t stress enough how much this tip helped me. Have someone in the raid as a “raid buddy.” What do I mean? Become part of a dynamic duo with someone on your team that understands sometimes you need a little aid. If there’s a mechanic where moving quickly is necessary this person can lead you as you auto-follow. If there’s a jump to make, they can lead while you focus on making the jump. If there’s a lot of target switching, they can be your focused target. There are tons of reasons to have a raid buddy. Set this person as focus and they are always one easy click away.

 

Raiding Tip 4: Sidecar Siesta

Long road to travel between fights? Hop in a raid buddy’s two seater mount. Again, boss fights can be long, tiring events. Rest between fights any chance you get, and your mouse hand will thank you!

 

Raiding Tip 5: Know Your Class

I know this sounds like a no-brainer, but really know your class. Play the specialization that’s best for you. Is Affliction announced as the top warlock spec, but you have issues switching targets fast enough to curse everything quickly? Give Destruction warlock a try. Marksman hunter rotation a bit overbearing? Try Beastmaster hunter and their pet perference. Sometimes the “best spec” to play, isn’t the best for you.

I also point out the obvious because many times people forget to use minor abilities that can help them navigate sticky situations. Druids can Barkskin if they know they’re about to take a hit. Priests can talent and use Holy Word: Shield for a speed boost. Small things that are outside your normal rotation can really make a difference. Don’t be afraid to get creative!

 

Raiding Tip 6: Know Thy Enemy

Learn mechanics ahead of time. Every raider should be doing this, but it’s even more important for Ability Powered Gamers. Previewing a fight let’s you see which mechanics might be a problem for you, and let’s you prepare strategies for your needs. Sometimes the strategies most guilds use aren’t necessarily optimized for you. Stacking up where the rest of the raid does might get you Area of Effect healing, but it might be too far away from where you need perform raid mechanics. Remember, changing a strategy doesn’t make it wrong, it’s just different.

Another way to know your enemy is by watching its mechanic timers. An addon called Deadly Boss Mods (DBM) keep time of the cooldowns a boss has left on its mechanics. Why is this important? It allows you to start moving early. If you have mobility problems this makes a world of difference. If you move two seconds earlier you’ll never be left standing in bad things a boss leaves behind. Test it out sometime!

 

Raiding Tip 7: Prioritize Survival

All these things lead up to my final tip: prioritize survival. Yes, staying in a dangerous area to cast one more Chain Lightning might up your damage a little but if it’s going to cause you to be in a bad area when a boss ability hits there… it’s not worth it. Most raid teams can afford to lose a little damage, but not a member of the raid. Even if you have to position yourself in different areas from others, do what you must to fight on!

 

These seven raiding tips can aid in your future battles, but you can find more help with these other Short Guides!