If your a pretty geared moonkin, then this probably doesn’t apply to you. You probably get into groups easily, because, well, people know how much DPS you put out, you have a friends list full of tanks/healers/and other geared players who will hook you up with geared Kara runs, geared ZA pugs, and more. You don’t worry about getting into groups because people ask, nay, beg, you to group with them.

The question that begs to be asked is: How can I become that moonkin, the one people want to take to any raid, the one people don’t call useless, the one that people want to gear up?

The answer is simple. The easiest way to get into groups for heroics/raids is winning people over. At level 68 and pre-patch, I used to out-dps Kara geared players. Why? I knew my spec, I knew my role, and I knew how to play. Gear is 50% of the battle, the other 50% is all on you. I remember a few times I’ve ran heroics with my mind elsewhere, alt-tabbing to Facebook and other stuff, and people would actually think I had purchased my account on eBay. I’ve thought the same about some people. For example, I saw a dual warglaive rogue know none of the fights in ZA the other day. He had awesome gear, but he kept dying and aggroing mobs, dying because he didn’t know the fights, and even when he was alive he couldn’t out-dps most people. Knowing fights and staying alive is crucial.

How to be a loved moonkin

Without being too redundant, to be a loved moonkin and set you apart from the tons of other resto druids posing as moonkins (no offense ), you have to start from the bottom. If you are not level 70 yet, this is the prime time to start. I used to run Shadow Labs and other level 70 instances (not on heroic) before I was level 70, and made a lot of good friends that way. Tanks are the ones who may notice the most; if a level 68 can pull aggro from a geared level 70 tank while DPSing the right way (ie-not attacking before the tank has decent aggro), they will notice. Obviously, pulling aggro is not a good thing, but it will get you noticed, lol. Back in the day, I had many a tank whisper me stuff like, “I’ve never seen anyone pull hate [aggro] off me like that, would love to run heroics with you anytime. Added to friends.” Stuff like that not only boosts your morale, but having tank friends is important when making your own groups.

If you’re still having trouble getting into groups — make your own! Personally, I had a horrible time getting into Heroic MgT runs. Everyone wanted a build that included a mage/lock and there was never any space for a moonkin. What did I do? I made H MgT runs of my own, with my tank friends. Tanks are the hardest things to find, so if you have 1-3 that will usually run lots of instances with you, people will add you to their friends and always whisper you to see if you running anything on a given day.

Being a Viable Hybrid Spec on a 5-man Dungeon

Whether you’re running a heroic or regular dungeon, being a hybrid class works to your advantage. Moonkins bring to the table a few things. 1) You can offtank a weak mob (usually), even if you are in full cloth gear. I have around 12k armor when I’m slightly buffed, and if a tank dies, I am always second on aggro. Pop Barkskin, maybe put on a tanking staff, and voila. You are a viable offtank caster pushing tons of damage.

Say a healer dies. Not only can you battle rez them, but since the release of the WoTLK talents on the patch, and because of the merger of Spell Damage and Bonus Healing, you are a very viable offhealer. You can prevent a wipe by popping your Tranquility cooldown, or throw heals on the tank to save from a total wipe. Pretty sweet.

Doing Your Part In Raids

I think I’ve already covered this, but your main role in raids in single-target DPS, aka boss fights. Although I’m already in a guild, I have friends and GMs of other guilds that take me to raids, because they know how I roll (lol). Whenever in a raid setting, you should never go AFK without telling someone before. There are 24 other live human beings all waiting for you. I’ve seen many a good player get DKP docked or even GKicked for taking extended AFKs in the middle of raids.

Apart from that, your goal is simple. Do max DPS on bosses, spec to appropriately buff your entire raid (ie – Improved Moonkin form, Imp Insect Swarm, Imp GOTW, etc), save your Innervate CD for a healer, use your battlerez when necessary, the list is endless. Always go prepared with full self buffs — food, appropriate oils, etc etc.

Know all the fights. This is crucial. Most guilds don’t properly explain most fights, so, if you don’t know a given fight, do your research. Watch videos, read guides, ask your friends. If the guild is really organized, all you have to pay attention to is DBM and whatever the raid leader tells you to do. DON’T EVER HESITATE TO ASK QUESTIONS!!!! There is nothing worse than dying stupidly (or causing a wipe), because you were too lazy to read a guide or ask a question.

On raid fights where everyone is really spread out, you may be out of the range of a healer. Be courteous, and if you or someone around you takes damage, pop out of moonkin form and heal yourself/people around you. A few HoTs can go a long way, and make them notice that you know what you are doing and don’t care about the vanity meters (DPS charts).

Anyways, hope this post was helpful to someone! I’ve got a BT full clear tonight so I hope to get some new loot!

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