EC to DC: Part 3 - Don't Innovate, Replicate  

22Feb09 10:14 CST
So, you've figured out what you want from this game, and you've been focused on being the best you can at it. You've played with your gear, glyphs, and spent hours playing with the talent calculators. But you're still not sure that you're doing everything right. What do you do?


Stop re-inventing the wheel.

Innovation is for those with the time to spend hitting a target dummy ten thousand times, or the gold to respecc 10 times on the live realm to squeak out 50 more DPS. You only have 10 or 12 hours a week, and you need to make them count. So what do you do?

Go to the source.

I often find people in my guild seeking spec or rotation advice from me, even though I don't play their class. It's because I know how to research. You want to be an awesome PVE mage? Look up a top ranked raiding guild, such as Method or Ensidia, and see how their mages are specced. While the build may differ by one or two points because of gear scaling and raid composition, it's usually a very solid jumping off point.

The same applies to Arena, find a top ranked player to emulate. While you won't have their level of skill to begin with, their team composition and builds will help you get a jump on the ladder. Your build may be rock solid, but your rotation is stepping all over itself. You don't have time to spend on three days of target dummy testing to figure out the perfect rotation. Luckily, someone over at the Elitist Jerks forums probably did. So go look at their work and adapt it to your needs.

The resources are endless. Needs suggestions for gear upgrades? You can find that right on your official Armory profile. Wondering if your gear is gemmed and enchanted right? Look yourself up on Be.Imba.hu and you'll know in a hurry.

The point is to spend your time focusing on the business of playing, and outsource the logistics.

Next time, in the final part of this series, I'll be discussing Guilds, and how to choose the right one for you.