| Raiding in World of Warcraft has always played a | | | | a then exclusive dwarf priest racial skill was needed |
| very large role in creating the allure and continuity for | | | | for many encounters which featured fearing |
| WoW players. Undoubtedly without raiding content | | | | mechanisms (onyxia, nefarion etc) as alliance lacked |
| many players would have quit the game due to lack | | | | other means to break fear (with the exception of |
| of content. This article hopes to provide insight into | | | | warrior stance dance berserker rage) dwarf priests |
| the raiding environment of vanilla WoW. | | | | were a must (sometimes several were required for a |
| Raiding in vanilla WoW consisted of 40 man and 25 | | | | solid rotation), this could be the first and only time |
| man raids. The premium 40 man raids involved large | | | | when a specific race/class combo was ever needed |
| communities (mostly guilds) working together to | | | | to ensure encounters went smoothly. |
| conquer challenging Player vs Environment (PvE) | | | | 4) Respeccing and Single role for most classes - |
| content. Noticeable differences between vanilla and | | | | without a upper limit on the respect costs for |
| the current state of WoW deserve to be mentioned | | | | players, it became apparent that players were |
| in order to highlight the differences between them. | | | | destined to fulfill only one role if they wished to |
| 1) Warriors as the only tanking class - as the only | | | | pursue raiding seriously. This notion was further |
| tanking class available, it was undeniable that they | | | | emphasized when other talent off-specializations |
| were the pinnacle to any raid group. Priority was | | | | paled compared to other classes. This meant that |
| always given to the MT and OTs for gear. | | | | usually each class was always expected to play a |
| 2) Paladins alliance exclusive, Shamans horde - this | | | | certain role. Warriors were tanks, priests, druid |
| was the only time which featured a large difference | | | | paladins, shamans were healers and of course pure |
| between the capabilities of different faction raid | | | | Damage Per Second (DPS) classes were DPS. It was |
| groups. Alliance raids had the advantage of blessings | | | | very rare to see specializations such as |
| and judgements, whilst horde had totems (most | | | | "shadow-priests" or "retribution-paladins" in a |
| notably tremor totem) and effective healing spells | | | | competitive PvE environment although you would |
| such as chain heal. | | | | often see DPS warriors due to the fact only a limited |
| 3) Dwarf Priest often a must for alliance - fear ward, | | | | number of tanks may be needed. |