User:Kathucka/Hunter's Guide to Karazhan/System Configuration

To raid effectively, you need to set up your game client and your system.

Add-ons
Raiding absolutely requires certain add-ons. Get them, install them, and test them before you show up for the raid.

First and foremost, you must have a threat meter add-on. Threat meters show you the amount of threat that different players have accumulated against targets. They make it possible for the raid to keep the monsters hitting the tanks instead of the damage-dealers or healers.

Also, you must have a raid warning add-on. These warn the raid when bosses use certain dangerous abilities that must be handled.

You should have a damage meter add-on. These count the damage and healing done and taken by the raiders. It is important to have a damage meter to monitor your own performance. If you do well, avoid bragging to the rest of the raid. Just use the numbers to see how well different gear, techniques, pets, and skills work. Make sure that you set it up to merge pet damage and show it as your own. Also, make sure that you extend the combat log range to 200 yards.

A warning here: The damage meter called "DamageMeters" is pretty and has a great name, but it usually not accurate. It is especially bad about integrating pet data. Do not use it.

Another warning: Different mods calculate damage per second differently. They are not comparable.

You should have a timer add-on. These show you when your buffs and debuffs are about to expire, and when cooldowns are up so that you can use them again. Some timers are written especially for hunters. They are particularly useful in timing your shots.

Macros
Macros allow you to quickly perform actions in combat more quickly and easily than is possible with manual clicking and typing. Set them up before the raid if you want to do a good job. See the WoWWiki guide for more information about how to set up and use macros. See Useful macros for hunters for more hunter macros.

There are many varieties on these macros. Feel free to experiment with them for the best results.

The following is a high damage, high mana-burn shot rotation macro. It casts Auto Shot, Steady Shot, and Kill Command whenever they are available. Hit it as fast as you can when you want to do a lot of damage and have a lot of mana. If your pet is a wind serpent, this macro will cast Lightning Breath. The last line removes the error messages that this macro causes.

/cast [target=pettarget,exists,Wind Serpent] Lightning Breath /cast !Auto Shot /castrandom [target=pettarget,exists] Kill Command /cast Steady Shot /script UIErrorsFrame:Clear;
 * 1) showtooltip Steady Shot

The following macro does the same thing, but uses considerably less mana at the expense of slightly lower damage output.

/cast [target=pettarget,exists,Wind Serpent] Lightning Breath /castrandom [target=pettarget,exists] Kill Command /castsequence reset=2/target Steady Shot, !Auto Shot /script UIErrorsFrame:Clear;
 * 1) showtooltip Steady Shot

This macro is useful for targeting the correct enemy in the fight with The Curator.

/cleartarget /target Astral Flare /stopmacro [nodead, harm] /target The Curator

This macro is useful for targeting the correct enemy in the fight with Terestian Illhoof.

/cleartarget /target Demon Chains /stopmacro [nodead, harm] /target Kil'rek /stopmacro [nodead, harm] /target Terestian Illhoof

Voice communication
In a raid, you need to hear instructions from the other raiders, and you probably need to communicate with other raiders about what you are doing. The fastest way to do this is with voice, so most raids use voice communication during raids.

The most popular system is Ventrilo. Some raids use Teamspeak or in-game voice. Regardless, get it set up and working before the raid.