DPS

DPS, or more accurately the damage role, excels at killing things.

What to Know
The DPS role's effectiveness is measured by how much damage it puts out. It outshines the Support, Tank, and Healer in this aspect. In dungeons and raids, the damage output of the DPS determines how quickly the instance can be completed, since the majority of the time is spent on killing trash and bosses. DPS also has a wide variety of interrupts, crowd control, and role types.

Interrupts
An interrupt is a special skill that stops an enemy from completing a casted skill. Only blue bar casts can be interrupted, orange cannot. Interrupts are unique to Tank and DPS roles. Support and Healer do not have these. In dungeons most casted skills, especially on bosses, come with a huge consequence if not interrupted - this includes heavy group damage, group Crowd Control, additional mobs, self healing. It is common for a missed interrupt to result in a total wipe. So interrupting should be the second priority of a DPS.

Crowd Control
When killing the mobs fast enough isn't enough, and it becomes a life or death situation, DPS can rely on their Crowd Controls (CC). A Crowd Control limits the number of fighting mobs. CCs can put targets to sleep, reduce the amount of skills it can use, and make a target run away.

Role Types
The most common question I get asked is: "which damage role is the best?" and it always depends. Below is a listing of the different types, and the encounters they're best suited for.


 * Pure
 * The most powerful DPS type. However it's a trade off. Efficient in only damaging, while weaker at staying alive and survival skills. Nicknamed glass-cannon. Sometimes suited to only straight AoE or only ST. Pure performs best when working with a group.


 * Pet
 * The solo type. This is one of the most survivable DPS, and can adapt to the situation by summoning a different pet. It has several pets who can tank, heal, melee dps, and ranged dps. It's the preferred choice to killing mobs when alone on the field. The only weakness is its reliance on the pet.


 * Single Target
 * Also abbreviated as ST. It does best in one-on-one fights. Many DoTs, debuffs, or long rotations keep damage high. Most have several crowd controls to stay alive. Although it is ST, some may have one or two AoEs, but these are weak compared to all-around.


 * Area of Effect
 * Also abbreviated as AoE. Capable of taking out large groups of enemies. This is the least used type, because rarely does a time ever rise for it. When that time does come, it is incredible. Damage from AoE roles increase exponentially with each added mob. As a solo type, this is the least recommended. To make a net increase in DPS, you would need to pull more than five, chain your CCs, and endure getting beating by each of them.


 * All-Round
 * A mix of AoE and ST. Decent at fighting ST and decent at AoE, but best suited to doing both. For example, when a boss fight requires you attack the boss one moment, and attack mobs another, this is where all-round outshines its counterpart ST and AoE roles. it also has a more intense burst, and on shorter encounters it can actually outdo dedicated roles that require lots of DoTs and set-up.

For Dungeons and Raids

 * 1) Be prepared.
 * 2) *Use the right role for the job. When in doubt use AoE for trash pulls and ST for boss pulls.
 * 3) *Have all buffs active.
 * 4) *Have your pet out.
 * 5) Cast any non-aggro skills beforehand. This usually is a debuff such as % damage taken, or x additional damage per hit.
 * 6) Wait for the tank to pull before you attack.
 * 7) Cast DoTs and any builders on the mob(s).
 * 8) Sometimes the tank may miss one or two mobs. If this happens, run to the tank so he can easily take them off you.
 * 9) Unleash your cooldowns. Put out all your damage.
 * 10) Interrupt any blue bar casted skills.
 * 11) Help out the healer. If the healer is having trouble use your Crowd Controls. Knockbacks are usually bad for the tank.
 * 12) Pay attention to your surroundings.
 * 13) * The worst thing you can do is run into a mob and unintentionally aggro a new group.
 * 14) * Use common sense on mechanics. Don't stand in fires or anything that looks harmful. The dialogue can sometimes give clues on what to do.
 * 15) Keep attacking.
 * 16) *For mobs that still have lots of health recast cooldowns as they come back, and DoTs as they fall off.
 * 17) *If it's about to die, finish them off with your primary attacks.

For Open World
When fighting by yourself in the open world, you should aim for better survival. Even if you are able to put out enough DPS in a pure roles that can quickly kill mobs, eventually you will have to stop and heal yourself. It is recommended you chose a Pet Type and take advantage of the tank pet. Other useful types are Single Target, All-Round, or any DPS with enough Crowd Controls to keep you alive. AoE is not recommended. Unlike dungeons which have clustered mobs, open world is more scattered.

For PvP

 * Complete the objective
 * Your team wins by points and completing the objective. Stay on this task. Mindless tunnel-vision PvP doesn't win the game.


 * Use strength in numbers
 * You should try to move with other groups of people. If you get caught alone and are up against multiple enemies, you will most likely get killed.


 * Work with the other DPS
 * This again goes with strength in numbers. Try to attack the same targets others are focused on. For example, you and an ally are attacking a team 2 vs 2, and each of you are focused on a different target. If you ignore the randomness of DPS and assume everyone has the same damage, both of you will die and kill your targets. However by attacking the same target as your ally, the enemy will loose a member faster. This means a loss in overall damage, and both you and your ally can switch to the other enemy.


 * Take advantage of the map
 * Standing on a cliff gives you an advantage versus enemies below. You can run back and they can't chase you. You can also use crowd controls to pull or push enemies from high points. Objects can be used to break line of sight from casters. This can act as an interrupt.


 * Protect your healer
 * Your healer keeps your whole group from wiping. Look for any melee bothering your healer or anything obvious. Crowd controls can help.


 * Kill the enemy healer
 * They won't start dying until you do. It helps if you use a focus interrupt on the healer.