wowfu

Raid & dungeon planner

The group that gets the most out of an instance: simulated throughput, the buffs members bring each other, and answers to every boss's mechanics — plus where the group should change between bosses.

Stratholme· 5 players · level 60 · 1 tank, 1 healer, 3 damage

3 of 19 bosses have no ability data; they don't influence the composition.

Tank · 1

  • Protection Warrior340 TPS100% of best
    Human / Tauren
    AoE damageTauntInterruptPurge enemy buffs

Healer · 1

  • Holy Priest373 HPS100% of best
    Gnome / Undead
    Cure DiseaseDispel MagicPurge enemy buffsFear immunity / wardCrowd controlAoE damageShadow resistance

Damage · 3

  • Demonology Warlock374 DPS100% of best
    Gnome / Orc
    Battle resurrectionCrowd controlAoE damage
  • Destruction Warlock358 DPS96% of best
    Human / Orc
    Battle resurrectionCrowd controlAoE damage
  • Enhancement Shaman266 DPS71% of best
    Dwarf / Orc
    InterruptAoE damagePurge enemy buffsCure PoisonFear immunity / wardCure DiseaseFrost resistanceFire resistanceNature resistance

What the group brings each other

Buffs, totems, aurasBattle Shout· Protection WarriorPower Word: Fortitude· Holy PriestStrength of Earth Totem· Enhancement ShamanMana Spring Totem· Enhancement ShamanWindfury Totem· Enhancement Shaman
On the bossSunder Armor· Protection WarriorCurse of the Elements· Demonology WarlockCurse of Recklessness· Destruction Warlock

Each effect is valued by simulating every member with and without it (magnitudes from Forever spell data or tooltips). Totems, auras and Battle Shout reach the provider's party; a paladin gives one blessing, a warlock keeps one curse and a shaman one air totem.

Boss by boss

Hearthsinger Forresten

Nothing a composition needs to answer.

Stun: Stuns — expect damage spikes the victim can’t react to.
Timmy the Cruel
✗ Remove Frenzy/EnrageEnrage enrages the boss (useful)
Malor the Zealous
✓ InterruptHoly Light heals · Protection warrior, Enhancement shaman
Stun: Stuns — expect damage spikes the victim can’t react to.
Cannon Master Willey
✓ AoE damageSummon Crimson Rifleman brings adds · Protection warrior, Holy priest, Enhancement shaman, Demonology warlock, Destruction warlock
Knockback: Knockback — tank with a wall behind, keep away from ledges and packs.
Archivist Galford
✓ Dispel MagicBurning Winds is a magic effect · Holy priest
✓ Fire resistanceBurning Winds deals fire damage · Enhancement shaman
Damage: fire up to 1,600 (group)
Stun: Stuns — expect damage spikes the victim can’t react to.
Balnazzar
✓ Crowd controlDomination takes control of a player · Holy priest, Demonology warlock, Destruction warlock
✓ Dispel MagicCrusader's Hammer is a magic effect · Holy priest
✓ Fear immunity / wardPsychic Scream fears · Holy priest, Enhancement shaman
✓ Shadow resistanceMind Blast deals shadow damage · Holy priest
Damage: shadow up to 2,514 (group)
Stun: Stuns — expect damage spikes the victim can’t react to.
The Unforgiven
✓ Shadow resistanceUnrelenting Anguish deals shadow damage · Holy priest
Damage: shadow
Baroness Anastariunanswered mechanicchange the group
  • Swap Protection Warrior → Feral (Bear) Druid — answers Banshee Curse is a curse effect
✗ Remove CurseBanshee Curse is a curse effect (important)
Silence: Silence — healers spread so one is always free to cast.
Nerub'enkan
✓ Cure PoisonPoison is a poison effect · Enhancement shaman
✓ AoE damageRaise Undead Scarab brings adds · Protection warrior, Holy priest, Enhancement shaman, Demonology warlock, Destruction warlock
✓ Nature resistancePoison deals nature damage · Enhancement shaman
Damage: nature
Root: Roots/freezes — don’t stand in what follows.
Maleki the Pallid

Nothing a composition needs to answer.

Slow: Slows — kite or stay put, don’t run.
Stun: Stuns — expect damage spikes the victim can’t react to.
Magistrate Barthilas

Nothing a composition needs to answer.

Knockback: Knockback — tank with a wall behind, keep away from ledges and packs.
Ramstein the Gorger

Nothing a composition needs to answer.

Knockback: Knockback — tank with a wall behind, keep away from ledges and packs.
Stun: Stuns — expect damage spikes the victim can’t react to.
Baron Rivendare
✓ InterruptShadow Bolt is a 2.0 s cast · Protection warrior, Enhancement shaman
✓ Shadow resistanceShadow Bolt deals shadow damage · Holy priest
Damage: shadow up to 2,269 (group)
Healing reduced: Healing reduction on the target — heavier healing on whoever has it.
Black Guard Swordsmithno ability data
Crimson Hammersmith
✓ Fire resistanceBone Smelt deals fire damage · Enhancement shaman
Damage: fire up to 1,350
Ezra Grimmno ability data
Postmaster Malownno ability data
Skul
✓ Dispel MagicChilled is a magic effect · Holy priest
✓ Purge enemy buffsFrost Armor is a magic buff on the boss · Protection warrior, Holy priest, Enhancement shaman
✓ Frost resistanceFrost Shock deals frost damage · Enhancement shaman
✗ Arcane resistanceArcane Bolt deals arcane damage (useful)
Damage: arcane up to 1,088frost up to 842
Slow: Slows — kite or stay put, don’t run.
Stonespine

Nothing a composition needs to answer.

How the planner decides

Group role split. The planner fills 5-player groups with 1 tank, 1 healer and 3 damage dealers; 10-player raids 2/3/5; 20-player raids 2/5/13; 40-player raids 3/10/27. Forever publishes no recommended raid make-up; these follow common practice and can be changed by locking members.

How the planner values a group. Each member counts as their simulated output relative to the best spec of the same role at the instance level (healers by HPS, tanks by the tier-list tank index), raised by the group buffs other members bring (each buff's gain is simulated per spec). Every boss mechanic the group can answer (dispel, interrupt, fear counter, resistance aura, crowd control…) adds a fixed bonus — 0.6 of a member for an important one and 0.15 for a useful one, scaled by raid size — so a missing answer outweighs a small throughput gap but not a large one. Mechanics come from Classic-era boss descriptions until Forever publishes encounter data.

Spec stacking limit. The planner takes at most one member of a spec per five players (one per spec in a dungeon, eight in a 40-player raid) and at most that many of a class (but always two in a dungeon). The simulator values every member against a single target in isolation, so without a limit it would stack the top spec; in game, duplicates compete for the same loot and share limited debuff and curse slots. Locked members are exempt.

Group buffs and boss debuffs. Magnitudes come from Forever spell data (auras, armor reductions, damage-taken) or, for totems and talent auras, the Forever tooltip. Rules the data doesn't state: Sunder Armor at 5 stacks and Expose Armor at 5 combo points (they don't stack with each other); Leader of the Pack and Moonkin Aura are exclusive (their tooltips say so); a party gets one air totem — Windfury for warriors, rogues and paladins, Grace of Air for hunters, shamans (own Windfury Weapon, per tooltip) and druids (forms don't use weapon imbues, 1.x rule); a raid has enough warlocks for both Curse of Recklessness and Curse of the Elements. Forever made Improved Scorch, Improved Shadow Bolt, Winter's Chill and Shadow Weaving personal, so they aren't group effects. No consumables or world buffs.

Boss ability lists are Classic-era (warcraft.wiki.gg boss pages); Forever has not published encounter journals. Where a boss spell exists in the Forever client, its school, dispel type and damage are read from it. New Forever bosses have no ability data yet, so only throughput and buffs decide those groups.