Heroic mode

Heroic mode refers to a dungeon difficulty (beginning with ) setting. This setting is accessed from the party or raid leader's portrait menu; currently the only other difficulty setting is normal mode (the default setting). Depending on expansion and dungeon type (5-player or raid), the setting has different effects and requirements. For all heroic mode dungeons mobs and bosses have more HP, hit harder, and have additional or more potent skills. Heroic-mode bosses drop better quality equipment than their normal-mode counterparts as well as currency tokens used to purchase epic equipment from vendors.

5.4 Raid Finder → 6.0 Raid Finder

5.4 Flexible → 6.0 Normal

5.4 Normal → 6.0 Heroic

5.4 Heroic → 6.0 Mythic

Heroic mode Raid Lockouts are limited to raid size. For instance; if you enter instance A and kill a boss on 25 man heroic mode, you are not able to engage any heroic man bosses with a 10 man group, in instance A, until the lockout has expired. Many groups will do progression with a 25 man group, then do a clean-up with their top 10 man group. This is not possible to do on heroic mode. If you kill one boss on heroic mode with a 25 man group, you cannot later clean up or progress on heroic mode with a 10 man group. Normal mode is not affected by group size lockout, and normal bosses can be killed by a combination of 10 and 25 man groups during any lockout period.

Heroic mode dungeons are on a lockout timer much like raids, and can only be run once a day per character. Each dungeon is on an independent timer, however, so a character could run as many as 15 heroic mode instances per day. Heroic timers are reset daily at 11:00 A.M. server time for US servers, and 8:00 A.M. server time for European servers.

In Warlords of Draenor

This section concerns content exclusive to Warlords of Draenor.

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The level for Heroics has risen to level 100. Along with new dungeons in the expansion, a Upper Blackrock Spire has been re-done and has a Heroic mode added.

Warlords of Draenor raid item levels

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In Mists of Pandaria

This section concerns content exclusive to Mists of Pandaria.

The level for Heroics has risen to level 90. Along with new dungeons in the expansion, a couple old lower level dungeons have been re-done or have had a Heroic mode added (Scarlet Monastery and Scholomance).

Heroic scenarios in Patch 5.3

Patch 5.3 introduced Heroic mode scenarios.

Mists of Pandaria raid item levels

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• Throne of Thunder Raid Finder quality at item level 502.
• Throne of Thunder Normal mode quality at item level 522.
• Throne of Thunder Normal mode Thunderforged quality at item level 528.
• Siege of Orgrimmar Raid Finder quality at item level 528.
• Throne of Thunder Heroic mode quality of the item at level 535.
• Siege of Orgrimmar Flexible Raid quality of the item at level 540.
• Throne of Thunder Heroic mode Thunderforged quality (aka "Heroic Thunderforged") of the item at level 541.
• Siege of Orgrimmar Normal mode quality at item level 553.
• Siege of Orgrimmar Normal mode Warforged quality of the item at level 559.
• Siege of Orgrimmar Heroic mode quality of the item at level 566.
• Siege of Orgrimmar Heroic mode Warforged quality (aka "Heroic Warforged") of the item at level 572.

In Cataclysm

This section concerns content exclusive to Cataclysm.

The level for Heroics has risen to level 85. Along with new dungeons in the expansion, a couple old lower level dungeons have been re-done or have had a Heroic mode added (Deadmines and Shadowfang Keep).

Reports from blogs and forums indicate that the new Heroics will require more coordination, crowd control, focus fire, and threat management than players may be used to at the end of the previous expansion.

In Wrath of the Lich King

This section concerns content exclusive to Wrath of the Lich King.

With the second expansion, heroic mode was extended to raids. The key requirements were not included on instances, instead heroic mode is available to all players at 80. The token system used in TBC heroics was considered successful, new tokens were added for the various "tiers" of wrath heroics and raids. For example, the same tokens drop in heroic 5-players and the first-tier 10-player raids, while a different token drops in the first tier 25-player raids and second-tier 10-player raids. A third token drops in second-tier 25-player raids, and will presumably drop in the third-tier 10-player raids when implemented.

Before Patch 3.2.0, Heroic mode raids, unlike their instance counterparts, did not dictate difficulty. Instead 10-player raids were considered "normal" mode, and 25-player raids to be "heroic". Heroic raids are not intended to be "harder" than the 10-player version of the same raid, instead simply tuned for the larger number of players. Heroic raids do still drop higher quality equipment than the normal-mode counterparts, by the logic that it is more difficult to form a good 25-player group. The currency tokens dropped in each mode can be used to buy items of similar quality to the boss-dropped items.

Patch 3.2.0 did away with this setting, other than showing up in achievements, in favor of the following:

Dungeon difficulty:

5-player Heroic mode for the Heroic mode instances.

Raid difficulty:

10-player Heroic mode for the Heroic mode (10-player raid).

25-player Heroic mode for the Heroic mode (25-player raid).

In Burning Crusade

This section concerns content exclusive to The Burning Crusade.

Each of the 5-player dungeons introduced in the World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade expansion pack may be run on heroic mode if every member of the party has obtained the appropriate key. These keys are purchased from the faction quartermaster of the faction corresponding to the instance once reaching honored. At introduction the keys required revered, but this was reduced in later patches to allow easier access to the heroic modes. Magister's Terrace, which was introduced later with patch 2.4, did not use a purchased key. To obtain this key players needed to simply complete a quest which involved killing the final boss of the instance in normal mode.

Some heroic mode instances share loot with their normal-mode counterparts, while some do not. For example, items that drop in a level 70 normal instance like Shattered Halls will also drop in the heroic mode. However a lower-level instance like Hellfire Ramparts will have completely different items in normal and heroic mode. For the instance where loot is shared there are also additional items that only drop in the heroic mode. These items are of higher quality than the other items. Each boss in a heroic dungeon may drop an epic gem. The last boss always drops one epic item in addition to a Badge of Justice.

Common requirements

In heroic mode, all instances get a lot harder, and most mobs have their damage increased and bosses often having their damage and health increased.

Many of the following are stats commonly accepted by PUG heroics (guild heroics may be higher/ lower depending on the nature of the guild.)

Tank

Generally, tanks should have enough dodge/block/parry and life combined to be healed efficiently, but not constantly. Note that 5-player-heroics healing is based upon healing the entire group, unlike 10- or 25-player-raid healing where tanks may often have a dedicated (or 2-3) healer topping them off.

In , tanks are usually expected to have at least 120K health un-buffed (yes, the numbers got sort of out of control in Cataclysm), but health is less important now in level 85 heroics than it was in the past. Damage mitigation is more important as well as having the right timing and tactics. Usually get as much mastery as you can for heroics, and balance out dodge/parry ratings for maximum avoidance. Good targets are 25K armor, 10% dodge, 10% parry, and 30% block. Maxing your hit/expertise is controversial, but most agree it isn't necessary.

In , a tank should have 21k health un-buffed and 535 Defense. Wrath heroics are noticeably more difficult in boss encounters as well as the requirements for crowd control and group coordination.

For , a tank should have at least 10k (10,000) health un-buffed and 490 Defense rating^{[citation needed]} (combination resilience, in which case defense is still preferred for mitigation).

Healer

For , the way the various healing classes work have now diverged enough that any generalization about needed stats has probably become useless. Investigate level 85 normal and heroic healing prep guides for the class and talent spec you plan to heal with.

For , a healer should have between 1,600 and 1,900 spell power, 230 mana regeneration (while casting) and 15k mana (unbuffed) to heal effectively in heroics.

However, healer gear/stats are often greatly dependent on the tank. If your tank has 21k health and your healer has a low spell power, or low 5k mana, your healer will not be able to heal the tank quick enough, or for long enough. But if the healer has 1,500 spell power and 12k mana, but your tank has < 21k health, or is below 535 Defense it's not going to matter, because the tank will die too fast.

A good healer has more than 14k mana: this is preferred for boss fights, and for efficient running (most people geared for heroic aren't willing to wait after every mob for a mana break). Also try to aim for about 400+ mana regeneration when out of combat, and at least 230+ whilst casting; this helps a lot with efficient running.

Though less important than the above, health is also a vital factor, especially on low-armor healers, especially priests, who can be hit for 14k (non-crit) damage in some heroics (e.g. Hammer of the Righteous, see Eadric the Pure). Strive for at least 16k+ health; and for paladins and shamans, a shield, which really aids with survivability.

For , a healer should have between 1,000 and 1,300 spell power to heal effectively in heroics.

Crowd control

In , crowd control has become very important again. For heroics there is no specific advice to give beyond, use all the CC techniques at your disposal unless the encounter has some more important task for you (AoE, de-curse, misdirect, etc.)

In , most heroics do not need any form of crowd control. Correctly geared tanks can generate enough threat to hold the attention of multiple mobs, and the damage is low enough to be relatively easily healed.

If crowd control is requested, Mages are the most effective, because of the usefulness of Polymorph. Rogues and Retribution paladins are the next best CC, with hunters' Ice Traps and the Shaman Hex being last. If played correctly, all are viable forms of CC, and depending on the DPS output of your group, you may only need to incapacitate the mob for 10secs, making traps as efficient as Polymorph.

DPS

All classes have a strong DPS spec and with Dual Talent Specialization, even players who normally heal or are tanks can have a second spec just for DPS.

With for casters, a good round target to reach is 6K spell power. For melee/ranged DPS somewhere around 10K attack power is a good target.

Caster DPS , should aim to have 1,500+ spell power (absolute minimum); and Melee/Ranged DPS, 2.5k attack power.

Most classes should keep their health above 16k to avoid being one-shotted; and casters should aim to have mana above 15k as well, so sustained DPS can be used on mobs and bosses.

Daily quests

Patch 2.3.0 introduced daily quests for heroic dungeons. These daily quests, referred to as "daily heroics", involved killing the final boss in a dungeon on heroic mode, and gave additional [Badge of Justice] in or [Emblem of Triumph] in and money as a reward.

The daily heroic quests were removed in patch 3.3.0, but daily heroic quests still exist.

Weekly quests

Patch 3.3.0 introduced weekly raid quests and removed daily heroics. The reward is 48 Justice Points and some money.

Relative dungeon difficulty

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heroic mode dungeons require you to have an average of item level 329 gear for you to be able to queue for them. This average of item level increases with each subsequent expansion.

Relative difficulty in Legion

This section concerns content exclusive to Legion.

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Relative difficulty in Warlords of Draenor

This section concerns content exclusive to Warlords of Draenor.

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Relative difficulty in Mists of Pandaria

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Relative difficulty in Cataclysm

This section concerns content exclusive to Cataclysm.

In , heroic mode dungeons have the following relative difficulty.

Instance	Reputation Reward	Approximate Relative Difficulty
Blackrock Caverns	TBD
Deadmines	TBD
Grim Batol	TBD
Halls of Origination	TBD
Lost City of the Tol'vir	TBD
Shadowfang Keep	TBD
Stonecore	TBD
Throne of the Tides	TBD
Vortex Pinnacle	TBD

Relative difficulty in Wrath of the Lich King

This section concerns content exclusive to Wrath of the Lich King.

In , heroic mode dungeons have the following relative difficulty.

Instance	Reputation Reward	Approximate Relative Difficulty
Ahn'kahet	2300
Azjol-Nerub	1300
Culling of Stratholme	1700
Drak'Tharon Keep	2000
Gundrak	2250
Halls of Lightning	2150
Halls of Stone	1850
Nexus	2300
Oculus	1600
Utgarde Keep	1950
Utgarde Pinnacle	2000
Violet Hold	1300

Heroic Mode; Violet Hold, located within Dalaran, is commonly considered the easiest of all Northrend Heroic Instances. This is because it can be completed in under 20 minutes on average by those with even minor Heroic Instance Skills. Its low difficulty and low Reputation of 1300 makes it commonly a very casual Heroic Instance.

Relative difficulty in Burning Crusade

This section concerns content exclusive to The Burning Crusade.

Reputation requirements: Each key requires honored reputation with the respective faction. (Lowered from revered in patch 2.3.)

In , heroic mode dungeons have the following relative difficulty.

Instances	Faction	Key	Instances to grind at 70	Approximate Difficulty
Hellfire Citadel	Thrallmar/Honor Hold	[Flamewrought Key]	Hellfire Ramparts (~633 rep, heroic ~2500 rep) Blood Furnace (~700 rep) The Shattered Halls (~1650 rep, heroic ~2700 rep)
Auchindoun	Lower City	[Auchenai Key]	Mana-Tombs (consortium reputation: ~1200 rep, heroic ~2400 rep) Auchenai Crypts (~750 rep) Sethekk Halls (~1250 rep, heroic ~2100 rep) Shadow Labyrinth (~2000 rep, heroic ~2700 rep)
Coilfang Reservoir	Cenarion Expedition	[Reservoir Key]	Slave Pens (~650 rep, heroic ~1800 rep) Underbog (~1000 rep, heroic ~2500 rep) The Steamvault (~1600 rep, heroic ~1800 rep)
Tempest Keep	The Sha'tar	[Warpforged Key]	The Botanica (~2200 rep, heroic ~3100 rep) The Arcatraz (~1800 rep, heroic ~2600 rep) The Mechanar (~1500 rep, heroic ~2100 rep)
Caverns of Time	Keepers of Time	[Key of Time]	Opening the Dark Portal (~1100 rep) Escape from Durnholde Keep (~900 rep, heroic ~2300 rep)
Isle of Quel'Danas	Shattered Sun Offensive	[70D] Hard to Kill	Magisters' Terrace (~1450 rep)

Note that the heroic dungeons introduced in and don't require an attunement, but do require all characters in the group to be level-capped for the expansion (80/85/etc.).

Patch changes

• Patch 3.3.0 (08-Dec-2009): daily heroic quests were removed in patch 3.3.0 and introduced weekly raid quests.
  
• Patch 3.2.0 (04-Aug-2009): Changed the setting to 5 Player Heroic under the interface setting Dungeon difficulty. Changed the setting to 10 Player Heroic and 25 Player Heroic under the interface setting Raid difficulty.
  
• Patch 2.3.0 (13-Nov-2007): Introduced daily quests for heroic dungeons.
  
• Patch 2.0.3 (09-Jan-2007): Heroic mode introduced.
  

See also

• Epic heroic-only items
• Rare heroic-only items

Instance difficulty

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Scenario difficulty: Heroic mode Normal mode Dungeon difficulty: 5-player Mythic mode 5-player Mythic plus mode 5-player Challenge mode ( and later) 5-player Heroic mode 5-player Timewalking mode 5-player Normal mode

Raid difficulty for - raids:[cn] 20-player Mythic mode Heroic mode raid Normal mode raid Raid Finder mode Raid difficulty for - raids:[cn] 25-player Heroic mode 10-player Heroic mode 25-player Normal mode 10-player Normal mode Flexible Raid mode only for specific raids Raid Finder mode

Raid difficulty for raids:[cn] 25-player Normal mode 10-player Normal mode Raid difficulty only for some pre-Cataclysm raids: Hard mode only for specific raids Heroic mode Normal mode

External links

News

WoW Official Game Site (US) Catching Up to 5.3 by Blizzard Entertainment, May 2, 2013 6:00 PM PDT

WoW Official Game Site (EU) Catching Up to 5.3 by Blizzard Entertainment, 03 May 2013 15:00 BST

WoW Insider Does the Rise of the Zandalari dungeon tier serve a purpose? by Matthew Rossi Aug 22nd 2011 at 1:00PM

WoW Insider WoW Rookie: How to learn about raiding through heroics by Michael Gray Jul 28th 2011 at 5:00PM

Official Tanking forum (US) Guide: "Am I ready to tank <heroics/raids>?" by Waniou 5/3/11 10:12 PM

Jade Alt Your First Cataclysm Heroic by Windsoar, December 14, 2010