Phase 3 is coming and if the leaks are accurate, we might be seeing ToC (Trial of the Crusader) in April. I’ve got the best 4 pieces of advice for DPS players that’ll change how you approach Phase 3 and beyond.

ToC Is The Ultimate Catchup Raid

My first piece of advice is that ToC is secretly the ultimate catch-up raid. When Trial of the Crusader was first launched, the gear screw upgrade was so massive that people felt that running Ulduar was a “waste of time”.

Even the easy 10-man mode gave 232 item level gear while the 25-man mode gave 245. So, this time around Blizzard decided to make Ulduar way more relevant so that it would last into Phase 3. But all those big buffs to Ulduar gear come with a downside to ToC.

Ultimately, the new ToC loot just isn’t that much of an upgrade compared to Phase 2, so I’m treating to ToC like the ultimate thrift shop. But I’m using it to catch up my characters in just a week or two. I mean seriously, guys, have you looked at the ToC loot list?

Practically, every single piece of loot would be top three BIS right now, so this is the best time to catch up a DPS alt. I’m even leveling my Warrior for the first time in two years, because I know I can just catch up in a matter of weeks. This might as well be the Trial of the Raider phase because you’ll be seeing so many new characters gearing up.

Raiding Doesn’t Change

Which leads into the second thing I wanted to talk about with DPS in Phase 3, which is that rating really doesn’t change that much.

Blizzard really wants people to go back and kill bosses like Algalon every single week. So, basically, you’ll still be running Ulduar for 252 pieces and Val’ Anyr Fragments every single week like clockwork. And at the same time, you’ll be running ToC every week for a few hours for those 258 pieces.

Since the rating will be so similar to the current phase, if your class tops the meters now, you’ll still be topping in ToC. Affliction Warlocks, Assassination Rogues and Unholy Death Knight are some things just never change.

Meanwhile, if your class struggles now, things really won’t be changing when you’re rushing through nerfed Ulduar in a month. But that’s not to say the DPS landscape won’t be changing. Retribution Paladin, Warriors and Rogues are still creeping up the meters and their positioning for ICC and of course your favorites like the allies and the Boomkins are still going to be trending downwards.

Speaking of Boomkins, it is relevant to note that there aren’t any Trash Mobs in ToC. If you get a lot of enjoyment from Starfalling mobs and topping the meters temporarily, I have some bad news for you.

ToC Is The Ultimate Alt Raid

Remember how earlier I talked about how this is the ultimate catch-up raid? Well, it’s also the ultimate alt raid. Blizzard is practically begging you to play multiple characters in ToC, so if you want to maximize your fun you’ll have to oblige.

The crazy thing is that Blizzard seems to want you to do ToC and Ulduar on all your alts. But I think I’ll be ignoring Blizzard’s wishes and just doing ToC. I’ll still get all that 245 plus gear without having to worry about burnout.

While saying the Dreaded GDKP words might freak you out, it has to be mentioned. With the raid being so short, if you could make 10 to 20,000 WOTLK Classic Gold in just an hour from ToC. Would you really turn that down?

ToC Could Only Be 2 Months Long

That leads into my fourth and most important point. ToC is going to be really short, maybe an hour or two at most to run. But the duration of the tier itself will be important, as well. I’m expecting ToC to last less than two months in duration. That means everything you’re doing at Toc should be setting yourself up for success in ICC.

We all remember the data from back in 2009 with those Fury Warriors and the Fire Mages pumping in ICC, so I’m going to be using ToC to prepare my Fury Warrior for that juicy 277 item level gear.

So far, this really hasn’t been the best expansion for physical DPS, but things are about to really turn around and on my Warrior. I’m also going to be farming WOTLK Classic Gold for Shadowmourne. If you want to wield the legendary Shadowmourne and you’ll obviously have to be a Warrior or a Death Knight or a Paladin.

If you want the only legendary DPS weapon of WOTLK Classic, you may have to re-roll to claim what’s rightfully yours. But the only way you’ll ever be touching that Shadowmourne is by farming at least 200,000 WOTLK Classic Gold.