WoW best raid buffs

There are many different raid buffs that you need to consider when putting a group together. While many (although surprisingly not all) raiders understand this, most other players don’t. However, everyone really should know how all the classes mesh together for buffs. This is even more true now than ever since so many players will be jumping into raids with the new patch 4.3 Raid Finder feature.

Given that there are so many different raid buffs out there it is always going to be difficult to get every single buff in place. With that as a known, which buffs should you really worry about? That's what this guide aims to provide, a core list of the buffs that you should be concerned with getting so that the raid has the best chance to succeed.

Here is a list of 10 of the best raid buffs that you can get and which classes can provide them for you.


5% Critical Strike – This can be a huge buff for many players, but especially for DPS players or healers that rely on Crit. This really depends on class and spec, so it is important to know your class and how much each stat benefits your build.

  • Druid (Feral) – [ps spell=17007]Leader of the Pack[/ps]
  • Rogue (subtlety) – [ps spell=51698]Honor Among Thieves[/ps]
  • Shaman (Elemental) – [ps spell=51466]Elemental Oath[/ps]
  • Warrior (Fury) - [ps spell=29801]Rampage[/ps]

10% Attack Power – This is a huge buff for melee heavy groups, and is very easy to get. Probably the best buff here is the Paladin's Blessing of Might since it also provides mana restoration to players that use mana providing a dual purpose buff.

  • Paladin (All) – [ps spell=19740]Blessing of Might[/ps]
  • Death Knight (Blood) - [ps spell=53138]Abomination's Might[/ps]
  • Hunter (Marksman) - [ps spell=19506]Trueshot Aura[/ps]
  • Shaman (Enhancement) - [ps spell=30808]Unleashed Rage[/ps]

5% to Stats – This is buff that used to be pretty rare, coming mainly from Paladins when Blessing of Kings granted 10%. Now however it is down to 5% and is able to be granted from two other classes, which makes it easy to ensure you have it, even if one way to get it relies on a specific Hunter pet. It grants a 5% boost to Strength, Agility, Stamina, and Intellect, as well as granting some additional magical resistance.

  • Paladin (All) – [ps spell=79062]Blessing of Kings[/ps]
  • Druid (All) - [ps spell=1126]Mark of the Wild[/ps]
  • Hunter (Beastmaster with Shale Spider) - [ps spell=90363]Embrace of the Shale Spider[/ps]

3% Damage Boost – This is a great buff for DPS players as it is a straight 3% boost to all damage caused. This amounts to a whole lot in a raid since a 3% boost in damage output means that fights are 3% shorter in duration and therefore healers have an easier time as well since less time in a fight means less potential time to take damage. While this buff is possible to go without if you are having issues with a fight and just missing finishing it, this could make the differenance. Also since it is so easy to get, since there are lots of Paladins around and you are likely to have a few mages or a hunter around anyway.

  • Paladin (Retribution) – [ps spell=31876]Communion[/ps]
  • Mage (Arcane) - [ps spell=82930]Arcane Tactics[/ps]
  • Hunter (Beastmaster) - [ps spell=34460]Ferocious Inspiration[/ps]

5% Spell Haste - This is an important buff if you have many different casters in your raid. This increases both damage output from your DPS casters as well as the healing output from your healers, making it a great buff. The importance to your raid will really depend on the number of casters though, as their number increases so does the benifit of the buff.

  • Druid (Balance) – [ps spell=24858]Moonkin Form[/ps]
  • Priest (Shadow) - [ps spell=15473]Shadowform[/ps]
  • Shaman (All) - [ps spell=3738]Wrath of Air Totem[/ps]

10% Physical Haste - This is very similar to the 5% spell haste buff in that its effectiveness varies with the number of physical DPS players in the raid. If you are low on physical DPS players then it isn't as much of a boost to the raid. However since there tend to be so many physical DPS players around this can be a big buff. Luckily it is granted from multiple sources, so it should be relatively easy to get.

  • Death Knight (Frost) – [ps spell=55610]Improved Icy Talons[/ps]
  • Hunter (Survival) - [ps spell=53290]Hunting Party[/ps]
  • Shaman (All) - [ps spell=8512]Windfury Totem[/ps]

An alternate way to get this buff is through a Hunter pet

Fortitude - This is a raid standard and one of the required raid buffs. It adds a significant amount of stamina to everyone in the raid and not something that is easy to go without. For the longest time only Priests could provide this buff, however now there are several ways to get this buff. Priest 30min, warrior 2 min

  • Priest (All) – [ps spell=21562]Fortitude[/ps]
  • Warlock - Imp pet (All) - [ps spell=6307]Blood Pact[/ps]
  • Hunter (Beastmaster with Silithid Pet) - [ps spell=90364]Qiraji Fortitude[/ps]
  • Warrior (All) - [ps spell=469]Commanding Shout[/ps] (Only lasts 2 minutes)

Replenishment – This is not so much a buff as it is an effect, however since it is granted by specific classes as a short term effect it is generally considered as a buff. [ps spell=57669]Replenishment[/ps] grants 1% of maximum mana every 10 seconds to the players that it effects. Even though this doesn't sound like a huge amount of mana, ask any caster how much of a difference this makes in their abilities and you will learn that no one wants to be without it. Luckily it is available from many different sources.

  • Paladin (Retribution) – [ps spell=31876]Communion[/ps]
  • Druid (Restoration) - [ps spell=48544]Revitalize[/ps]
  • Death Knight (Frost) - [ps spell=86508]Enduring Winter[/ps]
  • Priest (Shadow) - [ps spell=34914]Vampiric Touch[/ps]
  • Warlock (Destruction) - [ps spell=30295]Soul Leech[/ps]

Combat Haste (Heroism / Bloodlust) – This is one of the biggest buffs out there and commonly reffered to as Heroism (or Bloodlust if you're Horde) due to the fact that Shaman were the only class that could grant this buff for the longest time. Now that Mages can also grant it, and some hunters (if they are Beast Master with a Core Hound pet) it is a lot easier to ensure that all raids can gain access to this great buff.

No matter where the buff comes from it grants 30% attack and casting speed for 40 seconds which is massive for pretty much anyone.

  • Shaman (All) – [ps spell=32182]Heroism (Alliance)[/ps], [ps spell=2825]Bloodlust (Horde)[/ps]
  • Mage (All) – [ps spell=80353]Time Warp[/ps]
  • Hunter (Beastmaster with Core Hound pet ) – [ps spell=90355]Ancient Hysteria[/ps]

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Last Updated: Mar 13, 2016

About The Author

Byron has been playing and writing about World of Warcraft for the past ten years. He also plays pretty much ever other Blizzard game, currently focusing on Heroes of the Storm and Hearthstone, while still finding time to jump into Diablo III with his son.

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