Methodology
This page covers where the data comes from and how I pick the tags for each ability.
- Reports
- 724
- Key levels
- 15 to 22
- Measured
Where do the logs come from?
For each dungeon I pull a batch of logs off the Warcraft Logs Mythic+ leaderboards. These are usually high keys played by good groups, so what you read here is what typically happens when people play well. I take the top 3 logs from each of the game’s 40 specs and merge them into one set of data.
The top leaderboard would have been easier, but it would have skewed the data toward the meta and wouldn't be inclusive of non-meta specs. Pull only one class and spec, say Protection Paladin, and you get more Blessing of Freedom and Cleanse Toxins than other groups may have. Taking a few from all specs evens it out. This means that the overall dataset is more comprehensive of the total ability pool.
| Dungeon | Reports | Keys |
|---|---|---|
| Season 2 | ||
| Altar of Fangs | 93 | 15 to 21 |
| Den of Nalorakk | 88 | 15 to 22 |
| Kings' Rest | 91 | 15 to 22 |
| Murder Row | 89 | 15 to 22 |
| Ruby Life Pools | 90 | 15 to 21 |
| Temple of Sethraliss | 88 | 15 to 22 |
| The Blinding Vale | 94 | 15 to 21 |
| Voidscar Arena | 91 | 15 to 21 |
What gets an entry?
An ability gets an entry only if I saw it happen in one of seven log tables. The Wowhead tooltip is not enough on its own.
- Enemy casts
- Enemy damage
- Enemy buffs
- Player debuffs
- Enemy healing
- Interrupts
- Dispels
Big numbers don't automatically warrant an entry. If there is nothing for the player to interact with, in general it will not be included on the site.
Some enemies don't really have abilities. Or rather their ability is "Melee" or "Shoot" or something like that. I consider this an auto attack and don't think players need to do anything special to deal with them. Most of the time this damage is on a tank, so players can refer to the meters on each relevant enemy.
How do you pick the tags?
19 tags in 4 categories. Each category answers a different question.
StopDid anyone actually stop it?
Determined by log evidence of players stopping an action from an enemy. Unfortunately stuns on some physical casts don't show up in logs reliably.
- Kill
- Swap
- Interrupt
- Stun
RemoveCan players remove it?
Determined by log evidence of players removing a debuff from a friendly player or a buff from an enemy. Unfortunately Freedoms don't always show up in logs reliably.
- Magic
- Curse
- Poison
- Disease
- Bleed
- Freedom
- Purge
- Soothe
MoveWhere do players go?
This category is mostly based on evidence from lack of damage or player debuffs within logs. Most of this category is also validated from actual in game experience.
- Avoid
- Spread
- Stack
- Soak
- Click
BraceHow many people does it hit?
Determined by log evidence of damage taken by players.
- Defensive
- Raid CD
There's one basic rule applied to these, with limited exceptions: if you can avoid it, avoid it. Some interrupts would warrant a defensive if not kicked, but including both tags for basically every interrupt and avoid would add way too much bloat and noise to the site.
What are pain meters?
Under each enemy name are two bars: how hard one of these hits the tank, and how hard it hits everyone else. Both count raw damage per second while you are fighting it, unmitigated, compared to the median enemy of that dungeon.
I show it as a comparison because a raw damage number goes stale as soon as you push a key higher. Three bars is the median enemy for that dungeon. It's intended as a feature to figure out which enemies are scary, and who they are scary for.
The two bars measure different things, and they often disagree. An enemy that beats on the tank may leave the rest of the group alone, and plenty of enemies do the reverse.
What can't the logs tell me?
There are three main places this site is most likely to be wrong:
Damage as a metric may show mistakes.
If everyone dodges a spell it does no damage. Many dodgeable abilities and most of the kickable ones show zero damage, because the group played well. So I only ever use damage to add something to the site. Just because players didn't take damage from an ability in logs doesn't mean that the ability doesn't exist.
Not all specs play at all levels.
Some specs are just not favored by the meta and will have a lower overall key level. This may mean they are represented in lower skilled scenarios when undergoing analysis.
Logs aren't perfect.
I have a ton of respect for the team at Archon, and the level of data ingestion they have to deal with. That doesn't mean they aren't human and can't make mistakes. Blizzard may be equally at fault for abilities or enemies being wrongly reported in data sent.
Sources
Combat logs from Warcraft Logs, game files from wago.tools, tooltips and models from Wowhead. Season 2 of World of Warcraft: Midnight.