Heroic mode refers to a dungeon difficulty (
& 
) 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.
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 9:00 A.M. server time for US servers, and 08:00 A.M. server time for European servers. Addendum. As of 3.2 (?)"The Heroic Daily resets at the same time as other dailies, generally between 2-4 AM Realm Time." quoted from a Game Master response.
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.
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, however. 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).
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 , 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 , 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.
For , a healer should have between 1,000 and 1,300 spell power 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 17k mana: this is necessary 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.
Crowd control
In , most heroics do not need any form of crowd control. 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 many 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.
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", involve killing the final boss in a dungeon on heroic mode, and give additional 
[Badge of Justice] in or 
[Emblem of Triumph] in and money as a reward.
These were removed in patch 3.3.0.
Weekly quests
Patch 3.3.0 introduced weekly raid quests and removed daily heroics. The reward is 5 [Emblem of Triumph], 5 
[Emblem of Frost] and some money
Relative dungeon difficulty
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 |
|
Source: Poll Results For: "What Heroic Dungeon is the Most Challenging?"
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.
Reputation requirements
Each key requires honored reputation with the respective faction. (Lowered from revered in patch 2.3.)
| Instances | Faction | Key | Instances to grind at 70 | Approximate Difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hellfire Citadel |  Thrallmar/ Honor Hold
|
[Flamewrought Key] |
Hellfire Ramparts (~633 rep, heroic ~2500 rep) |
|
| Auchindoun | Lower City | [Auchenai Key] |
Mana-Tombs (consortium reputation: ~1200 rep, heroic ~2400 rep) |
|
| Coilfang Reservoir | Cenarion Expedition | [Reservoir Key] |
Slave Pens (~650 rep, heroic ~1800 rep) |
|
| Tempest Keep | The Sha'tar | [Warpforged Key] |
The Botanica (~2200 rep, heroic ~3100 rep) |
|
| Caverns of Time | Keepers of Time | [Key of Time] |
Opening the Dark Portal (~1100 rep) |
|
| Isle of Quel'Danas | Shattered Sun Offensive |  [70D] Hard to Kill
|
Magisters' Terrace (~1450 rep) |
|
Note that the heroic dungeons introduced in don't require an attunement, but do require all characters in the group to be level 80.
Patch changes
Patch 3.2.0 (2009-08-04): Changed the setting to 5 Player Heroic under the interface setting Dungeon difficulty.
Patch 3.2.0 (2009-08-04): Changed the setting to 10 Player Heroic and 25 Player Heroic under the interface setting Raid difficulty.
See also
- Epic heroic-only items
- Rare heroic-only items
- Dungeon difficulty
- Raid difficulty
- Raid Finder
- Normal mode
- Heroic mode
- Mythic mode
- Legacy raids
- Related types