Has this ever happened to you? You are in the midst of an epic boss battle, things are going good, your wipes have been minimal, the end is near, then suddenly a member of your group or raid suddenly goes AFK? The middle of a fight is probably not the best time to decide that you need to make that phone call or grab a drink. Not only are you likely to end up doing a corpse walk, the other members of your group probably won't like you none too much.
Fear not, there are some great opportunities in World of Warcraft to go AFK, whether you are solo, in a small group, or in a raid group.
Soloing:
1. While in a major city or an inn: Going AFK in these places affords you safety and also helps you gain rest XP which will help you to level faster.
2. Just after turning in or picking up a quest: You should still be in a fairly safe place, away from any wandering creatures or the other faction (especially if you are flagged PvP.)
3. While flying: Those gryphon flights can take a while, especially if you are flying from one end of the Eastern Kingdoms to the other. Chances are, by the time you come back you will just be arriving at your destination.
In Groups:
4. If you are grouped for the sake of doing quests or working on leveling, it is pretty easy to find opportunities to go AFK. The best time is after picking up or turning in a quest.
5. If other members of your group need to run and empty bags, or are waiting on cooldowns, you can use that minimal downtime to briefly go AFK.
In Raids:
Unfortunately, due to the nature of raids, there is never really an "ideal" time to go AFK. But if you must:
6. Go immediately after entering the dungeon. There is typically some down time as members are summoned to the dungeon and players that have buffs are busy buffing everyone.
7. After resurrection, ONLY if you are not "rezzed" amidst a battle. Again, as everyone returns to the location of the raid, there is some down time as people are buffed and mana is regeneration.
8. When healers and other casters need a mana break.
9. After fighting a boss. There may be some players that need to be rezzed, buffs that need to be reapplied, and mana that needs to regenerate.
10. If you are the raid or group leader, try to plan in breaks so that if other members need to go AFK they can. Let them know that either right before or right after boss fights would be the best time. That way while they are AFK, the other members of the raid can either prepare for, or recoup from, the battle.
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