Simcraft is a free, open-source combat simulator for World of Warcraft. It runs your character through many virtual fights and shows which gear, talents and stats deliver the most damage or healing. Most players use it through Raidbots, a website that runs SimulationCraft in the cloud.
Why Simcraft Beats Guesswork
Your character has dozens of moving parts: item level, stats, talents, trinket procs and cooldown timing. Tooltips cannot show how they interact. A simulation can, because it plays the fight out many times and averages the result. That makes a World of Warcraft simulation far more reliable than a stat priority copied from a forum.
What Can You Test With Simcraft?
Quite a lot. SimulationCraft compares gear, gems, enchants and talents, and it can show the ability order that gets the most out of your spec. Droptimizer goes one step further and ranks the loot you could win, so you know which dungeon or raid boss is worth your time.
How to Run a WoW Simcraft Sim, Step by Step
- Install the SimulationCraft addon from CurseForge, WowUp or GitHub, then enable it.
- Log in on your character and type /simc in chat.
- Press Ctrl+C to copy the text in the window.
- Open Raidbots and pick a sim: Quick Sim for current DPS, Top Gear to compare gear you own, or Droptimizer to rate loot.
- Paste the text into the import box, choose a fight style and run it.
Use the addon, not the Armory import. The addon exports your bags and talents, while the Armory can be unreliable. Raidbots runs the sim on its own servers, so your game stays smooth.
Here is what most players get wrong: they leave the sim settings untouched. Raidbots lets you choose your flask, food and potion, so match them to what you really bring to raid. Then the numbers reflect your real nights, not a generic setup.
Common Simulation Craft Mistakes to Avoid
- Treating stat weights as law. Weights shift with your gear and fight type. Direct sims like Top Gear and Droptimizer are usually better.
- Simming one fight style only. Single target and multi-target results can differ, so match the sim to your content, such as raid or Mythic+.
- Skipping updates. Refresh the addon each session so your export matches the current game.
Pro tip: set SimC Version to Latest on Raidbots, and switch to Weekly or Nightly only if you suspect a bug in the sim. Also treat tiny differences between options as noise, not a verdict.
Run a Quick Sim tonight to set your baseline, then change one thing at a time. That is the fastest way to learn what simcraft can do for your character.
FAQ
Is Simcraft free?
Yes. SimulationCraft is open source, and Raidbots has free sims, with patron perks such as higher iteration limits.
Do I need to install SimulationCraft to use Raidbots?
No. Raidbots runs it for you online, but you still want the in-game addon to export your character.
What does /simc do in WoW?
It opens a window with your character data, including gear, bags and talents, ready to copy into Raidbots.
