Wipe

For the API function, see API_wipe.

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Example of what a wipe looks like in Molten Core.

Wipe is short for wipeout, meaning a situation where the entire party or raid group is killed. Wipes can occur for many reasons — the boss is pulled when the group doesn't expect it, a group member failing to do a raid mechanic, unexpected adds (e.g., from a patrol or a runner), etc.

Wiping is a central element of any difficult endgame PvE content, like Mythic+ dungeons and raids. Bosses in raid instances are very hard, only very rarely will one of them be defeated on the very first pull. Normally, bosses have to be "learned" by the raid, which involves many wipes as raid members learn the best places to stand in the boss room and the best time to use their cooldowns. As such, remaining positive throughout repeated attempts is recommended. Some bosses remain difficult even after they have been killed a few times, other bosses quickly gain "farm" status, which means they can be killed by that raid with little effort.

Wipe Recovery

When a group wipes in an instance and wants to continue their progression, or re-attempt the boss that had slain them, the group has to Release Spirit and traverse the instance back to where they wiped. However, this is very time-consuming, and can even cause impatient members of a pickup group to leave. Fortunately, some classes have resurrect abilities that can return party members to life without needing to walk.

In order to perform a wipe recovery, someone needs to be alive and amidst the rest of the dead party. This can be accomplished by:

• Avoiding the wipe, by dropping combat with abilities like [Vanish], [Feign Death], [Invisibility], or [Shadowmeld]
• Providing a pending resurrection by using a combat resurrection on someone, preferably a healer. They can accept the resurrection after the wipe has concluded and the mob(s) have reset.
• Self-Resurrection, by means of a pre-casted [Soulstone] or an ability like [Reincarnation].

Once alive, the player then needs to resurrect the rest of their party - Mass Resurrection abilities are the most effective at this. If there are no healers alive to do so, then:

• Use a class's single-target resurrection on one — for example, Retribution Paladins can cast [Redemption].
• As a last resort, use an engineering item like  [Goblin Jumper Cables] to attempt a resurrection.

As long as there is a healer alive, they can cast their mass resurrection and recover the wipe, allowing the group to re-buff and continue the instance as soon as possible.

Built-in wipe recovery

Some instances will have checkpoints that will allow a raid group to respawn in a location closer to the next boss. Others will have mechanics that allow the raid group to quickly return from the instance start to the boss. For example, by defending the friendly Grateful Ancients from the trash mobs in Amirdrassil, the Dream's Hope and healing them will cause them to grant anyone who walks near  Dream's Blessing reducing the walking time between boss attempts.