Swing Sync and Stagger
In TBC, sync and stagger matter for two outcomes only: Flurry charge efficiency and Windfury Weapon main hand priority. If your off hand leads at the wrong time, you can burn Flurry charges on off hand hits and you can lose value when Windfury Weapon is not favoring the main hand. This page explains what is happening, what bad timing looks like, and gives you a trainer so you can correct your swing relationship on demand.
Sync
Sync is about how close together your main hand and off hand swings land. This timing matters because of how works.
What Flurry is
is a talent that activates when you critically strike. When it is active, your next three weapon swings gain a large attack speed bonus. Flurry does not last forever. It is consumed by your swings.
How Flurry actually gets consumed
has a short internal window of 0.5 seconds when it consumes charges. If two weapon swings land close together, both swings can benefit while only spending one charge. If your swings land too far apart, each swing consumes its own charge.
What sync means
Your weapons are considered synced when your main hand and off hand swings land within 0.5 seconds of each other. It does not matter which hand hits first. The only requirement is that the second hand follows within that 0.5 second window.
Why sync matters
Sync keeps efficient. When your swings are synced, two hits often share a single charge. When your swings drift outside the window, you burn through charges faster and uptime becomes unstable.
Perfect sync is not required
You do not need both weapons to land at the exact same moment. A perfect 0.0 second gap looks clean, but it is not the goal. Staying inside the 0.5 second window is what matters.
Stagger
Stagger is about which hand hits first when a proc becomes available. The goal is to favor your main hand without breaking sync for .
How Windfury procs work
has a chance to proc on a successful melee hit, granting extra attacks. After it procs, Windfury cannot proc again for a short period of time.
What an internal cooldown is
An internal cooldown is a hidden timer that starts when a proc occurs. While that timer is running, the proc cannot happen again, even if you land more valid hits.
Windfury’s internal cooldown
In The Burning Crusade, uses a 3 second internal cooldown that is shared between your main hand and off hand. Once Windfury procs, neither weapon can proc again until the cooldown ends.
What stagger means
Stagger means your swings are close together, but not perfectly aligned. One hand consistently lands slightly before the other. For Enhancement, you want your main hand to land first, with the off hand following shortly after.
Why main hand lead matters
When the Windfury cooldown ends, the first swing that lands has the best chance to claim the next proc. If your off hand lands first, it can take that opportunity, leaving your main hand blocked by the cooldown. By keeping your main hand slightly ahead, you increase the chance that Windfury procs are awarded to your harder hitting weapon.
Stagger versus being out of sync
Stagger does not mean spreading your swings far apart. You still want both hands to land within the 0.5 second sync window for efficiency. The goal is a small, consistent main hand lead, not a large gap between swings.
Sync + Stagger
The target state is synced and staggered. Your main hand lands first, and your off hand follows shortly after, staying inside the 0.5 second sync window. This keeps efficient while allowing to favor the main hand.
Weapon speed and drift
If you have a choice, use weapons with the same speed. Matching weapon speeds makes sync and stagger easier to set up and much easier to keep. Once you line them up, they stay lined up longer, which means fewer corrections and less lost off hand damage.
If you cannot get same speed weapons, sync and stagger are still beneficial. You can still line your swings up, share charges, and favor main hand . The difference is that mismatched speeds will naturally drift apart over time. This means you will have to correct more often.
Resync macro: when to tap
This macro is used to delay your off hand so the main hand can lead again. Used correctly, it keeps efficient and helps favor the main hand.
#showtooltip
/stopattack
/startattackEach press briefly stops and restarts auto attack. During that restart, your main hand continues normally, but your off hand is forced back to the midpoint of its swing if it has already passed that point. This creates a controlled delay on the off hand. If the off hand has not passed the midpoint yet, pressing the macro will not change your timing.
Main hand is first, but the stagger is wrong
If your main hand is already hitting first, but the off hand is not following in the correct window, wait until the off hand passes the halfway point of its swing. Once it has passed halfway, press the macro repeatedly. Each press holds the off hand back while the main hand continues forward. Keep pressing until the off hand snaps into the correct follow position behind the main hand. Stop pressing immediately once it lines up correctly and let your swings continue.
Off hand is hitting first
If the off hand is landing before the main hand, wait for the main hand to pass the halfway point of its swing. Press the macro once. This single press is usually enough to flip priority. Do not keep pressing unless you are still behind.
Both hands hit at the same time
If both hands land together, you are synced but not staggered. Watch the main hand swing. When the main hand just passes the halfway point, press the macro one time. This creates a small main hand lead. Do not press again.
Accuracy matters more than speed. You are not trying to press fast, you are trying to press at the correct moment. One clean correction is always better than repeatedly fighting your swing timers.
Setting up sync and stagger before combat
The goal is to enter the pull already in the target state. Main hand hits first, and the off hand follows inside the 0.5 second window. Pre pull setup is not a separate mechanic. It is simply using the same resync timing you already use in combat, but doing it on the first swing cycle.
You can enable auto attack while you are still outside melee range. You will not swing until you step into range. Once you are in range, both swing bars begin moving. If you do nothing, they usually start very close together. A single, deliberate resync tap can create a small main hand lead before the first hits land.
Arm auto attack out of range
Target the boss and stand just outside melee range. Turn on auto attack before you step in. This makes your first swing happen immediately when you connect, with no extra clicking on pull.
Step into range and watch the first swing cycle
As you enter melee range, your swing timers begin. Do not press anything yet. Let the bars move so you can see whether you are already in a good starting state.
If you want guaranteed main hand lead, do one clean tap
On that first cycle, wait until your main hand just passes midpoint, then tap the resync macro one time. This is the same timing your trainer teaches, and it uses the same mechanism described in your macro section.
Confirm, then leave it alone
After the first main hand hit, you want the off hand to follow shortly after and stay inside the 0.5 second window. If it looks good, do nothing. The fastest way to lose value is to keep forcing delays when you do not need them.
Notes: if your weapons are different speeds, they will drift over time. Pre pull setup still helps, but do not turn it into a ritual. Get to a reasonable starting state, then focus on the fight.
Sync and Stagger Trainer
This is a timing trainer, not a DPS sim. Use it to practice a clean correction. You want the off hand to land after main hand while staying inside 0.5 seconds.
Show the macro concept this button represents
This is a timing trainer, not a DPS sim. Use it to practice a clean correction. Your target is main hand first, off hand within 0.0 to 0.5 seconds.
#showtooltip
/stopattack
/startattack