Complete guide: analysing a WoW combat log (Classic to BFA)

Want to know why your raid wipes, who has the highest DPS or who forgets their flask? The WoW combat log holds all the answers. Here's how to enable it, analyse it and improve — for free.

What is a WoW combat log?

The WoW combat log is a text file that your WoW client generates during raids. It records every combat event: damage, healing, spells, deaths, buffs/debuffs, mechanics. It's the raw material for understanding what happened during a pull.

On private servers (Warmane, Sirus, Atlantiss, Firestorm, Turtle WoW…) just as on retail, the combat log format is identical. A single line looks like this:

5/15 22:14:32.567  SPELL_DAMAGE,Player-1-0001,"Salmoche",0x511,Creature-0-1234,"The Lich King",0x10a48,49184,"Heart Strike",0x1,9876,0,1,nil,nil,nil,nil,nil,1,nil,nil,nil

How do you enable the WoW combat log?

Quick method: in-game command

Simply type this in chat before you pull:

/combatlog

WoW writes the combat log to WoWCombatLog.txt in your Logs/ folder (typically World of Warcraft/Logs/). Type /combatlog again to stop it (the file stays, it just won't be updated any further).

Automatic method: the Skald addon

The Skald WoW addon enables the combat log automatically as soon as you enter a 10 or 25 raid, and turns it off when you leave. Bonus: it shows a post-raid popup with a kills/wipes summary and the URL to upload your log to Skaldlogs.

Download the Skald addon (compatible with WotLK 3.3.5, with other expansions in progress).

Where can you analyse your WoW combat log for free?

Several options exist. Here's the 2026 landscape:

• Skaldlogs — free, no account required, can be anonymous. Compatible Classic → BFA, multi private server. Ideal for guilds.
• Warcraft Logs (WCL) — the global benchmark, but paid for advanced features, English only, more retail-focused.
• WoWAnalyzer — free but limited to modern retail (post-Legion), no private servers.

What should you look at in your combat log?

1. DPS / HPS per player

The most-watched metric: how much each player puts out in damage per second (DPS) or healing per second (HPS). Skald gives you the effective DPS per boss, excluding AFK time and inactive phases.

2. Food / flask / elixir compliance

A raider who pulls without flask or food is at -5% to -10% stats. The log lets you check who was properly prepared. Skald shows compliance pull-by-pull with a 4-level colour code.

3. Death recap: why the player died

The 10 seconds before death: who hit for how much, how much heal was received, which defensive CDs were used. Skald reconstructs this context automatically.

4. Boss mechanics (KICK, SPREAD, MOVE)

Who missed the kick on Festergut? Who took Coldflame from Marrowgar? The log records every hit missed or landed. Skald categorises mechanics by boss with clear labels.

5. Prepull: food, flask, raid CDs, potions

The 60 seconds before the pull: who ate, who flasked, who popped their pre-pot. A measure of how serious the guild is.

How long does it take?

A combat log from a raid night (3h, 25 players, a full ICC) is typically 50 to 200 MB. The Skald converter parses it in 30s-2min depending on size. The upload then takes 5-10s. You have your complete analysis in under 3 minutes.

Public vs private logs

On Skaldlogs you choose:

• Public: your log is visible to everyone, indexed on the tops/guilds. Ideal for sharing with your community.
• Private: only you and the people you give the link to can see the log. Ideal for internal guild analysis.

Step-by-step tutorial

1. Launch WoW and type /combatlog in chat before you pull (or install the Skald addon, which does it automatically).
2. Raid as normal. The WoWCombatLog.txt file fills up.
3. At the end of the raid, close WoW. Go to /upload on Skaldlogs.
4. Drag and drop your WoWCombatLog.txt straight into the upload area. Parsing runs in your browser via a Web Worker (nothing is sent to the server until you confirm).
5. Choose your server and guild, optionally mark the log private, and confirm.
6. You get your complete analysis. Share the URL with your raiders.

FAQ

Does the WoW combat log work on Warmane / Sirus / Atlantiss?

Yes. The combat log format is the same as on retail Blizzard. Skald supports all WotLK 3.3.5 private servers (Warmane Icecrown, Lordaeron, Frostmourne, Blackrock, Sirus, Onyxia, Angrathar, Ashamane, ChromieCraft, Whitemane), TBC (Atlantiss Karazhan, Stormforge), Classic (Turtle WoW Nordanaar), Cata (Firestorm), MoP (Tauri Evermoon), etc.

My log is 500 MB, is that too big?

Skald currently caps at 25 MB of JSON payload after parsing (= roughly 200-300 MB of raw combat log). If your log exceeds this, split the raid nights or get in touch.

I want to delete my log after uploading

If you're logged in, you can delete your logs from /me. If you uploaded anonymously, contact us at contact@skaldlogs.com.

Taking it further

Once you have a few logs uploaded, take a look at:

• /top — top kills on each boss across all servers
• /stats — DPS distribution by class/spec (5%/10%/25%/50% percentiles)
• /guilds — directory of guilds by server with progression
• /characters — indexed characters with aggregated stats

Happy raiding!