11-29-2007, 06:05 PM
Elitist Jerks has a good thread containing a lot of game mechanics and theorycrafting data. However, there are some holes I'm looking to fill with knowledge of some experts of WoW mechanics, particularly in mind to PvP (that thread is more about PvE than PvP).
1) When picking out enchants and gems for my Season 3 arena gear, I was looking to get some spellhit. In short, having a mana burn or psychic scream get resisted is devastating to a Priest, especially that fear due to the cooldown leaving you so exposed.
As a result, I did what quite a few high-end healing arena Priests do: put spellhit enchants on my gloves and head items. Along with a Great Dawnstone, I have 15+14+8=37 spellhit, or +2.93% hit, while staying over the resilience cap of 493 (501, to be precise).
Now, I know that all spellcasters have a 1% chance to "miss" with a spell, no matter what. What I keep seeing conflicting data about is how much spellhit is needed against other players - either 3% or 4%, to hit the 99% cap. And yes, I realize that's assuming no resistances. Would another 1.07% spellhit be beneficial for me to get? I can add 8 more spellhit via another Great Dawnstone and sacrifice 8 resilience to bring me to about 3.56% spellhit and 493 resilience, but only if it's worth doing so (remember how critical resilience is to a Priest).
2) This ties into the next question: resistances. Let's say my target has 50 resistance to shadow and I'm attacking with a mana burn. Would additional spellhit affect my odds of striking, or would only spell penetration then help to mitigate that 50 resistance? Again, I have a hard time finding solid data on this because spell penetration isn't useful in PvE.
Let's say both spellhit and spell penetration would boost my odds of hit against that 50 shadow resistance target. If so, which is more valuable? Is, say, 8 spellhit rating worth as much as 20 spell penetration? I have a feeling the answer may be "depends on how much resistance the target has."
3) Armor. Priests are starved for armor, especially when their greatest weakness is melee opponents. 35,880 AC is required to reach 75% mitigation against a raid boss (level 73). What's the formula for armor's value in PvP?
I ask because I'm comparing the value of the 120 armor enchant to cloak vs the +20 spell penetration enchant to cloak. With armor penetration now featured in Season 3 gear for melee opponents, they are even more able to mitigate what little armor I have (~2400 without Inner Fire, which is often purged or runs out). So I'm trying to figure out the value of 120 armor considering a few factors:
- if I'm Pain Suppressed, reducing all damage by 40%, is the armor reduction counted against the Pain Suppressed damage or the original damage? Taking a 1000 damage hit that is turned into 600 damage by Pain Suppression and then reduced by armor to 480 (20% off 600) means armor reduced the damage by 120. Taking a 1000 damage hit that is turned into 600 damage by Pain Suppression but also reduced by armor to 400 (20% of 1000) is a big difference in the grand scheme of things - a reduction of 200. Armor is more valuable in the latter scenario.
- Likewise with Focused Will, the new Priest discipline talent that can reduce all damage taken by 15%. Where does armor factor in?
In short, is it more beneficial to take an enchant that provides use whenever I'm under melee or Hunter attack consistently, over an enchant that may increase the odds of getting off a fear or mana burn but may also be of no use when fighting against those with no resistance? How much of a difference does 20 spell penetration make, and how much of a difference does 120 armor make, statistically? And what about armor penetration that my opponents will have plenty of within a month or two?
-Bolty
1) When picking out enchants and gems for my Season 3 arena gear, I was looking to get some spellhit. In short, having a mana burn or psychic scream get resisted is devastating to a Priest, especially that fear due to the cooldown leaving you so exposed.
As a result, I did what quite a few high-end healing arena Priests do: put spellhit enchants on my gloves and head items. Along with a Great Dawnstone, I have 15+14+8=37 spellhit, or +2.93% hit, while staying over the resilience cap of 493 (501, to be precise).
Now, I know that all spellcasters have a 1% chance to "miss" with a spell, no matter what. What I keep seeing conflicting data about is how much spellhit is needed against other players - either 3% or 4%, to hit the 99% cap. And yes, I realize that's assuming no resistances. Would another 1.07% spellhit be beneficial for me to get? I can add 8 more spellhit via another Great Dawnstone and sacrifice 8 resilience to bring me to about 3.56% spellhit and 493 resilience, but only if it's worth doing so (remember how critical resilience is to a Priest).
2) This ties into the next question: resistances. Let's say my target has 50 resistance to shadow and I'm attacking with a mana burn. Would additional spellhit affect my odds of striking, or would only spell penetration then help to mitigate that 50 resistance? Again, I have a hard time finding solid data on this because spell penetration isn't useful in PvE.
Let's say both spellhit and spell penetration would boost my odds of hit against that 50 shadow resistance target. If so, which is more valuable? Is, say, 8 spellhit rating worth as much as 20 spell penetration? I have a feeling the answer may be "depends on how much resistance the target has."
3) Armor. Priests are starved for armor, especially when their greatest weakness is melee opponents. 35,880 AC is required to reach 75% mitigation against a raid boss (level 73). What's the formula for armor's value in PvP?
I ask because I'm comparing the value of the 120 armor enchant to cloak vs the +20 spell penetration enchant to cloak. With armor penetration now featured in Season 3 gear for melee opponents, they are even more able to mitigate what little armor I have (~2400 without Inner Fire, which is often purged or runs out). So I'm trying to figure out the value of 120 armor considering a few factors:
- if I'm Pain Suppressed, reducing all damage by 40%, is the armor reduction counted against the Pain Suppressed damage or the original damage? Taking a 1000 damage hit that is turned into 600 damage by Pain Suppression and then reduced by armor to 480 (20% off 600) means armor reduced the damage by 120. Taking a 1000 damage hit that is turned into 600 damage by Pain Suppression but also reduced by armor to 400 (20% of 1000) is a big difference in the grand scheme of things - a reduction of 200. Armor is more valuable in the latter scenario.
- Likewise with Focused Will, the new Priest discipline talent that can reduce all damage taken by 15%. Where does armor factor in?
In short, is it more beneficial to take an enchant that provides use whenever I'm under melee or Hunter attack consistently, over an enchant that may increase the odds of getting off a fear or mana burn but may also be of no use when fighting against those with no resistance? How much of a difference does 20 spell penetration make, and how much of a difference does 120 armor make, statistically? And what about armor penetration that my opponents will have plenty of within a month or two?
-Bolty
Quote:Considering the mods here are generally liberals who seem to have a soft spot for fascism and white supremacy (despite them saying otherwise), me being perma-banned at some point is probably not out of the question.