Correct:
- If you're already enraged you can BC+RB, then continue the priority.
- If you're not enraged, you can BC+Rampage instead.
Ultimately, this is fairly minor difference, it's not going to make or break your DPS, but using RB first is better on average, as it increases the chance of fitting an extra RB in on the back end, especially for players who aren't keenly aware of where their haste is (ie: at certain amounts of haste, it really doesn't matter which you do, since you'll fit that RB anyway, but many people don't look for this number, and prioritizing correctly means they don't have to).
Rampage has a 1.5s GCD but it takes about 1.7s to deal all five hits. Using Rampage right before BC has three benefits -You mention pushing the last two hits of Rampage into Battle Cry. Are you suggesting that we would be casting BC during the middle of Rampage, or that we would simply be clipping the rampage swing with BC+RB?
I hope my questions make sense. Thanks.
- It allows you to convert rage which would be wasted anyway into free damage, Rampage being the second strongest attack above 20%, just behind RB.
- It pushes the last two hits of Rampage into BC, making them auto-crit for even more free damage.
Here's a visual example:
Rampage starts at 2:33.280, with the second Rampage starting at 2:34.804, for a total of 7 Rampage crits inside Battle Cry. Remember that Rampage's damage ramps up with each hit, with the last two hits being the strongest as well.
- With the T20 4p, it eats time between RB casts without using BT, allowing for a bigger BT buff inside BC, by doing something like -
RB - FS - RP - BC+RB - RP - OF - RB - BT
Which is a three stack (+150%) damage increase on that Bloodthirst during BC. Note: Yes, this delays BT and reduces the chance to proc the 2p, Raging Thirst, but given that it's only a 50% chance on crit, chasing the guaranteed damage bonus averages better due to higher guaranteed damage of abilities themselves and the guaranteed 4p bonus.
Only if it happens naturally though - that's the caveat: you shouldn't delay your rotation to make this happen. If you're at 40 rage when BC comes off CD, it's typically better to simply use BC, unless you want to hold it for some other reason anyway. With how short the CD is, even small delays can end up costing overall uses of BC during an encounter.