Some noob balance questions

[Deleted]

Been 100 for about 4 days now and i have some questions to experienced balance druids.

1. During CA, if im in lunar which i would want to use it in? Because of lunar empowerment. When i apply moonfire to a target, does it spread to the other targets like if i was in solar?

2. Does starfall do more damage in lunar than in solar?

3. Do i ever cast starsurge during any other occasion than when im transitioning into a different balance state? (Exception for during CA when im bursting with lunar empowerment) If i cast a starsurge when i lost my first empowerment stack in the middle of a eclipse i sometimes still have stacks of the last empowerement in the new balance state.

4. If AoE is coming up and im in lunar, do i want to tab moonfire ALL the targets? I feel like if there is enough targets i spend the whole lunar state to apply moonfire to stuff, is this ok?

5. Ive seen alot of different version on opening rotations. I usually pop incarnation 2s or so before the pull, drink pot and starsurge. Then use CA, dot and start casting starfires.

[Alame]

1. Use CA in Lunar. Sunfire will still spread Moonfire will not - Moonfire will apply Sunfire & spread sunfire during CA.

2. Yes.

3. Yes, if you need to charge dump.

4. Depends on how long the adds live - if it's not at least 20s they're probably not worth the GCD to dot.

5. Your opener is the same one I use.

[Deleted]

1. Moonfire never cleaves like sunfire, CA just makes your moonfire do both moonfire and sunfire will cleave.

2. Yes it does, you can get a glyph to switch and it will do more damage in solar.

3. You cast Starsurge every second starfire and every third wrath, i try to use it mostly in Lunar eclipse as Starfire does more damage (or so ive heard). You should also try to avoid ever getting 3 stacks of starsurge as its a loss of DPS, try to keep it between 1-2.

4. Depends on how long these mobs survive, if they will die within 5-10 seconds then i will say no, if they will live for 30-40 seconds then yes, i havent done the math for this however so dont take my word for it.

5. Dont know what your question is but i personally do Inc at 4s, wrath+Pot right after, CA+Starsurge right after and then moonfire at pull. Your Inc would run out about 2-3 seconds before yours but Inc runs out in wrath anyway, with my opener i get in 4x attacks on the pull which highly increases the chance for pre-combat trinket procs. I have not seen a DPS increase from this because its hard to tell, Openers can vary from 90k DPS to 180k, depending on shit load of procs that may or may not come during the opener.

[Deleted]

1. Use CA in Lunar. Sunfire will still spread Moonfire will not - Moonfire will apply Sunfire & spread sunfire during CA.

2. Yes.

3. Yes, if you need to charge dump.

4. Depends on how long the adds live - if it's not at least 20s they're probably not worth the GCD to dot.

5. Your opener is the same one I use.

Thanks, short and simple. I have some more questions then im done chattering.

1. What is the ideal balance state for AoE? My guess would be lunar since starfall is most of the damage and its increased (as you said) in lunar. However, tabbing and manually dotting stuff compared to oneclick spread everything in solar but less damage on starfall.

At second glance its a really situational question i think, if you've already been in solar when the adds have been up and they are already dotted solar is stronger. And if adds are coming up for the first time, you would want to be in solar? (to dot shit faster)


2. Do i ever use Astral Communion? The only times i use it is to reset my balance bar before a bosspull if there was trash before and im going to solar for example.


3. How many targets should there be for me to be spending charges on starfall instead of starsurge?

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3. You cast Starsurge every second starfire and every third wrath, i try to use it mostly in Lunar eclipse as Starfire does more damage (or so ive heard). You should also try to avoid ever getting 3 stacks of starsurge as its a loss of DPS, try to keep it between 1-2.

So me having empowerment stacks still left and leaving that state is no big deal? I always feel like i have to clean that up before i can starsurge again and get the new empowerment. But i guess the empowerment last a good 30s so i will still have the old empowerment going back into lunar for example.

[Alame]

Thanks, short and simple. I have some more questions then im done chattering.

1. What is the ideal balance state for AoE? My guess would be lunar since starfall is most of the damage and its increased (as you said) in lunar. However, tabbing and manually dotting stuff compared to oneclick spread everything in solar but less damage on starfall.

At second glance its a really situational question i think, if you've already been in solar when the adds have been up and they are already dotted solar is stronger. And if adds are coming up for the first time, you would want to be in solar? (to dot shit faster)


2. Do i ever use Astral Communion? The only times i use it is to reset my balance bar before a bosspull if there was trash before and im going to solar for example.


3. How many targets should there be for me to be spending charges on starfall instead of starsurge?


So me having empowerment stacks still left and leaving that state is no big deal? I always feel like i have to clean that up before i can starsurge again and get the new empowerment. But i guess the empowerment last a good 30s so i will still have the old empowerment going back into lunar for example.

1. Ideally you will be just about to leave solar when adds spawn - you apply sunfire to them all (1 GCD) get Starfall rolling, then spend Lunar eclipse tab-dotting the adds (assuming they live 20s+, if not don't bother with moonfire, just sink starfires into them.) Balance AoE is tricky because our DoT AoE is better in Solar but our general AoE is better in Lunar. Honestly they're virtually the same at the end of the day. You have sunfire/wrath damage in solar compared to moonfire/starfall damage in lunar.

2. I've literally used Astral Communion once in a progression situation - on Iron Maidens. Going up on the boat I would always be in Solar and I wanted to be in Lunar before I popped my CDs. The slight downtime between arriving on the boat & pulling the miniboss I would use AC to cycle to Lunar before popping CA. Otherwise I don't touch AC at all - the benefit from cycling your eclipse doesn't outweigh the DPS loss of channeling it.

3. 2 or more targets should prioritize Starfall over Starsurge. The two are virtually identical in Solar but Starfall is the clear winner in Lunar. You would probably benefit from reading this (http://www.restokin.com/2015/02/math...-trigonometry/) it's a little outdated but the general point is still accurate and I think following the math will help your understanding.

4. Carrying empowerment stacks through eclipse is no big deal. Any lunar empowerment you still have leaving lunar will still be there when you complete solar and re-enter lunar. It's not optimal as doing this forces you to consume empowerment at low-eclipse state instead of peak-eclipse state, but when you're charge dumping or have to move or whatever interrupts your rotation and prevents you from consuming them, it's better than overwriting. Another Restokin post of mine I think you'd benefit from reading (http://www.restokin.com/2015/01/star...things-anyway/) covers recharge & usage of starsurge.