when does aff go back to beating destro

[Shodan30]

At about what ilvl does affliction become the superior spec? I switched to destro after the sacrifice nerf, and while i dont think im a slouch using the spec, i went from top dps to the last dps, Sure, i play what i like, not whats best, and i like both specs, but the difference between T14 and T15 simcrafts is pretty wide with not much in the middle discussed.

[ZakAtack]

As far as I know, there's not some magical ilvl number at which Aff suddenly shoots out over Destro. If you're that concerned, your best bet is probably to sim your character in both specs every time you upgrade your gear and compare the relative theoretical DPS. There are problems with the sims and it's all theoretical and some specs are better for certain encounters than others. But that's the best I think you can do.

[Fullmetal89]

I don't think the nerf is that big that you can't play affliction anymore. If you really like the spec over destro then you should play affliction. Personally I'm happy with the changes to GoS, Warlock has always been a pet class otherwise we would be identical to Mages. I love destro and demo so I'm happy with our current place; I would really like to see demo be a little more competitive. It was my favorite spec in Cata, and its the most interactive Warlock spec imo.

[Baconeggcheese]

In all honesty all 3 specs are perfectly viable this tier.

What's going to make 1 spec better than another is really the strategy / raid comp you're going with. What job you're doing based on the strat / comp on a given fight will dictate what's going to be better than another spec.

The bigger reason you're probably seeing a dps loss in aff was if you continued to run gosac instead of sup or service. If you're running sac in destr you're going to see a massive dps loss as they over-nerfed it for that spec. This tier definitely isn't about sacrifice until so late in the tier it doesn't even matter anymore.

Though I've been running destro to great effect this tier, there's a guy in my raid who absolutely hates destro and runs aff on most fights while occasionally running demo who does just as good if not better than me. Likewise there's a guy who ONLY runs demo who does great as well.

You can really use any spec this tier and do well if you're good at the spec.

[Deleted]

I know sims aren't everything, but as destro I still sim out at around 7k dps higher than demo/afflic, at 511 ilvl.

I'm hoping once I acquire the Legendary Meta Gem plus a second RPPM trinket that affliction will start to catch up and I can give destro a break for a little while.

I've heard around 520/525 that people start to find a haste heavy affliction build starts to hold its own against destro.

[Leyl]

In essence yes, the 520-525 iLvl ranges are when the spec starts to pull ahead of Destro. Why? Haste. When you are at or about 9778 Haste your dots gain another tick. I'm sitting in this odd spot at 515 iLvl where if I could squeeze a bit more haste out of my gear I'd try the spec out again, but can't. Reforges aren't enough and the gems don't add enough either without it becoming a wash.

[Ezzyo]

UVoLS + Meta is the correct answer

[Shodan30]

UvoLS ?

Sorry what is that?

[marcceballos]

UvoLS ?

Sorry what is that?

Unerring vision of Lei shen

[kaamila]

1-2 new rppm trinket + meta gem = haste stack then it becomes better i think

[Leyl]

UVOLS is weak like Ukraine. Wushoolay + Hydra = strong like bull.

[Aianos]

UVOLS is weak like Ukraine. Wushoolay + Hydra = strong like bull.

That was actually hysterical

[Deleted]

UVoLS + Meta is the correct answer

That trinket is so overrated. I would use wush over it anyday if i wasnt so much over hit cap.

[Mazda]

The bigger reason you're probably seeing a dps loss in aff was if you continued to run gosac instead of sup or service. If you're running sac in destr you're going to see a massive dps loss as they over-nerfed it for that spec. This tier definitely isn't about sacrifice until so late in the tier it doesn't even matter anymore.

I run destro GoSac on 9/12 fights in ToT and got sub 20 parses for each of them. GoSup is in fact inferior to GoSac unless the fight is PURE single target with absolutely no possibility of cleaving.

[Deleted]

I run destro GoSac on 9/12 fights in ToT and got sub 20 parses for each of them. GoSup is in fact inferior to GoSac unless the fight is PURE single target with absolutely no possibility of cleaving.

He was talking abou affliction gosac, not destruction.

[Jamzz]

He was talking abou affliction gosac, not destruction.

Actually, if you read his whole post you would have seen him say that "if you're running sac in destr you're going to see a massive dps loss". So Mazda's reply was quite relevant.

[Malvanis]

Affliction should start coming out ahead of destro on single target with 4pc T15 and 2 RPPM trinkets (hydra/leishen/wush). Those are really the only trinkets you want with Lei Shen being almost mandatory due to the ridiculous scaling with Aff and 3 dots. Aquiring the meta gem would push this equality heavily in favor of Affliction due to its insane haste scaling.

In response to people saying Lei Shen trinket is overated, it sims aproximately 5k higher than any other combination of trinkets available. Wush trinket is not as good as some might thing due to the fact that you can apply dots with hydra at 7.3k sp as it procs and once again as it is about to fade while Wush will gain double the benefit on the last 2 seconds where you would reapply dots. This effectively makes them even in terms of DPS for single target. For demo however, Wush would come out stronger due to Doom having such a long duration. Optimally you would want to go for Unerring Vision + Hydra/Wush trinket. Whichever you are most comfortable with using, keeping in mind that N Lei Shen is a stronger option than either H Wush or H Hydra assuming you use it correctly.

[Deleted]

Actually, if you read his whole post you would have seen him say that "if you're running sac in destr you're going to see a massive dps loss". So Mazda's reply was quite relevant.

Ouch. Somehow i ignored the destro part there. Appologies then

[Werst]

Getting 4xT15 is when sac starts passing sup for affliction. Once you have your legendary meta aff will likely pass destro. The lei shen trinket is good for aff but amazing for demo. Hydra+Wush is a better combo if all you care about is aff. Its actually not bad for destro either since destro has a hard time getting big useage from the lei shen 4 sec crit window.

[Count Zero]

It's killing me how hard it is to come by all the haste I want. #middleofthepackguildproblems

Actually, your "average" raid guild is around 4 bosses into normal ToT (according to wowprogress) ... we're about in the top third at 7 bosses in.

And I have to have one pure haste gem and haste to gloves just to make my 6637 breakpoint right now. I've simmed my lower-ilvl / higher-haste pieces and the ilvl trumps the haste, but ... I dunno. DPS is certainly higher than immediately after the patch went live with the nerfs, but, damn ... seeing you folks talk about breakpoints in the 9ks and, what, 13ks ?

I'm thinking of starting a "middle of the pack" raid guild blog.