As we are almost all aware, Stellar Flare is a very lackluster talent. It has 'meh' damage. The mechanics of the spell are that of your generic damage-over-time spell from Vanilla. And it has some gameplay issues.
Going right to the heart of the matter, I've always liked Stellar Flare as a way to spice up Moonkin spellcasting. Here's a suggestion that needs scrutiny. I want to give Stellar Flare some serious incentives without making it mandatory, as it was during WOD Beta. I hope this suggestion would provide players of all skill-levels and gameplay another viable option (PVE, PVP :: raids, instances, arenas, rbgs, etc).
Stellar Flare: A powerful spell which benefits from both Lunar and Solar Eclipses, dealing the most damage when they are balanced. Burns the target for (39% of Spell power) Spellstorm damage, and then an additional (156% of Spell power) damage over 24 sec. Applies Moonfire or Sunfire to the target.
While in Lunar Eclipse, applies Moonfire.
While in Solar Eclipse, applies Sunfire.
Finer details:
- Moonfire and Sunfire applied this way benefit from Astral Showers (Moonfire becomes a 40sec DOT | Sunfire has 5-yard spread)
- Stellar Flare does not benefit from Astral Showers.
- Celestial Alignment would apply both Moonfire and Sunfire
- Direct damage from Moonfire and Sunfire do not occur. (Stellar Flare deals initial damage as normal.)
What does this simple change do compared to the current iteration?
1. Decreases our time spent casting DOTs in Multi-Target scenarios.
2. Flexible usage depending on Eclipse energy/playstyle.
3. Reduces complexity of juggling DOTs at a "robot" level.
1.) Decreasing our time spent chaining Stellar Flares and Moonfires is an automatic DPS gain. We're gaining damage from two sources: More hardcasts, and more DOT ticks. We spend fewer time spamming Stellar Flare or Moonfire/Sunfire, and a small amount of damage gained through higher time spent casting Starfire or Wrath. We gain more DOT ticks sooner, but it doesn't really impact Single-Target DPS too much. This causes us to benefit from our 2pc and 4pc more as well, which is never a bad thing.
2.) This serves as a fairly important way to open up this talent to PVP. I don't know anyone who actually uses Stellar Flare. Applying Moonfire or Sunfire allows for more spread pressure in significantly less time. You're able to use Stellar Flare as a way to counteract dispels, or "needs to die" adds. This change is meant to bridge the gap between Balance of Power's increased AOE output against the burst of Euphoria. Stellar Flare does not fill a niche role, but it will be able to provide a reward for clever/proper usage (it currently does not provide any gain over other talents in any situation).
3.) Stellar Flare is simple to use. Just keep it rolling. You simply want to keep all your DOTs rolling. The only change is that you will prefer to refresh Moonfire or Sunfire while Stellar Flare's duration is low on the target. The idea is to get more hardcasting after all!
Collision had taken the time to implement this suggestion. You may download this tool below.
Direct Link to file from SimulationCraft.org. I know it's an *.exe, but I promise it's not laced with malware. I won't DDOS you.
http://downloads.simulationcraft.org...3-27-win32.exe (>>View Source Page<<)
In order to set the simulation to recognize this alternate version of Stellar Flare, use the following line:
Code:
alternate_stellar_flare=1
Example:
Code:
talents=0101002
spec=balance
alternate_stellar_flare=1
.
.
By the numbers:
Give it a test. It's fairly simple to imagine how you might play with this new Stellar Flare. Action list really won't need much change, if any. The goal is not to increase Single-target damage by more than 4% over the current Stellar Flare. The goal is meant to make Stellar Flare better than Euphoria and BOP on encounters with 2, 3, or 4 sustained targets. Be sure to play with "Fight Style" in the Options tab.
Code:
actions.aoe=celestial_alignment,if=lunar_max<8|target.time_to_die<20
actions.aoe+=/incarnation,if=buff.celestial_alignment.up
actions.aoe+=/sunfire,cycle_targets=1,if=remains<8
actions.aoe+=/starfall,if=!buff.starfall.up&active_enemies>2
actions.aoe+=/starsurge,if=(charges=2&recharge_time<6)|charges=3
actions.aoe+=/moonfire,cycle_targets=1,if=remains<12
actions.aoe+=/stellar_flare,cycle_targets=1,if=remains<7
actions.aoe+=/starsurge,if=buff.lunar_empowerment.down&eclipse_energy>20&active_enemies=2
actions.aoe+=/starsurge,if=buff.solar_empowerment.down&eclipse_energy<-40&active_enemies=2
actions.aoe+=/wrath,if=(eclipse_energy<=0&eclipse_change>cast_time)|(eclipse_energy>0&cast_time>eclipse_change)
actions.aoe+=/starfire,if=(eclipse_energy>=0&eclipse_change>cast_time)|(eclipse_energy<0&cast_time>eclipse_change)
.
Using the T17M profile: Patchwerk. Set Bonuses enabled. 600sec test (10min)
Number of targets : Raw DPS gain over 'current' iteration of Stellar Flare (value of new Stellar Flare) (% gained)
1 : 870 (41880) (2.01%)
2 : 1150 (51150) (2.25%)
3 : 1425 (69900) (2.03%)
4 : 2300 (84070) (2.74%)
5 : 3050 (98300) (3.10%)
7 : 3820 (126953) (3.00%)
10 : 5550 (165837) (3.35%)
Fun fact, it keeps up pretty well with BOP at 5 targets.
HecticAddCleave this time:
Raid Event List
0 adds,count=5,first=30,cooldown=45,duration=30,last=450
1 movement,first=30,cooldown=45,distance=25,last=450
2 movement,players_only=1,first=18,cooldown=24,distance=8
.
4 targets: 2700 (105519) (2.56%)
(only did this one so far)
I don't know how to export multiple results, so I'm just copy/pasting results.
Thank you for your time.