Is Sudden Death still a viable talent? (6.1 Execute nerf)

[Alexanderjac]

I realize there is already a thread up discussing the effects of the Execute nerf, but a clear cut answer would be really useful for Warriors.

For both Fury and Arms, is it still worth taking Sudden Death all the time, or has the recent nerf caused the other talents to become better?

[Darkfriend]

yes

/10char

[Alexanderjac]

So for Fury, should I be using Furious Strikes instead?

[Darkfriend]

So for Fury, should I be using Furious Strikes instead?

Yes, SD is still a viable talent. I'd never use FS personally.

[psukardi]

People seem to be going back and forth on this one, partly due to preference. I've swapped back and forth and honestly like SD a bit more because I don't feel like I'm spamming as much.

[smo0thie]

i just like to change up sometimes, but i feel SD is better at this point, even tho execute got nerfed.

[Deleted]

Let's not forget - it's more fun to execute every now and then, rather than just hitting wild strike like, all the time

[Partyhats]

For fury, I feel like in my current gear (687 with 4pc), I come close to rage-capping quite often, and Furious Strikes only serves to make it more common, so I still run SD.

For Arms....well, I'm not sure if it still is, but last night SD was bugged and doing full damage executes for free as long as you had 40 rage. 400k executes in my opener were pretty awesome.

[Alphabrain]

I think if you go Fury and take Furious Strikes, you probably would need to go Avatar/Scabbard combo so you can time your dps.

[Archimtiros]

FS is absolutely ST only, Sudden Death is better for any amount of multi-target. Still even for single target, the difference is very minor and FS is harder to play. It takes more GCDs, requires more rage management and has issues with higher levels of Haste/2p. It negatively interacts with Haste and Crit and just a poor talent all around, as we've been saying since Beta.

[Laila]

It's close enough that SD should probably generally be preferred purely on the fact that it allows for less attention to be paid to your rotation.

Perfectly executed FS should outperform it by just the tiniest bit, though.

[Archimtiros]

It's close enough that SD should probably generally be preferred purely on the fact that it allows for less attention to be paid to your rotation.

Perfectly executed FS should outperform it by just the tiniest bit, though.

It's not just about attention, its about incurring less problems. With FS you will almost always use 2 WS where you would use 1 before which tightens your rotation, forces you to make more hard choices, like when to push back BT and when not to. It takes more GCDs which interacts negatively with procs, 2p, higher crit, and higher haste. It's also more opportunity to mess up and more sensitive to lag.

[Ssateneth]

Quick info
Protection Execute 6.0.3 Live: 704% weapon damage (320% * 2x * 1.1x hotfix)
Protection Execute 6.1 PTR: 620% weapon damage (310% * 2x)
Protection Execute 6.1 Live: 700% weapon damage

Arms Execute 6.0.3 Live: 165% weapon damage + 16.5% per rage point up to a maximum of 660% weapon damage
Arms Execute 6.1.0 PTR: 150% weapon damage + 15.0% per rage point up to a maximum of 600% weapon damage
Arms Execute 6.1.0 Live: 135% weapon damage + 13.5% per rage point up to a maximum of 540% weapon damage
(Mastery was not buffed or nerfed during these tests)

Fury Execute in 6.0.3 Live: 352% weapon damage (320% * 1.1x hotfix)
Fury Execute in 6.1.0 Live: 350% weapon damage

____________________________


For what its worth, 6.0.3, protection spec execute was hitting for 704% weapon damage (320% baseline * 2x hidden protection aura * 1.1x hotfix that was only supposed to apply to fury). Last week on PTR it was hitting for 620% weapon damage (310% baseline * 2x hidden protection aura). On live, it's hitting for 700% weapon damage.

I don't play fury but it would be nice if someone could check if execute is doing something weird.

edit: Arms execute seems to be 135% weapon damage plus 13.5% per rage point up to 540% weapon damage (modified by mastery of course)

edit2: I quickly respeced to fury and got some numbers. Fury's execute is DEFINATELY 350% weapon damage baseline, modified by empowered execute passive of course and other passives.

TL;DR

Arms execute got nerfed by 18.18% between 6.0.3 live and 6.1.0 live
Protection execute got nerfed by 0.57% between 6.0.3 live and 6.1.0 live
Fury execute got nerfed by 0.57% between 6.0.3 live and 6.1.0 live

I personally tested the numbers ingame and accounted for everything. Normalized weapon damage, arms mastery, seasoned soldier, versatility, boss armor, you name it.