How to maintain Mok'Nathal Tactics stacks effectively?

[OcciferGlass]

Assuming I have chosen the following talents for my rotation: Way of the Mok'Nathal, Snake Hunter, Improved Traps, Dragonsfire Grenade & Expert Trapper.

I understand maintaining 4 stacks of Mok'Nathal Tactics is vital to the rotation. However, I just have a few questions and concerns in regards how to do it effectively:

1) Do I start my opening sequence by immediately spamming 4 Raptor Strikes so the rest of my rotation can immediately benefit from the buff? Or does Explosive Trap or any other ability take priority in my opener?

2) After my opener should I only use Raptor Strike to refresh the buff and save the focus for Flanking Strike? Or I should have enough in my focus pool to weave in extra Raptor Strikes and Flanking Strikes.

3) Does refreshing the buff take priority over anything in the rotation - such as Mongoose Bite with multiple stacks of Mongoose Fury active?

Any input or clarity would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

[Cephalonyx]

Honestly, it's way too much of a pain to keep it up. Just take throwing axes.

[OcciferGlass]

Honestly, it's way too much of a pain to keep it up. Just take throwing axes.

I'm not too concerned with complexity but rather effective implementation/results.

From what I understand, Way of the Mok'Nathal and Throwing Axes are neck and neck in single target while Way of the Mok'Nathal pulling ahead in AoE scenarios. If this pattern follows through at 110, it's important for me to fully utilize Way of the Mok'Nathal correctly.

However, I do understand your point but it's not really relative to my questions. Thanks though!

[Azortharion]

The pattern does not seem to pull meaningfully through.

[OcciferGlass]

The pattern does not seem to pull meaningfully through.

Okay, so you're saying my concerns can be better addressed once we are 110 with clearer results/sims?

[eschatological]

Okay, so you're saying my concerns can be better addressed once we are 110 with clearer results/sims?

I think (correct me if I'm wrong) he's saying the way you stack it in the opener doesn't seem to make a statistical difference. Even if you spam 4 raptor strikes immediately, you're basically extending the 4 stack buff by 4s over the course of the whole fight.

Flanking Strike, afaik, is only for excess focus dumping when you literally have nothing else to press. Lacerate is your main focus dump, and you use Mongoose Bite when it's about to cap its charges. The playstyle seems to involve lots of pooling and then dumping of focus (pooling during Mongoose, dumping before Mongoose). Only use Raptor Strike to refresh the 4 stack to 8s. Whether you have enough focus to be using Flanking Strike to prevent focus cap is really more an issue of gear and when you need the GCDs to Mongoose Bite. Because Mongoose Bite doesn't cost focus, I can probably imagine an opener where you dump everything into raptor strikes, regen focus while you're mongoose biting+CDs, then continuing with lacerate/trap etc.

[Deleted]

Honestly, it's way too much of a pain to keep it up. Just take throwing axes.

Amen!

There is too much stuff to click/watch most of the time so one less is rly good. Axes are better to use, i find my self to cast raptor strike may be 5-10times per fight, will be even less with artifact weapon.