Trash pack rotation

[Syncharmony]

Looking for some advice on unholy rotation priority for trash packs as I've seen conflicting information and we have seemingly a lot of options.

For talents I am using: Bursting/Epidemic/Castigator/Belcher/Shadow Infusion/Reaper

Here are the methods I've seen posted, assuming a 4-5 mob trash pack in a heroic or mythic dungeon

Outbreak > DT for opener then:

Option 1: Blow all epidemic charges then normal rotation

Option 2: 1 epidemic charge then lay down DnD and SS spam while weaving in DC's for SoW

Option 3: Stack festering wounds to max with FS on priority target that will die first, then fire off epidemic charges

Which is really best? When the number of targets is high enough (6+) it seems that option 1 is the clear winner. If option 2 is the best, does that increase the value of Infected Claws over shadow infusion at least for trash AoE damage since it will get you some wounds to burst during your spam without wasting runes on FS? Same for option 3, if fast wound acquisition is paramount.

I have my single target rotation down pretty well and I am comfortable with that, but I find myself questioning what is really optimal for trash pulls.

Thanks

[Iysdexia]

This mostly comes down to judgement.

First things first, use Outbreak. Then, use Dark Transformation, it is the most important thing to have up after you apply diseases. However, do not spam Death Coils just to get it back up faster if there are 3+ targets still alive. You'd rather be doing AoE damage than a measly Death Coil.

If targets live ~5-9sec, spam Epidemic as much as you can. If they are still alive after you use up your 3 charges and will die within the next couple of seconds , Festering Strke the lowest health targets so that your Festering Wounds will burst when they die.

If targets live ~10sec, drop a Death and Decay first.

If targets live ~15-30sec, hold off on dropping DnD. Make sure your Epidemic charges do not cap. Apply as many festering wounds as you can to all targets before they will die within the next 10sec. Then, drop DnD and spam Scourge Strike until all of your wounds pop. Try to use all of your Epidemics charges before they die, but only if you don't have the DnD + Festering Wounds wombo combo going, that is more important. Only Death Coil if you have nothing else to do or there are 2 or less targets left. In that case, you want to prioritize Death Coil to get DT up faster.

Edit: I just wanted to toss in that Inflect Claws is only really worth it for mass trash pulls. Having DT available up for every trash pack is much better than the extra wounds you may apply via IC. However, if you are going the mass pull route where everyone pops cooldowns, then IC is the clear winner for that burst AoE.

[Kalx]

However, do not spam Death Coils just to get it back up faster if there are 3+ targets still alive. You'd rather be doing AoE damage than a measly Death Coil.

that point is moot, since death coil only reduce the cooldown after DT has expired

[Iysdexia]

that point is moot, since death coil only reduce the cooldown after DT has expired

What I'm trying to say is that after DT has fallen off, do not spam Death Coil to get DT off of cooldowns faster when you could be using Epidemic, DnD, or applying Festering Wounds via Festering Strike. Only DC if you have nothing left to do.

[Deleted]

What I'm trying to say is that after DT has fallen off, do not spam Death Coil to get DT off of cooldowns faster when you could be using Epidemic, DnD, or applying Festering Wounds via Festering Strike. Only DC if you have nothing left to do.

I'm not saying i disagree with you - but how do you know for a fact that not spamming dc to get ghoul back 15-20sec faster is a dps loss?

[Iysdexia]

I'm not saying i disagree with you - but how do you know for a fact that not spamming dc to get ghoul back 15-20sec faster is a dps loss?

This all depends on the situation. If your DT is still on CD for 20sec and the adds will die in the next 5 sec, you'd much rather get off all of your epidemic charges or apply as many festering wounds as possible than casting 4 death coils in that time.

[Deleted]

I wonder if any brave soul has done the maths?

[0verdose]

Option 1 is only a good option for trash that will die in sub 5 secs or less. Especially if you are in a party with havoc dhs, ww monks and mms. Epidemic spam right after outbreak is the only way we can keep up with them.
I also use option 2 when the mobs will take a little longer to kill. Sometimes I epidemic one, festering strike once then drop dnd and scourge spam only to start stacking wounds as soon as dnd has ended.
I don't run with infected claws, a higher uptime on DT is way more worth it, especially with our artifact trait. I never liked the feeling of over stacking of festering wounds. It is pretty important to weave in a few dc's to get that great SoW proc. Even though I'm running the crit castigator build, haste seems to feel way more valuable right now. The rng involving festering strike crits can get a little irritating.