[Help Me!] The "Fix My DPS" Thread (Read first post before posting)

[Deleted]

Armory: Kîrîtô -> Gorgonnash (not allowed to post links)
Log: Realms -> German -> Gorgonash -> Unic -> Yesterday (Lei Shi Hero trys)

We try'd Lei Shi yesterday around 20 times.
In around 17 of this trys I have around 125k DPS, but I think there is much more possible...

Problems / Questions I have at the moment:

1) Start-rotation.
At the moment I use this, please tell me if it's up to date:
1 seconds bore pull: Prepot + Dark Soul + SS:SB
Pull:
1) activate DG
2) SS:SS
3) Haunt
4) 2-3 times full MG, up to all procs are there (Jade Spirit, 2 Trinkets, Lightweave) but not to late to miss the end of prepot and DS
5) recast all dots with SS:SB and SS:SS and a additional haunt
(Now all dots have the most possible power?!)
6) Cast MG until first buff (UA) kills the "Start-Rotation" and beginn the normal rotation.

That means I don't recast all buffs at the end of Procs / DS to have the longest possible time of dots, but with this I have an extream high burst damage.
Please leave me a feedback to this.

2) Doomguard

Whats the actual best way to use doomguard now?
At the begin of a fight for most procs + prepot + dark soul?
At the end becoude of the 20% burst?
Or whenever it is good in the middle of the fight (e.g. in Lei Shi hero you will have 80 to 120% damage stack)?
Is Doomguard benefit from Timewarp and such things?

[superdooper]

Ok, I am perplexed so I figured I would post here and see if maybe one of you guys can help.

I recently upgraded from Bottle of Potent Potables/Melted Hypnotic Blade (463 - both upgraded to 471), to Loshan, Terror Incarnate (483) and Inscribed Jade Fan (476). With the upgrades I expected a substantial DPS increase. However my DPS didn't even go up, it actually went down. I know that my dps will fluctuate somewhat so I really cant count 1 parse, however I didn't expect my dps to remain essentially the same adding almost 1k spell power. So I figure I must be doing something wrong.

Here are a few parses:
Before upgrading
11/28 (Gara'jal LFR - Patchwerked it): http://worldoflogs.com/reports/5udsc...?s=1299&e=1543
11/16 (MSV Normal Stone Guard/Feng pug) http://worldoflogs.com/reports/6jqul...um/damageDone/


After Upgrading
12/7 (Gara'jal LFR - Patchwerked it): http://worldoflogs.com/reports/kmo4j...?s=2156&e=2396
12/4 (MSV Normal 4/6 pug): http://worldoflogs.com/reports/lwcb5...um/damageDone/

Simcraft says I should be pulling about 89k with my current gear on a standstill fight, I want to be able to hit at least 75-80k in LFR on Gara'jal patchwerking it. I know in a 10 man I probably wont even come close to that because of raid comp issues, and I am fine with that, however I have to be doing something wrong if I can't break 80k standing still.

The most important aspect about getting high dps #s for a standstill fight, is a properly timed bloodlust. Prepot -> Pull -> Pet -> All DPS CDs -> Bloodlust -> Start DPSing. Bloodlust should go off approx. 1s after the pull. If your raid saves bloodlust for the last 20-30%, then you are losing massive amounts of DPS.

Bring a shaman or mage friend to LFR with you, and tell them to lust 1s after the pull.

[xskarma]

2) Doomguard

Whats the actual best way to use doomguard now?
At the begin of a fight for most procs + prepot + dark soul?
At the end becoude of the 20% burst?
Or whenever it is good in the middle of the fight (e.g. in Lei Shi hero you will have 80 to 120% damage stack)?
Is Doomguard benefit from Timewarp and such things?

Doomguard is either bugged or intentionally only ever giving you 17 bolt casts, never more, never less. So it doesn't get any effect from TW and is thus best used in the last minute of the fight (unless you need the damage at another time) so that you take full advantage of him and the bonus under 20%.

[actiwe]

Hello guys!

Im in need of some help regarding my warlock! I just started with simulationcraft, and i've been reading alot of Evrelia's guides. So the thing is i gemmed my warlock with 320 mastery gems + 160hit/160 mastery etc instead of intellect gems beacuse at 480+ ilvl that would be better according to his guide (im 484) btw.

But when i simmed my char i came up with these scalefactors:

int: 4.01
mastery: 1.90
haste 1.90

so if i understand correctly intellect would scale best for my char? which means i should replace my 320mastery gems for intellect gems?

armory:
http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/characte...girlx/advanced

[xskarma]

Hello guys!

Im in need of some help regarding my warlock! I just started with simulationcraft, and i've been reading alot of Evrelia's guides. So the thing is i gemmed my warlock with 320 mastery gems + 160hit/160 mastery etc instead of intellect gems beacuse at 480+ ilvl that would be better according to his guide (im 484) btw.

But when i simmed my char i came up with these scalefactors:

int: 4.01
mastery: 1.90
haste 1.90

so if i understand correctly intellect would scale best for my char? which means i should replace my 320mastery gems for intellect gems?

armory:
http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/characte...girlx/advanced

Yes, that's correct. With those scale factors it's a simple case of a tiny bit of math. You get 2x amount of stats from secondaries compared to INT. So in order for the full secondary gems to be better, your secondary stats need to have 0,5 or more the value of INT. In your case 1.9 * 2 = 3.8 so INT is still better for you. So you use INT where you can in red and use INT/secondary gems for yellow, and INT/HIT for blue slots.

[actiwe]

Yes, that's correct. With those scale factors it's a simple case of a tiny bit of math. You get 2x amount of stats from secondaries compared to INT. So in order for the full secondary gems to be better, your secondary stats need to have 0,5 or more the value of INT. In your case 1.9 * 2 = 3.8 so INT is still better for you. So you use INT where you can in red and use INT/secondary gems for yellow, and INT/HIT for blue slots.

I re-gemmed my char with this and simmed it again, now the int scale is 3.82 and mastery is 1.91 ( 1.91 * 2 = 3.82)
What should i do with this result? Should i just go with this and wait for a few more item upgrades before i go with mastery gems again

[Subetei]

Hello guys!

Im in need of some help regarding my warlock! I just started with simulationcraft, and i've been reading alot of Evrelia's guides. So the thing is i gemmed my warlock with 320 mastery gems + 160hit/160 mastery etc instead of intellect gems beacuse at 480+ ilvl that would be better according to his guide (im 484) btw.

But when i simmed my char i came up with these scalefactors:

int: 4.01
mastery: 1.90
haste 1.90

you are in between the two different gemming styles... it's a pretty marginal difference and with a couple of upgrades it'd be slightly better to switch them back. I've seen several top end warlocks use int mastery gems well after 484 and some that use 320 mastery. It's just not a big difference.

[xskarma]

I re-gemmed my char with this and simmed it again, now the int scale is 3.82 and mastery is 1.91 ( 1.91 * 2 = 3.82)
What should i do with this result? Should i just go with this and wait for a few more item upgrades before i go with mastery gems again

The age old problem. With every new piece you get, you sim again, and reevaluate. Though you are probably hovering on the edge between the 2 now, and gemming either way is going to be minimal difference. Waiting a few items might help secure that difference to be more pronounced.

[Ninsew]

Sup booiis n' guurls,

Since I'm trying to minmax my warlock for further progression, I need some advice. Atm Im using Elegon Normal wand and Inscribed Jade fan, however I have the legendary gem and Jin'ya, Orb of the Waterspeaker dropped for me. If im putting the gem in the weapon, these are my stats changes:

+ 372 int
+445 crit
+526 haste
- 536 spell power
- 337 hit

Im gonna reforge the hit to haste (since im still gonna be capped and im already way over the haste breakpoint).

So, its basically trading 536 spellpower for 372 int and 445 crit.

Is it worth it? Because 1 int is almost 1 spellpower (right?), so then its 164 spellpower for 445 crit.

http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/characte...ranus/advanced Here's my armory. Thanks for you help!

[xskarma]

Sup booiis n' guurls,

Since I'm trying to minmax my warlock for further progression, I need some advice. Atm Im using Elegon Normal wand and Inscribed Jade fan, however I have the legendary gem and Jin'ya, Orb of the Waterspeaker dropped for me. If im putting the gem in the weapon, these are my stats changes:

+ 372 int
+445 crit
+526 haste
- 536 spell power
- 337 hit

Im gonna reforge the hit to haste (since im still gonna be capped and im already way over the haste breakpoint).

So, its basically trading 536 spellpower for 372 int and 445 crit.

Is it worth it? Because 1 int is almost 1 spellpower (right?), so then its 164 spellpower for 445 crit.

http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/characte...ranus/advanced Here's my armory. Thanks for you help!

Wait, you lose spellpower by using that sha touched staff? Must be the LFR version then. If you are progressing in normal modes and are going to end up getting normal mode sha touched weapon I wouldn't waste my gem on an LFR version personally. Going by the admittedly shoddy comparison of using the BiS stat weights from SimC you'd win about 600 DPS by changing to the staff, that's hardly worth it when you are doing the amounts of DPS we do.

[Ninsew]

Wait, you lose spellpower by using that sha touched staff? Must be the LFR version then. If you are progressing in normal modes and are going to end up getting normal mode sha touched weapon I wouldn't waste my gem on an LFR version personally. Going by the admittedly shoddy comparison of using the BiS stat weights from SimC you'd win about 600 DPS by changing to the staff, that's hardly worth it when you are doing the amounts of DPS we do.

Somehow I managed to remove the "LFR Verion of the staff" line, but yes, it's LFR.

You can regain the gem by paying 10k gold, however if it's only about 600 DPS gain, I'm still topping DPS on every fight and DPS is not a problem in our guild, I'll just hold on to it. On my level, paying 10k gold for a new gem + paying for Jade Spirit is not worth is.

Thanks!

---------- Post added 2012-12-13 at 11:09 AM ----------

1) Running a few tests, I noticed that the Doomguard does not get increased haste from Bloodlust (it's still only 17 hits). Has this been confirmed from Blizzard to be intended, or is it a bug?

2) Would the best time to pop Doomguard be in the pull (with pre-pot, Dark soul, trinket procs, Jade Spirit, maybe stormlash totem ect) or save it for the last minute of the fight? (not popping it when boss hits 20% HP, but when DBM says I have 1 minute left before my record time kill)?

[nocturnus]

Hey guys,

So after a long time I've started playing again casually. A quest here and there turned in a raid once a week. I know how it's going to end, considering its scarce difficulty, we'll have cleared normal modes pretty soon. Afterwards we'll say "hey, let's become one of those guilds that raids heroics once a week". It happened in wotlk and cata, so I'm sure we'll be wiping soon enough in mists of grindaria as well ^^

This makes me want to min-max so I started fondling with simcraft. In theory, I should be doing ~82k dps. In practice I have a stable 78k and in on some fights (for some particular reason) it's about 30k higher.

Simcraft produced some stat weights and spell priorities. The stat weights are pretty strait forward, as ever. You multiply the weight with the stat and generate a so-called ranking. As for the spell priorities I had a few questions;

- Haunt has a higher DPCT than DS. Does this mean I use Haunt whenever I generate a shard during execute, or do we only use haunt when the debuff is about to expire?
--Example: Execute --> haunt debuff is up --> but I have 2 shards --> I shoot 2 haunts in a row --> start DSing --> shard is generated --> I haunt -->
Obviously recasting dots has priority.

- De we recast dots whenever Affdots shows them as green, independent of their current duration?

- Do we use haunt only when (one of)the trinkets proc? From the start (You start the fight with 3 shards, assuming you SB:SS upon engaging the boss) or do we use haunt until one shard is left and use that one when trinkets pop?

- I'm well past the 4717 haste plateau. According to simcraft it's not worth going to the next one but focussing for a 100% on mastery. Any thoughts?

[Rustjive]

This makes me want to min-max so I started fondling with simcraft. In theory, I should be doing ~82k dps. In practice I have a stable 78k and in on some fights (for some particular reason) it's about 30k higher.

Not a great tier for SimCraft (or even logs) because very few fights are Patchwerk, non-gimmick, non-phased, no-buff, etc. In addition, optimal play is super difficult to put into an action list.

- Haunt has a higher DPCT than DS. Does this mean I use Haunt whenever I generate a shard during execute, or do we only use haunt when the debuff is about to expire?
--Example: Execute --> haunt debuff is up --> but I have 2 shards --> I shoot 2 haunts in a row --> start DSing --> shard is generated --> I haunt -->
Obviously recasting dots has priority.

Haunt DPCT is slightly higher than DS, but in reality we have a few things to deal with:
- Interrupting the DS channel has a non-zero time cost (since no one is good enough to interrupt the channel as soon as the DS tick goes out, at the very least there is reaction time delay) that raises the Haunt cast time calculation.
- Shard regen rate from DS alone doesn't outpace Haunt + SB:SS cost during execute by that much.

What you're left with is it's probably okay to spam Haunt at the very end but it makes very little difference.

- De we recast dots whenever Affdots shows them as green, independent of their current duration?

Depends if you track your procs and you feel like there are more coming up. The simple answer is yes (since 'green' in AffDots already takes into account the duration).

- Do we use haunt only when (one of)the trinkets proc? From the start (You start the fight with 3 shards, assuming you SB:SS upon engaging the boss) or do we use haunt until one shard is left and use that one when trinkets pop?

I plan my Haunt usage around DS. Trinkets proc-ing is a good time to Haunt if you're nearly full, but for the most part I only Haunt when I have DoTs on that are buffed strongly.

- I'm well past the 4717 haste plateau. According to simcraft it's not worth going to the next one but focussing for a 100% on mastery. Any thoughts?

The recommendation is just to keep Mastery/Haste roughly close to each other. People make huge deals about secondary stats but even if you reforged randomly the difference is not very big, single-target or multi-target.

[nocturnus]

snip

Thanks for your reply Rust. Your answers are pretty much what I suspected. It's good to have someone confirm this.

As for reforging, yea, simcraft says I would benefit from ditching some haste for some mastery. But the increase is so marginal it's not really worth it.

thanks again.

[Deleted]

Hej there, so i am wondering what i can do better at the moment? i feel like i should be pushing DPS alittle more, but am at a loss as of how to do it.

Imperial Vizier WoL: http://www.worldoflogs.com/reports/l...?s=1428&e=1825
Ilvl: 488
Armory: http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/characte...uerta/advanced
____
Current Rotation Priority: (or what i aim for, though i often make mistakes here and there)
I only use Haunt when i have redotted and can cast Malefic grasp thought the entire haunt
If i have 3 shards i use haunt regardless of dot-power to avoid getting any lucky double shard proc and wasting shards.
I re-dot when: i reach the limit for pandemic, However i let dots reach 2-3 sec if they were put on bosss with a high power
_____
If i somehow manage to get 4 shards i redot as soon as i get a proc by using SB+SS
_____
Biggest fail - sometimes i use SB+SS macro and instead of reapplying dots i simply remove them, and that destroys me
_____
Reforge: I did several Simcraft reforge plots and currently i gain no benifit from going further than the 4249 (goblin) Haste cap, unless i go to around 6800 which i cannot do with my current gear (i know the cap is around 6151, but simcraft implies something else)
_____
WoL: ToES (RF): first boss: http://www.worldoflogs.com/reports/s...e/?s=351&e=744
fail: i usually dps the main target and keep corruption on the other 2 - which i did, however after the first guy did - i somehow managed to dps the wrong target and did not realise it before the main target was at about 40%.

WoL: ToES (RF): Second boss: http://www.worldoflogs.com/reports/s...?s=1595&e=2057
I feel like things are dying too fast for me to be effective, am SB+SS everything and using Drain Soul on small adds to get shards back
______________
Did not take data from Guild Run MsV but recound numbers were at around:
If i remember corrently:
Dogs: around 110k dps (i keep full dots on the dogs that are together)
Second: around 75-85k (i use drain soul during ''ability name that makes you miss'' to gain shards, since i am missing everything anyway)
third: 92k (SB+SS, four targets - and Drain soul the first target i used SB+Ss on)
fourth: cant remember (SS when the current boss reaches 1 mio hp, and transfer dots to next boss)
fifth: 158k (died as soon as final phase began)
will: 104k (multidot like a manic, constantly using SB+SS to keep full dots on nearly everything, and use rages and str as main source for shards (ALOT))

[kiezo]

Hi

I've recently started playing my Warlock a little more seriously and while I think I have the basics down I'm looking for areas in which I can improve, especially on boss fights that involve a lot of target swapping- is unglyphing SS worth it to transfer the 10 stack Agony to the new target and not costing myself a 30s CD? Or should I just use SB:SS when needed and be able to copy the DoTs if necessary? If you can spot any other things I'm doing wrong please let me know - I feel like I can squeeze out a few more thousand DPS from my gear.

Armory: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/characte...w/Kiezo/simple
Logs:

http://worldoflogs.com/reports/yfdzu...dd8/dashboard/
http://worldoflogs.com/reports/crot2qf3xis82m5i/ (Please ignore the other Warlock in there - not from my guild and I'm not really sure why I stayed in a raid that had a Warlock doing 13k :P )

Any help would be hugely appreciated. Thanks.

[xskarma]

Hi

I've recently started playing my Warlock a little more seriously and while I think I have the basics down I'm looking for areas in which I can improve, especially on boss fights that involve a lot of target swapping- is unglyphing SS worth it to transfer the 10 stack Agony to the new target and not costing myself a 30s CD? Or should I just use SB:SS when needed and be able to copy the DoTs if necessary? If you can spot any other things I'm doing wrong please let me know - I feel like I can squeeze out a few more thousand DPS from my gear.

Armory: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/characte...w/Kiezo/simple
Logs:

http://worldoflogs.com/reports/yfdzu...dd8/dashboard/
http://worldoflogs.com/reports/crot2qf3xis82m5i/ (Please ignore the other Warlock in there - not from my guild and I'm not really sure why I stayed in a raid that had a Warlock doing 13k :P )

Any help would be hugely appreciated. Thanks.

Just looking at your armory, you've got really low haste level. Get that up to 4198 or 4717 and keep mastery slightly above it in rating. (so take the rating you need to keep mastery slightly above haste, most likely it will be 4198 haste for you). That alone should improve your DPS somewhat.

About the SS glyph, I personally haven't used it since Mists pre-patch. Not sure there's really been a stand out fight for it in tier 14 where it was worth risking the cooldown on SB:SS to take it.

[Deleted]

Hi

I've recently started playing my Warlock a little more seriously and while I think I have the basics down I'm looking for areas in which I can improve, especially on boss fights that involve a lot of target swapping- is unglyphing SS worth it to transfer the 10 stack Agony to the new target and not costing myself a 30s CD? Or should I just use SB:SS when needed and be able to copy the DoTs if necessary? If you can spot any other things I'm doing wrong please let me know - I feel like I can squeeze out a few more thousand DPS from my gear.

Armory: http://us.battle.net/wow/en/characte...w/Kiezo/simple
Logs:

http://worldoflogs.com/reports/yfdzu...dd8/dashboard/
http://worldoflogs.com/reports/crot2qf3xis82m5i/ (Please ignore the other Warlock in there - not from my guild and I'm not really sure why I stayed in a raid that had a Warlock doing 13k :P )

Any help would be hugely appreciated. Thanks.

Dot Up time looks good, as do MG uptime.

As the above poster said, getting to 4198 haste cap with your gear would be my best tip.

Haste and Mastery scale well together, and you have 8k mastery, and 3k haste

They scale great around 1:1 (Hugely flawed comment, but AROUND that)

I actually have less mastery than haste, because I can obtain the 2 next haste cap (6637 and 6400). You should aim for that haste cap when your gear allows it. Simming is ofcourse adviced.

Another thing is having the best opener. Watch the video in the Affliction compendium. (I can see your not used Fel Flame atleast once in your Feng fight, and its used 1x (atleast through the fight) in the opener).

Also, refreshing having empowered dots (buffed dots), when you can is also great. TLDR refresh dots when procs, I normally tend to only refresh them if I don't go much beyond maximum duration (UA: 7+14, Corr 9+18, Agony: 12+24)

---------- Post added 2012-12-16 at 01:22 PM ----------

Hej there, so i am wondering what i can do better at the moment? i feel like i should be pushing DPS alittle more, but am at a loss as of how to do it.

Imperial Vizier WoL: http://www.worldoflogs.com/reports/l...?s=1428&e=1825
Ilvl: 488
Armory: http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/characte...uerta/advanced
____
Current Rotation Priority: (or what i aim for, though i often make mistakes here and there)
I only use Haunt when i have redotted and can cast Malefic grasp thought the entire haunt
If i have 3 shards i use haunt regardless of dot-power to avoid getting any lucky double shard proc and wasting shards.
I re-dot when: i reach the limit for pandemic, However i let dots reach 2-3 sec if they were put on bosss with a high power
_____
If i somehow manage to get 4 shards i redot as soon as i get a proc by using SB+SS
_____
Biggest fail - sometimes i use SB+SS macro and instead of reapplying dots i simply remove them, and that destroys me
_____
Reforge: I did several Simcraft reforge plots and currently i gain no benifit from going further than the 4249 (goblin) Haste cap, unless i go to around 6800 which i cannot do with my current gear (i know the cap is around 6151, but simcraft implies something else)
_____
WoL: ToES (RF): first boss: http://www.worldoflogs.com/reports/s...e/?s=351&e=744
fail: i usually dps the main target and keep corruption on the other 2 - which i did, however after the first guy did - i somehow managed to dps the wrong target and did not realise it before the main target was at about 40%.

WoL: ToES (RF): Second boss: http://www.worldoflogs.com/reports/s...?s=1595&e=2057
I feel like things are dying too fast for me to be effective, am SB+SS everything and using Drain Soul on small adds to get shards back
______________
Did not take data from Guild Run MsV but recound numbers were at around:
If i remember corrently:
Dogs: around 110k dps (i keep full dots on the dogs that are together)
Second: around 75-85k (i use drain soul during ''ability name that makes you miss'' to gain shards, since i am missing everything anyway)
third: 92k (SB+SS, four targets - and Drain soul the first target i used SB+Ss on)
fourth: cant remember (SS when the current boss reaches 1 mio hp, and transfer dots to next boss)
fifth: 158k (died as soon as final phase began)
will: 104k (multidot like a manic, constantly using SB+SS to keep full dots on nearly everything, and use rages and str as main source for shards (ALOT))

See my above post for info. You used Fel flame 5x in the Imperial fight, thats most likely to many. I only do 1x during the opener.

Your ilvl is great. Go for the 4717 haste cap, heck you might even be able to get the 6637 haste cap (I don't know if you sacrifice to much mastery for this, sim it). Note: This should be doable, as your goblin = less haste needed, 6151 as you mentioned yourself.

Mastery and Haste scales well around 1:1 (Not 100% true, but AROUND THAT), and you have ALOT more mastery than you have haste.

I am currently having less mastery than haste : http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/characte...C3%A8/advanced

Also for Feng, you should not really get any Epicenters :PPP We get 1 if wer unlucky, thats it.

[Deleted]

hey guys, I've only just got back into playing WoW, I raided like one time at MoP launch and that was as Demo, so bare with me if my questions seem dumb.

firstly, here is my armory: http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/characte...ouserat/simple

my gear level is still low (378) but as you can see I am able to reach the 4717 haste cap and the 15% hit cap. however, my Mastery is pretty low as a result. I have absolutely no idea how to use Simcraft (I sim my char but can't see stat weights anywhere and the rest of the results just confuse the hell out of me) but I get the feeling my DPS is a little low and that's to do with lacking Mastery. if anyone could give me a gentle push it would be appreciated.

also, regarding DoT maintenance: my two trinkets (Relic and LFR LotC) proc side by side very often. I try not to Haunt without any SP buffs on my DoTs, but because the trinkets sync up I find myself with periods where I have no SP buffs and I end up stacking up to 3 shards without casting a Haunt. am I putting too much into micro-management, should I be casting more Haunts?

also, during opener and Dark Soul phases, should I be refreshing DoTs wil Fel Flame, manually, or with SB:SS?

[Deleted]

hey guys, I've only just got back into playing WoW, I raided like one time at MoP launch and that was as Demo, so bare with me if my questions seem dumb.

firstly, here is my armory: http://eu.battle.net/wow/en/characte...ouserat/simple

my gear level is still low (378) but as you can see I am able to reach the 4717 haste cap and the 15% hit cap. however, my Mastery is pretty low as a result. I have absolutely no idea how to use Simcraft (I sim my char but can't see stat weights anywhere and the rest of the results just confuse the hell out of me) but I get the feeling my DPS is a little low and that's to do with lacking Mastery. if anyone could give me a gentle push it would be appreciated.

also, regarding DoT maintenance: my two trinkets (Relic and LFR LotC) proc side by side very often. I try not to Haunt without any SP buffs on my DoTs, but because the trinkets sync up I find myself with periods where I have no SP buffs and I end up stacking up to 3 shards without casting a Haunt. am I putting too much into micro-management, should I be casting more Haunts?

also, during opener and Dark Soul phases, should I be refreshing DoTs wil Fel Flame, manually, or with SB:SS?

Will only answer the questions I am sure off

You should not go for the 4717 haste cap. You only have 3k mastery as a result, and they interact great 1:1 (ofc not if close/far from haste breakpoint etc).

I would go for the 4198 haste cap, and rest into mastery.
What your doing with Haunts is correct. I often tend (If i rng) get 4 shards, to Soulburn one, and have it ready when my trinket procs (I get trinket timers), if they are about 10-15 secs to come off. If I get another I just haunt.

In general, during the opener I would always DS -> SB-SS->MG->PROCS-> Fel Flame -> Haunt -> MG x3. And remember to SB-SS again when your first int proc is about to fall off.

I normally tend not to use Fel Flame after the opener, but I am not sure about that.