Balance 4 pc T11 Rotation Changes

[Calculated]

This is a review of how the 4 pc T11 Boomkin set bonus (Astral Alignment) works. I discuss what skills consume charges and how to modify your rotation to get maximum benefit from the bonus in both single-target and multi-target fights.



I used this strategy on Heroic Chim last night and put up top 20 numbers so it seems to be working (unfortunately Fraps choked and I didn't get the footage for a Heroic Chim vid ). Anyway, enjoy -- I spent quite a bit of time getting this right on target dummies after I got 4-pc Tuesday night. It's definitely worth the effort to get the changes down. The bonus is very strong if you modify your rotation to maximize it.

[Deleted]

Very useful video. I've found myself doing the same sort of things that you outline in the vid, like delyaing starsurge and moonfire until after i've used up the charges, i don't know how many other moonkins out there have got the 4 set now, but it is definately worth it

Also I think your idea of changing the starsurge glyph is quite a good idea, i've found myself hardly being able to use starfall due to the set bonus and not wanting to waste charges.

I'd also like to point out that when you get eclipse, if you finish casting your next spell before your previous spell has hit the boss to proc eclipse (gota love 2 secs for wrath to hit the target from cast!) then that spell won't benefit from the set bonus.

[Iselde]

I've been doing the same thing for a couple weeks now and it's working incredibly. Arythorn's videos are a valuable resource, people - watch them!

[Calculated]

Thanks, Silv.

[Calculated]

The following video came about after some theorycrafting discussions at Elitist Jerks prompted me to dig the Starfire glyph out of the deep dark hole it's been sitting in since Cataclysm launched. It is a follow-on to my prior Boomkin 4 pc T11 rotation video shown above. By replacing Wrath glyph with Starfire glyph, I got very near 100% uptime on Moonfire/Sunfire (really not sure where I lost the few percent I did) and was sustaining over 19k (ended up at 19.25k over 8 million damage before I oom'd). This is a significant jump from Wrath glyph performance where I was around 18.5k sustained. Here's the video output that shows what the new rotation looks like:



Some commentary is included, though less than normal as I'm not feeling well. That said, I think if you've seen the prior video (if not, watch it!), you'll quickly see that most of that same strategy remains in place, simply Sunfire/Moonfire remain up more consistently due to the glyph and are refreshed pretty much right before the last cast that will take you out of an Eclipse.

WoL report for this vid can be found here:

http://www.worldoflogs.com/reports/y...ne/?s=19&e=456

At least until it expires.

Finally, I'm fully aware movement may bite into some of this benefit. But I'm pretty near 100% uptime on stand-and-turret -- maybe movement drops me to high 80s? I don't know yet but, when I'm at low to mid 70s using Wrath glyph, there's potential here and it's worth investigating. Mostly I'm sharing this as an FYI. I'll be trying it on the three fights we have remaining this week (normal Nef, Heroic Conclave, normal Al'Akir) and figuring out where I go from there.

I would've said a lot of the above in the video (saved you some reading and me some typing) but, well, you heard my voice

[Calculated]

Part of updating this for 4.0.6 -- not going to make another video but I am going to add some notes here about Starsurge usage:

4.0.6 Starsurge Delay Cast Methodology for 4 pc T11
Prior to 4 pc T11 and 4.0.6 mastery buff, my rule of thumb was to use Starsurge on cooldown or on Shooting Stars proc immediately with no delay. The most I would delay is a single cast (maybe two max) if I was about to enter an Eclipse.

With 4.0.6 mastery buff, 4 pc T11, and 12 second Shooting Stars proc, I started playing with delaying Starsurge to either 1st or 2nd cast in each Eclipse. By doing this, the loss is I will fit in fewer Starsurges per time period, and perhaps have slightly slower energy gain per time period as well. The gain is my average Stasurge hit/crit goes up substantially. I have gotten my Starsurge overall crit rate upwards of 65-70% using a delay methodology. Starsurge just scales extremely well so even when I get in fewer Starsurges versus a prompt-cast methodology, my overall Starsurge damage is higher as is my overall dps when I delay-cast into the 4 pc bonus charges.

I am aware I'm replacing a guaranteed Wrath/Starfire crit with a Starsurge crit by doing this . . . but Starsurge hits a good bit harder than Wrath or Starfire on crits. Over 130 million damage in logs tonight (fairly large sample size), my average Wrath crit 31,505; average Starfire crit 44,136; average Starsurge crit 73,098. I'm going to call that substantial and a good replacement use of a 4 pc proc.

I'm also aware that l lose some Shooting Stars procs - but the only ones I lose are non-Eclipsed Shooting Stars proc as I will always use a Shooting Stars proc within an Eclipse. Also, with 12 sec duration on Shooting Stars proc in 4.0.6, I don't necessarily lose the proc but only delay my use of it -- there is risk exposure yes but only loss if another proc hits before I use that one which happens but somewhat rarely in that time window.

Also, what I risk losing is a non-Eclipsed Starsurge which doesn't hit very hard even when critting. At any rate, my findings are the delay to is worth it as it increases both overall Starsurge damage and overall dps. My advice for 4 pc T11 is that a delay cast Starsurge methodology will work best. This advice is only once you have the 4 pc bonus. Prior to 4 pc, I'd stick with a prompt cast Starsurge methodology.

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Above is excerpted from my moonkin guide which has also been updated for 4.0.6 now as well. Link in signature.

[maradoods]

Yea this theory works perfectly with the new duration on shooting star proc, i usually delay it 1-2 cast from eclipse so i can get 99% crit on it, but also sometimes its not so good to delay it. The game sometimes lags and it doesnt register right away when you hit an eclipse, meaning your tier proc doesnt activate also!

[Calculated]

Yeah, I put a new section somewhere in my guide about taking care when using Shooting Stars proc as soon as Eclipse procs -- you definitely need a small delay or Eclipse and the 4 pc will not register. Honestly, it usually ends up as my second cast in an Eclipse but with raid buffs, that's pretty near a guaranteed crit as well.

[maradoods]

i watched the new video you made about starfire glyph and it seems like it messes up with your rotation dramatically, you basically would have to clip your dots before leaving an eclipse........since it cahnges its duration. i tried it out my self and i dont like it, it does have some benefits where sunfire can still be carried all the way through lunar and somtimes keeps stacking more.

[Calculated]

The Starfire glyph rotation is definitely more technical. Took some target dummy time to get used to. It's worth it on quite a few fights but yeah, sticking with normal rotation and Wrath glyph is an option as well as in the first video.

[Deleted]

The Starfire glyph rotation is definitely more technical. Took some target dummy time to get used to. It's worth it on quite a few fights but yeah, sticking with normal rotation and Wrath glyph is an option as well as in the first video.

would like to add a suggestion here. Each time you enter an eclipse you can ignore dot refreshing for the first 3 direct casts after which IS > MF/SUN your uptime on nature's grace is the same, no mid eclipse dots needed

[Calculated]

Yes you can delay your dots post 4-pc window -- but without Starfire glyph, they aren't going to last through to after you proc the next 4 pc AND wait out the next 4 pc window. This is why Starfire can make sense. Even with Starfire, you stilll end up refreshing IS non-Eclipse state sometimes. It's worth it to do this because:

a) uptime is good
b) dots update crit dynamically and having a dot up when Eclipse procs / 4 pc charges are up is a good thing. The ticks don't consume charges but they do benefit from the crit.

I can get my dot crit rate around the 30-35% range overall by making sure both are up when I enter Eclipse and don't drop off before or during 4 pc. This is something to take advantage of, even if you have to non-Eclipse refresh.