Top DPS Spec in 4.2

[zomgi]

Yes, I do read Elitest Jerks and realise that Affliction is still supposed to be the highest. However, I was wandering from someone who has raided on the PTR, in relevance to boss mechanics and fights - that is Affliction still superior? or does destro sometimes surpass that. Thanks.

[Jessicka]

Affliction is our best scaling spec, it's also our most mobile and has the greatest capacity when it comes to multidotting. Those things mean it will always lend itself well to any fight, and it's much better scaling will probably ensure it will even surpass Demo on heavy AoE fights. 4.2 will welcome us to a new experience of being a one-spec-class.

[Deleted]

Affliction is our best scaling spec, it's also our most mobile and has the greatest capacity when it comes to multidotting. Those things mean it will always lend itself well to any fight, and it's much better scaling will probably ensure it will even surpass Demo on heavy AoE fights. 4.2 will welcome us to a new experience of being a one-spec-class.

I definitely would not say most mobile for several reasons:

1) If you can't cast for whatever reasons for a period of time and lose Shadow Embrace it is a major DPS loss
2) If you have to burn down an add quickli affliction is definitely not the specc for it, especially considering the coming SS nerf
3) It will only surpass heavy aoe fights when yout dots have time to tick. If you need to finish off an add grp fast (as it is most of the time till now) then affliction is not the preferable spec
4) Multidotting effectively requires to keep SE on your secondary target, which increases problems with point 1

It definitely is a great specc and for short moving periods in between it probably has the lowest DPS loss but there are still situations where another specc is better. Considering that Destro is only a few hundred DPS behind Affliction both are viable speccs and you should just play what you like most

[warlockSTAR]

http://stateofdps.com/

Is this as is now? or once 4.2 hits?

[Inshabel]

http://stateofdps.com/

Is this as is now? or once 4.2 hits?

Now, the data is gathered from WoL logs.

[Jessicka]

I definitely would not say most mobile for several reasons:

1) If you can't cast for whatever reasons for a period of time and lose Shadow Embrace it is a major DPS loss
2) If you have to burn down an add quickli affliction is definitely not the specc for it, especially considering the coming SS nerf
3) It will only surpass heavy aoe fights when yout dots have time to tick. If you need to finish off an add grp fast (as it is most of the time till now) then affliction is not the preferable spec
4) Multidotting effectively requires to keep SE on your secondary target, which increases problems with point 1

It definitely is a great specc and for short moving periods in between it probably has the lowest DPS loss but there are still situations where another specc is better. Considering that Destro is only a few hundred DPS behind Affliction both are viable speccs and you should just play what you like most

If due to encounter mechanics you loose SE, and is the only way you'll ever loose it, then everyone is suffering pretty evenly. Multi-dotting is far stronger than basic AoE now - burning down adds fast is very much a gimmick mechanic that is seldom implemented outside of occasional trash pulls. Furthermore, with or without Shadow Embrace stacks, Affliction's DoTs are simply stronger at the baseline - maintaining SE stacks across multiple targets is just a bonus.

[Deleted]

why do you say, that affli is the most scaling spec?
i would rather say, that demo will surpass affli and destro in singel target between 4.2 and beginn 4.3(or wichever the next major content patch is), because of Impending Doom and haste (casttime of the impending doom proccing skills). with a bit random-luck we will have a new meta every minute (till now it happens twice, that i got meta ready the second my already active meta went off).

[Xathiann]

why do you say, that affli is the most scaling spec?i would rather say, that demo will surpass affli and destro in singel target between 4.2 and beginn 4.3(or wichever the next major content patch is), because of Impending Doom and haste (casttime of the impending doom proccing skills). with a bit random-luck we will have a new meta every minute (till now it happens twice, that i got meta ready the second my already active meta went off).

Your wild speculation is horribly wrong, the rest of us will stick to facts and numbers rather than "speculating" that our favorite spec is going to magically be better.

[Evillocksp]

Actually at higher haste lvls, demo will be very strong. Look at fights like sinestra, demo is high up there. With the upcoming patches demo will be right behind or even with other specs, if there is any AoE in the fight at all, demo will be even close to surpassing.
And im not a demo fan, i like the spec and it is my offspec, but im a destro fanboy.

[Shandrislock]

Affliction is by far the best spec for raiding. It takes much less attention on the rotation and has the highest sustained dps output of any spec. Imo im happy with the hotfix nerf to Drain life. My dps has actually increased by around 2-3k with the shadowbolt filler

edit: but i like demo as a (blowupshitforfun) spec

[Zinnin]

Actually Initial test show destro edging out affliction slowly, and I can find a few more times where destro can abuse BoH, where as affliction couldn't abuse multidotting to fullest extent. I think overall both specs will be pretty on par with each other, really depends on whos playing them.

[Deleted]

Your wild speculation is horribly wrong, the rest of us will stick to facts and numbers rather than "speculating" that our favorite spec is going to magically be better.

as i said, why should affli scaling better? where are your facts and numbers, which prove the better scaling (and don't tell me ej, there aren't any well done calculations out of the three specs with 4.2 hc gear)
and what i wrote wasn't a daydream, it's a fact that demo has this random-talent which massively scales with haste. what could be wrong are my thoughts, that demo will surpass the other both with end4.2/beginn4.3, because i'm just calculating this with my own expirience.

[Jessicka]

as i said, why should affli scaling better? where are your facts and numbers, which prove the better scaling (and don't tell me ej, there aren't any well done calculations out of the three specs with 4.2 hc gear)
and what i wrote wasn't a daydream, it's a fact that demo has this random-talent which massively scales with haste. what could be wrong are my thoughts, that demo will surpass the other both with end4.2/beginn4.3, because i'm just calculating this with my own expirience.

I think you're slightly deluded. Impending Doom procs about twice per minute to give Meta a 2 minute cooldown down from 3. Increasing Haste does not change this substantially, as it's worth noting that using Incinerate to 'fish' for extra procs is a substantial DPS loss, in spite of being able to cast more. Furthermore, if Demo did scale so well with Haste, explain why Mastery overtakes it in value as a stat once you reach about 2k Haste?

The reality is that Demo is in fact our worst scaling spec. It benefits the least from it's passive damage increase ability, Demonic Knowledge, and it's major DPS increasing abilities work by reducing the cast times of it's spells rather than acting as direct damage increases - these scale less well with gear, as well as cap at the GCD under certain conditions halting their ability to provide a bonus.

[Dangless]

Alot of people are putting Affl ahead now because not only is it the top spec right now, but we are receiving basically 0 changes in the patch (Soul Swap is not huge). I think Destro may pull ahead because the T-12 4-set, but both specs will basically be equal, just a matter of preference and boss fight.

[Moddy]

Where are the rogues? Seriously rogues should be top 5

[Penguin FTW]

You can always tell when someone comes into the thread from the front page of MMO

[avengingbt]

It's most likely going to be affliction.

There are certain situations, namely situations that require huge burst/aoe, where demo could be on top. It's hard to imagine how destro could be on top, but I guess if you could BoH a target that then becomes hard to abuse with multi-dotting, it could get enough free dps to be on top for a fight.. maybe if you find a fight that doesn't have a sub-25% phase it could be on top since it's less dependent on it's execute phase. It's hard to imagine but possible. I haven't really taken a serious look at the 4.2 fights so I'm not aware of any specific mechanics.

It's safe to say that affliction will be your go-to spec for 4.2, with demo being a reliable offspec for heavy aoe encounters or just if you happen to be missing the spellpower buff for whatever reason. Destro certainly isn't terrible, but it's unlikely to be the optimal spec unless there are some quirky mechanics.

[Evillocksp]

Destro has crazy burst and can switch targets very easily. Destro scales well at higher lvls and may sim higher becuz of increased haste increasing our dot ticks therefore increasing our conflag damage. Also, our imp will be hitting faster giving us more chances of Empower Imp procs. Hard casting soulfire will be easier at higher haste lvls too.
My opinion is kinda biased like i said before tho, always been a destro fanboy. Even in wrath when destro wasnt good, i switched between demo and destro. Just hate not having burst damage or raid utility other than self-healing.

[kvarn]

Actually Initial test show destro edging out affliction slowly, and I can find a few more times where destro can abuse BoH, where as affliction couldn't abuse multidotting to fullest extent. I think overall both specs will be pretty on par with each other, really depends on whos playing them.

i don't think the moonwell is still #1 due to it being 1700 mastery not 1700 int

[Spl4sh3r]

There is one important factor to take into consideration, not everyone person can play a spec at the same level as everyone else.