When to Combustion in DS HM - 4pc bonus

[Aerruss]

Hello Everyone, given the importance of Combustion for our dps in DS encounters, I decided to create this thread for everyone to post their experience with combustion. The following rules are in effect:

1. Assume everyone understands the machanics of combustion, lets not go there.
2. Assume everyone has 4pc bonus (hence shorter CDs - if you can get your stacks)
3. Heroic-mode mechanics only - at least for the 5 first bosses everyone seems to have on farm (nerfs and all...).
4. Log posts are welcome to support your arguments.

Now let's discuss:

1. Prepot and combust vs. saving combustion for increased dmg phases and/or huge encounter specific buffs (hagara, zon'ozz, deathwing, etc).
2. How many times are you combusting per encounter?
3. Time warp - when do you pop it, do you save combustion for it?

Lets try to discuss those three points on a encounter specific format.

[Spleen]

In some fights, you simply save lust/warp for execute range. Others, you pop it at the beginning to take advantage of pre-potting (ultrax). Others, it's a specific phase (first black, first crappy non-blue pairing to aid healers, prior to 3rd armor plate, et al). Lust itself is a decision your raid leader should make based upon the mechanics being faced in each HM.

Combustions depend - the debuff the boss gets on black phase means your comubstions will do FAR more damage than they do outside of that phase, so aligning your Combustion CD to that phase is 100% appropriate. 3 increased damage combustions > 4 combustions outside of that debuff.

Same with the damage debuff during Cataclysm casts.

Other fights, it's when you'll have enough adds to stroke your epeen with the resulting impact-spread combustion.

It's 100% situational and you can't have a blanket statement which covers every fight. However, by and large, if your CD can closely align to a phase when the boss takes extra damage, THAT is when you'll want to use it most.

[Deleted]

Because I got the Insignia of the Corrupted Minds HC last week, I use combustion right at the beginning in most fights when the trinket pops up without waiting for 10 stacks. Usually, the 2nd combustion is ready when insignia is off the CD which means that you get at least 2 combustions with the (pretty nice) trinket haste buff.

For Zon'ozz, I think a combustion at the beginning deals almost the same damage as a combustion in the first black phase because of prepotting and other procs (insignia proc = +3 ticks with the required haste plateau) which won't be ready in the first black phase, I think...^^

[Guromin]

Zon'ozz:
Waiting for the black phase to use Combustion is silly. Once the boss gains stacks they don't go away when the black phase ends; they keep building up. Delaying the initial Combustion for nearly 2 minutes will only result in one less combustion during the fight and from my experience the first combustion is usually about as strong as the second because of all the buffs on you. Another important point is that there are other, more important, things to dps during the black phases than the boss. I'm wondering if a few people have misread the question and been thinking about Yor'sahj instead of Zon'ozz.*

Hagara:
If the first phase is lighting it's best to hold off on Combustion because the transition will be over quickly and then the*opportunity*to AoE onto Ice Tombs will arise. If the first phase is Frost, Combustion should be used at the start because it will come off CD before it is needed again. The enchant on Hagara's weapon determines which phase will come next. When deciding to use Combustion onto Hagara with the 100% increase damage debuff or wait and AoE to the tombs, the general rule is not to use Combustion on her single target unless the ignite is 60k or greater. The amount of damage Combustion does in AoE from a small ignite is much greater than that of single target.*

Deathwing:
Combustion should be used twice on each platform; once on the Corruption in the back and once while the arm is taking double damage.*

2. As many times as possible where Combustion is most effective.

3. Zon'ozz - Lust before final Black Phase and Combustion should naturally be ready during this period. I also use a second potion here.*
Hagara - Lust at the end of the first transition that puts the bosses health bellow 35% (for execution range). This is a great time to use a potion and hopefully build up a large ignite for Combustion.
Madness - On Heroic lust is almost always needed on the 4th platform to help burn the wing down. As mentioned before Combustion will be used during this period. As a side note Lust cannot be used on the 1st platform and the 4th because the debuff will not have fallen off in time.*

-Guromin

[Makarena]

Yes, combusting on zon'ozz immediatly. My 2nd combution (along with Insignia of the corrupted mind's cooldown) comes off cooldown right when the black phase ends and we nuke the boss

Morchok - obvious, lust on pull, combustion on pull
Yor'sahj - combustion at any convenient moment if next phase ain't black, combust on adds otherwise.
Zon'ozz - on pull
hagara - hold off if lighting, on pull if frost
ultrax - on pull with lust
gunship - usually you can be lucky and combust 2 mele adds and a drake. Sometimes you ain't lucky so - just combust one of them. You can combust 3rd wave aswell - then combust goriona + boss and then boss on low'ish % - total of 4 times.
spine - didn't play fire but I guess its irrelevant anyway.
madness - you can combust corruption -> execute phase on arm or you can combust bloods only (unforutnatelly with nerfs the 2nd option won't yield 2nd combustion coz it will not come off cd for low % of arm on at least first 3 platforms. On 4th you'll have chance to combust the arm on low % after combusting bloods