SPRIEST: Shadow Word: Insanity..discus

[Deleted]

I tried 4 set-ups yesterday, MB+DI, FDCL+DI, FDCL+PI and PWS+DI (i know there's more combos especially with ToF, but for now these seemed most attractive to me).

My gear is only 380 atm with 20%~crist, 17%~haste, and 20%~mast. Obvioulsy these aren't ideal stats, but bare with me. Just to get a fairly good idea how these combos would perform i did 2x10million for each on a dummy in TB without anyone else's debuffs and pet twice for each run.

I don't have any links or what not but basically this is how they came out:

PWS+DI 19k dps
FDCL+DI 18.5k dps
FCDL+PI 17.5k dps
MB+DI 17.5k dps

Now i didn't really know what to think about SWI, but im gradually starting to like it. The rotation felt a lot smoother than i thought as i got used to timing it.
Here's the thing, I've been looking for more info on this spell on how it scales (im guessing it scales very well looking at the tooltip) and it's viability, but there only a few comments on it and they are very negetive. I've only been in the shadow world for 3-4 months and love the old and new gameplay, but that's not the impression i got from old school Spriests on this new spell.

TLDR; SWI hits like a truck usually 3rd on my recount. What do you guys think about it and would you use it asap or at the very last moment?
cheers.

[Soulwind]

It takes a while to get used to using Insanity and then renewing SW:P, but I think it's a fun rotation.

I've seen some numbers and it seems to be a bit better than other choices, but the difference is minimal, so it's more about how you want to play.

[Frmercury]

SW:I is the worst Talent on that Tier and should not be taken by anyone for any reason.

http://warcraft.twintop-tahoe.com/?p=284

[Deleted]

First of all, you simply can't compare dummy dps. RNG comes into play a lot and the sample size isn't big enough to justify any one choice. People *will* compare dummy dps, but it's not always accurate so should always be taken with a pinch of salt.

Secondly, as you say, your stats aren't ideal. At lower levels of gear, Insanity is better than the proc talents because as you get better gear, it scales negatively (the more haste and mastery you have, the worse Insanity scales as you have more chances to lose out on damage). Conversely, proc talents scale positively with gear, because as you get more haste and more mastery you get more chances to proc them.

IF you choose to use Insanity (after all, I can't tell you not to just because I dislike it :P) you ideally want to hit it when Pain has 0.5s or less left on it. The main reason for this is purely so you don't waste potential Mastery procs.

As for my personal opinion, I dislike it. I think it's because, in my opinion, it ruins the 'flow' of my rotation. I don't like purposefully extinguishing DoTs unless I'm forced to by a raid mechanic. It's just a playstyle thing. If Insanity suddenly comes into its own in terms of DPS I'll use it, though.

[Frmercury]

IF you choose to use Insanity (after all, I can't tell you not to just because I dislike it :P) you ideally want to hit it when Pain has 0.5s or less left on it. The main reason for this is purely so you don't waste potential Mastery procs.

Incorrect. Please see other thread.

[Celentes]

Incorrect. Please see other thread.

A bit of explain on this, since the link wasn't provided:
There's no difference for the two spells whether you cast insanity 0.1s before the last tick or 0.1 after penultimate (god, this word is amazing) tick. The main difference is that you'll reapply SWP faster and cast the next SWI faster, so it is a dps increase to cast it just after the awesome-word tick.

[Frmercury]

A bit of explain on this, since the link wasn't provided:
There's no difference for the two spells whether you cast insanity 0.1s before the last tick or 0.1 after penultimate (god, this word is amazing) tick. The main difference is that you'll reapply SWP faster and cast the next SWI faster, so it is a dps increase to cast it just after the awesome-word tick.

Incorrect in that the poster was more than welcome to tell them not to use SW:I because it's currently the worst choice on that Tier.

Please see other thread about SW:P recasting.

I do understand that was rather cryptic though.

[Deleted]

First of all, you simply can't compare dummy dps. RNG comes into play a lot and the sample size isn't big enough to justify any one choice. People *will* compare dummy dps, but it's not always accurate so should always be taken with a pinch of salt.

Secondly, as you say, your stats aren't ideal. At lower levels of gear, Insanity is better than the proc talents because as you get better gear, it scales negatively (the more haste and mastery you have, the worse Insanity scales as you have more chances to lose out on damage). Conversely, proc talents scale positively with gear, because as you get more haste and more mastery you get more chances to proc them.

IF you choose to use Insanity (after all, I can't tell you not to just because I dislike it :P) you ideally want to hit it when Pain has 0.5s or less left on it. The main reason for this is purely so you don't waste potential Mastery procs.

As for my personal opinion, I dislike it. I think it's because, in my opinion, it ruins the 'flow' of my rotation. I don't like purposefully extinguishing DoTs unless I'm forced to by a raid mechanic. It's just a playstyle thing. If Insanity suddenly comes into its own in terms of DPS I'll use it, though.

So if you went with FDCL+DI wouldn't mastery be best stat after hit<sp<int?

[NickCageFanatic]

I have found that SW: I can be used in AoE situations with 4+ mobs, it does pull respectable dps but only in that situation because you won't be using Mind Flay as much (if at all) due to how often you'll be refreshing DoTs.
source: I've tested it out myself in DS

edit: But as far as single target goes, I find this just lowers damage output all the time.

[Venaliter]

I have found that SW: I can be used in AoE situations with 4+ mobs,

Sure, it does this, but FDCL does as well but better.