Inner focus + Devouring plague questions

[Omedon]

Hello all

So I've looked around a bit at my usual sources, (which are, admittedly, limited with the snail pace of my phone) and I can't find a definitive enough answer to these questions:

1) will inner focus augment the periodic crit chance of devouring plague?

2) will inner focus augment the crit chance of the instant hit of improved devouring plague?

Anyone have a solid enough answer to either of these questions?

Thanks in advance

[syanid]

1) Pre-Ulduar it didn't work. I don't know exactly if it'd work now. IF works with Divine Hymn, but I never, ever noticed it working with DoTs - only direct spells.
2) Not sure, but YES seems likely since imp. DP is instant damage.

Why would you have IF in your shadow spec anyway?

[Omedon]

1) Pre-Ulduar it didn't work. I don't know exactly if it'd work now. IF works with Divine Hymn, but I never, ever noticed it working with DoTs - only direct spells.
2) Not sure, but YES seems likely since imp. DP is instant damage.

Why would you have IF in your shadow spec anyway?

That's actually the very question I'm looking to answer as I approach 80 and settle on a spec. The 3.3 IDP turns that initial hit into, according to the tooltip on the ranks I have at 78, a nuke almost on par with MB and SW, (minus crit-size augmentation, and other talent boosts of course), so I.F. was something I was considering. Veiled shadows is kinda "meh" to me, as I do mostly 5-man content, I have some wiggle room.

[fabian]

The +25% to crit from IF applies to IDP but not to DP ticks.

[Worshaka]

That's actually the very question I'm looking to answer as I approach 80 and settle on a spec. The 3.3 IDP turns that initial hit into, according to the tooltip on the ranks I have at 78, a nuke almost on par with MB and SW, (minus crit-size augmentation, and other talent boosts of course), so I.F. was something I was considering. Veiled shadows is kinda "meh" to me, as I do mostly 5-man content, I have some wiggle room.

Imp DP does not deal damage anywhere near the level of MB or SW at level 80 with decent gear. MB will deal upto 5K damage non crit, Imp DP does about 1700.

In the current shadow spec there is a point left over that you can spend on IF, however i'd keep IF for Divine Hymn or if you need to change back into shadow form after using Hymn of Hope or whatever.

Answer to the OP, no IF does not change the crit chance of perodic damage, it will change the crit chance of the Imp DP initial hit.

[Omedon]

Imp DP does not deal damage anywhere near the level of MB or SW at level 80 with decent gear. MB will deal upto 5K damage non crit, Imp DP does about 1700.

In the current shadow spec there is a point left over that you can spend on IF, however i'd keep IF for Divine Hymn or if you need to change back into shadow form after using Hymn of Hope or whatever.

Answer to the OP, no IF does not change the crit chance of perodic damage, it will change the crit chance of the Imp DP initial hit.

Ya I compared the level 80 accessible ranks right after I last posted, and ya, nowhere near the other nukes. It's still nice though, that 1700 will be over 3k after 3.3.

And those uses of IF are shiny.... I'll keep those in mind, thanks!

[Prayzer]

Indeed, not changing dot crit chance, does change initial DP crit chance. Also as suggested many times here on these forums, if you want to go deep into this stuff and want to have tips on how to spec/play go to shadowpriest.com, many questions like these are answered and some even tell u do Drop IF from your spec, as it will only give u a nice crit on healing when you might need it. During burst phases you can't rely on it, as its 25% and so not a stable, guaranteed DPS increase, and over time this only might increase your DPS by 0.01%, which you might wanna replace with more survivability. But....as i said, check it out, it's all about playstyle.

Just remember, ONCE every few mins 1500 more damage then normal is like 1500/180 seconds = 8 DPS, not even considering.....it's only a 25% increased chance so u even might wanna divide it trough 3-4, depending on your crit rating...meaning....well...a worthless talent unless you use if for healing.

[Worshaka]

Indeed, not changing dot crit chance, does change initial DP crit chance. Also as suggested many times here on these forums, if you want to go deep into this stuff and want to have tips on how to spec/play go to shadowpriest.com, many questions like these are answered and some even tell u do Drop IF from your spec, as it will only give u a nice crit on healing when you might need it. During burst phases you can't rely on it, as its 25% and so not a stable, guaranteed DPS increase, and over time this only might increase your DPS by 0.01%, which you might wanna replace with more survivability. But....as i said, check it out, it's all about playstyle.

Just remember, ONCE every few mins 1500 more damage then normal is like 1500/180 seconds = 8 DPS, not even considering.....it's only a 25% increased chance so u even might wanna divide it trough 3-4, depending on your crit rating...meaning....well...a worthless talent unless you use if for healing.

You're looking at IF the wrong way... this is the standard shadow DPS spec, you have 1 talent point left over so where do you spend it? There isn't much to choose from for survivability or DPS, its effectively a utility point. I perosnally chose to get Psychic Horror because I was sick of having nothing when I got world PvP'd. It also is handy for faction champs but that wasn't why I got it.

Inner focus is arguably the best utility talent available.

[Prayzer]

True standard spec looks like that, tho I've seen other specs aswell, including my own, personally i dropped imp. VE into 2/3 FM, leaving 1 point left to spend...there i can put it in imp VE instead of IF . Tho as i stated in my previous post, there are multiple options open, depending on how long fights last in your guild (mana conserving), how good your healers are (survivability) or the ability to fight trough bursts (yeah a IF might be useful if your raids lack burst DPS, to atleast have a chance to let ur abilitiest burst).

I actually switch specs quite often, depending on what the current progression requires (min/max).

[Worshaka]

True standard spec looks like that, tho I've seen other specs aswell, including my own, personally i dropped imp. VE into 2/3 FM, leaving 1 point left to spend...there i can put it in imp VE instead of IF . Tho as i stated in my previous post, there are multiple options open, depending on how long fights last in your guild (mana conserving), how good your healers are (survivability) or the ability to fight trough bursts (yeah a IF might be useful if your raids lack burst DPS, to atleast have a chance to let ur abilitiest burst).

I actually switch specs quite often, depending on what the current progression requires (min/max).

I'd argue that you can't go oom so 3 points in FM is pretty wasted... i'd rather imp VE... perhaps with poor gear you might be able to go oom but considering the access to high quality epics I don't really see that an issue.

[Chell82]

The way things are atm a sp can do infinite dmg to a target dummy provided he knows when to pop his dispersion & shadowfiend ... so even lacking totems bow and other buffs you still shouldn`t have mana issues

[daenerys]

The way things are atm a sp can do infinite dmg to a target dummy provided he knows when to pop his dispersion & shadowfiend ... so even lacking totems bow and other buffs you still shouldn`t have mana issues

last target dummy test I did, i was able to dps for over 16min before going oom. As no boss fights last this long anymore, and that was with no raid buffs, I find that my standard spec without focused mind is just fine.

[Prayzer]

The way things are atm a sp can do infinite dmg to a target dummy provided he knows when to pop his dispersion & shadowfiend ... so even lacking totems bow and other buffs you still shouldn`t have mana issues

FYI, dispersion is actually pretty useless as you lose quite alot of DPS time there, so doesn't count, the longer u can go without dispersion, the better you will do.

I'd argue that you can't go oom so 3 points in FM is pretty wasted... i'd rather imp VE... perhaps with poor gear you might be able to go oom but considering the access to high quality epics I don't really see that an issue.

Gotta admit that lately i haven't gotten the issues anymore going OOM with keeping shadowfiend on CD fulltime (also nice DPS increase), might wanna switch it out again and go back to imp VE, just gotta try it out i guess. I assume u have some exp with anub heroic 25m...(i don't but hope to get soon). You don't have any mana problems with multidotting there? Because basically you seldomly use MB or SW there (proccing imp spirit tap) when the first pack of adds is up due to multidot VT and mindseer, so might give some mana problems... just curious, because that might be a place where im thinking i can go OOM faster then usual...

[Kelesti]

I assume u have some exp with anub heroic 25m...(i don't but hope to get soon). You don't have any mana problems with multidotting there? Because basically you seldomly use MB or SW there (proccing imp spirit tap) when the first pack of adds is up due to multidot VT and mindseer, so might give some mana problems... just curious, because that might be a place where im thinking i can go OOM faster then usual...

Focused Mind doesn't do anything to your Multi-DoT'ing mana bar (which is where the biggest drain always will be). So at that point, it's moot. Also most raids at this point should have more than one player providing Replenishment, so if you start multi-DoT'ing, you should still be able to sustain your mana bar. If not, a single mind blast before you open up with Sears should suffice until the next four spawn (lather, rinse, repeat).

[harky]

FYI, dispersion is actually pretty useless as you lose quite alot of DPS time there, so doesn't count, the longer u can go without dispersion, the better you will do.

Transitions on beasts. Worm dives on beasts. Usable during Icehowl's knockback/stun. Usable when fel flamed. Usable at any time to mitigate damage on Champs. Usable to tank through a special instead of switching colors. Usable at any time in P2 on Anub.

Say hi to modern raid fights, there are plenty of times to use Dispersion without losing DPS.

[Prayzer]

Transitions on beasts. Worm dives on beasts. Usable during Icehowl's knockback/stun. Usable when fel flamed. Usable at any time to mitigate damage on Champs. Usable to tank through a special instead of switching colors. Usable at any time in P2 on Anub.

Say hi to modern raid fights, there are plenty of times to use Dispersion without losing DPS.

The way things are atm a sp can do infinite dmg to a target dummy provided he knows when to pop his dispersion & shadowfiend ... so even lacking totems bow and other buffs you still shouldn`t have mana issues

FYI, dispersion is actually pretty useless as you lose quite alot of DPS time there, so doesn't count, the longer u can go without dispersion, the better you will do.

Talking about target dummy...losing DPS time....don't see anything said about the coliseum there...next time read better plox

[Kelesti]

Talking about target dummy...losing DPS time....don't see anything said about the coliseum there...next time read better plox

Except this isn't fucking patchwerk? There will be dps lulls in any fight, whether it's because of mechanics, target changing, buffs falling off (or character deaths, etc) or my personal favorite: moving the fuck out of fire.

Target Dummy DPS means shit all.

[Prayzer]

Did I say it did? I was just replying to someone's post there concerning a target dummy...sigh, why the flames

[Worshaka]

Target dummies are great for practicing, measuring results or confirming what you might have worked out theroycrafting. The actual DPS number means very little, instead the break down of your damage sources (be it spells or melee attacks, whatever) is what you should really be concentrating on. Sure the DPS number gives you some information but it's a very small part of the numbers that are actually important. Measuring what you can physically achieve in comparison to what you can theroetically achieve is what you should focus on.

I've always said your DPS figure in a raid means very little too. I've raided with many people who place so much faith in that number that they constantly die when they shouldn't or simply make raiding for your group a lot more difficult than it needs to be. In a lot of cases taking a 5% dps decrease in order to play a bit more cohessively (or more like a team) would probably have your guild clearing content a whole lot easier than you currently are. There are very few DPS requirements in today's raiding and if you do die to an enrage timer it's extremely easy to tune extra dps than it is to alter the trend of preventable deaths.

I suggest people really think about the importance of their contribution to their raids a lot more and gain an understanding that their DPS figure means very little in the grand scheme of things. Unfortunetly 99.9% of the wow community are very egotistical and they find confirmation of those opinions in DPS numbers. I always find it ammusing when people link DPS on encounters like Onyxia where you can see ranged DPS using AoE on whelps instead of getting Ony out of phase 2 quicker. There is the real story, too busy padding their numbers to look good than actually contribute to the goal of the raid, that being killing onyxia quickly.