Strategy for maximizing DPS (Clipping really)

[PriestLuna]

Yea, so how are we supposed to efficiently DPS when our main filler is a channel that gets interrupted at the push of any button? I feel like I'm losing hundreds of DPS easily just by trying to avoid clipping my Mind Flay. This is really bothering me as I just went Shadow recently and am trying to perform as best I can.

Also, is there a list somewhere that shows what spells do the most damage? Currently I wait unil w/e dot completely drops off before recasting it. Well, I guess this is just regarding VT since of course we wait until DP drops off to recast it. But with VT...I let it drop off completely before recasting it, then after the 1.5-2ish second cast it's back up. Am I losing material DPS because of that? Or is it a push?

[Frmercury]

In terms of Priority:
VT > DP > MB
You can clip MF after two ticks for a recast of one of the three above.

Second to that go contribute your frustration with having a channeled nuke:
http://www.shadowpriest.com/viewtopic.php?f=66&t=28218

[Gadix]

To keep 100% uptime on VT you need to start casting exactly one cast time before the dot falls off (erring on later rather than earlier). You'll want some sort of dot timing mod to let you know when that is. Personally I prefer Event Horizon (http://www.wowinterface.com/download...nued.html#info) but choice of dot timers is mostly personal preference. Also, MFClip is a great addon for grading your target dummy performance (and not just MF clipping as the name suggests).

As for which spells do the most damage, your best bet is to download Simcraft (http://code.google.com/p/simulationcraft/) and load your armory into it and run it. It will tell you the damage per cast time of each of your spells. Essentially, though, you want to keep VT and DP as close to 100% uptime as you can. SWP will by default be 100% unless you have lots of mobs/movement to deal with, so those 3 spells are taken care of. MB vs MF will vary depending on gear (assuming you have 4 piece t10). Theoretically, you can drop MB altogether when MF is higher damage per cast than MB, but MB suffers less from latency, so your mileage may vary.

[PriestLuna]

Hmmm, I'm definitely losing some DPS from VT downtime then. I'll have to adjust my methods to correct this.

Although, just for fun, I wonder how much DPS I'm losing by allowing VT to drop off for 2 seconds between reapplication. The downtime is likely being filled by a MF, but still, a DPS loss is a DPS loss. I wonder though, if the loss is substantial enough for me to not be lazy on it(>75-100 DPS).

[Totti]

Please, Delete, Your, Character.

[Weena2]

You have to understand its not always a dps increase to clip MF at two stacks. If your latency is low and you have the ability to constantly get it off, then yes you should do it. If on the other hand your not very good, or even if you have high, 3rd world latency (eg.Australia) then its not wise to clip. The reason being that if you mistime the clip you can either clip too early, or too late, resulting in either a 1 tick mind flay, or one where an extra .x seconds would of resulted in an extra tick.

Also if you say that you can manage a two tick MF with 400+ MS, then your mistaking. If you have a MF clip mod telling you where the 2nd tick occurs, you can press your button right before and get a two tick, correct? Neg wrong. Your latency on your cast bar is when you cast your spell, and not when you press your net, therefore it may show 300ms of lag, but in reality its only 200ms, and that results in an early clip.

Up to your own discretion if you want to clip or not.

[PriestLuna]

Please, Delete, Your, Character.

Thanks for the constructive post asshat.

Anyway, changed some stuff around last night. Doing better but it's a process, now if only I could swap all this healing gear out for shadow pieces...

[Direshadow]

I could go into a loooong description on how to up your dps and offer little tips and tricks, but i'll only give you one peice of advice.

Go and download Button Timers (A great dot timer that also shows when your dots are expected to tick), and download Quartz. Button timers is great because as your haste goes up, you can start to adapt to when you should be refreshing your dots... it'll take some practice, but it's a lot better then doing it blind.

For instance, at my haste level, I usually start re-casting VT after the second to last tick.

I feel that a dot timer and quartz should be manditory if you want to DPS as a Shadow Priest.

Quartz is great because it actually shows you on a channeled bar, in red, when you can start casting a new spell and not lose dps due to latency. It's hard to explain in words, but trust me, it's a must have. As soon as you start using it with mind flay, you'll know what i'm talking about.

hope this helps.


P.S.

To those saying that Shadowpriest.com is the place to go for Shadow Priest info, keep in mind that the site supports gold selling and advertising. Remember that gold sellers, these days, don't farm gold, but rather steal it from people's accounts.

Elitest Jerks is a fine place to get info, or even good ol' MMO Champion.

[llDemonll]

something like MFClip or NeedToKnow will make for far better DoT timers. ForteXorcist is also good, but much too complicated for my liking, it's information overload.

NTK and MFClip both support DoT recast bars (similar to the latency bar on your cast bar, but it shows when you need to recast VT to have as little downtime as possible). I recommend MFClip if you don't like (or know how) to configure addons, NeedToKnow if you do as it's MUCH more powerful.

See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aCrVOJATqgU for a preview of NeedToKnow. I have VT, DP, SWP and Dislodged Foreign Object set to show on my NTK bars and you can see the recast bar on VT

[Calsong]

I might want to check out this article on shadow priest clipping.

In terms of Mind Flay, clipping it can happen, but it isn't always a big deal if you're clipping the last tick for something strong.