Paladin Blog - World of Warcraft: October 2015

Thursday, 29 October 2015

Valor Points Upgrade

6.2.3 is coming around the corner soon and it is also the return of valor points. i thought apexis is meant to replace valor points in the first place? and now we have both apexis and valor together lol

as a raider, you want to have any advantage you can get your hands on and the important thing to know about valor points is that we can use it to upgrade our gears. you need to spend 500 valor points to upgrade an item by 10 levels.

im assuming legendary ring will not be affected by valor upgrade, but we still have 8 armor slots + 1 ring + 1 cloak + 1 neck + 1 weapon + 3 or 4 trinkets? that means we need to upgrade at least 15 items, which is a total of 15 x 750 = 7500 valor points.

Getting Valor Points

for solo every week,
100 valor points x 7 day for heroic 5man
75 valor points x 3 wings for highmaul LFR
75 valor points x 4 wings for blackrock foundry LFR
150 valor points x 5 wings for hellfire citadel LFR
500 valor points x 1 weekly event for garrison

for 5man every week,
300 valor points x 8 mythic 5-man dungeon

that is a lot of stuffs to do, looks like the first month of 6.2.3 is going to be very very busy!!

im sure some of us won't have enough time to complete everything in the week. and even if we do somehow managed to clear everything, the max we can get is 4875 valor points for the week. therefore, we have to prioritize which gears we should begin with the upgrades to make the best use of valor points.

Step 1 - Stats Budget

firstly, you must understand that different item slots has different stats budget. for example, if weapon slot represent a budget of 2 items, below will be the stats budget given for different slots:

1st Tier Stats Budget - Weapon 2.00%
2nd Tier Stats Budget - Trinkets 1.33%
3rd Tier Stats Budget - Head, Chest, Legs 0.80%
4th Tier Stats Budget - Shoulder, Hands, Feet, Waist, 0.60%
5th Tier Stats Budget - Wrist, Neck, Back, Finger 0.47%

based on the list above, weapon is obviously my first priority for valor upgrade. trinkets have a much higher stats budget as compared to rings, necklace and cloak. for the same cost of 500 valor points, upgrading a trinket will boost up your stats way more than upgrading a necklace.

Step 2 - Identify BiS

secondly, the gear you like to upgrade should preferably be your BiS. or at least BiS as of where your guild is currently able to progress to. imagine how wasteful it is to replace an item after you had already spent 500 valor points on.

my guild is still progressing on mythic mannoroth so i should include mannoroth loots in my consideration but i can exclude items that drop off mythic archimonde. of course i may get lucky with my HFC mission caches, but that's a different story altogether.

Step 3 - Item Level Scaling

thirdly, item-level does not raise your stats linearly. it scale up quickly around the power of 1.009365. for example, upgrading an item level 700 to 715 give you a boost of 48 strength. in comparison, upgrading the same item from level 715 to 730 give you a boost of 55 strength, and that is an extra 15% stats. therefore, if you have 2 items belonging to the same tier of stats budget, you should upgrade the one with the highest item-level.

My Plan

i thought it is going to be quite easy to decide which items i should upgrade first but it proof to be a very difficult task. when i try to prioritize my own upgrade plan, many arguments went on in my head.

1st Tier Stats Budget - Weapon

our weapon is the single most powerful dps boost for us. since i am already using a level 730 weapon and based on my guild progression, it should be my BiS. the only replacement is the weapon from mythic archimonde or unless a warforged / socket version drop.

Weapon - Yes

2nd Tier Stats Budget - Trinkets

i mainly use these 4 trinkets in HFC:

Empty Drinking Horn - every boss
Libram of Vindication - 6 boss
Discordant Chorus - 4 boss
Vial of Convulsive Shadows - 3 boss

EDH is definitely our BiS since it is used in every fight.

however, i only have the heroic version of EDH and my guild is currently progressing well on mannoroth. perhaps i should wait for the mythic version?

it is very difficult for me to decide now. if i have mythic EDH, it is definitely a yes. and for the remaining trinkets, their usage are so situational and i am wondering if i should upgrade trinkets at a later stage after i am done with my armor slots first.

EDH - Yes/No?
LOV - Yes/No?
DC - Yes/No?
Vial - i believe BRF items cannot be upgraded

3rd Tier Stats Budget - Head, Chest, Legs

Legs - Yes
Head - Yes
Chest - No

my legs and head is already BiS but my legs has a socket, making it more unlikely to be replace. so i would upgrade my legs first, follow by head.

although i am currently using the chest from iskar, i should wait for the chest tier set because my guild is already progressing on mythic mannoroth.

4th Tier Stats Budget - Shoulder, Hands, Feet, Waist

Shoulder - Yes
Feet - Yes/No?
Hands - No
Waist - No

my tier 18 shoulder happen to be warforged and will not be replaced, unless mythic archimonde drop a warforged shoulder. very unlikely, right.

my boots is now warforged at level 731, and the only upgrade is from mythic archimonde level 735. since boots have a lower stats budget, i think it may be better to upgrade the other slots first.

my tier 18 glove could potentially become my weakest tier piece. this is why i like to wait for the gloves from mythic tyrant before deciding which off-piece tier to upgrade.

my belt is not BiS and i should wait for mythic mannoroth instead.

5th Tier Stats Budget - Wrist, Neck, Back, Finger

Back - Yes
Neck - Yes
Finger - Yes
Wrist - Yes

unless a warforged / socket version came along, otherwise all these slots are my BiS already and i won't be changing them.

Summary Priority Upgrade

this is my plan, meant for my own upgrade priority. although plans may change, it's still good to think it through. you may want to plan early too.

1 Weapon
2 Empty Drinking Horn (mythic mannoroth)
3 Legs
4 Head
5 Chest (mythic mannoroth)
6 Unending Hunger (if mythic version drop)
7 Shoulder
8 Libram of Vindication
9 Discordant Chorus
10 Waist (mythic mannoroth)
11 Feet (mythic archimonde)
12 Hands (depends which is my off-piece tier)
13 Back
14 Neck
15 Finger
16 Wrist

Saturday, 24 October 2015

Proving Ground Endless Healer Wave 60+

wave 67 screenshot

during this weekend, i happen to have some free time and decided to give proving grounds endless healing a try. i heard it has a slight nerf because mobs should die faster since 6.1 but i am not sure about that because it has been so long since i last step foot into the proving grounds.

i remember i got endless 30 achievements for all my 3 specs (dps / heal / tank) in early WOD, before starting highmaul raiding. i find it quite enjoyable but proving grounds can be a huge time sink and i have to stop it when our WOD raiding officially began.

today, i thought i will fail horribly but i am very surprised to get to wave 50+ very consistently, and there is no mana issue at all, not even a drink is needed. i guess it's partly because of my gears now, since i have the legendary ring, class trinket and my BiS crit set collection from tannan jungle and timewalking. i play up till wave 68 when the firecaller simply kill one of my party member with a single fireball and i'm not sure how to save him. lol

there are many guides out there for healing proving ground. some tried to be very detail, suggesting you to multi-task, to stun a particular mob in each wave, or interrupt a flamecaller / hive-singer, etc. but considering how rusty i was in proving ground, i did not use Fist of Justice or Rebuke for waves 1-50. this means that if you are just after the endless 30 achievement, you can save yourself the trouble, simply focus on topping the hp bar, and you should have much better success.

CD Planning

the one and only thing you need to prepare before beginning is to decide when to use your major cooldown and make sure you keep to your plan as faithfully as possible. if you forget to use the CD, just forget it and move on, do not try to use it at the wrong time and screw up your own plan later.

the arrangement of CD does not have to be the best setup because the main idea is to form a habit. practise a few times for efficiency and everything will automatically became easier after it gets into your muscle memory. for example, this is my plan:

wave 1 - no CD needed
wave 2 - Avenging Wrath
wave 3 - Etheralus, the Eternal Reward + Intuition's Gift
wave 4 - Devotion Aura + Hand of Sacrifice
wave 5 - Avenging Wrath + Hand of Sacrifice
wave 6 - Etheralus, the Eternal Reward + Intuition's Gift
wave 7 - Avenging Wrath + Hand of Sacrifice
wave 8 - Divine Shield + Etheralus, the Eternal Reward + Intuition's Gift
wave 9 - Devotion Aura + Avenging Wrath
wave 10 - Etheralus, the Eternal Reward + Intuition's Gift + Hand of Sacrifice

there are only 10 different waves and it keeps repeating itself so we can simply stick to the same strategy. for example, wave 11 is same as 1, and wave 12 is the same as wave 2, but higher damage.

every wave is 1 minute long, which is why we can use our CD that often.

the most dangerous wave in my opinion is 9 > 5 > 2 > 4 and that's why i plan my Avenging Wrath for these waves.

Important Debuff

there are only 2 debuff you need to be aware of. make sure your healing UI can see them!

Chomp
an annoying debuff apply by the tunneler and you must top up the victim asap

Aqua Bomb
cleanse this debuff asap before it explode

Talents & Trinkets

Intuition's Gift
i like to have an extra CD to use

Libram of Vindication
our class trinket is really powerful. our holy light & flash of light heals for double the amount

Clemency
Sanctified Wrath
Holy Prism
Beacon of Faith
same as my raiding spec, i prefer to use what i am already comfortable with.

Wave 1: flamecaller, ripper, ripper

very easy wave
mainly focus on the tank
no CD is needed

Wave 2: hivesinger, aqualyte, ripper

when hivesinger Sonic Blast hit the party, it is the signal for me to use Avenging Wrath

Wave 3: tunneler, tunneler, ripper

this wave always begins with a Chomp debuff.
that debuff is the signal for me to use Etheralus, the Eternal Reward + Intuition's Gift

Wave 4: aqualyte, aqualyte, flamecaller

this is the only wave with 2 aqualyte, which means 2 Aqua Bomb debuff at the same time. always cleanse the melee team as priority because they will explode onto each other. if the debuff falls on me, i can stand away from the party and use Divine Protection.

i notice tank healing often fall behind in this wave because GCD is being wasted on cleanse as well as topping up the other victim of aqua bomb. when i feel that im falling behind, i will use Devotion Aura + Hand of Sacrifice

Wave 5: conqueror, hivesinger, tunneler

when hivesinger Sonic Blast hit the party, it is the signal for me to use Avenging Wrath
when conqueror enrage, use Hand of Sacrifice on the tank.

Wave 6: aqualyte, flamecaller, tunneler

the moment i see Chomp debuff, i'll use Etheralus, the Eternal Reward + Intuition's Gift
this wave is not difficult, at least i never die here before.

Wave 7: conqueror, conqueror, hivesinger

when hivesinger Sonic Blast hit the party, it is the signal for me to use Avenging Wrath
when conqueror enrage, use Hand of Sacrifice on the tank.

Wave 8: flamecaller, flamecaller, flamecaller, flamecaller, ripper

4 flamecaller will start shooting lava into the sky at the beginning, covering a large ground area with the lava.

when the lava is about to land on me, i always use Divine Shield + Etheralus, the Eternal Reward + Intuition's Gift.

the reason why i use divine shield is because the fireballs from the flamecaller is very deadly. they will shoot randomly at your party and it is very important to top up the victim asap before the next fireball come. if you waste time running out from lava, there is a chance that someone will be dead before you can heal.

Wave 9: hivesinger, tunneler, aqualyte

this is probably the hardest wave!

get ready to use Devotion Aura immediately once the mobs are spawned.

right from the start, the enemy will do their worst combo
hivesinger will Sonic Blast
tunneler will Chomp
aqualyte will Aqua Bomb

Avenging Wrath and Holy Prism, top up and cleanse everyone asap.

Wave 10: conqueror, flamecaller, aqualyte

even though this is the final wave, it's really easy to heal because the only thing we need to watch out is the enrage.

when conqueror enrage, use Hand of Sacrifice + Etheralus, the Eternal Reward + Intuition's Gift and you win.

at the end of wave 10, there should be a 10 seconds grace of non-combat free time. you can use this time to eat a new food or a new flask if they are going to expire.

Tuesday, 20 October 2015

Hellfire Citadel Talents & Trinkets

Friday, 16 October 2015

Mythic Xhul'horac - Retribution Paladin

my guild is still progressing at 11/13M at the moment and this is the 2nd week we down mythic xhul. statistic is 97 wipes and 2 kills so far.

Spec: Final Verdict vs Seraphim

i don't have enough test to confirm which spec is better since both specs have been proven by top players to achieve good results. although i am using Seraphim for both of my kills, it seems like the spec doesn't really matter much here. what matters a great deal is the number of times the boss decided to choose you for Fel Surge lol

if you are very concern with your dps ranking, you will hate this boss because you have no control when you will be getting Fel Surge. and when you get it, you have to drop whatever you are doing and run out from the raid asap, plus it always happen when the imps are about to spawn, losing the opportunity to dps them and making things worse.

Spec: Unbreakable Spirit vs Clemency

i was requested to spec for Clemency because my guild only want 3 healers for this fight so having 2 Hand of Sacrifice on the tank will help. usually, the tank will call for my hand of sacrifice when a Fel Strike is coming.

DPS Priority

Wild Pyromaniac to Vanguard Akkelion to Omnus to Xhul'horac

wild pyromaniac are the imps that spawn frequently throughout the fight. once the imps are spawned, they will began to cast Fel Orb and the most difficult DPS check is to interrupt, chain knock back and kill the imps without letting a single cast off. allowing a single cast off could easily result in a Shadowfel Annihilation and wipe the raid.

when the imps are dead, we can focus on the main bosses in the following order:- Akkelion to Omnus to Xhul'horac. we can simply focus on Xhul'horac since the 3 share the same health pool but i believe it is better to switch accordingly because Akkelion will reach 35% hp faster than Omnus is to Xhul'horac, thus giving you more chances to use Hammer of Wrath

Unstable Voidfiend is very dangerous too but our range DPS will kite it away and kill it.

Fel Surge

Fel Surge came every 30 seconds, xhul will randomly target 5 nearby players with this debuff and all 5 players has a few seconds to react. when the fel surge debuff is over, a fire will be spawn under the player. this fire will start to spread very quickly like a wildfire in the forest!

to slow down the rate of fire spreading, our guild put a triangle icon at a corner of the room. during fel surge, the 5 players have to try and stack on top of each other, releasing our fire at the triangle icon together. once in a while, a player with the purple debuff can run to this area and clear the fire. this will help to control the fire from spreading too fast in the room.

Maximize DPS

the best time to maximize your DPS is at the first half of the fight when the 2 big adds are alive. you will have the most number of targets at this point because there will be 1 boss, 2 big adds and 4-5 imps. this is the DPS check and also the hardest part of the fight in my opinion so you should use all your 3 charges of Avenging Wrath here. however, make sure you wait for the boss to cast fel surge each time before you use Avenging Wrath

1st AW + 1st Ring = use on pull
2nd AW + LH = after fel surge
3rd AW = after fel surge
4th AW + 2nd Ring + LH = exactly 2:00 minute
5th AW + 3rd Ring = when boss is 20% hp, this should be around 4-5 minutes.

Trinkets: Empty Drinking Horn & Discordant Chorus

these 2 trinkets are the best choices and i believe there are no other trinkets worth mentioning. the battle is very similar to hellfire citadel assault, xhul is also a very cleave/AOE intensive fight due to all the imps.

Sunday, 11 October 2015

Retribution Damage Ability Formula 6.2

There are some changes to our formula in 6.2

Sword of Light got a buff from 25% to 30%

I believe all the formula below should be correct except Execution Sentence, which remains a mystery to me.

Hammer of Wrath is now 240% and seems to be affected by Sword of Light.

Character Stats

This is the stats i used during my testing & calculations:

Strength = 6749
Versatility = 3.00%

Weapon Speed = 3.60
Weapon Damage (Lowest) = 2193
Weapon Damage (Highest) = 3291

Additional Notes

If you want to test out the formulas yourself, remember to remove items that have a proc effect such as Spellbound Runic Band of Elemental Power.

I've tested on the Garrison Dummy (Level 102) for hours and the estimated armor physical reduction for the dummy is around 33.3%

Note: 1 Strength = 1 Attack Power = 1 Spell Power

Attack power increases your base DPS by 1 for every 3.5 attack power

Crit = 2 times normal damage. If you are a tauren (racial buff crit by 2%), then Crit = 2.04 times normal damage

Sword of Light is a passive buff that affects most of our abilities when we are wielding a 2-hander weapon

Melee Auto Attack

100% Weapon Damage as Physical Damage
Physical damage takes into consideration of target armor reduction

Formula = ((Attack_Power ÷ 3.5 x Weapon_Speed) + Weapon_Damage) x Versatility x Sword_Of_Light x Armor_Reduction

Lowest = ((6749 ÷ 3.5 x 3.6) + 2193) x 1.03 x 1.3 x 0.667 = 8158.43
Highest = ((6749 ÷ 3.5 x 3.6) + 3291) x 1.03 x 1.3 x 0.667 = 9139.07

After testing, result shows my melee auto attack damage between 8164 to 9125

Crusader Strike

120% Weapon Damage as Physical Damage
2H Weapon Normalization is 3.3
Physical damage take into consideration of target armor reduction

Formula = ((Attack_Power ÷ 3.5 x Weapon_Normalize) + Weapon_Damage) x Versatility x Crusader_Strike_120% x Sword_Of_Light x Armor_Reduction

Lowest = ((6749 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 2193) x 1.03 x 1.2 x 1.3 x 0.667 = 9170.14
Highest = ((6749 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 3291) x 1.03 x 1.2 x 1.3 x 0.667 = 10346.90

After testing, result shows my crusader strike damage between 9168 to 10335

Final Verdict

240% Weapon Damage as Holy Damage
2H Weapon Normalization is 3.3
Holy damage ignore armor

Formula = ((Attack_Power ÷ 3.5 x Weapon_Normalize) + Weapon_Damage) x Versatility x Final_Verdict_240% x Sword_Of_Light

Lowest = ((6749 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 2193) x 1.03 x 2.4 x 1.3 = 27496.66
Highest = ((6749 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 3291) x 1.03 x 2.4 x 1.3 = 31025.20

After testing, result shows my final verdict damage between 27529 to 31000

Templar Verdict

240% Weapon Damage as Physical Damage
2H Weapon Normalization is 3.3
Physical damage takes into consideration of target armor reduction

Formula = ((Attack_Power ÷ 3.5 x Weapon_Normalize) + Weapon_Damage) x Versatility x Final_Verdict_240% x Sword_Of_Light x Armor_Reduction

Lowest = ((6749 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 2193) x 1.03 x 2.4 x 1.3 x 0.667 = 18340.27
Highest = ((6749 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 3291) x 1.03 x 2.4 x 1.3 x 0.667 = 20693.81

After testing, result shows my final verdict damage between 18361 to 20677

Exorcism

168.6% of Spell Power as Holy Damage
Holy damage ignore armor
Abilities that use Spell Power ignore our weapon

Formula = Spell_Power x Versatility x Exorcism_168.6%

Damage = 6749 x 1.03 x 1.686 = 11720.18

After testing, result shows my exorcism damage is 11721

Judgement

57.6% of Spell Power + 69.6% of Attack Power as Holy Damage
Holy damage ignore armor
Judgement% = 57.6% + 69.6% = 127.2%
Abilities that use Spell Power ignore our weapon

Formula = Spell_Power x Versatility x Judgement_127.2% x Sword_Of_Light

Damage = 6749 x 1.03 x 1.272 x 1.3 = 11494.95

After testing, result shows my judgement damage is 11496

Hammer of Wrath

240% of Spell Power as Holy Damage
Holy damage ignore armor
Abilities that use Spell Power ignore our weapon

Formula = Spell_Power x Versatility x Hammer_Of_wrath_240% x Sword_Of_Light

Damage = 6749 x 1.03 x 2.4 x 1.3 = 21688.59

After testing, result shows my hammer of wrath damage is 21690

Divine Storm

80% Weapon Damage as Holy Damage
2H Weapon Normalization is 3.3
Holy damage ignore armor
Final Verdict Divine Storm (FVDS) = 80% x 2 = 160%
Empowered FVDS = 160% x 1.5 = 240%

Formula = ((Attack_Power ÷ 3.5 x Weapon_Normalize) + Weapon_Damage) x Versatility x Divine_Storm_240% x Sword_Of_Light

Lowest = ((6749 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 2193) x 1.03 x 2.4 x 1.3 = 27496.66
Highest = ((6749 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 3291) x 1.03 x 2.4 x 1.3 = 31025.20

After testing, result shows my Empowered-FVDS damage between 27515 to 30924

Execution Sentence

914.20% of Spell Power as Holy Damage over 10 tick
Holy damage ignore armor
Abilities that use Spell Power ignore our weapon

I have difficulties testing out this ability
Although the tooltip indicate that it is 914.20%, I have the most consistent result using 867.60% instead of 914.20%

Formula = Spell_Power x Versatility x Execution_Setence_867.60%

Damage = 6749 x 1.03 x 867.6 = 60311

After testing, result shows my execution sentence damage is 60308

Light's Hammer

Arcing Light 86% of Spell Power as Holy Damage every tick
Holy damage ignore armor
Abilities that use Spell Power ignore our weapon

Formula = Spell_Power x Versatility x Arcing_Light_86%

Damage = 6749 x 1.03 x 0.86 = 5978.26

After testing, result shows my arcing light damage is 5980

Hammer of the Righteous (Physical)

42% Weapon Damage as Physical Damage
2H Weapon Normalization is 3.3
Physical damage take into consideration of target armor reduction

Formula = ((Attack_Power ÷ 3.5 x Weapon_Normalize) + Weapon_Damage) x Versatility x HOTR_42% x Sword_Of_Light x Armor_Reduction

Lowest = ((6749 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 2193) x 1.03 x 0.42 x 1.3 x 0.667 = 3209.55
Highest = ((6749 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 3291) x 1.03 x 0.42 x 1.3 x 0.667 = 3621.42

After testing, result shows my HOTR physical damage between 3221 to 3616

Hammer of the Righteous (Holy)

24% Weapon Damage as Holy Damage
2H Weapon Normalization is 3.3
Holy damage ignore armor

Formula = ((Attack_Power ÷ 3.5 x Weapon_Normalize) + Weapon_Damage) x Versatility x HOTR_24% x Sword_Of_Light

Lowest = ((6749 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 2193) x 1.03 x 0.24 x 1.3 = 2749.67
Highest = ((6749 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 3291) x 1.03 x 0.24 x 1.3 = 3102.52

After testing, result shows my HOTR holy damage between 2753 to 3087

Seal of Truth

12% Weapon Damage as Holy Damage
Holy damage ignore armor
This ability use weapon speed instead of weapon normalization

Formula = ((Attack_Power ÷ 3.5 x Weapon_Speed) + Weapon_Damage) x Versatility x Seal_Of_Truth_12% x Sword_Of_Light

Lowest = ((6749 ÷ 3.5 x 3.6) + 2193) x 1.03 x 0.12 x 1.3 = 1467.78
Highest = ((6749 ÷ 3.5 x 3.6) + 3291) x 1.03 x 0.12 x 1.3 = 1644.21

After testing, result shows my seal of truth damage between 1468 to 1643

Censure

1 stack = 6.1776% of Spell Power as Holy Damage
5 stack = 30.888% of Spell Power as Holy Damage
Holy damage ignore armor
Censure ignore our weapon

Formula = Spell_Power x Versatility x Censure_30.888%

Damage = 6749 x 1.03 x 0.30888 = 2147.17

After testing, result shows my 5-stack censure damage is 2147

Seal of Righteous

12% Weapon Damage as Holy Damage
2H Weapon Normalization is 3.3
Holy damage ignore armor

Formula = ((Attack_Power ÷ 3.5 x Weapon_Normalization) + Weapon_Damage) x Versatility x Seal_Of_Righteous_12% x Sword_Of_Light

Lowest = ((6749 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 2193) x 1.03 x 0.12 x 1.3 = 1374.83
Highest = ((6749 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 3291) x 1.03 x 0.12 x 1.3 = 1551.26

After testing, result shows my seal of truth damage between 1376 to 1551

Friday, 9 October 2015

Calculate Damage Abilities 6.1

Today i like to share how to calculate the basic damage of our abilities.

These knowledge might be useful to you if you plan to make your own DPS spreadsheet or wanted to better understand the game formulas or just simply for fun!

Character Stats

This is the stats i used during my testing & calculations:

Strength = 5237
Versatility = 3.00%

Weapon Speed = 3.60
Weapon Damage (Lowest) = 1659
Weapon Damage (Highest) = 2491

Additional Notes

If you want to test out the formulas yourself, remember to remove items that have a proc effect such as Spellbound Runic Band of Elemental Power.

I've tested on the Garrison Dummy (Level 102) for hours and the estimated armor physical reduction for the dummy is around 33.3%

Note: 1 Strength = 1 Attack Power = 1 Spell Power

Attack power increases your base DPS by 1 for every 3.5 attack power

Crit = 2 times normal damage. If you are a tauren (racial buff crit by 2%), then Crit = 2.04 times normal damage

Sword of Light is a passive buff that affects most of our abilities when we are wielding a 2-hander weapon

Melee Auto Attack

100% Weapon Damage as Physical Damage
Physical damage takes into consideration of target armor reduction

Formula = ((Attack_Power ÷ 3.5 x Weapon_Speed) + Weapon_Damage) x Versatility x Sword_Of_Light x Armor_Reduction

Lowest = ((5237 ÷ 3.5 x 3.6) + 1659) x 1.03 x 1.25 x 0.667 = 6050.52
Highest = ((5237 ÷ 3.5 x 3.6) + 2491) x 1.03 x 1.25 x 0.667 = 6765.01

After testing, result shows my melee auto attack damage between 6055 to 6756

Crusader Strike

120% Weapon Damage as Physical Damage
2H Weapon Normalization is 3.3
Physical damage take into consideration of target armor reduction

Formula = ((Attack_Power ÷ 3.5 x Weapon_Normalize) + Weapon_Damage) x Versatility x Crusader_Strike_120% x Sword_Of_Light x Armor_Reduction

Lowest = ((5237 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 1659) x 1.03 x 1.2 x 1.25 x 0.667 = 6798.04
Highest = ((5237 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 2491) x 1.03 x 1.2 x 1.25 x 0.667 = 7655.43

After testing, result shows my crusader strike damage between 6806 to 7651

Final Verdict

240% Weapon Damage as Holy Damage
2H Weapon Normalization is 3.3
Holy damage ignore armor

Formula = ((Attack_Power ÷ 3.5 x Weapon_Normalize) + Weapon_Damage) x Versatility x Final_Verdict_240% x Sword_Of_Light

Lowest = ((5237 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 1659) x 1.03 x 2.4 x 1.25 = 20383.94
Highest = ((5237 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 2491) x 1.03 x 2.4 x 1.25 = 22954.82

After testing, result shows my final verdict damage between 20389 to 22928

Templar Verdict

240% Weapon Damage as Physical Damage
2H Weapon Normalization is 3.3
Physical damage takes into consideration of target armor reduction

Formula = ((Attack_Power ÷ 3.5 x Weapon_Normalize) + Weapon_Damage) x Versatility x Final_Verdict_240% x Sword_Of_Light x Armor_Reduction

Lowest = ((5237 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 1659) x 1.03 x 2.4 x 1.25 x 0.667 = 20383.94
Highest = ((5237 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 2491) x 1.03 x 2.4 x 1.25 x 0.667 = 22954.82

After testing, result shows my final verdict damage between 20389 to 22928

Exorcism

168.6% of Spell Power as Holy Damage
Holy damage ignore armor
Abilities that use Spell Power ignore our weapon

Formula = Spell_Power x Versatility x Exorcism_168.6%

Damage = 5237 x 1.03 x 1.686 = 9094.47

After testing, result shows my exorcism damage is 9095

Judgement

57.6% of Spell Power + 69.6% of Attack Power as Holy Damage Holy damage ignore armor Judgement% = 57.6% + 69.6% = 127.2% Abilities that use Spell Power ignore our weapon

Formula = Spell_Power x Versatility x Judgement_127.2% x Sword_Of_Light

Damage = 5237 x 1.03 x 1.272 x 1.25 = 8576.63

After testing, result shows my judgement damage is 8577

Hammer of Wrath

(1 + 200%) of Spell Power as Holy Damage Holy damage ignore armor Abilities that use Spell Power ignore our weapon

Formula = Spell_Power x Versatility x Hammer_Of_wrath_300%

Damage = 5237 x 1.03 x 3 = 16182.33

After testing, result shows my hammer of wrath damage is 16183

Divine Storm

80% Weapon Damage as Holy Damage
2H Weapon Normalization is 3.3
Holy damage ignore armor
Final Verdict Divine Storm (FVDS) = 80% x 2 = 160%
Empowered FVDS = 160% x 1.5 = 240%

Formula = ((Attack_Power ÷ 3.5 x Weapon_Normalize) + Weapon_Damage) x Versatility x Divine_Storm_240% x Sword_Of_Light

Lowest = ((5237 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 1659) x 1.03 x 2.4 x 1.25 = 20383.94
Highest = ((5237 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 2491) x 1.03 x 2.4 x 1.25 = 22954.82

After testing, result shows my Empowered-FVDS damage between 20395 to 22773

Execution Sentence

914.20% of Spell Power as Holy Damage over 10 tick Holy damage ignore armor Abilities that use Spell Power ignore our weapon

Formula = Spell_Power x Versatility x Execution_Setence_914.20%

Damage = 5237 x 1.03 x 9.142 = 49312.95

I have difficulties testing out this ability

Light's Hammer

Arcing Light 86% of Spell Power as Holy Damage every tick Holy damage ignore armor Abilities that use Spell Power ignore our weapon

Formula = Spell_Power x Versatility x Arcing_Light_86%

Damage = 5237 x 1.03 x 0.86 = 4638.93

After testing, result shows my arcing light damage is 4640

Hammer of the Righteous (Physical)

42% Weapon Damage as Physical Damage
2H Weapon Normalization is 3.3
Physical damage take into consideration of target armor reduction

Formula = ((Attack_Power ÷ 3.5 x Weapon_Normalize) + Weapon_Damage) x Versatility x HOTR_42% x Sword_Of_Light x Armor_Reduction

Lowest = ((5237 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 1659) x 1.03 x 0.42 x 1.25 x 0.667 = 2379.31
Highest = ((5237 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 2491) x 1.03 x 0.42 x 1.25 x 0.667 = 2679.40

After testing, result shows my HOTR physical damage between 2389 to 2637

Hammer of the Righteous (Holy)

24% Weapon Damage as Holy Damage
2H Weapon Normalization is 3.3
Holy damage ignore armor

Formula = ((Attack_Power ÷ 3.5 x Weapon_Normalize) + Weapon_Damage) x Versatility x HOTR_24% x Sword_Of_Light

Lowest = ((5237 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 1659) x 1.03 x 0.24 x 1.25 = 2038.39
Highest = ((5237 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 2491) x 1.03 x 0.24 x 1.25 = 2295.48

After testing, result shows my HOTR holy damage between 2056 to 2295

Seal of Truth

12% Weapon Damage as Holy Damage
Holy damage ignore armor
This ability use weapon speed instead of weapon normalization

Formula = ((Attack_Power ÷ 3.5 x Weapon_Speed) + Weapon_Damage) x Versatility x Seal_Of_Truth_12% x Sword_Of_Light

Lowest = ((5237 ÷ 3.5 x 3.6) + 1659) x 1.03 x 0.12 x 1.25 = 1088.55
Highest = ((5237 ÷ 3.5 x 3.6) + 2491) x 1.03 x 0.12 x 1.25 = 1217.09

After testing, result shows my seal of truth damage between 1089 to 1217

Censure

1 stack = 6.1776% of Spell Power as Holy Damage
5 stack = 30.888% of Spell Power as Holy Damage
Holy damage ignore armor
Censure ignore our weapon

Formula = Spell_Power x Versatility x Censure_30.888%

Damage = 5237 x 1.03 x 0.30888 = 1666.13

After testing, result shows my 5-stack censure damage is 1667

Seal of Righteous

12% Weapon Damage as Holy Damage
2H Weapon Normalization is 3.3
Holy damage ignore armor

Formula = ((Attack_Power ÷ 3.5 x Weapon_Normalization) + Weapon_Damage) x Versatility x Seal_Of_Righteous_12% x Sword_Of_Light

Lowest = ((5237 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 1659) x 1.03 x 0.12 x 1.25 = 1019.20
Highest = ((5237 ÷ 3.5 x 3.3) + 2491) x 1.03 x 0.12 x 1.25 = 1147.74

After testing, result shows my seal of truth damage between 1020 to 1147

Monday, 5 October 2015

Timewalking BiS - Retribution Paladin

gearing for BiS set in timewalking can be a very fun thing to do, especially for players who enjoy diablo3. in fact, it really feel like the same to me. we rip apart old raids to get our BiS items and then use the gears to storm through timewalking dungeons over and over.

please do not underestimate the power of getting BiS set because the difference is really huge. a skillful player can do up to 500-700% more dps as compared to average players with no BiS. even if both players are equally skilled, the player with BiS can still do around 200-300% more dps.

so this is a great time to dust off our old tier-sets, shiny trinkets and weapons. over the month, i've also gone through many hours on theory-crafting as well as personally testing out various tier-sets and trinkets in timewalking dungeons. below is the list of items which you can take reference.

Head Slot

Helmet of Winged Triumph is our tier 16 helm from SOO raid, and is also the best helm you can get.

Capacitive Primal Diamond is the legendary MOP meta gem. the proc from this meta gem is way stronger than all other types of meta gem.

Neck Slot

any WOD necklace with a socket will be the best. because sockets in WOD is classified as tiertary stats, which is given free, and will not eat into the budget of the main/secondary stats.

whereas all pre-WOD necklace with a socket usually get a discounted main/secondary stats.

Gift of Haste is the best enchant. why not mastery? because most of our BiS gears lack of haste and we need around 15% haste to be effective. of course, the best gem is also Immaculate Haste Taladite.

Shoulder Slot

Pauldrons of Radiant Glory is our tier 13 shoulder from DS raid and we want to get the full tier-set bonus.

Greater Tiger Fang Inscription is naturally the best enchant for this slot.

Back Slot

Gong-Lu, Strength of Xuen legendary MOP cloak is the best, no arguments needed!

Gift of Haste is the best enchant, as explained above.

Chest Slot

Battleplate of Radiant Glory our tier 13 chest from DS raid and we want to get the full tier-set bonus.

Enchant Chest - Glorious Stats or Peerless Stats are equally good, use whichever you can get.

Wrist Slot

Rockhide Bracers is the best bracer drop from DS raid, you can easily farm for it.

Major Strength is the best enchant but this is a rare world drop in CATA, you will need some luck or you can just buy it from the AH.

Exceptional Strength is the next best enchant which is much easier to get in MOP.

Hand Slot

Gauntlets of Radiant Glory is our tier 13 glove from DS raid and we want to get the full tier-set bonus.

Enchant Gloves - Super Strength or Mighty Strength are equally good, use whichever you can find in CATA or MOP.

Waist Slot

Demolisher's Reinforced Belt
Living Steel Belt Buckle
best belt drop from SOO raid but we can't solo SOO yet. if you have it, please keep it well.

Runescriven Demon Collar
Ebonsteel Belt Buckle
fortunately, the belt from DS raid is almost equally good.

remember to add an extra socket from the blacksmith and use the belt buckle intended for that particular expansion.

Leg Slot

Legplates of Radiant Glory our tier 13 pant from DS raid and we want to get the full tier-set bonus.

Angerhide Leg Armor is the best enchant, from MOP.

Feet Slot

Treads of Crushed Flesh is the best boot, drop from DS raid,

Pandaren's Step is a mastery enchant with walking speed. i know there is a haste enchant but i think the walking speed from pandaren's step is more useful (or more fun!)

Ring Slot

it is very sad that our WOD legendary ring, Thorasus, the Stone Heart of Draenor is useless because the ring has a percentage buff and percentage buff lose its meaning after it is further scaled down in timewalking.

Ashen Band of Endless Might and Spellbound Runic Band of Elemental Power should be our BiS in overall dps, mainly due to their powerful procs. however the procs is also a problem because ideally we want the rings to proc on bosses or large pulls but in reality, you have totally no control when the proc will happen.

Gift of Haste is the best enchant for ring, as explained above unless you already exceed 15% haste, in that case, you can consider mastery enchant.

if you prefer "consistent" dps, like i do, then you should simply get any 2 WOD ring with a socket. because sockets in WOD is classified as tiertary stats, which is given free, and will not eat into the budget of the main/secondary stats, thus giving higher passive stats as compared to all pre-WOD rings. in this case, the best gem is Immaculate Haste Taladite

Trinket Slot

firstly, you have to decide whether to use on-use trinkets or passive trinkets. i would prefer passive trinkets to achieve "consistent" dps for trash but i also like to have a nice boost during boss fight. the answer is easy, since we cannot trigger 2 on-use trinket together, you might as well use 1 passive trinket and 1 on-use trinket.

in timewalking, all trinkets will be scale down to match the level of the timewalking. the only way is to test out all the trinkets one by one to find out how useful or how useless it has become. i've spend many hours testing out famous trinkets in TBC, ICC, CATA, MOP only to end up in disappointment because many trinkets from the old raids end up worse than or just equal to WOD trinkets. the famous one such as Deathbringer's Will has a stupidly long internal CD and Bone-Link Fetish does not even proc at all and Tiny Abomination in a Jar proc has became too weak. the only exceptional old trinket that is worth mentioning is the pvp trinket, Cataclysmic Gladiator's Badge of Victory, which you can now get it cheap by paying 800 honor points, has a worthy on-use strength boost.

anyways, to make things simple, you can more or less narrow down to using WOD trinkets. because WOD trinkets has a chance to came with a free socket too. i don't really like proc trinkets that has an internal CD for 1-2 minute because you have no control when it will proc, and it is very likely that it will not when i needed it most, which is annoying. of course you can disagree with me but these are my top choices.

Vial of Convulsive Shadows is my first choice because i prefer the high amount of passive strength and it has a decent on-use boost. and mine also came with a socket!

Discordant Chorus is my second choice. because fel cleave is really powerful on trash mobs and it is also decent for single-target boss too, and mine has a socket!

another worth mentioning is Scabbard of Kyanos because it is the most powerful on-use trinket. i don't have it because it is expensive and my two choices is already good enough.

if your trinket has a socket, best gem is Immaculate Haste Taladite

Edit: there is 1 particular ICC trinket, Tiny Abomination in a Jar, which has been proven by several players that it is extremely powerful in TBC timewalking (and the same group of players also confirmed it is very weak in WOTLK / CATA timewalking)

Weapon Slot

Shadowmourne is the best at all times.

Edit: even though we have CATA timewalking now, shadowmourne is still the best weapon due to the strength proc. the only cons is having a slightly lower hp-stamina as compared to using CATA weapon.

if you don't have shadowmourne, there are a few more weapons worth considering.

second choice - Uroe, Harbinger of Terror - solo lei shen
third choice - Shin'ka, Execution of Dominion - solo sha of fear
you can use the legendary MOP socket and legendary MOP gem on these two weapons.

fourth choice - Sulfuras, the Extinguished Hand
the easiest to get, solo firelands ragnaros

fifth choice - Hellscream's Decapitator
from MOP garrosh heirloom

and that's it. although everybody has the same item-level in timewalking, you will be surprised that a BiS player can still pull a large margin ahead. the difference is really huge, so don't wait any more, go ahead and have some fun!

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