Shadow stat priority confusion

[oni 2]

Hello there!

First, I want to say that I really, really appreciate all of the effort that went into your class/spec-guides for 5.x. No one else has provided a resource nearly so useful -- even now, weeks after launch. It is a major coup for Icy-Veins, which I hadn't known about until 5.x I'm sorry to say.

My problem? Mr. Robot and Icy-Veins disagree on stat priorities for shadowpriests. Mr. Robot still lists Haste as better than Crit, with Mastery last on the list. So one of the two sites is better in the know. (Icy Veins relates Crit to be above Haste, and then Mastery following dead last again)

Given the information at Icy-Veins, I have endeavoured to obtain a large amount of crit-gear. However, I am concerned now, given all of the confusion on stats. And, as my raid team will be hitting its first MoP raid tonight, I'm hoping to clear the matter up ASAP.

~ Oni

(armory link)

[oni 2]

HowtoPriest.com also lists Haste > Crit > Mastery. (They gobbled up Shadowpriest.com... but the link at shadowpriest.com had not been updated to reflect that they had a useful 5.x guide for Shadow)

That's 2:1 vs. Icy-Veins.com, and please forgive me but I'm now feeling a little irritated that I trusted you guys on what gear to get and what stats to reforge to. I had been feeling as if my DPS was not up to par, and now I am going to have to do a great deal of work (and switch out a lot of gear) in order to be properly prepared for the raid.

Edited October 9, 2012 by oni

[Damien 1,514]

Hello oni,

We are currently harmonizing our stat priorities with Ask Mr. Robot. This is a long process, as checking stat priorities is not as easy as it may appear. We will make an announcement when we are done. For DPS classes, we only have Shadow Priest, Elemental/Enhancement Shamans, and Arms/Fury Warriors left.

In the case of Shadow Priests, it will matter very very little whether you go for Crit or Haste. For example, at heroic gear levels, having 10,000 Haste Rating and 2,000 Critical Strike Rating is only 2% more efficient than having 10,000 Critical Strike Rating and 2,000 Haste Rating. So if you find your DPS numbers to be low, you probably need to be looking at something else :P

[Stasis 36]

Just make sure you get 8085 Haste rating... Remember, our dots aren't a fixed duration. Haste has a profound effect on our DPS.

Below SWP-2 Haste Breakpoint (8085 Haste)

Int > Spell Power > Haste > Hit=Spirit > Crit=Mastery

Above SWP-2 Haste Breakpoint (8085 Haste)

Int > Spell Power > Hit=Spirit > Crit=Mastery=Haste

http://howtopriest.c...php?f=19&t=1658

After that, Damian's correct in that the secondaries become very close to each other, so reforging for haste or crit are both good choices. Under 8085, haste is king.

So haste, haste, haste, haste!

[Damien 1,514]

To add to what Stasis said, you probably won't be able to reach that haste cap before Heroic gear. With T14 Normal gear, your stat budget for Critical Strike Rating, Haste Rating, and Mastery Rating will probably be around 10,000, making it hard to have more than 8,000 in a given stat.

Also, oni, thank you for the nice comments about the website :)

[Stasis 36]

I was able to reach it in pre-raid gear. Required VP and the crafted 476 pieces, and the freebie boots from the Sha of Anger quest. Gemming for Haste obviously. Haste was weighted at 0.78, so more valuable than the Int gem hybrids anyway.

Here's my Toon: http://us.battle.net...nshade/advanced. I picked up the LFR ring and Cloak today which actually dropped my haste significantly from the 463 items I had in those slots. Had to sacrifice the socket bonus on my belt (60 spirit) annoyingly. Power Torrent on my staff because Windsong is broken for Spriests currently

With 8111 haste my weightings are now, Crit: 0.32 Haste: 0.31 Mastery: 0.28. And will likely stay similar for the rest of the tier.

My DPS is certainly competitive with the top WoL parses.

Edited October 10, 2012 by Stasis

[Damien 1,514]

I was able to reach it in pre-raid gear. Required VP and the crafted 476 pieces, and the freebie boots from the Sha of Anger quest. Gemming for Haste obviously. Haste was weighted at 0.78, so more valuable than the Int gem hybrids anyway.

Here's my Toon: http://us.battle.net...nshade/advanced. I picked up the LFR ring and Cloak today which actually dropped my haste significantly from the 463 items I had in those slots. Had to sacrifice the socket bonus on my belt (60 spirit) annoyingly. Power Torrent on my staff because Windsong is broken for Spriests currently

With 8111 haste my weightings are now, Crit: 0.32 Haste: 0.31 Mastery: 0.28. And will likely stay similar for the rest of the tier.

My DPS is certainly competitive with the top WoL parses.

By the way, could you please check whether you get an 8th tick of Shadow Word: Pain at 8085 Haste Rating or at 8106 Haste Rating?

[Stasis 36]

By the way, could you please check whether you get an 8th tick of Shadow Word: Pain at 8085 Haste Rating or at 8106 Haste Rating?

Here's the breakpoints. http://lesgrognards....12_3_53_44.jpeg

From Howtopriest

[Damien 1,514]

Here's the breakpoints. http://lesgrognards....12_3_53_44.jpeg

From Howtopriest

I have reasons to believe that the actual breakpoint value in the game is different :P

Unfortunately, I don't have a priest to test it.

[Stasis 36]

I have reasons to believe that the actual breakpoint value in the game is different

Unfortunately, I don't have a priest to test it.

I reforged/switched gear to get close enough to either side of the 8085 breakpoint. And either side of your 8106 rating. The mastery dot duplication messes up counting individual ticks, but the overall duration shows the breakpoint clearly enough.

7954 Haste is 16.85 second duration SW:P;

8094 haste is 19.2 seconds;

8111 Haste is 19.19 seconds.

The beauty of the breakpoint is obvious, the dots are ticking just as quickly but for 2.5 seconds longer; so fewer GCD's spent refreshing it, so can squeeze in extra Mind Flay ticks over the course of the fight.

[Damien 1,514]

Thanks a lot for confirming it :)

[Keyz 0]

Haste is definitely a spriests go to stat until you hit 8085, or 7584 as a goblin. Reforge for it, gem for it until you get there. I assume at some later tier the second Vampiric Touch tick will also be feasible to reach, and will then become your new target, but for now SWP+2 is what you're looking for.

Here's an excellent haste breakpoint card for most of the DPS casters who benefit from additional ticks of dots significantly:

http://www.totemspot.../entry.php?b=44

Edited November 1, 2012 by Keyz

[oni 2]

Aye, but you don't want to gem exclusively for haste. You want to get there with some decent intellect as well. It's very possible to reach that point with a bit of MSV gear, and then start stacking your crit.

As is now, I am the top DPS (or a close second, in some fights) in every group I run with.