RSS feed2009-03-10 21:12:14
I was doing some Soul Shard testing on some dummies and random mobs, to really try out the cap on Soul Shards. Honestly when I first heard about us only being able to have a maximum count of 32 shards, I was pretty upset. However there was a change to Drain Soul as well to allow each tick a chance to create a shard -- I read a thread where Ghostcrawler said we'd generate enough shards that we might end up destroying any excess shards.
So I was on some Darnassus Training Dummies, trying out my Affliction rotation with Shadowburn every time it was off cooldown. After about 2 minutes, I was left with about 24 shards (32-->24). So the ideal thing to do at this point was to Drain Soul. I proceeded to do so, after about 3 soul drains on the dummy and at a rate of about 1-2 shards per drain, I was left with 30 shards.
*NOTE, I did not have the minor glyph, Glyph of Drain Soul, so I do not know how much of a difference that would have made.
I almost reached my break-even point with my shards, however spending almost a minute casting Drain Soul does not seem very viable in a raid during a boss encounter. I do not use Drain Soul as a nuke during the early parts of a fight, neither is it part of my rotation except during the "execution" phase of a boss (the last 25%). Even when I was level 10 and I first trained the spell, I never thought of the spell as some kind of damage boost. I always would cast it at the very end, the few seconds before something was about to die.
I repeated my testing on different dummies, and a few elite mobs around the world. The events were pretty conducive with the previous tests:
Start with 32 Shards
After about 2 minutes of combat and use of shards, I was left with 24 shards.
After about 45 seconds of casting Drain Soul, I was left with 28-31 shards.
Also 2 minutes of combat with use of shards w/o Drain Soul equated to about 3500-3700 DPS
2 minutes of combat with use of shards w/ Drain Soul equated to about 3000-3200 DPS
If the "chance" on tick were changed to some kind of guaranteed generation of a shard there would be little to no problem with shard management. However, I also think the 32 shard limit is a bit restrictive. I think this limit alongside with the "new" Drain Soul mechanic kind of devalues the Soul Shard. But then again, I could think of several scenarios that devalue the Soul Shard. Even if the cap was lifted, and we had a guaranteed shard per tick on Drain Soul, this would make Soul Shards less valuable (in the same way as if they could stack).
Consequently, the the "chance" on the Drain Soul ticks and the 32-max shard count do not exist fairly well together, in my opinion and small amount of testing. If warlocks had no limit on the amount of Soul Shards they could carry, we could enter an encounter with say 40 shards, come out with less than 20, and re-supply on trash on the way to the next boss. A 32 shard limit retards a Warlocks DPS that uses shards during a fight, to Drain Soul.
Those who wish to sing will find a song.
So I was on some Darnassus Training Dummies, trying out my Affliction rotation with Shadowburn every time it was off cooldown. After about 2 minutes, I was left with about 24 shards (32-->24). So the ideal thing to do at this point was to Drain Soul. I proceeded to do so, after about 3 soul drains on the dummy and at a rate of about 1-2 shards per drain, I was left with 30 shards.
*NOTE, I did not have the minor glyph, Glyph of Drain Soul, so I do not know how much of a difference that would have made.
I almost reached my break-even point with my shards, however spending almost a minute casting Drain Soul does not seem very viable in a raid during a boss encounter. I do not use Drain Soul as a nuke during the early parts of a fight, neither is it part of my rotation except during the "execution"
I repeated my testing on different dummies, and a few elite mobs around the world. The events were pretty conducive with the previous tests:
Start with 32 Shards
After about 2 minutes of combat and use of shards, I was left with 24 shards.
After about 45 seconds of casting Drain Soul, I was left with 28-31 shards.
Also 2 minutes of combat with use of shards w/o Drain Soul equated to about 3500-3700 DPS
2 minutes of combat with use of shards w/ Drain Soul equated to about 3000-3200 DPS
If the "chance" on tick were changed to some kind of guaranteed generation of a shard there would be little to no problem with shard management. However, I also think the 32 shard limit is a bit restrictive. I think this limit alongside with the "new" Drain Soul mechanic kind of devalues the Soul Shard. But then again, I could think of several scenarios that devalue the Soul Shard. Even if the cap was lifted, and we had a guaranteed shard per tick on Drain Soul, this would make Soul Shards less valuable (in the same way as if they could stack).
Consequently, the the "chance" on the Drain Soul ticks and the 32-max shard count do not exist fairly well together, in my opinion and small amount of testing. If warlocks had no limit on the amount of Soul Shards they could carry, we could enter an encounter with say 40 shards, come out with less than 20, and re-supply on trash on the way to the next boss. A 32 shard limit retards a Warlocks DPS that uses shards during a fight, to Drain Soul.
Those who wish to sing will find a song.
Zapelzio
