Tune Gift of the Serpent properly

#1 - Oct. 5, 2014, 1:37 a.m.
Blizzard Post
6.0 will be live in probably 10 days. For over 2 years now, the Mistweaver mastery Gift of the Serpent has been horribly undertuned such that even if it does all heal as much as it is supposed to, it is still the worst stat for the entire spec. I've gone as far as to say that it's probably the worst value for mastery of any spec in the game.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1wgLUxqI1Sidfeeeq-D3RKWBCAPOeI8u4AZdMm7Vh0r8/pubhtml

This is a spreadsheet that I created over a month ago to comprehensively document the specific tuning problem with Gift of the Serpent. I've been improving this over time, posted it to the theorycrafting results thread, in the Mistweaver feedback thread, and several times on Twitter. Celestalon even acknowledged it at one point as how an argument for changing GotS's numbers should be made. Since then, we have heard absolutely nothing and nothing has been changed.

To go over the issue again:

In a 100% ideal setting in which none of the mastery healing is wasted, 88 mastery (1%) often translates to anywhere between a 0.5% and 0.75% healing increase. Every single other healer mastery averages out to a 1% healing increase for 88 mastery, MW's does not.

This causes a problem with stat balance because at base stats 88 of any other rating will give (at zero value):

88 Crit = 0.8% increase (plus Mana Tea benefit)
88 Multistrike = 0.8% increase (plus Jade Mists benefit)
88 Versatility = 0.68% increase (plus 0.34% damage reduction)
88 Haste = 0.88% throughput increase on most spells
88 Mastery = 0.75% at best increase with no auxiliary benefit.

You can clearly see the practical application of this in any MW log. In a raid setting, a MW has at least 13% GotS proc rate at any given time, yet I have been unable to find a single log of any MW anywhere in beta that provides over 10% of total healing (which would be a 11.11% throughput increase).

It is, by far, the worst MW stat in the game. It has been this way for over two years. I've brought up the evidence multiple times in multiple places, correcting any and all possible errors with it.

We're past mechanical changes, but please, for once in the history of the spec, at least tune GotS properly so MWs don't have to run in fear from any piece of gear that has mastery on it. One of the stated goals in the patch notes is to create better stat parity due to the lack of reforging. Please, take 5 minutes to make MW not have the single worst mastery in the game from a theoretical standpoint, even if it would still be bad from a practical standpoint. There is no reason why it should not have the same parity as other healers' masteries when that has shown to be a good baseline for mastery's stat value.
Forum Avatar
Game Designer
#20 - Oct. 7, 2014, 2:13 a.m.
Blizzard Post
We're making some significant changes to the proc coefficients on Gift of the Serpent, for each heal. These are, on average, massive buffs to the proc rate.

Here are the latest coefficients, for the theorycrafters:

Spell ID Spell Name Gift of the Serpent Proc Coefficient
119611 Renewing Mists 0.25
132463 Chi Wave 0.25
124081 Zen Sphere (Periodic) 0.20
124101 Zen Sphere (Detonate) 0.20
130654 Chi Burst 0.20
115175 Soothing Mists 0.67
125953 Soothing Mists (Statue) 0.33
132120 Enveloping Mist 0.25
116670 Uplift 0.40
126890 Eminence (Self & Xuen) 0.27
117895 Eminence (Statue) 0.13
124040 Chi Torpedo 0.45
117640 Spinning Crane Kick 0.15
162530 Rushing Jade Wind 0.10
157590 Breath of the Serpent 0.20
157675 Chi Explosion 0.30
157681 Chi Explosion (Periodic) 0.02
159620 Chi Explosion (Crane) 0.40
115310 Revival 1.00
116995 Surging Mist 1.00
115072 Expel Harm 1.00


*crosses talons that formatting works*

EDIT: Fixed the Spell ID on Enveloping Mist. Sorry for the typo.

EDIT 2: Decided to adjust this so that it is purely a buff, regardless of spell selection. Tweaked the coefficients for Renewing Mists and Zen Sphere (Periodic).
Forum Avatar
Game Designer
#24 - Oct. 7, 2014, 2:46 a.m.
Blizzard Post
Discussed this further, and are going to revise it so that it's purely a buff, no nerfs. See edits to the previous post.