A View From Beta: The Little Things

The beta has been open for about two weeks now and I have been in since last Thursday. If you've been following the various forums around the internet, I doubt anything I post today will be new to you. However, I want to give a summary of some of the little things (and some not so little things), that I and others have seen in the beta.

Is Insect Swarm Gone?

One of the curious happenings of the early beta is that Insect Swarm isn't in the moonkin spell books at the moment. There is a history of Insect Swarm being bugged and not showing up in early beta, but given the overall reaction to the IS changes made and other changes seen in beta, some are speculating that Insect Swarm may be gone for good.

In case you've forgotten, the early MoP talent calculators indicated that Insect Swarm was being converted into a debuff that would increase moonkin nuke damage on a single target. Later it was modified slightly to include all damage, but at a lower rate. While I approved of the change, there are a lot of players that didn't like it for a number of reasons. Some just didn't like the idea of loosing a DoT, but others saw the new spell as pointless and uninteresting.

There has been no official word, but it now seems that Blizzard is agreeing with the second view point and is scrapping the spell entirely. Not only that, but the spell co-efficient for the three nuke spells has increased by 26% which is surprisingly close to the bonus that Insect Swarm would have provided.

Personally, I am not sad to see it go. Insect Swarm has had a long and mediocre history in the game and never really found its place. In TBC it was ok at low levels of gear, but couldn't keep up after the first tier of raiding was dropped from the rotation. In WotLK it survived a little longer, but by the time ICC rolled around it fell out of favor unless you are moving and couldn't do anything else. In Cataclysm, IS has remained a strong spell for the entire expansion, but it is so similar to Moonfire that it doesn't really add anything to the rotation other then another button to push.

Small Spell Changes:

Over the past couple of months a lot of attention has been focused larger changes to the spell like how Insect Swarm, but not as much has been focused on the smaller changes that also have a significant impact on Moonkin performance.

First, the amount of energy generated by Wrath and Starsurge has increased. Wrath now generates 15 energy (up from 13.33 in live), and Starsurge generates 20 energy (up from 15 in live). Energy generated by Starsurge is also affected by Euphoria.

Second, Starfire's cast time has been reduced to 2.7 seconds (down from 3.0 after talents on live). I did question if this was a bug when I saw it on the early versions of the talent calculator, but it is 2.7 seconds in the beta and it makes sense when you consider the energy generation changes above.

These changes primarily serve to standardize the nukes and the amount of energy per second they generate. It also causes energy to be generated round numbers and is hopefully less confusing. It's not really a big change but the overall impact is that it will shorten the Eclipse transition so that we have larger uptimes on DoTs and Nature's Grace.

Instant Eclipse Energy:

In beta, Eclipse energy is generated when the spell cast is completed rather then when it hits the target like it does on the live servers. This is a subtle change, and the reactions I've seen are a bit mixed. The detractors have sited that the travel time of Wrath and Starsurge has served as a way for moonkin to extend the Eclipse's effective uptime by casting instants like Moonfire in the small window of time when the nukes are traveling. However, that argument loses its merit when you consider some of the other changes made in beta. Namely, we are no longer going to be manually refreshing DoTs at the end of Eclipse since our nukes well be doing it for us.

I'm in favor of this change since it takes a little of the awkwardness of the rotation. It wasn't that big of a problem at lower gear levels because it was difficult to cast Starfall that was shorter then Wrath's travel time, but as the expansion progressed it became a frequent occurrence especially with temporary haste buffs from weapons, trinkets, and cooldowns. All in all there may be a couple of downsides to energy generation being instant, but I think the positives out weigh the negatives.

The Lack of Glyphs:

This has been commented on by a lot of people but it's worth saying again. There are very few good major glyph options for PvE moonkin at the moment. Glyph of Rebirth is so good that it is a required glyph for every raiding Druid, but after that the options are fairly weak. Glyph of the Moonbeast and Glyph of Stampede are the most frequent choices for the other two slots, but they are really more of a convenience and provides no real utility since I can already switch into the necessary form and use them anyway.

After those three the choices are pretty bleak. Glyph of Hurricane is nice in the right situation, but if you really need something slowed its likely that you will have something with a 70% slow being applied as well. Glyph of Innervate may be helpful, but most of the time if I need the mana I am unlikely to give the innervate away. I an also see a use for Glyph of Stampeding Roar, but probably not frequently. Other then that, the other options either have no use for moonkin or are only useful in PvP.

Creating glyphs for Balance or any DPS spec is going to be some what difficult now that they are trying to get away from the DPS boosting glyphs. However, I do think there are options that have been unexplored. For example, they could add a healing component to one of our existing spell much like they have for Glyph of Ferocious Bite. In my opinion the obvious example would be to have Starsurge heal the moonkin for 5% every time it hits.

I also find it surprising that there is not a single glyph that affects Wild Mushroom or Fungal Growth. I can think of three possibilities around these abilities alone. The most obvious is to have a glyph that allows you to place all three mushrooms at once. Another good one would be to increase the blast radius of the WM detonation. This shouldn't be over powered since WM is getting a pretty heavy nerf and really more of a correction for placement error rather then a DPS gain. Finally, why not have a glyph that extends the radius of Fungal Growth but only allows you to place one mushroom?

Lunar Shower and Movement DPS:

Lunar Shower hasn't really changed at all other then having the energy generation removed, but that lack of change is what I find most interesting. You might remember that back in May Daxxarri said that "Lunar Shower will be working differently in the future" in a post he made on the WoW forums. The interesting thing is that here we are three months later without any significant changes. So the question is did Blizzard scrap the Lunar Shower overhaul or are they still thinking about it?

Wild Mushroom UI:

This is a really small thing but it makes me happy. Now when you place your mushrooms little icons with a timer for the mushrooms appear below the player unit frame in the standard UI. It looks a lot like how totems appear in the standard UI for shaman (if I remember correctly). Hopefully this will make it easier for addon writers to build a WM counter into a standard balance addon like Balance Power Tracker. This isn't a huge issue since there are plenty of ways to track the mushrooms, but I do like it when things are consolidated into few addons.

Edit: This is apperently nothing new, and has been this way on life for some time. I guess I just use so many addons that I never noticed it before.

Thorns is Gone:

I didn't notice this until it was mentioned on the forums, but Thorns is not in the beta or on the MoP talent calculator. I'm not sure how I feel about this. For most of its life Thorns has been a pretty lack luster spell doing so little damage that it wasn't even noticed. In Cata the spell got a new life after its damage was increased at the expense of gaining a cooldown and having a shorter duration.

All things considered, I am a bit surprised to see it gone. There are several fights in Cata where it is useful, and it seems like it would be very useful in PvP. I don't know why Blizzard would want to get rid of it after people finally started using it. That said, from my perspective as a PvE player it isn't that interesting of an ability. When ever I needed it I made a macro that automatically targeted the tank and casted the spell on cooldown, so it didn't really add anything to my rotation.

Moonkin Builds: Leveling to 80

Wrath of the Lich King is being released in just over a week, and I think a lot of us are starting to think about how we are going to level. With that in mind I have come up with a little guide talent guide for moonkin looking to level from 70 to 80.

Introduction
It is important to remember that leveling is different then raiding. Both play styles are technically PvE, but the nature of the fights are fundamentally different.

Raid builds are created for maximizing personal DPS over the long hall and buffing raid members to increase raid wide DPS. Survivability is important but predictable. As long as you have enough Health to withstand the fight mechanics, you can survive the fight with a little self awareness.

Fights are much shorter while leveling, and damage can be fairly unpredictable with unexpected adds. Leveling builds should focus more on short term DPS and survivability. You want talents that can give you a controlled burst of DPS and help you run away if needed.

On top of that I think there are two distinct leveling styles that dictate some of your talent choices.

The first style I call the "Root and Nuke" style. A person that uses this style likes to stand at max range, root the mob, cast starfire, and repeat. They try and control the mob as much as possible and take as little damage as possible. This style favors some one that has a relatively low level of gear and can't take many hits. This style also fits someone that instances a lot while they level.

The second style is the "Tanking" style. This is the style I think I will prefer in WotLK. The primary goal of this style is to kill the mob as quick as possible. Since you will take some hits using this style, it favors some one with a high level of gear for the extra DPS and Stamina. Using this style you're a little more prone to getting yourself into bad situations. Therefore, survival talents are a little more important.

Core Talents (link)
This is what I consider to be the core of the talents of a moonkin leveling build and I expect most moonkin would pick all of these up without any help. Most of these are self explanatory, but lets take a look at a few of them.

Balance of Power - Obviously this is a core talent for a raiding build, but some may argue that it isn't needed for a leveling build. It will be less useful for experienced raiders with quite a bit of Hit from gear, but Hit is useful while leveling. You still have a 5% base chance to miss a target of the same level as you. Higher level mobs will have an even grater miss chance.


Owlkin Frenzy - This one depends a little on how you level. Someone that is very good about using Roots to keep the mob away from them and avoiding adds will have less use for this talent. This is how I leveled to 70, but I think my path to 80 will be different. My gear level allows me to kill mobs quickly, and don't have the patience for rooting anymore. Using this "tanking" strategy for leveling makes Owlkin Frenzy a very valuable talent.

My Expected Build (Link)
This is the build I plan to use for leveling when Northrend opens up. I will go over the talents I picked and the talents I skipped, but the general theme to my choices is DPS and killing things mobs quickly.

What I picked up:
Brambles - This talent goes very well with my Tanking style. The primary benefit here is the 75% increase to thorns in my opinion. Since the thorns damage now scales with Spell Power, Thorns packs a punch that hasn't been seen before. On top of that the possible stun with Barkskin makes this a great survival talent to help get you out of those sticky situations. Root and Nuke players may like this talent also for the extra damage to their roots.

Typhoon - I have been very critical of this talent in the past, and I'm still not a big fan of it to be honest. I'm picking it purely as an Oh S#*t button. If I get to many mobs on me I hope to be able to use the knock back to get a little space and run away.



Force of Nature - I've picked this talent for a burst of DPS after a bad pull or when trying to solo an Elite. You can also use them to tank a mob temporarily. They won't change the way you play but the give you a couple of options.


Starfall - This talent is particularly good for bad pulls. It gives you a little extra damage and has a chance to stun the mobs. Again, it won't change the way you play, but does give you more options.


Nature's Focus - This is an all around good survival talent. If you use the Tanking style it allows you to get Wrath off with very little push back. It also helps you get off emergency heals or CC when things are going poorly.


What I skipped:
First off, I skipped pretty much all mana regen talents. I'm not having many mana issues as a raider, so I don't expect to have big issues while leveling. Really the only thing mana regen does for you is allow you to drink less while leveling.

Eclipse - Its just to random for leveling. It can and will give you a DPS boost, but a lot of the buffs will be wasted on down time.

Nature's Splendor - In most cases the mob shouldn't be alive long enough to take the extra tick of your DoTs. It just won't increase your DPS in most situations.

Genesis - Plain and simple, it is a horrible talent for DPS. Investing 5 points increase DPS by just 1%.



Gale Winds- Since Hurricane is a channelled spell and Typhoon doesn't do a whole lot of damage, there just no point in picking it up. Moonkin aren't able to AoE grind mobs that are the same level as the us. (Did not find picture.)

Talent Points from 71 - 80
Really these points won't have a huge impact on your leveling. I've already picked up all of the main talents that increase your DPS, and there is nothing else that significantly increase your survivability. For a rough guideline, I would put the first five points in Furor. This will give you a little extra DPS, a little extra mana, and little more regen from mana on crit. After that I would probably put the next three in Dreamstate, just to reduce the amount of drinking needed. Finally, I would probably put 70th point in Eclipse for potential extra DPS, and respec at 80 to a raid build.

Again, none of these have a big impact on your performance but you have to put the points some where.

Other Points of View
Phaelia over at Resto4Life wrote a post a while back on the choices Resto's face when picking a leveling build. She provided several different options from pure Moonkin Pew Pew to pure Tree form.

I disagree with some of the choices Phae made in her Moonkin builds, but if your think about healing part of the way to 70 she has presented some good options. You can find the post here.

Moonkin Nerfed

Edit: Sorry didn't realize the tooltip I copied was wrong. Max rank EnM still gives a 13% raid wide damage buff. The nerf is purely to the personal damage reduction.

Apparently there are two changes on the Beta realm that you all should know about.

Earth and Moon: Your Wrath and Starfire spells have a 100% chance to apply the Earth and Moon effect, which increases Arcane, Fire, Frost, Nature and Shadow damage taken by 13% for 12 sec. Also increases your spell damage by 3%. (Max rank EnM used to increase personal spell damage by 5%)

Glyph of Starfire: Your Starfire ability increases the duration of your Moonfire effect on the target by 3 sec, up to a maximum of 9 additional seconds. (Was unlimited)

My first reaction to this is obviously disappointment and anger. No one likes to be nerfed, but I'm going to hold my judgement for now.

Ghostcrawler said that the change was made because "balance dps is really high both at level 70 and 80. We're concerned that we made too many big changes and made their dps too high." (src)

I don't know if Balance DPS is two high or not. It's pretty hard to evaluate right now due to all of the server issues and the fact that almost all bosses are now loot piniatas. However, I can say one thing with complete confidence. Moonkin are not the highest DPSers in raid. In the last two raids we have run with 2 or 3 hunters. They are by far the best DPSers in raid, because the basically have unlimited mana now, an aggro dump, and at least a quarter of there damage comes from a pet with a separate aggro table. I'm not talking about a small advantage. In some cases they are doubling the DPS of the casters and such.

Murmurs has made a great post on the WoW forums regarding the state of Moonkin DPS and how Blizzard is trying to rely on Eclipse to heavily to make our spec more interesting. It's really long but she has some great points that I urge you to check out. (link)

A Use for Eclipse

Yesterday, I made a big post about how Eclipse was still a bad talent despite how Blizzard was buffing it. For the most part I still stand by that post. The Precasting method is still a horrible way to use the talent, and I don't see any reason to put a full three points into the talent.

However, Erdluf (a reader of Gray Matter) brought up a really good point over on the Moonkin Repository. Find his post here.

His idea center's around using the Opportunistic method and ignoring the extra DPS provide by the Glyph of Starfire. Erdluf presents a very compelling argument that investing a single point into Eclipse can significantly increase Moonkin DPS.

Stat Assumptions:
Spell Power: 1800
Haste: 9.17% including Celestial focus and Imp MA
Hit: Capped
Crit SF: 37% - Includes Imp Scorch, MA, Nature's Majesty, and Imp IS (not unreasonable assuming a 15% base from stats)
Talent Build: Link

Can we ignore the Glyph of Starfire?
This is the first question we need to answer, and I think the answer is yes.

Lets remember what Glyph of Starfire does. It increases the duration of your Moonfire by 3 seconds thus adding another tick of damage. This is great in that it prevents you from having to recast Moonfire. In fact, if there are few or no interruptions in your casting cycle your Moonfire's duration will grow over time. Take this example.

Lets say you start a fight by casting Moonfire and then you spam Starfire. The global cooldown is 1.374 seconds long and Starfire will take 2.579 seconds to cast on average. In one minute you will be able to cast Starfire 22 times after the first Moonfire ((60 - 1.374))/2.579 = 22.73). Those 22 casts of Starfire will add 22 ticks of Moonfire to the original 5. So, over 60 seconds with a Starfire spam rotation you will build up 27 ticks of Moonfire, but only use 20 ticks. Therefore, over 60 seconds of Starfire spam we will gain 2 Moonfire ticks after you subtract out the original 5.

Since we will be building up the Moonfire ticks over time, it is reasonable assume that we can take brief brakes and let some of these ticks get spent without refreshing new ones. Otherwise some ticks would be wasted since Moonfire is likely to still be ticking after the Boss is dead.

Therefore, I agree with Erdluf, in that it is reasonable to ignore the Glyph of Starfire when evaluating the value of Eclipse. As long as the brakes are short and don't happen to often, having to recast Moonfire should still be fairly infrequent in long fights.

Unglyphed Starfire vs Eclipse Buffed Wrath:
An unglyphed Starfire will have the following DPS.

Avg DPS = (((1120 + (1800 * 1.2)) * 1.19) * 1.37) / ((3 - (0.5 * 0.37)) /1.0917) = 2074 DPS

An Eclipse buffed Wrath will look like this on average.

Avg DPS = (((588 + (1800 * 0.67)) * 1.42) * 1.34) / (1.5 / 1.0917) = 2484 DPS

This indicates that a buffed Wrath does 19.79% more DPS then an unglyphed Starfire. Therefore, given these assumptions, switching to Wrath from Starfire, can provide a significant boost to DPS temporarily.

Is the buff worth the talent points?
Now the question is can we get that buff often enough to make it worth the investment of talent points.

With only one point invested Eclipse each of our Starfire crits have a 33% chance to proc Eclipse. With a crit rate of 37% that means each Starfire cast has a 12.21% chance to proc the buff. Meaning, that on average it will take 8.19 starfire casts over 21.12 seconds to get the buff. Add this to the 40 second cooldown, and we see that the average buff cycle will last 61.12 seconds.

As we all know the buff's duration lasts 10 seconds, but it will probably take another Starfire cast to recognize and use the buff. So, the usable buff duration is only 7.421 seconds long.

In that time, you should be able to complete 5 wrath casts (7.421 / 1.374 = 5.401). These 5 casts will take 6.87 seconds to cast, and the buff will be up 11.24% of the time (6.87 / 61.12 = 11.24%).

Therefore, a single point investment in Eclipse is theoretically worth 2.22% increase in total DPS. Even if you miss the buff 50% of the time it will still increase your DPS by over a percent. In my opinion this is big enough to invest a single talent point in.

If one point is so good, why shouldn't I invest more?
The reason is the cooldown. It is the biggest factor in determining what the buff's uptime and it cannot be changed. Adding a second point will increase the the buff's up time to only 13.59%. This means that the marginal increase to total DPS for the second point is only0.469%. The third point is even worse.

On top of that, each point you invest you will cause you to cast Wrath more often and increase the likely hood that Moonfire will fall off the target..

Conclusions:
1. Investing one point in Eclipse can provide a significant increase to total DPS assuming that it doesn't cause Moonfire to slip off the target.

2. Investing more then one point in Eclipse is a waste, because the marginal gains for the second and third point are very small.

Why Eclipse is Still Bad (for PvE)

For those of you that missed it Ghostcrawler graced us with her presence on the WoW Beta forums to update us on how they planned to buffing Eclipse to make it more attractive. Here is what she had to say.

It now has a longer cooldown (40 sec) and a shorter duration (10 sec) but the effects on Wrath and Starfire are doubled. It is overall a buff to the damage to justify the proc-watching aspect. We also hope the longer cooldown and shorter duration will mean it takes less of your bandwidth to do so.

This comment is a little confusing. Several people have asked if this is actually a buff or really a nerf. The math gets a little complicated, but it is indeed a buff over the old version. However, that does not mean it is a good talent or that PvE moonkin should pick it up.

Please let me show you why Eclipse is still a bad talent.

Possible uses for Eclipse:
There are two possible ways to use Eclipse. I call them the Opportunistic method and the Precast method.

With the Opportunistic method you use your normal casting rotation until you get an Eclipse buff, and then you switch to the buffed spell while you still have the buff.

With the Precast method you start casting your secondary spell with the intent to buff your primary spell.

Stat Assumptions:
Spell Power: 1800
Haste: 9.17% including Celestial focus and Imp MA
Hit: Capped
Crit SF: 37% - Includes Imp Scorch, MA, Nature's Majesty, and Imp IS (not unreasonable assuming a 15% base from stats)
Crit Wrath: 34% - Includes Imp Scorch, MA, Nature's Majesty
Talent build: Link

Standard Starfire DPS:
First off lets look to see what the DPS is for the standard IS, MF, SF*x rotation using these stats and assuming all three spells are glyphed.

IS Damage = (((1290 + (1800 * 0.76)) * 1.09) * 1.3) * (14/12) = 4,394
MF Damage Tick = ((800 + (1800 * 0.52)) * 1.29) / 4 = 982
SF Damage = (((1120 + (1800 * 1.2)) * 1.19) * 1.37) + 982 = 6,329

Starfire has an average cast time of 2.579 seconds, therefore you will cast Starfire 5 times before you refresh Insect Swarm. Therefore, Starfire and the IS, MF, SF*x rotation will have the following DPS.

Avg Starfire DPS = 6,329 / 2.579 = 2,454
Avg Rotation DPS = (4,394 + (5 * 6,329)) / (1.374 + (5 * 2.579)) = 2,526

The Opportunistic Method:
Update: A new possibility has been brought to my attention on how to make this method work, and it looks pretty good. I have posted a new analysis here.

In previous posts I've established that Starfire is the primary Raid DPS spell in WotLK. So, to use the Opportunistic Method we would start casting our normal Starfire rotation, then switch to wrath if and when we got an Eclipse buff.

It is fairly simple to understand, but lets see why it doesn't make sense mathematically.

For the Opportunistic Method to work, an Eclipse Buffed Wrath will have to have a rotation DPS greater then 2,454. We can calculate Wrath's DPS with eclipse as follows.

Avg Wrath Damage = (((588 + (1800 * 0.67))*1.39) * 1.34) = 3,342
Avg Wrath DPS = 3,342/ (1.5 / 1.0917) = 2,432

As you can see an Eclipse buffed Wrath still does less damage then the standard Starfire. Therefore, there is no reason to switch from the standard Starfire rotation even if Wrath has a 20% buff.

The Precast Method:
With the precast method we would start casting Wrath to receive the Starfire buff. Switch to Starfire as soon as you get the Eclipse buff and stick with Starfire until the cooldown is up.

First, we need to determine how much precasting it will take on average to get the Starfire buff. As stated in the assumptions Wrath has a crit rate of 34% in this example. On top of that each Crit has only a 60% chance to proc Eclipse. So each Wrath cast has 20.4% chance to proc Eclipse. This means that on average you will have to cast Wrath 4.90 times before you get the Wrath buff. On top of that it is reasonable to assume that we will not recognize that we have the buff right away. Therefore, lets assume that one Wrath cast occurs during the buffed period. This brings the total number of Wrath Casts up to 5.90.

Wrath's average cast time and damage output are:

Avg Wrath Damage = (((588 + (1800 * 0.67)) * 1.19) * 1.34) = 2,861
Wrath Cast time = 1.5 / 1.0917 = 1.374

Therefore, during this precast period you will on average do 17,334 Damage over 8.11 seconds, and it will cost 1,420 mana.

With the Eclipse buff Starfire's average cast time and damage output are:

Avg Starfire Damage = (((1120 + (1800 * 1.20)) * 1.19) * 1.67) = 6,518
Starfire Cast time = (3 - (0.5 * 0.67)) / 1.0917 = 2.441

The next question is how many buffed Starfire's can we get off during the buffed period. I have already indicated that we will lose 1.374 seconds of the buff due to slow reaction times and casting a Wrath during the buffed period.

Theoretically you can get 3.53 Starfire casts off during the buff period but parcial casts will not receive the buff. Therefore we should round down to 3 Starfire Casts.

So, during the buffed period with Eclipse you will on average do 22,502 damage over 7.32 seconds, and it will cost 794 mana.

If you combine this with the pre casting period you do a total of 39,836 damage over 15.43 seconds at the cost of 2,214 mana. This means that if you precast you will have an average DPS of 2,582.

If you compare this to the average DPS of the standard IS, MF, SF*x rotation of 2,526 you can see that the Eclipse can result in a 2.22% increase in DPS while Precasting. However, this does not consider the cooldown.

With the cooldown you shouldn't precast until 40 seconds after you receive the buff. Then on top of that it will take an average of 6.74 seconds to renew the buff. Meanwhile, we can only get 3 buffed starfire's off meaning that the buffed period only lasts 7.323 seconds.

So, the buff will be applied once ever 46.74 seconds and it will be useful for 7.323 seconds. This means that the Eclipse buff will only be present 15.67% of the time.

Therefore investing 3 points in Eclipse will only buff a moonkin's DPS by 0.349%.

Conclusions:
1. Opportunistic casting Wrath casting will actually reduce your DPS on average. Therefore, there is no reason to switch Wrath with the Eclipse buff, unless there is some fight mechanic that makes Starfire less desirable.

2. Using the precasting method can result in a small increase in DPS. However, it requires quite a bit of micromanagement. It would be quite easy to mess up the rotation and lose some if not all of your gains.

3. Ultimately, Eclipse just isn't worth the points for a PvE Moonkin. It is so random that our performance could see significant changes from fight to fight even if played perfectly. On top of that there are several talents in the Balance tree that are regularly passed up but provide a similar increase to DPS with much less hassle.

Note: I don't know much about it, but apparently PvP moonkin are quite happy with this change. The talent is much more attractive with Wrath as your primary spell, and apparently using the buff in conjunction with the PvP set bonus can result in significant burst damage.

Moonkin Updates: 10/3/2008

Nothing major has happened lately, but I have found some small updates that my readers may be interested in.

Nature's Grace:
If you may remember back in build 3.0.1.8634 that dropped on July 17 2008, we got this little change:

Nature's Grace: Now also reduces the global cooldown of your Wrath spell by 50% while in effect.

Apparently this change was ninja removed at some point. If you look at the talent trees provided by both Blizzard and WoWhead, it is no longer there, and I'm hearing reports from people in Beta and on the PTR that NG no longer affects the global cooldown.

This shifts the Starfire vs Wrath debate a little bit. I haven't changed my posts from a couple of weeks ago yet, but this shifts the debate in Starfire's vavor once again. It reduces Wrath's DPS advantage down to just 4% without the SF glyph. With the glyph Wrath is at a 11.7% disadvantage.

Nature's Splendor:
I didn't see any official word on this either but according to the talent trees Nature's Splendor extends Insect Swarm's duration by only 2 seconds now (down from 3). This makes a lot of sense, and it was probably a typo that NS extended IS by 3 seconds in the first place. IS currently ticks every 2 seconds, so that extra second was hard to estimate.

Ultimately this changes little. It does reduce my IS DP calculations a little, and it will make Wrath rotations a little more complicated since MF and IS will have different durations, but nether of these issues will cause significant changes in the way moonkin are played.

Starfall:
This spell will be non dispellable in an upcoming build. This should make a lot of the PvP moonkin happy but it may still be spell stealable. I don't know.

Bloat:
FSU Posted a long post on the Beta forums regarding Moonkin Bloat. He focuses primarily on PvP, but PvPers are feeling the same thing that PvE moonkin are. There are just to many necessary talents for the number of talent points we are given. Luckily he got a response.

For now, all I've got is that Starfall can't be dispelled does not equal GC basically said they're done with balance.

I know we have heard this before, and its starting to sound like a standard trade marked response like "soon^tm," but for some reason I'm optimistic. Maybe I'm a glutton for punishment, but the need is so obviously clear to me that I don't see how they can miss it.

I compared the Balance tree to the other 8 caster DPS trees. The balance tree has 79 talent point options. The only tree that has more is the Arcane Mage tree with 81. The average of all 9 caster DPS trees is 74.56, which shows we have significantly more talents then the other caster specs. On top of that many of the other specs have clear distinction in choices. Several talents in there tree clearly provide little or no value in PvE.

Lets take Shadow Priests for example because I know them best. They have 4 talents that are clearly have little or no value in PvE situations.

Blackout - Only be useful on trash.
Imp Psychic Scream - Useless in raids because the need for fears is minimal.
Silence - Probably doesn't work on most bosses, and it requires two points in Imp PS to pick up.
Psychic Horror - A pure PvP ability that would have absolutely no use in Raids.

These four talents add up to 12 points that can be easily skipped from a shadow build. On top of that shadow priests start with only 70 talent options to begin with. This leaves them 13 points to spend how they want in other trees or to pick up some more situational talents.

Compare this to the Balance talents that are generally excluded by druids.

Genesis - Increases DPS but not by much compared to other talents.
Brambles - Increase the Damage of our Trents, Thorns, and Roots.
Imp Faerie Fire - Designed to be a PvE raid talent. It just sucks, unless you don't have an Spriest in raid.
Dreamstate - Provides mana regen.
Owlkin Frenzey - Probably the most Pure PvP talent we have, but could be useful in raids if WotLK raids have as much raid wide damage as SWP and BT do.
Eclipse - Another talent designed for PvE, that most people agree is useless since it doesn't provide a significant DPS increase.
Typhoon - An AoE spell that is primarily for PvP.
Force of Nature - An excellent source of mana efficient, treat free damage if used correctly. A standard part of most current moonkin builds.
Gale Winds - Increases AoE damage.

Of these 10 talents we are excluding, are there any you clearly don't want or need in a PvE build?

I can easily drop Typhoon because Hurricane should be enough AoE and the knock back on Typhoon could be bad in a raid. Other then that I can see a clear PvE reason to pick up all 9 other talents. The reasons aren't good enough drop some other talent, but there are significant uses for all 9 of the other talents in raids.

If I was a blizzard developer here are the changes I would love to see made. It's probably a little to much to ask for, but I can dream. (These are listed in the order of my priority.)

1. Reduce Vengeance to 2 or 3 points (currently 5 points) and move Nature's Reach to tier 4 of the tree.

2. Reduce Moonfury to 2 or 3 points (currently 5 points).

3. Reduce Lunar Guidance to 2 points (currently 3 points).

4. Reduce Dreamstate to 2 points (currently 3 points).

What do you think? What changes would you like to see to improve Moonkin in WotLK?

WotLK: What Spell Do I Use? - Spell Rotations

This is the second part in a three part series looking at what spells moonkin should use for WotLK Raiding. Part one looked at the basic math of our four main DPS spells. Part two looks at what spell rotations moonkin should use and wen. Part three on Eclipse is cancelled for now.

UPDATE: The numbers have been updated to include the new base spell values. The TL;DR version did change a little bit as the Starfire Rotation improved significantly.

Knowing the basic math behind each spell is nice and all but it doesn't give the whole picture. These spells are interrelated and preform best when used in conjunction with each other.

In this post I will look at four different spell rotations. I will review which are best in some situations, and which should be completely ignored.

If you don't care about all of the math or assumptions please feel free to skip to the bottom for the TL;DR version.

Assumptions:
1. All of my math is based upon the calculations I did in my DPS Basics post. Therefore, the same assumptions hold true.

2. Just to reiterate, I am excluding the Glyph of Wrath, because spell push back is hard to quantify. This is biased against Wrath, but I will try and acknowledge the issue in my conclusions.

3. I won't be using Starfire and Wrath in the same rotation. In the past some oave argued that Wrath you be the last spell in your rotation if you have less then 1.5 seconds left on your DoT. While this is technically true, I believe it complicates the rotation to an unreasonable level. Overly complicated rotations can lead to decreased DPS because of mistakes made in trying to execute them. Therefore, I will not be using this practice in my rotations listed below.

4. Moonfire and Starfire are assumed to be glyphed, but Insect Swarm is assumed not to be. There is no downside to the Moonfire glyph, and the Insect Swarm glyph only improves my conclusions and a rotations DPS if included.

5. The additional Moonfire damage from the Starfire Glyph will be attributed to the Starfire cast and not Moonfire.

6. All rotations are created using average cast times. These numbers can very significantly depending on the number of crits that occur and proc Nature's Grace.

Talent Build / Buffs:
I am using the same build to calculate these rotations as I used in the DPS Basics post. Please refer to it for specifics. However, I would like to highlight one additional talent.

Improved Insect Swarm - Increases the damage of your nuke spells based upon the DoTs on the target.
Nature's Splendor - Increases the duration of your Moonfire and Insect Swarm spells by 3 sec.

Creating a Spell Rotation:
Spell Rotations are defined by two charicteristics: DoTs and Cooldowns. Without DoTs or Cooldowns, we would just pick our best spell and spam it.

Moonkin don't have a "standard" long cooldown spells. Yes, you could include Starfall or Force of Nature, but realisticly they are not going to be included in any standard rotation. So, Moonkin rotations are going to be centered around our two DoTs: Moonfire and Insect Swarm.

With Nature's Splendor Moonfire and Insect Swarm have a duration of 15 seconds. Therefore all but one of the rotations will be centered around this 15 second DoT timer.

The rotation depend on how many "nukes" you can fit in the duration of the DoT(s). To do this we need to determine the average cast time of Starfire and Wrath and the average global cooldown for Insect Swarm and Moonfire.

Cast Times / Global Cooldowns:
As I said we in the assumpions, I am using the same stats as the Basic's post. That means my hypothetical moonkin has 11.31% haste, Starfire and Wrath have 30% crit, and Moonfire has 36% crit. Here is how you calculate each spell's cast time or global cooldown.

Starfire w/ Imp IS: (3 - (0.5 * (Crit + 0.03)))/ (1 + haste) = (3 - (0.5 * 0.33)) / (1 + 0.1131) = 2.5469 seconds

Wrath: (1.5 / (1 + haste))*(1 - Crit) + Crit = (1.5 / (1 + 0.1131))*(1 - 0.3) + 0.3 = 1.2433 seconds

Moonfire: (1.5 / (1 + haste))*(1 - Crit) + Crit = (1.5 / (1 + 0.1131))*(1 - 0.36) + 0.36 = 1.2225 seconds

Insect Swarm: (1.5 / 1 + haste) = 1.3476 Seconds

Improved Insect Swarm:
I didn't include this talent in my basics analysis because it is a very rotation dependent talent. However, it does have a significant impact on spell DPS. Here is how the equations are modified for this talent.

Wrath:

DPS = (((Base + (Spell Power * 0.67))*(1 + (0.32 + Imp IS)))*(1 + Crit)) / ((1.5/(1+Haste))*(1 - Crit) + Crit)
DPS = (((588 + (1800 * 0.67))*(1 + 0.32 + 0.03)))*(1 + 0.3)) / ((1.5/(1+0.1131))*(1 - 0.30) + 0.30)
DPS = (1,794* 1.35)*1.3 / (1.3476*0.7) + 0.3
DPS = 3,148 / 1.2433 = 2,532.25

Starfire:

DPS = (((Base + (Spell Power * 1.2))*(1 + 0.32))*(1 + (Crit + 0.03)) / ((3-(0.5 * (Crit + 0.03)))/(1+Haste))
DPS = (((1120 + (1800 * 1.2))*(1 + 0.32)))*(1 + 0.33)) / ((3 - (0.5 * 0.33))/ (1 + 0.1131))
DPS = (4330*1.33) / 2.5469 = 2,260.93

Glyphed DPS = Starfire DPS + (Moonfire Tick / 3)
Glyphed DPS = 2,260.93 + (1,119/ 3) = 2,633.93

Spell Rotations:
The different rotations fall into two catagories: Starfire rotations and Wrath rotations. First, I'm going to compare the Starfire rotations and the Wrath rotations to find out which is the best Starfire rotation and which is the best Wrath rotation. Then, I am going to compare the Starfire and Wrath rotation to each other to find out which is best.

Starfire Rotations:
For these rotations I am assuming that Moonfire is already on the target. Therefore, I am ignoring the direct damage portion of the spell and the mana costs of the spell. This of course won't be true for all fights, but it should impact both rotations equally. Therefore, it should impact the analysis for now.

Moonfire, Starfire * X:
If Moonfire is already on the boss this is basically Starfire spam and therefore has the same DPS as shown above. So for my hypothetical moonkin this rotation has an average DPS of 2,633.98, and and averate DPM of 15.80.

Moonfire, Insect Swarm, Starfire * X:
The main question here is how many Starfire's can we cast while Insect Swarm ticks on the boss. Insect Swarm has a duration of 15 seconds talented and a GCD of 1.3476.

SF casts per IS: (15 - 1.3476) / 2.5469 = 5.36; rounded up to 6

So this means that on average our rotation will consist of 1 Insect Swarm cast and 6 Starfire casts. This results in a rotation DPS of :

Rotation DPS = (IS Dam + (SF Dam * 6)) / (IS GCD + (SF Cast Time * 6))
Rotation DPS = (4,220+ (6878 * 6)) / ( 1.3476 + (2.5469* 6))
Rotation DPS = 45,485 / 16.629 = 2,735.28

Rotation DPM = 45,485 / (304 + (435 * 6)) = 15.61

At a 30% crit rate the IS, MF, SF rotation does about 3.85% more DPS but is only 1.28% less mana efficent then the MF, SF rotation. Therefore, it is my suggestion that an IS, MF, SF*x rotation be your primary Starfire rotation in early raiding.

Wrath Rotations:

Insect Swarm, Wrath * X:
How many Wraths can we cast while Insect Swarm ticks on the boss. Insect Swarm has a duration of 15 seconds talented and a GCD of 1.3476.

Wrath casts per IS: (15 - 1.3476) / 1.2433 = 10.98; rounded up to 11

So this means that on average our rotation will consist of 1 Insect Swarm cast, 10 Wrath casts with Imp IS, and 1 Wrath cast without Imp IS. This results in a rotation DPS of :

Rotation DPS = (IS Dam + W Dam + (W IS Dam * 10)) / (IS GCD + (W Cast Time * 11))
Rotation DPS = (4,220 + 3,083 + (3,153 * 10)) / ( 1.3476 + (1.2433* 11))
Rotation DPS = 38,833/ 15.0239 = 2,584.74

Rotation DPM = 38,833/ (304 + (273 * 11)) = 11.74

Moonfire, Insect Swarm, Wrath * X:
How many Wraths can we cast while Insect Swarm and Moonfire ticks on the boss. Both DoTs hav a duration of 15 seconds talented. Insect Swarm's GCD is 1.3476, while Moonfire has an average GCD of 1.2225.
Wrath casts per Rotation: (15 - 1.3476 - 1.2225) / 1.2433 = 9.99; rounded up to 10

So this means that on average our rotation will consist of 1 Insect Swarm cast, 1 Moonfire cast, 9 Wrath casts with Imp IS, and 1 Wrath cast without Imp IS. This results in a rotation DPS of :

Rotation DPS = (MF Dam + IS Dam + W Dam + (W IS Dam * 9)) / (MF GCD + IS GCD + (W Cast Time * 10))
Rotation DPS = (5,733 + 4,220 + 3,083 + (3,153 * 9)) / ( 1.2225 + 1.3476 + (1.2433* 10))
Rotation DPS = 41,413 / 15.0031 = 2,760.30

Rotation DPM = 41,413 / (304 + 597 + (273 * 10)) = 11.41

The Wrath rotations are fairly even. The the IS, MF, W rotation has a 3.73% DPS advantage, but the IS, W rotation has a 5.96% DPM advantage. Which you choose will depend on your current needs, but if you need more mana efficiency then your probably not going to use a Wrath rotation. Therefore, it is my suggestion that an IS, MF, W*x rotation be your primary Wrath rotation in early raiding.

Starfire Rotation vs Wrath Rotation:
Which rotation is better really depends on the fight. The Starfire rotation is clearly better in terms of both DPS and DPM. However, this only holds true if you can keep appling Moonfire ticks with each Starfire cast and there is limited spell pushback.

The Starfire Rotation is best for long "tank and spank" type fights that have limited aggro dumps and limited movement. This rotation shine's when you can sustain consistant and focused DPS. The perfect fight for this rotation is one like Tidewalker, where you can sit there and build up as many ticks as possible with out worring about pulling aggro after a threat wipe.

A Wrath Rotation is best for the more highly variable fights like Leo. The Wrath rotation shines when you have to start and stop DPS frequently because it doesn't require the synergy between glyphs to provide good DPS. Also, a Wrath rotation is more predictable because you manage when your DoTs end to help you avoid pulling aggro. If you used a Starfire rotation in this situation you would lose a good chunk of the mana efficency because you have to reapply Moonfire frequently.

Ultimately you want to maximize your use of the Starfire rotation without pulling aggro or endangering the raid. There are plenty of situations where one rotation might be good for one phase but bad for the second.

Take Supremus for example. Phase one is great for Starfire, because you can build up Moonfire ticks to DPS during the Kite phase. Wrath is better for phase two because of the shorter cast time and you don't want to extend the Moonfire DoT into the aggro dump.

You can also use more then one rotation in a single phase. Take phase two of the Leo fight in SSC. You have a minute while he is in demon form. You could build up your Moonfire duration using your Starfire rotation until the duration of Moonfire is a little less then the time left in the phase. Then you switch over to your Wrath rotation to let the moonfire tick off.

TL;DR Version:
This is a lot of math and words so I want to summarize it into a more digestable format.

MF, IS, SF*x Rotation
Good: The Best rotation when managable. Great for long "tank and spank" fights that allow for continous and focused DPS.
Bad: For choppy fights with frequent aggro dumps that require you to frequently reapply Moonfire.

MF, IS, W*x Rotation
Good: For choppy fights that require greater control over your personal DPS.
Bad: For long consistent fights that require a greater level of mana efficnecy.

WotLK: What Spell Do I Use? - The Basics

This is the first part in a three part series looking at what spells moonkin should use for WotLK Raiding. Part one looks at the basic math of our four main DPS spells. Part two will look at what spell rotations we should use and when. Part three on Eclipse is cancelled for now.

UPDATE: The numbers have been updated to include the new base values.

With the expansion coming a lot of the conventional wisdom regarding moonkin is up in the air. If you have read my blog or the moonkin forums you know that several people are questioning if Starfire will still be our primary raid spell. In this post I hope to look at our 4 primary DPS spells and how they are changing. In a second post I will also look at what sort of rotations we are going to use in the expantion.

Quick Note: A couple of people have done math similar to this. I haven't reviewed it all but it is something you might one to look at it. Murmur's compares Moonkin DPS to Mage DPS here on the WoW forums. And Gray Matter reader Erdluf, looks at the DPS of individual talents here on the Moonkin Respository. These were posted a little while ago so some of the values may have changed, but it is good work by both of them that should be recognized.

Talent Build / Buffs:
I have used this Talent Build to calculate the numbers. I am not suggesting that we raid with this build. I have chosen it because it maximizes DPS buffs and I expect blizzard to do something about our bloat.

Note: This may be a mistake but I'm going to assume that you've read my other Verses posts or know a decent amount about moonkin builds. Therefore, I am not going to list every talent that will impact the math. I am just highlighting the newer ones and the ones that have a greater impact.

Spell Damage Buffs:
Genesis - Increases the damage and healing done by your periodic damage and healing effects by 5%.
Improved Moonfire - Increases the damage and critical strike chance of your Moonfire spell by 10%.
Moonfury - Increases the damage done by your Starfire, Moonfire and Wrath spells by 10%.
Wrath of Cenarius - Your Starfire spell gains an additional 20% and your Wrath gains an additional 10% of your bonus damage effects.
Earth and Moon - Your Wrath and Starfire spells have a 100% chance to apply the Earth and Moon effect, which increases Arcane, Fire, Frost, Nature and Shadow damage taken by 13% for 12 sec. Also increases your spell damage by 5%.
Master Shapeshifter - Moonkin Form - Increases spell damage by 4%.

Glyphs:
Glyph of Moonfire - Increases the periodic damage of your Moonfire ability by 75%, but initial damage is decreased by 90%.
Glyph of Starfire - Your Starfire ability increases the duration of your Moonfire effect on the target by 3 sec.
Glyph of Insect Swarm - Increases the damage of your Insect Swarm ability by 30%, but it no longer affects your victim's chance to hit.
Glyph of Wrath - Increases the chance you'll resist spell interruption when casting your Wrath spell by 50%.

Assumptions:
1. Base Mana for a level 80 Druid is 3796 as found on WoWWiki.

2. I have build a hipothetical druid entirely geared out of Naxx 10. I used both Cloth and Leather items. The math is build around this charicter. Fully buffed he has 17,776 mana, 30% Crit w/ talents, 11.31% haste, 1800 Spell Power, and is Hit capped.

3. I assume there is no spell push back. This is biased agains Wrath, but I don't think I have a good way to estimate it at the moment.

Mana Costs:
In WotLK mana costs for spells are a percentage of a toons Base Mana pool. So, at level 80 a moonkins mana costs start at: Starfire = 607, Wrath = 417, Moonfire =797, Insect Swarm = 303.

With thenew Mana on crit mechanic we can assume some mana saving based upon crit rate. Given my hipothetical moonkin each crit will return 355 mana. Therefore each Wrath and Starfire cast will return 107 mana on average and each Moonfire cast will return 128 mana on average.

Moonglow will also reduce the mana costs by 9% for Starfire, Wrath and Moonfire.

With these modifications in mind we can assume the mana cost of each spell is: Starfire = 446, Wrath = 273, Moonfire = 597, Insect Swarm = 303.

Moonfire:
Here is the basic math for Moonfire's DPS.

DD Damage = (((DD Base + (Spell Power * 0.1487)) * (1 + Crit₁)) * (1 + (Imp MF + MF + EnM(group) + MSS + EnM(self))))

DoT Damage = ((DoT Base + (Spell Power * 0.5224)) * 1.25) * (1 + (Imp MF + MF + EnM(group) + MSS + EnM(self) + Genesis))

DPS = (DD Damage + DoT Damage) / 15

For the hypothetical moonkin this equiates to:

DD Damage = ((441+ (1800* 0.1487)) * (1 + 0.36)) * (1 + 0.1+ 0.1 + 0.13 + 0.04 + 0.05)
DD Damage = (709 * 1.36) * 1.42 = 1,369

DoT Damage = ((800+ (1800 * 0.5224)) * 1.25) * (1 + 0.1+ 0.1 + 0.13 + 0.04 + 0.05 + 0.05)
DoT Damage = (1740 * 1.25) * 1.47 = 3,198

DPS = (1,369+ 3,198) / 15 = 304.67

Now lets look to see what happens if we use the Glyph of Moonfire. As state above it reduces the Direct Damage potion of the spell by 90% but increases the DoT by 75%.

DPS = ((DD Damage * 0.1) + (DoT Damage * 1.75)) / 15
DPS = ((1,369* 0.1) + (3,198 * 1.75)) / 15
DPS = (137 + 5596) / 15 = 382.23

The DPM for a Glyphed Moonfire is:

DPM = (137 + 5596) / 597 = 9.60

Due to the Glyph of Starfire we need to figure out what Moonfire's DoT damage is per tick. I will assume that the Moonfire Glyph is active since it is clearly a DPS increase.

Damage per Tick = 5596 / 5 = 1,119

1: This crit rate is 0.06 higher then the crit rate listed in the assumptions. This is due to Moonfire getting 10% crit from talents instead of 4% like Starfire and Wrath.

Starfire:
Here is the basic math for Starfire's DPS.

DPS = (((Base + (Spell Power * 1.2))*(1 + (MF + EnM(group) + MSS + EnM(self))))*(1 + Crit)) / ((3-(0.5*Crit))/(1+Haste))>

For my hypothetical moonkin this equates to:

DPS = (((1,120 + (1,800 * 1.2))*(1 + 0.1 + 0.13 + 0.04 + 0.05)))*(1 + 0.3)) / ((3 - (0.5 * 0.3))/ (1 + 0.1131))
DPS = (3,280* 1.32)*1.3 / (2.85 / 1.1131)
DPS = 5,628 / 2.5604 = 2,198.28

This results in a Damage per Mana of:

DPM = (5,628 / 446) = 12.62

As stated above the Glyph of Starfire increases the duration of a ticking Moonfire by 3 seconds. It basically adds one more tick. Here is how that affects Starfire's DPS and DPM. I will assume that the Moonfire Glyphed also.

Glyphed DPS = Starfire DPS + (Moonfire Tick / 3)
Glyphed DPS = 2,198.28 + (1,119/ 3) = 2,571.28

Wrath:
Here is the basic math for Wrath's DPS.

DPS = (((Base + (Spell Power * 0.67))*(1 + (MF + EnM(group) + MSS + EnM(self))))*(1 + Crit)) / ((1.5/(1+Haste))*(1 - Crit) + Crit)

For my hypothetical moonkin this equates to:

DPS = (((588 + (1800 * 0.67))*(1 + 0.1 + 0.13 + 0.04 + 0.05)))*(1 + 0.3)) / ((1.5/(1+0.1131))*(1 - Crit) + Crit)
DPS = (1,794* 1.32)*1.3 / (1.3476*0.7) + 0.3
DPS = 3,079 / 1.2433 = 2,476.07

This results in a Damage per Mana of:

DPM = (3,079 / 273) = 11.28

Insect Swarm:
Here is the basic math for Insect Swarm DPS.

DPS = ((Base + (Spell Power * 0.76)) * (1 + EnM(group) + MSS + EnM(self) + Genesis) * 1.25) / 15

For my hypothetical moonkin this equates to:

DPS = ((1,290 + (1800 * 0.76)) * (1 + 0.13 + 0.04 + 0.05 + 0.05) * 1.25) / 15
DPS = (2,658 * 1.27 * 1.25) / 15 = 281.30

Using the the Insect Swarm Glyph depends on your raid. In will increase your personal DPS, but it eliminates the 5% avoidence associated with the spell. Using this glyph depends on the need for the extra avoidence and if a hunter is using Scorpid Sting.

Glyphed DPS = 281.30 * 1.30 = 365.70

This results in a Damage per Mana of:

DPM = (2,658 * 1.27 * 1.25) / 303 = 13.93

Glyphed DPM = ((2,658 * 1.27 * 1.25) * 1.3) / 303 = 18.10

Conclustions:
1. If you ever plan on using Moonfire in a Raid you should have the Moonfire Glyph. We all know that Moonfire spam is bad 99.99% of the time, so this glyph improves your DPS 99.99% of the time.

2. Without glyphs the relationship between Starfire and Wrath has normalized, where Wrath has a 13% DPS advantage and Starfire has a 12% DPM advantage. After you add the Glyph's Starfire becomes a clear favorite for fights with low spell push back. In such a situation, Starfire has a 3.7% DPS advantage and a 34% DPM advantage

3. Insect Swarm is a much improved spell. It may not scale as well as our other spells but it scales much better then it used to.

Final Note:
I feel like I should note that the Crit rate I have used in these calculations is probably a little conservative. I came up with the number by adding the crit from Crit Rating, Int, Talents, and Imp Scorch togeather and scaled it back a little. To be specific my hypothetical moonkin got the following crit values from stats: Crit rating - 7.17%, Int - 5.62%, Talents - 9%, Imp Scorch - 10%. If you combine these you get a 31.78% crit rate.

Notice that this calculation excludes Imp FF or a Base Crit rate that may or may not exist. It is also created using the bear minimum of raid quality gear. This number should increase significantly as the quality of gear increases from T8 and T9 instances.

I haven't detailed the math here but I have plugged higher crit rates into my model to see how it would affect the results. It shows that Crit rating heavily favors Wrath in both DPS and DPM. Wrath receives more DPS from crit then Starfire because it has a higher base level of DPS. Wrath also becomes more Mana efficent due to the Mana on Crit and having a shorter cast time then Starfire.

So, don't be surprised, if we start saying don't use Starfire at higher levels of raiding.

I will revaluate these numbers after WotLK goes live and we have some real numbers to play wit.

WotLK Beta Update - Build 8962

Blizzard pushed through another beta build last night and it includes several changes to the Balance tree that I think you will be interested in.

* Earth and Moon (Tier 10) changed so your Wrath and Starfire spells have a 100% chance to apply the Earth and Moon effect. It now also increases your spell damage by 1/2/3/4/5%. (Previously had a 20/40/60/80/100% chance to apply the Earth and Moon Effect) Buff Duration also decreased to 15 seconds.
* Eclipse (Tier 9) changed so when you critically hit with Starfire, you have a 33/66/100% chance of increasing damage done by Wrath by 10%. (Previously 20/40/60% chance)
* Improved Moonkin Aura (Tier 7) gives 3% spell haste for all ranks and now you gain 5/10/15% of your spirit as additional spell damage.
* Improved Faerie Fire (Tier 7) increases your critical strike chance against targets afflicted with Faerie Fire by 1/2/3%.
* Nature's Splendor (Tier 3) changed to - When you cast Moonfire, Insect Swarm, Rejuvenation, Regrowth or Lifebloom you have a 33/66/100% chance to increase it's duration by 3 sec.

The Good:
This is definitely an improvement over the old build. Earth and Moon and Imp Moonkin Aura gained buffs that will increase Moonkin DPS.

The best change is to Imp Moonkin Aura for a couple of reason. This is a talent we were going to pick up in the old build, so this is a free buff. Also, anything that boosts our damage in relation to spirit is great because we are going to be seeing a lot of spirit on our gear. This makes up for the nerf to Lunar Guidance a little bit. A lot of people on the forums had been asking to get Crit rating, but I think most will be happy with this also.

Beyond that we have a definite reason to not only pick up Earth and Moon but put 5 points in it for a little additional scaling.

The Bad:
The biggest issue is still bloat. I have seen no indication that any talent costs have been reduced and these talent changes make just increase the number of desirable talents. In the last build I wouldn't have put only 3 points in E&M, and none in Eclipse or Imp Faerie Fire. So, Moonkin now have 8 more places to put talent points we don't have.

This is an issue Moonkin have been stressing since the first alpha build, and with each build it seems to just get worse. I know Blizzard has said they are going to take a look at it and probably shave off a couple of points here or there, but that was several weeks and several builds ago. Its time for them to do something about it. In my current mock raid build, I have 3 points left with 5 viable talents that have 12 possible talent points, And that excludes Imp FF. I'm not saying I should get all 5 talents, but forcing me to drop 3 or 4 of them isn't reasonable either.

Improved Faerie Fire was the least improved in this build. The increased crit is nice, but it does not address the core issue of the talent. The duration of the talent is to short and and it is much easier for another class to apply. Even with the additional crit, Imp Faerie Fire will still be a DPS loss for Moonkin. According to my quick math a rotation SF rotation that included Imp FF would have 1.1% less DPS then an SF rotation that did not include Imp FF. (This assumes the 3% hit is provided by Misery.)

The problem is the duration. Since it is only 40 seconds we cant get enough SF or Wrath casts off to let the Crit compensate for GCD loss let alone improve our DPS. Blizzard needs to increase Faerie Fires Duration or give us some way to refresh it without switching from our damage rotation. As is, no should moonkin will pick up this talent as long as there is an Shadow Priest in raid.

The Unknown:
I think the Jury is still out on Eclipse. The reduction in cooldown and reduced randomness are definite improvements. However, the buff's duration was cut in half to 15 seconds. Also, the question of how Wrath and Starfire relate is still unanswered. Is there enough of a contrast to warrant switching spells?

My Mock Raid Build:
As I mentioned before I have created a new Mock level 80 raid build. Here is the link.

As you can see I still have 3 points that I am unsure how to spend. Here are the choices:

Dreamstate (3 pts) - A lot has been done to improve our mana situation, but with potion sickness I am unsure if this is an expendable talent. If I have mana issues I may be forced to put the points here.

Owlkin Frenzy (3 pts) - This is obviously a great PvP talent, but has some potential in PvE as well. If WotLK raids are designed like BT and SWP with a lot of raid wide damage, the the push back resistance and extra damage will be very helpful.

Eclipse (3 pts) - As I said before, I am very up in the air on this talent. I don't know if it has been improved or not. I need to sit down and do some math to figure it out.

Force of Nature (1 pts) - I love the trees, but the are hardly an ideal raid talent. In WotLK they will be a little more controllable, but they will still be weak and situationally useful. On top of that I have never gotten really proficient at casting the spell. I always seem to get a little out of range. The plus side is they can do significant damage that is both threat free and mana efficient if used correctly.

Gale Winds (2 pts) - I would love to pick up this talent. I hate getting killed by locks and mages on the damage meters during AoE pulls. In Hyjal, Holly Paladins can do similar damage to what I can do because the run in and Consecrate. The problem is we don't know how important AoE is going to be in WotLK. Right now I file this talent under nice but situational.

Conclusion:
This is a nice start, because there are some very nice changes here. I think most moonkin though would agree with me and say that a few more changes are needed. Something needs to be done about bloat, and Imp Faerie Fire needs to be tweaked. Eclipse may need to be tweaked also, but I will wait until I have done the math to say for sure one way or the other.

Let me know what you think. How would you design a raid build with these changes? How does this change your outlook on the tree if at all?

Edit: I saw the change in Eclipse's duration and edited some of my comments.

Offical WotLK Release Date

Release Date / Pool Results:

Well it is official. Wrath of the Lich King will be released Thursday November 13th. Some of you may remember I started a little pool, for everyone to guess when the expansion would be released. The winner is:

Gnomerggedon from Armaggedon’s coming. It sounds like his win is a little bitter sweet, because he will be going on vacation for 2 months starting on the 13th. Don't worry, though. WoW will still be here when you get back and you won't have to deal with the crowd trying to kill mobs and such. For the last expansion I got graylo to 60 in early march. Questing was easy, and I could still get lots of groups for instances. Have fun on your vacation.

Time to Panic:
A lot of people are probably rejoicing at the announcement. For high end raiders and casual players this is one of the few times they agree on something. Both are thinking: "WOOT!!! NEW CONTENT".

However, there is another group out there for whom this is a very depressing announcement. We are a group of people with unfulfilled goals. For whatever circumstances we have not been able to complete a couple of tasks for which we have been striving.

Some of you may be saying: "Hey, we still have 2 months. That is plenty of time to finish things up." Well, that's not completely true. Some time between now and Nov 13th, Patch 3.0.2 will drop. If you weren't here for the release of BC, this is the patch that gets WoW ready for the expansion. It will change everything. All of those changes to the talent trees, abilities, and other things will take affect with Patch 3.0.2. Also, some of the rewards from BC will become unavailable. That means no more Bear Mounts from ZA. No more titles from completing the Attunments for SSC, TK, Hyjal, and BT.

After the patch drops the game will change completely. If you raid, there are some bosses you've had on Farm that you won't be able to kill anymore. Blizzard has completely changed the way tanking works. and the current raid bosses are not tuned for those changes. Some of the fights require a lot of Mana, and all of those Spriests you've stocked your raid with may not be as effective. DPS has changed quite a bit for many classes, will your high DPSers still be so far up there?

I wouldn't be surprised if the game screeched to a halt, and every one just sat around waiting for the expansion.

So, When is the patch going to drop? That is a very good question without a good answer. We have a couple of things to go on, but none of them are definitive.

1. Patch 3.0.2 just hit the PTR over the weekend. Most large "content" patches like this one are on the PTR for a month or two. However, much of these changes have been tested on the beta so don't be surprised is this patch is tested for less time then normal.

2. The background downloader started downloading the patch late last week. In most cases the patch comes 2 weeks after the background downloader starts downloading the patch. However, there have been instances where the background downloader was running for more then a month before the patch was released. These things usually include the big graphics files that don't change much while a patch is being tested.

3. Lets look at past experience. The Burning Crusade was released 42 days after patch 2.0.1 dropped on Dec 5th 2006. If the same timeline is used this time then the patch will probably be released on Sept 30th just 44 days before the release.

4. This is pure speculation on my part, but I wouldn't be surprised if blizzard released this patch a little closer to the release date then last time. There is a little more at stake here, and blizzard may delay it a little to try and not upset people.

So, If I had to guess when the patch will drop, I would say Sept. 30th. It is in line with the last expansion. It gives blizzard a little over two weeks of having it on the PTR, and I think we can ignore the background downloader because it is graphics files that have already been tested in the beta. I hope the patch date is Oct 14th or even a little later, but I doubt that will happen.

My Pre-Patch Goals:
These are ranked in order of priority.

1. Kill Kael - I want the freaken Hand of Ad'al title, and I feel like I have been cheated out of it a little by guild issues and blizzard dropping the attunments. It may be misleading but this title will probably been seen as what kind of raider you were in the Burning Crusade.
Chances of Success: I'd say 50%. I was in a Kael pug over the weekend that was run by a couple of guildies. We got in to phase 4, but couldn't advance because we lost people to stupid stuff. Hopefully we can get the pug going again this weekend with the same or more experienced people.

2. Clear BT and Hyjal - I just want the experience. Again, I feel like I was cheated out of progression due to guild break ups. I just want to see everything I can before the expansion.
Chances of Success: I'd say 85 - 90%. My new guild has cleared both instances. I have been included in tonight's raid, which will start with Illidan and then end with a clearing of Hyjal. Hopefully, I do well enough to be included in more raids in the future. If I do get into raids, I should achieve this goal.

3. Get a Bear Mount - I am not one of those people that tries to collect all of the mounts, but these things are awesome by them selves. The good news is I was involved in a raid that got a bear mount with 4 minutes to spare. I was allowed to roll on the mount but I passed because the only other person who didn't have the mount was a long time guild member, and I didn't want to piss anyone off.
Chance of Success: I'd say 50%. It really depends on if the raids happen and who else in the raid doesn't have a mount. It sounds like the raids will continue to happen. There are several scheduled on the calender, but obviously my chances go down if there are other people in the raid that want the mount also. At the very least I can say I completed the timed loot, but I would still like the mount.

4. Kill some boss in SWP - I don't know how to evaluate this one and to be honest is isn't all that important to me. If we had more time then it would be pretty big but I'm resigned to the fact that it isn't likely.
Chance of Success: I'd say less then 10%. Sunwell was tuned for guilds that had been clearing BT for a while. Lords of Eternity have only been clearing it for a month. On top of that I am well behind most of the guild in terms of gear. Therefore I don't think I have much chance at getting into a progression raid at this point. I would love to experience it, but lets face it. The cards are stacked against me.

Well that's it for me. If you have any goals or comments please make a comment below.

** Image Stolen from MMO Champion

WotLK Build 8926: A Second Look

I obviously had a lot on my mind yesterday and missed some interesting changes in the last beta push. So I wanted to go back and take a look at some of those changes.

Shadowmeld:

Activate to slip into the shadows, reducing the chance for enemies to detect your presence. Lasts until canceled or upon moving. Any threat is restored versus enemies still in combat upon cancellation of this effect. (3min Cooldown)

I love this change and it is a HUGE benefit to Alliance Moonkin. The tool tip doesn't say it but it is usable while in combat. So it is basically a stationary Vanish without the aggro dump.

Yes, it is fairly limited. It will become almost useless in movement heavy fights like Bloodboil, but it is an improvement over our old racials. Moonkin don't have any kind of emergency button other then barkskin and in most cases that isn't going to save your life for pulling agro. This ability has that potential.

Heirloom/Bind-on-Account Items:

Another amazing change. These are items that you can transfer between toons on your account. They are usable by all level of characters and their stats scale based upon you level. So a single item will have 1 spell power at level 1 but 59 at level 80. For more detailed info go here. For examples go: example 1, example 2. MMO-Champion has a full list of the current BoA items.

These are mainly for alts and casual players. Blizzard has said that they are intended to be about blue quality and they are enchanted as a level 1 item. Raiders and PvPers, will obtain much better gear through other means, but for someone that has level 3 lvl 70s this is awesome. Pre-BC quest gear is pretty bad unless you run instances. I think I said it before, that on one of my toons I took level 20 something item into outlands. This way my gear improves without looking for the group.

And you know what the best part is? The shoulder items increase the experience you gain from killing mobs by 10%. Awesome.

Gear: Naxx-10 vs Naxx-25

I did a quick comparison of the two "Nuker" sets from Naxxramus, and the results were a little different then I expected. I expected the a fairly uniform upgrade. Instead the rates very some what, and I wonder if that indicates which stats blizzard things 25-man raiders will need.

The two biggest gainers were Hit and Haste which increased by 18.5% and 17.3% respectively. Spell Power and Spirit gained about 15%. Int and Stam gained a little more then 12%. The bottom feeder of the group was crit that only gained 11%

The crit rate may be limited because crit will be less important in a 25-man due to talents like Imp Scorch. One could also argue that Haste and Hit are more hardcore raid stats and there for more important to a 25-man raider. Then again, it wouldn't surprise me if these rates were pulled out of somewhere dark and personal.

Anyway, the real question in my mind is how Naxx-25 gear will relate to T8-10 gear. This will be a big part in determining if people are incented to participate in 25-man raids.

Moonkin Feedback:

Ghostcrawler has requested some feedback on the balance tree on the Beta forums. You can find the thread here.

If you have a beta key, head on out there and let your voice be heard. If you don't have a beta key, take a look through the thread. Not everything is a diamond but there are some pretty good ideas in there.

Guild Update:

I know, I know. I said I wasn't going to combine Informative and Guild/Toon related posts anymore, but this little tidbit isn't big enough for its own thread.

I was accepted to Lords of Eternity last night and I have transferred Graylo over. I will start out in a "back-up" slot. What that means is that I won't be guaranteed a raid spot, but will probably raid 1 or 2 times a week out of 3 possible nights.

So, I'm happy. Now I just need to decide how quickly I want to transfer my alts over.