Why is it important to predict your opponent?What does it mean when a rogue runs toward your healer?
If you know what your opponents are thinking and doing next, you can appropriately form a strategy to counter them.
Knowing when a rogue is going to Sap increases your chance to un-stealth him.
Knowing a rogue is trying to Blind you will let you counter it by using Shadow Word:Death,Sacrifice fast Trinket etc.So the most important thing is to be aware of the situation and predict your opponents.
These are all key things that can separate you from the majority of players and help you become a Gladiator.
Alright,today i'll be going over some of the things you can predict for fighting Rogues.
One of the most important thing is stopping the Sap.Many of you will ask what are some ways to increase your chanse in stopping the sap.Well , as a Retribution Paladin,Death Knight,or a Priest lets say for an example my team always tries really hard to stop the sap.Against Rogue Warlock Shaman,most often we charge with Hand of Sacrifice on the Death Knight and he will use Unholy Frenzy on Himself while our Warrior intercepts one of us.Also all of us throw area of effect abilities everywhere.This makes rogue's oppener with sap almost impossible.
If a rogue is running towards you, it usually means one of these things.
1. He's trying to control you with Blind,Kick, or other abilities
2.He probably is trying to swap on you
3. He's trying to control you with abilities such as Disarm,Blind or Redirect stuns
Possible blind on you as a healer and crowd control?
If you're a healer you should stay far away from the rogue in other words max range him.If his blind is avalible be ready to pop Sacrifice,or Shadow Word:Death if you are priest.If you're Death Knight ,, be ready to Death Grip the Rogue away from the target he's trying to crowd-control or use Chains of Ice.
Same goes if you're warrior or w/e keep applying pressure to the rogue so he doesn't get that easily to the target that he wants to crowd control.
Rogue Possible Swaps
It's easily to notice when a Rogue wants to swap you or Blind you -crowd control you.Let's say for example,if you are playing Resto Shaman,and you have your trinket ready,he will probably Blind you to remove your trinket.So if you're are Resto Shaman and have no trinket he will probably swap on you.This happens almost 90% of the cases if His Shadow Dance is up.
Predicting Smoke Bombs
Predicting Smoke Bombs is really important.The most common intents are if the rogue hasn't used Shadow Dance yet a crowd control is going to end on your healer.
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Mage:
These are few common things that mages do with Invisibility openers
1.Mage will likely open on you right after the Rogue Saps one of your team members.
2.Mage could follow up any of his CCs with a Ring of Frost
3.Mage could Frost Nova your entire team
4.Mage could follow up any of his CCs with a Ring of Frost
5. Mage could Silence your Healer-Polymorph Dps or Deep Dps
How to react to this openers?
1.Break the mage out of Invisibility
2.Stopping the initial Shatter or Crowd Control
Breaking Mages Out of Invisibility
First of all, the best possible situation is if you can break the Mage out of Invisibility.
There are predictable pathings they use.
Mages are different from stealthed Rogues or Druids because they have a limited time to act. This increases their predictability.
In Dalaran Arena for example, the Mage will most likely start straight from the stairs and head towards your team.
He may stop and make a few turns to avoid getting hit,but most of the cases it will head toward your team.
There really isn't much places for him to run towards,because its difficult to run from the bottom section because it takes a lot of time.
There are other several things you can use as a prediction to increase your chances as well. I've noticed that most of the Mages love to run in from your left (their right). Perhaps this is due to people being right-handed.
Stopping an Initial Shatter or Crowd Control:
Breaking Mages out of stealth in Rogue Mage Priest could be difficult sometimes due to positioning.
In my examples I used Dalaran Arena and Ruins of Lordaeron which are the easier maps to attempt it. However, on Nagrand Arena a lot of times it's not happening. Versus Rogue Mage Priest you want to break their opener no matter what. 90% of the Rogue Mage Priest will try for a big opener.
Fire Mages Opener:
Fire Mages can open quite different from Frost Mages. Many Fire Mages do not start with invisible, and even if they do they act pretty much the same.
- Fire Mage uses Invisibility or some other method to push in and Dragon Breaths your healer into ng of Frost as his teammate crowd-controls the other 2 players.
- Fire Mage Blast Waves off the bat and pushes in.
- Fire Mage stays back.
If you see a Fire Mage uses Invisible, don't stand with your teammates behind some pillar! He will Dragon Breath on his next global, so make it as least effective as possible.
Another thing is, if you're a healer be weary of him pushing in on you. When a Fire Mage pushes in on a healer it means he's trying to crowd-control with Dragon Breath or kill him with Combustion.
Hunter:
To predict a Hunter you have to predict what he is going to predict about you.That probably sounded a little confusing, hopefully this will make sense after the next few things i go over and explain to you.
Scatter Shot:
Scatter Shot is 20 yard range, which is shorter than most of his abilities. Be ready to max range it to force the hunter to use more cooldowns to get that Freezing Trap off!
Deterrence:
Hunter running towards a melee probably means he's about to Deterrence. Deterrence in general is either used as a bubble ability, or an ability to predict damage. Knowing when a Hunter is going to Deterrence will help you not to Soul Swap into Deterrence or crowd-control into it.
Stat Priorities:
DW: Expertise (3%+) >= Melee Hit (3%) > PvP Power > Strength > PvP Resilience > Mastery > Haste > Crit
2h: Expertise (3%+) >= Melee Hit (3%) > PvP Power > Strength > PvP Resilience > Haste > Crit > Mastery
PvP Power is pretty nice if you haven't noticed this X-pac.
Gems: Meta: Reverberating Primal Diamond
Prismatic: Stormy River's Heart Mystic Sun's Radiance
Blue: Stormy River's Heart Vivid Wild Jade
Red: Tense Imperial Amethyst Resplendent Vermilion Onyx
Yellow: Resplendent Vermilion Onyx Mystic Sun's Radiance
Shoulder: Greater Tiger Fang Inscription
Cloak: Enchant Cloak - Accuracy Enchant Cloak - Superior Critical Strike
Chest: Enchant Chest - Super Resilience
Bracers: Enchant Bracer - Exceptional Strength
Gloves: Enchant Gloves - Super Strength
Belt: Living Steel Belt Buckle
Legs: Angerhide Leg Armor
Boots: Enchant Boots - Pandaren's Step
Main-Hand Weapon: Rune of the Fallen Crusader
Off-Hand Weapon: Living Steel Weapon Chain or Rune of the Fallen Crusader
2H Weapon: Rune of the Fallen Crusader
Talents:
Make the best out of your talents. Change them for different encounters. For example. If you were going up against: Aff lock, Spriest and rShaman. You'd go Desecrated ground. If you were going up against a TSG, you'd go Gorefiends Grasp for peels.
Focus Macros go a long way when you get higher MMR teams in arena. I will provide if you ask.
On the other hand, if you want to put pressure on a healer. You can macro Blood tap to frost strike and you would be able to spam necro all day. (Basically what Unholy did last xpac)
Glyphs:
Like talents, make the best out of them. Dark Simulacrum is one of my favorites, basically you're able to get spells from casters. (Unless they're smart and use a crappy spell so you wouldn't get anything good.)
Frosties are pretty squishey. So make sure you know how to survive.
- IBF below 50%
-AMS when a caster is bursting on you.
-Pop blood presence and start death striking.
-Death Coil heal when you're bursting for increased DC heal.
-Death Pact
Warriors-. Gearing Up: Gearing, reforging, gemming, enchanting, and professions
Gearing in PvP is a lot easier than PvE. You won't have too many decisions to make, because most of them are already decided for you! There are still some choices though, and making the right choices can set you apart from those who've put less time into their craft.
The stats weights for PvP are now very much in favour of PvP resilience. While PvP Power is the best stat you can get for damage, PvP Resilience now scales better than any other PvP stat. It's growth is exponential, meaning the more you have, literally the better it gets. As for secondary stats, you will be reforging into Critical Strike rating first, then either expertise or mastery.
I think a solid priority list goes like this though.
3% Hit > PvP Resilience > PvP Power > Strength > Critical Strike > Expertise > Mastery > Haste
You won't have a hard time getting that 3% hit at all, but it should still be mentioned. Reforge for the small amount of hit you need, and then go through the rest of the priorities.
Reforging: You cannot reforge the top stats in that list (minus hit), so for reforging it simplifies to this:
Critical Strike > Expertise > Mastery > Haste
Critical Strike gives us more damage, and also give us more enrages - which give us more damage and more rage, which is even more damage and utility. Awesome. No doubt this is the best PvP secondary stat, and you will want to get as much of it as you can.
Expertise and Mastery are a little more complicated. Mastery will net you more damage than Expertise on casters and healers. However, all agility users will be rocking 12%-18% dodge, and all strength users (yay us!) will be rocking 12%-18% parry! There are a lot of melee, and I have found many times that melee like to peel me, and I end up fighting melee more often than not. Therefore I choose to take Expertise over Mastery, but the choice is yours!
I should note that while you still get the Overpowers from Mortal Strike even if it is dodged, the suffering of being hit with Mortal Strike is far more important than the Overpowers are. So don't try to think that you don't need expertise - you REALLY want that healing debuff on your target, the bleed as well. Not to mention the chance at the enrage, for 10% more damage and 10 rage.
Haste is awful. It does almost nothing for you. You wouldn't even notice it in PvP.
Gemming: As with the original stat weights,
PvP Resilience > PvP Power > Strength
Most of the time you will want to go for the socket bonuses, as the game has changed to where you won't always one shot the opponents with a 5 stacked taste for blood. Basically the theory is that if a battle lasts longer, more PvP Resilience will net you better results in terms of damage in/damage out. However, I still will make a comment that if for some reason you are never being attacked, PvP Power is a better stat. However, you are still a common target since Cataclysm, as you don't have any hardstops, just very good defense.
Enchanting: Currently there are only a couple choices of enchants. The ones are:
Shoulders: Greater Tiger Fang - From Scribes
Back: 180 Critical Strike - This is the go to back enchant, due to Critical Strike rating being so good for us.
Bracers: 180 Strength - From Enchanters (this is expensive, and if you are replacing yours soon go for 170 Mastery)
Gloves: 170 Strength - From Enchanters
Legs: Angerhide Leg Armor - From Leatherworkers (cheap one is Brutal Leg Armor)
Boots: Pandaren Step 140 Mastery + Run Speed -From Enchanters
Weapon: Dancing Steel - From Enchanters (I would go for elemental force for the cheap option)
Chest: Resilience or Stats - Go with PvP Resilience, unless you are feeling cuhrazy.
Professions: Professions are minor increases that always cause heated discussions.
Blacksmithing is definitely the best. It gives you the versatility of any gem. Blacksmiths can add 2 sockets to their gear, one to gloves and one to bracers. Go for 2x 320 PvP Resilience.
Engineering gives you a mini cooldown, which can be better than the static stat weights, and in non-rated PvP gives you some very handy tinkers. Engineers can get a glove tinker for the mini cooldown, and other various tinkers that do not work in rated PvP. Goggles can look cool for transmogrification too!
Jewelcrafting Has versatility like Blacksmithing too, but no special PvP Resilience gems currently. Only the better Strength gems exist. Jewelcrafters get 3 special gems that have better stats than normal, that can be used in different sockets.
Mining is worse than other professions, as it is limited to stamina. While not dead weight, it is not the best use (I still use mining due to it being handy with Blacksmithing). Mining gets its stats automatically for leveling the profession.
Skinning will be decent as Critical Strike, but not as good as some of the others. Good for Fury though, no doubt. Skinning gets its stats automatically for leveling the profession.
Enchanting is solid strength, and good. Enchanters can add strength enchant to their rings.
Tailoring is similar to engineering - except it's a proc instead of an on use for the mini cooldown. This could be better than others if you watch for it, or worse if you get unlucky. Also gives you some nets for fun in non-rated PvP. Tailors can enchant their cloak (doesn't take the normal enchant slot) for a mini cooldown proc of attack power.
Inscription should be similar to enchanting as far as I know. Inscription is able to grant better shoulder enchants than regularly found.
Leatherworking should be in the same boat as inscription and enchanting. Leatherworkers can get better bracer enchants giving them more strength.
Overall, my suggestions are Blacksmithing, and then one of the following: Jewelcrafting, Engineering, Tailoring, Enchanting, Inscription, or Leatherworking. The others shouldn't really be recommended.
Retri Paladin Guide
Strength is the biggest damage stat for PvE. PvP Power is really similar to Strength for Rets, increasing Damage and Heals. The best way for these two stats is to balance them at a specific point, since PvP Power is basically a multiplier for Strength. At the moment PvP Power gemming is the best for increasing damage due to how the current gear scales. In the future however, it's possible haste or strength gems will overtake it.
You should always reforge for Hit and Expertise cap rather than gemming for it. This is to increase your "PvP" stats to the highest possible such as PvP Power and Resilience.
Off-Stat Decisions
The biggest argument and most questions I get as a ret now is "What Off Stat?" There is no definite answer here. In my stat priority I listed haste as the best, with Crit and Mastery being similar. I'm going to give you a few things to read and let you decide on your own. In PvE, Mastery and Haste is far better than Crit in terms of Stat Weigh. Crit gives the LEAST damage gain per stat. However, PvP is different. Critting affects everything we do in PvP including heals, and our ranged damage such as judgement which mastery doesn't help. I choose Haste as the most valuable cause it affects most of the things we do, including cast time, DOT damage, lower judgement cooldown for faster sprinting and such, it's also one of the best stats for pure damage. I choose crit vs mastery as nearly equal, because I feel if you can melee a lot, mastery is better. If you end the game in Wings, mastery is better for Hammer of Wraths. If the game prolongs and you have to kite or line of sight a lot, Crit is better. Take these factors into consideration, and make your own choice!
Recommended Gems:
Meta - 216 Strength / +3% Crit Damage
Red - 80 Strength / 160 Resilience
Yellow - 320 Resilience
Blue - 160 PvP Power / 160 Resilience
Recommended Reforging:
Get 3% Hit Cap
Get 3% Expertise
Get the off-stat off your choice. I recommend Haste>Mastery=Crit.
Recommended Enchants:
Head - None
Shoulders - 200Strength / 100 Crit
Back - 180Hit or 180Crit
Chest - 200 Resilience
Wrist - 180 Strength
Hands - 170 Strength
Legs - 285Strength / 165 Crit
Feet - 140Mastery / Run Speed
Weapon - Tyrannical Weapon Enchant, 400PvP Power / 200 Resilience / Disarm Reduction
Seal
This is probably the most common question I've gotten! What seal do you use?
5.2 buffed Seal of Justice, but I find censure to still be the best.
For a simple answer: Censure
Here is a more complicated answer:
Generally for any target you are staying on for 10+ Seconds, Truth is the highest damage dealing seal.
For a game where you don't have burden of guilt, and you're swapping a lot, Seal of Justice could be better. A composition such as Ret / Shadow Priest / Resto Shaman for example has no slow.
Seal of the Righteous is good for AOE, this is very rare in PvP. I've probably swapped it once in the entire 5.0 patch.
Healing Seal is good for when you're getting trained, or desperately need mana. Another rare seal to use.
Viable Ret Comps
Viability's definition is different for each person. Just about anything can be ran to gladiator range (I've ran triple pally, 2 hunters + ret, 2 priests + ret to 2700+ in 3s)
Professions
Doesn't really matter. Use any professions that give strength or attack power gains. Blacksmithing is really good since it can give you Resilience. Jewelcrafting also can give you Resilience.
What rotation do you use in PvP?
There is no "specific" rotation in PvP.
The best I can give you is this in terms of a PvE Damage Rotation:
Less Than 5HP up:
Keep Inquisition up with 3HP>Exorcism>Hammer of Wrath>Judgement>Crusader Strike>Templar's Verdict
Everything is situational. Keep note that our hardest hitting ability will be Templar's Verdict, which also clashes with Word of Glory as both takes holy power.
DPS Rotation & Cooldowns (5.2)
Maintaining a proper Rotation and using the right Cooldowns is essential to maximizing your Assassination Rogue. Use this guide to optimize your single target and AoE rotations while learning how to get the most out of your cooldowns.
Single Target Rotation
Poison:
Use the following poisons on your weapons.
Lethal: Deadly Poison
Non-Lethal: Leeching Poison
Combo Point Builders:
Follow this priority to generate Combo Points.
Ambush Whenever possible.
Dispatch Target below 35% Health or Blindside procs.
Mutilate Target above 35% Health.
Finishing Moves:
Follow this priority to spend Combo Points.
Slice and Dice Apply once with 2 CP. Refresh with Envenom.
Rupture Apply and refresh with 5 CP.
Envenom Use with >= 4 CP.
First, you should start every fight in Stealth and use Ambush + Rupture to get Venomous Wounds up as soon as possible. After this, your priority is to apply and maintain Slice and Dice and Rupture. Never let Slice and Dice or Rupture expire and refresh them with < 5 Combo Points if necessary to prevent them from dropping. From here, follow the Combo Point building priority by casting Mutilate and Dispatch. Use Dispatch when your target is below 35% health or when Blindside procs. Use Mutilate when Dispatch is unavailable. Spend excess Combo Points on Envenom and to refresh Rupture.
Thanks to Anticipation your Combo Point management is much easier. Seal Fate CP procs will almost never to go to waste and you can execute the single target priority without fear of losing valuable Combo Points.
AoE Rotation
Poison:
Deadly Poison
AoE Abilities:
Fan of Knives
Crimson Tempest
At 2+ targets, use Fan of Knives as your primary Combo Point builder, but continue to spend CP using the single target priority. With 3+ targets, switch to Fan of Knives + Crimson Tempest spam, but continue to maintain Slice and Dice and Rupture on your primary target.
Effective Cooldowns
These effective cooldowns are available if you chose them in your talent build.
Shadowstep Use to quickly close the gap to new targets.
These are effective cooldowns to try and incorporate into most all encounters.
Preparation Use to reset Vanish to cast a free Ambush.
Redirect Use as needed for target swapping.
Shadow Blades Use on cooldown. Stack with Bloodlust.
Tricks of the Trade Use as directed by your raid/party leader.
Vanish Use to cast a free Ambush. Reset with Preparation.
Vendetta Use on cooldown unless you will have to move during the buff.
PvP Elemental Shaman
Hunter:
To predict a Hunter you have to predict what he is going to predict about you.That probably sounded a little confusing, hopefully this will make sense after the next few things i go over and explain to you.
Scatter Shot:
Scatter Shot is 20 yard range, which is shorter than most of his abilities. Be ready to max range it to force the hunter to use more cooldowns to get that Freezing Trap off!
Hunter versus Priest or Paladin is mostly a preddicting game battle.They have to predict when the Priest is going to Shadow Word: Death,or when the Paladin will use Hand of Sacrifice.
The best way to understand when the Hunter is going to scatter is to keep a few things in mind.One, is the short range of Scatter Shot so he'll likely charge in slightly to do it. Two, is understanding the player behind the Hunter. Most players especially at lower tiers you can just straight up predict it as soon as you see the Hunter charging into your face. However, at higher tiers it can become a "Faking" battle. He might come in and look like he's scattering just to get you to Shadow Word: Death or Hand of Sacrifice. Don't get faked by it! Learn how he acts from one game, and use it against him in the next.
Deterrence:
Hunter running towards a melee probably means he's about to Deterrence. Deterrence in general is either used as a bubble ability, or an ability to predict damage. Knowing when a Hunter is going to Deterrence will help you not to Soul Swap into Deterrence or crowd-control into it.
Roar of Sacrifice:
Roar of Sacrifice is a very strong ability. It gives the person immunity to critical hits. Understanding how a Hunter acts can help you make this ability less useful. Lets say you're fighting Warrior Hunter Shaman. One way you can nullify a Roar of Sacrifice is by pretending to go on a Hunter, then immediately swapping off of him. Many Hunters are very reactive with their Roar of Sacrifice, and may even instantly use it as soon as they sense danger. They tend to be especially reactive when damage is happening to themselves.
Roar of Sacrifice is a very strong ability. It gives the person immunity to critical hits. Understanding how a Hunter acts can help you make this ability less useful. Lets say you're fighting Warrior Hunter Shaman. One way you can nullify a Roar of Sacrifice is by pretending to go on a Hunter, then immediately swapping off of him. Many Hunters are very reactive with their Roar of Sacrifice, and may even instantly use it as soon as they sense danger. They tend to be especially reactive when damage is happening to themselves.
Frost DK's Guide
Stat Priorities:
DW: Expertise (3%+) >= Melee Hit (3%) > PvP Power > Strength > PvP Resilience > Mastery > Haste > Crit
2h: Expertise (3%+) >= Melee Hit (3%) > PvP Power > Strength > PvP Resilience > Haste > Crit > Mastery
PvP Power is pretty nice if you haven't noticed this X-pac.
Gems: Meta: Reverberating Primal Diamond
Prismatic: Stormy River's Heart Mystic Sun's Radiance
Blue: Stormy River's Heart Vivid Wild Jade
Red: Tense Imperial Amethyst Resplendent Vermilion Onyx
Yellow: Resplendent Vermilion Onyx Mystic Sun's Radiance
Shoulder: Greater Tiger Fang Inscription
Cloak: Enchant Cloak - Accuracy Enchant Cloak - Superior Critical Strike
Chest: Enchant Chest - Super Resilience
Bracers: Enchant Bracer - Exceptional Strength
Gloves: Enchant Gloves - Super Strength
Belt: Living Steel Belt Buckle
Legs: Angerhide Leg Armor
Boots: Enchant Boots - Pandaren's Step
Main-Hand Weapon: Rune of the Fallen Crusader
Off-Hand Weapon: Living Steel Weapon Chain or Rune of the Fallen Crusader
2H Weapon: Rune of the Fallen Crusader
Talents:
Make the best out of your talents. Change them for different encounters. For example. If you were going up against: Aff lock, Spriest and rShaman. You'd go Desecrated ground. If you were going up against a TSG, you'd go Gorefiends Grasp for peels.
Focus Macros go a long way when you get higher MMR teams in arena. I will provide if you ask.
On the other hand, if you want to put pressure on a healer. You can macro Blood tap to frost strike and you would be able to spam necro all day. (Basically what Unholy did last xpac)
Glyphs:
Like talents, make the best out of them. Dark Simulacrum is one of my favorites, basically you're able to get spells from casters. (Unless they're smart and use a crappy spell so you wouldn't get anything good.)
Frosties are pretty squishey. So make sure you know how to survive.
- IBF below 50%
-AMS when a caster is bursting on you.
-Pop blood presence and start death striking.
-Death Coil heal when you're bursting for increased DC heal.
-Death Pact
Warriors-. Gearing Up: Gearing, reforging, gemming, enchanting, and professions
Gearing in PvP is a lot easier than PvE. You won't have too many decisions to make, because most of them are already decided for you! There are still some choices though, and making the right choices can set you apart from those who've put less time into their craft.
The stats weights for PvP are now very much in favour of PvP resilience. While PvP Power is the best stat you can get for damage, PvP Resilience now scales better than any other PvP stat. It's growth is exponential, meaning the more you have, literally the better it gets. As for secondary stats, you will be reforging into Critical Strike rating first, then either expertise or mastery.
I think a solid priority list goes like this though.
3% Hit > PvP Resilience > PvP Power > Strength > Critical Strike > Expertise > Mastery > Haste
You won't have a hard time getting that 3% hit at all, but it should still be mentioned. Reforge for the small amount of hit you need, and then go through the rest of the priorities.
Reforging: You cannot reforge the top stats in that list (minus hit), so for reforging it simplifies to this:
Critical Strike > Expertise > Mastery > Haste
Critical Strike gives us more damage, and also give us more enrages - which give us more damage and more rage, which is even more damage and utility. Awesome. No doubt this is the best PvP secondary stat, and you will want to get as much of it as you can.
Expertise and Mastery are a little more complicated. Mastery will net you more damage than Expertise on casters and healers. However, all agility users will be rocking 12%-18% dodge, and all strength users (yay us!) will be rocking 12%-18% parry! There are a lot of melee, and I have found many times that melee like to peel me, and I end up fighting melee more often than not. Therefore I choose to take Expertise over Mastery, but the choice is yours!
I should note that while you still get the Overpowers from Mortal Strike even if it is dodged, the suffering of being hit with Mortal Strike is far more important than the Overpowers are. So don't try to think that you don't need expertise - you REALLY want that healing debuff on your target, the bleed as well. Not to mention the chance at the enrage, for 10% more damage and 10 rage.
Haste is awful. It does almost nothing for you. You wouldn't even notice it in PvP.
Gemming: As with the original stat weights,
PvP Resilience > PvP Power > Strength
Most of the time you will want to go for the socket bonuses, as the game has changed to where you won't always one shot the opponents with a 5 stacked taste for blood. Basically the theory is that if a battle lasts longer, more PvP Resilience will net you better results in terms of damage in/damage out. However, I still will make a comment that if for some reason you are never being attacked, PvP Power is a better stat. However, you are still a common target since Cataclysm, as you don't have any hardstops, just very good defense.
Enchanting: Currently there are only a couple choices of enchants. The ones are:
Shoulders: Greater Tiger Fang - From Scribes
Back: 180 Critical Strike - This is the go to back enchant, due to Critical Strike rating being so good for us.
Bracers: 180 Strength - From Enchanters (this is expensive, and if you are replacing yours soon go for 170 Mastery)
Gloves: 170 Strength - From Enchanters
Legs: Angerhide Leg Armor - From Leatherworkers (cheap one is Brutal Leg Armor)
Boots: Pandaren Step 140 Mastery + Run Speed -From Enchanters
Weapon: Dancing Steel - From Enchanters (I would go for elemental force for the cheap option)
Chest: Resilience or Stats - Go with PvP Resilience, unless you are feeling cuhrazy.
Professions: Professions are minor increases that always cause heated discussions.
Blacksmithing is definitely the best. It gives you the versatility of any gem. Blacksmiths can add 2 sockets to their gear, one to gloves and one to bracers. Go for 2x 320 PvP Resilience.
Engineering gives you a mini cooldown, which can be better than the static stat weights, and in non-rated PvP gives you some very handy tinkers. Engineers can get a glove tinker for the mini cooldown, and other various tinkers that do not work in rated PvP. Goggles can look cool for transmogrification too!
Jewelcrafting Has versatility like Blacksmithing too, but no special PvP Resilience gems currently. Only the better Strength gems exist. Jewelcrafters get 3 special gems that have better stats than normal, that can be used in different sockets.
Mining is worse than other professions, as it is limited to stamina. While not dead weight, it is not the best use (I still use mining due to it being handy with Blacksmithing). Mining gets its stats automatically for leveling the profession.
Skinning will be decent as Critical Strike, but not as good as some of the others. Good for Fury though, no doubt. Skinning gets its stats automatically for leveling the profession.
Enchanting is solid strength, and good. Enchanters can add strength enchant to their rings.
Tailoring is similar to engineering - except it's a proc instead of an on use for the mini cooldown. This could be better than others if you watch for it, or worse if you get unlucky. Also gives you some nets for fun in non-rated PvP. Tailors can enchant their cloak (doesn't take the normal enchant slot) for a mini cooldown proc of attack power.
Inscription should be similar to enchanting as far as I know. Inscription is able to grant better shoulder enchants than regularly found.
Leatherworking should be in the same boat as inscription and enchanting. Leatherworkers can get better bracer enchants giving them more strength.
Overall, my suggestions are Blacksmithing, and then one of the following: Jewelcrafting, Engineering, Tailoring, Enchanting, Inscription, or Leatherworking. The others shouldn't really be recommended.
Retri Paladin Guide
Strength is the biggest damage stat for PvE. PvP Power is really similar to Strength for Rets, increasing Damage and Heals. The best way for these two stats is to balance them at a specific point, since PvP Power is basically a multiplier for Strength. At the moment PvP Power gemming is the best for increasing damage due to how the current gear scales. In the future however, it's possible haste or strength gems will overtake it.
You should always reforge for Hit and Expertise cap rather than gemming for it. This is to increase your "PvP" stats to the highest possible such as PvP Power and Resilience.
Off-Stat Decisions
The biggest argument and most questions I get as a ret now is "What Off Stat?" There is no definite answer here. In my stat priority I listed haste as the best, with Crit and Mastery being similar. I'm going to give you a few things to read and let you decide on your own. In PvE, Mastery and Haste is far better than Crit in terms of Stat Weigh. Crit gives the LEAST damage gain per stat. However, PvP is different. Critting affects everything we do in PvP including heals, and our ranged damage such as judgement which mastery doesn't help. I choose Haste as the most valuable cause it affects most of the things we do, including cast time, DOT damage, lower judgement cooldown for faster sprinting and such, it's also one of the best stats for pure damage. I choose crit vs mastery as nearly equal, because I feel if you can melee a lot, mastery is better. If you end the game in Wings, mastery is better for Hammer of Wraths. If the game prolongs and you have to kite or line of sight a lot, Crit is better. Take these factors into consideration, and make your own choice!
Recommended Gems:
Meta - 216 Strength / +3% Crit Damage
Red - 80 Strength / 160 Resilience
Yellow - 320 Resilience
Blue - 160 PvP Power / 160 Resilience
Recommended Reforging:
Get 3% Hit Cap
Get 3% Expertise
Get the off-stat off your choice. I recommend Haste>Mastery=Crit.
Recommended Enchants:
Head - None
Shoulders - 200Strength / 100 Crit
Back - 180Hit or 180Crit
Chest - 200 Resilience
Wrist - 180 Strength
Hands - 170 Strength
Legs - 285Strength / 165 Crit
Feet - 140Mastery / Run Speed
Weapon - Tyrannical Weapon Enchant, 400PvP Power / 200 Resilience / Disarm Reduction
Seal
This is probably the most common question I've gotten! What seal do you use?
5.2 buffed Seal of Justice, but I find censure to still be the best.
For a simple answer: Censure
Here is a more complicated answer:
Generally for any target you are staying on for 10+ Seconds, Truth is the highest damage dealing seal.
For a game where you don't have burden of guilt, and you're swapping a lot, Seal of Justice could be better. A composition such as Ret / Shadow Priest / Resto Shaman for example has no slow.
Seal of the Righteous is good for AOE, this is very rare in PvP. I've probably swapped it once in the entire 5.0 patch.
Healing Seal is good for when you're getting trained, or desperately need mana. Another rare seal to use.
Viable Ret Comps
Viability's definition is different for each person. Just about anything can be ran to gladiator range (I've ran triple pally, 2 hunters + ret, 2 priests + ret to 2700+ in 3s)
Professions
Doesn't really matter. Use any professions that give strength or attack power gains. Blacksmithing is really good since it can give you Resilience. Jewelcrafting also can give you Resilience.
What rotation do you use in PvP?
There is no "specific" rotation in PvP.
The best I can give you is this in terms of a PvE Damage Rotation:
Less Than 5HP up:
Keep Inquisition up with 3HP>Exorcism>Hammer of Wrath>Judgement>Crusader Strike>Templar's Verdict
Everything is situational. Keep note that our hardest hitting ability will be Templar's Verdict, which also clashes with Word of Glory as both takes holy power.
DPS Rotation & Cooldowns (5.2)
Maintaining a proper Rotation and using the right Cooldowns is essential to maximizing your Assassination Rogue. Use this guide to optimize your single target and AoE rotations while learning how to get the most out of your cooldowns.
Single Target Rotation
Poison:
Use the following poisons on your weapons.
Lethal: Deadly Poison
Non-Lethal: Leeching Poison
Combo Point Builders:
Follow this priority to generate Combo Points.
Ambush Whenever possible.
Dispatch Target below 35% Health or Blindside procs.
Mutilate Target above 35% Health.
Finishing Moves:
Follow this priority to spend Combo Points.
Slice and Dice Apply once with 2 CP. Refresh with Envenom.
Rupture Apply and refresh with 5 CP.
Envenom Use with >= 4 CP.
First, you should start every fight in Stealth and use Ambush + Rupture to get Venomous Wounds up as soon as possible. After this, your priority is to apply and maintain Slice and Dice and Rupture. Never let Slice and Dice or Rupture expire and refresh them with < 5 Combo Points if necessary to prevent them from dropping. From here, follow the Combo Point building priority by casting Mutilate and Dispatch. Use Dispatch when your target is below 35% health or when Blindside procs. Use Mutilate when Dispatch is unavailable. Spend excess Combo Points on Envenom and to refresh Rupture.
Thanks to Anticipation your Combo Point management is much easier. Seal Fate CP procs will almost never to go to waste and you can execute the single target priority without fear of losing valuable Combo Points.
AoE Rotation
Poison:
Deadly Poison
AoE Abilities:
Fan of Knives
Crimson Tempest
At 2+ targets, use Fan of Knives as your primary Combo Point builder, but continue to spend CP using the single target priority. With 3+ targets, switch to Fan of Knives + Crimson Tempest spam, but continue to maintain Slice and Dice and Rupture on your primary target.
Effective Cooldowns
These effective cooldowns are available if you chose them in your talent build.
Shadowstep Use to quickly close the gap to new targets.
These are effective cooldowns to try and incorporate into most all encounters.
Preparation Use to reset Vanish to cast a free Ambush.
Redirect Use as needed for target swapping.
Shadow Blades Use on cooldown. Stack with Bloodlust.
Tricks of the Trade Use as directed by your raid/party leader.
Vanish Use to cast a free Ambush. Reset with Preparation.
Vendetta Use on cooldown unless you will have to move during the buff.
PvP Elemental Shaman
Stat Priority (5.2)
Stats are the core of your character and how you choose to balance those stats will greatly impact the effectiveness of your Elemental Shaman. Use this guide to select the stats that are the most important for your Shaman and learn how to prioritize those stats to optimize your performance.
Stat Priority
6% Spell Hit (Hit | Spirit) > PvP Power > Intellect > PvP Resilience > Haste = Mastery > Crit
Stat Summaries
Spell Hit (6%)
The Hit cap of 6% (2040 Rating) will eliminate the chance for any special ability to miss against other players. To check your Hit, open your character panel and then look under the Spell tab for “Hit Chance” and make sure it is at or just above 6%. Thanks to Elemental Precision your Spell Hit is increased by both your Hit Rating and Spirit.
PvP Power
Increases all damage done to players and their pets or minions.
Intellect
Increases damage and healing dealt by all spells and slightly improves critical strike chance.
PvP Resilience
Provides damage reduction against all damage done by players and their pets or minions. You start with a base PvP Resilience of 40%. PvP Resilience is more effective than raw Stamina for mitigating damage received in PvP environments. The choice of how much PvP Resilience to stack entirely depends on how much damage you want to mitigate versus how much damage you would like to deal to your targets. If you find yourself dying too frequently, try adding more PvP Resilience.
Haste
Decreases cast time and increases DoT ticking speeds most notably for Flame Shock.
Mastery
Mastery: Elemental Overload increases the chance for Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning, and Lava Burst to trigger another second version of the spell that deals 75% of normal damage.
Crit
Increases the chance for your attacks to critically hit for additional damage.
Reforging (5.2)
Reforging allows you to modify the secondary stats on your gear. Use this guide to determine the best strategy for reforging your stats so that you can optimize the performance of your Elemental Shaman.
Stat Priority
6% Spell Hit (Hit | Spirit) > PvP Power > Intellect > PvP Resilience > Haste = Mastery > Crit
1. Check for 6% Spell Hit
If you are below 6% Spell Hit, you should reforge your weakest stats (see priority) into Hit Rating or Spirit. Spirit is preferred as it also boosts your Mana regeneration. Reforge for Hit/Spirit until you reach the Spell Hit cap.
2. Optimize Secondary Stats
On any items without Haste or Mastery, reforge the weakest stat (see priority) into Haste or Mastery as available.
Beast Mastery Hunter Guide
Stats are the core of your character and how you choose to balance those stats will greatly impact the effectiveness of your Beast Mastery Hunter. Use this guide to select the stats that are the most important for your Hunter and learn how to prioritize those stats to optimize your performance.
Stat Priority
Expertise (3%+) > Ranged Hit (3%) > PvP Power > Agility > PvP Resilience > Crit = Haste > Mastery
Stat Summaries
Expertise (3%)The Expertise cap of 3% (1020 Rating) will eliminate the chance for your attacks to be dodged. To check your Expertise, open your character panel and then look under the Ranged tab for “Expertise” and make sure it is at or just above 3% for your weapon(s). Expertise beyond 3% continues to reduce the chance for your attacks to be dodged against other Agility based classes, but this amount of Expertise comes at the cost of other stats and is often not worth the investment.
Ranged Hit (3%)The Hit cap of 3% (1020 Rating) will eliminate the chance for any special ability to miss against other players. To check your Hit, open your character panel and then look under the Ranged tab for “Hit Chance” and make sure it is at or just above 3% for your weapon(s).
PvP PowerIncreases all damage done to players and their pets or minions.
AgilityIncreases all damage dealt and slightly increases critical chance.
PvP ResilienceProvides damage reduction against all damage done by players and their pets or minions. You start with a base PvP Resilience of 40%. PvP Resilience is more effective than raw Stamina for mitigating damage received in PvP environments. The choice of how much PvP Resilience to stack entirely depends on how much damage you want to mitigate versus how much damage you would like to deal to your targets. If you find yourself dying too frequently, try adding more PvP Resilience.
Reforging allows you to modify the secondary stats on your gear. Use this guide to determine the best strategy for reforging your stats so that you can optimize the performance of your Beast Mastery Hunter.
Stat Priority
Expertise (3%+) > Ranged Hit (3%) > PvP Power > Agility > PvP Resilience > Crit = Haste > Mastery
1. Check for 3% Ranged Hit and 3% Expertise
If you are below 3% Ranged Hit or 3% Expertise, you should reforge your weakest stats (see priority) into Hit Rating or Expertise. Do this until you are at the caps for both stats.
2. Optimize Secondary Stats
On any items without Crit or Haste, reforge the weakest stat (see priority) into Crit or Haste as available.
Boomkins
Boomkins
Stats are the core of your character and how you choose to balance those stats will greatly impact the effectiveness of your Balance Druid. Use this guide to select the stats that are the most important for your Druid and learn how to prioritize those stats to optimize your performance.
Stat Priority
6% Spell Hit (Hit | Spirit) > PvP Power > Intellect > PvP Resilience > Haste > Mastery > Crit
Stat Summaries
Spell Hit (6%)The Hit cap of 6% (2040 Rating) will eliminate the chance for any special ability to miss against other players. To check your Hit, open your character panel and then look under the Spell tab for “Hit Chance” and make sure it is at or just above 6%. Thanks to Balance Of Power your Spell Hit is increased by both your Hit Rating and Spirit.
PvP PowerIncreases all damage done to players and their pets or minions. Slightly increases healing done for hybrid specs.
IntellectIncreases damage and healing dealt by all spells and slightly improves critical strike chance.
PvP ResilienceProvides damage reduction against all damage done by players and their pets or minions. You start with a base PvP Resilience of 40%. PvP Resilience is more effective than raw Stamina for mitigating damage received in PvP environments. The choice of how much PvP Resilience to stack entirely depends on how much damage you want to mitigate versus how much damage you would like to deal to your targets. If you find yourself dying too frequently, try adding more PvP Resilience.
HasteDecreases cast time and increases DoT ticking speeds.
CritIncreases the chance for your attacks to critically hit for additional damage. Critical hits with Starfire, Wrath, and Starsurgealso extend the duration of Moonfire and Sunfire.
MasteryMastery Total Eclipse increases the damage bonus of your Eclipse states.
Reforging allows you to modify the secondary stats on your gear. Use this guide to determine the best strategy for reforging your stats so that you can optimize the performance of your Balance Druid.
Stat Priority
6% Spell Hit (Hit | Spirit) > PvP Power > Intellect > PvP Resilience > Haste > Mastery > Crit
1. Check for 6% Spell Hit
If you are below 6% Spell Hit, you should reforge your weakest stats (see priority) into Hit Rating or Spirit. Spirit is preferred as it also boosts your Mana regeneration. Reforge for Hit/Spirit until you reach the Spell Hit cap.
2. Optimize Secondary Stats
On any items without Haste or Mastery, reforge the weakest stat (see priority) into Haste or Mastery as available.
Gems and Enchants allow you to customize your stats and choosing the right gems and enchants is critical to developing an effective Balance Druid. Use this guide to view the selected best gems, enchants, and profession perks to use for your Druid.
Gems
- MetaBurning Primal Diamond Forlorn Primal Diamond
- PrismaticStormy River's Heart Mystic Sun's Radiance
- BlueStormy River's Heart Vivid Wild Jade
- RedMysterious Imperial Amethyst Willful Vermilion Onyx
- YellowWillful Vermilion Onyx Mystic Sun's Radiance
Enchants
- ShouldersGreater Crane Wing Inscription
- CloakEnchant Cloak - Superior Intellect
- ChestEnchant Chest - Super Resilience
- BracersEnchant Bracer - Super Intellect
- GlovesEnchant Gloves - Greater Haste Enchant Gloves - Superior Mastery
- BeltLiving Steel Belt Buckle
- LegsGreater Cerulean Spellthread
- BootsEnchant Boots - Greater Haste
- Main HandEnchant Weapon - Jade Spirit
- Off HandEnchant Off-Hand - Major Intellect
- Two HandEnchant Weapon - Jade Spirit
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