Best Resto Druid Trinkets (with a Mana Regen Focus)

Introduction

This list is meant to be an all inclusive list of trinkets providing mana regeneration for raiding Resto Druids. It is meant to be ordered from best mana regen trinket to lesser mana regen trinkets. As such, I am very much open to comments and criticism. I want this to be the best list possible and applicable to as many raiding druids as possible.

This list is meant to only compare trinkets providing mana (Other trinkets to come later, untill then check out these posts.) I compare trinkets on their mana regeneration first and foremost. When the regeneration provided by two trinkets is close, I looked at Spellpower as a tie breaker.

Why a list on mana regen trinkets at all? First, because the crazy proc chances and use effects of trinkets make them fun to compare and graph : P Second, because they can proved so much mana on one piece of gear. If you need more mana for one fight you may be able to get what you need by swapping just one trinket instead of picking up a whole new set of gear.

Who should use this list? Only people who need more mana regen, even if it is just on a few fights. If you don’t ever ever ever need more mana, you need to consider trinkets offering use effects and spellpower that I don’t go into on this list, (but hope to list soon.)

How do you use this list? Start at the top and work your way down! Trinkets at the top are better. Find the one closest to the top that you can most easily get your branches on.

For assumptions, graphs, and math look after the list.

Mana Regen Trinkets for Resto Druids

Spark of Hope – 10 Man Kologarn

About 167 MP5 and 19 Spellpower

Assumes 1.2 sec between casts. This trinket as all about reducing the cost of each spell you cast, so the more you cast, the more you save. Less casting means less saving. If you get this trinket, don't purposefully cast more. That may just dig yourself in OOM deeper, like the person who buys tons of stuff they don't need because it is on sale. If you buy it/cast it you are still spending money/mana, so only buy/cast if you need to. But if you have to buy/cast you might as well do it when its on sale.

I was hoping it wasn't a type-o when I first saw it. I am not disappointed. This trinket was made for us trees!

Also assumes Aert’s most recent Ulduar raid cast ratios. Swiftmend and Nourish heavy healers will get a little more out of this. Rejuv and Regrowth heavy healers will get a little less. You don’t actually save 42 mana per every cast because this trinket is applied before talents. This table is what you will actually save with ToL’s 20% mana reduction to HoTs and Tranquil Spirit's reduction to direct heals.

Lifebloom	31
Rejuv	30
Regrowth	30
Wild Growth	34
Nourish	37
Swiftmend	42
Tranq	38
Healing Touch	34

Meteorite Crystal– 10 Man Algalon

About 132 MP5

With this trinket you build a stack of buffs that gives you mana back for a limited amount of time. Get the most out of this trinket by using it every 2 minutes when it is up and cast instant cast spells to build the stack up fast. It is better to cast earlier in the use effect than later. Even if you don’t keep building the stack you will keep getting mana.

If Spark of Hope is like shopping when stuff is on sale, this trinket is like save for retirement. It is better to save/stack when you are young/early in the proc, because even if you don’t keep saving/stacking, what you saved/stacked will keep gaining interest/mana.

Darkmoon Card Greatness Int (Spirit Proc) – Inscription

About 69 MP5 and About 18 Spellpower Average

Assumes a 1.2 sec cast time. The more you cast, the more mana and spellpower you get - except now we arn't shopping on sale or saving for retirement. With Darkmoon Cards we are playing the lottery. I believe in the statistics of WoW (we cast SO many spells that we can use statistical averages) and the cost (casting a spell) versus reward (healing someone and maybe getting some mana back!) in WoW is such that I think Darkmoon Cards are totally worth it.

There is a 35% chance that any spell you cast will proc this trinket. However, there is a 45 sec internal cooldown, meaning that AT THE MOST the trinket will proc once every 45 sec. Set up a timer to watch when it procs. From the start of the proc until 45 sec after the start of the proc you will not proc this trinket again, so cast sparingly if the fight is all about the mana. After the 45 sec, cast like heck because a 35% chance a a really good chance to proc.

Yes you want the Int one. With replenishment it will give you more mana than the spirit one. Remember, it will only proc spirit if spirit is your highest stat.

If +103 Int will push your Int above your spirit, this may not be the card for you. Still want it? Try enchanting and gemming for more spirit. Don’t want to make a major gear change? See if Kreeg’s Stout Beetdown or a friend with mistletoe makes the difference too.

Darkmoon Card Blue Dragon – Ace drops in Blackrock Spire

About 85 MP5 at 1.2 sec cast; 64 MP5 at 1.6 sec cast

Scales so much with cast time and gear that it is hard to distill this trinket into one little paragraph. It was also nerfed badly in 3.1. Most people who will opt for this trinket probably won’t have the gear levels (think fully Naxx geared) to get mana regen quite that high, which is why I put it below Darkmoon Card Int. However, as you become fully Naxx geared, you would see your regen surpass what Darkmoon Card Int can provide.

This card does not have an internal cooldown the way the Darkmoon Card Greatness cards do. Blue Dragon has a 2% chance whenever to put your mana regen outside the 5 sec rule. When this procs, keep casting. It would be a waste to sit outside the 5 sec rule with this up.

If you have Spirit World Glass (while it doesn’t make it onto the top of my list in own right) rocks with Blue Dragon. If you are having serious mana issues, wait for Blue Dragon to proc, then use Spirit World Glass.

Soul Preserver - Normal Caverns of Time

About 65 MP5 at 1.2 sec cast time and 75 Spellpower

2% proc chance to reduce the cost of your next by 800, but our most expensive spell is Lifebloom, which is 782 mana (with ToL’s 20% mana reduction to HoTs and Tranquil Spirit's reduction to direct heals). The more you cast the more you save. You also save more if you are casting more expensive spells, like lifebloom and regrowth and save less if you are cast cheep spells like rejuv and nourish.

This card has the same extreme scaling 2% proc chance dependent on cast time that Blue Dragon has, but it still gives you a set 75 spellpower, which rocks. That's why I ranked it above the next three cards.

Warning - if you are running with Spark of Hope you don't get to save mana twice, so this trinket would give you about 3 MP5 less (or 62 MP5).

Majestic Dragon Figurine – 10 Man OS

62 MP5 and 34 Spellpower

I can think of very few reasons why a resto druid should not be able to keep this trinket fully stacked all the time. It would have to be a very busy fight. That’s a lot of yummy spirit to increase our tree regen and spellpower.

Darkmoon Card Greatness Spirit (Spirit Proc) – Inscription

About 63 MP5 and 35 Spellpower Average

I put this after Majestic Dragon Figurine because at cast times greater than 1.6 seconds it does not perform as well as MDF, while MDF will give you consistent regen and spellpower, provided you can cast often enough to keep stacks up.

Assumes a 1.2 sec cast time. The more you cast, the more mana and spellpower you get. Please see what I wrote above about proc'ing Darkmoon Card Int (Spirit Proc), the same rules apply.

You only want the spirit one if you do not normally have replenishment. Warning – Blizz developers assume replenishment for raid encounters. But if you typically run 5 mans, this might be for you. Remember, it will only proc spirit if spirit is your highest stat. Or you may want the spirit version if you want

If +103 Int will push your Int above your spirit, this may not be the card for you. Still want it? Try enchanting and gemming for more spirit. Don’t want to make a major gear change? See if Kreeg’s Stout Beetdown makes the difference too.

Sapphire Owl – Jewel Crafting

63 MP5 and 21 Spellpower

If you are a jewelcrafter just starting out raiding, Sapphire Owl offers versatility. If you REALLY need mana, socked a Sparkling Sky Sapphire. If your mana cup start to overflowith, swap to Purified Twilight Opal or Runed Scarlet Rubies.

Darkmoon Card Greatness Int (Int Proc) – Inscription

About 65 MP5

Watch for this ‘deadly’ combination. I put this as best last for mana because resto druids really should not be proc’ing the Int buff. Our gear is itemized such that if your Int is higher than your spirit, you are ‘wasting’ a lot of itemization on Int that should be spent on Spirit. We just get more bang for our buck from Spirit.

Please see what I wrote above about proc'ing Darkmoon Card Int (Spirit Proc), the same rules apply.

If you are proc’ing the Int buff you really need to do something to up your spirit, at least in raids, especially if you are having mana issues. DO NOT just strip gear of Int. That is never helpful. Instead REPLACE Int Spirit gems and enchants, roll/bid on gear with high spirit not high Int. Grab yourself some Spirit Scrolls, some Kreeg’s Stout Beetdown, or a friend with Mistletoe – something until you can pull your raw Spirit up.

Darkmoon Card Greatness Spirit (Int Proc) – Inscription

About 60 MP5 and About 17 Spellpower

Show of Faith – 25 Man Yogg-Saron

About 51MP5 and 140 Spellpower

Spirit World Glass – 10 Man Gothik

48 MP5 and 27 Spellpower

Pair with DMC:BD and use SWG with BD procs for max mana.

Pandora’s Plea – 25 Man Mimiron

About 42 MP5 and About 149 Spellpower at 1.2 sec casts

The more you cast, the more it procs and the more spellpower you get out of it! But be careful, more spellpower obviously won't help your mana regen.

Sif’s Remembrance – 10 Man Thorim Hard Mode

About 41 MP5 and 110 Spellpower

Energy Siphon – 10 Man Flame Leviathan

43 MP5 and 68 Spellpower

Living Ice Crystals – 25 Man Malygos

43 MP5 and Use effect 1/min direct heal landing for about 3,100

Je’Tze’s Bell – World Drop

About 26 MP5 and 106 Spellpower

Darkmoon Card Illusion - Inscription

20 MP5 and 100 Spellpower

Assumptions, Graphs, and Math

I make the following assumption:

• Effective spellpower assumes spellpower from spirit for being in Tree of Life,
• Effective mana regen includes raw MP5, replenishment, and regen from spirit and int. Mana regen is a rough estimate - but it should remain more or less proportional when comparing gear. It is a rough estimate since spi/int regen will vary slightly depending on the amount of spirit and int you have currently. I assumed 1250 spirit and 1050 int raid buffed before equipping the new gear. I went with lowish numbers, because you are taking off the piece of gear you are about to replace.
• Effective Int and Spirit for the above two calculations assume Blessing of Kings, Living Spirit, the 2% stat increase from Imp MotW, and the 2% Int meta gem.

Math to come when I am feeling a little less lazy…

Graph!

Zoom in of that crazy part of the graph

Need Input: Assumed Some Numbers for Mana Regen Calculations - Did I Pick Good Numbers?

It was bugging me that I didn't plug in total numbers for spirit and int when calculating the approximate spirit and int mana regen from new pieces of gear for my Ulduar gear list. Some pieces were coming up with totals of 0 MP5, because they would lack spirit or int. So when you plug the stats from JUST that gear into the fancy-dancy mana regen equation, it would equal zero. 

Example:

Grips of the Unbroken

Int: 0

Spirit: 68 (64 raw + 4 socket bonus)

Spirit Effective: 86

Effective Spirit = Spirit * Living Spirit * Kings * Imp MoTW

86 = 68 * 1.15 * 1.10 * 1.02

That's a lot of yummy spirit for mana regen but looks like crap if you plug it into the mana regen equation with that 0 for int.

Spi/Int Mana Regen In-Combat = ((SPIRIT)*0.003345*SQRT(INT)*5 + 0.001)*0.5

0 MP5 = ((86)*0.003345*SQRT(0)*5 + 0.001)*0.5

So I went back and plugged in what I thought were reasonable Int and Spirit numbers for resto druids running 25 man Ulduar. Here is how I described it in the edit of my original post: 

Effective mana regen includes raw MP5, replenishment, and regen from spirit and int. Mana regen is a rough estimate - but it should remain more or less proportional when comparing gear. It is a rough estimate since spi/int regen will vary slightly depending on the amount of spirit and int you have currently. I assumed 1250 spirit and 1050 int raid buffed before equipping the new gear. I went with lowish numbers, because you are taking off the piece of gear you are about to replace.

That's where I need your help! Does that roughly match your raid buffed int and spirit minus one piece of gear? (Since this list is all about replacing pieces of gear). I stalked... I mean... armor-ied all my favorite druid bloggers and took the average of our int's and spirit's to calculate those numbers (except those of you logged out as Boomkins, Rawrbears, Lolkittyes, PvPers, or with Diamond-Tipped Canes). My sample size was very very small after all that. Next time you are all raid buffed and waiting for someone to come back from AFK, take off a piece of gear you want to replace and let me know your spirit and int numbers!!!

But now back to the math... because I love math... When I plug the dummy numbers into the mana regen equation I get a better idea of how much mana regen I will have before the gloves: 

Spi/Int Mana Regen In-Combat = ((1250)*0.003345*SQRT(1050)*5 + 0.001)*0.5

Before Gloves = 339 MP5

And after the gloves:

Spi/Int Mana Regen In-Combat = ((86+1250)*0.003345*SQRT(0+1050)*5 + 0.001)*0.5

After the Gloves = 362 MP5

Subtracting gives me the MP5 from JUST the gloves: 362 MP5 - 339 MP5 = 23 MP5

23 MP5 is a much more reasonable representation of the mana Grips of the Unbroken gives us, so now some poor innocent blog reader of mine will not think: "Oh no! If I get those gloves they will give me no mana at all and I will lose all the mana on my current gloves!"

The funny part is crunching and changing those numbers didn't change my ranking at all. Grips of the Unbroken were the best gloves for us - with or without mana, since they have 6 spell power and 34 haste over T8. So I truly only did this for new druids searching for gear who might be saying "No manaz???"

TL;DR

Spirit and Int mana regen scale depending on your Spirit and Int. This makes it impossible to say "X piece of gear will give you Y mana regen" when making a gear list - because "Y mana regen" will be different for every single person. Luckily, it scales, so you can still use 'about' numbers very well to compare gear without factoring in your personal spirit and int. Also, none of this calculating changed how I ranked gear. 

However, I want to make my Ulduar gear list useful to as many 25-man Ulduar raiding trees as possible, so I need your help. Tell me what your Ulduar 25-man raid buffed int and spirit are - preferably after taking off one piece of gear (since we are trying to replace gear with a gear list). I will factor in any info you give me so we can more accurately compare gear for a wide range of raiding druids!

Thank you very much for your help! <3

A Few More Lifebloom Calculations from the PTR

Raaff (Druid Heal!) threw some Lifebloom numbers out there first, looking at its new efficiency and throughput. His post left me asking two questions:

1. Does equipping 2pT7, which lowers the cost of Lifebloom have any affect on the amount of mana you get back when it blooms?

2. What is the throughput and efficiency of just Lifebloom? (Since Raaff's calculations were for a full reasonable cast cycle.)

Averna (Nerf this Druid) ran some numbers on throughput of Lifebloom alone. Her calculations included the bloom portion. This left me asking:

3. In a worst case scenario, or most like the current situation scenario, the bloom will all be overheal. What does this mean for Lifeblooms efficiency and throughput?

Scroll to the bottom to skips mathz and see conclusions.

This post has been highly inspired by Raaff and Averna and may subconsciously draw from their work, although I did all my own number crunching using my gear. If you haven't checked out their 3.1 PTR work yet, please do so.

Currently a Lifebloom cycle is 10 seconds long (with Glyph), costs 366 mana (with 2pT7), and a single Lifebloom ticks for 400 (for me), 800 for two, and 1200 for 3. I am going to ignore the mana cost and time to get the stack up, since most druids will not let that stack fall off the main tank.

Throughput:
1,200 HP ticks @ 1 tick/sec for 10 sec = 12,000 HP healed in a cycle

1,200 HP/10 sec = 1,200 HPS

Efficiency:
1 cast every 10 sec @ 366 mana/cast = 366 Mana spent in a cycle

12,000 HP/366 MP = 33 HPM

PTR Rolling (w 2pT7) The only change from the current numbers is that the cost will be 733 mana up from 366.

Throughput will remain the same: 1,200 HPS

Efficiency:
1 cast every 10 sec @ 733 mana/cast = 733 Mana spent in a cycle

12,000 HP/733 MP = 16 HPM

PTR Rolling (w/o 2pT7) The only change from the current numbers is that the cost will be 782 mana up from 366 (current) or 733 (w/ 2pT7).

Throughput will remain the same: 1,200 HPS

Efficiency:
1 cast every 10 sec @ 782 mana/cast = 782 Mana spent in a cycle

12,000 HP/782 MP = 15 HPM

PTR Blooming Overheal (w/ 2pT7) For this calculation I will assume that all of the Bloom over the healing done by a normal tick will go to overheal, since it is very difficult on most fights to predict damage 10 seconds into the future. A Lifebloom cycle is now 12 seconds long, since we need to rebuild our stack of 3. Half of mana refunded at the Bloom is equal to 1469 mana refunded.

Throughput:
1,200 @ 1 tick/sec for 10 sec = 12,000 HP
12,000 + 400 (1st tick) +800 (2nd tick) = 13,200 HP healed in a cycle

13,200 HP/ 13 sec = 1,015 HPS

Efficiency:
3 casts every 13 sec @ 733 mana/cast = 2,199 Mana spent in a cycle
2,199 mana spent - 1469 mana refunded = 730 Net Mana spent in a cycle

13,200 HP/730 MP = 18 HPM

PTR Blooming Overheal (w/o 2pT7) The same as the above calculation, except Lifebloom now costs 782 mana per cast.

Throughput will remain the same as above: 1,015 HPS

Efficiency:
3 casts every 13 sec @ 782 mana/cast = 2,346 Mana spent in a cylce

2,346 mana spent - 1469 mana refunded = 877 Net Mana spend in a cylce

13,200 HP/877 MP = 15 HPM

PTR Blooming Not Overhealed (w/ 2pT7) This is a calculation that is probably too good to be true. But once and a while we may get lucky and our entire bloom may go to effective healing. My bloom heals for 9703 HP.

Throughput:
400 (1st tick) + 800 (2nd tick) + 1,200*9 (ticks 3 though 11) + 9,703 (bloom) = 21,703 HP Healed in a cycle

21,703 HP/13 sec = 1,669 HPS

Efficiency:
3 casts every 13 sec @ 733 mana/cast = 2,199 Mana spent in a cycle

2,199 mana spent - 1469 mana refunded = 730 Net Mana spent in a cycle

21,702 HP/730 MP = 30 HPM

PTR Blooming Not Overhealed (w/o 2pT7) Same as above, but costs 782 mana per Lifebloom application.

Throughput will be the same as above: 1,669 HPS

Efficiency:
3 casts every 13 sec @ 782 mana/cast = 2,346 Mana spent in a cylce
2,346 mana spent - 1469 mana refunded = 877 Net Mana spend in a cylce
21,702 HP/877 MP = 25 HPM

Conclusions

1a. Equipping 2pT7 does not effect the amount of mana you get back when Lifebloom blooms. It was 1,469 mana returned with or without it. It makes casting Lifebloom 6% more efficient if you are rolling blooms and 20% more efficient if you are letting the blooms bloom. 4pT8 is going to have to be really really good to get Resto Druids to give up 2pT7.

2a. If your bloom is not overhealing, this will actually be a 39% buff to the throughput of Lifebloom. At least they threw us some consolation prize.

2b. Sadly, we are experiencing a 10% increase to the cost of Lifebloom. This is the best case scenario, if your bloom is going to effective healing.

3a. Throughput of Lifebloom ticks alone will drop 15%. This assumes all the bloom is overheal. I predict we will not notice any change in throughput for Lifebloom, since most of the time the bloom will be overheal, but once and a while it will actually contribute something. Your ability to predict the future... I mean damage... will make a big difference on how much of a nerf/buff this is to your Lifeblooms.

3b. The nerf could be as high as a 83% increase to cost. Again, your ability to predict the future will determine where you fall on the 10% to 83% cost increase spectrum. If you plan on rolling those blooms still, you are looking at a 106% increase, that you can do nothing about. Ouch!

Suggestions

1. Wear your 2pT7 until you absolutely have to break it. Make sure you are going into T8 with all 5 pieces of T7, even if you are not wearing them now. This will give you the most flexibility to keep the 2pT7 bonus as you pick up new pieces of gear after the patch.

2. Be prepared to not roll Lifeblooms. Start practicing now in heroics, 10 mans, and/or on 25 man trash. You have a bad habit to break, even though it was once good. This is like unlearning to brush your teeth in the morning and unlearning to put on your seat belt in the car. It will feel very very wrong, but it is the way to be mana efficient.

3. Whether this will be a nerf or a buff to your Lifebloom throughput and how badly of a nerf it will be to your efficiency will depend on your ability to predict damage. If you are not running BigWigs or Deadly Boss Mod timers, for heaven's sake get them. Practice now watching cool downs on abilities and finishing the three stack (ie adding the final LB to a stack of 2) 10 seconds before you know the tank will take increased damage. Some fights this will be impossible. Other fights it will just be freaking hard.

Any questions/comment/complaints welcome as always. I did most of this math on a note card waiting for Watchmen to start (good movie!) so I am very open to "Aert, you can't add here."

Blue Dragon Nerfed by 57% in 3.1*

Friends, bloggers, druids - lend me your ears; 

I come to bury my Blue Dragon Card, not to praise it.

The evil that OP gear does lives after it; 

The good is oft interred with its nexus crystals. 

So let it be with Blue Dragon. 

The noble Ghostcrawler 

Hath told you time spent OO5SR was ambitious; 

If it were so, it was a grievous fault, 

And grievously hath Blue Dragon answered it.

Here, under leave of Ghostcrawler and the rest of Blizz - 

For Ghostcrawler is an honorable man; 

So are they all, all honorable developers - 

Come I to speak in Blue Dragon's funeral. 

It was my favorite trinket, faithful and just to me; 

But Ghostcrawler says PvE regen was ambitious; 

And Ghostcrawler is an honorable man. 

Blue Dragon hath brought many 15 seconds of OOC regens to my raids

Whose manas did my mana bar fill:

Did this in regen seem ambitious?

When that the OOM have cried, Blue Dragon hath wept:

Ambition should be made of sterner stuff. 

Yet Ghostcrawler says he was ambitious; 

And Ghostcrawler is an honorable man. 

You all did see that on spell cast

Two percent we received its Aura, 

And 98 percent we were refused: Was this ambition?

Yet Ghostcrawler says Spirit and Int regen was ambitious; 

And, sure, he is an honorable man. 

I speak not to disprove what Ghostcrawler spoke, 

But here I am to speak what I do know.

You all did love Blue Dragon one, not without cause:

What cause do you have now to say much mana regen makes raiding too easy?

O judgment! Thou art fled to under geared noobs, 

And hard core raiders have lost their reason. Bear with me; 

My heart is in the nexus crystals with Blue Dragon, 

And I must pause till it come back to me. 

*For me and my gear. Your pain from the nerf bat may vary.

Here you will find my original post on Blue Dragon, including a spreadsheet to see how wonderful it is right now. Here is that same spreadsheet, updated for 3.1's healing coefficient: Excel, Open Office

Much credit given to William Shakespeare of course!!!

Darkmoon Greatness Card: Int vs Spirit; Which provides more MP5 for a Resto Druid?

*This post was written before 3.1. This post here reflects changes to mana regen from 3.1.

This post is for Steph, Court, and sasmon.com who all requested more info comparing the two Greatness Cards: Int vs Spirit. First, I would like to apologise to all of you for taking so long to respond. I have been a busy tree, but that is a post for another day. This post and this Monday morning, Presidents Day, off from work/school are dedicated to you!

Steph, Court, and sasmon all are (were) in the unique situation where their Int is higher than their Spi, especially while using the Greatness Int Card. When I first analyzed Resto Druid Trinkets, I did not consider this possibility, as I find spirit so abundant on our gear and so easy to enchant and gem for. But it is a possibility that a Druid would have a higher Int than Spi. If your Int is higher than your Spirit or you dance back and forth between the two stats, and you are using or considering using the Int or the Spirit Greatness cards, you may want to consider checking out the spreed sheet I made to see exactly how your choice will effect you.

General Observations

I have a 1:1.16 ratio of Int to Spi unbuffed. For my stats, I found...

- The Int Card gives more mana than the Spirit card, regardless of whether Int or Spirit procs.

- The Int Proc gives more mana than the Spirit proc, regardless of whether it is coming from the Int or Spirit card.

- For my stats right now: Int Card with Int Proc > Int Card with Spi Proc > Spi Card with Int Proc > Spi Card with Spi Proc

- The most surprising thing I found: All the card/proc combinations were within 6 MP5 of each other. IE if you bought the wrong card, its probably not worth beating yourself up!

I would LOVE for people to plug their realistic stats into this sheet and then tell me which card is best for them. I can't really use myself as an example, because my Spirit is higher than my Int. I also am open to any comments on my math. Feel free to download and fiddle with the sheet as well!

1. Download the sheet: Excel , Open Office

2. Replace Aert's stats in red with your UNBUFFED, 1 TRINKETED stats.

3. Look at the column that best matches the raid buffs you run with. (The whole sheet assumes you run with replenishment, since Blizz has flat up said they are assuming all raids have replenishment... They also assume you are in Tree of Life form.)

4. Compare the orange-ish colored pairs of numbers. If your Int is higher than your spirit, make sure you are looking at the two data sets for the Int proc. If your Spirit is higher than your Int, make sure you are looking at the two data sets for the Spirit proc.

5. The number in blue at the bottom of the data set will tell you how much regen you will receive from that card, under those buff situations.

6. Tell Aert what your stats are unbuffed, which card looks best for you, and/or what the differences are between the cards, so she can generate more examples for the other curious druids in the world! <3

Disclaimers:

1. All this number crunching is for 3.0 and will be obsolete come 3.1, if the mana changes they are suggesting come into play. When we get more data from the PTR and I get a little more free time, I will updata both trinket spreadsheets.

2. As of 2-16-09 I still recommend Darkmoon Card: Blue Dragon for Resto Druids looking to up their mana regen.

Wrath Resto Druid Trinkets (With a Focus on Mana Regen Trinkets)

*This post was writen before 3.1 and therefor does not include trinkets from Ulduar or the out of combat mana regen nerf. This post here is up to date for 3.1.

15 days ago Nitefear asked a very simple question: "Just out of curiosity, which trinkets would be good?" Aertimus recommends Darkmoon Card: Blue Dragon with Spirit-World Glass

Trinkets were my first, big, frustrating, WoW math obsession. A year and a half ago, I spent every free moment I could get reading up on trinkets and lamenting the fact that I would never see Memento of Tyrande. I ultimately invested in Darkmoon Card: Blue Dragon and did obtain Memento a few days before Wrath.

I have never regretted spending time and gold on Blue Dragon. Despite the fact that some people say the uncertainty of its proc'ing makes it less desirable than other trinkets out there, I am here today to argue that Blue Dragon is still the best druid trinket in terms of mana regeneration. In fact, its mana regeneration benefits are so high that they may outweigh the fact that it does not have spellpower.

Blue Dragon was great in Classic, TBC, and is still great in Wrath. It will continue to scale with your gear. You will obtain more spirit and int and increase your out of combat mana regen and Blue Dragon will increase your in combat mana regen. The relative value of every other trinket is (slowly and slightly) diminished as you gear up.

There is a full discussion of restoration trinkets at EJ. In places on WoWHead, some people have been lead to believe that Darkmoon Card: Greatness Spirit is one of the best Resto Druid trinkets - they have been corrected. Darkmoon Card: Greatness Int. is indeed the better choice of the two. More WoWHead comments claim Majestic Dragon Figurine is one of the best Resto Druid trinkets - one commenter points out that it is ever better when combined with Blue Dragon. Some argue that Spirit-World Glass can do amazing things in combination with Blue Dragon, others say it is too unreliable of a combination. Matticus recommends Spirit-World Glass, and even mentions how great it would be for Resto Druids. His readers mention Blue Dragon, but no math follows.

I compared the following trinkets for mana regeneration:

• Darkmoon Card: Blue Dragon: Beasts Deck. Ace drops off of The Beast in Blackrock Spire. The rest of the cards are world drops.
  
• Majestic Dragon Figurine Drops off Sartharion in 10 man Obsidian Sanctum.
  
• Figurine - Sapphire Owl Made by and usable by Jewel Crafters only.
  
• Darkmoon Card: Greatness Spirit Version Nobles Deck. Made by Inscription.
  
• Darkmoon Card: Greatness Intellect Version Nobles Deck. Made by Inscription.
  
• Spirit-World Glass Drops off Gothik the Harvester (and sometimes Gluth) in 10 man Naxx.
  

I tried to model the average mana regeneration of each trinket and the trinkets when used in combination. I would prefer for people to look at the spread sheet I made and plug in their stats, to be sure they know what they are picking (especially if they are investing gold in a Darkmoon Card). I don't want people to just take my word or some commenter on WoWHead, or even EJ or Matticus, without figuring out what I will mean for them.

I was very surprised by the results. I found...

1. At high values of spirit and int and a fairly average cast rate for a Resto Druid, Darkmoon Card: Blue Dragon still gives the most mana regeneration. (Get this trinket. AH so much stuff that your vanity pets think they are next if you have to, but get this trinket.)
   
2. When considering trinkets to pair with Darkmoon Card: Blue Dragon, Spirit-World Glass gives the most mana regeneration on average. This assumes you use the Spirit-World trinket every time it is up. Even if Blue Dragon never procs when Spirit-World Glass is being used, it still gives the best mana regen. If you have a mod to notify you of Blue Dragon's proc and you have really good reaction time, you might be able to use Spirit-World Glass when you see Blue Dragon proc, giving you even more return. My calculations don't even begin to consider the increased innervate return you would see if you use Spirit-World Glass when you innervate. (Spirit-World Glass is much diminished in value if you do not have Blue Dragon. You may want to get Blue Dragon before you kill yourself grinding Naxx 10 for this.)
   
3. If you manage to get your hands on Blue Dragon, but not on Spirit-World Glass, Darkmoon Card: Greatness Intellect version is your second best bet. The possible range of mana regen is much larger than the range of possibilities for Blue Dragon and Spirit World Glass. You will be taking a risk of the two cards proc'ing low and never proc'ing together. However, if they both proc a lot or together, you will see tons of mana. (Aertimus does not recommend taking this risk.)
4. Darkmoon Card: Greatness Spirit version is not worth it!!! Please don't dump gold or time into getting this card. Get the int version instead. If you go with the spirit version you are (probably) sacrificing more than 20 MP5 for less than 20 spellpower (compared to the Int version), BEFORE you pair this card with Blue Dragon. If you pair the two, you are gimping Blue Dragon's mana regen potential and losing even more (as compaired to the Int version.)
   
5. Majestic Dragon Figurine is a very good investment, especially if you are not into risk taking and/or you want to pair this with a spellpower/haste/"something that doesn't have the word 'card' in its name" trinket. In fact, I would recommend every druid have this around as a secondary trinket for fights when they aren't having a single mana regen issue.
   

I also hope (hope hope) some other people will look at my math and point out anything (and everything) I did wrong and even things I could have done better. I am by no means the Resto Druid Trinket Analysis Expert.

Here is the spreadsheet: Excel, Open Office

1. Download it.
   
2. Plug in your unbuffed, UNTRINKETED values in the red.
   
3. Figure out which of the four columns applies best to you. (Do you run with normal buffs? Are you blessed with an Divine Spirit priest? Do you have a +2% Int meta gem?)
   
4. Scroll down to compare the individual regen values, the touted "best trinkets for resto druid" regen values, and the regen values for trinkets used in combination with Blue Dragon.
   
5. Don't forget to check out the comments to the right of the column so you know exactly what you are comparing. Don't give up major spellpower if you aren't having mana issues!
   
6. If you wish, tab on over to "Maths" and see where all my numbers came from.
   
7. Give me comments! Given your spirit and int, which combinations are best for you? Did you find an error in my math? Do you think I overlooked a critical trinket?
   

I would like to thank my loving husband, Yakra, for letting/helping me spend the better part of our 3 day Florida Christmas vacation comparing druid trinkets!

For Aertimus's list of pre-Naxx resto druid go here.