Blog Updates and Mailbag

~ Added Star-Beaded Clutch and Crown of Luminescence to their appropriate spot on the hard mode Ulduar list.

~ Added Soul Preserver to the Mana Trinket list.

~ Mammako asked over in my sidebar which ring I would prefer: Lady Maye's Sapphire Ring from normal Iron Council or Fire Orchid Signet from Hard-mode Freya. I would take Fire Orchid over Lady Maye. If you gem Luminous Monarch Topaz for the socket bonus Fire Orchid (with full raid buffs: Kings, ToL, Replenishment, 2% Int Meta Gem) gives you +4 spellpower and +11 MP5. If you don't need the mana and gem with a Runed Scarlet Ruby instead, Fire Orchid gives you +14 spellpower and +4 MP5. And just having that socket to give you that flexibility is a winning point for Fire Orchid in my book. Hope that helps Mammako!

~ Next, I wanted to comment on a comment/question Sunkist left on the Mana Trinket post. Sunkist has a somewhat new blog: Barkskining Up the Wrong Tree. There is not much I like more than new druid blogs, and isn't that the cutest name??? Their most recent post is about the controversial 72 hour ban. Well written, even if you don't agree with the point of view. So check it out.

But now I've gotten off topic. Sunkist asked: "One thing I was wondering is how much regen we would get by using Spark and one of the 100+ int trinkets since int and spirit work together to produce our mana regen." I skipped over this question at first because it is such a loaded question. Remember, when calculating mana regen you need to look at TOTAL spirit and int for passive regen and then add in any procs or 'special' things about the trinket. I made a spreadsheet to do this for 3.0 trinkets, but it was a lot of work making cells to compare every trinket combination so I wasn't planning on doing it again this time.

But maybe as a fast answer to your question... With no trinkets and only ToL and MotW as buffs my passive mana regen is 629/329. If I add only Spark of Hope is jumps +63/+31 from passive. If I add just Pandora's Plea it jumps +32/+16 (does not include replenishment). So if I add them together I should get +95/47, right? But insted I get +98/49. So I get a tiny bit more for adding both Int and Spirit. Again, this is all unbuffed and does not include replenishment which is a part of Pandora's mana return or Spark of Hope's reduction to spell costs which is its HUGE benefit.

Hope that answers your question! But the real answer may be, you are running with the two trinkets I would be using if I could get my hand on IDS! If you had any more specific questions feel free to e-mail me.

~ Finally, a quick "Why have a dropped off the face of the blogsphere?" - because even if I don't post, I normally comment on other people's posts. Some of the comments people were making on Keeva's post on hard-core raiders post got me really upset. I was, and am in some ways, still feeling a little embarrassed to be part of a blogging community who would treat another blogger like that. I don't mean the one's who respectfully disagreed with her, I mean the anonymous posters who just attacked and name called her. Wow, I'm actually crying right now. If it was my own blog I think I would be okay with it, just delete and move on. But its not like I can post "F*CK YOU GET YOUR OWN SOAP BOX" on Keeva's comments. Keeva is just one of the most mature, eloquent, selfless druid bloggers we have. How long has she spent working on her Grid/Heal-bot project to make it useful for the rest of us? How long does she spend answer questions about it? She hosted Azeroth day because she knew the community would miss it. She comments on every comment. "But Aert, you don't even KNOW her!" I know... but then why am I crying?

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.

Why Titansteel Guardian isn't on My "Pre-Naxx Gear List"

TheDave asked: how about titansteel guardian? I already have the War Mace of Unrequited Love but I think the spell power increase is well worth the loss in intellect and mana regen. And also it's a much better weapon for pvp. I already have all mats and a friend is going to craft it for free. Haven't you included that weapon for a particular reason

I do think Titansteel Guardian as a main hand is a totally viable option: especially if you PvP and are not having and PvE mana issues. If you fit both of those categories and are willing to drop the two frozen orbs for it, it might be your best option. 

Reasons I don't think Titansteel Guardian is my best option: 

1. Lots of itemization given stamina. I don't PvP - like EVER. I haven't PvPed since the week 3.0.2 came out. While the stamina is great for those who PvP - like AT ALL - its not as great for those of us who are true carebears. Yes, stamina is nothing to be scoffed at in PvE either, but when you aren't dieing from lack of health (just from lack of IQ) like I am, and your friends ARE dieing from lack of heals (sometimes at least) like mine are, you probably shouldn't be stacking stamina. Leave that for the tanks. 

2. No Spirit, MP5, or Int. For the first time since 3.0.2, my mana pool has been feeling the strain of content I am not over geared for. Meaning... in heroics and 25 mans I am having to use everything I have to not go OOM (pots, multiple innervates in one fight, getting outside the 5 second rule, etc.) Lots of spellpower ain't gonna do me nothing if I can't cast. 

3. Some itemization given to crit. I have nothing against Crit, I would just rather see Spirit, MP5, Int, or more Spellpower on a weapon I am considering for a resto druid. This reason will REALLY depend on your play style. I am still a very heavy lifebloom caster and I am roflloving wild growth spam (I will be QQing soon.) I do use regrowth a lot, but it already crits "all the time" and many times when I am casting regrowth, it is about REFRESHING regrowth, not swooping in at the last second to save the tank. If you use regrowth, healing touch, and nourish far more than rejuv, lifebloom, and wildgrowth, this weapon would be better for you than for me. (But when I look at it again, it is probably still better than Cudgel of Saronite Justice.)

4. Its crafted. I like to put off getting crafted items that I don't think are far above and beyond everything else. I would prefer to get a drop if I'm torn between multiple pieces. I am married to one of LOKIs main tanks and my mats and gold are his as well, so I try not to be too greedy when I get items made. Also, as soon as you craft something, something better will drop. Its Murphy's Law of Loot. 

5. Mace of Unrequited Love is a fracking awesome name! Okay so maybe that's not a real reason... or if it is its a really bad one... 

To make a long list story short: If you showed up with Titansteel, I wouldn't question you at all. I hope that helps answer your question TheDave. Thank you for reading and commenting. I wish you the best of luck in your search for the perfect weapon to sit there and look pretty some of the time and be completely hidden under tree form the rest!