Persuasive
OG
Hi everyone, I have a few questions about W A N D S in Classic WoW and was hoping to maybe get some answers or at least start a productive conversation about it.
I have always loved wand spec, but there is still a lot about them I'm not perfectly clear on. The weird spell batching issues (and what I assume are some straight-up bugs) have added a layer of confusion about them, but I still kind of want to just dork out about wands for a bit.
To start, here's what I feel is true already:
- Regardless of wand speed, the first shot on wand activation takes about 0.75 seconds to fire. Could also just be 0.7 seconds, but half of GCD makes sense to me.
- Once a wand is fired, it triggers a 1.5 second GCD in which you can't cast spells or, if you move or cancel the autoshoot, reactivate the wand
- Melee attacks aren't linked in any way to the GCD, meaning you attack without losing any time during your GCD if you have a weapon with a speed of 1.5 or faster, but reactivating your wand attack afterwards will require another 0.75 seconds startup (good if you want to stop wanding and shield or renew or just start kiting)
I guess my question is, how viable do you think it is to prioritize wand top-end damage over dps? As a priest, I find that I spend a lot of time either kiting or approaching between wand shots to create or close space. Since the first shot and GCD are fixed and you can't often rely on getting multiple shots at once, is it smart have a stronger, slower wand for some matchups?
Basically, it doesn't matter if your wand has a speed of 1.3 or 2.0, it's going to take a minimum of 2.25 seconds to get a second shot off if you move after wanding.
The second question, that I guess ties into this, is how viable is swapping wands mid-combat? If you're fighting another priest, for instance, and there's not as much incentive to kite or approach, is having a faster wand to interrupt casting more valuable than higher dps in general? Is it situationally optimal?
Is it a waste of time and you should just stick with the highest dps wand always?
And one last little theorycraft exercise for fun:
Let's say you have the option to use one of these 2 wands. The first does 50 damage every 2 seconds, the second does 40 damage every 1.5 seconds. The second one has a higher dps: 25 vs 26.6.
You have 5 seconds to stand there and shoot. Which one will do more damage?
Wand 1: 50 damage at 0.7 seconds, 100 damage at 2.7 seconds, 150 damage at 4.7 seconds
Wand 2: 40 damage at 0.7 seconds, 80 damage at 2.2 seconds, 120 damage at 3.7 seconds
With Imp. Wand spec:
Wand 1: 67.25 damage at 0.7 seconds, 134.5 at 2.7, 201.75 at 4.7
Wand 2: 50 damage at 0.7 seconds, 100 at 2.2, 150 damage at 3.7
What if you have 7 seconds to stand there and shoot instead of 5?
Wand 1: 50 damage at 0.7 seconds, 100 at 2.7, 150 at 4.7, 200 at 6.7
Wand 2: 40 damage at 0.7 seconds, 80 at 2.2, 120 at 3.7, 180 at 5.2, 220 at 6.7
With Imp. Wand spec:
Wand 1: 67.25 damage at 0.7 seconds, 134.5 at 2.7, 201.75 at 4.7, 269 at 6.7
Wand 2: 50 damage at 0.7 seconds, 100 at 2.2, 150 at 3.7, 200 at 5.2, 250 at 6.7
I have always loved wand spec, but there is still a lot about them I'm not perfectly clear on. The weird spell batching issues (and what I assume are some straight-up bugs) have added a layer of confusion about them, but I still kind of want to just dork out about wands for a bit.
To start, here's what I feel is true already:
- Regardless of wand speed, the first shot on wand activation takes about 0.75 seconds to fire. Could also just be 0.7 seconds, but half of GCD makes sense to me.
- Once a wand is fired, it triggers a 1.5 second GCD in which you can't cast spells or, if you move or cancel the autoshoot, reactivate the wand
- Melee attacks aren't linked in any way to the GCD, meaning you attack without losing any time during your GCD if you have a weapon with a speed of 1.5 or faster, but reactivating your wand attack afterwards will require another 0.75 seconds startup (good if you want to stop wanding and shield or renew or just start kiting)
I guess my question is, how viable do you think it is to prioritize wand top-end damage over dps? As a priest, I find that I spend a lot of time either kiting or approaching between wand shots to create or close space. Since the first shot and GCD are fixed and you can't often rely on getting multiple shots at once, is it smart have a stronger, slower wand for some matchups?
Basically, it doesn't matter if your wand has a speed of 1.3 or 2.0, it's going to take a minimum of 2.25 seconds to get a second shot off if you move after wanding.
The second question, that I guess ties into this, is how viable is swapping wands mid-combat? If you're fighting another priest, for instance, and there's not as much incentive to kite or approach, is having a faster wand to interrupt casting more valuable than higher dps in general? Is it situationally optimal?
Is it a waste of time and you should just stick with the highest dps wand always?
And one last little theorycraft exercise for fun:
Let's say you have the option to use one of these 2 wands. The first does 50 damage every 2 seconds, the second does 40 damage every 1.5 seconds. The second one has a higher dps: 25 vs 26.6.
You have 5 seconds to stand there and shoot. Which one will do more damage?
Wand 1: 50 damage at 0.7 seconds, 100 damage at 2.7 seconds, 150 damage at 4.7 seconds
Wand 2: 40 damage at 0.7 seconds, 80 damage at 2.2 seconds, 120 damage at 3.7 seconds
With Imp. Wand spec:
Wand 1: 67.25 damage at 0.7 seconds, 134.5 at 2.7, 201.75 at 4.7
Wand 2: 50 damage at 0.7 seconds, 100 at 2.2, 150 damage at 3.7
What if you have 7 seconds to stand there and shoot instead of 5?
Wand 1: 50 damage at 0.7 seconds, 100 at 2.7, 150 at 4.7, 200 at 6.7
Wand 2: 40 damage at 0.7 seconds, 80 at 2.2, 120 at 3.7, 180 at 5.2, 220 at 6.7
With Imp. Wand spec:
Wand 1: 67.25 damage at 0.7 seconds, 134.5 at 2.7, 201.75 at 4.7, 269 at 6.7
Wand 2: 50 damage at 0.7 seconds, 100 at 2.2, 150 at 3.7, 200 at 5.2, 250 at 6.7