I have been doing weekly updates to the Cataclysm gear listing on the site (accessible by filtering for patch 4.0.3). One of the trickiest pages is Trinkets. There are an obscene amount of trinkets in Cataclysm and I'm sure there are even more healer ones yet to be discovered. There are also the epic heroic mode raid trinkets which will be added at a much much later date (probably post-Cata, I doubt they'll beta test heroics... who knows).
There is a lot of Cataclysm gear in the site now. I have the goal of listing everything ilvl 333+ on the slot pages so you know what is what. Ranks right now are based on the weights from a few posts ago. I've unfortunately had to rely on this heavily since there has been such a large amount of items. The best items according to this are int/spi/haste ones.
I have also had to add in some of the pre-4.0.1 spirit items from ICC that we didn't use before. This includes the Marrowgar neckpiece, Sindragosa ring, and Deathbringer cloak. These are some of the best items now.
October 24, 2010
October 10, 2010
Cataclysm & 4.0.1 Holy Paladin Glyphs
I have added a new glyphs page to the main website. This page lists the new Cataclysm holy paladin glyphs in the order you're most likely to use them. There are a few interesting choices and a few boring choices.
This page is also valid for 4.0.1 holy paladins since glyphs will be updated.
In addition, I've updated the methodology page for 4.0.1 and beyond. This should give some insight on how gear is ranked for the next expansion. Since things are still likely to change this page is also subject to change.
This page is also valid for 4.0.1 holy paladins since glyphs will be updated.
In addition, I've updated the methodology page for 4.0.1 and beyond. This should give some insight on how gear is ranked for the next expansion. Since things are still likely to change this page is also subject to change.
October 9, 2010
Stat Weights for Cataclysm
Even though Cataclysm is a few months off and stats may end up changing in value, I've entered a set of default values for 4.0.1. The only thing that will change for Cata is the value of a socket since you'll be able to fit 40 stat points into a socket instead of 20. Sockets are at 100 for 4.0.1, if you want to see 4.0.3 values bump it up to 200.
The values largely come from stat discussion in beta at EJ where Zaroua (Premonition) and DiamondTear (Paragon) are discussing the value of each stat. Still subject to tweaking of course. It's somewhat depressing that mastery is such an unattractive stat for us since it has the potential to be good... it's just that the current implementation is quite bad.
Here are the weights:
Spellpower (weapon only): 1.5
INT: 5.0
SPI: 5.0
Haste: 4.0
Mastery: 2.5
Crit: 2.5
Socket (4.0.1 value): 100.0
The values largely come from stat discussion in beta at EJ where Zaroua (Premonition) and DiamondTear (Paragon) are discussing the value of each stat. Still subject to tweaking of course. It's somewhat depressing that mastery is such an unattractive stat for us since it has the potential to be good... it's just that the current implementation is quite bad.
Here are the weights:
Spellpower (weapon only): 1.5
INT: 5.0
SPI: 5.0
Haste: 4.0
Mastery: 2.5
Crit: 2.5
Socket (4.0.1 value): 100.0
October 1, 2010
Site Update Launched!
The main website at http://bis.vilepickle.com has been updated for 4.0.1! Here's an overview of the changes to the site:
- All items now show their new stats. Stats from WOTLK are no longer listed when you mouse over items.
- Two patches: 4.0.1 pre-Cataclysm and 4.0.3 post-Cataclysm. Select the filter to change your item set (see new, not-yet-available items from Cataclysm for each slot with 4.0.3)
- MP5 is gone, spirit is in.
- Mastery is in.
- Spellpower now only counts for weapon pointscore.
- Cataclysm raid items will show up for both the 25 and 10 man filters.
- Reduced the number of WOTLK items listed. For the most part only the top of the line items remain. Lets face it, gear in WOTLK is only going to matter for a few weeks at best, and the old top items are still at the top.
- Speaking of old top items, mail and other non-plate is no longer listed due to the 5% intellect bonus in 4.0.1 and beyond for full plate. The mail is still good, but in the big picture you'll be using it as filler gear at best. Since we're still "best in slot" technically I do not see a real reason to list all of this gear from now on (unless it is clearly way beyond any of "our" gear).
- Item weights reset to 1 across the board. The stat shuffle has made it confusing for me to try and weight them right now. You can enter your own weights still on the individual slot pages. Note that socket value is the amount of a stat that can fit in a typical socket (20 in 4.0.1).
- The front page now lists the top 2 items for each socket. This is my effort to be more accepting of different itemizations that may be valid. My opinion should not be absolute and only listing 1 gave that illusion. I may add a filter to only list the top item in the future (mostly for readability).
- Item level has been added to the site on the slot pages. You can sort the tables by this value.
- Several back-end optimizations have been added to the site like page caching and offloaded static files. It should be faster.
September 30, 2010
Cataclysm Site Update Dated
Since the 4.0.1 patch will be going live on October 5th or 12th I will be launching the updated version of the BIS holy paladin website this weekend at some point. This will give an early look at the current gear's new stats and I also have all of the Cataclysm gear inputted that is known.
Some of the new features:
1. The front page shows the top two items for each slot instead of only one. This gives more flexibility to the list and doesn't make people go "dude what the....!" when they don't agree with me.
2. Weights are temporarily defaulted to 1 (no stat is weighted) because of the massive shift in stats and abilities. These will gradually correct themselves, but you can still set your own (if you think, for instance, one stat is better and you want to see how the item scores).
3. Cataclysm items with the 4.0.3 filter including dungeon blues, heroic blues, and the current epics
4. Pointscore for librams since they have stats now.
5. Updated information pages to note they are not optimized for Cataclysm.
Some of the new features:
1. The front page shows the top two items for each slot instead of only one. This gives more flexibility to the list and doesn't make people go "dude what the....!" when they don't agree with me.
2. Weights are temporarily defaulted to 1 (no stat is weighted) because of the massive shift in stats and abilities. These will gradually correct themselves, but you can still set your own (if you think, for instance, one stat is better and you want to see how the item scores).
3. Cataclysm items with the 4.0.3 filter including dungeon blues, heroic blues, and the current epics
4. Pointscore for librams since they have stats now.
5. Updated information pages to note they are not optimized for Cataclysm.
September 26, 2010
Cataclysm Site Updates
In an effort to keep the site relevant when the pre-Cataclysm patch hits I will be making a push to update when the 4.0.1 patch hits. I will be cutting down the number of entries I have in each slot since gear is becoming much less relevant and maintaining many more entries is more work.
Other changes include the addition of the spirit weight box, removal of mp5, and the addition of a mastery box (which won't really be used in the pre-Cata patch). I am also going to make all stat weights default to 1 and socket weight to 20 (the amount of stat point possible in a gem slot pre-Cata) since everything is changing so much and I'm honestly not sure what to weight stats yet. What this means is the pointscore will reflect the raw number of total healing stats available on the item rather than a score based on which stats are actually better. You can still enter your own weights as you see fit and compare the remaining items.
Behind the scenes after the Cata patch I will be entering the Cataclysm items as more and more are revealed. Hopefully there will be a solid picture of normal, heroic dungeon, and raid items by the time Cataclysm hits and the site will be a very helpful resource for the beginning of level 85 and on. Once I have a decent starter list for Cataclysm items I will open up the patch filter for Cata.
Listing Plate
Another major change you'll notice is the absence of mail/leather/cloth from the listings when the patch hits. I will be dropping these items from the list since we gain 5% additional intellect when we wear all plate. I understand during the start of Cata we may end up using exceptional mail/cloth/leather to start gearing up, but the main goal of this site is to list the best items as a set and that will never include a non-plate item with the bonus in place. I may end up listing extremely exceptional non-plate pieces if they are significant in Cata but I can't see it happening. The list would be too big and pointless since it's very very good to maintain full plate in Cata.
Purpose of the Site
I think BIS lists will still be necessary in Cataclysm as a helpful resource but I think they need to be more open. The idea of this site is to show several alternatives on the item slot pages. I'd like to expand on this and possibly show the top two items per slot on the front index page. This will give me room to list items that have different itemization since it will be much less cut and dry in Cata.
Other changes include the addition of the spirit weight box, removal of mp5, and the addition of a mastery box (which won't really be used in the pre-Cata patch). I am also going to make all stat weights default to 1 and socket weight to 20 (the amount of stat point possible in a gem slot pre-Cata) since everything is changing so much and I'm honestly not sure what to weight stats yet. What this means is the pointscore will reflect the raw number of total healing stats available on the item rather than a score based on which stats are actually better. You can still enter your own weights as you see fit and compare the remaining items.
Behind the scenes after the Cata patch I will be entering the Cataclysm items as more and more are revealed. Hopefully there will be a solid picture of normal, heroic dungeon, and raid items by the time Cataclysm hits and the site will be a very helpful resource for the beginning of level 85 and on. Once I have a decent starter list for Cataclysm items I will open up the patch filter for Cata.
Listing Plate
Another major change you'll notice is the absence of mail/leather/cloth from the listings when the patch hits. I will be dropping these items from the list since we gain 5% additional intellect when we wear all plate. I understand during the start of Cata we may end up using exceptional mail/cloth/leather to start gearing up, but the main goal of this site is to list the best items as a set and that will never include a non-plate item with the bonus in place. I may end up listing extremely exceptional non-plate pieces if they are significant in Cata but I can't see it happening. The list would be too big and pointless since it's very very good to maintain full plate in Cata.
Purpose of the Site
I think BIS lists will still be necessary in Cataclysm as a helpful resource but I think they need to be more open. The idea of this site is to show several alternatives on the item slot pages. I'd like to expand on this and possibly show the top two items per slot on the front index page. This will give me room to list items that have different itemization since it will be much less cut and dry in Cata.
September 18, 2010
Cataclysm Holy Paladin Updates 9/18/10
The cataclysm changes page for holy paladins has been updated on the main website. There are some very interesting changes and it seems like Blizzard is really starting to streamline the trees for us.
Holy Light base healing has been reduced by 25%. Mana costs changed to 9% of base mana, up from 6% of base mana.
After healing on the PTR I can tell why this change was made. Healing with HL meant infinite mana at such a low base cost. It also healed for a little bit too much... using HS and then HL with speed of light up was extremely effective. Blizzard wants us to dip into Flash of Light more and feel the mana burn... and they can't well do that with HL + HS + Word of Glory (no mana) taking up a large part of the rotation.
Light of Dawn base healing has been increased by 10%. Can no longer consume Holy Power to increase healing.
Light of Dawn was a little bit too much of a sacrifice as it was it seemed to me. Being situational in nature by default due to it being a positional spell, it also ate all of your holy power, has a long cooldown, and doesn't heal for that much. Even so, it's still fun to use and does provide a little "oomph" when everyone takes damage. The problem is the "oomph" is what you get and then your holy power is sapped so you can't WOG someone else (you essentially have to start over, which means people hang at their lower health far too long). Is 10% enough? Probably not since it won't increase anymore.
Improved Concentration Aura is gone.
I see this more as Blizzard trying to weed out old mechanics than a nerf really. It was a PVP talent as it was anyway, and a very unexciting one at that.
Daybreak now has a 10/20% chance to make your next Holy Shock not trigger a cooldown if used within 12 sec. (Old - 15/30% chance to reset Holy Shock's cooldown)
Really good streamlining change in my opinion. This will probably save GCD's and make our play experience more smooth. I noticed on PTR that Daybreak was more annoying than useful since I'd be casting some heals, Daybreak would proc, and I'd already be casting something else. This makes it so you can finish that cast... but also be ready to use HS twice in a row. It was too broken up before where it would be HS > cast (DAYBREAK PROC) > cast (woops, my DB procced, I should've used HS) > HS. Sometimes the Daybreak would be wasted it seemed like since HS would've come off cooldown by itself anyway.
Spiritual Focus (Tier 5) *New* - Grants hit rating equal to 50/100% of any Spirit gained from items or effects.
I'm really happy that this talent is here. I hate missing judgements on live and I love the current hit talent.
However, this talent makes us choose between Blessed Life (the new one, not the old junk) and it to maintain a 31 point holy build. Spiritual Focus is a must-have for PVP I think, but maybe not in PVE. I can see Blessed Life being a godsend on fights where we take... any kind of damage that procs it at all. Spiritual Focus is a more passive bonus... but a good one. I think Spritual Focus needs something else to make it not so clear which one to take in PVE. I'd certainly trade hit for chances to gain holy power. Blizzard should give it something like a 10% chance to get holy power on judgement. Then it would compete with Blessed Life I think (Blessed Life is 100% when you take direct damage).
Alternatively, we can break our 31 point build and use something like this to obtain Blessed Life and SF (32/2/7). You end up losing 5% WOG/HS passive crit from ret and the situational 30% WOG crit when your target is below 35% life (you still get +30%, heh), but crit is massively nerfed I don't see any problem with this. If things stay like this I'll probably go with a build like this.
Eternal Glory is now a Tier 1 Protection talent.
Good. Super important talents shouldn't be limited to getting only right at 85.
Holy Light base healing has been reduced by 25%. Mana costs changed to 9% of base mana, up from 6% of base mana.
After healing on the PTR I can tell why this change was made. Healing with HL meant infinite mana at such a low base cost. It also healed for a little bit too much... using HS and then HL with speed of light up was extremely effective. Blizzard wants us to dip into Flash of Light more and feel the mana burn... and they can't well do that with HL + HS + Word of Glory (no mana) taking up a large part of the rotation.
Light of Dawn base healing has been increased by 10%. Can no longer consume Holy Power to increase healing.
Light of Dawn was a little bit too much of a sacrifice as it was it seemed to me. Being situational in nature by default due to it being a positional spell, it also ate all of your holy power, has a long cooldown, and doesn't heal for that much. Even so, it's still fun to use and does provide a little "oomph" when everyone takes damage. The problem is the "oomph" is what you get and then your holy power is sapped so you can't WOG someone else (you essentially have to start over, which means people hang at their lower health far too long). Is 10% enough? Probably not since it won't increase anymore.
Improved Concentration Aura is gone.
I see this more as Blizzard trying to weed out old mechanics than a nerf really. It was a PVP talent as it was anyway, and a very unexciting one at that.
Daybreak now has a 10/20% chance to make your next Holy Shock not trigger a cooldown if used within 12 sec. (Old - 15/30% chance to reset Holy Shock's cooldown)
Really good streamlining change in my opinion. This will probably save GCD's and make our play experience more smooth. I noticed on PTR that Daybreak was more annoying than useful since I'd be casting some heals, Daybreak would proc, and I'd already be casting something else. This makes it so you can finish that cast... but also be ready to use HS twice in a row. It was too broken up before where it would be HS > cast (DAYBREAK PROC) > cast (woops, my DB procced, I should've used HS) > HS. Sometimes the Daybreak would be wasted it seemed like since HS would've come off cooldown by itself anyway.
Spiritual Focus (Tier 5) *New* - Grants hit rating equal to 50/100% of any Spirit gained from items or effects.
I'm really happy that this talent is here. I hate missing judgements on live and I love the current hit talent.
However, this talent makes us choose between Blessed Life (the new one, not the old junk) and it to maintain a 31 point holy build. Spiritual Focus is a must-have for PVP I think, but maybe not in PVE. I can see Blessed Life being a godsend on fights where we take... any kind of damage that procs it at all. Spiritual Focus is a more passive bonus... but a good one. I think Spritual Focus needs something else to make it not so clear which one to take in PVE. I'd certainly trade hit for chances to gain holy power. Blizzard should give it something like a 10% chance to get holy power on judgement. Then it would compete with Blessed Life I think (Blessed Life is 100% when you take direct damage).
Alternatively, we can break our 31 point build and use something like this to obtain Blessed Life and SF (32/2/7). You end up losing 5% WOG/HS passive crit from ret and the situational 30% WOG crit when your target is below 35% life (you still get +30%, heh), but crit is massively nerfed I don't see any problem with this. If things stay like this I'll probably go with a build like this.
Eternal Glory is now a Tier 1 Protection talent.
Good. Super important talents shouldn't be limited to getting only right at 85.
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