05-05-2008, 05:26 PM
Answers...
a) Levitate breaks on damage, so if you have Grip on you or a lingering Doomfire DoT, you could find yourself plummeting to earth sooner than expected.
b) Levitate will float you away from everyone else, putting yourself, your group, and the main tank in danger as you isolate yourself far away from the action (and any decursers).
Fade gives you a buff that adds a filter of a -1500 threat for the duration of the buff. What does that mean? Well this is what happens whenever you do anything that generates any threat:
1) You do something that generates threat. Let's say say it's X amount of threat.
2) If you weren't already on the mobs aggro list, you are now, and you start at X threat (being put in combat in a boss fight starts you with at least 1 threat, BTW, to avoid "exploits" with iceblock and BoP).
3) You hit Fade.
4) Your threat level on the mobs internal threat list *does not change*. If you were at X before, you're still at X.
5) However, two things have changed. First of all, using Fade can cause the code to check to see whether or not the mob should change targets. If someone is now 110% or 130% depending upon range higher in threat than you are, they're in trouble. Second, when it goes to determine how much threat you actually have, it takes the value from the mob's threat table and then it applies any buffs or debuffs that are relevant. In this case, Fade is that buff. So, it takes your threat level from the table, X, and it applies the Fade value: -1500. Your *effective* threat level is X - 1500. It's this *effective* threat value that gets used to see if the mob should choose someone else to target.
6) For the duration of the buff your effective threat level is X - 1500 (and this effective value can be negative, even though X itself cannot be lower than 0).
7) When the buff expires your effective threat level is back at X. *However*, and this is important, losing the buff does *not* force an aggro check. The buff could end and your effective threat can be back above someone elses threat by 110% or 130% and you still won't pull aggro just by itself. It's only when something happens that causes the code to determine whether or not it needs to look at you to see if you've pulled aggro that it matters. Such things are: if you generate any new threat, if the tank dies or has a threat wipe, and possibly with things like Fears and the like (though this is less likely now with the mobs sticking on their target even if they're feared).
So what's the upshot of all this?
It means you can Fade and as long as you don't do anything to generate any new threat when the Fade buff ends (and the tank doesn't die or whatever) then your effective threat will remain where it was and you won't pull aggro.
It means that, yes, you can hit Fade just before a threat wipe ability like a Hydross transition and you'll be effectively 1500 threat below everyone else (plus whatever threat your still ticking DoTs or HoTs are giving you). It does mean that when the Fade buff ends if you still have any DoTs or HoTs ticking then you had better hope your tank has generated at least whatever threat those DoTs/HoTs gave you since the threat wipe. But if they're not ticking when Fade ends then relax, you won't be pulling any aggro (unless the tank dies).
Confused yet? :)
You can test this - get a partner and aggro a mob. Make sure both are on the threat list. Have the other player whack the mob for like 100 damage. Cast Fade and Smite the mob for 1k damage. You won't pull aggro. Your partner will cry for nerfs.
b) It starts your PoM cooldown (10 seconds), so you could hopefully use it immediately when the tank takes his first hit - for even more tank threat!
c) It helps mitigate the tank's first damage intake by instantly healing him.
-Bolty
Quote:01) What is the +healing coefficient of Circle of Healing? It is an instant cast spell. So is Renew - so why might these two spells have a different coefficient?CoH has a 21.4% coefficient, because it is instant cast AND a group heal. But Renew gets 100%. What's up with that? Well, Renew is a 15-second HoT, and the 15-second timer makes it have a 100% coefficient and gets the Druids all jealous-like. Why Druids would be truly jealous of a Priest's HoT though is beyond me. :)
Quote:02) How many hit points are needed as a baseline to survive High Warlord Naj'entus' varied AoE attacks?8500 is the absolute minimum, but as others have said, if you don't have a good buffer over that you're not going to have a good time.
Quote:03) During the Shade of Akama encounter, Mages are being used on each side to Frost Nova adds as they spawn so they're less likely to get past the tank before they're picked up. Assuming you're assigned to heal one of these sides, what pro-active thing can you do to assist the Mages with this duty?You can Power Word: Shield the Mages before they throw a Frost Nova out. Doing so can often save their lives, as the quick 2 hits they may take before getting out of range is quite likely to 2-shot them.
Quote:04) You're fighting Gurtogg Bloodboil and you're assigned to Bloodboil heal. What are the two healing spells you'll be using far more than any others?Circle of Healing and Prayer of Mending. While CoH will perform the bulk of the healing, PoM is just godly in the fight as it will assist you by healing up whomever's hurt the most as it bounces around the raid. For good periods of time, there are 15 players with a damaging, undispellable DoT on them, and it's a lot to keep up with.
Quote:05) Why is the use of Levitate a bad choice when you are Air Bursted against Archimonde?Two reasons:
a) Levitate breaks on damage, so if you have Grip on you or a lingering Doomfire DoT, you could find yourself plummeting to earth sooner than expected.
b) Levitate will float you away from everyone else, putting yourself, your group, and the main tank in danger as you isolate yourself far away from the action (and any decursers).
Quote:06) What is your favorite downranked heal spell, and why?Generally, Greater Heal is the best spell to downrank. The rank to downrank to depends on preference. The reason to use GH as a primary downranked spell is because it benefits from a number of talent boosts and gear boosts, such as the 2pc T5 bonus and the 4pc T6 bonus. You get great bang for your buck.
Quote:07) How much threat does Fade dump at max rank?Fade reduces your threat by 1500.
Quote:08) You're engaging a boss. It is pulled, and you enter combat. Does casting Fade now, before your first heal, prevent that heal from pulling immediate aggro?Proving that Fade is one of the least-understood spells in the game, it's no surprise people struggled with this.
Fade gives you a buff that adds a filter of a -1500 threat for the duration of the buff. What does that mean? Well this is what happens whenever you do anything that generates any threat:
1) You do something that generates threat. Let's say say it's X amount of threat.
2) If you weren't already on the mobs aggro list, you are now, and you start at X threat (being put in combat in a boss fight starts you with at least 1 threat, BTW, to avoid "exploits" with iceblock and BoP).
3) You hit Fade.
4) Your threat level on the mobs internal threat list *does not change*. If you were at X before, you're still at X.
5) However, two things have changed. First of all, using Fade can cause the code to check to see whether or not the mob should change targets. If someone is now 110% or 130% depending upon range higher in threat than you are, they're in trouble. Second, when it goes to determine how much threat you actually have, it takes the value from the mob's threat table and then it applies any buffs or debuffs that are relevant. In this case, Fade is that buff. So, it takes your threat level from the table, X, and it applies the Fade value: -1500. Your *effective* threat level is X - 1500. It's this *effective* threat value that gets used to see if the mob should choose someone else to target.
6) For the duration of the buff your effective threat level is X - 1500 (and this effective value can be negative, even though X itself cannot be lower than 0).
7) When the buff expires your effective threat level is back at X. *However*, and this is important, losing the buff does *not* force an aggro check. The buff could end and your effective threat can be back above someone elses threat by 110% or 130% and you still won't pull aggro just by itself. It's only when something happens that causes the code to determine whether or not it needs to look at you to see if you've pulled aggro that it matters. Such things are: if you generate any new threat, if the tank dies or has a threat wipe, and possibly with things like Fears and the like (though this is less likely now with the mobs sticking on their target even if they're feared).
So what's the upshot of all this?
It means you can Fade and as long as you don't do anything to generate any new threat when the Fade buff ends (and the tank doesn't die or whatever) then your effective threat will remain where it was and you won't pull aggro.
It means that, yes, you can hit Fade just before a threat wipe ability like a Hydross transition and you'll be effectively 1500 threat below everyone else (plus whatever threat your still ticking DoTs or HoTs are giving you). It does mean that when the Fade buff ends if you still have any DoTs or HoTs ticking then you had better hope your tank has generated at least whatever threat those DoTs/HoTs gave you since the threat wipe. But if they're not ticking when Fade ends then relax, you won't be pulling any aggro (unless the tank dies).
Confused yet? :)
You can test this - get a partner and aggro a mob. Make sure both are on the threat list. Have the other player whack the mob for like 100 damage. Cast Fade and Smite the mob for 1k damage. You won't pull aggro. Your partner will cry for nerfs.
Quote:09) Why is it a good idea to cast Prayer of Mending on a tank before a pull? Note: multiple answers.a) PoM generates threat for the person healed, not the Priest. So it helps the tank build aggro on all mobs on the pull when he gets hit.
b) It starts your PoM cooldown (10 seconds), so you could hopefully use it immediately when the tank takes his first hit - for even more tank threat!
c) It helps mitigate the tank's first damage intake by instantly healing him.
Quote:10) What is the best way to protect yourself against Rage Winterchill's Frost Bolts that encase you in a block of ice, doing DoT damage?PvP trinket. It clears the block of ice you're frozen in, which in turn removes the DoT which so easily kills.
Quote:11) What is the absolute optimal flask/elixir/food buff/weapon oil combination(s) when raiding?Hah! This is a tough question and it does come down to preference. If you wanted to go really overboard, you could mention bringing Scrolls of Spirit to boost your spirit up, as well as the ZG oil. In general though, it's way better to use elixirs (Draenic Wisdom + Healing or Mastery) than the Flask of Mighty Restoration, since we Priests *love* Spirit now in 2.4 instead of mp/5. Foodwise, it's either Spicy Crawdad when you need survivability or Golden Fishsticks for the heal power.
-Bolty
Quote:Considering the mods here are generally liberals who seem to have a soft spot for fascism and white supremacy (despite them saying otherwise), me being perma-banned at some point is probably not out of the question.