Seal of Command, higher levels

[vor_lord]

It would probably be a good idea to actually run some tests and see how often the proc actually lands.  I have a lvl33 pally I'd be willing to run some tests with.  Do we have a lvl50+ out there with the max lvl of Command who could do some comparable runs?

The problem with procs is that if the changes are small, you'll never notice if you're getting a better or worse proc rate.  Going by feel generally results in bad data.
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I will first repeat the standard line on these two seals:

proc % = 1.67 * PPM * WeaponSpeed

PPM is procs per minute. It is generally accepted that for Seal of Righteousness, PPM = 12. For Seal of Command, PPM = 4.8.

This means in my one hand setup with my 1.7 speed Mug O' Hurt, my proc rate for SoR is:

1.67 * 12 * 1.7 = 34 % chance to proc on a hit

That seems to be about right, maybe a tad low.

For my 2-hand setup with my 3.8 speed axe and SoC:

1.67 * 4.8 * 3.8 = 30% chance to proc on a hit

This seems to be correct also.


If you want to check the PPM data for these seals (and others too), the best way would be to put a stopwatch by the computer. Make sure to be in combat before you cast a seal (want to remove "sealless" time). Start it when you cast the seal, stop it when the mob is dead. Count the number of procs.

If you do this for a while then the numbers will get more reliable. I should do this as I'm currently grinding undead in the Western Plaguelands (first time actually grinding for exp :( Just need to figure out how to get my watch's stopwatch function to work. A statistician should be able to tell us about how long this should go on to have confidence in the data, especially for a low PPM skill like SoC.

Note that for Seal of Light and Seal of Wisdom you'll want to use a fast weapon, as the PPM is high enough that you may not get enough proc chances with a slow weapon. For example, with a 3.00 speed weapon, you wouldn't be able to test if a seal has > 20 PPM.

SoL and SoW certainly do have a high proc rate compared to command or righteousness, but I have not seen what the conventional PPM number is for them.

If you want to test Seal of Justice (I've not seen numbers for that), you also would need to count the "Immune" messages as a proc. It'd be interesting to verify the improved seal of justice talent (assuming you can find a paladin who has it ;)


As far as your respeccing, I just hit 51 and got SoC for the first time (I have 31 in the holy tree). I'd been using SoR with JotC. It seems that Seal of Command, even with no vengeance or decent crit rate, seems to give slightly better damage (could be choice of weapon too). Certainly it is better for mana efficiency, as rank 1 SoC is virtually free. Judging SotC seems to have only marginal improvement for SoC (there are some interesting threads on the official paladin forum about this which I'd like to see verified).

I am thinking if you like the steady damage of SoR, it combines well with a protection build. SoR and Holy Shield seem to be the main beneficiaries of JotC. You can judge crusader, cast SoR, and use holy shield to do damage.

It seems the paladin has 3 primary options for turning mana into direct damage:

1. Holy shock
2. Holy shield
3. Consecration

Versus a single mob, consecration is the least efficient. Holy shield is the most efficient by far. Holy shock is marginally better than consecration, but can't be spammed. It can only be considered on the basis of other comparisons (burst damage, ranged damage) because it is a mana hog on a long timer.