[Stream] Watchman without Merciless Slash

[RandHawkwing]

Stream link HERE

 

I'm actually a Marauder, I'm sorry for tricking you. I've been playing around with a lot of specs and decided to try something crazy.

 

A viewer suggested I make a thread on the forums. Currently Valor Rank 56 and Bags of Disappointment have yet to grant me any lightsabers, but I'm mostly geared out - sitting at 536 Expertise. I do my best to answer most of the questions in chat, especially in between warzones.

 

Come in here and view one of the best PVP guilds on The Fatman in action. Discuss the game or whatever else you want in the chat. We're all here to have fun and enjoy ourselves.

 

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[Shadow_Spec]

Awesome stuff dude.

[RandHawkwing]

A note about the theory behind the spec:

 

Just looking at napkin math, Slash x2 does more damage than Merciless Slash, I think especially with the 15% crit talent out of Focus. It costs the same amount of focus as Merciless Slash but requires an extra GCD. On the plus side you generate some extra Centering for more Zen uptime. I don't think I'm exactly GCD starved either. You lose that "bursty" feel with a hard hitting ability, but I never thought Watchman was a burst spec in the first place. Maybe with high enough surge and at the top end Merciless Slash will hit higher than Slash x2, but I haven't really theorycrafted it much.

 

Edit:

 

Someone made some valid points that I overlooked.

 

No, no it does not. It isn't a question of Vicious Slash x2 vs. Annihilate. It is whether or not Vicious Slash x2 does more damage than Annihilate + Basic Attack. Which it does not. This is not WoW where an extra GCD goes unused because basic attacks happen regardless.

 

And Annihilate + Basic Attack actually gives you back two rage from the basic attack. It is unequivocally better than two Vicious Slashes. By. Far. Even saying that Annihilate gives less fury is wrong; that extra GCD you spend on assault instead of vicious slash buys you another two rage, which buys you a vicious slash instead of a basic attack later on in your rotation. Which gives you back your missing fury.

 

Annihilate pays for itself in every way with that GCD. Unless you really, really need Obliterate, not taking annihilate is just foolish.

 

 

So to translate.

 

Slash x2 vs Merciless Slash + Basic Attack

 

Considering that Merciless Slash has a CD while Slash does not, I wonder how it factors into the equation. Without some kind of damage parsing it's difficult to tell which actually does more DPS, but I am interested in discussing this further.

Edited January 26, 2012 by RandHawkwing