Basic Carnage 2.0 Rotation with parses

[Airwolfe]

If you go all strength augs you end up with about 25% force crit which is hard capped so you've got a decent chance of hitting a crit FS

You're talking about hitting a force scream without execute? I only hit it when execute is up.

 

You asked about parses, I've compared both specs in both 55 raids and I perform better in carnage..I think at least partially because I have more GCD loss from lag in annih. But I like carnage better anyway.

[kennethdale]

You're talking about hitting a force scream without execute? I only hit it when execute is up.

 

You asked about parses, I've compared both specs in both 55 raids and I perform better in carnage..I think at least partially because I have more GCD loss from lag in annih. But I like carnage better anyway.

 

Only in the very first Gore window. Aside from that I only ever hit it with execute and gore. In my colloquial experience with all Str augs and the crit from all other sources (save for the 0 rating on gear) I rarely don't either have Execute by the end of my FIRST Gore window or get a natural FS crit simply based on my gear.

Edited July 14, 2013 by kennethdale

[Ceile]

You're talking about hitting a force scream without execute? I only hit it when execute is up.

 

I've found that Force Scream actually does more damage than Massacre, with 75s about 300 points on average with 3 points in malice. Although you have to consider massacre's buff, which may do more in some cases. But I just use a mostly set rotation and don't really worry whether Execute is up, unless I haven't used Vicious Throw.

[Airwolfe]

I've found that Force Scream actually does more damage than Massacre, with 75s about 300 points on average with 3 points in malice. Although you have to consider massacre's buff, which may do more in some cases. But I just use a mostly set rotation and don't really worry whether Execute is up, unless I haven't used Vicious Throw.

 

If force scream is not up during the next gore window, that's a large dps loss, regardless of it by default doing more damage than massacre on a non crit.

[Ceile]

If force scream is not up during the next gore window, that's a large dps loss, regardless of it by default doing more damage than massacre on a non crit.

 

If you are following his rotation of FS at the start of the first Gore window and the end of the second Gore window, then for both Force Screams, there is no better ability to use, even if Execute is not up.

In some rare cases, you will have VT up and that is better if Execute isn't up.

Edited July 16, 2013 by Ceile

[Rikyo]

Someone asked about a comprehensive, up to date rotation. So here's the rotation I put together using the old ones and the new info on Berzerk. If people think I missed something, I'd be happy to fix it. I just wrote this for my guild forums so I thought it would nice to put it here as well. Since I was starting from scratch to explain, almost all of this is covered somewhere in this forum already.

 

I'll start with a Legend: FC - Force Charge; FS - Force Scream ; Bz - Berzerk; Rv - Ravage; Exe - Execute proc; Sla - Slaughter proc; Mass - Massacre; As - Assault; BA - Battering Assault; VT - Vicious Throw; DST - Double Saber Throw.

 

Carnage has two distinct phases. Phase 1 - appropriate use of gore and Phase 2 - Rage building/waiting on timers.

 

Opening: FC - BA - Bz - Gore - Rv - FS (if Exe) or VT (if Sla) or Mass - FS (if Exe) or VT (if Sla) or Mass (last string only if Gore still up)

 

Once first Gore is down - As/Mass, make sure to have enough rage going into second gore and try to proc Exe. However no more that 2 abilities in the down time since Gore is already procc'ed again and its a waste to do 3. This is basically just to get another FS with Exe in the second gore.

 

Second Gore - Gore - VT (if Sla, very likely) - Mass - FS (if Exe) or Mass - FS (if Exe) or Mass. You should be able to fit it all and FS should be off cooldown towards the end.

 

Phase 2: 10s or so of As/BA/Mass/DST waiting for Gore timer. Make sure to have 8 rage available and Exe up when Gore goes off timer.

 

Phase 1 (if Bz and Rv aren't both up): Gore - FS (Exe is up from building) - VT (if Sla) or Mass - VT (if Sla) or Mass - ditto if gore still active; As/BA or Mass depending on Rage, second gore should be up; Gore - then FS (if Exe) or VT (if Sla) or Mass in that order, should get four abilities off before gore drops and which one depends on procs too much to know. If Bz and Rv are both up, then use the opening instead of this phase 1 (minus the FC and BA).

 

Pro tip mentioned earlier in forum: When Bz and Rv are coming off cooldown and it's close to another Phase 1, back up just enough to be able to FC and do the whole opening. Doing this gains more rage and therefore you can burn more in Phase 2 instead of building. Some bosses hit boxes are big enough that it only takes a few steps back to get in a FC. It occurred to me that if you're going to use this technique, you should save DST for you last hit in Phase 2 since it will give you time to take a few steps backwards.

 

Also, does anyone have some good parses in all Underworld with the new changes to Berserk? I'm curious to see what is more top end dps rather than my less than perfect gear

[Airwolfe]

2997 dps with not many lucky crits.

http://www.torparse.com/a/324274

 

I've also since concluded that dps potential is higher without rupture. Still subject to debate.

 

Otherwise:

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=637291

Edited July 24, 2013 by Airwolfe

[countpopeula]

2997 dps with not many lucky crits.

http://www.torparse.com/a/324274

 

I've also since concluded that dps potential is higher without rupture. Still subject to debate.

 

Otherwise:

http://www.swtor.com/community/showthread.php?t=637291

 

What backs this up? There is no more resource-damage-GCD efficient attack other than Ravage, autocrit Scream and DST, Rupture isn't an on-cooldown ability because having Execute/resource up at all times takes priority but if you arn't in a Gore window, have resource to spare for your next Gore window, and already have Exceute proc'd Rupture makes sense from both a resource-damage perspective as well as a cheap Fury stack builder to get Berserk back up ASAP. Also, when adrenaled the bleed ticks all benefit, it's like Kephess the Undying damage buffs in that you want as much damage going out during that window as you can get because it all gets a boost.

Edited July 26, 2013 by countpopeula

[Airwolfe]

What backs this up?.

 

What backs up not using rupture? Well..comparing parses side by side. I'd graciously accept being proved wrong - but from what I've seen, running for example five 5-minute parses with rupture, and then repeating without..the average dps fluctuation is literally 20 dps.

Hell, I haven't used any rupture whatsoever in the past week or two and my personal bests are higher than ever (granted, we're in the gear up process - but even between non gear up sessions for me, still saw increases)- including an in class record and top 10 overall (Operator IX 16- HM/NiM combined..mine may be the only top 10 NiM mode parse up there, no edits). Also granted, Operator IX is somewhat of a fight where rupture wouldn't typically be used anyway due to the invulnerability phases or quickly dying targets.

 

I think it might require Einstein to actually come up with some kind of formula on whether it's viable or not so all I can really bring forth as proof is my own parsing experience - both raid encounters and dummies.

Using rupture for Kephess the Undying is valid..perhaps in a restricted scenario - i.e. rage is full and you throw rupture 1 GCD before the phase 2 vulnerability begins - other than that, I've pretty much come to the thought that Massacre..with it's auto ataru+the application of chance ataru increase is simply superior in output.

 

So in conclusion what backs this up is my experience, which has become rather substantial of late..but again, prove me wrong

Maybe I'll prove myself wrong.

It's something I've bounced around with a fair bit off and on since 2.0+

[Kadra]

The thing is that you actually have to choose between Rupture when you got Execute (while waiting for the FS cooldown) and another Massacre most of the time. The Rupture's benefit is that it requires 2 rage, while Massacre requires 3. On the other hand Massacre is a series of hits, each of which could benefit from the +30% surge boost you get in the Carnage tree. Despite inferior damage numbers shown in the tooltip for Massacre and increased rage req, you still have a good chance to get a crit with a 30% surge increase, even if you go all power (which you should do). Over a long fight it would prove to be more efficient, I believe. So the only reason to use Rupture that I see is when the boss is about to run away (like the Writhing Horror or Kephess TfB jumping away) so that damage keeps ticking a bit while you close in on the boss again. Also, there's a non-conditional build to take the Hungering from Anni tree instead of the Smash boost from the Rage tree to be able to heal yourself now and then during the fight. Might be of help for the healers in some very tight fights. The crit chance even with 0 crit rating is still pretty decent with the buff and stim, depending on your augments - I went for STR, for once. It is not uncommon that I get hurt for about 100k dmg during a fight with about 10k self healed (which makes 10%) without losing any dps (which might have been counted as lost on the dummy because the dummy stays still and many bosses move around, and a DoT helps). Sometimes those 10k is what it takes to kill the boss in a very tight fight. The downside is you get less AoE dmg on the trash, but if your raid is dying on the trash, that's another whole issue, save the bosses like Writhing Horror, where you can put that AoE dmg to some use standing in the pool - but even then a DST and an Orbital from one of the raid member would be quite sufficient. All in all, the strategy I would suggest is to use Rupture on the boss about to jump away and not include it into your rotation generally. Taking the Hungering from Anni instead of Smash boost from Rage is a personal choice and depends on the specific boss and how hard it is for your group to kill him. Edited July 26, 2013 by Kadra

[countpopeula]

What backs up not using rupture? Well..comparing parses side by side. I'd graciously accept being proved wrong - but from what I've seen, running for example five 5-minute parses with rupture, and then repeating without..the average dps fluctuation is literally 20 dps.

Hell, I haven't used any rupture whatsoever in the past week or two and my personal bests are higher than ever (granted, we're in the gear up process - but even between non gear up sessions for me, still saw increases)- including an in class record and top 10 overall (Operator IX 16- HM/NiM combined..mine may be the only top 10 NiM mode parse up there, no edits). Also granted, Operator IX is somewhat of a fight where rupture wouldn't typically be used anyway due to the invulnerability phases or quickly dying targets.

 

Lemme say that sorry if the tone came off as being an ***, I respect the hell out of you. My point is that my parses will fluctuate much more than 20dps from using the exact same priority rotation, I have to parse 10+ times with a new gear or rotation builds to get a median value for my numbers because of crit/proc/ghost GCDs. If you can post test numbers then I will completely drop Rupture from my hotbar, but I firmly believe that using it properly (not on cooldown, but where it makes sense) is a net DPS gain for the above stated reasons.

 

Here's my best parse to date to back up using the bleed, Fey't also uses it in his 3100+ parse.

http://www.torparse.com/a/354857/37/0/Damage+Dealt

Because of the Malice +6% crit chance, the bleeds crit more often than any other ability, barring a lucky rollfest on VT/Ravage. They contribute a substantial DPS gain weighed against Massacre spam. When keeping in mind that the Ataru +chance only applies to non-Massacre melee attacks (only really Ravage, Assault, BA and Charge) all of which are extremely low damage or high cooldown, you're only seeing the Ataru buff helping minimally because those attacks are either not up often or are optimally minimal use, low priority rage builders. Factor in that Rupture's initial attack can proc Ataru and the bleed is basically a guaranteed series of Ataru-like damage over 6 seconds free of any GCD restrictions and in conjunction WITH Ataru damage proc'd during that bleed DOT, and I think it is worth it. Instead of looking at it from a straight MOAR DEEPS standpoint, try taking it back to a resource:damage/GCD ratio. The biggest damage boost in post 2.0 Carnage is Berserk, because of Weaponmaster and a 2.3sec Ravage. Getting Fury stacks for that takes priority over everything except maintaining Execute and resource for the next Gore when I play/parse, Rupture is the cheapest attack you can generate Fury with other than Scream.

 

I really am curious to see where testing goes, I wish there was a formula because the only way to really test this is against yourself since there seems to be several different methods for running Carnage.

Edited July 26, 2013 by countpopeula

[countpopeula]

The thing is that you actually have to choose between Rupture when you got Execute (while waiting for the FS cooldown) and another Massacre most of the time. The Rupture's benefit is that it requires 2 rage, while Massacre requires 3. On the other hand Massacre is a series of hits, each of which could benefit from the +30% surge boost you get in the Carnage tree. Despite inferior damage numbers shown in the tooltip for Massacre and increased rage req, you still have a good chance to get a crit with a 30% surge increase, even if you go all power (which you should do). Over a long fight it would prove to be more efficient, I believe. So the only reason to use Rupture that I see is when the boss is about to run away (like the Writhing Horror or Kephess TfB jumping away) so that damage keeps ticking a bit while you close in on the boss again. Also, there's a non-conditional build to take the Hungering from Anni tree instead of the Smash boost from the Rage tree to be able to heal yourself now and then during the fight. Might be of help for the healers in some very tight fights. The crit chance even with 0 crit rating is still pretty decent with the buff and stim, depending on your augments - I went for STR, for once. It is not uncommon that I get hurt for about 100k dmg during a fight with about 10k self healed (which makes 10%) without losing any dps (which might have been counted as lost on the dummy because the dummy stays still and many bosses move around, and a DoT helps). Sometimes those 10k is what it takes to kill the boss in a very tight fight. The downside is you get less AoE dmg on the trash, but if your raid is dying on the trash, that's another whole issue, save the bosses like Writhing Horror, where you can put that AoE dmg to some use standing in the pool - but even then a DST and an Orbital from one of the raid member would be quite sufficient. All in all, the strategy I would suggest is to use Rupture on the boss about to jump away and not include it into your rotation generally. Taking the Hungering from Anni instead of Smash boost from Rage is a personal choice and depends on the specific boss and how hard it is for your group to kill him.

 

I never see a reason to take Hunger outside of running dedicated Anni. It's worthless without the other synergy skills in that tree. You're talking about 2-4% of your health every Rupture use, which is not on cooldown so it's wasted points. They're better spent in Cloak of Carnage for free rage if it's a STDPS fight for the free resource. If you're in ANY fight with an adds pack of 2+, Decimate is what you want because Sweeping Slash becomes increasingly rage efficient as it approaches it's upper target limit because all hits cost 3 rage, can proc Ataru, and have offhand strikes. A flat damage boost for Sweeping Slash is better than even the 30% surge to Mass/FS. If your healers can't keep you up to the point where Anni bleed heals while spec'd Carnage matter, you're probably not going to clear the boss either way. I would argue that Anni is a next to worthless tree in 7/12 of current endgame fights anyways, but that's a discussion from another thread . I'm extremely proficient at all 3 spec's for Mara/Sent, I see no reason to ever run anything but Combat/Carnage unless I'm soloing or PvPing.

Edited July 26, 2013 by countpopeula

[Kadra]

I never see a reason to take Hunger outside of running dedicated Anni. It's worthless without the other synergy skills in that tree. You're talking about 2-4% of your health every Rupture use, which is not on cooldown so it's wasted points. They're better spent in Cloak of Carnage for free rage if it's a STDPS fight for the free resource. If you're in ANY fight with an adds pack of 2+, Decimate is what you want because Sweeping Slash becomes insanely rage efficient if it maxes it's upper target limit. If your healers can't keep you up to the point where Anni bleed heals while spec'd Carnage matter, you're probably not going to clear the boss either way. I would argue that Anni is a next to worthless tree in 7/12 of current endgame fights anyways, but that's a discussion from another thread . I'm extremely proficient at all 3 spec's for Mara/Sent, I see no reason to ever run anything but Combat/Carnage unless I'm soloing or PvPing.

 

I'm not saying it's superior to the Smash boost either, it's just a personal preference 'cause Smash and SS are used mostly on the trash between the bosses and seldom in boss fights, and the trash is what it says on the tin - trash, no need to go out of your way to dps it. As for the Cloak of Carnage - I do take that ability, think it's a must, because you often get AoE dmg while boss is on the tank, so it helps you generate rage. Here's my build: http://www.torhead.com/skill-calc#100bcbZGGMRRroMMIRZc.3

While I find myself using rupture on the bosses in specific situations only but still on a regular basis, I almost never use Smash or Sweeping Slash during a boss fight - if we're talking AoE dmg, it's the responsibility of other classes, most of the time you would be better off killing your targets one by one instead of using our weak AoEs. Although I must say there are situations where a filled rage pool + gore + smash/SS can do wonders, but most of the time a mara is fixed on a single target. So taking Hundering vs. Decimate is just a personal preference, which would also depend on the tasks assigned for ranged dps's within your raid as well. That is considering my build, where all I got to choose is Hungering vs Decimate, strictly PVE. If you still believe I could improve my build by taking Decimate, I'm willing to try it out, but as of now, it seems to me that the classic Decimate build is pretty much the same, both abilities being more or less equally useless most of the time.

 

P.S. Yeah, I forgot to mention that Decimate could help you increase your DPS numbers just to show off, cause you get more dmg on the trash/adds resulting in an overall increase in dmg throughout the instance, but it's still non-essential. My point is that both builds are almost almost the same, with the Hungering build giving you a bit of extra healing during boss fights and the Decimate build some extra AoE dmg. Both working best for a specific situation.

Edited July 26, 2013 by Kadra

[countpopeula]

P.S. Yeah, I forgot to mention that Decimate could help you increase your DPS numbers just to show off, cause you get more dmg on the trash/adds resulting in an overall increase in dmg throughout the instance, but it's still non-essential. My point is that both builds are almost almost the same, with the Hungering build giving you a bit of extra healing during boss fights and the Decimate build some extra AoE dmg. Both working best for a specific situation.

 

It's not about showing off, it's about getting adds dead efficiently,, as quickly as possible to cut down on the heal load and get everyone maintaining STDPS on the boss. If you have the STDPS to hold your own, there's no reason to push even harder when more critical phases require adds to die fast, ie NiM Dash, NiM T6, NiM DG, NiM Horror.

 

You're missing out on enhanced Predation, which can be raid saving at times. Either that or Decimate make infinite more sense than the bleed heals in Carnage.

[Airwolfe]

Despite inferior damage numbers shown in the tooltip for Massacre and increased rage req, you still have a good chance to get a crit with a 30% surge increase, even if you go all power (which you should do). Over a long fight it would prove to be more efficient, I believe.

 

Also, there's a non-conditional build to take the Hungering from Anni tree instead of the Smash boost from the Rage tree to be able to heal yourself now and then during the fight. Might be of help for the healers in some very tight fights.

 

The crit chance even with 0 crit rating is still pretty decent with the buff and stim, depending on your augments - I went for STR, for once. It is not uncommon that I get hurt for about 100k dmg during a fight with about 10k self healed (which makes 10%) without losing any dps (which might have been counted as lost on the dummy because the dummy stays still and many bosses move around, and a DoT helps). Sometimes those 10k is what it takes to kill the boss in a very tight fight. The downside is you get less AoE dmg on the trash, but if your raid is dying on the trash, that's another whole issue, save the bosses like Writhing Horror, where you can put that AoE dmg to some use standing in the pool - but even then a DST and an Orbital from one of the raid member would be quite sufficient. All in all, the strategy I would suggest is to use Rupture on the boss about to jump away and not include it into your rotation generally. Taking the Hungering from Anni instead of Smash boost from Rage is a personal choice and depends on the specific boss and how hard it is for your group to kill him.

 

1st bit - agreed.

2nd bit - ya, maybe, but most fights have adds so I usually smash at least once. And just 1 smash in an encounter tips the scales towards it, in my opinion. I'm all about maximizing my role of dps more than irrelevant heals (and I just make more effort to stand in aoe heal spots when below 100%.

On Writhing Horror which you're talking about - I've found it highly efficient to at the least, DST, and usually smash on each add wave on Nightmare, so much damage so quickly and I can hit all/5 targets right there without andy APM loss since jealous male is nearby, is good.

In nightmare 16, pretty sure we have 5-9 dps every time on the baby adds and it takes a few seconds still, so I might as well throw in my highly efficient AoE damage when possible. Plus..higher parse ftw. Win-win.

[Airwolfe]

Because of the Malice +6% crit chance, the bleeds crit more often than any other ability, barring a lucky rollfest on VT/Ravage. They contribute a substantial DPS gain weighed against Massacre spam. When keeping in mind that the Ataru +chance only applies to non-Massacre melee attacks (only really Ravage, Assault, BA and Charge) all of which are extremely low damage or high cooldown, you're only seeing the Ataru buff helping minimally because those attacks are either not up often or are optimally minimal use, low priority rage builders. Factor in that Rupture's initial attack can proc Ataru and the bleed is basically a guaranteed series of Ataru-like damage over 6 seconds free of any GCD restrictions and in conjunction WITH Ataru damage proc'd during that bleed DOT, and I think it is worth it. Instead of looking at it from a straight MOAR DEEPS standpoint, try taking it back to a resource:damage/GCD ratio.

 

I'm unconvinced that massacre in fact only procs 1 ataru. From looking at my logs, there were extraneous numbers indicative of 2 ataru's in 1 massacre numerous times (I don't use a dmg proc relic for now).

 

The 1 reduced rage cost is a benefit..but I'm as of yet unconvinced there is anything substantial or realistically greater about rupture's output. Fury generation is also a slight benefit but..that's what, 1 assault worth of rage every 30 seconds. So in 5 min fight, save having to use 10 assaults (out of ~800 total hits), I'm not sure that adds up to a net benefit.

Will see if I can get a really high parse eventually without rupture.

[Airwolfe]

I would argue that Anni is a next to worthless tree in 7/12 of current endgame fights anyways, but that's a discussion from another thread .

 

Well I'm somewhat of the opinion that on a few fights, anni may have higher output - personally I have never managed to put out higher output (pretty sure I get more GCD failure and random stuff..I use a really bad computer so that probably doesn't help), but one guy in Chosen does on occasion parse higher on some fights. Seems he's able to consistently do 3700+ every pull on Kephess the Undying (NiM 16) due to a set rotation. I would have parsed higher than that on a few pulls, but not consistently..due to procs resetting and trying to play a little conservatively, going for at least 3400-3500 rather than 'shoot for the moon' of 4k and end up doing 3200.

[Airwolfe]

As for the Cloak of Carnage - I do take that ability, think it's a must, because you often get AoE dmg while boss is on the tank, so it helps you generate rage.

 

Can be good..but again single target fights (Kephess Undying comes to mind again). AoE fights, like Titan 6 - my dps is probably increased by a good 200, maybe 300 some or most pulls by having decimate in.

[Airwolfe]

if we're talking AoE dmg, it's the responsibility of other classes, most of the time you would be better off killing your targets one by one instead of using our weak AoEs.

 

Ya it is the responsibility of other classes primarily, like mercs and snipers. BUT - on trash pulls, I can get up to just under 6k dps..on the womp rats for example. That's a sign that our AoE capacity is in no way weak. It may not have the ceiling of Snipers and Mercs (mercs being shorter lifespan of adds of course due to their few big skills then on cooldown)..but we're still good at it. And overall, getting adds dead faster contributed to more raid synchronicity - more debuffs on boss, more focused fire..more raid-wide efficacy.

[countpopeula]

I'm unconvinced that massacre in fact only procs 1 ataru. From looking at my logs, there were extraneous numbers indicative of 2 ataru's in 1 massacre numerous times (I don't use a dmg proc relic for now).

 

The 1 reduced rage cost is a benefit..but I'm as of yet unconvinced there is anything substantial or realistically greater about rupture's output. Fury generation is also a slight benefit but..that's what, 1 assault worth of rage every 30 seconds. So in 5 min fight, save having to use 10 assaults (out of ~800 total hits), I'm not sure that adds up to a net benefit.

Will see if I can get a really high parse eventually without rupture.

 

Ataru is limited to whatever the current GCD of the attack being used is, ie, if you have a 1.5sec GCD, it can only proc that often vice the 1sec GCD of Berserk/Zen attacks. Ataru procs are not instantaneous nor are any other attacks according to the combat logs. Ataru procs can be delayed by as much as 2 or 3 attacks, as the combat log only registers damage as Flytext appears. This can make it seem like an attack procs multiple Ataru strikes, but it doesn't.

 

Assault does nothing but generate resource at the expense of significant DPS, if I can maintain 90% of my damage output to decrease the number of Assaults I have to use over a 5min parse, it is worth it in my opinion.

[babygotmoreback]

Lemme say that sorry if the tone came off as being an ***, I respect the hell out of you. My point is that my parses will fluctuate much more than 20dps from using the exact same priority rotation, I have to parse 10+ times with a new gear or rotation builds to get a median value for my numbers because of crit/proc/ghost GCDs. If you can post test numbers then I will completely drop Rupture from my hotbar, but I firmly believe that using it properly (not on cooldown, but where it makes sense) is a net DPS gain for the above stated reasons.

 

Here's my best parse to date to back up using the bleed, Fey't also uses it in his 3100+ parse.

http://www.torparse.com/a/354857/37/0/Damage+Dealt

Because of the Malice +6% crit chance, the bleeds crit more often than any other ability, barring a lucky rollfest on VT/Ravage. They contribute a substantial DPS gain weighed against Massacre spam. When keeping in mind that the Ataru +chance only applies to non-Massacre melee attacks (only really Ravage, Assault, BA and Charge) all of which are extremely low damage or high cooldown, you're only seeing the Ataru buff helping minimally because those attacks are either not up often or are optimally minimal use, low priority rage builders. Factor in that Rupture's initial attack can proc Ataru and the bleed is basically a guaranteed series of Ataru-like damage over 6 seconds free of any GCD restrictions and in conjunction WITH Ataru damage proc'd during that bleed DOT, and I think it is worth it. Instead of looking at it from a straight MOAR DEEPS standpoint, try taking it back to a resource:damage/GCD ratio. The biggest damage boost in post 2.0 Carnage is Berserk, because of Weaponmaster and a 2.3sec Ravage. Getting Fury stacks for that takes priority over everything except maintaining Execute and resource for the next Gore when I play/parse, Rupture is the cheapest attack you can generate Fury with other than Scream.

 

I really am curious to see where testing goes, I wish there was a formula because the only way to really test this is against yourself since there seems to be several different methods for running Carnage.

 

Fey't is a she (and yes, I mean in real life) And I do in fact use cauterize and take the extra 6% force crit - it is a win all around for combat spec. Cauterize is not only a venue for ataru procs, but also a cheap centering builder. There is no reason not to use it in my opinion (but to each their own).

 

Below is my best parse to date: in mostly 72's with a 78 offhand and a few sprinkled 78 mods from pieces from ultimate comms. Looking forward to gearing her up and posting more often.

http://www.torparse.com/a/462678

[countpopeula]

Fey't is a she (and yes, I mean in real life) .

http://www.torparse.com/a/462678

 

That's rad.