Optimal Rotation of the Pyrotech Merc

[salaciousc]

Optimal Rotation of the Pyrotech Merc

 

The Rotation offers following benefits:

 

High Chance to trigger Railshot after the lockout of 6 seconds.

Thermal Detonator and Incendiary Missile right after their cooldown.

Always at least 2 burning effects active

No overheating, heat level remains under 20%

 

The Rotation:

 

1. Interrupted Unload

2. Thermal Detonator (not available after initiating the opening attacks)

3. Rail Shot

4. Power Shot

5. Power Shot (Please don't skip this attack!)

6. Incendiary Missile

7. Rail Shot

8. Power Shot

-> repeat

 

In addition a Incendiary Missile, a Thermal Detonator and a Rail Shot should precede that rotation when attacking a new enemy.

 

 

Some additional notes:

 

The rotation is flexible in view of the skill tree. Thermal Detonator is required (no hybrids) and abilities that improve burning effects/the railshot.

The timing of those attacks have a major effect on the result, not the selection of special skills.

 

Unload and the all the Power Shots work as timer for Rail Shots, they can not be substituted by another attack

The rotation does not use Missile Blast, the ability "Volatile Warhead" is not mandatory for this rotation

As there is no overheating I also don't use "Rapid Venting".

 

Unload at position 1 can be interrupted right after it triggered the Railshot. After the opening attack the enemy will be hit by 2 Railshots and a Thermal Detonator in the shortest possible time. This may be interesting for PVP-matches.

 

If the Railshot has already been resetted the Power Shot at Position 5 should not be skipped, this leads to problems with the timing and positioning of the Thermal Detonator.

------------

1st edit:

I changed this original post after a discussion with LordKanter and KeyboardNinja.

The Explosive Dart was removed and some descriptions changed.

 

2nd edit:

I swapped the positions of Rail Shot with Thermal Detonator and Incendiary Missile.

-----------

 

The Red Eclipse - Scaeva, Salacia, Lowblow

Edited October 20, 2013 by salaciousc
mistakes

[LordKantner]

A power shot will do more damage than an Explosive dart a majority of the time. The is nothing in pyro buffing explosive dart. Not sure why that is in your rotation at all.

 

And:

 

1. Unload

2. Rail Shot

3. Explosive Dart

4. Thermal Detonator

 

You proc Rail shot at the beginning of that unload. There are 5 GCD's in that filler so that would not be 6 seconds, that would be 7.5 seconds, before you are even using a power shot to get PPA. Just more reason to take out Explosive Dart.

Edited October 14, 2013 by LordKantner

[salaciousc]

/Edit Some of this posting is obsolete

 

 

 

Hello LordKanter

 

Explosive Dart is a necessary filler.

 

- Its main purpose is to adjust the total duration of that rotation to the cooldown of Thermal Detonator (15 seconds). Thermal Detonator becomes again available right after Explosive Dart, there is no idle time.

 

- Without this filling attack there would be an overlap of the burning effect of Incendiary Missile. With Explosive Dart in this rotation this overlap is completely avoided when two Power Shots are needed to proc the free Railshot. (Position 7)

 

- Without Explosive Dart the 6 second lockout for resetting the Railshot can lead to collisions with a high Alacrity value. At the test dummy it seems that sometimes Powershot fails to reset the Railshot because it was cast slightly too early. I got the impression that without Explosive Dart as filler there is a lower chance than 45% of Power Shot to trigger RS. Explosive Dart makes the rotation more solid and reliable.

 

- The delayed explosion of Explosive Dart leads to a damage peak close to the 2nd Railshot and the Thermal Detonator. Nice to have in PVP.

 

- Explosive Dart creates a low amount of heat. It is impossible to overheat that rotation, "Vent Heat" and "Thermal Sensor Override" are never necessary.

 

----

 

I tried to substitute Explosive Dart by another attack, the results are not too impressive.

 

Substituting Explosive Dart with Power Shot messes up the timing of the rotation. The channeling time for Power Shot would result in an idle time for Thermal Detonator. At that position it also can't reset the Railshot because of the 6 second lockout. Powershot does not fit into that position, it is not an alternative.

 

Missile Blast as substitute: When Explosive Dart hits there are already 2 burning cylinders active, Missile blast would add no real additional effect. Without burning, Missile blast and Explosive Dart cause about the same damage, Explosive Dart normally does slightly more.

The main reason not to use Missile Blast is its heat generation. The buffed version of missile blast causes 21 heat, Explosive Dart only 16. It is absolutely impossible to overheat when Explosive Dart is used, there is a higher chance for missile blast to overheat the rotation after many repetitions.

Switching to Missile Blast would not break the rotation, you just have to be more aware of heat generation and lose some of the advantages described above.

 

The proposed rotation should be evaluated as a whole, the overall result matters.

 

Sorting the single attacks on the quickbars according to the rotation simplifies things a lot. :-)

Edited October 16, 2013 by salaciousc

[KeyboardNinja]

I tried to substitute Explosive Dart by another attack, the results are not too impressive.

 

Substituting Explosive Dart with Power Shot messes up the timing of the rotation. The channeling time for Power Shot would result in an idle time for Thermal Detonator. At that position it also can't reset the Railshot because of the 6 second lockout. Powershot does not fit into that position, it is not an alternative.

 

This doesn't make any sense. Explosive Dart and Power Shot are both exactly one GCD. They are purely interchangeable when you're talking about rotation delay. Given the mediocre damage on Explosive Dart, I really can't see why you would advocate using it as a filler, and I haven't seen any reason as to why it would be "necessary".

 

You don't want your rotation timed to Thermal Detonator. TD has a 15 second cooldown, while the proc on Rail Shot has an ICD of 6 seconds. If you adjust to TD, you're delaying Rail Shot by a minimum of one GCD per proc. This is strictly a DPS loss. You're better off allowing TD and IM to drift through the rotation. Try working with the following template:

 

Block 1: Rail Shot > Unload > Power Shot > Rail Shot

Block 2: Rail Shot > Power Shot > Rapid Shots > Power Shot > Rail Shot

Block 3 (TD or IM needs refreshing): Rail Shot > Power Shot > Thermal Detonator / Incendiary Missile > Power Shot > Rail Shot

Block 4 (TD and IM needs refreshing): Rail Shot > Thermal Detonator > Incendiary Missile > Power Shot > Rail Shot

Block 5 (ammo regen): Rail Shot > Electro Net > TSO + Fusion Missile > Power Shot > Rail Shot

 

Rearrange the order of abilities in blocks 3 and 4, depending on where the DoTs fall and where they need to be refreshed. The only GCD which is mandatory in each of the blocks is the Power Shot at the tail end. Procing Rail Shot takes priority over refreshing a DoT. Refreshing a DoT takes priority over using Rail Shot. In other words, you can actually have a block where Rail Shot is *not* the first ability, but the second (or even third).

 

Incidentally, the reason you're not overheating is there is presently a bug with Rail Shot venting double the heat that it should be. Once that is fixed, you'll see your rotation start running into a lot more issues.

Edited October 15, 2013 by KeyboardNinja

[salaciousc]

I was looking for a rotation with fixed positions of single attacks, not for a priority list.

Therefore I built the Rotation around the cooldown of the Thermal Detonator, with no floating attacks.

 

I checked again the time for the execution of Power Shot and Explosive Dart. LordKantner and KeyboardNinja were right, both attacks consume the same time. When I created the original rotation it appeared that there are different times, which is wrong.

 

This changes the constraints, I will substitute the Explosive Dart with Power Shot and change the position of Thermal Detonator. I will change the original posting.

 

-----

@KeyboardNinja

If a Powershot or Unload is cast right after a Railshot there will be no reset of RS because of the 6 second lockout.. The probability to reset the Railshot of segments 1-5 is 45%, in 55% of all cases another Powershot is required for a proc. This is also a loss of dps.

Edited October 17, 2013 by salaciousc

[MVaglin]

If you want a rotation that maximizes rail shot, try this:

 

Open with IM -> Rail shot -> TD -> Power Shot -> (Power Shot) -> Rail Shot, then go into

 

Filler -> Power Shot x2 -> Rail Shot ->

IM -> Power Shot x2 -> Rail Shot ->

TD -> Power Shot x2 -> Rail Shot ->

Repeat

 

Add in an extra power shot where needed if Rail Shot doesn't proc (happens rarely).

 

The filler attack can be anything you can fit in one GCD. I mainly use Electro Net or Fusion Missile (withTSO) or just Power Shot. You can also use unload and remove one of the Power Shots there

 

The main draws of this rotation for me is that it maximizes Rail Shot, and IM will get refreshed exactly when it runs out. The main negative is that TD gets pushed back 3 seconds each time.

 

Edit: I missed your note after the rotation about starting with IM, which makes my proposal more similar to yours. The main difference is that you're pushing back a rail shot by 1 GCD each round, while I'm pushing back TD 2 GCDs.

Edited October 16, 2013 by MVaglin

[Hell_Kaiser_Fett]

I've been using this as on my main:

 

IM>Dart>RS>Unload>RS>PS>PS>RS>repeat

 

I never use Electronet unless against a champion. Works wonders for me.

Edited October 17, 2013 by Hell_Kaiser_Fett

[Elite-Force]

This doesn't make any sense. Explosive Dart and Power Shot are both exactly one GCD. They are purely interchangeable when you're talking about rotation delay. Given the mediocre damage on Explosive Dart, I really can't see why you would advocate using it as a filler, and I haven't seen any reason as to why it would be "necessary".

 

You don't want your rotation timed to Thermal Detonator. TD has a 15 second cooldown, while the proc on Rail Shot has an ICD of 6 seconds. If you adjust to TD, you're delaying Rail Shot by a minimum of one GCD per proc. This is strictly a DPS loss. You're better off allowing TD and IM to drift through the rotation. Try working with the following template:

 

Block 1: Rail Shot > Unload > Power Shot > Rail Shot

Block 2: Rail Shot > Power Shot > Rapid Shots > Power Shot > Rail Shot

Block 3 (TD or IM needs refreshing): Rail Shot > Power Shot > Thermal Detonator / Incendiary Missile > Power Shot > Rail Shot

Block 4 (TD and IM needs refreshing): Rail Shot > Thermal Detonator > Incendiary Missile > Power Shot > Rail Shot

Block 5 (ammo regen): Rail Shot > Electro Net > TSO + Fusion Missile > Power Shot > Rail Shot

 

Rearrange the order of abilities in blocks 3 and 4, depending on where the DoTs fall and where they need to be refreshed. The only GCD which is mandatory in each of the blocks is the Power Shot at the tail end. Procing Rail Shot takes priority over refreshing a DoT. Refreshing a DoT takes priority over using Rail Shot. In other words, you can actually have a block where Rail Shot is *not* the first ability, but the second (or even third).

 

Incidentally, the reason you're not overheating is there is presently a bug with Rail Shot venting double the heat that it should be. Once that is fixed, you'll see your rotation start running into a lot more issues.

 

i am using the same rota/priority.

with the opener: PS (timed with pull) -->TD-->IM-->RS-->PS until RS proc

[OlosBC]

I was looking for a rotation with fixed positions of single attacks, not for a priority list.

Therefore I built the Rotation around the cooldown of the Thermal Detonator, with no floating attacks.

 

I checked again the time for the execution of Power Shot and Explosive Dart. LordKantner and KeyboardNinja were right, both attacks consume the same time. When I created the original rotation it appeared that there are different times, which is wrong.

 

This changes the constraints, I will substitute the Explosive Dart with Power Shot and change the position of Thermal Detonator. I will change the original posting.

 

-----

@KeyboardNinja

If a Powershot or Unload is cast right after a Railshot there will be no reset of RS because of the 6 second lockout.. The probability to reset the Railshot of segments 1-5 is 45%, in 55% of all cases another Powershot is required for a proc. This is also a loss of dps.

 

If you're looking for an alternative set rotation, that's fine, but it will absolutely not be as good as a priority list focused around PPA timing. I think if you called it "alternative" instead of trying to brand it as "optimal" you'd see less resistance.

 

 

Also, the 6 second lockout starts when you proc PPA, not when you use rail shot. I could be reading you wrong here, but it sounds like you're stating the opposite.

[salaciousc]

"Unload" triggers the Railshot right at the beginning of that attack and has a higher chance (compared to the Powershot) to reset the Railshot. In addition Unload can be interrupted right after it made the Railshot available.

 

a.) This "feature" can be (ab)used in PVP-matches, I changed the original rotation to make this fit in.

(There is a time window of 10 seconds to cast a Railshot after its reset. I switched the positions of Incendiary Missile/Thermal Detonator with Railshot in the original rotation to improve the damage peak. )

 

-3. Incendiary Missile

-2. Thermal Detonator

-1. Railshot

--------

1. Interrupted Unload (Unload can be substituted by Powershot once the rotation has started)

2. Thermal Detonator (not available after initiating the opening attacks)

3. Rail Shot

4. Power Shot

5....6.....7.....8 ->repeat

 

If you interrupt Unload at position 1 after it triggered the Railshot (when you hear your toon laughing) it creates the highest possible damage peak, the enemy is hit by 2 Railshots and a Thermal Detonator in a short period of time.

 

For the enemy it must feel like a Railshot Suckerpunch.

 

b.) Interrupted Unload to increase the probability of a Railshot

 

If the Power Shot at position 8 has not triggered the Railshot, you can chose if you cast another Powershot (another 45% chance for a reset) or Unload. Unload has a higher chance (75%) for a RS proc and can be interrupted right at the moment when the Thermal Detonator becomes available again.

 

 

The Red Eclipse - Scaeva, Salacia, Lowblow

Edited October 18, 2013 by salaciousc

[salaciousc]

Railshots and resetting the Railshot have a dominant role in the game mechanic of the Pyro Merc and at first glance it seems that a priority list of single attacks delivers good results.

 

When I started to play as Pyro Merc I used following priority list:

 

- Use Railshot whenever it is available, RS has the highest priority

- If Railshot is not available use Powershots (Unload) for a reset

- Cast Thermal Detonator and Incendiary Missile right after their cooldowns, keep (at least) one burning effect on the target all the time

 

The priority list results in floating positions of Thermal Detonator and Incendiary Missile, sometimes those 2 attacks end up at unfavourable spots. The variable positioning in combination with the inherent uncertainties of Railshot procs cause problems:

 

Case 1

Cooldown of Thermal Detonator ends at the same time when a Railshot becomes available

 

If you decide to cast the Railshot first you delay the Thermal Detonator. This is a loss of DPS.

It would be better to switch orders and cast Thermal Detonator first. As it is a violation of the priority list people would probably not do it.

 

Case 2

The cooldowns of Thermal Detonator and Incendiary Missile end at the same time

 

You have to cast one first and delay the other. This is a loss of DPS.

In addition it causes problems a couple of attacks afterwards:

 

1. Powershot with RS proc

2. Railshot

3. Thermal Detonator

4. Incendiary Missile (here the Powershot is delayed)

5. Power Shot (45% chance to trigger RS)

6. (Powershot needed in 55% of cases)

7. Railshot

8. Filling attack, Thermal Detonator or Incendiary Missile are not available, a Powershot will not trigger a RS at this position

9. Power Shot (45% chance to trigger RS)

10. (Powershot needed in 55% of cases)

11. Railshot

 

Casting Thermal Detonator and Incendiary Missile results in an unproductive filling attack, the uncertainty of resettting the Railshot remains. You may end up casting 2 Powershots for a RS proc. It also delays the chance of resetting the Railshot

As Thermal Detonator and Incendiary Missile have similar cooldowns the problem may resurface after RS at position 11.

 

Case 3

Unfavourable spot for Thermal Detonator

 

Cooldown of Thermal Detonator ends at the second (third, if a second Powershot is needed to trigger RS) position after casting a RS

 

1. Powershot with RS proc

2. Railshot

8. Filling attack, a Powershot will not trigger a RS at this position

3. Thermal Detonator

4. Power Shot (45% chance to trigger RS)

5. (Powershot needed in 55% of cases)

5. Railshot

 

This delays the reset of Railshot, again there is an unproductive filling attack and the uncertainty of resetting the Railshots remains

The disadvantages of case 1 and 3 are also triggered by Incendiary Missile. Filling attacks, delayed atttacks and delayed resets of Railshots occur frequently.

 

Case 4

One Powershot reseted the next Railshot

 

As Incendiary Missile and Thermal Detonator have relatively long cooldowns both attacks may not be available right after casting RS.

 

1. One Powershot with RS proc

2. Railshot

3. Filling attack, a Powershot will not trigger a RS at this position

4. Power Shot (45% chance to trigger RS)

5. (Powershot needed in 55% of cases)

6. Railshot

 

Again a filling attack. The gain of resetting a Railshot with a single Powershot is lost at an other position.

 

There are other unwanted combinations like Incendiary Missile, Thermal Detonator and Railshot become available at the same time or a mixture of case 2 and case 3.

 

---

 

This is in my opinion the reason why a priority list of attacks fails.

Every time if you have to cast a Powershot right after a Railshot or Incendiary Missile and Thermal Detonator one after another something went wrong when the priority list above is used .

 

---

 

I used a priority list of objectives in my rotation:

 

- A fixed rotation with no variable positions of attacks, I want to concentrate on enemies, not on cooldowns and Railshot procs

- High chance of undelayed Railshot procs

- No unproductive Powershots BEFORE Railshot is triggered

- Damage peak - Thermal Detonator is followed by a Railshot

- Thermal Detonator and Incendiary Missile are cast right after their cooldown/end of burning effect

- No heat problems

 

My rotation delivers just this.

 

Despite the rotation has a fixed duration and no floating attacks, it deals extremely well with all the uncertainties connected with the game mechanics for this class.

 

I am aware that a second Powershot after a Railshot has already been triggered looks weird. Once again, resetting Railshots have a very high priority and two Powershots in a row help to reach that goal. Once the RS is reseted, the mission is accomplished. As shown above, skipping the second Powershot gains nothing but will result in problems with the timing and positioning of the Thermal Detonator.

 

 

The Red Eclipse - Scaeva (Sniper), Salacia (Sorc), Lowblow (Pyro Merc)

Edited October 19, 2013 by salaciousc

[Macroeconomics]

- If Railshot is not available use Powershots (Unload) for a reset

- Cast Thermal Detonator and Incendiary Missile right after their cooldowns, keep (at least) one burning effect on the target all the time

 

Sorry, but I completely disagree with these views.

 

First, about Rail Shot procing. - one of the things that most Merc Pyros don't understand at a conceptual level is that attempting to proc Railshot (RS) all the time can actually *DECREASE* the number of Rail Shots you get. I have explained this issue previously, but it was a difficult thing for many to grasp. The bottom line here is that if you proc RS when the RS CD timer is already at the halfway mark or lower, you are screwing yourself. All you are doing is delaying the time frame in which you can do a double RS attack, i.e. RS-UL-RS, which is your ultimate goal. Another way of putting it is that by fishing for a RS proc, you are settling for a single RS, when you could have had two.

 

Assuming that you have just finished a RS-UL-RS sequence, it should be obvious that no RS proc fishing should occur for another 4.5 seconds ( 3 GCDs). After that, you have 9 seconds left on your RS CD timer. Enough time for maybe one RS proc fishing attempt with Power Shot. However given the low % chance of actually landing a PS attack, you are probably better off putting CGC on a second target (see below) and then using Rapid Shots to refresh CGC on the primary target.

 

Another common situation is when you have just finished RS-UL and RS did not proc. Now you have 12 seconds left on the RS CD timer, and there is a short window of time when proc'ing RS via PS is useful. Outside of these cases, the use of PS is generally not recommended.

 

Secondly, about IM - right off the bat, IM has no CD timer. The main issue with IM now is whether it is worth it try and keep IM on two targets simultaneously. I think the answer is yes, at least if you are trying to maximize total output. Moreover, at least in pvp land, my view is that the Merc pyro should attempt to keep both IM and CGC on two targets simultaneously. Doing this requires an IM/Missile Blast sortie, but as long as you are getting your RS procs properly, the attendant heat control issues should be manageable.

 

Perhaps you were referring to Fusion Missile rather than IM? If so, I am not a fan of using FM on CD. FM does only about 50% more damage than IM yet costs twice the heat and forces you to root yourself to cast it. In my view FM is reserved for use when you want single target burst or when there are multiple targets and you think you can get off a cast without being pushed/stunned/interrupted.

Edited October 23, 2013 by Macroeconomics

[cs_zoltan]

Should I use DfA in single target rotation?

[MVaglin]

Should I use DfA in single target rotation?

 

I don't personally. It would be replacing unload when you use it and I think the extra heat it costs in comparison makes it not worth it.

[LordKantner]

The best time to use DFA, i don't use it but you can, would be right after a rail shot.

 

Still no parses to back up your ideas? And Salac you've completely ignored the mirror topic on the mando section.

Edited November 1, 2013 by LordKantner

[PerinnAybara]

Sorry, but I completely disagree with these views.

 

First, about Rail Shot procing. - one of the things that most Merc Pyros don't understand at a conceptual level is that attempting to proc Railshot (RS) all the time can actually *DECREASE* the number of Rail Shots you get. I have explained this issue previously, but it was a difficult thing for many to grasp. The bottom line here is that if you proc RS when the RS CD timer is already at the halfway mark or lower, you are screwing yourself. All you are doing is delaying the time frame in which you can do a double RS attack, i.e. RS-UL-RS, which is your ultimate goal. Another way of putting it is that by fishing for a RS proc, you are settling for a single RS, when you could have had two.

 

Assuming that you have just finished a RS-UL-RS sequence, it should be obvious that no RS proc fishing should occur for another 4.5 seconds ( 3 GCDs). After that, you have 9 seconds left on your RS CD timer. Enough time for maybe one RS proc fishing attempt with Power Shot. However given the low % chance of actually landing a PS attack, you are probably better off putting CGC on a second target (see below) and then using Rapid Shots to refresh CGC on the primary target.

 

Another common situation is when you have just finished RS-UL and RS did not proc. Now you have 12 seconds left on the RS CD timer, and there is a short window of time when proc'ing RS via PS is useful. Outside of these cases, the use of PS is generally not recommended.

 

Secondly, about IM - right off the bat, IM has no CD timer. The main issue with IM now is whether it is worth it try and keep IM on two targets simultaneously. I think the answer is yes, at least if you are trying to maximize total output. Moreover, at least in pvp land, my view is that the Merc pyro should attempt to keep both IM and CGC on two targets simultaneously. Doing this requires an IM/Missile Blast sortie, but as long as you are getting your RS procs properly, the attendant heat control issues should be manageable.

 

Perhaps you were referring to Fusion Missile rather than IM? If so, I am not a fan of using FM on CD. FM does only about 50% more damage than IM yet costs twice the heat and forces you to root yourself to cast it. In my view FM is reserved for use when you want single target burst or when there are multiple targets and you think you can get off a cast without being pushed/stunned/interrupted.

 

I was under the impression that cgs could only be placed on one enemy at a time as a mercenary.

[Macroeconomics]

I was under the impression that cgs could only be placed on one enemy at a time as a mercenary.

 

You are correct with *ONE* exception. Missile Blast. The CGC proc via Missile Blast is on a separate 6 sec timer than the CGC proc via all other ranged attacks. You can test this by going into your ship and firing at the pvp dummy with Rapid Shots until you get a CGC proc. Then switch to the pve dummy and fire Missile Blast. Now you will see two CGC DoTs active at the same time.

[Zoom_VI]

PS>Unload for procs

 

Ps doesn't behave as the tooltip states for some reason after a initial RS proc, PS will have a near 100% proc rate as long as its goes off immediately following the end of ionic accelerator's ICD

 

check the mirror commando thread

[odawgg]

First, about Rail Shot procing. - one of the things that most Merc Pyros don't understand at a conceptual level is that attempting to proc Railshot (RS) all the time can actually *DECREASE* the number of Rail Shots you get. I have explained this issue previously, but it was a difficult thing for many to grasp. The bottom line here is that if you proc RS when the RS CD timer is already at the halfway mark or lower, you are screwing yourself. All you are doing is delaying the time frame in which you can do a double RS attack, i.e. RS-UL-RS, which is your ultimate goal. Another way of putting it is that by fishing for a RS proc, you are settling for a single RS, when you could have had two.

 

Assuming that you have just finished a RS-UL-RS sequence, it should be obvious that no RS proc fishing should occur for another 4.5 seconds ( 3 GCDs). After that, you have 9 seconds left on your RS CD timer. Enough time for maybe one RS proc fishing attempt with Power Shot. However given the low % chance of actually landing a PS attack, you are probably better off putting CGC on a second target (see below) and then using Rapid Shots to refresh CGC on the primary target.

 

Another common situation is when you have just finished RS-UL and RS did not proc. Now you have 12 seconds left on the RS CD timer, and there is a short window of time when proc'ing RS via PS is useful. Outside of these cases, the use of PS is generally not recommended.

 

What abilities do you suggest using if not power shot or UL during this stretch of time you say is not worth trying to proc? (btw your logic is slightly off, it's not the halfway mark for rail shot it would be if less than 6s cd on Rail shot since you can essentially proc rail shot ever 6s if you want to) You're basically saying you should fire off missile blast or rapid shots...neither seem like great options as missile blast will stack up a lot of front loaded heat and rapid shots is so weak it negates the gain of the double rail shot. Don't forget that first rail shot won't be free either so that's more heat. I think procing that rail shot on the next GCD is a wiser decision for overall sustained dps, but your method would allow for more burst if you don't mind overheating. I could see waiting 1.5s (1 GCD) if you somehow get urself in that situation.

 

Edit: Actually There would have to be <3s for it to be worth waiting, since you can proc it every 6s, the true halfway point of it's cd is 3s. So the 4.5s cd of Rail would be the breakeven point to attempt to proc, 3s would be where you could gain dps but at the expense of heat....situational I suppose

 

BTW in PVE, I 'never' run into a situation where rail shot is about to naturally come off cd, I'm using it far more often than that.

Edited November 8, 2013 by odawgg