Ten Ton Hammer | WoW: Theorycrafting

style="line-height: normal;">To begin our in depth
look at Druid theorycraft, we will
start with the spec that is both nearest and dearest to my heart, and
also the
least “complex” of the three - restoration. style="">
In an earlier href="http://www.tentonhammer.com/node/70576">article
we discussed the basics of theorycraft along with most of the terms and
acronyms.
Below you find a further
explanation along with my suggested target numbers to strive for to
maximize
your playing experience.
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Theory: style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">

style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Main
Entry: the·o·ry
style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Pronunciation:
\?th?-?-r?, ?thir-?\
style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Function:
noun
style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Inflected
Form(s): plural the·o·ries
style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Etymology:
Late Latin theoria, from Greek the?ria, from the?rein
style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Date:
1592

style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">1 style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">
:
the analysis of a set of facts in their relation
to one another
2
:
abstract thought :
href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/speculation"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">speculation style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">
3
:
the general or abstract principles of a body of fact, a
science, or an art <music theory>
4 a
:
a belief, policy, or procedure proposed or followed as the
basis of action <her method is based on the theory that all
children want to
learn> b
:
an ideal or hypothetical set of facts, principles,
or circumstances —often used in the phrase in
theory<in theory, we have
always advocated freedom for all>
5
:
a plausible or scientifically acceptable general principle or
body of principles offered to explain phenomena <the wave theory
of
light>
6 a
:
a hypothesis assumed for the sake of argument or
investigation b
:
an unproved assumption :
href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/conjecture"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">conjecture style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">
c
:
a body of href="http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/theorems"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">theorems style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">
presenting a concise systematic view of a subject <theory of
equations>

style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: rgb(30, 66, 137);">Craft:

style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Main
Entry: ²craft
style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Function:
transitive verb
style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Date:
15th century

style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">: style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">
to make or produce with care, skill, or ingenuity <is
crafting a new sculpture> <a carefully crafted
story>

style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: rgb(30, 66, 137);">Theorycrafting: style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">

style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Main
Entry: the·o·ry
craft
style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Pronunciation:
thir-?-craft-ing
style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Function:
intransitive verb
style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Date:
Early 2005

style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">:
To hyper-analyze, mathematically,
game mechanics and abilities to gain a deeper understanding and to
ultimately
maximize effectiveness.

style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Theorycrafting
actually began with StarCraft
and was transitioned to WoW with
the advent of the game. WoW theorycrafting
gained its popularity and notoriety around the time The
Burning Crusade expansion
launched. The main focus of Theorycrafting was initially maximizing DPS
and
minimizing downtime, also known as Min/Maxing. It has spread to all
aspects of
WoW and created many heated debates between crafters and players alike.
Too
many times theorycraft becomes a mish mash of information overload and
conflicting ideas.

style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">This
week we will be diving into the
theorycraft of the restoration Druid. Don’t fret, there will
be no coma
inducing charts and graphs, complex equations or TLDR (too long,
didn’t read,
for you non forum acronym types) dissertations, just the distilled
numbers you
need to strive for to get the best out of your gaming
experience.

style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: rgb(30, 66, 137);">Talent
Specialization

style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
first thing, and easiest to
control, is your characters talent specialization. While
there is no one
“best” spec, there are a couple that are viewed as
optimum.

style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
most common Restoration spec is
the href="http://www.wowarmory.com/talent-calc.xml?cid=11&tal=0532003100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000230033312031500531153313051"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">14/0/57 style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">
build.
Prior to 3.2 this spec would have featured Nature’s
Swiftness and one
throw away point and omitted Empowered Touch, however the inclusion of
Nourish
in the latter talents benefits makes it a solid choice.

style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Following
this build will optimize
several aspects. First, it is the premier mana regen spec (not
including a href="http://www.wowarmory.com/talent-calc.xml?cid=11&tal=0532003100000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000000230033312031500531153313051"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">Dreamstate style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">
build as it loses too much of the core elements of resto) as well as
the
optimum spell haste spec. My numbers section below will
assume this spec;
most of the numbers will be fairly accurate for you with another spec
as long
as you make sure to include Gift of the Earthmother 5/5.

style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; color: rgb(30, 66, 137);">Stats style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">

style="line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";">The
meat and potatoes of all the
theorycrafting and min/maxing comes down to one thing - numbers. Here
are the
target numbers based on what you are wanting to do as PvE restoration
Druid.
Keep in mind that even with all of the research and gnats ass splitting
that
goes into this, they are still objective and to be used as a guide. The
haste stat
listed will be to achieve a one second global cooldown, which is equal
to
roughly 20% haste rating assuming Celestial Focus 3/3 (19.98 to be
exact).

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style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; line-height: normal;"> style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif";"> style="font-weight: bold;">5 Player