I was looking over my gear on the different 70s I have, after a productive set of Kara runs, one of which saw my Druid get Staff of Infinite Mysteries, and the other saw my Draenei Paladin, Telaan, get Gorehowl. Before these drops, I already knew I would have a fair bit of my current gear on all but my Hunter when I hit 75, since Medros has only replaced a few pieces of gear by his current level of 76 on the beta. The one thing which has always perplexed me is comparing raw stats to proc stats. For instance, a trinket that gives me XX stamina, XX strength, and XX to crit, versus something like my Skyguard Silver Cross and Darkmoon Card: Crusade. Which would be better? At what point is the new hotness good enough to replace the old and busted?
Another thing that has been throwing me for a loop as I leveled Medros through beta, id the seeming change in 'Ret' gear. Oh, and yes, he is the only one I have actually leveled, as I do not see a need to spend all my time leveling all my 70s to 80 in a world that will be gone in 40 days. I have noticed a lot of gear I am told is 'Ret' gear(or melee DPS plate gear) has Armor Penetration, and while I am told this was scattered on items from Burning Crusade, I cannot recall it being this prevalent on gear, and I also do not know how to equate it to my Burning Crusade gear, which all have what I call the TBC standards, strength, stamina, attack, crit, and hit. How do I account for this new stat when I am choosing gear, and by sticking to the old stats, am I losing out on awesome gear?
I guess what I am asking is whether there is a site that ranks or explains these stats and how the equate to TBC thinking? I have been playing in the TBC world for 2 years, and I just don't know how to make the switch. Anyone have thoughts? Are there conversions that have you stuck? Let me know in the comments and maybe we can all get some help and clarification for our playtime!
Another thing that has been throwing me for a loop as I leveled Medros through beta, id the seeming change in 'Ret' gear. Oh, and yes, he is the only one I have actually leveled, as I do not see a need to spend all my time leveling all my 70s to 80 in a world that will be gone in 40 days. I have noticed a lot of gear I am told is 'Ret' gear(or melee DPS plate gear) has Armor Penetration, and while I am told this was scattered on items from Burning Crusade, I cannot recall it being this prevalent on gear, and I also do not know how to equate it to my Burning Crusade gear, which all have what I call the TBC standards, strength, stamina, attack, crit, and hit. How do I account for this new stat when I am choosing gear, and by sticking to the old stats, am I losing out on awesome gear?
I guess what I am asking is whether there is a site that ranks or explains these stats and how the equate to TBC thinking? I have been playing in the TBC world for 2 years, and I just don't know how to make the switch. Anyone have thoughts? Are there conversions that have you stuck? Let me know in the comments and maybe we can all get some help and clarification for our playtime!
Reference Links
Raw Stats vs Procs has always been somewhat of a mystery. Thankfully, in TBC, you saw more items with stats and procs on them, so it became easy to choose.
The major choice between stats and procs is done through theorycrafting. Through this, players are able to determine the longterm effect, and thus determine which is better.
For example: You are an Enhancement Shaman in a BT Guild
Madness of the Betrayer Drops
Your current trinkets are Shard of Contempt and Dragonspine Trophy.
You have 10 seconds to decide if you want the item. How do you choose right away if you want it?
First, you eliminate an option. The shard has expertise, which at that level, you would know is the best stat of all as a melee dps. Thus, you keep shard.
Now you have to decide between the Trophy and Madness.
You compare attack power. Madness has more.
You check your hit rating, you are capped. Madness won't help that stat.
You then compare procs. You wonder, which is better for a enhancement shaman, 325 haste rating or Armor Pen. You check your haste, and find you already have a lot of it. What do you do?
Choose madness.
Now, since most people cannot compare things that quickly and decide, there are sites out there to help you determine ahead of time, Lootrank and Elitist Jerks: Class Discussion. Some classes also have their own simulators. Just have to look.
Now that the long answer is over, here is the lowdown. Procs generally are worth more than pure stats unless:
1. A certain stat benefits a certain class most. i.e. Agi for survival hunter
2. The proc internal cooldown is so long it is more beneficial to use an item with pure stats.
3. The item is a chance on it. Chance on hit has no proc cooldown. Check your spreadsheets to determine if the hit chance is better than a proc.
You just have to do your research and find out what you should be stacking. :)