#0 - Dec. 17, 2008, 6:14 a.m.
I ran several tests today on the PTR server to check out what, if any, differences Shamanism and the new Storm Earth and Fire made.
First the stats while testing (level 80 test dummy, unbuffed, in IF, stable 43ms latency):
2793 spell damage for Lightning spells
2611 spell power
429 critical rating
459 haste rating
The tests:
A fairly comprehensive 25.2 million total damage series of tests involving; a series of LB spams with and without Shamanism (with a control test done on the Live server for base numbers to compare to), single-target CL spams (with no bounce – done by standing right up against a test dummy with my back to the other test dummy), FlS + Lava Burst rotations, and also several mixed and full rotations (FlS>LvB>LB, FlS>LvB>CL>LB, and LB>LvB>LB).
The findings:
*Lightning Bolt is not very perceptibly improved by Shamanism at the stated levels of gearing. The largest variance in comparing lowest-lows and highest-highs was a difference of 70 damage between the lowest non-Shamanism test and the lowest with-Shamanism test; and the biggest difference in highest-high comparison was 242 damage.
*Chain Lightning is really bad for single target use now. After the test was over, I was going through the data and the raw numbers did not match what theory-crafting said they should be. Not even close. The raw damage numbers divided by the casting time said even with Shamanism buffing Lightning Bolt, Chain Lightning should give higher DPS. But every single test using Chain Lightning resulted in lower overall DPS, and significantly lower total damage, than tests ignoring Chain Lightning. I ended up running several additional tests just on Chain Lightning. Conclusion: the ability to proc Lightning Overload on a single target is 8%, not 20%. Maybe it's a bug, maybe it was an extensive multi-thousand-cast bad luck streak. Or, maybe it's a hidden nerf that was put in the game sometime between WotLK release and the PTR (on 3-target-bounce casts an 8% chance to proc LO comes out to slightly more than a 20% overall chance to proc LO, so I suspect hidden nerf to the mechanic). Either way, DPS went down in every test using CL.
*Lava Burst damage went up noticeably. Lowest-low comparisons showed a 7% damage increase, and highest-high comparisons showed a 16% increase in the spells damage (I tested with a 100% critical rate -- I told you, I was nailing the rotations :P ).
*Flame Shock Damage Over Time has not perceptibly changed from Live. It ticks for a few more points of damage (and I mean “a few” literally), but it makes virtually no difference to the overall damage mix.
Mainly due to Lava Burst actually being affected in a testable way by Shamanism, Fire damage as a total percentage of damage done increased in all my tests to a very consistent 37-38% of all damage done. It didn't matter if I used CL or no CL, because I was hitting all my timers, the use of CL only reduced LB's percentage of the damage mix.
edit: additional testing has shown that Shamanism is not affecting Lightning Bolt in any statistically measurable way. After millions of damage worth of additional testing, I achieve the same low-end hits and high-end hits with or without the talent. This has been reported, and hopefully will be fixed.
