Project Lore

Honestly, I really didn't plan on covering Armor Penetration as part of this reoccurring column. For starters, the statistic is largely a junk statistic, due to its low usage on our fancy pieces of gear. Mainly, it's because the stat has never been fully understood, until now. A Blizzard Poster by the name of Ghostcrawler - you may have heard of him - revealed the in-depth calculations behind the statistic and ultimately what has had theorycrafters confused since its inception. To my knowledge, this is the first time Blizzard has revealed a formula, and only because of all the confusion surrounding it. Thanks to Patch 3.1 and some friendly pointers from Heartbourne, I've been on a bit of a math kick, which made yesterday's post all that more interesting to me. I must warn you that this discussion is going to have Algebra, serious algebra. Before we get into the complexity of the formula, here are the three things that seem to have held the theorycrafting up for so long. If you aren't a math fan hopefully the bullet points will help you grasp the concept. Otherwise, allow your eyes to glaze until the conclusion. Up To: This is a key phrase in the stats' tooltip that seems to be overlooked often. Simply put, the number displayed is the maximum percentage of armor that can be ignored. It isn't a guaranteed number because of the following two pieces that Ghostcrawler revealed. Constant: Blizzard didn't want Armor Penetration to be too powerful at the high or low end (read level) of the spectrum so they came up with this little diddy. The magic Armor Constant (will be refereed to as 'K' below) is an easy to calculate number that changes significantly when a mob is over level 60. Cap: The Cap, combined with the K, causes the "Up To" statement in the tooltip. If the Cap is lower than the target's armor, then said Cap is used in the Armor Penetration calculation rather than the actual target's armor. If this is the case, then the effective armor reduction will appear lower than the stat lists. The numbers for the first example are being lifted directly from Ghostcrawler's post on the topic, but to try and reduce confusion, I have left some extraneous information out and added additional explanation. If you grasp the original post, then the following block will be redundant. Our formula will focus solely on endgame content, level 80 and level 83 (boss mob) NPCs. Important numbers: Level 80 Constant (K) = 400+85*targetlevel+4.5*85*(targetlevel-59) = 15232.5 Level 83 Constant (K) = 400+85*targetlevel+4.5*85*(targetlevel-59) = 16635 Armor Cap = (targetarmor + K)/3 Example Mob: We will stick with Mr. Street's example, a level 80 warrior creature with 9729 armor. The player attacking has 30% Armor Penetration and no other modifiers. Calculation: Our armor constant (K) in this case = 15232.5 Armor Cap = (targetarmor + K)/3 = (9729 + 15232.5)/3 => 8320.5 The formula choses the lower amount (Armor Cap or actual armor) to apply the penetration stat (.30) to: ArmCap * ArmPen = lost armor => 8320.5 * .30 = 2496.15 Thus 2496.15 of the target's armor is ignored, effectively leaving the creature with 7232.85 armor: armor - armor lost = effective armor => 9729 - 2496.15 = 7232.85 Comparison: If it wasn't for the "Up To" statement then the calculation would certainly be off, since the player only sees a reduction of 25.66% of the target's armor. Due to the usage of the Armor Cap, the Armor Constant was selected, reducing the amount lost below the 30% that you may have expected. Example Boss: For our quicker second example we have selected a boss mob with 25000 armor being attacked by a toon with 30% Armor Penetration. Calculation: K = 16635 Armor Cap = (25000 + 16635)/3 => 13878 lost armor = 13878 * .3 = 4163.5 effective armor = 25000 - 4163.5 = 20836.5 Percent lost = 4163.5/25000 = 16.6% Conclusion: Armor Penetration is certainly not a statistic that you should be gearing out for. As you can see, your penetration percentage actually goes down against a well armored opponent. The original poster of the thread claimed that the toon in question had 116% Armor Penetration, but only reduced the target's armor by 66%. Talk about a loss. Although we may not have known the mechanics behind the calculation before, theorycrafters were correct in assuming that all our other stats are more important. Gear for Hit, Expertise, Agility, Attack Power, Strength, etc, as Armor Penetration is a third rate stat for Melee DPSers. For rogues, warriors, death knights and feral druids, the statistic should be weighed above Intellect and Spirit, but below seemingly every other modifier.

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My new guild - can I still call it new when I get personalized greetings at sign on? - has been going through some troubles lately, and it isn't drama related.  I guess you can blame the lack of healers for causing some drama.  On top of trying to solve this ancient MMORPG problem, we have also been hit by scattershot attendance.  Our GM and Officers have done their best to recruit eager players to the raid, but for everyone four recruited, it seems that only one is willing to show up.  Showing up is only half the battle though.  Being an able bodied raider is the other half.  Apparently, they didn't get the Level 80 memo. At this stage in the game, gear is only part of one's ability to generate respectable DPS.  Don't get me wrong, having the correct gear is incredibly important, but like the global warming problem, it is only one piece of the pie chart. Gear: There is gear, and then there is correct gear.  For instance, I could have some sick 1.8 Speed Daggers equipped.  In fact I have one from Naxx but I never use it.  Why?  Because its slow speed doesn't mesh well with Mutilate spec - this may be changing come v3.1.  There are tons of ways to judge gear which can cause tough decisions.  One of the easiest, but not the best, is to let an addon like RatingBuster do the comparisons for you. Making that type of decision means you have already located and won what you need, which is often the most time consuming challenge.  Thanks to Blizzard's constant updates to the WoWArmory, your character profile can give you some tips on what to hunt for.  Take Solidsamm's rings (or trinkets) for instance.  A quick check through the Upgrade link (On mouseover, hover over the arrow that appears to the right of the item) and you are hit with a two page list of items that are side-grades or better to his Ring of Foul Mojo. If you don't have the time to sink into instances or Heroics, then perhaps player created gear is more suitable.  Crafted gear is a quick and easy way to upgrade many slots.  The catch 22 is that these items can be pretty pricey.  However, if you spend your downtime shopping around for the mats while grinding the other non-craftable slots, you should save some serious gold. Spec: A player's spec is incredibly important for everything they do.  A few misplaced points and a toon can be out of 5-20% of potential DPS, making them a poor choice for a raid or PvP partner.  I am not trying to say that we should all be cookie cutter copies of each other, but the pattern exists for a reason.  My suggestion to those trying to eek out more DPS is to look at the cookie cutter version of your spec and analyze any and all differences.  Weigh the differences to see if what you have selected is truly better for what your spec is built to accomplish.  And don't be afraid to ask guildmates for opinions and tips! Glyphs: These bad boys should be used to strengthen your main spells and abilities.  They are relatively cheap compared to other consumables and will remain viable additions to your character until you change specs or new Glyphs are released, which isn't all that often.  Again, select Major Glyphs that modify the main abilities you use.  For a Mutilate rogue like Solidsamm that would be Slice n Dice (for more poison procs), Rupture and Garrote.  Unfortunately there is no Envenom glyph. Enchants: Enchants are often over looked, and with good reason.  As mentioned in one of my first posts, it is hard to justify sinking tens to hundreds of gold into gear that will likely be replaced very soon.  To avoid emptying your coffers repeatedly, only pick-up the most suitable enchantments on gear that shouldn't be replaced in the short term, meaning most epic quality items.  For those blue items, grab the mats and have a guildmate do middle of the road buffs on the cheap.  If you still have a collection of greens, the money and time are better spent just replacing the gear entirely. Gems: Another often overlooked and easily solvable problem.  Follow the same suggestions for enchants, saving the best gems for the best gear.  Gems are also a fantastic way to boost other stats that you could be lacking, such as Hit and Expertise rating.  Once you get those stats on board with the needed numbers, you should re-gem to help your spec, where applicable. When you do get that fantastic gear that you have been working towards for weeks, be sure to gem it and enchant it ASAP.  I always try to keep a handful of gems on hand to apply to new gear on the spot.  Why would I do this?  Two reasons really.  First, I don't want the new piece of loot to look "worse" than the old piece simply because it isn't gemmed.  Second, I try to get my gems at rock bottom prices, which means I have to wait sometimes.  During the interim, I slap a middle of the road gem in the socket as a placeholder.  The trick is that when you do the on the fly gemming or enchanting, you have to remember to go back and replace it.  That is a personal tip to myself, evidenced by my recent gemming excursion to replace all the green gems I had. Don't forget to play the game the way you want to though.  Just because one spec does a little more DPS than the other, doesn't mean you should suffer through mechanics that you don't enjoy.  After all, you should still want to play the game after you make the changes to be a more productive member of your guild!

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Part 2 of our series on the basics of melee DPS (Part 1 - Melee DPS 101: The Hit Cap) brings us to the category that confused me the most, Expertise.  When I began looking up Wrath of the Lich King's changes to my class' required stats, I was expecting to find pretty clear cut answers.  That was not the case for Expertise. My initial research confused me something fierce due to my own stupidity.  I kept coming across a pair of vastly different numbers that were recanted as the expertise needed for dual and single wielding DPS.  Then the compact fluorescent light bulb went off, the synapse was crossed and I put the final piece of the puzzle together. Expertise and Expertise Rating are convertible statistics, not the same thing.  It really is quite simple and works like Hit and Hit Rating.  The more Hit Rating you have, the more you will connect with your target.  I do not know why this confused me for the length of time that it did, but I never claimed to be Einstein. Let's get to the facts now that you know how slow I can be without my morning tea.  Expertise is a very easy to understand requirement that is the same for all melee DPS classes.  For starters, Expertise is the statistic that will help minimize a mob's ability to Dodge or Parry your attacks.  Once again, our focus for the discussion will be on boss mobs.  Before we begin, it should be noted that all DPSing should be done from behind the target.  This will cut out the need for additional rating, since the mob will have its Parry attribute removed from the equation table. Assuming that you are "hitting it from behind," a melee DPSer will require 214 Expertise Rating or 26 Expertise (you can check this on your character sheet).  Roughly 33 ER or the equivalent of 4 expertise will reduce a mobs chance to dodge/parry by 1%.  If you hit those numbers, you will surpass the 6.5% Dodge chance those pesky Boss mobs are handed and maximize your DPS potential. Here's another "at a glance" guide for easy reference.

All Melee DPS:

Expertise/Expertise Rating = 26 and 214 respectively. You just need to hit one of these numbers to negate a mob's chance to Dodge or Parry (when attacking from behind).  Expertise is generally gained from various talents (Vitality, Combat Expertise, Weapon Expertise, etc) or racial traits (Humans gain 3 Expertise for Swords and Maces), while Expertise Rating is typically obtained from item bonuses. 1 Expertise = 0.25% Dodge reduction, 32.79 Expertise Rating = 4 Expertise = 1% Dodge Reduction and the numbers you are trying to overcome are 6.5% Dodge and 12-15% Parry (Parry percentage remains in debate).  Don't forget, Parry can be ignored if you are attacking from behind.

Tanks:

I am not sure what the sweet spot is for tanking, but it is higher than Melee DPS.  Since a tank is obviously in front of the mob, they don't benefit from dropping Parry from the calculation table.  Therefore they would need additional Expertise/ER to drop negate a the other half of the Expertise equation.  However, if you are generating enough threat per second, you may be able to perform sufficiently with the DPS numbers above, since TPS is a tank's primary concern. I hope this clears up any confusion out there.  Remember to always attack from behind for the avoidance mitigation!  Brownie points to the commentator who can give us the necessary tank numbers.  Next up, all the other statistics out there.

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Okay boys and girls.  Let's get those thinking caps on.  Today we will be following up Bastosa's excellent Tanking Stats Series with a discussion on Level 80 DPS numbers.  I am admittedly writing this for the benefits of PvE rogues, but the forthcoming discussion encapsulates information for any melee DPS class.  That being said, the importance of some facts can shift depending on spec, gear, and general class differences.  I will try to avoid pigeon-holing this entirely for the friends of the shadows, but all melee DPSers are asked to chime in on the differences for their class. The first thing I did after hitting 80 was to begin preparing for raids.  I completed my homework - looking up the needed hit/expertise ratings and the gear setup I would need to obtain them - and begin my instance and heroic grinding to prepare for Naxxramas.  I was attempting to be a well prepared guildie, turns out they didn't care what I was.  At that time, I did not feel that I was adequately prepared gear-wise, but they wanted an all guild run more than a well-geared tenth man.  Boy, did my numbers show it. It doesn't matter how hard you could hit or how much attack power you stack, if you aren't actually connecting with your target.  Melee DPSers separate their hit cap into three categories, two of them are obtainable and directly beneficial to strive for.  To guarantee that you will never "Miss" a mob you, a dual wielder would need an insane amount of Hit Rating, 886 to be exact.  This is assuming you have no +hit talents and no Draenei in your group.  For example, SolidSamm's Precision (5% extra hit chance) and a Draenei buddy (an additional 1% hit chance) would allow him to never miss with only an additional 689 hit rating.  Still, this is way out of reach. What is in reach is the 9% hit that is required to allow all of your special abilities to connect with boss mobs.  This cap is known as the Yellow Hit Cap (YHC) and is easily achieved.  A total hit rating of 295 will give any dual wielder all the hit rating one needs to cover the YHC.  This number becomes incredibly low, just 99 additional hit rating, if you have Precision or something like it that gives you 5% extra chance to hit.  Past that, hit rating is just gravy, tasteful, and helpful gravy. Poison users need to push their hit rating much further to guarantee that all their poisons - which are treated as spells - land with their yellow damage.  315 hit rating (this assumes you have Precision) is much more difficult to reach than 99, but is achievable outside of raiding gear via a collection of Heroic, crafted and quest items.  If your hit rating gets past 315, you may want to look at re-gemming or swapping around some gear.  At that point, other stats become more beneficial than making sure you get every bit of white damage. Let's recap with an "at a glance" guide for those who just need a refresher.

Dual Wielders:

Yellow Hit Cap = 295 Hit Rating (total) This is essential.  It guarantees that all of your abilities will land on Wrath of the Lich King's boss mobs.  Numerous talents and the Draenei passive can bring this number substantially lower.  Roughly 33 Hit Rating equates to 1% to hit. Poison (Spell) Hit Cap = 446 Hit Rating (315 with Precision) The more poison heavy your setup is, the more important this cap is.  Hit this cap, and I promise that your poisons from abilities will land on boss mobs.  It is crucial for Mutilate builds to strive for this. White Hit Cap = 886 Hit Rating (total) This unobtainable cap guarantees that all of your hits would land, ability and auto-attack damage.  Poison users can see some benefit past 315, but it is often more important to stack other statistics.  If you crunch the numbers, this means that dual wielders need 27% hit for our auto-attacks to land.

Single Wielders:

Yellow Hit Cap/White Hit Cap = 295 Hit Rating (total) This is essential.  It guarantees that all of your abilities will land on Wrath of the Lich King's boss mobs.  Numerous talents and the Draenei passive can bring this number substantially lower.  Roughly 33 Hit Rating equates to 1% to hit. Yes, single wielding toons have it a bit easier.  Their YHC and WHC are the same. That covers one of our most important stats.  Next time I will go over the Expertise stat in-depth, which can be a bit more confusing as it pertains to a mobs ability to dodge and parry.  Tanks can check out their specifics for Expertise in Bastosa's posts. Note: We don't know th exact way all of this is calculated in game, it is all anecdotal evidence.  Therefore some things are disputed.  The YHC, for example, is disputed by many to be closer to 8% than 9%.  I went with 9% because it guarantees you will land those attacks.

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