thank you guys for replying~
Quote:
Just because the mana from heal crits isn't as good as it once was, that does not mean the extra 8% crit in the ret tree is anything to get rid of.
i have the same concern and really like the old 51/2/18 setup.
but after some simply calculation, i just have some doubts about 51/20 might perform better over 51/2/18 even in the mana efficiency department.
here is my calculation.
heal used: FoL, assuming 2000 heals using 200 mana (round number for easy calculation).
spell critical hit: 150% increase of heal.
patch 3.1 illumiation mana reduction: 60% (60% is "returned" to you)
patch 3.2 illumination mana reduction: 30%
the difference between the 51/2/18 setup and the 51/20 setup, is the former has 8% more crit hit rate, the latter with 9% more heals (51/2/18 put 2 points in prot tree to get 2% more heals).
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the efficiency of 51/20 didn't change in patch 3.2, for a 2000 heal FoL, it outputs 2180 consistently, maintaining the 200 mana consumption on each cast.
so for every 100 cast of Fol, the efficiency of 51/20, is (2180*100)/(200*100), which is 10.9 heal per mana.
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for patch 3.1, 51/2/18 setup's efficiency is like this: (8% more crit rate).
for every 100 cast, there will be 8 crit hits (8% more crit rate).
each crit hits will hit for 2000*150%, which is 3000, and return 120 mana, which means it only cost 80 mana.
so the result of every 100 cast is (2000*92+3000*8)/(200*92+80*8) = 10.925 heals per mana.
comparing to 10.9, the 51/2/18 setup in patch 3.1, is indeed more mana efficient than the 51/20 setup.
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but for the 3.2 patch, the mana return is drastically reduce to half, it returns only 60 mana now (from a 200 mana heal), which mean the spell would cost 140 mana, so for every 100 cast, the efficiency is:
(2000*92+3000*8)/(200*92+140*8)=10.655 heals per mana
it is a pretty big drop from the 3.1 patch of 10.925.
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if we think "percentage".
patch 3.1 51/2/18 setup, increases the efficiency by 9.25%
51/20 setup, increases the efficiency by 9%
patch 3.2 51/2/18 setup, increases the efficiency by 6.55%
if we think about the 9/6.55 "gain ratio", its about a 35% difference in gain, which i think is a lot.
*** of course, i am not assuming the problem of "over heal", the 9% gain from 51/20 could all be over heals if not used right, but again... the unpredictables nature of crit hit heals also have an over heal problem. ***
and you have to consider, with the 51/20 setup, your SS would last "twice" as long (basically saves you 400 mana each min, assuming we want to keep SS up all the time.. i really don't care about the 400 mana, but i don't have to spend time tracking and recasting SS every 30 sec), and you have the valuable "Buuble + Divine Sacrifice" tactic from the 51/20 setup.
i mean... i really love the mana efficiency of 51/2/18 in patch 3.1 ..... and i really hope Blizzard could give us the improved BoL without nerfing it (why nerf us? is pally healer going to be "overpowered" just with this improved BoL?). but mathematically i think the illumination nerf is too big of a cut and makes spending 18 talents point just to get 8% more crit not that worth it.........