First and foremost: I was going to write a long guide here, but Exemplar recently updated his amazing guide on EJ, and I found myself quoting more than 3/4 of my post directy from him. I'm going write a brief summary here, but please go check out his work at http://elitistjerks.com/f76/t110342-ret ... ce_4_0_3a/ for some truly outstanding work and in-depth answers. All of the questions below have been updated for 4.06 or have a 4.06 note now.
Simple questions, short answers:
Q: What is my best spec?
A: Ret has two flex points in its "cookie cutter" spec. If you're looking for a basic spec to start with, this one picks up one point in Eye for an Eye (minor dps increase on some fights) and one point in Acts of Sacrifice for the movement-imparing effect dispel on cleanse. Notice the effect is not required to be a poison or disease; it works just fine on any movement imparing effect. http://www.wowhead.com/talent#sbhMZMZsbGsdkszfk
4.06: The spec hasn't changed. Sacred Shield is now an optional (but VERY strong) talent in the place where Rebuke used to be, but there's nothing even close to better to put that point in.
Q: What glyphs should I use?
A: Only prime glyphs directly impact dps. Use Seal of Truth, Templar's Verdict, and Exorcism. Major and minor glyphs vary between mana-saving and additional utility. See EJ for a full writeup. I use Divine Plea, Lay on Hands, and swap the 3rd between holy wrath for utility, consecration for heavy aoe dps, and Ascetic Crusader for mana saving, but that's just me.
4.06: Glyph of Exorcism has overtaken Crusader Strike and is now worth more dps. Templar's Verdict and Seal of Truth remain the two highest dps glyphs.
Q: How should I gear?
A: Get to your hit and expertise caps (8% and 26 expertise skill with SoT glyph). After that, mastery>crit>>>haste. Any agility piece is significantly inferior to a plate counterpart with the removal of AP on agility pieces. There is a lot of speculation about exact stat weights with no 100% solid values yet; If the above isn't specific enough, use one of the spreadsheets to determine stat weights for your own specific gear.
4.06: Mastery barely edges crit, but both are significantly better than haste. Furthermore, testing has shown that the value of mastery scales upward as your crit increases, and vice versa. Aim to keep them reasonably balanced.
Q: But what about stacking X amount of haste?
A: You cannot stack enough haste to get to a 3 second (or 3sec+ latency) crusader strike like you could in Wrath; this is no longer a viable gearing option. Haste is still valuable for white dps, AoW and Divine Purpose procs, etc, but your rotation will naturally fall into CS-filler-filler naturally.
4.06: The above remains true for 4.06
Q: What about gemming?
A: The Reverberating Shadowspirit Diamond is now the undisputed king of metas for ret (54 Str and 3% crit damage). Current math indicates gemming Str/Mastery in a yellow socket, or Str/Hit in a blue is viable for a single-socket 20 str bonus, or a two socket 30 str bonus. See Exemplar's post on EJ for more details.
4.06: Significant changes, so I just re-wrote the above paragraph.
Q: I've heard a lot of conflicting things about Inquisition...
A: Use it if the fight is going to last longer than 25 seconds. Only use it at 3 holy power. If there are 6 (some sources say 4) or less seconds left on Inq and you have 3 holy power, refresh it. Seven or more, and you'll probably manage 3 more holy power before it falls off. This is your single biggest dps increase by FAR. Many new abilities do holy damage--see Exemplar's post for more details.
Q: So then my rotation is what?
A: You still have an FCFS rotation. It has become a bit more complicated however, as using CS on CD for holy power generation is now more important. Here is a rough breakdown: CS (at 1 or 2 HP)>Inq>3HP TV>HoW>Exo>TV (proc)>Judge>Holy Wrath>Consecrate. The biggest change that this means for you: If you have 1 or 2 holy power, CS is off cooldown, and you get a Divine Purpose proc, use CS to get that 3rd holy power, then use the proc as a filler, rather than pushing back the CS to burn that proc.
For multi target (more than 4 targets), sub Divine Storm for CS and Consecration for Holy Wrath. It seems awkward in theory, but in reality falls into a very nice CS-Filler-Filler-CS-Filler-Filler-Filler style rotation. There will be a little white space, which I fine useful to pop Divine Plea. Remember, Divine Storm got a nice buff last patch.
4.06: With the 4pc bonus becoming a reality for many, it bears having its own section here. With the 4pc bonus, refreshing Inquistion at ANY amount of holy power is viable. With the 4pc, refreshing when Inq is at 2 sec or less is the way to go, and you'll find yourself doing a lot of 1HP refreshes, which is fine.
Q: When should I use my cooldowns?
A: Unless you need them to be up for a specific portion of the fight, use AW and Zealotry early, and they should be up again midway through most boss fights. AV and Zealotry have been shown to be a dps increse when used TOGETHER now, unlike before. Furthermore, even during Zealotry you'll use CS->Filler->Filler; with AW up, many of those fillers will be Hammer of Wrath. Your should rarely (if ever) see Holy Wrath come up during AW/Zealotry due to plentiful higher-dps fillers. I prefer to use cooldowns immediately after refreshing a full 3HP inquisition. Use GAnK early as well if you anticipate the fight lasting longer than 5 minutes. It can be synched with any other CD without penalty. Remember that due to reduced judging, your mana will suffer during AW and Zealotry use; pop divine plea before using CDs if you're low on mana.
4.06: Due to significant changes, I've re-written the above paragraph instead.
Q: Do any professions provide a distinct bonus over others?
A: All of the str-giving professions (Leatherworking, BS, JC, Alchemy, etc) are roughly equal. Tailoring can edge these in many situations and if used correctly the new Engineer glove tinkers can perform better than the static-stat professions; see Exemplar's guide for specific details.
4.06: With the addition of the 50 Str enchant for bracers, Leatherworking is now equal to the other Str-giving professions (80 str gain over the enchant). Due to mastery changes, the JC trinket increases in value for pre-raid gearing, while the Alchemy trinket remains viable for raiding well into ilvl359 content.
I'll try to keep updating this post, and provide my WAG at a pre-raid BiS list (I built mine before we had solid stat values) in future updates. Please feel free to hit me up with questions you might have, after reading Exemplar's outstanding work first.
warden
Mon Dec 20, 2010 8:09 pm
