Simulations and Spreadsheets
Everything you need to know about the Spreadsheets and Simulations made by the Classic Warlock Discord community to help with gear and rotation optimization.
Simulations and Spreadsheets
Gearing Is Hard, or Is It?
We all want what is best, but what is best? How do we determine if an item is an actual upgrade, and if so by how much? What if I already have item X do I need to shell out all my hard earned gold for item Y? These are questions all of us come across when trying to determine how we should gear to improve our raid performance.
There are a couple of methods that have arisen over time. You could ask it to your fellow guildies what to do, but maybe he doesn't know either? You could look at what the top parse lord on warcraftlogs uses, but does he have everything he ideally wants, and why does he use X instead of Y?
Okay, what about this character load out I found on this sketchy site? Chances are it is out of date, you don't have half the items, your progression should be different, item X might be technical BIS but Y is about as good and X lasts another class till Legion.
Well I came across this guide, it lists all sorts of items, has a description telling me how good it is, when I will replace it, etc,.. what about that? Well it is definitely better to have options, but this is only really as good as the sources used by the writer. What if a certain item isn't listed that you have, the writer has a bias because he hates mages, based on old private server information, etc..?
Okay so all these things are bad or have caveats. What should I do then beside flipping a coin? Sim it.
Gearing Tools From Best to Worse
- Using a sim tool
- BIS Guide
- BIS Loadout
- Hearsay (looking at warcraft logs, guildies, etc..)
BiS list are going to be highly dependant on the quality of the writer, and the tools he used.
Loadouts and Hearsay should be avoided. They are unlikely to tell the full story or account for your personal situation. Plus you are setting your self up to fall for the same bias the person informing you has (this can also hold true for the BIS guide).
So What Is a Simulation Tool, and What Makes It So Great?
These tools are made to "simulate" the games DPS calculations. Using this we can determine exactly how much DPS certain stats, talents, spells, consumes, buffs, set bonusses, etc... add. This leaves us with objective values for items based on their relative DPS value. You can directly compare the item you want with the one you already have. It is highly individualized as you can give in your exact raid setup, gear, talents and rotation.
Okay so surely this sounds good on paper, but there have to be negatives right? he output is only as good as the information that you put in, more detail adds to the accuracy of it. It might seem intimidating to learn how to use these. Some are in the form of spreadsheets, others online websites. Having a list of all items and their relative value also doesn't always tell the full story, sometimes an item that might be technically BIS for you gets quickly replaced the next phase whilst it lasts another class forever. You still need to be able to do some interpretation of what the results mean.
Another worry might be that just like how guides can be outdated that the math behind a sim is incorrect. This sometimes is the case, luckily the Warlock Discord is a home for some really talented people. Errors are often quickly spotted and fixed. There are also multiple different tools for the same expansion of the game This allows for cross examination, and if discrepancies show it rings an alarm bell to be investigated.
Pros
- Actual stat weights and relative values
- Highly personalized
- Accounts for nearly all relevant items in game
- Quickly updated to account for game changes or meta changes
Cons
- Learning Curve
- Time for initial set up
- Doesn't always tell the full story
The Burning Crusade Tools
Kristofer Warlock Simulator
Zephan Warlock Sprint and Marathon Spreadsheet
Jpaint Warlock Spreadsheet
