Holy Paladin: Spell Crit vs. MP5

As a Holy Paladin, which of these is a more effective means of mana regeneration? Does the presence of haste alter which means of mana regeneration is more effective?

These questions presented themselves this weekend when a friend of mine - re-speccing his Retribution Paladin to Holy - said that he wanted to stack mp5 to compensate for the extreme mana use generated by haste rating.

I countered that spell crit should be more effective, but he didn’t believe me. Here are some numbers to support my position.

Does Haste Make Spell Crit More or Less Effective?

First, let us assume for the moment that spell crit is a good source of mana regeneration (or conservation). Does the presence of haste make this more or less effective?

To determine this, we need a formula to tell us how much mana is regenerated, by a given spell, through spell crit rating.

We know a few givens. A Holy Light spell costs 840 mana. With 5 points in Illumination, a critical Holy Light regenerates 60% of that mana. A Holy Light, with Light’s Grace, takes 2 seconds to cast.

A formula that uses all of that information might look something like this…

(Cost of Spell * 60%) * (5 seconds / Spellcast Time) = Effective mp5

First we start by finding the amount of mana regenerated by a single spellcast. We then standardize that to the mp5 unit, by multiplying for (5 / Cast Time). Although less logical, we could re-write the equation to look something like this…

(Cost of Spell * 60% * 5 Seconds) / (Spellcast Time) = Effective mp5

(840 Mana * 60% * 5 Seconds) / (2 Seconds) = 1260 mp5

In other words, when a Holy Light spell crits, it momentarily generates 1260 mp5. More specifically, it generates 504 mana in 2 seconds.

To know how Haste would impact this relationship, we need to know what happens if we modify Spellcast Time.

(840 Mana * 60% * 5 Seconds) / (2.5 Seconds) = 1008 mp5

(840 Mana * 60% * 5 Seconds) / (1.5 Seconds) = 1680 mp5

By plugging in two numbers (2.5 seconds and 1.5 seconds), we can see this relationship at work. As Spellcast Time increases, the value of Effective mp5 will decrease. Likewise, if the value of Spellcast Time decreases, the value of Effective mp5 will increase.

In WoW terms, by stacking Haste rating, you are getting more bang for your buck out of spell crit. A critical heal refunds 60% of your mana. By casting the heal quicker, you’re getting the same mana refund (since the cost doesn’t change) over a shorter period of time - hence higher mp5.

But Which Is Better, In General?

It’s good to have proven quite simply that Haste improves the effectiveness of Spell Crit Rating. But is Spell Crit better or worse (in terms of item value efficiency) than mp5?

This will depend on a few factors. First, we’ll need to use our equation from above and determine the mp5 equivalent of a certain amount of spell crit. The value we found above is based on a 100% crit effect. If we simply multiply that effect by a crit rate (i.e. 1%), we’ll find out the effective mp5.

Therefore, (1260 * 1%) = 12.6 mp5 per 1% of spell crit. We also know that 1% of spell crit is equal to 22.08 spell crit.

If you’re spamming Holy Light, 22.08 Spell Crit is giving you the equivalent of 12.6 mp5.

Now we have some numbers to compare. Is 22.08 Spell Crit more or less expensive than 12.6 mp5?

In terms of item level, 1 Spell Crit Rating costs 1 point. 1 mp5 costs 2.5 points. If an item had 12.6 mp5, an item of identical value could have 31.5 Spell Crit Rating. Conversely, for the cost of 22.08 Spell Crit Rating, an item could have only 8.83 mp5.

Results? If you’re spamming Holy Light, Spell Crit is a much more effective source of mana regeneration than mp5. For the same item value, you’re effectively getting 12.6 mp5 instead of 8.83. That’s about a 40% increase.

However, that’s only half the story. Holy Light is expensive. Flash of Light is not. If you’re spamming Flash of Light instead of Holy Light, you may have an entirely different number.

Flash of Light costs 180 mana. (180 * 60% * 5) / (1.5 Seconds) * (1% Crit Rate) = 3.6. In other words, you’re getting only 3.6 mp5 for the price of 8.83 mp5. That seems like a rip off.

Final solution? If you tend to spam Flash of Light more often, Spell Crit is a less effective source of mana regeneration. However, it has its own benefits - i.e. extra healing. If you spend a lot of time spamming Holy Light, Spell Crit is a far more efficient source of mana regen and it gives you bonus healing.

You may want to look at the stats for your last couple raids and see how often you’re casting Holy Light and Flash of Light. You may discover that you need to rethink the way you itemize your healing gear.

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