Why the Spellblade script matters:
The Spellblade script models the fight very closely when executing the fight well, for a 20-person group. The simulator also takes into account the chance you are targeted with something bad (like Mark of Frost) and have to move. When that happens, the rotation automatically starts using spells that are castable while you run.
We also modeled in the adds, grouped appropriately for AoE damage like the Icy adds, or spread out a bit more like the fiery adds. However, we reviewed hundreds of logs to find the trends of how people are grouping the adds. We modeled them accordingly. We also found the average time-to-live for each of the type of adds, and the simulator picks a random amount of time for them to live within the specified range. That being said, how much your DPS the adds in a particular, actual fight, can make a big difference on your DPS.
Modeling all of these things: chance to get targeted with a debuff, chance to have to run, chance to get knocked back by Searing Brand, grouping of adds and a slightly randomized amount of time to live… these all help make the simulator much more realistic. And the more realistic it is, the better the stats and gearing advice can be 🙂
For tanks, we model melee attacks, the stacking Annihilated debuff mechanics, tank swaps, raid damage, along with a heal team.
What did we model for DPS?
Frost phase
Mark of Frost: Only affects ranged.
- Change to get targeted: we assume there are 11 ranged DPSers & healers in the 20-man group. The debuff is applied to 2 people, giving ranged players an 18% chance to get targeted each time it is applied or jumps.
- If you are targeted, we scripted in 3 seconds of total move time (half to move to the designated spot and half moving back). When moving, the simulator uses spells that can be cast while running.
- The debuff is scripted to be dropped after 5 stacks.
Icy Enchantments:
- 4 spawn and are placed on top of the boss.
- Logs show an average time-to-live (TTL) of 25-30 seconds. The simulator randomly chooses a time in that range for how long they live, on each iteration.
Fire phase
Searing Brand – affects melee and ranged
- In a 20-man raid, you have a 5.5% chance of getting targeted by the first one. If targeted, you get knocked back for 1 second and cannot DPS the boss.
- The replicated Searing Brand hits 5 players, giving you a 27% chance to get knocked back for 1 second.
Fiery Enchantments
- Just before they spawn, we assume 1 second of movement time for everyone to get in position before the Fiery Enchantments spawn.
- Adds are spawned into 2 groups of 3. We did this because raid teams seem to have them somewhat grouped, as logs show that melee are able cleave small groups of 2 or 3 at a time. Melee have to spend a short time moving to their group.
- The ads are still 8 yards apart from each other, but clumped in a way that allows cleaves, etc. The 2 groups are far enough apart that melee can only DPS one group at a time.
- Ranged with AoE that cover a large area, like Starfall, can DPS both groups at once.
- They have a wide time-to-live variance, from about 15-25 seconds. The simulator picks a random duration between those values.
Arcane phase
Orbs:
- Before orbs start hitting people, we have 1 second of movement time to get into position.
- After replicated orbs do their thing, we have players moving for 2 seconds to collapse on top of the tank.
Run & gun phase:
- We have 10 seconds of movement time during this phase.
Arcane Enchantments:
- We put them in 2 groups of 4. Within the groups they are 5 yards apart. We did this based on the run & gun strategy and how logs showed them grouping.
- They have a wide time-to-live variance, from about 15-25 seconds. The simulator picks a random duration between those values.
What did we model for tanks?
Melee:
- The boss melees every 2 seconds for about 1.8 million (unmitigated)
- These have the +/- 20% range that it does in-game as well, handled automatically.
Annihilated:
- We apply the debuff mechanics: the 90 second duration and stacking damage increase
- Annihilated damage hits both tanks every 0.5 seconds for 9 hits, for 450,000 per hit (unmitigated)
- We have the tanks swapping taunts after 2 stacks
- This is flagged as ‘big’ damage so tank ‘rotation’ logic can look ahead and save cooldowns for it if needed.
Burst of Flame: hits the tank for 95,000 each hit until the adds die.
Detonate Arcane Orb: 400,000 damage each hit, spaced about 1 second apart for 8 hits.
Extra information if you want to edit the boss
How to edit the boss:
- Login (you need to login so you can save it)
- Click the copy button at the top
- After you copy it, click the edit button
- Collapse the following sections: NPCs, Allies, Actions.
For DPS, expand the NPCs section, anything under here is for you. It’s helpful to have the other stuff collapsed, so that when you do a search (CTRL + F), the tank spells won’t show up.
For Tanks, expand the Action section. This is for you, nothing in the NPC section affects you, EXCEPT that the Burst of Flame ability is tied to the FieryEnchantment NPC’s time to live.