Epic Disappointment

Here is the Illusionist epic weapon:



And here is what I'm using now:

Both are one-handed, so it's an apples to apples comparison. There's been a lot of complaint about this weapon from Illusionists, mostly focused on the Soothing Mind proc. Which I totally understand.

This is the non-raid version of the epic weapon. As such, it should not be looked on as a raid situation weapon. But Illusionists already have lots of tools for power management without it. So much so that I can keep a group that is chain pulling in Crypt of Agony in power, only pausing for a few moments before nameds. And I haven't upgraded all of my power spells yet, I was only level 77 at the time.

Let's clarify what the proc does. It puts a spell on the mob which will proc power to someone attacking the mob. So it will shove power back to your group, not just you. Not exactly clear from the written description, but I have it on good authority that's what it does.

So the proc isn't all that useful. The stats are better, but not that much better. I don't favor bonuses to focus, because I'm not supposed to be getting hit, after all. And furthermore, when I am being hit, I mez, with my uninterruptible mez. So much for focus. Bonuses to disruption are good, they make me resisted less. But they are very common and Grizzfazzles wand is just as good, even though 15 levels lower and only Legendary. The other stats are nice, but not game-changers.

But then there's the Achievement Ability called Volatile Magic. This is a passive ability at the bottom of the Int line for all Enchanters. This spell increases base damage of all spells by 30 percent. When you are below 30% of your maximum power. I'm still learning how to manage power in this band for maximum dps, but it's clearly possible except for some very specialized raid encounters with big power drains. Of course, having something which is giving you even more power might make this kind of a problem. Making Soothing Mind something of a negative for small group or solo play.

So, my initial reaction to this was, geez, that sucks! Would I even use that? Give up my Grizzfazzles for it?. But here's something to consider. Grizz's proc accounts for about 1.5% of my total dps while soloing or grouping. It's falling behind. Maybe at some point it will start getting resisted a lot, I don't know. So, the question is now whether +4 Spell Crit Chance is going to improve DPS enough to cover the loss of Grizzfazzles Rage. This seems likely, but then, I don't really understand the Spell Crit Chance numbers.

Parsing suggests that I crit spells just under 20 percent of the time. 16 to 17 percent. But I'm pretty sure my Spell Crit Chance number isn't 17. So there is a curve to these numbers. Now where is the cap to it, as there must be. Is it at 25% or 100%? I don't know. But for me, with my current gear, the extra crit chance is probably going to make up for the loss of the proc.

Ok, but what about that damnably irritating power proc? There's a possibility that in some circumstances, it might boost my dps.

Yes, that's right. First, it's a hostile spell on the mob, so mightn't it trigger another proc, this one for damage? Second, when the group I'm in actually needs more power, maybe this will take up enough slack that I will cast my power spells less and my damage spells more. That's possible, isn't it?

The quest itself looks fun to do, and since I've already done the required Heritage Quests, spending a lot of time doing gray stuff isn't a concern. But then, if you're level 80, you're not gaining experience anyway, right? So I'll do the quest when I reach 80 and give it a try.