Adventures in the World of… Simcraft?

Alright, so this whole theory/mathcraft thing is interesting to me.  So, I’ve taken the next inevitable step.  I downloaded and futzed about with Simcraft.  Technically it’s simulationcraft, since there’s another product named simcraft, but that’s neither here nor there.  ANYWAY.

The purpose of Simcraft is simple.  It takes the math I did yesterday, but applies it many more times and with many more spells.  It’s possible to simulate and account for having to move, refresh buffs/debuffs, and use items.  Basically, it’s another good tool to use with Zap! and Rawr.

So, what do you do?  Well, the first thing you need to do is get a character profile loaded up.  This is why you use things like Rawr to manage your character profile.  When you save your character in Rawr!, you can then import the XML file it spits out into Simcraft.

So, say you’re trying to figure out which upgrade to get first.  First, you’d load up your profile in Rawr, change the pieces of gear you want to get, then you load each one up in SimCraft and run a simulation or two to see which one performs better for you.  Oh!  You can specify fight types:  Patchwerk (if you don’t know who this is, you’re doing it wrong) and Helter Skelter (use your imagination).

In order to use this tool effectively, you’re going to need to think about the circumstances you’re in while fighting and which buffs you’re going to have.  Then again, this isn’t any different from the tools we mentioned before.  For example, I wanted to confirm/examine how much of a DPS increase the Abyssal Rune is.

So, I did two gear sets.  One with what I’m currently using, and one with the Abyssal Rune replacing the lower DPS ranked trinket (according to ZAP!).  Zap!’s DEP values for the trinkets are a good way to get a ball park figure of what to use, and Simcraft pretty much confirmed it.  Raid buffed in a fight where I move, there was a roughly 20 DPS increase in using the Rune.  Raid buffed in a fight with little movement, the increase was closer to 66.

I know these appear to be small amounts, but one of the important things to remember:  Small amounts add up to big increases.  As well, they’re useful exercises in determining what gear is best for you, given your options.  We can always look up BiS lists, but anyone that actually has access to all the items in that list is a little ridiculous.

Also, I wanted to see what other neck gear I could acquire.  I looked through Rawr’s list of possible upgrades and found the most accessible one.  Loaded it up, and sure enough, there was a 27 dps increase on a Patchwerk style fight and a 17 dps increase on a Helter Skelter fight.

Again, this is just a basic use of this tool, and as I get more comfortable with it, I plan on putting more thoughts and uses on here.