Nooc

51/2/18 Option 1 Plenty of room to complete rotations if miss/dodge

51/2/18 Option 2 Just enough time to complete rotations w/o miss/dodge

I have also come across a similar rotation being the best for me so far, however I was sporting DS for OB. So, 2/2 improved Death Strike, DS glyph, IT glyph, glyph of ghoul. DPS on 0 hp lvl 80 boss dummy has sustained around 2.8 to 3k. Rotation go like:

DS>PS>IT>HS>HS>DC
HS>HS>DC>HS>HS>DS>DC //This first section sets up the infinite cycle to follow

PS>IT>HS>HS>HS>HS>DS>DC
HS>HS>DS>DC //Then repeat these till boss is dead

***********************************

Now, this can be altered a bit for a different use with OB and possibly substitute IT Glyph for OB glyph along with 4/5 T7.5 set (allows for more RP gain).

OB>PS>IT>HS>HS>DC
HS>HS>DC>HS>HS>OB>DC //This first section sets up the infinite cycle as before

PS>IT>HS>HS>HS>HS>DS>DC
HS>HS>OB>DC //Then repeat as before

**Again, this second rotation will give some healing benefit from DS and also DS at that point will have some good RP for some better dmg/healing (keep in mind with 2/2 imp DS, DS glyph, vamp blood @130 RP I've healed myself for 19k so far. This DS in the rotation should help insure you're above the 75% hp marker for the increased dmg output. Also, the OB is being used to not make your current set bonus a waste and generating more RP for getting that nearly 40 sec DRW off when needed.

So, with second version rotation, glyphs I would go with: OB, BS, and will need a math genius to see if Ghoul, or DS glyph is better suited?

I've tested Abrams' rotation and it can be continued indefinitely. It's also fairly easy to quantify the effects of haste on the rotation.

Only IT and DC are affected by haste, so for each 1% haste we reduce the duration of the first section by .03 seconds, and the second by .015. However, due to the nature of the rotation we can't start the next section any sooner. As such, any haste simply creates a gap between sections.

Unless Blizzard starts throwing haste itemization on our sets this won't be much of a problem. Even with 10% haste on gear and a WoA totem you'll be "losing" .64 seconds each repetition. Human error and latency being what they most of this gap is likely to be filled by simple imprecision; a .05 second margin of error per GCD is enough. The only major problem is Bloodlust, where you're likely to reach 1 second GCDs on IT and DC and thus experience .5-1 second gaps between sections. Whereas normally it would delay and destablize the rotation, it's probably worth the loss in DC damage to fill these one or both of these gaps with DCs.

More interesting is that the entire rotation is ~18 seconds in length, meaning that only one point in Epidemic will be necessary. In fact, you could skip it entirely without losing HS damage so long as diseases stay at 15 seconds (though you'd lose healing off the second DS). That reduces the number of desireable talent points in Tier 2 Unholy from 8 to 6, which makes later choices less restrictive.

I agree on the new Pestilence glyph, especially if it's a major glyph. There's little to no clear gain from it, and considering that we have a number of good majors to choose from now, this one seems like a waste. The Pestilence glyph in a blood spec essentially trades HS + PS + IT for DS + Refresh. The latter frees up a GCD for a DC, but even then the total damage is either breaking even or a small loss, considering that PS and IT both hit decently now.

I ran the DS build/rotation last night on the PTR for Hodir25 attempts, with a spec essentially identical to the one Abrams posted above. My major glyphs were DS, BS, and Ghoul. My "rotation", like most of the ones posted here, was just a variation on a basic priority system: Use HS as main attack, DS to convert runes, PS + IT to keep up diseases, DC whenever possible. It usually ended up something like PS IT HS HS DS, DS HS HS HS HS. Here are my general impressions, avoiding fight spoilers.

1) The numbers seem good, competitive with the rest of the raid. We weren't in all-out dps mode, since these were learning attempts, but the general damage output was near the top of the list.

2) Death Strike works very well as a dps strike now. DS' raidbuffed damage at decent amounts of RP is comparable to the 3.1 OB. It also has the added benefit of healing for ridiculous amounts. I saw 8k DS crits healing me for 15-16k. This almost seems wrong, and I wouldn't be surprised about nerfs there.

3) It doesn't seem too beneficial to hold off on DCs for a bigger DS. The damage difference in DS is often pretty close to the damage of the DC, and if you're capped out, you lose the RP from the DS itself. However, dumping RP in a set position, right before a DS isn't too good either. The best way seems like a compromise: spread out DCs over the rotation, a lot like the strategy is now for the 2h Frost rotation's FS (in that case, it's for KM procs). It seems reasonable to keep a minimum amount of RP while still never capping out-- essentially, you're only "wasting" the initial minimum amount you earn at the beginning of the fight, like keeping a minimum balance in a checkbook, and the rest of the RP you generate is still used. Basically, avoid the urge to dump.

4) Movement makes this spec/rotation kind of annoying. There's definitely an advantage to the rotations that use UF abilities as a primary attack. Now that blood is forced to use HS, it's a bit more difficult to execute, even though we're less GCD-bound with the new Sudden Doom.