The Art of Min-maxing

Unfortunately, I don't have enough time just yet to complete a full post on it. Expect me to complete a list of emperical equations so that you can itemize the best possible set for you (aka don't steal items that don't belong to you!).

Fundamentally, there are loop-holes in Blizzard's itemization process; for example Royal Shadowsong Amethyst is 11healing 2mp5, while Lustrous Empyrean Sapphire is 4mp5. Which would you choose? A smart player would easily take 4mp5. Reason being, 2mp5 is emperically more useful than 11healing. Blizzard's internal values peg 1mp5 at 9healing. So you effectively gain 7 more healing by taking Lustrous Empyrean Sapphire.

Spellsurge

One of the hardest decisions a healer has to make when it comes to high-end raiding is to choose between 81heal or Spellsurge for their main hand. I don't blame them because the difference between both enchants is noticeable, and therefore some players 'choose' by personal preference. One of the major reasons why Spellsurge is rarely seen is because most use their PVP weapon for PVE. I have tried both Spellsurge and 81heal for arena and have to agree that 81heal is more useful in PVP for various reasons, although it's not always true (2v2 vs warlocks). But what is the emperical value for Spellsurge? Spellsurge is 4.44 times /better/ than +81heal in PVE if your entire group enchants it. This is how I have derived the factorization:

1: Express Spellsurge in terms of mp5: 100 / 60 * 5 = 8.33~ 8mp5. (Note: Spellsurge has a 50second hidden cooldown but has a 15% chance of proccing. Hence, its maximum mana yield is pegged at 10mp5)
1.1: Total mp5 yield for party: 8mp5 * 5 = 40mp5. (Note: 5 caster group)
1.2: Convert mp5 to +heal: 40 * 9 = 360healing
1.3: Factorize difference: 360 / 81 = 4.44

Fun fact: Spellsurge had a 30 second hidden cd until Blizzard stealth nerfed it; only a handful of players exploited it in its full glory.



Paladin enigma: Spellcrit or mp5?

The saga continues. Paladins have been struggling to choose between spell crit and mp5 ever since Molten Core. The emperical ratio as far as I can tell is 8mp5:21 spellcrit. The most obvious place to obtain this ratio is by comparing the DPS caster and healer hyjal rings:

dps caster: http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29302
healer: http://www.wowhead.com/?item=29307

(Note: The ratio of dmg:heal is 0.5357:1. So indeed, the dmg and +heal ratios of the rings are consistent.)

In other words, Shard of the Scale for example is essentially 42spell crit.